[Gerald Celente in an interview with Sydney radio show talking about the election of the Syriza party and how it is portrayed in the media] “So anytime there is a new party…you read the financial times for example, they look at the new party in Greece and they call them Left wing radical parties…Who are the people in power? How about status quo madmen criminals!”
Again Key demeans New Zealand; on this latest occasion spittling Crosby Textor construct all over Waitangi Day. Waitangi Day blithely given up to nouveau riche gaucheness and the game ‘PMONZ crawls up POTUS’. Seems there is nothing, no institution, no convention, no standard of behaviour MrSelfieKey will not molest.
Well, this is interesting , even although C/T already have a big foot in the door here in NZ.
A Crosby/Textor Media Statement dated 4 February 2015, tweeted by Andrea Vance last night http://t.co/eyGHq9DeDy
As it is relatively short, here it is in full:
Kiri Hannifin and Jo de Joux today announced the formation of Hannifin de Joux, an integrated public affairs and campaign consultancy that will form a strategic partnership with CrosbyITextor Group in New Zealand.
The unique part of the Hannifin de Joux service is political, corporate and public sector campaign management.
CrosbyITextor is the world’s leading market research, strategic communications and campaign management agency. The company has offices in Australia, the UK, Italy and the UAE.
“Our collaboration with CrosbyITextor enables us to share their global best practice with local clients. It means we can provide our clients with sophisticated and targeted strategies based on the solid foundation of market research and insights,” says Ms de Joux.
The creation of political strategists Lynton Crosby and Mark Textor, the CrosbyITextor Group draws from an unrivalled bank of campaign experience and expertise to advise corporate clients, investors, industry associations and governments worldwide.
Ms Hannifin and Ms de Joux have extensive knowledge of New Zealand politics and strong track records providing advice across a range of issues at the highest levels of government and the public sector.
Jo de Joux is a seasoned campaigner, having managed four consecutive election campaigns for the New Zealand National Party.
Kiri Hannifin, a former political advisor to Helen Clark’s government, has been working in and around government for nearly 20 years in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Well Kiwi’s need to be persuaded that we need to go to war that is not mandated by the UN, hate Catton and intellectuals or actually anyone with a voice, get rid of (or even better NationalLite) Labour, Keep National in power, destroy Winston and Greens and Maori and Mana, keep Northland, Keep Herald and MSM in line, Keep Act and Peter Dunne afloat but with no power, make NZ part of the TPPA, sell assets off without anyone stopping it, Get Slater back inline, and the sleeze sites in business, try to resurrect Key and Collins careers and reputation, destroy the burgeoning left wing blogs and news sites like The Standard, TDB, No right turn etc, to have abolute control the media, keep investigative journalists silenced in NZ, deport Dotcom, make the police and SIS tow the National line, keep Jason Ede and Slater sedated against biting the hand that created them, etc
Be prepared, NZ is no longer an offshoot of Crosby/Textor OZ offices. Their slime trail around the Beehive is about to reach new levels…
Saying that all is not well in Abbot land too, maybe the slime has reached critical levels there as well…
These links will answer your question, Incognito, but will probably give you more to worry about.
This is from November 2011by David Fisher.
“Key’s inner circle of advisers is headed by Joyce, who led National’s campaign in 2005 and 2008. The National Party’s campaign manager is Jo de Joux.
She had a strong role in the Mana byelection campaign last year, which gave rising National star Hekia Parata the chance to show her potential.
The links between the party machine and the Prime Minister’s inner sanctum are close. De Joux’s husband Phil is Key’s deputy chief of staff. His immediate boss is chief of staff Eagleson, who caused a stir last year when it emerged he was partying in Las Vegas with lobbyists. He has been a strategically important manager for Key.” http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10767258
Also worth reading from Otago Daily Times titiled “Is democracy under threat?” written by Bruce Munro on Sun, 18 May 2014
“Updated this month, the ”Approved visitor list to Parliament” has mushroomed from 25 people last year to 63 now.
The list of those given their own swipe card to enter Parliament without the usual security checks is heavily, but not exclusively, populated by professional paid lobbyists seeking to influence politicians to the point of view of their organisation or client.
Among those on the list are Business NZ chief executive Phil O’Reilly; Sky Television’s Tony O’Brien and Chris Major; Air New Zealand’s Phil de Joux, who used to be John Key’s deputy chief of staff; Anadarko’s Anita Ferguson, who was Steven Joyce’s press secretary; and Fonterra’s Nicola Willis, who was an adviser and speech-writer for Mr Key. There is also New Zealand Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly and secretary Peter Conway, and Food and Service Workers Union’s James Sleep.
Making up almost a third of the list are a group going by various job titles, including third-party lobbyists, public lawyers and government relations consultants. They include Saunders Unsworth’s Barry Saunders, Charles Finny and Mark Unsworth; SenateSHJ’s Scott Campbell; Silvereye’s Jo Coughlan, who was a press secretary to the National government’s minister of foreign affairs in the mid-1990s; Franks and Ogilvie’s Jordan Williams, who was spokesman for anti-MMP lobby group Vote for Change; and Webling Media’s Brent Webling, who was press director for former minister of justice Simon Power and whose clients include food industry lobby group the Food and Grocery Council.”
Ta. It is clear that they like to keep it ‘in the family’. So, we can fully expect more DP. Now all we’d need is a bit of Freed to top it off; I can’t wait.
The current Approved Visitor List to Parliament on its website updated as of 11 November 2014 still includes both Jo and Phil de Jeux, with the organisation listing for Jo showing as NZ National Party and that for Phil as Air New Zealand.
So they both still seem to have free access to the Beehive.
Claire Trevett has a story in today’s Herald clearly designed to demote Andrew Little and put him down. But the comments following it are fascinating – they look to me like they’re 20 to 1 in favour of Andrew Little and telling CT to stop being such a Nat biased journalist. Here’s the link :
Not a particularly well written article. Trevett seems to be reaching desperately and unreasonably to tie Little in to her treatise about flags and nationhood, but without success. You’re dead right about the comments, Jenny. It’s great that the readers can spot the weakness of the argument, rather than simply put their views on Little, Labour or flagwaving.
I’ve never rated her seriously, too flakey. The big political story is Key & the Police. Must buy the Sunday Star Times, I hear they have crunched a few details that don’t stack up surrounding Key’s handling of Sabin.
Next week Key will call on the services of snake oil Joyce during question time to try drag him out of the hole he has dug this week.
On TV3 news at 6pm there was a brief comment from Bush, that the police did not drop the ball when it came to informing the minister of police about Sabin. I assume it was Tolley, even though Woodhouse became minister of police early in October 2014.
How did Bush inform the minister of police?
A file
Verbally
When?
When a case is ongoing and there is a new minister of police.
Does Bush need to reinform his minister and keep them up to date, even though the commissioner is in charge of day to day operations?
I will be most interested to see how this plays out between the police and the government.
Depending on who knew what and when, and Who did or did not inform whom and when, Who is telling the truth or who is lying, One or more of these characters in the short chain of command in this murky, dodgy, conflicted of interest involving possible political fraud on the country and very expensive saga has to be sacked or must resign:
Police commissioner or
Tolley or
Woodhouse or
Eagleson or
Key!
Thanks for that Treetop. I was planning to bring it up too.
An interesting timeline mickysavage:
As far as we know, the police began the investigation early August 2014. However they would probably have known that an investigation was going to commence a few weeks in advance of that time. Let us say around mid July?
You will recall that both Cunliffe and Key took some time off prior to the start of the campaign – Cunliffe took a few days which greatly exercised the MSM, and Key took 10-12 days and flew to Hawaii. (Key’s overseas holiday didn’t bother the MSM at all – funny that.) The dates of Key’s holiday was between the 11th July and 21st July – 10 days.
So, is this what happened?
1) a senior police officer contacted Anne Tolley and gave her the heads up.
2) because Key was out of the country she passed the information on to Bill English or Steven Joyce – or both.
What happened after that we don’t know, but there is no way in a million years John Key was not informed by one or other – or both of them – as soon as he returned.
So, when Key claims that he knows other people knew about the investigation earlier but he was not informed until much later, he was actually referring to the earlier July/August time-span even though he knows everyone thinks he’s talking about the Nov/Dec period. He can then say he’s not lying with a straight face.
I mean he’s done it before! SIS-OIA -Slater-Key on holiday in Hawaii – I know nuffink… anyone?
@Anne:
Well, if English and/or Joyce received that serious information, but did not let Key know, then either one or both of those must be sacked or should resign immediately. There IS no excuse!
We might be meant to be reading this Trevett piece as satirical!
…Unless you are Labour leader Andrew Little. Little appeared to be taken by surprise when he was asked for his views on titular honours and the flag this week.
The week before, he had set out his determination to focus on big issues, not “small beer” issues.
He apparently felt it meant he could only ever bang on about jobs and houses.
She seems to be a jonolist talented at writing either satirical or farcical items! I fear that this one is from the farcical side. Sheesh. How did she get to be political editor or sub or deputy – do they pick Hairy’s ones from names in a hat?
Can’t readily identify as satirical or farcical Grey’. Guess I’ll go with farcical – as to writing/writer both. Satire does not flow from the pen of a jonolist whose raison d’etre is to fellate TheGodKey. We are well familiar if unimpressed with Trevett’s styles. Sloppy exhortations to sweat the small stuff are unintelligible. As you were Trevett.
Claire Trevett can’t be as bad as that fucking idiot Paul Thomas. Every thing he writes is pro establishment inanity. I wrote a couple of replies to his latest piece of crap, to remind him that yes journalists and activists are mistreated pretty overtly in GodKeyZone. Nicky Hager, Bradley Ambrose, Jon Stephenson have been hassled by cops, spied on, and had stuff confiscated. Judith Collins and Cam Slater try to destroy careers of principals, teachers, and scientists who don’t toe the government line. Paula Bennett has no problem releasing personal details of beneficiaries who complain about government policy. National are a bunch of power abusing bullies, and any journalist with a brain and a conscience would recognise that.
Trevitt did exactly the same to Cunliffe early on in his leadership.
So the polls have been favourable about Little, “quick what can we focus on to make him look bad???? Oh yes knighthoods, etc, etc,”
She selectively pays attention to any detail, no matter how minor to attack the leader of the opposition and make him look incompetent.
That the Deputy Political Editor of the largest daily paper in NZ pays attention to issues that are red herrings (knighthoods, flags) when there are far more significant issues speaks volumes.
Trevitt is shameless writing on behalf of John Key and the National Party.
Yes Anker shameless for Hairy to call her Dep Ed, never Deep Throat! Just part of the Beehive Circus Troupe. Her role is to run up to a plank with Key on one end, jump on the other end, and fly him high into the air to a position of elevation for the delectation of the masses.
Yeah, typical Trevett. It does seem to highlight one thing: Little needs to be more aware of what’s going on around him and prepare for such questions. John Key has, for more than six months, been lying non-stop about sending troops into the Middle East. Now, after his trip to the UK for a little girl’s birthday party and a meeting with the “Five Eyes Club”, and especially since the arrival here of a top UK Tory, John Key is moments away from finally telling the truth: our soldiers are off the help kill Arabs. The MSM has been pumping out helpful horror stories with nightmare scenarios next to TINA solutions all provided by approved sources and designed to build tension as the sabre rattling reaches its crescendo. Of course useful idiots in the media like Trevett are going to be wandering around asking questions about nationalism and flags and colonial links to New Zealand’s English masters. That should have been obvious and prepared for, IMHO.
On the other hand, it does reveal something about Little which I find appealing: he is unable to spontaneously rattle off ambiguous political platitudes concerning matters he hasn’t properly considered. This, however, is a vital skill for a politician in today’s world. As much as I regret saying it, Little could do with some impromptu theatre training in order to provide the MSM soothing balm for feeding out to the sheeple.
Impromptu theatre training. Just the thing for pollies. Now they are on show so much with vids and paper and vid together. They have to think on their feet and keep the patter going and Labour needs to break through the gold curtain (not the iron one).
Also listening to some of the comedians talking about their start and experiences they would be good exemples and teachers, they know all about hecklers. I believe that the northern English working mens clubs are the pits. One comedian said they sit on their hands and look stonily at you with a ‘make me laugh then, I dare you’ hostility.
Hi Jenny- did you mean ‘denigrate Andrew Little’ rather than ‘demote Andrew Little’? I didn’t get the impression from Trevett’s article that she was trying to undermine him as Leader of the Labour Party. Or was that in fact your take on the article? I think Andrew Little is very secure as Leader.
To music4menz – yep – denigrate would have been a better word. I agree, Andrew Little is looking (and sounding) very good as Leader, and apparently the caucus has agreed “to draw a line under 2014” and get going again !
By-and-large workers here prefer to lay down and be walked over than to stand up and fight. Announcements of workplace closures are more likely to be met with tears and counselling than with “No, we’re not accepting this shite”. It is like two generations have been enfeebled.
It doesn’t have to be like this. There are all kinds of ways of fighting back. Closure threats, for instance, can be met with occupations. Occupations challenge the property rights of bosses. Occupying means workers – the people who have created the new, expanded value from which profit comes – asserting their right to work. In effect, it is saying “We produce the wealth, we don’t recognise your ‘right’ to take away our jobs and income; given that you obviously can’t run the workplace, we will.” Occupations are a much more advanced form of struggle than strikes because, instead of just going home, or standing around outside the workplace, we are inside and running it.
Occupations become schools for workers’ control and workers’ management of workplaces and, if undertaken across the society, for a new form of society altogether. One in which those who produce the wealth own and control the means of production, along with developing new means of distribution and exchange.
Sounds good. Corporations need to have some sort of corporate and social responsibility. In the absence of that, there needs to be a way that makes it harder to just sack people and close plants down.
It is too easy for corporations to sack people on mass and they are doing it too often.
From your link, I found this list of 10 jobs in Britain that make people scared to go back to work.
1. Media and publishing (86 per cent)
2. Marketing, advertising and PR (80 per cent)
3. Creative arts and design (75 per cent)
4. Teaching and education (71 per cent)
5. Science and Pharmaceuticals (69 per cent)
6. Information Technology (63 per cent)
7. Property and Construction (62 per cent)
8. Health and Social Care (62 per cent)
9. Accounting, banking and finance (60 per cent)
10. Recruitment and HR (59 per cent)
I found the list interesting. While numbers 1 to 4 seem understandable, others seem a little intriguing/unexpected.
Calm down Princess. The election result should have shown you that few gave a toss about Hagar and his criminal use of stolen information. The latest polls seem to confirm it, so save your tantrums, you’ll do yourself a mischief.
Cut the crap and your biggety blue balderdash and tell us WHEN did Key REALLY get to know about the police investigation of Sabin?…2011? April 2014? Before the election or Only on 1st Dec? Time for Key and the ‘Real’ blue team to come clean and fess up honestly to the country. Don’t you think so, Real blue?
“Closure threats, for instance, can be met with occupations. Occupations challenge the property rights of bosses. Occupying means workers – the people who have created the new, expanded value from which profit comes – asserting their right to work. In effect, it is saying “We produce the wealth, we don’t recognise your ‘right’ to take away our jobs and income”
Hilarious.
Of course most corporations choose to close businesses when there is wealth being created. /sarc
Since NZ is full of SME’s. Lets use a local example.
You own a coffee shop, all is going well until a new, better one opens down the road.
You have everything you own in this business, you invested 250k in the fitout of the place, which you borrowed, and you signed a 10 year lease on the building as you thought it a great location. Because you are a new business and not a franchise you had to personally guarantee the lease (Not uncommon). say there is a 6 month guarantee.
But now revenue / profits have tanked. You are working there 7 days a week, but you simply cannot afford to keep the business running – its costing you and every week you are further into a financial hole.
So you sadly decide to close. You owe 000’s and have nothing to show for it. You also are without a job.
But, no – the ‘workers’ decide they have a right for that job and that wage. So occupy the store and decide to run it. quote: “given that you obviously can’t run the workplace, we will.”
So – How exactly do they pay for the rent, materials etc – you cannot put it on the owners account – he has closed accounts with suppliers. You have no legal right to be there, you are using equipment that is not owned by you. Who is responsible to pay the wages, PAYE, ACC, Kiwisaver, suppliers when there is a shortfall?
when the business is taken over by the workers (shall we say 10 employees, part and full time), under a different business model (shall we say cooperative), novelty will engender enthusiasm and loyalty.
eg rather than the previous boss buying lemons for $4-$6 a kilo, the kitchen hands parents donate the lemons.
a surplus table is started where people bring their surplus produce fruit and veges in to share. this prompts a local school to set up a vege garden and donates the salad leaves three times a week.
the chefs sister in law is a bookkeepper (i love that word ookkee), she takes on the books for gratis.
the second chefs mum wants to be part of the action and does the laundry for nothing.
…..
i would heartily reccomend looking up the moosewood kitchen for an example of getting part of the way to what i describe.
hope this helps bro.
i am now off to cook for people who want to go out to just the business you describe.
cheers.
James has got a panic pulse going that workers are figuring out that they don’t need marching orders from business owners, and that these businesses can be run better democratically, not as dictatorships.
The government steps in and buys the building and declares that the taxes that the businesses pay is enough to cover basic maintenance. This gets rid of the rentiers that are destroying businesses through their greed.
The equipment is leased, or second hand, donated.
And they could read the part of Maeve Binchys Scarlet Feather where the young chefs are working to get a business going and then suffer malicious damage and burglary. How they get out of it successfully after a meeting of decision where all committed because they had personal goals that could be met by the business succeeding.
The workers and their families have come up with $50K to recapitalise the business, no sweat. Not only that, the worker-owners have agreed to all accept the minimum wage for the first 3 months until their turn around plans take effect.
Outgoings are lower than the $10K you state because the rent break which was negotiated, is in effect.
So why is the cafe unsuccessful? The main thing I see about the story is that another cafe opened up nearby. But isn’t that normal for cafes to open in areas where there are other cafes?
“…rather than the previous boss buying lemons for $4-$6 a kilo, the kitchen hands parents donate the lemons.”
LOL! That is classic and just goes to show the mentality of some on the left. Scale that thinking up to a Steel mill. Perhaps the workers parents could donate some scrap metal for them to smelt.
This is predicated on the false assumption of the far Left that everyone is entitled to a job. That assumption in turn means that employers have a duty to provide jobs. Nonsense. that’s simply not how the world works.
i can understand rights such as Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness but there is no such thing as a Right to a Job.
Article 23 of the UDoHR, which New Zealand has signed and has already set precedent in our courts, says you haven’t the first idea what you’re talking about.
Let me quote you article 23 read it carefully.
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
I am correct. Everyone has a right to work and seek work. Of course they do. I never claimed that. No one has a right to a JOB. Do you not know the difference?
hi gosman, i will leave the steel mill to someone with relevant experience.
reading thru the comments i am coming to the conclusion that the naysayers have decided it cant happen and want to shoot any idea to bits.
what dreary company.
i would rather work towards making something happen using the skills, talents, and imagination of enthused company.
has it occurred to y’all that profit could be measured in a myriad of non-financial ways.
i have come to know when there is a will there is a way.
also has any of you naysayers checked out the moosewood kitchen example?
Having worked in a poorly run steel mill (with scars to prove it), where a few blokes have been killed, I have to say that
a) gosman is a [expletive deleted]
b) workers couldn’t run it any worse than the previous bunch
c) it’s now gone out of business, mercifully.
