And in the middle east a Palestinian Feminist MP is placed in administrative detention by Isreali forces. She is one of 17 legislators who have been treated this way.
“According to the Alternative Information Center, Jarrar is joining 16 other members of the PLC who are currently serving time in Israeli prisons, which means that more than 10 percent of Palestinian lawmakers are currently in Israeli prisons. Nine of those members — including Hamas member Aziz Dweik — are in administrative detention, and have not stood trial nor been sentenced. The PLC is comprised of 132 members who were elected in the last democratic elections held in the PA in 2006.”
The el at the end of Israel refers to their God. Thought he might have been making a point on that considering the subject.
My mind works in funny ways, just wanted to see if I was seeing something that sounded interesting to me.
The “Palestinian feminist MP” thing is a bit misleading (makes her sound like she could be a Palestinian version of Hillary Clinton!).
This isn’t at all a criticism of you Micky, you just got it from another magazine and it’s great that you’ve mentioned her case – but I really dislike the way people in the West, like that magazine, continuously deny agency to the Palestinians. In this case denying Khalida Jarrar the right to be presented as what she actually is.
Khalida Jarrar is a Marxist and a member of the Politbureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. That’s why she was snatched by the Israeli occupation forces.
Her two main areas of work as a central leader of the PFLP are around prisoners and women’s rights. The occupation has been continuously harassing her, trying to force her to leave Ramallah, while simultaneously attempting to prevent her leaving the country. https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/free-khalida-jarrar/
Police shut 30 stations in an effort to combat budget cuts-‘O’connor says stations are being moved from low-socio economic areas, because residents tend to put up less of a fight. “That’s why we are a little cynical about this . . . people there often do need somewhere to go running to.”
They claim there are more cops on the street instead of in the station but 111 call response times have lengthened and have failed to meet targets which makes a mockery of the “street vs station approach” does it not?
David Farrar’s love of statistics is well known – I wonder if he’ll highlight this?
Lack of recording. Last time I went in to report a crime they tried really hard to get me not to. I suspect those that aren’t as much of a bastard as I am are probably persuaded not to.
I have just searched TS (POA Tony Gibson) and am puzzled as to why the latest item about POA on TS dates back to the fight between the Union and POA in 2012.
ON TVNZ Q&A yesterday Gibson claimed he was not arrogant , that he had discussed
expansion plans, that the extensions proposed did not need to be notified , etc etc etc ad nauseum.
It is my opinion that the complex governance arrangement where our elected Mayor & Councillors are twice removed from the POA by two appointed boards, ACIL and POA
who appear to be in thrall to the CEO Tony Gibson is part of the problem.
Be quite clear that the major shipping company using POA is Maersk and Tony Gibson is an ex CEO of Maersk , The Fox in the Henhouse?
He also said that continuing expansion will not be needed as there will be a “Paradigm Shift” in the international freight industry , what ever that means.
The fact that we Aucklanders own the POA outright and that we have elected a Mayor and Council seems to be lost to the people near the action, is this Democracy in the 21st Century?
I noted in the first interview that Mayor, Les Brown suggested expanding the Onehunga port on the Manukau Harbour and building the much needed railway across the isthmus connecting the two ports. Seemed like an eminently sensible idea to me and would counter the need to expand out into the harbour.
When it came to the interview with Gibson, he appeared to ignore Brown’s suggestion and to concentrate instead on the geographical and economic inadequacies of moving port facilities to Whangarei or Tauranga. I had the impression he deliberately left out the alternate idea of the Onehunga port expansion probably because it came from Mayor Brown. In other words there is the usual political game playing from POA.
These POA executives were put in place by Rodney Hide were they not?
The Manukau is a mass of shifting sandbanks and not really suitable for a major port:
Because of the large harbour area and narrow mouth between the Manukau Heads, tidal flow is rapid and a bar at the mouth makes navigating in or out of the harbour dangerous. New Zealand’s most tragic shipwreck occurred on the bar in 1863 when HMS Orpheus ran aground in clear weather with a loss of 189 lives. For this reason, along with the harbour’s shallowness, it is not Auckland’s favoured port, and the facilities at Onehunga are not very large compared to the other Ports of Auckland facilities on the Waitemata Harbour on the northeast of the isthmus.