(Seriously, who signs a 10 year lease nowadays – are you fucking mad?)
1) The workers and their families pool together $50K to recapitalise the business
2) They pick up the commercial kitchen and equipment for a tiny fraction of their original cost
3) A state bank offers them 1% pa financing because they are starting a workers co-operative
4) The lease is renegotiated with the landlord, including a 3 month rent free period.
5) Suppliers are more than happy to open accounts for the new business as the worker-owners are happy to pay on 7 day credit terms for the first year of business.
6) The workers and their families turn the place into a fun, family, foody place to hang out, far more social than the corporate cafe down the road.
Why is this not already happening on a wide scale?
IMO, because people have been conditioned into believing that they need to work for others rather than working with others. This is compounded by our atomised society making it difficult to find people of like mind to work with and other difficulties.
Have some of you here who are promoting the benefits of worker control actually been involved in a successful example of such a initiative?
All looks good Draco, there is help available then.
And interesting to see the link to the UN report that rates NZ as already the number one on the co-operative economy index, and links that to the fact that we are also number one in the Social Progress Index…
But I don’t agree at all that NZ workers are ‘conditioned’ and this prevents them starting their own businesses / Co-ops.
Are you a worker Draco? Would you say that of yourself?
How many other workers here would say that they have been rendered psychologically incapable of doing anything else than be a serf?
“And interesting to see the link to the UN report that rates NZ as already the number one on the co-operative economy index,”
Is that something to do with Fonterra?
If the govt put the same degree of infrastructure and support into worker co-ops as it does other business models, I think more workers would be in to it. As it is, most people wouldn’t know how to go about this.
I am not aware of aware any govt. infrastructure and support that is not available to businesses merely on the basis they have co-operative ownership Weka?
And there are vast amounts of information, support, assistance, and mentoring available to new business, from both Govt. and Private sector.
The internet age has made that all so much more readily available than ever before.
There is no reason at all why capable workers should not be able to easily shift to ownership of their own labour through a number of business models.
Come on, those of you workers who back your ability to run a business at least as well as the boss who is currently making profit out of your labour should just do so.
I’ve seen this concept raised so many times as a positive theory on this blog, I’d love to see someone posting a concrete example of it happening in the real world.
Of all the ways to ‘revolution’ I can think of, large scale worker control of business would be the most realistic and practical form of it?
There are lots of co-operative models that have no problem taking advantage of the infrastructure in place in NZ. Fonterra is a good example. Partnerships are similar in concept to co-operatives and again they seem to have no problem. I think th left just likes to put obstacles in the way that they can blame on someone else so they don’t have to actually do anything substantive. Keep belly aching that it is the fault of the nasty 1%.
There are lots of co-operative models that have no problem taking advantage of the infrastructure in place in NZ. Fonterra is a good example.
LOL
Fonterra had specific laws passed for it so that farmers could operate as a guild which is illegal for anyone else.
I think th left just likes to put obstacles in the way that they can blame on someone else so they don’t have to actually do anything substantive. Keep belly aching that it is the fault of the nasty 1%.
Need to identify the obstacles so that they can be effectively removed.
Gosman and lost sheep, can you please find the sections on worker cooperatives in the following govt run business support websites? I’ve looked and can’t find them.
But I don’t agree at all that NZ workers are ‘conditioned’ and this prevents them starting their own businesses / Co-ops.
Are you a worker Draco? Would you say that of yourself?
It was the realisation of that conditioning within myself that allowed me to identify it. It was the get an education, get a job rhetoric that I got from my parents and others that led to it. I’ve seen and heard similar at university and polytechnics. It’s subtle and I suspect that most people don’t even realise that that’s what they’re doing but it’s most definitely there.
How many other workers here would say that they have been rendered psychologically incapable of doing anything else than be a serf?
Probably not many, there’s very few people who are as introspective as I am.
And do remember that it’s not the only barrier either. Getting ahead requires access to resources and a large number of people don’t have that access.
I appreciate the honesty of that reply Draco, and agree completely with your comments on the subtlety of social pressure.
I forget who said it, but there is a quote that goes something like ‘the most difficult part of obtaining freedom is coming to believe that you have the right and the power to claim it’.
Rather than sit around waiting for the current business that employs them to go broke, why don’t the workers just start their own cafe anyway?
In addition to draco’s conditioning argument, the other point is that the workers are intimately acquainted with the problems and issues of that cafe. They know the customer base and they have all the data they need to optimise the layout and routines of that kitchen, simply because they’ve put in, if you will, several months or years of workplace dynamics research on that specific site.
They might not have agreement on what the right location for another cafe is, but they know how to adapt that cafe to its current market location.
Set up a competiting café up near by . It will be trying to attract the same customers.
Alternatively they can choose to buy out the existing owner. If the business was really doing that badly then the owner is most likely open to getting out quickly and they can pick up the equipment cheaply. Not as cheaply as stealing them by occupying the place admittedly but they will be doing the moral and legal right thing.
Are you for real, Sheep? You think something gives you the right to pry into people’s occupations as though that will what? What exactly are you trying to say?
That the left has no business experience? That worker owned co-operatives don’t exist? That you have to jump through hoops for Sheep before you’re qualified to make observations?
You know what, it looks like a zombie, it shuffles like a zombie, and it moans like a zombie. Looks like it eats Sheep’s brains too.
Doesn’t describe me. I worked in, managed, started, and built businesses my entire life apart from a few stints at university, time in the army, and a year as a farmhand. One of those uni stints was getting a MBA (ie a master of business administration) at Otago.
As an intelligent person of business (ie not a sheeple like some of the blowhards I see from the right) I am always acutely aware of just how much businesses depend on the government built and operated infrastructure that no business interested in making a profit would run in a way that benefits its society in the long term.
That government input is required for everything from having a working legal system to having available skilled employees to useable roads. I’m also aware how much that modern economies depend on having a lot of well paid employees who then power economies. Having people marginalised and not used to the extent of their abilities because some rent-takers and crony capitalists find it convenient is simply daft and short-sighted.
Having a feudal style of politics and economy (in the way that the USA is rapidly heading) with wealthy parents sucking tithes off the poor and pumping it into advantaging their own children isn’t the way to help anyone apart from a few mindless knucklehead kids.
That is the end point of the process that I usually what I see unthinking fools like The Lost Sheep advocating. Of course they never seem to take the time to think it through.
Spare me the mock outrage about privacy OAB.
FFS it is an anonymous blog where no one is under any compulsion to answer anything!
What I am saying is very clear.
Many on times on this blog, and in the real world, I have heard people advocating the benefits of worker control of business.
I agree completely with that concept, having done so myself, and given that it is so easy to run a business, I genuinely do not understand why many more workers do not take that step themselves.
This being a worker oriented blog, I thought at least I’d get a little bit of positive feedback by advocating that this is a very practical and possible initiative workers can take to regain control of their productive effort.
From reading this blog OAB, I got the impression that there was a general agreement that the current economic situation was heavily dominated by Capitalists who exploited workers labour?
And many workers are not happy with that situation, and, there is a general agreement here that workers would be perfectly capable of running businesses successfully themselves?
Have I got it right so far?
So by that definition, not nearly enough businesses are under ‘worker’ control.
And so to follow the logic through…..it being entirely possible for more workers to take control of their own productive effort – they should do so.
FFS. I’m on a so called ‘workers’ blog, advocating workers wresting control of their own lives from capitalists, and some of the workers champions are finding that offensive?
No paranoia here then.
Working for giant corporations really sucks if you are just a replaceable cog in the machine. But if you’re seen as a valued asset it is completely different. Management can get away with treating people like crap in times of job scarcity, weak unions, and skewed labour laws.
After a decade of working for others, for wages well below market rates, and in jobs far below my capabilities, my self confidence was at a low ebb. After a bit of encouragement from someone who could see what was happening, I started working freelance and it’s been 100% better in every way (except having to do my own taxes).
lost sheep I just gave you an example of why “more people don’t work for themselves”. It’s a matter of experience, education, and confidence.
But for people in less-skilled segments of the labour market it is better to join a union to improve their bargaining power. And the best thing for such workers is to have a voice in the board room.
Here’s an idea. Instead of stealing someone elses property maybe the workers could have pooled their resources together in the first place and set up their own business.
Here’s an idea. Instead of stealing someone elses property maybe the workers could have pooled their resources together in the first place and set up their own business.
Gossie, creative destruction is an integral part of capitalism. So is seizing opportunity when opportunity arises.
Surely you haven’t already forgotten that hanging out with us socialists, have you?
So, John Key is about to send New Zealanders off to participate in the unlimited slaughter of innocents on behalf of US corporate interests. Unlimited because there is no exit plan. Slaughter because that’s what war is. And innocents because, well, they just get in the way of John Key’s simpering lick-spittle acquiescent colonial cringe. Fingers crossed John Key doesn’t have to deal with anything too complicated when the body bags start coming home.
I don’t think he’s doing it on behalf of US corporate interests. He’s doing it on behalf of *NZ capitalist interests*. Just like Helen Clark sent a contingent from the NZ Army to Iraq in time to meet the deadline for NZ companies to bid on ‘reconstruction’ contracts.
The NZ government represents the interests of NZ capital. Usually those interests coincide with those of US capital, but not always. And when they don’t, NZ doesn’t join in.
Actually, NZ capital is especially aggressive. In the late 1800s NZ was called “The Prussia of the South Pacific”. It was always trying to grab this or that island. Nothing whatever to do with the US or Britain. In fact, NZ capital was so aggressive that the Brits had to restrain it from time to time.
The left in this country is, in my view, far too nationalist. We always blame someone else – like America – when actually the problem is often our own ruling class. It’s them we have to fight first and foremost.
I don’t think he’s doing it on behalf of US corporate interests. He’s doing it on behalf of *NZ capitalist interests*. Just like Helen Clark sent a contingent from the NZ Army to Iraq in time to meet the deadline for NZ companies to bid on ‘reconstruction’ contracts.
The NZ government represents the interests of NZ capital. Usually those interests coincide with those of US capital, but not always. And when they don’t, NZ doesn’t join in.
Actually, NZ capital is especially aggressive. In the late 1800s NZ was called “The Prussia of the South Pacific”. It was always trying to grab this or that island. Nothing whatever to do with the US or Britain. In fact, NZ capital was so aggressive that the Brits had to restrain it from time to time.
The left in this country is, in my view, far too nationalist. We always blame someone else – like America – when actually the problem is often our own ruling class. It’s them we have to fight first and foremost.
Fair nuff – but – what is the difference between NZ capitalist interests and US corporate interests?
Yes, I am aware of what New Zealand did to Samoa. shame on us. And yes again: I agree that the working class in New Zealand has a staunch, if somewhat myopic, nationalism about it. Nothing wrong with maintaining a strong emotional attachment to New Zealand and being ready to fight on its behalf but, as you suggest, its wise that we know exactly who the enemy is and what the battle is really all about, Without a rational approach to counter the myopia, emotions are far too easily stirred up by whomever is paying the Crosby/Textors of this world. Those sorts of New Zealanders in our midst far prefer to see the working classes in different nations fighting amongst themselves while each country’s treasury and resources are looted.
Nice web site, by the way. While somewhat familiar with some Marxist terms I’m feeling the need to get a better grasp of his work. Got a “Dummies Guide To” link at all?
emotions are far too easily stirred up by whomever is paying the Crosby/Textors of this world. Those sorts of New Zealanders in our midst far prefer to see the working classes in different nations fighting amongst themselves while each country’s treasury and resources are looted.
It’s important that progressive people in New Zealand gain familiarity with the background in Syria and Iraq in order to organise effectively against NZ state intervention in this part of the world.
Thanks, Phil. I’m going to go through your posts when I have a bit of quiet time in the evening.
After watching Years of Living Dangerously, a good, but in parts flawed look at climate change, I was interested in Thomas Friedman’s segments regarding the impact the Syrian drought (2007-2010) had on creating the conditions for unrest. A few of the episodes interviewed Syrian rebels that were essentially traditional farmers, who were unable to provide for their families because the drought had made their generationally farmed land arid. The government ignored their calls for assistance.
I will admit very scant knowledge of the ongoing Syria conflict, but if being unable to provide for your family is why so many got involved, I can understand that compulsion.
Labour puts up a cordon of black-suited thugs to block out protest sign.
Do they think this is the way to protect Andrew Little?
Waitangi, 6 February 2015
On television this morning, Labour leader Andrew Little was being interviewed. As all too often, sadly, his words were vague and fairly confused: he failed to condemn John Key’s disgraceful and inappropriate misuse of his Waitangi platform to push for New Zealand to join in the “fight against ISIS”. Instead of saying something principled and intelligent, Little babbled about “effectiveness” and lack of mission clarity. He could have mentioned the fact that the U.S. and U.K. governments have armed and rhetorically supported ISIS in its murderous insurrection in Syria, that New Zealand has endorsed all of this bloody dealing, and that stopping THAT support would be the most immediately effective means of combating ISIS.
While Little droned on, behind him, protestors were holding up a sign that read “MAORI SOVEREIGNTY IS GOOD FOR ALL NZERS”. I know that’s what it read, but viewers watching this morning’s interview were prevented from reading the words because a phalanx of black-suited thugs deliberately stood in front of the sign.
I could identify one of the thugs: it was Palmerston North’s undistinguished M.P. Iain Lees-Galloway. I don’t know if the other thugs were Labour Party apparatchiki, but I strongly suspect they were.
A couple of women, clearly frustrated and disgusted at Lees-Galloway and his fellow censors, were politely remonstrating with them, and perhaps asking the police to move them away. No matter how polite they were, the police did nothing.
Why is the Labour Party trying to block democratic, peaceful protestors?
And why don’t the television crews simply walk past the likes of Lees-Galloway and his black-suited mafia lookalikes and interview the protestors?
That is the problem, sadly. If you know nothing about what the United States has been doing in Syria for the last three years, then you will not be aware of the hypocrisy of Key’s words yesterday, or of the failure of Little to put that hypocrisy into any kind of context.
If you do a little reading, weka, and actually school yourself up on the situation, you WILL see a problem with what Little said, and with what he failed to say.
Little isn’t talking about Syria or the US or FJK, or anything other than Māori sovereignty and that NZ needs to look at self-governance in the context of modern nation stated. Not a blacksuit or protestor in sight.
Which leaves us with a bunch of slurs from whatever it is you saw that you haven’t linked to. As TRP points out below, you are notoriously uneven in your accuracy, so your comment just came across as pretty useless for anything other than demonstrating what you think of Little and a Labour MP.
Maybe instead of being a patronising fuckwit you could do some research of your own.
Little DID talk about ISIS this morning, even though he failed to say anything that made much sense about it. And you’re quite right—he did not talk about Syria. That’s the problem—he’s too frightened to state the glaringly obvious, because the government would immediately whip up an hysterical political firestorm about how Labour supports Assad.
2.) Not a blacksuit or protestor in sight.
The blacksuits were in sight this morning for anyone watching television, as Little droned on confusedly about why it’s maybe not a good idea to get into the “fight against ISIS.” The protestors were pretty much blocked out by the blacksuits.
3.) Which leaves us with a bunch of slurs from whatever it is you saw that you haven’t linked to.
I reported factually about the deliberate blocking off of peaceful protestors in a public forum, by a cordon of Labour Party men. The only possible “slur” in my reporting was my labeling of Lees-Galloway and his cronies as “thugs”. If they are were not behaving as thugs, what word would YOU use to describe people who deliberately stand in front of peaceful protestors in a public space?
4.) As TRP points out below, you are notoriously uneven in your accuracy, so your comment just came across as pretty useless for anything other than demonstrating what you think of Little and a Labour MP.
Could you cite an example of my being inaccurate, let alone “notoriously” inaccurate on this or any other forum? I described exactly what Lees-Galloway and some other men did to block off some peaceful, silent protestors this morning. Are you trying to say they did not do that? You might disagree with my interpretation of what Lees-Galloway and his cronies did; I think their behaviour was sinister and profoundly anti-democratic, whereas you evidently think it’s acceptable for a political party to use people to shut down law-abiding protestors. I obviously don’t approve of such anti-democratic behaviour, but my description of the action was perfectly true. Not according to YOU, however. So please tell us: how exactly was my report of Lees-Galloway’s actions “uneven in accuracy”?
By the way, my friend, here’s a little advice: on this blog, starting a sentence with the formula “As TRP points out” is a sure-fire way to instantly discredit oneself. Your co-opting of our favorite Party apparatchik is about the funniest mis-step since…. well, since THIS howler, when a bloke cites Winston Peters to bolster his case….
Ha ha ha, keep ’em coming, Moz, this is quality stuff! We’ve really gotta get you on the telly. I’m thinking a sitcom, maybe a monkey sidekick? All we need is a catchphrase and a title. The rest just writes itself.
ffs, you do a rant, and provide a link that doesn’t show anything of what you are ranting about. A few people point out that you’re not making sense. You ignore this and continue with the rant. And now you want to claim you were being accurate?
“The link I provided is not that clear, sorry.”
No. The link is perfectly clear, it’s Andrew Little talking about Māori sovereignty. What isn’t clear is your post, and subsequent comments when you already knew the link didn’t match your story.
You’ve been called many times on how you write up the ‘transcripts’ off things like RNZ, so don’t make out you are not aware of this reputation.
At this point in the conversation I don’t give a shit about your views on Little and Lees Galoway, because you’ve demonstrated that what’s important is your view rather than communicating what happened with accuracy or respect for the people reading here. By all means keep justifying and defending, but your original comment is full of slurs, not just one slur but many. That wouldn’t be so bad (this is ts after all), but there is nothing in your comment that has substance beyond “I don’t like what Little and LG just did”.
“If they are were not behaving as thugs, what word would YOU use to describe people who deliberately stand in front of peaceful protestors in a public space?”
I don’t know, because I have no fucking idea what you are talking about. All it’s assertion, done badly, and with so mych ego shit in it it’s too hard to see what’s real. Up your game, mate. You’re better than this and IMO Waitangi Day is not the day to do this shit.
I described, clearly and unambiguously, the anti-democratic actions carried out by Andrew Little’s self-styled security corps. I labeled those fellows “thugs”, which you might disagree with—but I see you have not come up with any better description of them.
Little DID talk—foggily—about ISIS and our response to the “threat” it poses. You can pretend he didn’t if you like—it’s your credibility on the line.
2.) You’ve been called many times on how you write up the ‘transcripts’ off things like RNZ, so don’t make out you are not aware of this reputation.
This has been done to death many times on this forum. Yes, sometimes I’ll miss out something from one of my rush transcripts, and sometimes I might emphasise the stupidity and inarticulateness of, say, Hekia Parata, a little too much for some people’s liking. But inevitably, those objections have been shown to be politically motivated—the shenanigans started with poor old Lanthanide, who objected to my transcripts because they showed up the moral idiocy of not only a bewildered politician, but also of his own thinking…..
Others to jump on the “inaccurate transcripts” bandwagon were such nasty and disreputable customers as McFlock, Populuxe and of course Te Reo Putake, formerly known as The Voice of Reason. In every case, the “inaccurate transcripts” line was used as a way to attack me in the absence of their being able to muster a convincing argument against me. Their absurd and wildly exaggerated shouting about the “inaccuracy” of my transcripts started almost as soon as I started to post up stories about the U.K. regime’s persecution of Julian Assange—articles by people like Noam Chomsky, John Pilger and Daniel Ellsberg. My posting of those articles enraged McFlock, Populuxe and Te Reo Putake, because they contradicted and thereby exposed their own credulity and viciousness in that shameful matter.
Of course, I like everyone else make mistakes—this morning’s dud link for the Andrew Little interview is a case in point. However, to magnify and absurdly jump up and down about the odd missed word, as Te Reo and his chums have done consistently, is neither fair nor reasonable.
3.) …IMO Waitangi Day is not the day to do this shit.
So ordinary citizens should not say anything on Waitangi Day. I presume, then, that you are also opposed to Andrew Little and John Key talking about anything on Waitangi Day?
Not even going to bother reading that. If you won’t listen to what other people are saying, then there is no point. I read your first comment, followed the link and there was nothing in that video that matched what you are claiming. All the mess that has followed is a consequence of you thinking your views are more important than communicating effectively. If you had stopped and listened to what TRP and myself had said, you could have clarified and relinked. But instead you are just reposting the same old shit.
To be fair to poor, bewildered Moz, he presumably saw an earlier clip than the one that is in the link. But he is wrong to characterise the Labour MP’s as thugs and Winston also told them the ‘protesters’ to do one. The one photo I’ve seen seems to show middle class pakeha holding the banner, so probably not all that authentic anyway.
I described something—a cordon of black-suited men blocking off a protest sign—that no one can dispute happened. Could you explain your use of the prejudicial epithet “bewildered” please?
But he is wrong to characterise the Labour MP’s as thugs
They were deliberately blocking off a sign held by peaceful protestors. They are anti-democratic thugs.
…and Winston also told them the ‘protesters’ to do one.
Winston Peters! And John Ansell! And Allen Titford! And Matthew Hooton! And Blubberguts Slater!
The one photo I’ve seen seems to show middle class pakeha holding the banner, so probably not all that authentic anyway.
I neither stated nor implied that the protestors were Māori. Is it Labour policy now that only Māori are “authentic”?
Poor Moz, life really is passing you by, isn’t it? I’m not Labour, bud, and I can laugh at middle class tossers trying to keep the spirit of Rick from the Young Ones alive whenever I feel like it.
Ps, this morning’s word ‘o’ the day is hyperbole. Look it up if you have time.
(Me, I don’t have any more time. Off to Wembley Park, Whanganui to huff and puff around the football field in the NZ Masters. Wish me luck Standardistas, I’ll need it!)
“and I can laugh at middle class tossers trying to keep the spirit of Rick from the Young Ones alive whenever I feel like it.”
Me too. Among the nuggets of informed opinion, The standard gives me a daily dose of guffaws and chortles, though I doubt very many are middle class, in fact, some are quite classless if you know what I mean.
The trouble is: Andrew Little did not talk about the issues, he avoided them. He is mealy-mouthed and afraid to speak plainly. It’s an on-going problem with Labour leaders, I’m afraid.
Wow. Labour leader fail to consult notoriously innacurate blog poster before speaking to media. So that’s where we’ve been going wrong these last few years. I’ve let McCarten know and no doubt he’ll be in touch pronto, Moz. Stand by your phone!
How is what I described at all inaccurate? Did Lees-Galloway and others in black suits deliberately block out that protest sign or not?
You have recently, I note, been taken to task by Paul over your strategy of launching into demeaning personal attacks. It’s an unpleasant habit that does nothing to enhance your credibility.
“Backtracking”? Everything you say is couched in the most demeaning and negative fashion possible. I conceded that the word “thug” is a value-laden term. I think it is appropriate for people who illegally block the right of peaceful protestors to hold up a sign, but some people might disagree with that.
I do not “backtrack” or resile from what I wrote this morning: it is quite clear and beyond refutation what Lees-Galloway and his cronies—yes, that’s another value-laden word—were up to.
What do YOU call people who illegally stop citizens from protesting in a public place?
“What do YOU call people who illegally stop citizens from protesting in a public place?”
and you have used the term “illegally” a few other times when referring to this incident.
How does being ‘blocked’ from view during an on camera interview suddenly equate to people being “illegally” stopped from protesting?
Were the protesters you referred to manhandled away?
Were they evicted from the grounds of Waitangi?
Or did some suits simply stand between them and the camera?
Rude, certainly, but illegal?
At /open-mike-06022015/#comment-964190 You wrote “but viewers watching this morning’s interview were prevented from reading the words because a phalanx of black-suited thugs deliberately stood in front of the sign.”
How is this an illegal act?
Do you concede that your language use is getting a bit extreme in describing a situation which is no different to almost every other TV broadcast ever held at Waitangi?
…you have used the term “illegally” a few other times describing this incident.
I used the word advisedly, and accurately.
How does being ‘blocked’ from view during an on camera interview suddenly equate to people being “illegally” stopped from protesting?
You put the word “blocked” in scare quotes as if it didn’t actually happen. It did happen, and it was illegal, just as it would be illegal for me to accost you and prevent you from carrying out an entirely legal action, such as walking down the street or looking at a sign on a shop-front. The Labour Party is not the police force. They had no right to prevent those protestors from showing that sign.
Were the protesters you referred to manhandled away?
Were they evicted from the area?
or did some suits simply stand between them and the camera?
Rude, certainly, but illegal?
Rudeness is not the issue here, the issue is that they formed a physical barrier, and illegally prevented the protestors from making their protest in a public place. The action of Lees-Galloway and his cronies was illegal.
How is this an illegal act?
Nobody—certainly not the Labour Party—has the right to stop a citizen legally stating an opinion in a reasonable, orderly way, in a public place.
Do you concede that your language use is getting a bit extreme in describing a situation which is no different to almost every other TV broadcast ever held at Waitangi?
If there was a problem with order, it was the job of the police to sort it out. The Labour Party is not permitted to employ anyone to stop people protesting. Protestors, just as much as politicians, have the right to be seen, and heard, in a public forum.
The ‘blocked’ was meant to be in quotation marks as it was taken directly from your comments. My apologies for that error.
Please don’t take this the wrong way Morrisey, or think I am telling you to be quiet but maybe take a break and go for a walk or something, fresh air is a good thing and it helps with perspective.
Well, we must be listening to a different Andrew Little, I am constantly reassured how “on the nail” he is , and find him very refreshing when listening to any other “soundbite, poll driven “politician.
I think it is black and white thinking that got us into this mess,
What on earth do you mean by “black and white thinking”?
the issue is one to grapple with, not dog whistle
And Little will not grapple with the issue. If he did, he would raise the issue of our government’s continued support for ISIS in its bloody campaign in Syria.
Haven’t seen the video etc but when my leader is being interviewed I would not want to have other messages becoming distractions to his message.
What would we have said had the interruptions come from youth doing hand signs, or people saying ‘Hi, mum” or celebrity gate crashers?
It could be argued that the ones breaking protocol, being nuisances, being unhelpful, being invasive, those at fault might be the sign holders. As in the case of the t-shirt protester in Australia, or others who are rude, boundaries can be crossed where even Popes have their tolerance stretched.
As I say, I’ve not seen the situation. All I am doing is saying there could be, and usually is, another point of view. And ‘thugs’, morrissey, might be just too strong a word. Do you have another agenda involving Little or Lees-Galloway?
Black suits can be, by the way, a sign of respect shown by visitors wearing their best formal clothes.
I also acknowledge the sign holders who have strong views and feel they need to get their message across. Their particular issue was referred to positively by Little in his korero, was it not?
when my leader is being interviewed I would not want to have other messages becoming distractions to his message.
Then “my leader” needs to conduct interviews in a studio, and not in a public space.
What would we have said had the interruptions come from youth doing hand signs, or people saying ‘Hi, mum” or celebrity gate crashers?
The protestors were doing none of those things. They were quiet, orderly and dignified.
It could be argued that the ones breaking protocol, being nuisances, being unhelpful, being invasive, those at fault might be the sign holders.
No, that could not be argued. The protestors were quiet, orderly, dignified throughout.
And ‘thugs’, morrissey, might be just too strong a word.
Do you have another agenda involving Little or Lees-Galloway?
I have often criticised Little before today—not for being “colourless” as some trivial media naysayers have done, but for the very qualities he showed today: a failure to speak plainly and honestly. I have taken little notice of Lees-Galloway before his disgraceful performance this morning. Maybe I shouldn’t blame him however; perhaps he was merely carrying out orders from one of those clever Labour Party tacticians who have done so much to make Labour a respected political voice for the last six years.
Black suits can be, by the way, a sign of respect shown by visitors wearing their best formal clothes.
In this case, however, they were a sign of disrespect and contempt for the rights of people to demonstrate in a public place.
I also acknowledge the sign holders who have strong views and feel they need to get their message across. Their particular issue was referred to positively by Little in his korero, was it not?
If Little was sincere about that, he would have told Lees-Galloway and the others in that cordon to sit down.
You say “Then “my leader” needs to conduct interviews in a studio, and not in a public space.’
I would ask where the studio is upon a marae? Also, politicians are most often interviewed in open, public spaces. That is generated by being where the politicians actually are, and by the needs of the interviewers.
And you say, “In this case, however, they were a sign of disrespect and contempt for the rights of people to demonstrate in a public place.”
They were a sign for you, Morrissey, but they would have worn the clothes out of respect for the place and occasion. This is the heart of my disagreement with you. An action takes place which you disapprove of, and everything becomes coloured by that- black in this case.
I am glad that the sign carriers were quiet and dignified. To have been other wise would have reflected upon their message. So, too, does exaggeration (black suits, thugs) reflect upon your message.
There were any number of rooms available if, as seems to be the case, Little wanted to exclude any possible demonstrations by ordinary citizens. He chose to do the interview in public territory.
2.) I am glad that the sign carriers were quiet and dignified.
I am pleased that you recognize that. Perhaps next time you will think carefully before equating democratic, responsible, law-abiding demonstrators with “youth doing hand signs, or people saying ‘Hi, mum” or celebrity gate crashers… breaking protocol, being nuisances, being unhelpful, being invasive, … rude”.
3.) …exaggeration (black suits, thugs)…
The men in the cordon were wearing black suits, which is what I described. How is that “exaggeration”? You may reasonably disagree with my labeling those men as “thugs”—so what would YOU call people who—illegally—block off signs held up in a public forum?
1.) Why did you link to something showing not what you describe..? in fact contradicting what you claim..
I clicked on the link, as it was the first one that came up after I googled “andrew little waitangi isis” this morning. You’re correct that it doesn’t exactly show what I described, but how does it “in fact contradict” what I claimed?
2.) ..and..are you sure u aren’t getting confused with the interview with key….where two large burly men wearing small backpacks….stood backs to camera..blocking protestors/a sign/banner from view….if not..cd u plse link to the footage u describe..
No, Phillip, I am not confused between Key and Little. I didn’t see Key’s interview, but I did see Little’s, and I did see a phalanx of Mafia types, including Ian Lees-Galloway, deliberately masking out the protestors’ sign. It was on either Television One or TV3 this morning, live. I think it was TV3.
Morrissey, the link you provided had an interview with Little. A wharenui in the background, two people standing in the porch. No mafia, black suits, dark glasses, thuggery, stand over tactics, deliberate blocking, masking, not even Ian Lees-Galloway.
Sorry I’ve been wasting your time writing about something that doesn’t seem to have…….. happened.
Ps, Moz, Iain LG is a long way from “undistinguished”. He has held Palmy against a concerted effort from the Tories for 3 elections and for one term was the only provincial Labour MP. He successfully promoted David Cunliffe for the leadership, and was elected as junior whip. He clearly has Andrew Little’s ear as well. Even more significantly, he has also built a formidable local electorate team that is easily the best in Labour for canvassing and publicity and is a model for how to campaign successfully. Even John Key acknowleged his work, commenting to Banksie in the teapot tapes that he was unbeatable in the seat.
He also turned off many workers who enjoyed 3 or 4 handles of beer after work
, by pushing a bill to cut alcohol limits for drivers. National were forced to lower the limit against their will, something that wasn’t lost at the booths.
Eh? NZ lining up with the rest of the developed countries in their driving/alcohol limits was not an issue for anybody at the election. I like a beer or three myself, but I cut my consumption to match the new limit if I’m driving. Simples.
I note that brewers are brewing to the new laws. My favourite brewery now puts out a 2.4% golden ale which is very enjoyable but far less destructive than my favourite tipple of theirs which is 7%- basically three times the strength. My own Friday night drinking mates hoe into the 2.4% with no complaint.
Yes my local watering hole has started putting out a superb 3% pilsner, usually have 3℅ triple hops pilsner at home, 2 stubbies = 2 standard drinks. Friends visiting know where they stand if driving afterwards.
And I’ll bet they charge you as much, if not more, for the ‘New legal limit’ beer.
No thanks. I’d rather take the Full tasting and Full Alcohol beers home, to enjoy them where I won’t be ripped off over the price of Beer, finger foods or soft drinks/water. The last time I went to the Pub they wanted $9.00 for a stubbie of Heineken, I said no went to the Supermarket and bought a dozen for $23.00 and went home.
I had a close look at skinny’s numbers with the same concern. Four 500 ml handles at 4% equals six standard drinks which would put an 85kg male on the doubtful limit after two hours drinking at the old 80 mg limit.
There was nothing wrong with the old limit. Drinking sensibly with a bite to eat, knowing your limits up to the legal limit. Very few road deaths were recorded up to and under the old limit. Tourist’s account for far more road fatilites. Alcopop’s and the young not a good mix. Fast cars green drivers, the list goes on.
Cocaine will do that for you. You can drink a bottle of vodka and the next morning do a line of coke and go to work totally straight as an airline pilot or whatever. Drugs are good!
I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the old limits. They were difficult to exceed by accident. The new ones aren’t, and therefore raise more revenue.
This link has got it all. A look at how multistorey housing can look good even in close confines. Set on a beautiful river and not dominated by huge hotels blocking the scenery. A pleasant looking architectural style for accommodation adopted as a standard for a large area, doesn’t have to look like our property developers South Auckland edifices with porticos you might stab yourself under, which seem an impediment to feelings of happiness and enjoyment of home when viewed from outside.
And on top of it all a large proportion of the music makers of the area acting out a flashmob event of the Blues Brothers theme, accompanied by drums on land and river.
This is – anecdotally – one reason for the high number of disqualified votes in Maori electorates: many people wrongly assume they’re on one roll or the other and thus use the wrong voting form (I’m not sure of the technicalities, just reporting what I’ve heard.) There’s a real lack of information for people at election time about needing to check which roll they’re on, or when they’re able to make the decision to change rolls.
i was listening to a Kiwiana goes pop cd I bought and heard Dave Jordan’s State House Song. I was thinking what a negative put-down. by someone who thinks that houses grow on trees.
So I looked him up. He had a reasonable start, teachers college, teacher, uni, overseas – just a little ignorant of reality. He married overseas, the wife returned to Brazil after he got mutiple sclerosis and so had to fend for himself. Finally some friends provided him with a home till he died.
Not video, but here’s a report including quoting Key,
Mr Key says he doesn’t think there is room for Maori to have self-rule or self-governance in some areas of the country.
“The Crown’s view is that sovereignty was ceded in 1840, but ceded to a modern New Zealand that was built for all New Zealanders,” he told reporters at Waitangi.
I heard that the the Ngāi Tūhoe tribe already independently manage some of their tribal affairs. So, need not necessarily divide the country. No harm in discussing and exploring the possibilities and see how and if it can be mutually beneficial. There may be other countries with precedents.
Would be interesting to see ACT’s and Seymour’s view on this, as well as that of the Maori MPs, Parata etc in the National party.
All style, no substance. A “prime minister” who can’t even run a department. Had no idea what the DPMC was up to, tourism is run by MBIE, and he fobbed the security services onto Finlayson.
Maybe this is why Key wants our flag changed?….to get rid of NZer’s sense of sovereignty?
A Very interesting discussion and debate on Crosstalk and relevant to NZ and TPPA ie issues of financial control imposed and loss of sovereignty/democracy and dictatorship by wealthy bankers and corporates in Europe …and now revolt in Europe …and maybe internationally it is just beginning as the German analyst/ commentator suggested
‘Euro-revolt?’
“Euro-revolt! First Greece and now maybe Spain. Grassroots democracy from the left appears to be making a comeback in Europe. This is interesting in itself because the political right is doing the same. Can Europe’s elitist political status quo be maintained?”
CrossTalking with Iain Begg, Robert Oulds, and Ernst Wolff.
My idealistic position on the role of MPs was articulated by Edmund Burke: ‘Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.’read more ...
When she was running for election, Jacinda Ardern called climate change "my generation's nuclear-free moment". It was meant to convey a sense of both the scale and moral imperitive of the challenge. So how is her government meeting that challenge? ...
In its Open Government Partnership National Action Plan, the government promised to "Test the merits of undertaking a review of the Official Information Act 1982 and provide and publish advice to Government". Originally, they planned to do this in secret, ...
Having spent the last 3 months in these countries and getting some appreciation of their dependence on fossil fuels – oil, gas, coal – one realises how loopy is the idea popular in societies like New Zealand that have negligible ...
In the wake of the March 15 mass-murder, the government moved swiftly to ban semi-automatic firearms, weapons for which there is really no case for being allowed to own in New Zealand. and now, it has announced phase two of ...
Local body politicians are concerned that the hostile online environment might deter people from running, and want British-style laws to prevent "online attacks". So what sorts of attacks are they concerned about? Death threats (illegal under the Crimes Act)? Sustained ...
When allegations emerged that civilians had been killed during an SAS raid in Afghanistan, NZDF was absolutely unequivocal in its denials, both the Ministers and the public. Since then, we've learned that they were well aware that there were reports ...
Over the past few months, we've seen a number of local authorities respond to public pressure over climate change by declaring a climate emergency. So what should they do next? Writing in The Spinoff, Sarah Thomson has some suggestions. Most ...
I have been unimpressed with Western corporate media coverage of the tensions involving Iran in the Straits of Hormuz. They repeat the line that Iran is the source of current tensions, that it is a major sponsor of terrorism, that ...
Victory, But Not Ours: Trump uses his deplorable words in exactly the same way as C.S. Lewis' wicked queen, Jadis, used her single 'Deplorable Word'. To win – no matter what the cost. He knows the power of words. He ...
Seeking Refuge: Were Jesus, Mary and Joseph fleeing persecution in Palestine or Judea? Were they Palestinians or Jews? Green MP, Golriz Ghahraman, in describing the Holy Family as Palestinian refugees, touched off a firestorm of controversy, demonstrating the sinister ease ...
Much like Tuvalu, the manmade climate change Cult love to tell people the Maldives is almost totally underwater. In fact the dishonest Maldives Govt d on the same bandwagon, believing they would receive billions of dollars aid from other Countries ...
According to every manmade climate change cultist on Earth, the pacific islands of Tuvalu are being flooded by rising sea levels. In fact, incredibly even a google search will bring up an immediate claim the islands are almost underwater! The ...
Firstly, it’s important you know that I am not paid by fossil fuel companies, nor do I have any association with them at all, and in fact I’m not a fan of any industry that doesn’t do it’s best to ...