Surely with modern equipment the sandbanks and the bar at the mouth could be regularly dredged to keep a channel open and clear. Of course the large container ships could not use the port, but the small cargo boats – and there’s plenty of them – could be diverted to Onehunga, especially if facilities are expanded to cater for them.
It probably could be but how much damage do you want to do to the ecosystem there?
Personally I’m more in favour of shutting down the ports and moving most of the operation to Marsden Point where there’s a nice deep harbour and rail to Auckland.
@ DTB
As I understand it there is no rail link to Marsden from Whangarei and the tunnels to Auckland are not big enough for 40ft containers, other wise that does seem to be a smart solution for more and bigger ships.
As I understand it there is no rail link to Marsden from Whangarei
Heh, was wondering about that but couldn’t find it either way so just guessed. Still, it’s one of those things that should be put in before more roads.
I’m sure that there will be one by the end of the year.
Their new MP has promised it. As he said while campaigning.
“Mr Peters said the Northland to Auckland line has been run down, but worse than that was no rail link to the deep water port at Marsden Pt. “We will fix both of those up.””
He can advance a members bill and I’m reasonably certain that a majority of MPs in parliament would support it – if it gets pulled from the hat. We really do need to make government more representative of the voters.
Alwyn above @ 2.56 pm today – some bleak consolation I guess that the 13,000 turnaround Northland thrashing can be turned to fuel a mock-fest because Peters not being in government is actually powerless without the happenchance of ballot draw supported beyond the opposition benches.
Something we all knew of course when ‘sending the message’ about conceit and duplicity and emperor-no-clothes. Apparently not known to the conceited and duplicitous and emperor-no-clothes however who invested considerable fetid air in fearmongering that the sky would fall in if they weren’t ‘allowed’ to win.
Goodness…….the unnatural contortions of the miffed ‘Born To Rule’, found out and suffering third-termitis !
@Anne The suggestion about using Onehunga may not be as silly as some think.
What if the waste area above the bridge was reclaimed and used for industry but more importantly heaps of space to store imported cars while they are processed before being released for sale thus leaving a huge area clear for container freight at Auckland . The vehicle ships would simply use Onehunga rather than Auckland.
Sound too simple??
My knowledge of the subject is very limited, but every time I cross the bridge and look across at the port it saddens me that it has been left to run down. It was a bustling port once. My conclusion is that the decision over the decades to ignore the area is a political one. That is, there were/are few votes in it for the predominantly National govts. since the 1950s. The potential to turn it into a modern day collection point for appropriate cargo storage and a quick turn-around for the smaller cargo boats is huge. Add a dedicated railway link between the two ports and that has got to be good for the entire Auckland isthmus and well beyond.
The problem is, it takes imagination and a long term outlook. We know the self- grandiosing NAct puppets have negligible quantities of both.
The fact that we Aucklanders own the POA outright and that we have elected a Mayor and Council seems to be lost to the people near the action, is this Democracy in the 21st Century?
The capitalists don’t like democracy as it gets in the way of them doing anything they want. This is shown in National’s canning of democracy and implementation of dictatorship in Canterbury.
The fact of the matter is that our entire Representative Democracy was set up so as to prevent actual democracy and to leave the rich and powerful in charge.
How Gibson wasn’t frog marched into council chambers and dismissed after the antics exposed in the book Dirty Politics has me fucked. On that note the one pity of Maritime Union finally settling their collective agreement with the POAL, was the union didn’t seek discovery. This is the real reason the port company settled. Damage control and what came out would have been very very interesting.
Gibson is scum, the first thing Phil Goff Off needs to be pinned down on is a shake up of the port board and getting rid of Gibson and or both.
Most likely that the fake competition between ports, and lack of co-operative planning, will result in NZ losing the major hub port to Australia or Singapore.
I see Pete has just put up his 5th post in four days about how he’s not at all obsessional about TS. Even his regular righty commenters are starting to question his sanity.
PG has shown his true colours (authoritarian worshiper of the wealthy) and gone back to his mates at Kiwibog. DPF to tries appear beige and reasonable as well, even though his blog is composed of ACT talking points.