As the entry on Wikipedia shows (and no, one doesn’t necessarily have to regard Wikipedia as the be-all and end-all of truth, because it isn’t on a great many things, to agree with the following): “…a fallacious argument that concludes ...
by Daphna Whitmore The story of how the world awoke to a big injustice is starting to be told. The Pacific Games held this month in Samoa is another chapter. On the podium was Laurel Hubbard, the giant transgender weightlifter, ...
Our conversations and push against specific supremacist and ultra-Nationalist groups, and the pseudo-intellectual underpinnings of them, need to mature at all levels. But in doing so, it’s going to have to include a more thorough and brutally honest self-examination ...
Why do so many people mistrust the police? Because they pull shit like this:The police are flouting the rules on breath testing, carrying out tests in people's homes to catch them out sometimes up to two hours after they were ...
I have been reading and listening to the aftermath of Trump’s comments about the four female first term Democratic representatives, all of whom are “people of color.” I found the US coverage interesting both as evidence of partisanship and the ...
The Herald reports that the housing shortage / bubble has hit a new level:New Zealand is short of 130,000 homes, the tally having risen lately by 30,000, two economists say. Jarrod Kerr and Jeremy Couchman, Kiwibank economists said: "This time ...
Milk producer Fonterra is one of New Zealand's biggest coal-users, using it to power all its South Island (and a few of its North Island) dairy factories. They'd previously "committed" to not building any new coal boilers after 2030. Now, ...
The proposed Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill treats biogenic methane emissions differently from all other carbon emissions. The latter are to be measured net so that emissions from fossil fuels can be offset by carbon stored in trees. ...
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh This article aims to answer a simple question, whether the conflict is only a rural one or whether it is also urban. The verb ‘to be’ is conjugated in the present tense as ,despite what some ...
Yesterday the government released its discussion document on action on agricultural emissions. As sadly usual, it proposed enormous subsidies for farm emissions, including for nitrogen-based fertiliser. This is a huge mistake. In addition to being one of the chief drivers ...
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Justice conducted a public consultation exercise on whether to hold a review of the Official Information Act (this replaced their previous plans to hold a secret consultation with handpicked people). 285 people submitted on ...
Always Playing Catch-Up: Throughout the 1970s, the purchasing power of the ordinary worker’s pay packet – the only meaningful measure of his or her wealth – was being eaten away every passing year by seemingly inexorable rises in the cost-of-living. ...
The Interim Climate Change Committee's report on Action on agricultural emissions: Evidence, analysis and recommendations was finally released today, and as you might guess from the title, it is recommending that we actually act, rather than let farmers keep ...
On Sunday July 7, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter announced their intention to review the Ministry of Health’s Funded Family Care policy and repeal Part 4Aof the 2000 NZ Public Health and Disability Act. These are festering injustices ...
Agriculture is our biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for 48% of the total. It follows that meeting any credible emissions reduction target requires cutting agricultural emissions, most likely by having fewer cows. But National thinks people shouldn't be ...
How scummy is the UK Home Office? This scummy:The Home Office lied to EU member states to remove victims of human trafficking and modern slavery in breach of European law, according to whistleblowers. Legal experts have said the practice is ...
Belle is a lovely fifteen year-old border collie who belongs to our friends and neighbours at Bryan’s Beach, Michael and Judy Corboy. Belle, in her old age, can hardly see or hear, but – as a constant participant at social ...
“We wuz robbed!” is the classic cry of the disappointed losers of a closely contested sporting contest – it is very much to the credit of the Black Caps that we heard no such sentiment from them following the stunning ...
The Youth Parliament is being held this week, and some of the youth MPs are campaigning for a lower voting age:Molly Doyle, 17, is one Youth MP who wants this to change. She is part of a non-partisan campaign run ...
Up till now, Australia has made its living by digging up coal and exporting it to other countries, destroying the global climate in the process. But now they have a new option: exporting solar power:The desert outside Tennant Creek, deep ...
Later this month, thousands of people are expected to march to parliament as part of the #HandsOffOurTamaraki movement. At its heart, the movement is about preserving whānau and demanding that the state stop removing children from their whānau, hapū and iwi. ...
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh The recent statements made by the former FARC commander, Carlos Lozada (legal name Julian Gallo), where, from his seat in Congress, he praised the Colombian Army demonstrate how low the farianos have sunk. Lozada began by ...
A Woman’s Place is on the Podium was a public meeting in London on 10 July to discuss women’s sports and the impact of transwomen competing against women. The venue was sold out with a packed hall of 750 people. ...
Last month I talked about the no-fly movement: people who refuse to fly or limit it to absolute necessity to avoid destroying the climate. Now, that movement has a somewhat surprising new member: Dutch airline KLM:Dutch airline KLM has launched ...
In the 1960's, humanity faced a terrible threat: global thermonuclear war. Nuclear weapons were uniquely destructive and dangerous, and if more countries got them, the logic of MAD and the pre-emptive strike would put us on a hair-trigger to destruction. ...
An occasional series where I will ponder allegations of anti-Semitism directed at the British Labour Party and its members.In this case, we are thinking about an allegedly anti-Semitic image shared by a Labour Party member. Its origins appear to be ...
Matariki has been and gone, but this year we saw a couple of op-eds arguing that it should be a public holiday, replacing the foreign monarch's fake birthday. And now, New Zealand Republic - a group which campaigns for an ...
The discussion on the quality of economic advice, which we reported last week, has spilled over into a discussion about whether so many senior appointments should be of non-New Zealanders. Recall I discussed the failure to develop career paths within ...
When Nicky Hager revealed US footage of the Operation Burnham raid, obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act, one of the obvious questions was whether Ministers had seen it - and in particular, whether they'd been told that it ...
Northern Ireland is the Alabama of the UK: a backwards region where women and gay people are denied fundamental rights. But Westminster has just decided to fix that:MPs have voted resoundingly to extend same-sex marriage and access to abortion to ...
There's a problem with "synthetic cannabis", and not just the one you think. It's the name.We're in the midst of a wave of news stories that link synthetic drugs to serious harm, through deadly road accidents and accidental overdoses (which ...
Ranjit Kauri, The Dancing Maharani and Other Stories, Swansea, Head and Heart, 2019, £6.99; reviewed by Don Franks Working people are not the same country to country. Our struggles for a better life take place in surroundings of very different ...
Let's Do Them! All Jacinda Ardern has to do to clinch the 2020 General Election is frighten the bejesus out of the electorate by describing in the most graphic terms imaginable what will happen to all the positive beginnings her ...
It may be that we have all misinterpreted the somewhat surprising “bromance” between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. It has been all too easy to assume that it is Kim who is cosying up to Trump rather than the ...
by Michael Roberts So the full circle is completed. The corrupt pro-business conservative New Democracy party in Greece that was ousted by the anti-capitalist Syriza party in 2015 has been returned to office in yesterday’s general election, with an outright ...
When the Australian government passed a series of new spy laws over the last few years, they pinky-promised that they wouldn't use them to spy on journalists and subvert freedom of the press. They lied:The anti-encryption laws passed by the ...
From 1975 to 1989, the spy agencies of South America's right-wing military dictatorships cooperated in Operation Condor, a joint campaign of extermination against the continent's left. Roughly 400,000 people were imprisoned, 30,000 disappeared, and 60,000 murdered - kidnapped, tortured, executed, ...
When she was standing for office, Jacinda Ardern promised she would take abortion out of the Crimes Act. And to be fair, there was some early action on that, with an immediate referral of the issue to the Law Commission ...
When the government introduced the Zero Carbon Bill, people rightly asked what they planned to do to reduce transport emissions, which basicly had no policy at all other than the ETS. Today, they responded, announcing a "feebate" system which would ...
At almost every level, the problem with medicinal cannabis is a lack of good information. In the US, FDA regulations make it hard to research. Most doctors aren't familiar with what research there is and most patients don't know either. ...
Redline is critical of Corbyn for his political weaknesses, but he’s no anti-Semite. There is no substance to the McCarthyist witch-hunt being run by the right wing, and the pro-Israel lobby inside and outside the Labour Party in the UK. ...
The government's billion trees program is the sort of policy which could make a real difference to our emissions and the fight against climate change. But climate scientist Jim Salinger isn't convinced:The Forestry Minister Shane Jones' one billion trees won't ...
Last month the government was celebrating another surplus. Meanwhile, children are starving:One in five children are living in households where putting food on the table is a struggle, according to a new report from the Ministry of Health. It found ...
Show Me The Money! The alternative to state funding of infrastructure is, of course, to fund it by taking on massive amounts of private debt. On this issue, at least, Auckland mayoral challenger, Tamihere, has some solid points to make. ...
If we are to avoid making the earth uninhabitable, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to practically nothing over the next decade. But that will still leave us with the problem of the carbon we have already emitted, which ...
Former Waikato DHB CEO Nigel Murray allegedly misused public funds, spending more than $120,000 of public money on unjustified travel. He was forced to resign and the Serious Fraud Office began an investigation. But despite the SFO finding that the ...
Jeremy Corbyn, we are told, is being advised – not least by his deputy (as well as by some of his would-be successors) – that he must come “off the fence” on the Brexit issue if he wants to bolster ...
The End of Life bill has been read a second time and is now heading for the House for further debate. Personally, I support the proposal. I don't ever epect to take advantage of the Bill's provisions myself, but as ...
Before the substantive issue which this column is about – whether there has been a deterioration in the economic advice given to the government – a paragraph about the budget leaks.read more ...
Below is a translation of the editorial in the June 24 round of weekly workplace bulletins issued all over France by the revolutionary workers’ organisation Lutte Ouvriere. Last Saturday, 8,000 people took to the streets of Belfort (eastern France) to ...
Why hasn't Parliament followed the lead set by our local authorities and declared a climate emergency? The answer is the National Party:The Prime Minister’s admission that she is open to the idea of declaring a climate change emergency is nothing ...
The first full week of the firearms buy-back and amnesty has produced a strong turnout as events roll out nationwide for the first time. “Momentum is slowly starting to build as community collection events are held across the entire country, ...
A new digital platform aims to make it easier for small businesses to access services from multiple government agencies, leaving them more time to focus on their own priorities. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Small Business Stuart Nash ...
Million-dollar start to gun collection eventsPolice Minister Stuart Nash says a solid start has been made to the gun buyback and amnesty after the first weekend of community collection events. “Gun owners will walk away with more than ...
Police Minister Stuart Nash has praised Police and gun owners after the first firearms collection event saw a busy turnout at Riccarton Racecourse in Christchurch. “Police officers and staff have put a tremendous effort into planning and logistics for the ...
Seventy-eight new Police constables are heading out to the regions following today’s graduation of a new recruit wing from the Royal New Zealand Police College. Police Minister Stuart Nash says the record high number of new Police officers being recruited, ...
The New Zealand Deerstalkers Association says it will take an active role in the debate on proposed firearm law changes to ensure any future legislation is fair, reasonable and meets the needs of both firearm owners and the general public. ...
The latest Safety of Children in Care report reveals the scale of the challenge facing social workers as they act to better protect children / tamariki and young people / rangatahi in Oranga Tamariki in the system. While the statistics ...
The next round of proposed Arms Act Amendments will further alienate law abiding firearms licence holders from the Government, according to the NZ Outdoors Party. ...
The current law for dividing property on separation is out of date and in need of reform, the Law Commission concludes in its report, Review of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 – Te Arotake i te Property (Relationships) Act 1976 ...
First National Real Estate Chief Executive Bob Brereton is predicting that homes currently being built as part of a KiwiBuild development, in Te Kauwhata, will not sell and that the Government will be left with 175 homes and few, if ...
A short time ago, kaumatua and kuia representing mana whenua from Te Kawerau ā Maki, Te Ākitai Waiohua, and Tainui, walked onto the land that Fletcher Building owns at Ōruarangi Road, known as Ihumātao, and asked protestors to leave. ...
The Greenpeace climb of the Majestic Tower in Wellington is ignorant grandstanding says the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand (PEPANZ). ...
Tuesday, July 23: The two Greenpeace climbers who are scaling the outside of the tallest building in Wellington have unfurled the first of a series of banners. ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that an officer's decision to fire three warning shots to stop a fleeing driver from reversing towards him was not justified. ...
Government figures out today are consistent with what working people have told the Council of Trade Unions in our own survey, that a significant group of working Kiwis are unhappy and dissatisfied at work. Now the Government must act to ...
Deputy State Services Commissioner John Ombler has today announced the outcome of an examination of what led Inland Revenue to commission a public poll that included a question about the political leanings of taxpayers. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming Tracey Martin for wasting money on a meaningless “translation” of a written press statement into a sign language video, when the vast majority of any deaf or hard-of-hearing persons are perfectly capable of reading ...
Te Mana o Ngāti Rangitihi Trust (Te Mana) and Tūhourangi Tribal Authority (TTA) have announced that they will jointly negotiate with the Crown for the return of the lands at Waimangu and Otūkapuarangi. These lands have been at the centre ...
Government documents reveal the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) approved a shipment of cattle last month, despite the Government announcing a review into live export five days earlier. ...
“The Government’s second round of firearms reforms has hunters concerned that they will be burdened with onerous and unnecessary compliance and costs,” says Game Animal Council Chair Don Hammond. ...
The Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO) are concerned at the statements by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Police Minister Stuart Nash at the Post-Cabinet Press Conference this afternoon stating that firearm ownership and licences should ...
National’s Climate Change spokesperson Todd Muller told Q+A he has “total confidence” that technology will be developed to mitigate the effects of climate change. “To simply take the New Zealand agriculture sector which is the most emissions efficient ...
PM can’t say whether the Government will meet its KiwiBuild goals. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern couldn’t say whether the Government would meet its goal of building 16-thousand KiwiBuild homes by the end of its first term. She was interviewed on ...
Greenpeace climbers are scaling the outside of the Majestic Centre, the tallest building in Wellington, to reach the headquarters of Austrian oil giant, OMV. ...
Media statement on behalf of Sir Edward Taihākurei Durie and Donna Marie Tai Tokerau Hall: Māori Television has admitted publishing false allegations about former High Court justice, Sir Edward Taihākurei Durie, and his wife, Donna Hall, and it has ...
Announcement today by the Prime Minister of further gun law reform is being shrouded by fear, so that scrutiny of the law is seen as an affront to the victims of the horror attack in March. The Prime Minister acknowledged ...
Misgivings about the practicality and cost of a firearms register is likely to dominate feedback from rural areas on the second round of proposed Arms Act amendments, Federated Farmers says. ...
School Strike 4 Climate NZ organisers Sophie Handford and Raven Maeder delivered a clear message to over 600 local government mayors, chairs, chief executives and councillors at the recent LGNZ conference : make climate change a priority. ...
The Police Association, Te Aka Hāpai backs the government’s emphasis on public safety as the driver of its second tranche of amendments to New Zealand’s firearms law, announced today. ...
The growing housing shortage crisis about more than supply and demand- it is about inequity. Recently released analysis by Kiwibank shows that last year’s “severe” shortage of housing has worsened, with the shortfall growing from 100,000 to 130,0000 ...
One of the country’s largest district health boards has a severe shortage of hospital specialists, says the senior doctors’ union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is joining opposition to possible regulations on the strength of nicotine vaping liquid. Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “The Government would certainly benefit from regulations on the strength ...
The Meat Industry Association (MIA) is calling for significant changes to the Zero Carbon Bill with a new analysis using the Government’s preferred modelling indicating that the proposed methane targets are excessive if all other gases go to net zero. ...
Victoria University Feminist Organisation and ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa, in conjunction with the VUW Feminist Law Students, Organise Aotearoa, Fem Force, and with the support of VUW Student Association announced they are sponsoring a march ...
With the Government's firearm buyback scheme starting to draw over 30,000 police man hours away from fighting crime, the safety of law abiding citizens is being compromised. ...
Social Credit Party leader Chris Leitch is calling on the sale of Westland Milk to Chinese company Yili to be put on hold pending an approach to the Government by Westland Milk for funding assistance. ...
Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa seems intent on ensuring the Government’s vaping legislation will heavily target flavours and nicotine levels – a move that would be completely counterproductive to helping Kiwis quit smoking and achieving ...
A new website has launched in response to recent RNZ reporting about Police in Dunedin unlawfully entering people’s homes and breath-testing them. “I was disgusted when I saw what they cops were doing in Dunedin. Their behaviour undermines all of ...
Hundreds of whanau and Maori leaders gathered at a hui in Mangere last weekend where they voted unanimously for an inquiry into Oranga Tamariki. The historic meeting called for a child welfare framework to be developed by Maori, for Maori. ...
The Head of the New Zealand Maori Council has called for the Government to hold an immediate investigation into the global cosmetics company Sephora after they were caught dumping waste hundreds and thousands of waste paper products embedded with ...
Simon Shepherd: The government says its agreement with farmers, that they should pay for agricultural emissions, is historic. But there's no agreement on how. One proposal says farmers should pay a 5 per cent emissions tax. Another suggests farmers ...
The O’Brien Institute for Public Health at Calgary University has just released their report on fluoridation. This institute has, up to now, been staunchly in favour of fluoridation. However, yesterday, with regards to fluoride’s effect on the brain, ...
July 19 (BusinessDesk) - The government is looking to tighten control and impose harsher penalties after the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak revealed cracks in the country's stock management system. ...
Kia Anga Mua Ngā Hapū o Ngāpuhi (KAM) has reached a pivotal milestone following a hui yesterday at Waitangi with the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little. ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that the Government spent $133,530 on producing its ‘Wellbeing Budget’ document, a cost blowout largely driven by spending on graphic design and photography. The $133,530 price tag compares to $86,268 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Therese Keane, Associate Professor, Deputy Chair Department of Education, Swinburne University of Technology A cute human-like robot taught students in a small, rural school how to code while also helping them learn ...
After months of protest, the last occupants were moved off Ihumātao in south Auckland by police this afternoon. Don Rowe reports. Most of the occupants of Ihumātao had been moved on. The police, numbering at least 30, had finally made good ...
Hundreds of people marched to Parliament today calling for reform of New Zealand's abortion laws, as Cabinet prepares to consider a bill that would remove abortion from the Crimes Act. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The two Centre Alliance senators, Stirling Griff and Rex Patrick will often be pivotal to the fate of government legislation. The smaller non-Green Senate crossbench ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chongyi Feng, Associate Professor in China Studies, University of Technology Sydney Australian authorities have been told to stop interfering in the case of the Chinese-Australian writer Dr Yang Hengjun who has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tess Newton Cain, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Political Science & International Studies, The University of Queensland Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape is visiting Australia this week, his first overseas ...
The Greens may have achieved their sought-after mainstream credibility, and scored some wins in government, but commentators warn this will not necessarily result in more votes. On the contrary – it might even result in a loss of enthusiasm from ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsThe supposed end of the 20-year standoff between environmentalists and farmers was announced last week, with the release of the Interim Climate Change Committee’s report on “Action on agricultural emissions”. It was celebrated as an “historic consensus” ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s contentGovernment Joseph Nunweek (Spinoff): Jacinda Ardern and bringing the ...
The 2019 budget put aside $300m for venture capital for small to medium-sized startups with the hope it will allow businesses to grow locally and stay in New Zealand for longer. In a small rural town on the east coast ...
To give the Pacific a fighting chance Australia and NZ need to take a stand, writes a Fijian litigator and activist.Climate change is now an everyday reality for the Pacific. Its impact on our countries is undeniable. To remain within ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine Grové, Educational Psychologist and Lecturer, Monash University Curious Kids is a series for children. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au You might ...
Questions about political leanings in surveys by Inland Revenue, DOC and Stats NZ were inappropriate and had the potential to undermine political neutrality, a report has found. ...
Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little says he cannot understand why the previous government ever accepted Ngāpuhi's problematic Tūhoronuku mandate. ...
The Electricity Authority’s latest take on transmission prices has softened the expected hike in power prices for Aucklanders from $176 per year to $21 a year. ...
New Zealanders are as parochial about charity as they are about sport, with only a fraction of the money we donate leaving our shores or even going outside our local areas.Less than 9% of private donations in New Zealand go ...
Infrastructure investor Infratil is looking for potential buyers of a group of mature investments across Australia and NZ's health, education and prison sectors,according to the AFR. ...
A nightmarish and near-fatal high-speed pursuit of a New Zealand Chinese family concluded with a judge rejecting the prosecution’s request for hate crime sentencing. Tze Ming Mok discusses why New Zealand’s approach to hate crime is utterly useless.I don’t like ...
The Māori midwives on the frontline of whānau care and Oranga Tamariki scrutiny say their voices are going unheard and their wisdom unheeded.*All names have been changed to protect the privacy of those involvedNewsroom’s powerful investigation into Oranga Tamariki’s attempt ...
From fine art school graduates to hobbyists, magazine-making talent from all over the city is showcased in Auckland Zinefest. Lucy Zee went along to check out the zines and meet some makers.Aucklanders love a festival. If it’s not food, wine ...
Ngāpuhi and Te Rarawa artist Nikau Hindin has recently been taught by ancestors in Hawai’i the skills of beating tapa or barkcloth, reviving as contemporary form a Māori art largely lost after the extinction of the aute plant in Aotearoa. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has stopped short of committing to a declaration of climate emergency in Parliament, despite again saying she supports such a move. ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on the Australian authorities to drop all charges against four French TV journalists who – in what RSF called an “unacceptable attack on investigative journalism” – were arrested yesterday ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Neville Nicholls, Professor emeritus, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University This month the world has been celebrating the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong setting foot on the Moon. But this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Giancaspro, Lecturer in Law, University of Adelaide Viral photo app FaceApp has taken the world by storm. Launched in 2017, the app has recently enjoyed mass popularity due largely to Hollywood ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Barton, Chair in Global Islamic Politics, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University A key element in the success of countering terrorism in Australia has been a series of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Melissa Kang, Associate professor, University of Technology Sydney Around one-quarter of the world’s population menstruate. That’s more than 1.9 billion people in the world who will bleed, on average, for 65 days ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Therese Keane, Associate Professor, Deputy Chair Department of Education, Swinburne University of Technology A cute human-like robot taught students in a small, rural school how to code while also helping them learn ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Podger, Honorary Professor of Public Policy, Australian National University There is a case for not proceeding with, or at least further deferring, the legislated increase in employers’ compulsory superannuation contributions from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Ostling, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University Review: Margaret Olley: A Generous Life, and Quilty, QAGOMA Margaret Olley’s exhibition at QAGOMA is titled A Generous Life, referring to ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Second round of gun law changes announced, hundreds with conditions like Down syndrome get early Kiwisaver, and a major refusal to participate in March 15 inquiry.The second major phase of ...
Almost as soon as it was announced, the Royal Commission tasked with probing the lead-up and response to the terrorist attacks in March attracted criticism, both over the process and its engagement with Muslim groups. Former race relations commissioner Joris ...
Following the Silver Ferns’ World Cup victory, another New Zealand team playing korfball – netball’s European cousin - are about to make world championship history of their own. ...
A victim of domestic violence has had to find alternative accommodation after Oranga Tamariki breached her privacy for the second time in three years. ...
While researching NZ on Air for a recent history, Duncan Greive noticed a shocking 30 year trend.News broke over the weekend that Love Island NZ, Three’s biggest announcement of the year, will now not screen in 2019, and realistically is unlikely ...
Joseph Nunweek joins the adoring throngs gathered at the Melbourne Town Hall to watch the New Zealand prime minister. The warm feeling is contagious, but a question hangs in the airThursday, 18 July: a big night for New Zealanders in ...
Open mike 06/02/2015 
Open mike is your post.
My idealistic position on the role of MPs was articulated by Edmund Burke: ‘Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.’read more ...32 mins ago
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled on the pillage of swamp kauri, stating clearly that export was forbidden unless it had been clearly turned into a finished product. But less than a month later, MPI was again approving minimally carved ...4 hours ago
Having spent the last 3 months in these countries and getting some appreciation of their dependence on fossil fuels – oil, gas, coal – one realises how loopy is the idea popular in societies like New Zealand that have negligible ...9 hours ago
I have been unimpressed with Western corporate media coverage of the tensions involving Iran in the Straits of Hormuz. They repeat the line that Iran is the source of current tensions, that it is a major sponsor of terrorism, that ...2 days ago
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Much like Tuvalu, the manmade climate change Cult love to tell people the Maldives is almost totally underwater. In fact the dishonest Maldives Govt d on the same bandwagon, believing they would receive billions of dollars aid from other Countries ...3 days ago
As the entry on Wikipedia shows (and no, one doesn’t necessarily have to regard Wikipedia as the be-all and end-all of truth, because it isn’t on a great many things, to agree with the following): “…a fallacious argument that concludes ...3 days ago
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This weeks best quote:
[Gerald Celente in an interview with Sydney radio show talking about the election of the Syriza party and how it is portrayed in the media]
“So anytime there is a new party…you read the financial times for example, they look at the new party in Greece and they call them Left wing radical parties…Who are the people in power? How about status quo madmen criminals!”
cd someone plse rush/courier a special war-pimp-award to rawdon christie..
..in an interview with key..this fawning-fool was so jonesing for war..
..even key seemed embarrassed at this/his strident over-egging of the case for the inevitability’ of this fools-rush-in –
– to a war that has absolutely nothing to do with us..
..and which has no u.n.-mandate..(as just one of a list of reasons to stay away..)
..and a problem that should be solved by the regions oil-rich/armed-to-the-teeth regimes of corrupt-dictators..
..not us..
..rawdon christie was carrying on like he was humping keys’ leg all during the interview..
..it was quite unseemly..
Brillant description +1
They can both go and join their family at the frontline. Go!
Agents and actors pushing the paycheck agenda
Q. Why watch ?
i don’t ‘watch’ it..per se..
it mumbles away in the background..as i rush around the world hunting for interesting news-items..
..and i flick between that and three..using an aversion-impulse to dictate when that happens..
..(three has so so so much sport…and they just repeat the same stuff..over and over..
..one provides the mindless-pap..
..and too much of either sees me heading to the other..)
(..and i find ‘interesting’ things like this..)
“..’It’s always the hippies’ fault’: Why the left treats its idealists all wrong..
..While the right lionizes its idealists –
– the left blames and scoffs at its own..”
(cont..)
http://www.salon.com/2015/02/05/its_always_the_hippies_fault_why_the_left_treats_its_idealists_all_wrong/
(..and this one is fun/a laff..)
“..Find the #1 Song on the Day You Were Born..”
(ed:..mine is a vile piece of dreck ..
(cont..)
http://whoar.co.nz/2015/find-the-1-song-on-the-day-you-were-born/
Mine was nae so bad – A Hard Day’s Night by some minor Mop-Top Scouser group.
i dunno how i am going to break the news to my daughter..
..barry manilow..(!)..
“(ed:..mine is a vile piece of dreck ..”
Uptown funk – Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, seeing how you analyse and post like you were born yesterday 😉
http://nztop40.co.nz/
Johnny Angel – nice
Couldn’t be happier
Get Back – band from my dads Liverpool, with Billy Preston. HappE daze
Heartbreak Hotel. I don’t mind that.
key is ‘tossin’ and turnin’..
..(make of that what you will..)
Again Key demeans New Zealand; on this latest occasion spittling Crosby Textor construct all over Waitangi Day. Waitangi Day blithely given up to nouveau riche gaucheness and the game ‘PMONZ crawls up POTUS’. Seems there is nothing, no institution, no convention, no standard of behaviour MrSelfieKey will not molest.
Well, this is interesting , even although C/T already have a big foot in the door here in NZ.
A Crosby/Textor Media Statement dated 4 February 2015, tweeted by Andrea Vance last night http://t.co/eyGHq9DeDy
As it is relatively short, here it is in full:
Kiri Hannifin and Jo de Joux today announced the formation of Hannifin de Joux, an integrated public affairs and campaign consultancy that will form a strategic partnership with CrosbyITextor Group in New Zealand.
The unique part of the Hannifin de Joux service is political, corporate and public sector campaign management.
CrosbyITextor is the world’s leading market research, strategic communications and campaign management agency. The company has offices in Australia, the UK, Italy and the UAE.
“Our collaboration with CrosbyITextor enables us to share their global best practice with local clients. It means we can provide our clients with sophisticated and targeted strategies based on the solid foundation of market research and insights,” says Ms de Joux.
The creation of political strategists Lynton Crosby and Mark Textor, the CrosbyITextor Group draws from an unrivalled bank of campaign experience and expertise to advise corporate clients, investors, industry associations and governments worldwide.
Ms Hannifin and Ms de Joux have extensive knowledge of New Zealand politics and strong track records providing advice across a range of issues at the highest levels of government and the public sector.
Jo de Joux is a seasoned campaigner, having managed four consecutive election campaigns for the New Zealand National Party.
Kiri Hannifin, a former political advisor to Helen Clark’s government, has been working in and around government for nearly 20 years in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
More information on Hannifin de Joux and CrosbyITextor can be found at http://www.hdj.co.nz and http://www.crosbytextor.com.
And the replies to date to Andrea Vance’s tweet of the media statement for your amusement https://twitter.com/avancenz/status/563244850829463552
Well Kiwi’s need to be persuaded that we need to go to war that is not mandated by the UN, hate Catton and intellectuals or actually anyone with a voice, get rid of (or even better NationalLite) Labour, Keep National in power, destroy Winston and Greens and Maori and Mana, keep Northland, Keep Herald and MSM in line, Keep Act and Peter Dunne afloat but with no power, make NZ part of the TPPA, sell assets off without anyone stopping it, Get Slater back inline, and the sleeze sites in business, try to resurrect Key and Collins careers and reputation, destroy the burgeoning left wing blogs and news sites like The Standard, TDB, No right turn etc, to have abolute control the media, keep investigative journalists silenced in NZ, deport Dotcom, make the police and SIS tow the National line, keep Jason Ede and Slater sedated against biting the hand that created them, etc
Be prepared, NZ is no longer an offshoot of Crosby/Textor OZ offices. Their slime trail around the Beehive is about to reach new levels…
Saying that all is not well in Abbot land too, maybe the slime has reached critical levels there as well…
Well said.
Is Jo de Joux related to Phil de Joux?
These links will answer your question, Incognito, but will probably give you more to worry about.
This is from November 2011by David Fisher.
“Key’s inner circle of advisers is headed by Joyce, who led National’s campaign in 2005 and 2008. The National Party’s campaign manager is Jo de Joux.
She had a strong role in the Mana byelection campaign last year, which gave rising National star Hekia Parata the chance to show her potential.
The links between the party machine and the Prime Minister’s inner sanctum are close. De Joux’s husband Phil is Key’s deputy chief of staff. His immediate boss is chief of staff Eagleson, who caused a stir last year when it emerged he was partying in Las Vegas with lobbyists. He has been a strategically important manager for Key.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10767258
Also worth reading from Otago Daily Times titiled “Is democracy under threat?” written by Bruce Munro on Sun, 18 May 2014
“Updated this month, the ”Approved visitor list to Parliament” has mushroomed from 25 people last year to 63 now.
The list of those given their own swipe card to enter Parliament without the usual security checks is heavily, but not exclusively, populated by professional paid lobbyists seeking to influence politicians to the point of view of their organisation or client.
Among those on the list are Business NZ chief executive Phil O’Reilly; Sky Television’s Tony O’Brien and Chris Major; Air New Zealand’s Phil de Joux, who used to be John Key’s deputy chief of staff; Anadarko’s Anita Ferguson, who was Steven Joyce’s press secretary; and Fonterra’s Nicola Willis, who was an adviser and speech-writer for Mr Key. There is also New Zealand Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly and secretary Peter Conway, and Food and Service Workers Union’s James Sleep.
Making up almost a third of the list are a group going by various job titles, including third-party lobbyists, public lawyers and government relations consultants. They include Saunders Unsworth’s Barry Saunders, Charles Finny and Mark Unsworth; SenateSHJ’s Scott Campbell; Silvereye’s Jo Coughlan, who was a press secretary to the National government’s minister of foreign affairs in the mid-1990s; Franks and Ogilvie’s Jordan Williams, who was spokesman for anti-MMP lobby group Vote for Change; and Webling Media’s Brent Webling, who was press director for former minister of justice Simon Power and whose clients include food industry lobby group the Food and Grocery Council.”
Ta. It is clear that they like to keep it ‘in the family’. So, we can fully expect more DP. Now all we’d need is a bit of Freed to top it off; I can’t wait.
Thanks for that anwer, TMM.
The current Approved Visitor List to Parliament on its website updated as of 11 November 2014 still includes both Jo and Phil de Jeux, with the organisation listing for Jo showing as NZ National Party and that for Phil as Air New Zealand.
So they both still seem to have free access to the Beehive.
Claire Trevett has a story in today’s Herald clearly designed to demote Andrew Little and put him down. But the comments following it are fascinating – they look to me like they’re 20 to 1 in favour of Andrew Little and telling CT to stop being such a Nat biased journalist. Here’s the link :
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11396754
Not a particularly well written article. Trevett seems to be reaching desperately and unreasonably to tie Little in to her treatise about flags and nationhood, but without success. You’re dead right about the comments, Jenny. It’s great that the readers can spot the weakness of the argument, rather than simply put their views on Little, Labour or flagwaving.
I’ve never rated her seriously, too flakey. The big political story is Key & the Police. Must buy the Sunday Star Times, I hear they have crunched a few details that don’t stack up surrounding Key’s handling of Sabin.
Next week Key will call on the services of snake oil Joyce during question time to try drag him out of the hole he has dug this week.
Yep! I reckon Key may have a bad dose of the flu shortly before question time which will sadly prevent him fronting up in person.
On TV3 news at 6pm there was a brief comment from Bush, that the police did not drop the ball when it came to informing the minister of police about Sabin. I assume it was Tolley, even though Woodhouse became minister of police early in October 2014.
How did Bush inform the minister of police?
A file
Verbally
When?
When a case is ongoing and there is a new minister of police.
Does Bush need to reinform his minister and keep them up to date, even though the commissioner is in charge of day to day operations?
I will be most interested to see how this plays out between the police and the government.
Note: I think Woodhouse was a cop.
Thanks Treetop. Tomorrow’s post!
I will look forward to your post.
Depending on who knew what and when, and Who did or did not inform whom and when, Who is telling the truth or who is lying, One or more of these characters in the short chain of command in this murky, dodgy, conflicted of interest involving possible political fraud on the country and very expensive saga has to be sacked or must resign:
Police commissioner or
Tolley or
Woodhouse or
Eagleson or
Key!
‘The Strange Case Of The Elusive Five Eyes’!
and we are all meant to believe that tolley didn’t tell key..?
..harawira joked that we cd have a general election soon..
Thanks for that Treetop. I was planning to bring it up too.
An interesting timeline mickysavage:
As far as we know, the police began the investigation early August 2014. However they would probably have known that an investigation was going to commence a few weeks in advance of that time. Let us say around mid July?
You will recall that both Cunliffe and Key took some time off prior to the start of the campaign – Cunliffe took a few days which greatly exercised the MSM, and Key took 10-12 days and flew to Hawaii. (Key’s overseas holiday didn’t bother the MSM at all – funny that.) The dates of Key’s holiday was between the 11th July and 21st July – 10 days.
So, is this what happened?
1) a senior police officer contacted Anne Tolley and gave her the heads up.
2) because Key was out of the country she passed the information on to Bill English or Steven Joyce – or both.
What happened after that we don’t know, but there is no way in a million years John Key was not informed by one or other – or both of them – as soon as he returned.
So, when Key claims that he knows other people knew about the investigation earlier but he was not informed until much later, he was actually referring to the earlier July/August time-span even though he knows everyone thinks he’s talking about the Nov/Dec period. He can then say he’s not lying with a straight face.
I mean he’s done it before! SIS-OIA -Slater-Key on holiday in Hawaii – I know nuffink… anyone?
@Anne:
Well, if English and/or Joyce received that serious information, but did not let Key know, then either one or both of those must be sacked or should resign immediately. There IS no excuse!
Correction, there is no evidence of Woodhouse being in the police. His background is accountancy, and health administration.
We might be meant to be reading this Trevett piece as satirical!
…Unless you are Labour leader Andrew Little. Little appeared to be taken by surprise when he was asked for his views on titular honours and the flag this week.
The week before, he had set out his determination to focus on big issues, not “small beer” issues.
He apparently felt it meant he could only ever bang on about jobs and houses.
She seems to be a jonolist talented at writing either satirical or farcical items! I fear that this one is from the farcical side. Sheesh. How did she get to be political editor or sub or deputy – do they pick Hairy’s ones from names in a hat?
Can’t readily identify as satirical or farcical Grey’. Guess I’ll go with farcical – as to writing/writer both. Satire does not flow from the pen of a jonolist whose raison d’etre is to fellate TheGodKey. We are well familiar if unimpressed with Trevett’s styles. Sloppy exhortations to sweat the small stuff are unintelligible. As you were Trevett.
I think it’s more likely to be irrumation by the GodKey that she’s hoping for.
I learnt two new words today :
Irrumation from you and Tetrapyloctomy from OAB.
Thanks. Hopefully irrumation does not sometimes result in tetrapyloctomy.
Claire Trevett can’t be as bad as that fucking idiot Paul Thomas. Every thing he writes is pro establishment inanity. I wrote a couple of replies to his latest piece of crap, to remind him that yes journalists and activists are mistreated pretty overtly in GodKeyZone. Nicky Hager, Bradley Ambrose, Jon Stephenson have been hassled by cops, spied on, and had stuff confiscated. Judith Collins and Cam Slater try to destroy careers of principals, teachers, and scientists who don’t toe the government line. Paula Bennett has no problem releasing personal details of beneficiaries who complain about government policy. National are a bunch of power abusing bullies, and any journalist with a brain and a conscience would recognise that.
Trevitt did exactly the same to Cunliffe early on in his leadership.
So the polls have been favourable about Little, “quick what can we focus on to make him look bad???? Oh yes knighthoods, etc, etc,”
She selectively pays attention to any detail, no matter how minor to attack the leader of the opposition and make him look incompetent.
That the Deputy Political Editor of the largest daily paper in NZ pays attention to issues that are red herrings (knighthoods, flags) when there are far more significant issues speaks volumes.
Trevitt is shameless writing on behalf of John Key and the National Party.
Yes Anker shameless for Hairy to call her Dep Ed, never Deep Throat! Just part of the Beehive Circus Troupe. Her role is to run up to a plank with Key on one end, jump on the other end, and fly him high into the air to a position of elevation for the delectation of the masses.
grey..trevett is as funny as a door-handle…
@pu
Is that why she got called a knob?