It’s a relief not to face PG ‘s walls of text diverting from the serious issues facing NZ
The drama comes after the creditors refused to rubber stamp Athens’ latest bid to unlock funds, raising objections over Syriza plans to boost union powers in collective bargaining and boost pensions for lower income groups.
So the creditors are upset that Greece may help it’s people? This comes back to:
When you loan someone money you’re taking the risk that you’re not going to get it back.
And now they’re whinging that they won’t get it back despite knowing that risk.
Former European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso warned Greece that they have a moral obligation to other states, describing the demands for more time and money as “completely unacceptable”.
“We should remember that there are poorer countries that are lending money to Greece, so to propose a cut to their debt would be certain to receive a no from their partners,” he said.
As we’re being blessed with increasing establishment palaver about Gallipoli, it’s important to remember just what a dirty political business it was. Nothing glorious about NZ’s motives – we were helping invade Turkey so that Britain (and France) could carve up the Ottoman Empire.
A Kiwi mum in Perth whose baby boy has a rare medical condition is pleading for help.
Stacy Maitai had to give up her job to care for her baby and she now survives on less than $100 a week.
Her son, Malakai, is seven months old and has never left hospital.
“It breaks my heart that I can’t do that for him, I can’t do what I can to get him home,” Ms Maitai says.
Ms Maitai is from Tolaga Bay and moved to Perth four years ago.
Her baby boy has a rare condition called Pallister Killian Syndrome (PKS), and he can’t see or hear and struggles to breathe.
A single mother of two, Ms Maitai has had to give up work to care for him, but because she’s not an Australian citizen, she survives on $180 a fortnight. She can barely pay for her bus ride to the hospital.
“I’ve looked at every avenue to get support for us, but basically there is nothing, only because I am a Kiwi,” says Ms Maitai.
“If Malakai was just a normal baby I would be able to part-time work, but because of my condition there’s a stop with my future because of what I can do and what I can’t do.”
PKS is a rare developmental disorder, with only a few hundred people diagnosed with it. Two live here in New Zealand – one in Whangarei, the other in the Waikato.
How many of folks on The Standard, have actually read and considered the research and opinions of over 2000 registered architects and engineers for 9/11 truth?
Given that 9/11 was arguably a convenient UNtruth upon which was based the (unlawful) invasion of Iraq, the never-ending (and very profitable) ‘War on Terror’, the mass surveillance and attacks on privacy of millions of people, and attacks on civil liberties and democratic rights of USA citizens under the Patriot Act?
Remember – the focus of architects and engineers for 9/11 TRUTH is not WHO was behind and caused 9/11.
The focus is HOW 9/11 happened.
Could the heat generated by burning airline fuel (kerosene), cause the collapse of the Twin Towers in their footprint at ‘free fall’ speed?
Seriously?
If so – how come your kerosene heater doesn’t melt when you fire it up?
1: it wasn’t “free fall speed”
2: they didn’t collapse into their own “footprint”
3: even if we assumed the fire consisted solely of “kerosene” and had no other environmental factors, it would have been hot enough to significantly weaken steel structures that were already overloaded due to having an aircraft collision damage the structure.
Yes, bush/cheney used 9/11 and spurious intelligence on Al Qaeda connections as excuses to invade Iraq. That doesn’t mean that they engineered the 9/11 attacks.
Yes, bush/cheney used 9/11 and spurious intelligence on Al Qaeda connections as excuses to invade Iraq. That doesn’t mean that they engineered the 9/11 attacks
It makes them along with a number of others who share long standing associations the top of the suspects sheet
Five Eyes was going long before 9/11, fool. All that’s changed in the last 14 years is the technology.
As for a full and transparent enquiry, the yanks went one better and had a commission. You wanna try reading the report, all the answers are in there. Or you can continue parroting the lines of the US right, boring friends and acquaintances shitless with your witterings. Happily, as time goes by, less and less time is wasted on this shit.
Is it a nice day where you are? Why don’t you go for a walk?
Yeah, that’s right, Draco. 800 pages that explain exactly what happened doesn’t count. The eyewitness testimony of thousands of New Yorkers doesn’t count. The deaths of 3000 people doesn’t count. Some mad righties with no alternatives frothing on the interwebs? Totes reliable.
unless the redactions in the 911 commission report include bits like “and everything else in this report is fabricated and made up”, it’s erroneous to say that “all the answers are ██ █████.”
Included in the unredacted bits are analyses of how 3000 people died.
All I’m doing is pointing out a weird non-sequitur. If you think there’s a reasonable explanation for it that doesn’t amount to ‘AND THEY HATE PUPPIES TOO!!!’ then I’m all ears.
Draco said all the answers are redacted.
TRP listed three things that supply or strongly imply answers: 800 pages, eyewitness testimony, and 3000 deaths. And TRP said that apparently according to DTB, none of those things count, but some rightwing nutter on the internet provides totally reliable evidence.
It only makes sense if TRP is saying that Draco doesn’t believe those examples represent facts.
Draco contests the redacted report. TRP therefore reasonably attributes to Draco the belief that the report doesn’t count.
Then – in the exact same context – he attributes the belief that “the deaths of 3000 people doesn’t count”.
The problem with that is that the fact that 3000 people died isn’t evidence for or against any particular theory under discussion, crackpot or otherwise.
Like I say, it depends what flavour crackpot we’re dealing with. But whatever. If you want to focus on one out of three as some sort of victory of… whatever, that’s cool. What about the other two?
Yeah I’ve figured out that you’re playing the “ignore things that don’t suit you, fixate on the one thing you think you can distract with” game.
Although personally I’d like every truther here to categorically state that they believe the official victim count is correct before I agree with your call on its relevance.
So go ahead and ask them, but playing games with the precise body count doesn’t change what’s already been said and it doesn’t open up any explanations for it neither.
And I’ll thank you not to ascribe motives to me when you seem to be having so much trouble even following what I’ve said, which really hasn’t been all that complicated.
You’ve spent half a dozen comments debating one of three things trp listed that contradict dtb’s statement that all the answers are redacted.
You have made no comments on the other points.
Dtb is still incorrect.
“You’ve spent half a dozen comments debating one of three things trp listed that contradict dtb’s statement that all the answers are redacted.
You have made no comments on the other points.”
Why should I respond to those other points, McFlock? I’m not disputing them.
If you like I can go through every comment on every thread on TheStandard and put a +1 after all the ones I agree with, but I reckon you might then want to know why I haven’t actively disputed all of the remainder.
Arguing about the relevance of a single point when the outcome of that argument is irrelevant to the outcome of the argument that the points were made in does seem remarkably postmodern of you, Felix.
Whereas sandwiching emotive attacks on your opponents in-between relevant rebuttals of their arguments is just an excersise in nasty dishonest bullshit.
So in this instance, sure I’ll be the post-modernist. Of course you could probably qualify too by arguing that being right about something means you can ascribe absolutely any view to people who are wrong about that thing, and that process doesn’t matter as long as the outcome doesn’t change.
It’s not dishonest. It’s the honest outcome of listening to ten years of nutbars fail to comprehend basic concepts like gravity and footprint. Given that and the nanothermite bullshit in links commenters have posted in this very thread, you’re lucky that only every other comment has been “emotive”.
While you’ve apparently been a fucking Vulcan all along. /sarc
No I’m just a Vulcan right now. It’s a post modern thing.
I understand your frustration on this topic. However there is no justification for accusing people of thinking 3000 deaths “doesn’t count” when they haven’t said anything of the sort.
Even if they’ve said other things that drive you nuts.
Even if they’re wrong about all of them.
Even when you have other valid points to make, that just isn’t one of them.
And although it’s right up TRP’s alley to fling that sort of monkey shit at the wall, it’s beneath you to defend it.
I had a browse of this thread and while I couldn’t really understand what you and McFlock were arguing about, your summary here clarifies it quite a bit. It really is very poor to attribute outrageous statements to people when they didn’t make them.
“doesn’t count” as evidence. Like the other two things in TRP’s list. If all the answers are redacted, nothing can be concluded from everything that is unredacted. Which is bullshit.