Trevitt has long been a shill for team key, she gets to go on Shonkeys junkets like the PR poodle she is.
Christie is even worse with his smugness and lickspittle behaviour.
What a pack of synophantic knobs they all are.
TC 100 +
‘
Yeah, typical Trevett. It does seem to highlight one thing: Little needs to be more aware of what’s going on around him and prepare for such questions. John Key has, for more than six months, been lying non-stop about sending troops into the Middle East. Now, after his trip to the UK for a little girl’s birthday party and a meeting with the “Five Eyes Club”, and especially since the arrival here of a top UK Tory, John Key is moments away from finally telling the truth: our soldiers are off the help kill Arabs. The MSM has been pumping out helpful horror stories with nightmare scenarios next to TINA solutions all provided by approved sources and designed to build tension as the sabre rattling reaches its crescendo. Of course useful idiots in the media like Trevett are going to be wandering around asking questions about nationalism and flags and colonial links to New Zealand’s English masters. That should have been obvious and prepared for, IMHO.
On the other hand, it does reveal something about Little which I find appealing: he is unable to spontaneously rattle off ambiguous political platitudes concerning matters he hasn’t properly considered. This, however, is a vital skill for a politician in today’s world. As much as I regret saying it, Little could do with some impromptu theatre training in order to provide the MSM soothing balm for feeding out to the sheeple.
Impromptu theatre training. Just the thing for pollies. Now they are on show so much with vids and paper and vid together. They have to think on their feet and keep the patter going and Labour needs to break through the gold curtain (not the iron one).
Also listening to some of the comedians talking about their start and experiences they would be good exemples and teachers, they know all about hecklers. I believe that the northern English working mens clubs are the pits. One comedian said they sit on their hands and look stonily at you with a ‘make me laugh then, I dare you’ hostility.
Hi Jenny- did you mean ‘denigrate Andrew Little’ rather than ‘demote Andrew Little’? I didn’t get the impression from Trevett’s article that she was trying to undermine him as Leader of the Labour Party. Or was that in fact your take on the article? I think Andrew Little is very secure as Leader.
To music4menz – yep – denigrate would have been a better word. I agree, Andrew Little is looking (and sounding) very good as Leader, and apparently the caucus has agreed “to draw a line under 2014” and get going again !
On the subject of this:
I’m certain I watched on 3 news a clip about Little’s speech about sovereignty and Key responding by saying sovereignty was ceded in 1840.
And now I can’t find it anywhere on the 3 news site.
Did anyone see it? Anyone got the clip?
nil desperandum carborundum!
http://www.fastcompany.com/3034895/strong-female-lead/the-one-word-men-never-see-in-their-performance-reviews
Will erase that word from the upcoming performance review round.
Stroppy staff, well directed, are the ones that broker the hard problems across difficult people. Need more of them.
By-and-large workers here prefer to lay down and be walked over than to stand up and fight. Announcements of workplace closures are more likely to be met with tears and counselling than with “No, we’re not accepting this shite”. It is like two generations have been enfeebled.
It doesn’t have to be like this. There are all kinds of ways of fighting back. Closure threats, for instance, can be met with occupations. Occupations challenge the property rights of bosses. Occupying means workers – the people who have created the new, expanded value from which profit comes – asserting their right to work. In effect, it is saying “We produce the wealth, we don’t recognise your ‘right’ to take away our jobs and income; given that you obviously can’t run the workplace, we will.” Occupations are a much more advanced form of struggle than strikes because, instead of just going home, or standing around outside the workplace, we are inside and running it.
Occupations become schools for workers’ control and workers’ management of workplaces and, if undertaken across the society, for a new form of society altogether. One in which those who produce the wealth own and control the means of production, along with developing new means of distribution and exchange.
Occupations help transform workers’ sense of their own capabilities and their political consciousness:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/02/06/when-workers-occupy/
Phil
Sounds good. Corporations need to have some sort of corporate and social responsibility. In the absence of that, there needs to be a way that makes it harder to just sack people and close plants down.
It is too easy for corporations to sack people on mass and they are doing it too often.
Those two forms of responsibility are mutually exclusive.
+1
Yes I thought the accepted norm was to say corporate and corruption. Why do people persist with such out of date modes of speech.
a useful resource for those wondering just who the bastards are..
“..There are now 2,089 billionaires in the world: This is who they are, where they live – and how they made their fortunes..
..Annual Hurun Global Rich List now gives all the world’s richest people a score-
– for how ‘self-made’ they are..”
(cont..)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/there-are-now-2089-billionaires-in-the-world-this-is-who-they-are-where-they-live–and-how-they-made-their-fortunes-10026128.html
From your link, I found this list of 10 jobs in Britain that make people scared to go back to work.
1. Media and publishing (86 per cent)
2. Marketing, advertising and PR (80 per cent)
3. Creative arts and design (75 per cent)
4. Teaching and education (71 per cent)
5. Science and Pharmaceuticals (69 per cent)
6. Information Technology (63 per cent)
7. Property and Construction (62 per cent)
8. Health and Social Care (62 per cent)
9. Accounting, banking and finance (60 per cent)
10. Recruitment and HR (59 per cent)
I found the list interesting. While numbers 1 to 4 seem understandable, others seem a little intriguing/unexpected.
In New Zealand I reckon it’s top 3
1. Media Advisor to Labour Party
2. Labour MP
3. Labour Party spin doctor.
The nasty bull shit buggers are in your crooked National party, you idiot!
Have you read the Dirty Politics book yet?
http://www.craigpotton.co.nz/store/dirty-politics
How is the management of the Sabin scandal and Key’s relentless litany of laughable lousy lies going? Any more to come?
Calm down Princess. The election result should have shown you that few gave a toss about Hagar and his criminal use of stolen information. The latest polls seem to confirm it, so save your tantrums, you’ll do yourself a mischief.
@ Real blue “Calm down Princess”.
Cut the crap and your biggety blue balderdash and tell us WHEN did Key REALLY get to know about the police investigation of Sabin?…2011? April 2014? Before the election or Only on 1st Dec? Time for Key and the ‘Real’ blue team to come clean and fess up honestly to the country. Don’t you think so, Real blue?
@ Clem
All sides in the political landscape are controlled
People want to believe the system is for changing but it’s not
saveNZ I assume that you understand the difference between sack and make redundant. There is a big difference.
“Closure threats, for instance, can be met with occupations. Occupations challenge the property rights of bosses. Occupying means workers – the people who have created the new, expanded value from which profit comes – asserting their right to work. In effect, it is saying “We produce the wealth, we don’t recognise your ‘right’ to take away our jobs and income”
Hilarious.
Of course most corporations choose to close businesses when there is wealth being created. /sarc
Since NZ is full of SME’s. Lets use a local example.
You own a coffee shop, all is going well until a new, better one opens down the road.
You have everything you own in this business, you invested 250k in the fitout of the place, which you borrowed, and you signed a 10 year lease on the building as you thought it a great location. Because you are a new business and not a franchise you had to personally guarantee the lease (Not uncommon). say there is a 6 month guarantee.
But now revenue / profits have tanked. You are working there 7 days a week, but you simply cannot afford to keep the business running – its costing you and every week you are further into a financial hole.
So you sadly decide to close. You owe 000’s and have nothing to show for it. You also are without a job.
But, no – the ‘workers’ decide they have a right for that job and that wage. So occupy the store and decide to run it. quote: “given that you obviously can’t run the workplace, we will.”
So – How exactly do they pay for the rent, materials etc – you cannot put it on the owners account – he has closed accounts with suppliers. You have no legal right to be there, you are using equipment that is not owned by you. Who is responsible to pay the wages, PAYE, ACC, Kiwisaver, suppliers when there is a shortfall?
In short your entire solution is ridiculous.
Try reading the material about the factory occupation at Vio.me in Thessaloniki; you might learn something.
Phil
hi james, a few things potentially come to mind.
when the business is taken over by the workers (shall we say 10 employees, part and full time), under a different business model (shall we say cooperative), novelty will engender enthusiasm and loyalty.
eg rather than the previous boss buying lemons for $4-$6 a kilo, the kitchen hands parents donate the lemons.
a surplus table is started where people bring their surplus produce fruit and veges in to share. this prompts a local school to set up a vege garden and donates the salad leaves three times a week.
the chefs sister in law is a bookkeepper (i love that word ookkee), she takes on the books for gratis.
the second chefs mum wants to be part of the action and does the laundry for nothing.
…..
i would heartily reccomend looking up the moosewood kitchen for an example of getting part of the way to what i describe.
hope this helps bro.
i am now off to cook for people who want to go out to just the business you describe.
cheers.
Thats all very well and good. But what about the BIG items that you miss?
Who has the responsibility to pay the rent / wages / acc / kiwi saver etc if there is not a profit at the end of the week?
What about the money to pay for the items that are not donated?
Who pays for the equipment that is not owned by the “workers” who are occupying?
Takes more than donated lemons – but that is a problem with ideas like this that sound great until you look at any of the detail?
The point is – this approach is working in other parts of the world.
And if the business still fails, it is not without passing on some new skills and benefits to the unemployed workers.
James has got a panic pulse going that workers are figuring out that they don’t need marching orders from business owners, and that these businesses can be run better democratically, not as dictatorships.
+1
Whats your situation CR?
Are you a worker? If so, are you planning to start a worker run business?
Why are you demanding to know if anyone is a worker?
Do you run your pseudo healthcare business as a democracy?
The government steps in and buys the building and declares that the taxes that the businesses pay is enough to cover basic maintenance. This gets rid of the rentiers that are destroying businesses through their greed.
The equipment is leased, or second hand, donated.
And they could read the part of Maeve Binchys Scarlet Feather where the young chefs are working to get a business going and then suffer malicious damage and burglary. How they get out of it successfully after a meeting of decision where all committed because they had personal goals that could be met by the business succeeding.
Actually I will put it in even more simple terms…
First month of occupation…
Revenue is $7.5k
Outgoings $10k
Who pays the missing $2.5k?
The workers and their families have come up with $50K to recapitalise the business, no sweat. Not only that, the worker-owners have agreed to all accept the minimum wage for the first 3 months until their turn around plans take effect.
Outgoings are lower than the $10K you state because the rent break which was negotiated, is in effect.
So why is the cafe unsuccessful? The main thing I see about the story is that another cafe opened up nearby. But isn’t that normal for cafes to open in areas where there are other cafes?
“…rather than the previous boss buying lemons for $4-$6 a kilo, the kitchen hands parents donate the lemons.”
LOL! That is classic and just goes to show the mentality of some on the left. Scale that thinking up to a Steel mill. Perhaps the workers parents could donate some scrap metal for them to smelt.
This is predicated on the false assumption of the far Left that everyone is entitled to a job. That assumption in turn means that employers have a duty to provide jobs. Nonsense. that’s simply not how the world works.
i can understand rights such as Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness but there is no such thing as a Right to a Job.
Article 23 of the UDoHR, which New Zealand has signed and has already set precedent in our courts, says you haven’t the first idea what you’re talking about.
It’s right there in black and white:
Article 23: Fisiani’s ignorance is limitless.
Let me quote you article 23 read it carefully.
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
I am correct. Everyone has a right to work and seek work. Of course they do. I never claimed that. No one has a right to a JOB. Do you not know the difference?
Tetrapyloctomy, sweety.
I accept your hirsute pedantic apology.
hi gosman, i will leave the steel mill to someone with relevant experience.
reading thru the comments i am coming to the conclusion that the naysayers have decided it cant happen and want to shoot any idea to bits.
what dreary company.
i would rather work towards making something happen using the skills, talents, and imagination of enthused company.
has it occurred to y’all that profit could be measured in a myriad of non-financial ways.
i have come to know when there is a will there is a way.
also has any of you naysayers checked out the moosewood kitchen example?
Having worked in a poorly run steel mill (with scars to prove it), where a few blokes have been killed, I have to say that
a) gosman is a [expletive deleted]
b) workers couldn’t run it any worse than the previous bunch
c) it’s now gone out of business, mercifully.
James, apart from being a dick
(Seriously, who signs a 10 year lease nowadays – are you fucking mad?)
1) The workers and their families pool together $50K to recapitalise the business
2) They pick up the commercial kitchen and equipment for a tiny fraction of their original cost
3) A state bank offers them 1% pa financing because they are starting a workers co-operative
4) The lease is renegotiated with the landlord, including a 3 month rent free period.
5) Suppliers are more than happy to open accounts for the new business as the worker-owners are happy to pay on 7 day credit terms for the first year of business.
6) The workers and their families turn the place into a fun, family, foody place to hang out, far more social than the corporate cafe down the road.
Rather than sit around waiting for the current business that employs them to go broke, why don’t the workers just start their own cafe anyway?
Why is this not already happening on a wide scale?
Have some of you here who are promoting the benefits of worker control actually been involved in a successful example of such a initiative?
If not, when are you going to do so?
As you are arguing, the benefits are obvious?
IMO, because people have been conditioned into believing that they need to work for others rather than working with others. This is compounded by our atomised society making it difficult to find people of like mind to work with and other difficulties.
How about you ask these guys?
All looks good Draco, there is help available then.
And interesting to see the link to the UN report that rates NZ as already the number one on the co-operative economy index, and links that to the fact that we are also number one in the Social Progress Index…
But I don’t agree at all that NZ workers are ‘conditioned’ and this prevents them starting their own businesses / Co-ops.
Are you a worker Draco? Would you say that of yourself?
How many other workers here would say that they have been rendered psychologically incapable of doing anything else than be a serf?
“And interesting to see the link to the UN report that rates NZ as already the number one on the co-operative economy index,”
Is that something to do with Fonterra?
If the govt put the same degree of infrastructure and support into worker co-ops as it does other business models, I think more workers would be in to it. As it is, most people wouldn’t know how to go about this.
What resources are available to non-cooperatives that co-operative run businesses cannot access?
I am not aware of aware any govt. infrastructure and support that is not available to businesses merely on the basis they have co-operative ownership Weka?
And there are vast amounts of information, support, assistance, and mentoring available to new business, from both Govt. and Private sector.
The internet age has made that all so much more readily available than ever before.
There is no reason at all why capable workers should not be able to easily shift to ownership of their own labour through a number of business models.
Come on, those of you workers who back your ability to run a business at least as well as the boss who is currently making profit out of your labour should just do so.
I’ve seen this concept raised so many times as a positive theory on this blog, I’d love to see someone posting a concrete example of it happening in the real world.
Of all the ways to ‘revolution’ I can think of, large scale worker control of business would be the most realistic and practical form of it?
There are lots of co-operative models that have no problem taking advantage of the infrastructure in place in NZ. Fonterra is a good example. Partnerships are similar in concept to co-operatives and again they seem to have no problem. I think th left just likes to put obstacles in the way that they can blame on someone else so they don’t have to actually do anything substantive. Keep belly aching that it is the fault of the nasty 1%.
🙄
That would explain why per capita GDP is always higher under Labour led govts in NZ, the books always balance, and incomes rise faster.
Please try and not be so full of shit, Gosman.
LOL
Fonterra had specific laws passed for it so that farmers could operate as a guild which is illegal for anyone else.
Need to identify the obstacles so that they can be effectively removed.
Gosman and lost sheep, can you please find the sections on worker cooperatives in the following govt run business support websites? I’ve looked and can’t find them.
http://www.business.govt.nz/
http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/brochures/start-your-own-business.html
It was the realisation of that conditioning within myself that allowed me to identify it. It was the get an education, get a job rhetoric that I got from my parents and others that led to it. I’ve seen and heard similar at university and polytechnics. It’s subtle and I suspect that most people don’t even realise that that’s what they’re doing but it’s most definitely there.
Probably not many, there’s very few people who are as introspective as I am.
And do remember that it’s not the only barrier either. Getting ahead requires access to resources and a large number of people don’t have that access.
I appreciate the honesty of that reply Draco, and agree completely with your comments on the subtlety of social pressure.
I forget who said it, but there is a quote that goes something like ‘the most difficult part of obtaining freedom is coming to believe that you have the right and the power to claim it’.
It was John Galt.
heh..!
Actually, according to Google, no said it.
couldnt agree more draco.
every thursday night at scouts this is demonstrated to the youth.
we are far more effective when we cooperate than when we compete.
i suppose this gives a tory the chance to spit ‘communist’.
In addition to draco’s conditioning argument, the other point is that the workers are intimately acquainted with the problems and issues of that cafe. They know the customer base and they have all the data they need to optimise the layout and routines of that kitchen, simply because they’ve put in, if you will, several months or years of workplace dynamics research on that specific site.
They might not have agreement on what the right location for another cafe is, but they know how to adapt that cafe to its current market location.
Set up a competiting café up near by . It will be trying to attract the same customers.
Alternatively they can choose to buy out the existing owner. If the business was really doing that badly then the owner is most likely open to getting out quickly and they can pick up the equipment cheaply. Not as cheaply as stealing them by occupying the place admittedly but they will be doing the moral and legal right thing.
🙄
“most likely”.
More weasel words.
Because someone who can’t adapt their business to the changing environment is never in denial about it /sarc
So how about you McFlock. Are you a worker?
If so, would you actively seek to own your own business or help form a co-op to start or take one over?
Are you for real, Sheep? You think something gives you the right to pry into people’s occupations as though that will what? What exactly are you trying to say?
That the left has no business experience? That worker owned co-operatives don’t exist? That you have to jump through hoops for Sheep before you’re qualified to make observations?
You know what, it looks like a zombie, it shuffles like a zombie, and it moans like a zombie. Looks like it eats Sheep’s brains too.
Doesn’t describe me. I worked in, managed, started, and built businesses my entire life apart from a few stints at university, time in the army, and a year as a farmhand. One of those uni stints was getting a MBA (ie a master of business administration) at Otago.
As an intelligent person of business (ie not a sheeple like some of the blowhards I see from the right) I am always acutely aware of just how much businesses depend on the government built and operated infrastructure that no business interested in making a profit would run in a way that benefits its society in the long term.
That government input is required for everything from having a working legal system to having available skilled employees to useable roads. I’m also aware how much that modern economies depend on having a lot of well paid employees who then power economies. Having people marginalised and not used to the extent of their abilities because some rent-takers and crony capitalists find it convenient is simply daft and short-sighted.
Having a feudal style of politics and economy (in the way that the USA is rapidly heading) with wealthy parents sucking tithes off the poor and pumping it into advantaging their own children isn’t the way to help anyone apart from a few mindless knucklehead kids.
That is the end point of the process that I usually what I see unthinking fools like The Lost Sheep advocating. Of course they never seem to take the time to think it through.
Sorry LPrent, what specific process did I advocate without thinking?
Spare me the mock outrage about privacy OAB.
FFS it is an anonymous blog where no one is under any compulsion to answer anything!
What I am saying is very clear.
Many on times on this blog, and in the real world, I have heard people advocating the benefits of worker control of business.
I agree completely with that concept, having done so myself, and given that it is so easy to run a business, I genuinely do not understand why many more workers do not take that step themselves.
This being a worker oriented blog, I thought at least I’d get a little bit of positive feedback by advocating that this is a very practical and possible initiative workers can take to regain control of their productive effort.
And the problem with saying all that is?
Where are your grounds for believing that, in your words, “many more workers do not take that step”?