But even if your complaint were accurate, what’s your point: that it harms the reputation of a bunch of nutbars who seem to treat 911 as a hobby? It doesn’t.
Because that’s what would have to have been said in order for your “evidence” defense to stand.
You are incorrect. What would have to have been said is that the deaths of 3000 people do not count as evidence, not that they didn’t happen.
As in “oh fuck, all these people are dead. What can we infer from that? Nothing. Wow – 800 pages of report. what can we infer from that? Nothing. Holy crap, loads of eyewitnesses say that they saw planes fly into buildings. What can we infer from that? Nothing”.
All because some of one report was redacted. Which is what dtb said: “all the answers are ██ █████”.
“You are incorrect. What would have to have been said is that the deaths of 3000 people do not count as evidence, not that they didn’t happen.”
Only (yawn) if it was (yaaawn) someone’s argument that (yaaaaaawn) those people didn’t die, i.e. that the (yaaaaawn) event itself never occurred.
Which it (yaaaaaaaaaawn) still isn’t.
Seriously dude, I’ve explained this to you so many times now. You’re either not being honest or you have a serious problem with comprehension. And you’ve never struck me as a fool.
It’s all there in black and white for anyone who’s interested, I’m done wasting time with people who treat 911 as a hobby.
Only (yawn) if it was (yaaawn) someone’s argument that (yaaaaaawn) those people didn’t die, i.e. that the (yaaaaawn) event itself never occurred.
Ah.
Your fixation on a logical fallacy is obviously due to fatigue.
Fuck off and get some sleep, then. Maybe you’ll understand basic logic when you wake up.
I’m done wasting time with people who treat 911 as a hobby.
And yet you go to such effort to defend their reputations.
It absolutely did not fall at free fall speed. Why do people keep repeating this easily disproved “fact” when it has conclusively shown to be fucking rubbish?
How would you know? You haven’t even read the official story, nor are you equipped to assess its veracity, nor willing to debate any of your talking points.
For example, when Penny Bright displayed her ignorance of the tensile response of steel to temperature, and pretended that aviation fuel was the only flammable substance present, you agreed with her, then failed to respond to the rebuttal.
I take this as a demonstration of ignorance and bias rather than willful deceit. Apparently 0.1% (approx.) of the architects and engineers of the USA are similarly afflicted. So what?
I think you are missing something…was it just a fire or was it a fire caused by a fucking airliner smashing into the building at several 100’s of kms per hour.
but it wasn’t just “steel framed”, was it. And it wasn’t just a fire, was it.
Or to flip it around, can you name a single building with similar construction design (as well as materials) that had a decent-sized passenger jet fly into it and it didn’t collapse? Because AFAIK plane crashes are running at two for two.
Indeed I am.
So feel free to replace “decent-sized passenger jet fly into it” with “hit by debris from a larger building collapsing next to it”, if you wish.
Hardly touched it.
And there were only tiny fires.
Are you aware the BBC reported its collapse before it happened.
Have you seen clips of its free fall collapse?
Clips of firefighters saying they were blowing it?
Really have you actually looked at the mass of evidence supported by architects and engineers about WTC7?
I take evidence from experts seriously.
Who do you listen to?
The governments flawed enquiry ?
You cherry pick the evidence that suits your beliefs, while either ignoring the vast majority of opinion, or implying that everyone who disagrees with you is corrupt.
See, the thing is that I have seen those clips due to previous arguments. And they never live up to their advertising, or rely on heavy editing. Like your “free fall collapse” theory, it took significantly longer than free-fall time to collapse. The math blatantly disproves the “free fall” hyperbole. I argued this with CR last time, using footage and G calculators and everything.
I’m surprised you missed that debate.
And another one.
And another one.
And oh look, 2009.
But feel free to keep recycling the same old bullshit.
I must admit i’m a bit bemused that people still debate what happened that day. I’ve never found it surprising that any of the buildings collapsed after the damage that they suffered.
Can you explain what issue you have with the official story of plane crashes followed by fires and the other nearby buildings being collateral damage from the major two buildings collapsing ?