The fact is they do. Which renders your entire argument moot, or deliberate mendacity.
Who can tell?
From reading this blog OAB, I got the impression that there was a general agreement that the current economic situation was heavily dominated by Capitalists who exploited workers labour?
And many workers are not happy with that situation, and, there is a general agreement here that workers would be perfectly capable of running businesses successfully themselves?
Have I got it right so far?
So by that definition, not nearly enough businesses are under ‘worker’ control.
And so to follow the logic through…..it being entirely possible for more workers to take control of their own productive effort – they should do so.
FFS. I’m on a so called ‘workers’ blog, advocating workers wresting control of their own lives from capitalists, and some of the workers champions are finding that offensive?
No paranoia here then.
No, you haven’t got it right so far.
Working for giant corporations really sucks if you are just a replaceable cog in the machine. But if you’re seen as a valued asset it is completely different. Management can get away with treating people like crap in times of job scarcity, weak unions, and skewed labour laws.
After a decade of working for others, for wages well below market rates, and in jobs far below my capabilities, my self confidence was at a low ebb. After a bit of encouragement from someone who could see what was happening, I started working freelance and it’s been 100% better in every way (except having to do my own taxes).
Your weakest reply yet OAB
lost sheep I just gave you an example of why “more people don’t work for themselves”. It’s a matter of experience, education, and confidence.
But for people in less-skilled segments of the labour market it is better to join a union to improve their bargaining power. And the best thing for such workers is to have a voice in the board room.
Why is that a relevant response to my comment? Does my employment status in some way affect whether or not my comment was realistic?
If you can reasonably demonstrate the relevance and good-faith purpose behind your request that I share personal details, I will answer your question.
Here’s an idea. Instead of stealing someone elses property maybe the workers could have pooled their resources together in the first place and set up their own business.
Here’s an idea. Instead of stealing the surplus value from others’ labour, maybe the owner could buy some slaves?
hi ropata im back from work, did i miss anything?
having a life, perhaps?
no fears there, i have an enviable life/work balance.
Gossie, creative destruction is an integral part of capitalism. So is seizing opportunity when opportunity arises.
Surely you haven’t already forgotten that hanging out with us socialists, have you?
‘
So, John Key is about to send New Zealanders off to participate in the unlimited slaughter of innocents on behalf of US corporate interests. Unlimited because there is no exit plan. Slaughter because that’s what war is. And innocents because, well, they just get in the way of John Key’s simpering lick-spittle acquiescent colonial cringe. Fingers crossed John Key doesn’t have to deal with anything too complicated when the body bags start coming home.
I don’t think he’s doing it on behalf of US corporate interests. He’s doing it on behalf of *NZ capitalist interests*. Just like Helen Clark sent a contingent from the NZ Army to Iraq in time to meet the deadline for NZ companies to bid on ‘reconstruction’ contracts.
The NZ government represents the interests of NZ capital. Usually those interests coincide with those of US capital, but not always. And when they don’t, NZ doesn’t join in.
Actually, NZ capital is especially aggressive. In the late 1800s NZ was called “The Prussia of the South Pacific”. It was always trying to grab this or that island. Nothing whatever to do with the US or Britain. In fact, NZ capital was so aggressive that the Brits had to restrain it from time to time.
During WW, NZ did manage to invade and take over (western) Samoa and what a horror story that was.
See: Samoa – what New Zealand did: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/samoa-what-new-zealand-did/
The left in this country is, in my view, far too nationalist. We always blame someone else – like America – when actually the problem is often our own ruling class. It’s them we have to fight first and foremost.
Phil
I don’t think he’s doing it on behalf of US corporate interests. He’s doing it on behalf of *NZ capitalist interests*. Just like Helen Clark sent a contingent from the NZ Army to Iraq in time to meet the deadline for NZ companies to bid on ‘reconstruction’ contracts.
The NZ government represents the interests of NZ capital. Usually those interests coincide with those of US capital, but not always. And when they don’t, NZ doesn’t join in.
Actually, NZ capital is especially aggressive. In the late 1800s NZ was called “The Prussia of the South Pacific”. It was always trying to grab this or that island. Nothing whatever to do with the US or Britain. In fact, NZ capital was so aggressive that the Brits had to restrain it from time to time.
During WW1, NZ did manage to invade and take over (western) Samoa and what a horror story that was.
See: Samoa – what New Zealand did: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/samoa-what-new-zealand-did/
The left in this country is, in my view, far too nationalist. We always blame someone else – like America – when actually the problem is often our own ruling class. It’s them we have to fight first and foremost.
Phil
‘
Fair nuff – but – what is the difference between NZ capitalist interests and US corporate interests?
Yes, I am aware of what New Zealand did to Samoa. shame on us. And yes again: I agree that the working class in New Zealand has a staunch, if somewhat myopic, nationalism about it. Nothing wrong with maintaining a strong emotional attachment to New Zealand and being ready to fight on its behalf but, as you suggest, its wise that we know exactly who the enemy is and what the battle is really all about, Without a rational approach to counter the myopia, emotions are far too easily stirred up by whomever is paying the Crosby/Textors of this world. Those sorts of New Zealanders in our midst far prefer to see the working classes in different nations fighting amongst themselves while each country’s treasury and resources are looted.
Nice web site, by the way. While somewhat familiar with some Marxist terms I’m feeling the need to get a better grasp of his work. Got a “Dummies Guide To” link at all?
QFT
It’s important that progressive people in New Zealand gain familiarity with the background in Syria and Iraq in order to organise effectively against NZ state intervention in this part of the world.
To help, we’ve put up links to all our material on Redline about Syria. It can be accessed through: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/02/06/on-syria/
Phil
Thanks, Phil. I’m going to go through your posts when I have a bit of quiet time in the evening.
After watching Years of Living Dangerously, a good, but in parts flawed look at climate change, I was interested in Thomas Friedman’s segments regarding the impact the Syrian drought (2007-2010) had on creating the conditions for unrest. A few of the episodes interviewed Syrian rebels that were essentially traditional farmers, who were unable to provide for their families because the drought had made their generationally farmed land arid. The government ignored their calls for assistance.
There is a good brief article on his website Wikileaks, drought and Syria.
I will admit very scant knowledge of the ongoing Syria conflict, but if being unable to provide for your family is why so many got involved, I can understand that compulsion.
Labour puts up a cordon of black-suited thugs to block out protest sign.
Do they think this is the way to protect Andrew Little?
Waitangi, 6 February 2015
On television this morning, Labour leader Andrew Little was being interviewed. As all too often, sadly, his words were vague and fairly confused: he failed to condemn John Key’s disgraceful and inappropriate misuse of his Waitangi platform to push for New Zealand to join in the “fight against ISIS”. Instead of saying something principled and intelligent, Little babbled about “effectiveness” and lack of mission clarity. He could have mentioned the fact that the U.S. and U.K. governments have armed and rhetorically supported ISIS in its murderous insurrection in Syria, that New Zealand has endorsed all of this bloody dealing, and that stopping THAT support would be the most immediately effective means of combating ISIS.
While Little droned on, behind him, protestors were holding up a sign that read “MAORI SOVEREIGNTY IS GOOD FOR ALL NZERS”. I know that’s what it read, but viewers watching this morning’s interview were prevented from reading the words because a phalanx of black-suited thugs deliberately stood in front of the sign.
I could identify one of the thugs: it was Palmerston North’s undistinguished M.P. Iain Lees-Galloway. I don’t know if the other thugs were Labour Party apparatchiki, but I strongly suspect they were.
A couple of women, clearly frustrated and disgusted at Lees-Galloway and his fellow censors, were politely remonstrating with them, and perhaps asking the police to move them away. No matter how polite they were, the police did nothing.
Why is the Labour Party trying to block democratic, peaceful protestors?
And why don’t the television crews simply walk past the likes of Lees-Galloway and his black-suited mafia lookalikes and interview the protestors?
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/waitangi-live-little-wants-explore-maori-self-governance-6228885
Little’s interview in that link is clear and useful. Can’t see the problem.
Can’t see the problem.
That is the problem, sadly. If you know nothing about what the United States has been doing in Syria for the last three years, then you will not be aware of the hypocrisy of Key’s words yesterday, or of the failure of Little to put that hypocrisy into any kind of context.
If you do a little reading, weka, and actually school yourself up on the situation, you WILL see a problem with what Little said, and with what he failed to say.
Actually, make that a LOT of reading.
Little isn’t talking about Syria or the US or FJK, or anything other than Māori sovereignty and that NZ needs to look at self-governance in the context of modern nation stated. Not a blacksuit or protestor in sight.
Which leaves us with a bunch of slurs from whatever it is you saw that you haven’t linked to. As TRP points out below, you are notoriously uneven in your accuracy, so your comment just came across as pretty useless for anything other than demonstrating what you think of Little and a Labour MP.
Maybe instead of being a patronising fuckwit you could do some research of your own.
1.) Little isn’t talking about Syria or the US or FJK, or anything other than Māori sovereignty….
The link I provided is not that clear, sorry. Here’s one from an interview he did on RadioLive this morning….
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/AUDIO-Andrew-Little-on-Waitangi-day-and-ISIS/tabid/506/articleID/70576/Default.aspx
Little DID talk about ISIS this morning, even though he failed to say anything that made much sense about it. And you’re quite right—he did not talk about Syria. That’s the problem—he’s too frightened to state the glaringly obvious, because the government would immediately whip up an hysterical political firestorm about how Labour supports Assad.
2.) Not a blacksuit or protestor in sight.
The blacksuits were in sight this morning for anyone watching television, as Little droned on confusedly about why it’s maybe not a good idea to get into the “fight against ISIS.” The protestors were pretty much blocked out by the blacksuits.
3.) Which leaves us with a bunch of slurs from whatever it is you saw that you haven’t linked to.
I reported factually about the deliberate blocking off of peaceful protestors in a public forum, by a cordon of Labour Party men. The only possible “slur” in my reporting was my labeling of Lees-Galloway and his cronies as “thugs”. If they are were not behaving as thugs, what word would YOU use to describe people who deliberately stand in front of peaceful protestors in a public space?
4.) As TRP points out below, you are notoriously uneven in your accuracy, so your comment just came across as pretty useless for anything other than demonstrating what you think of Little and a Labour MP.
Could you cite an example of my being inaccurate, let alone “notoriously” inaccurate on this or any other forum? I described exactly what Lees-Galloway and some other men did to block off some peaceful, silent protestors this morning. Are you trying to say they did not do that? You might disagree with my interpretation of what Lees-Galloway and his cronies did; I think their behaviour was sinister and profoundly anti-democratic, whereas you evidently think it’s acceptable for a political party to use people to shut down law-abiding protestors. I obviously don’t approve of such anti-democratic behaviour, but my description of the action was perfectly true. Not according to YOU, however. So please tell us: how exactly was my report of Lees-Galloway’s actions “uneven in accuracy”?
By the way, my friend, here’s a little advice: on this blog, starting a sentence with the formula “As TRP points out” is a sure-fire way to instantly discredit oneself. Your co-opting of our favorite Party apparatchik is about the funniest mis-step since…. well, since THIS howler, when a bloke cites Winston Peters to bolster his case….
“could you cite a case of me being inaccurate…?”
Comedy gold!
So can you?
Thought not.
Ha ha ha, keep ’em coming, Moz, this is quality stuff! We’ve really gotta get you on the telly. I’m thinking a sitcom, maybe a monkey sidekick? All we need is a catchphrase and a title. The rest just writes itself.
So you have nothing. As usual.
ffs, you do a rant, and provide a link that doesn’t show anything of what you are ranting about. A few people point out that you’re not making sense. You ignore this and continue with the rant. And now you want to claim you were being accurate?
“The link I provided is not that clear, sorry.”
No. The link is perfectly clear, it’s Andrew Little talking about Māori sovereignty. What isn’t clear is your post, and subsequent comments when you already knew the link didn’t match your story.
You’ve been called many times on how you write up the ‘transcripts’ off things like RNZ, so don’t make out you are not aware of this reputation.
At this point in the conversation I don’t give a shit about your views on Little and Lees Galoway, because you’ve demonstrated that what’s important is your view rather than communicating what happened with accuracy or respect for the people reading here. By all means keep justifying and defending, but your original comment is full of slurs, not just one slur but many. That wouldn’t be so bad (this is ts after all), but there is nothing in your comment that has substance beyond “I don’t like what Little and LG just did”.
“If they are were not behaving as thugs, what word would YOU use to describe people who deliberately stand in front of peaceful protestors in a public space?”
I don’t know, because I have no fucking idea what you are talking about. All it’s assertion, done badly, and with so mych ego shit in it it’s too hard to see what’s real. Up your game, mate. You’re better than this and IMO Waitangi Day is not the day to do this shit.
1.) ffs, you do a rant
I described, clearly and unambiguously, the anti-democratic actions carried out by Andrew Little’s self-styled security corps. I labeled those fellows “thugs”, which you might disagree with—but I see you have not come up with any better description of them.
Little DID talk—foggily—about ISIS and our response to the “threat” it poses. You can pretend he didn’t if you like—it’s your credibility on the line.
2.) You’ve been called many times on how you write up the ‘transcripts’ off things like RNZ, so don’t make out you are not aware of this reputation.
This has been done to death many times on this forum. Yes, sometimes I’ll miss out something from one of my rush transcripts, and sometimes I might emphasise the stupidity and inarticulateness of, say, Hekia Parata, a little too much for some people’s liking. But inevitably, those objections have been shown to be politically motivated—the shenanigans started with poor old Lanthanide, who objected to my transcripts because they showed up the moral idiocy of not only a bewildered politician, but also of his own thinking…..
Others to jump on the “inaccurate transcripts” bandwagon were such nasty and disreputable customers as McFlock, Populuxe and of course Te Reo Putake, formerly known as The Voice of Reason. In every case, the “inaccurate transcripts” line was used as a way to attack me in the absence of their being able to muster a convincing argument against me. Their absurd and wildly exaggerated shouting about the “inaccuracy” of my transcripts started almost as soon as I started to post up stories about the U.K. regime’s persecution of Julian Assange—articles by people like Noam Chomsky, John Pilger and Daniel Ellsberg. My posting of those articles enraged McFlock, Populuxe and Te Reo Putake, because they contradicted and thereby exposed their own credulity and viciousness in that shameful matter.
Of course, I like everyone else make mistakes—this morning’s dud link for the Andrew Little interview is a case in point. However, to magnify and absurdly jump up and down about the odd missed word, as Te Reo and his chums have done consistently, is neither fair nor reasonable.
3.) …IMO Waitangi Day is not the day to do this shit.
So ordinary citizens should not say anything on Waitangi Day. I presume, then, that you are also opposed to Andrew Little and John Key talking about anything on Waitangi Day?
Not even going to bother reading that. If you won’t listen to what other people are saying, then there is no point. I read your first comment, followed the link and there was nothing in that video that matched what you are claiming. All the mess that has followed is a consequence of you thinking your views are more important than communicating effectively. If you had stopped and listened to what TRP and myself had said, you could have clarified and relinked. But instead you are just reposting the same old shit.
lol – nice to know I’m still loved.
Did you invent a “transcript” again, moz?
To be fair to poor, bewildered Moz, he presumably saw an earlier clip than the one that is in the link. But he is wrong to characterise the Labour MP’s as thugs and Winston also told them the ‘protesters’ to do one. The one photo I’ve seen seems to show middle class pakeha holding the banner, so probably not all that authentic anyway.
…poor, bewildered Moz
I described something—a cordon of black-suited men blocking off a protest sign—that no one can dispute happened. Could you explain your use of the prejudicial epithet “bewildered” please?
But he is wrong to characterise the Labour MP’s as thugs
They were deliberately blocking off a sign held by peaceful protestors. They are anti-democratic thugs.
…and Winston also told them the ‘protesters’ to do one.
Winston Peters! And John Ansell! And Allen Titford! And Matthew Hooton! And Blubberguts Slater!
The one photo I’ve seen seems to show middle class pakeha holding the banner, so probably not all that authentic anyway.
I neither stated nor implied that the protestors were Māori. Is it Labour policy now that only Māori are “authentic”?
Poor Moz, life really is passing you by, isn’t it? I’m not Labour, bud, and I can laugh at middle class tossers trying to keep the spirit of Rick from the Young Ones alive whenever I feel like it.
Ps, this morning’s word ‘o’ the day is hyperbole. Look it up if you have time.
(Me, I don’t have any more time. Off to Wembley Park, Whanganui to huff and puff around the football field in the NZ Masters. Wish me luck Standardistas, I’ll need it!)
Poor Moz, life really is passing you by, isn’t it?
And there’s that trademark abuse again! As I’ve pointed out elsewhere, this does nothing for your credibility, my friend.
“and I can laugh at middle class tossers trying to keep the spirit of Rick from the Young Ones alive whenever I feel like it.”
Me too. Among the nuggets of informed opinion, The standard gives me a daily dose of guffaws and chortles, though I doubt very many are middle class, in fact, some are quite classless if you know what I mean.
Thanks for the link Morrissey, great stuff Andrew, thoughtful, talking about complex issues is not easy in a “soundbite driven media society”
The trouble is: Andrew Little did not talk about the issues, he avoided them. He is mealy-mouthed and afraid to speak plainly. It’s an on-going problem with Labour leaders, I’m afraid.
Wow. Labour leader fail to consult notoriously innacurate blog poster before speaking to media. So that’s where we’ve been going wrong these last few years. I’ve let McCarten know and no doubt he’ll be in touch pronto, Moz. Stand by your phone!
….notoriously innacurate blog poster
How is what I described at all inaccurate? Did Lees-Galloway and others in black suits deliberately block out that protest sign or not?
You have recently, I note, been taken to task by Paul over your strategy of launching into demeaning personal attacks. It’s an unpleasant habit that does nothing to enhance your credibility.
Ha, nice backtracking. This morning they were thugs, now they’re merely blocking the view. 🙄
“Backtracking”? Everything you say is couched in the most demeaning and negative fashion possible. I conceded that the word “thug” is a value-laden term. I think it is appropriate for people who illegally block the right of peaceful protestors to hold up a sign, but some people might disagree with that.
I do not “backtrack” or resile from what I wrote this morning: it is quite clear and beyond refutation what Lees-Galloway and his cronies—yes, that’s another value-laden word—were up to.
What do YOU call people who illegally stop citizens from protesting in a public place?
Woah, wait a minute,
“What do YOU call people who illegally stop citizens from protesting in a public place?”
and you have used the term “illegally” a few other times when referring to this incident.
How does being ‘blocked’ from view during an on camera interview suddenly equate to people being “illegally” stopped from protesting?
Were the protesters you referred to manhandled away?
Were they evicted from the grounds of Waitangi?
Or did some suits simply stand between them and the camera?
Rude, certainly, but illegal?
At /open-mike-06022015/#comment-964190 You wrote “but viewers watching this morning’s interview were prevented from reading the words because a phalanx of black-suited thugs deliberately stood in front of the sign.”
How is this an illegal act?
Do you concede that your language use is getting a bit extreme in describing a situation which is no different to almost every other TV broadcast ever held at Waitangi?
…you have used the term “illegally” a few other times describing this incident.
I used the word advisedly, and accurately.
How does being ‘blocked’ from view during an on camera interview suddenly equate to people being “illegally” stopped from protesting?