I think the significant issue is that 911 was used as a pretext for extreme paranoia, the creation of a police state, and an endless war on terror in “the land of the free”.
With the strange stock market fluctuations leading up to the disaster, and GWB’s weird reaction to it, it’s not too much of a leap to think it was an inside job.
If it wasn’t a deliberate false flag operation it was a perfect opportunity for Bush, Cheney et al to live out their teenage wet dreams and play global war games (encouraged by their .mil sponsors).
But as Hanlon’s razor goes (paraphrase) “never attribute to conspiracy that which is adequately explained by an epic fuck-up”
I would have thought they could have come up with a better load of perpetrators than “Saudis trained in Afghanistan”, if it were all a bush/cheney concoction to invade Iraq.
Iraqi kurds, for example. Then throw in suspicion that it was Saddam not the Kurds.
I fully agree that it was an excuse to invade Iraq, and even that maybe they thought they might be able to build and protect an oil pipeline across Afghanistan as well. But a number of charlatans have also made a lot of money out of pretending way more happened than what seemed to happen on the day: nineteen hijackers gambling that hostages on four aircraft will work to an old template, while the hijackers switch it up a notch.
Note the violence of the attacks made, Penny.
These 9/11 deniers are not open to critical thinking on this issue.
No open minds on this topic for some.
Truther? Name calling.
Actually 2000 Arcitects and Engineers.
I call that experts.
But hey you know better!
Make an argument rather than attack the messenger.
Hahaha, rebutting right-wing nut-jobs with “renowned left wing thinkers”…
It really doesn’t matter if they’re left or right; we’re really just pointing out the fact that those with right-wing tendencies are on average more fearful and also distrustful of government/organisation, thus increasing their propensity to believe in conspiracy theories.
Any of you folk arguing against 9/11 TRUTH ever cut steel with an oxy-acetylene gas axe
Indeed I have Penny, and with carefully considered application of techniques and heat sink properties I’ve straightened, cambered, bent, distorted, twisted and deflected all manner and sizes of steel posts, beams, rafters, supports and stanchions using nothing more than propane, cotton waste and a bucket of water.
Used to work in the steel making industry so I know a little bit about it as well. Helps to have some knowledge of the field when throwing conspiracy theories about.
Most polls show that increasing numbers of people question 9/11.
We now know the US government lied about WMD in Iraq, chemical weapons in Syria and through Snowden we know they’ve lied about spying.
And so you take the fairy tale about 9/11 as gospel truth.
Most people no longer believe the official tale.
Most polls? Go on, cite me baby! Last time I looked, one in twenty Americans believed Elvis was still alive. I’m told quite a few of them are also convinced that God exists. Funny old world, eh?
via the Irascible Curmudgeon, in the sidebar
` There’s trouble brewing in Middle Earth
1. Huge dairy slump, down 45% since 2013
2. Overall exports down 27% since last February
3. World dairy prices slide 10.8% in 2 weeks, in anticipation of a huge oversupply
4. Auckland property CVs out of date, 20% jump in median price in 18 months
It must be an Anglo-Saxon disease. You can see it in London, in Sydney, Melbourne, New York, Toronto. The new normal way to make your failing economy look ‘healthy’ is to sell assets to any rich foreigner or investment fund who comes knocking, no matter what the consequences, short term or long term. In all these cities, young people can forget about buying a home, that allegedly government supported dream.
And everyone but the rich are pushed out ever further into the boondock burbs. It’s a ‘policy’ that kills cities, of necessity. Cities need people, real people, all people, poor and rich and old and young, that have grown up where they live, they love where they live, they are interested in making it look good and feel good. This is an ongoing and organic process, because cities are alive, and yes, you can kill them. But that’s for another story.
…The country’s prime minister since 2008, John Key, used to work at Merrill Lynch and the New York Fed, and that sort of background guarantees valiant efforts to sell anything in the country that’s not bolted down, and take an axe to what is. It also guarantees zero initiative to become self-sufficient.
Here’s Bernard Hickey:
China embarked on an infrastructure spree after the global financial crisis. Over the three years to 2013, China poured 6.4 gigatonnes of concrete, which was more than was poured in the US in the entire 20th century. All that concrete needed reinforcing with steel and China didn’t have enough iron ore and coking coal to make it. That building boom created a glut of apartments and debt, which China now needs to digest.