You put the word “blocked” in scare quotes as if it didn’t actually happen. It did happen, and it was illegal, just as it would be illegal for me to accost you and prevent you from carrying out an entirely legal action, such as walking down the street or looking at a sign on a shop-front. The Labour Party is not the police force. They had no right to prevent those protestors from showing that sign.
Were the protesters you referred to manhandled away?
Were they evicted from the area?
or did some suits simply stand between them and the camera?
Rude, certainly, but illegal?
Rudeness is not the issue here, the issue is that they formed a physical barrier, and illegally prevented the protestors from making their protest in a public place. The action of Lees-Galloway and his cronies was illegal.
How is this an illegal act?
Nobody—certainly not the Labour Party—has the right to stop a citizen legally stating an opinion in a reasonable, orderly way, in a public place.
Do you concede that your language use is getting a bit extreme in describing a situation which is no different to almost every other TV broadcast ever held at Waitangi?
If there was a problem with order, it was the job of the police to sort it out. The Labour Party is not permitted to employ anyone to stop people protesting. Protestors, just as much as politicians, have the right to be seen, and heard, in a public forum.
The ‘blocked’ was meant to be in quotation marks as it was taken directly from your comments. My apologies for that error.
Please don’t take this the wrong way Morrisey, or think I am telling you to be quiet but maybe take a break and go for a walk or something, fresh air is a good thing and it helps with perspective.
Well, we must be listening to a different Andrew Little, I am constantly reassured how “on the nail” he is , and find him very refreshing when listening to any other “soundbite, poll driven “politician.
You think he was “on the nail” when he was making his wandery, confused remarks about ISIS?
I think it is black and white thinking that got us into this mess, the issue is one to grapple with, not dog whistle
I think it is black and white thinking that got us into this mess,
What on earth do you mean by “black and white thinking”?
the issue is one to grapple with, not dog whistle
And Little will not grapple with the issue. If he did, he would raise the issue of our government’s continued support for ISIS in its bloody campaign in Syria.
Haven’t seen the video etc but when my leader is being interviewed I would not want to have other messages becoming distractions to his message.
What would we have said had the interruptions come from youth doing hand signs, or people saying ‘Hi, mum” or celebrity gate crashers?
It could be argued that the ones breaking protocol, being nuisances, being unhelpful, being invasive, those at fault might be the sign holders. As in the case of the t-shirt protester in Australia, or others who are rude, boundaries can be crossed where even Popes have their tolerance stretched.
As I say, I’ve not seen the situation. All I am doing is saying there could be, and usually is, another point of view. And ‘thugs’, morrissey, might be just too strong a word. Do you have another agenda involving Little or Lees-Galloway?
Black suits can be, by the way, a sign of respect shown by visitors wearing their best formal clothes.
I also acknowledge the sign holders who have strong views and feel they need to get their message across. Their particular issue was referred to positively by Little in his korero, was it not?
when my leader is being interviewed I would not want to have other messages becoming distractions to his message.
Then “my leader” needs to conduct interviews in a studio, and not in a public space.
What would we have said had the interruptions come from youth doing hand signs, or people saying ‘Hi, mum” or celebrity gate crashers?
The protestors were doing none of those things. They were quiet, orderly and dignified.
It could be argued that the ones breaking protocol, being nuisances, being unhelpful, being invasive, those at fault might be the sign holders.
No, that could not be argued. The protestors were quiet, orderly, dignified throughout.
And ‘thugs’, morrissey, might be just too strong a word.
Do you have another agenda involving Little or Lees-Galloway?
I have often criticised Little before today—not for being “colourless” as some trivial media naysayers have done, but for the very qualities he showed today: a failure to speak plainly and honestly. I have taken little notice of Lees-Galloway before his disgraceful performance this morning. Maybe I shouldn’t blame him however; perhaps he was merely carrying out orders from one of those clever Labour Party tacticians who have done so much to make Labour a respected political voice for the last six years.
Black suits can be, by the way, a sign of respect shown by visitors wearing their best formal clothes.
In this case, however, they were a sign of disrespect and contempt for the rights of people to demonstrate in a public place.
I also acknowledge the sign holders who have strong views and feel they need to get their message across. Their particular issue was referred to positively by Little in his korero, was it not?
If Little was sincere about that, he would have told Lees-Galloway and the others in that cordon to sit down.
Thanks for the reply, Morrissey.
You say “Then “my leader” needs to conduct interviews in a studio, and not in a public space.’
I would ask where the studio is upon a marae? Also, politicians are most often interviewed in open, public spaces. That is generated by being where the politicians actually are, and by the needs of the interviewers.
And you say, “In this case, however, they were a sign of disrespect and contempt for the rights of people to demonstrate in a public place.”
They were a sign for you, Morrissey, but they would have worn the clothes out of respect for the place and occasion. This is the heart of my disagreement with you. An action takes place which you disapprove of, and everything becomes coloured by that- black in this case.
I am glad that the sign carriers were quiet and dignified. To have been other wise would have reflected upon their message. So, too, does exaggeration (black suits, thugs) reflect upon your message.
1.) I would ask where the studio is upon a marae?
There were any number of rooms available if, as seems to be the case, Little wanted to exclude any possible demonstrations by ordinary citizens. He chose to do the interview in public territory.
2.) I am glad that the sign carriers were quiet and dignified.
I am pleased that you recognize that. Perhaps next time you will think carefully before equating democratic, responsible, law-abiding demonstrators with “youth doing hand signs, or people saying ‘Hi, mum” or celebrity gate crashers… breaking protocol, being nuisances, being unhelpful, being invasive, … rude”.
3.) …exaggeration (black suits, thugs)…
The men in the cordon were wearing black suits, which is what I described. How is that “exaggeration”? You may reasonably disagree with my labeling those men as “thugs”—so what would YOU call people who—illegally—block off signs held up in a public forum?
@ morrissey..
..two questions:..
..why did you link to something showing not what you describe..?
..in fact contradicting what you claim..
..and..are you sure u aren’t getting confused with the interview with key..
..where two large burly men wearing small backpacks..
..stood backs to camera..blocking protestors/a sign/banner from view..
..if not..cd u plse link to the footage u describe….
..’cos if u do..and it is as u say..
..i also will link to it..
1.) Why did you link to something showing not what you describe..? in fact contradicting what you claim..
I clicked on the link, as it was the first one that came up after I googled “andrew little waitangi isis” this morning. You’re correct that it doesn’t exactly show what I described, but how does it “in fact contradict” what I claimed?
2.) ..and..are you sure u aren’t getting confused with the interview with key….where two large burly men wearing small backpacks….stood backs to camera..blocking protestors/a sign/banner from view….if not..cd u plse link to the footage u describe..
No, Phillip, I am not confused between Key and Little. I didn’t see Key’s interview, but I did see Little’s, and I did see a phalanx of Mafia types, including Ian Lees-Galloway, deliberately masking out the protestors’ sign. It was on either Television One or TV3 this morning, live. I think it was TV3.
have u looked for it..?
..and..
“..I clicked on the link, as it was the first one that came up after I googled “andrew little waitangi isis” this morning…”
..pretty bloody sloppy..eh..?..
pretty bloody sloppy..eh..?.
“Sloppy”? Boolean algorithms? Surely you jest, Phillip.
you don’t think that is sloppiness on yr part..?
..these are yr ‘standards’..?
..seriously..?
..u go blah! all over the page..making allegations of thuggery against a sitting mp/the apparant connivance of little to such thuggery..
..and then u can’t b fucked finding the clip that proves yr point..
..and just post ‘the first thing that comes up on google’..?
..so sloppy u need paper-towels…
Morrissey, the link you provided had an interview with Little. A wharenui in the background, two people standing in the porch. No mafia, black suits, dark glasses, thuggery, stand over tactics, deliberate blocking, masking, not even Ian Lees-Galloway.
Sorry I’ve been wasting your time writing about something that doesn’t seem to have…….. happened.
Sorry I’ve been wasting your time writing about something that doesn’t seem to have…….. happened.
It happened all right. Little spoke, and his “minders” put up a cordon to prevent the Maori Sovereignty sign being seen.
And in real world news, Andrew Little has raised the possibility that Labour would allow maori self governance:
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/waitangi-live-little-wants-explore-maori-self-governance-6228885
Ps, Moz, Iain LG is a long way from “undistinguished”. He has held Palmy against a concerted effort from the Tories for 3 elections and for one term was the only provincial Labour MP. He successfully promoted David Cunliffe for the leadership, and was elected as junior whip. He clearly has Andrew Little’s ear as well. Even more significantly, he has also built a formidable local electorate team that is easily the best in Labour for canvassing and publicity and is a model for how to campaign successfully. Even John Key acknowleged his work, commenting to Banksie in the teapot tapes that he was unbeatable in the seat.
Didn’t Ian Lee’s Galloway also work hard on private members bills around alcohol???
which then got taken up and became law.
Sorry I am very sketchy about these details. But I remember at the time being impressed by him.
Yep. And secured cross party support for plain packaging of ciggies (though Tariana Turia took the credit). Future leader material.
oh FFS.
Says the guy who told us DC was the answer to all our problems!
So can we infer from your comment at 11.1.1 that ILG will be?
apparently “Waitakere Man” is a smoking voter 🙂
He also turned off many workers who enjoyed 3 or 4 handles of beer after work
, by pushing a bill to cut alcohol limits for drivers. National were forced to lower the limit against their will, something that wasn’t lost at the booths.
Eh? NZ lining up with the rest of the developed countries in their driving/alcohol limits was not an issue for anybody at the election. I like a beer or three myself, but I cut my consumption to match the new limit if I’m driving. Simples.
I note that brewers are brewing to the new laws. My favourite brewery now puts out a 2.4% golden ale which is very enjoyable but far less destructive than my favourite tipple of theirs which is 7%- basically three times the strength. My own Friday night drinking mates hoe into the 2.4% with no complaint.
Yes my local watering hole has started putting out a superb 3% pilsner, usually have 3℅ triple hops pilsner at home, 2 stubbies = 2 standard drinks. Friends visiting know where they stand if driving afterwards.
Better than the 6.5% IPAs that I prefer at Galbraiths
I get taxis and I am within staggering distance of home.
something like one third of pedestrian fatalities here are/were pissed..
..and norway..(i think)..has just started breathalysing pedestrians..
..’stagger’..while u still can..
According to Superfreakonomics, “on a per-mile basis, a drunk walker is eight times more likely to get killed than a drunk driver.”
Got me started on NZ craft ales, did Galbraiths, on a rare visit to Auckland. Very enjoyable pub. Stayed just up the hill so I couldn’t roll home.
And I’ll bet they charge you as much, if not more, for the ‘New legal limit’ beer.
No thanks. I’d rather take the Full tasting and Full Alcohol beers home, to enjoy them where I won’t be ripped off over the price of Beer, finger foods or soft drinks/water. The last time I went to the Pub they wanted $9.00 for a stubbie of Heineken, I said no went to the Supermarket and bought a dozen for $23.00 and went home.
My pub $8-9 for 500ml craft beer. of whatever strength. Brewed next door. 15 minutes walk. Fish and chips on the way home.
Skinny,
So you condone drunk driving then, as long as you’ve had a hard day at work?
I had a close look at skinny’s numbers with the same concern. Four 500 ml handles at 4% equals six standard drinks which would put an 85kg male on the doubtful limit after two hours drinking at the old 80 mg limit.
http://sciblogs.co.nz/visibly-shaken/2010/04/13/drinking-and-driving-how-much-is-too-much/
There was nothing wrong with the old limit. Drinking sensibly with a bite to eat, knowing your limits up to the legal limit. Very few road deaths were recorded up to and under the old limit. Tourist’s account for far more road fatilites. Alcopop’s and the young not a good mix. Fast cars green drivers, the list goes on.
the solution to all this is a sobering-drug..
..much like there is now a strain of cannabis u can smoke if u have smoked pot that is too strong 4 u..
..or if u need to be straight to do something..
..and it makes u straight again..
..we need something like that for alcohol..
(brand-name..?..’sober-up!’..)
Cocaine will do that for you. You can drink a bottle of vodka and the next morning do a line of coke and go to work totally straight as an airline pilot or whatever. Drugs are good!
yeah..but cocaine can also take you over..
..back before drugs were that common..
..i had a mate..who was a skinny/weedy/hairy/unpreposessing individual..
..and what he used to do was to go into pubs..
..and would challenge the big-drinker of the pub..
..to a drinking contest..with a large wager involved..
..he wd taunt/laugh them into a contest..
..and he would then drink them thru the floor..
..but the thing was..he was also a fan of methamphetamine..
..so would be loaded up on that..
..and so would win..
I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the old limits. They were difficult to exceed by accident. The new ones aren’t, and therefore raise more revenue.
I see the NZ National Debt is close to going over $100 Billion… I wonder what our credit limit is
If, IF, and when Labour comes in, the corporatised media and banksters will be screaming about the debt and pushing Labour to impose austerity.
i think it’s now indexed to troop deployment quotas 🙁
Ricky Gervais nails social media; it’s bollocks:
gervais posts crap-clip:..’it’s bollocks’..
“Ricky Gervais nails social media; it’s bollocks:”
Really? I thought he was saying, in his own sweet way, thanks social media, you’re actually quite helpful to me as a famous person.
with spoons
This link has got it all. A look at how multistorey housing can look good even in close confines. Set on a beautiful river and not dominated by huge hotels blocking the scenery. A pleasant looking architectural style for accommodation adopted as a standard for a large area, doesn’t have to look like our property developers South Auckland edifices with porticos you might stab yourself under, which seem an impediment to feelings of happiness and enjoyment of home when viewed from outside.
And on top of it all a large proportion of the music makers of the area acting out a flashmob event of the Blues Brothers theme, accompanied by drums on land and river.
at that party for sell-outs held at shane jones’ taxpayer-funded pad..
..(where jones..sporting cheap/tacky looking..but no doubt expensive) sunglasses..
..insulted his second centre of northland poverty in two days..
..sneering that he was ‘going to the seychelles’..(great hotel-room porn there..)..
..and that he wd ‘rather do that than campaign in dargaville’..(accompaied by a snort of derision..)
..yesterday it was moerewas’ turn to get the jones-sneer..)
..anyway..at that party..a large number of the local poverty-stricken should have gathere/massed at the gate..
..and stared silently in at the festivities/sell-outs..
..(shearer might even have been able to be persuaded to come out and bang out a protest song or two on his gee-tar for them..
..it’s lovely how/when he does that..eh..?..)
“….rather than campaign in Dargaville…”
One in the eye for those who think that Jones was/is the key for Labour to win the Dargaville’s of this country.
then afterwards the sell-outs roll back into their comfortable/taxpayer-funded lives..
..so far from struggle st..from those they claim to represent..
..they can’t even hear the crying/see the pain of the hungry children…
..the rustlings as the homeless turn in their hard-sleep..
(c.f..labours’ ’14 election-policies for the poorest:..
..treat them hard/give them s.f.a..
..arbeit will make them frei..
..will cure their poverty..)
Wondering about Northland. Is there anything to stop people on the Maori roll transferring to the general roll and back again after the by election?
I read a previous commentator say that the only time you are permitted to change rolls is at a set time every 5 years.
Correct, and the last option was offered in 2013:
http://www.elections.org.nz/events/past-events/maori-electoral-option-2013
This is – anecdotally – one reason for the high number of disqualified votes in Maori electorates: many people wrongly assume they’re on one roll or the other and thus use the wrong voting form (I’m not sure of the technicalities, just reporting what I’ve heard.) There’s a real lack of information for people at election time about needing to check which roll they’re on, or when they’re able to make the decision to change rolls.
A man is taking steps over low paid jobs.
Don’t have much to add to this, except to verbally support him and wish him luck.
I think you posted the wrong link BassGuy
that link goes to Samsung SyncMaster 2333sw Problems
A cryptic comment on the reliability issues of contemporary mass-production certainly 🙂
Oops. I think I need a drink….
This one isn’t about monitor troubles.
”I just feel my generation, that had all the benefits, has let this generation down.”
yup
Try again I can already detect a screwed monitor!
i was listening to a Kiwiana goes pop cd I bought and heard Dave Jordan’s State House Song. I was thinking what a negative put-down. by someone who thinks that houses grow on trees.
So I looked him up. He had a reasonable start, teachers college, teacher, uni, overseas – just a little ignorant of reality. He married overseas, the wife returned to Brazil after he got mutiple sclerosis and so had to fend for himself. Finally some friends provided him with a home till he died.
So he knew the importance of a stable secure home himself when he needed it. Pity he ever wrote his put down about state houses.
These are the mean words to the song.
http://folksong.org.nz/dave_jordan/state_house_song.html
I’m certain I watched on 3 news a clip about Little’s speech about sovereignty and Key responding by saying sovereignty was ceded in 1840.
And now I can’t find it anywhere on the 3 news site.
Did anyone see it? Anyone got the clip?
Not video, but here’s a report including quoting Key,
Mr Key says he doesn’t think there is room for Maori to have self-rule or self-governance in some areas of the country.
“The Crown’s view is that sovereignty was ceded in 1840, but ceded to a modern New Zealand that was built for all New Zealanders,” he told reporters at Waitangi.
http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=201528
Typical for Key, his statement doesn’t make much sense.
Have to agree with Key on that. Don’t want to see a divided New Zealand.
I heard that the the Ngāi Tūhoe tribe already independently manage some of their tribal affairs. So, need not necessarily divide the country. No harm in discussing and exploring the possibilities and see how and if it can be mutually beneficial. There may be other countries with precedents.
Would be interesting to see ACT’s and Seymour’s view on this, as well as that of the Maori MPs, Parata etc in the National party.
Good point Clemgeopin, I guess I fear the prospect of huge tracts of DOC land turning into the wild west or something.
Why do you fear that? Have you looked at the agreement between Tūhoe and the Crown over Te Urewera?
that’s the mad money quote.
I couldn’t find the video of Andrew Little on the TV3 website. I wonder if the leaders office have someone monitoring that kind of thing.
as for sovereignty- we are happy to cede some to farmers in Canterbury or to a casino in Auckland or to a movie company…
surely that bonkers quote has been quoted by one of the major news organisations????
Key wants to change the flag but not the system the flag represents – he doesn’t want NZ to be a republic.
Typical.
All style, no substance. A “prime minister” who can’t even run a department. Had no idea what the DPMC was up to, tourism is run by MBIE, and he fobbed the security services onto Finlayson.
Maybe this is why Key wants our flag changed?….to get rid of NZer’s sense of sovereignty?
A Very interesting discussion and debate on Crosstalk and relevant to NZ and TPPA ie issues of financial control imposed and loss of sovereignty/democracy and dictatorship by wealthy bankers and corporates in Europe …and now revolt in Europe …and maybe internationally it is just beginning as the German analyst/ commentator suggested
‘Euro-revolt?’
“Euro-revolt! First Greece and now maybe Spain. Grassroots democracy from the left appears to be making a comeback in Europe. This is interesting in itself because the political right is doing the same. Can Europe’s elitist political status quo be maintained?”
CrossTalking with Iain Begg, Robert Oulds, and Ernst Wolff.
http://rt.com/shows/crosstalk/229023-euro-greece-spain-comback/
yes- the flag change is exactly that – a corporate buy out made official. under the TPPA.