… iron ore production in Australia has only now ramped up to its peak levels. Weak demand met high supply to produce a price slump. This all may seem irrelevant to New Zealand, but it’s not. The Australian dollar has fallen in response to the iron ore crash, while New Zealand’s dollar has remained strong because our economy is humming along, thanks to building surges in Christchurch and Auckland and plenty of spending and investment.
…The biggest log-trucking firm in the Nelson region was recently put into voluntary administration owing $14m, partly because of a slump in log exports to China. New Zealand’s logs are now mostly shipped to China to be timber boxing for the concrete being poured in its new “ghost” cities. The Chinese iron ore butterfly has flapped and now we’re seeing Gold Coast winter breaks become cheaper and logging contracts rarer.
Time is winding down for NZ’s housing bubble ponzi scheme
There is nothing nerdish about the irrepressible Gabrielle O’Brien. She carries her keys on a Southpark key ring and her Benson and Hedges in her knock-off Gucci handbag. She wears T-shirts with messages: “Do Not Start With Me, You Will Not Win”. O’Brien, at 26, is quite old for a Young Nat. Her parents are staunch Labour. O’Brien is studying politics and Maori and admits she wants to be Prime Minister.
I was on a busy motorway when I listened to RNZ news the afternoon. Top story? The bloody pip-squeak from Dirty Politics, Jordan Williams and his equally pip-squeak “tax payers union”. The air turned blue inside my car.
Why oh why don’t the opposition parties expose the little ratbag and his ratbag bunch of dishonest losers? Nah… they sit there and let them get away with the hoax, because that is all it is – a mighty big hoax supported and abetted by the MSM.
Over the years I’ve watched lots of sci-fi on TV and at the movies. Quite a few of them would have cars and trucks in them with dashboards that’d make a battleships sensors officer jealous.
You're just too too obscure for meOh you don't really get through to meAnd there's no need for you to talk that wayIs there any less pessimistic things to say?Songwriters: Graeme DownesToday, I thought we’d take a look at some of the most cringe-inducing moments from last week, but don’t ...
Please note: I’ve delayed my “What can we do?” article for this video.The video above shows Destiny Church members assaulting staff and librarians as they pushed through to a room of terrified parents and young children.It was posted to social media last night.But if you read Sinead Boucher’s Stuff, you ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is sea level rise exaggerated? Sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate, not stagnating or decreasing. Warming global temperatures cause land ice ...
Here is a scenario, but first a historical parallel. Hitler and the Nazis could well have accomplished everything that they wanted to do within German borders, including exterminating Jews, so long as they confined their ambitious to Germany itself. After all, the world pretty much sat and watched as the ...
I’ve spent the last couple of days in Hamilton covering Waikato University’s annual NZ Economics Forum, where (arguably) three of the most influential people in our political economy right now laid out their thinking in major speeches about the size and role of Government, their views on for spending, tax ...
Simeon Brown’s Ideology BentSimeon Brown once told Kiwis he tries to represent his deep sense of faith by interacting “with integrity”.“It’s important that there’s Christians in Parliament…and from my perspective, it’s great to be a Christian in Parliament and to bring that perspective to [laws, conversations and policies].”And with ...
Severe geological and financial earthquakes are inevitable. We just don’t know how soon and how they will play out. Are we putting the right effort into preparing for them?Every decade or so the international economy has a major financial crisis. We cannot predict exactly when or exactly how it will ...
Questions1. How did Old Mate Grabaseat describe his soon-to-be-Deputy-PM’s letter to police advocating for Philip Polkinghorne?a.Ill-advisedb.A perfect letterc.A letter that will live in infamyd.He had me at hello2. What did Seymour say in response?a.What’s ill-advised is commenting when you don’t know all the facts and ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff has called on OJI Fibre Solutions to work with the government, unions, and the community before closing the Kinleith Paper Mill. “OJI has today announced 230 job losses in what will be a devastating blow for the community. OJI needs to work with ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is sounding the alarm about the latest attack on workers from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden, who is ignoring her own officials to pursue reckless changes that would completely undermine the personal grievance system. “Brooke van Velden’s changes will ...
Hi,When I started writing Webworm in 2020, I wrote a lot about the conspiracy theories that were suddenly invading our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds. Four years ago a reader, John, left this feedback under one of my essays:It’s a never ending labyrinth of lunacy which, as you have pointed ...
And if you said this life ain't good enoughI would give my world to lift you upI could change my life to better suit your moodBecause you're so smoothAnd it's just like the ocean under the moonOh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from youYou got the ...
Aotearoa remains the minority’s birthright, New Zealand the majority’s possession. WAITANGI DAY commentary see-saws manically between the warmly positive and the coldly negative. Many New Zealanders consider this a good thing. They point to the unexamined patriotism of July Fourth and Bastille Day celebrations, and applaud the fact that the ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown says the deal with China “complements, not replaces” the relationship with New Zealand after signing it yesterday. Brown said “The Action Plan for Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) 2025-2030” provides a structured framework for engagement between the Cook Islands ...
The government should not set military style academies into youth justice law, the children's commissioner says, despite its first bootcamp getting a glowing report. ...
The infamous over-the-suit T-shirt worn by the PM at a Parliament barbecue has gone on sale to raise funds for children living in poverty, in a TradeMe auction. ...
MONDAYSheriff Seymour rode slowly down the main street of Dodge on his faithful white horse Atlas Network.He liked what he saw.Children were being fed free lunches prepared by kind people who collected the scraps from an offal rendering plant.“Very strongly flavoured liver, such as ox liver, can be soaked overnight ...
Once upon a time it was all about being an astronaut, a firefighter or doctor; but these days kids have their sights set on becoming vloggers or YouTubers.That’s according to a 2019 study by Lego that surveyed 3000 children between the ages of eight to 12 from the US, the ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. From the moment I started high school and realised almost every other girl in my year was at least partially interested in what the boys were up to, I realised that I would be single for life. The feeling wasn’t one of ...
The Pacific profiles series shines a light on Pacific people in Aotearoa doing interesting and important work in their communities, as nominated by members of the public. Today, Selina Alesana Alefosio.All photos by Geoffery Matautia.On a bright Sunday morning from her grandparent’s home in Pito-one, I spoke with ...
The White Lotus star reflects on her life in TV, including the local ad reference that doesn’t work in Australia, and her bananas co-star on Neighbours.Morgana O’Reilly was scrolling her phone next to her sleeping son on an idle Saturday morning when she got the call confirming that she ...
Claire Mabey explores the pros and cons of puff quotes on book covers.In January, Publishers Weekly put out an article by Sean Manning – publisher of Simon & Schuster’s flagship US imprint – in which he said he’d “no longer require authors to obtain blurbs for their books”.The ...
New Zealand’s Entomological Society is hosting its annual bug of the year contest. Here are some of the insects in the running. For some reason – perhaps humans’ inherent competitiveness, the idealisation of democracy, the need to demarcate winners and losers – one of the best ways to get people ...
A journey along the border, with words and illustrations by Bob Kerr.The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous support of our members.The Sunset Limited leaves Union Station New Orleans on time at nine in the morning. We ...
Neville Peat is the 2024 recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in nonfiction. He’s written 56 books, mostly on natural history; this excerpt is from The Falcon and the Lark: A New Zealand High Country Journal, first published in 1992. The falcon wintering on the Rock and ...
It was a light-hearted gesture Greta Pilkington will be forever grateful for – thanks to an Aussie rival who jumped in when the Olympic sailor couldn’t be at her own graduation.Pilkington, then 20, had been leading a double life – while qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the ILCA ...
I was born in the back of my grandfather’s ute, by an overgrown windbreak in a remote place called Wahi-Rakauyou can’t find on a map. I was born a girl but given the man’s name Harvey, as my dad always wanted a violent-minded boy to one day help him ...
“We’re not here to interfere in people’s property rights,” Ngāi Tahu’s Te Maire Tau has told the High Court.Tau, a historian, Upoko (traditional leader) of Ngāi Tūāhuriri, and a university professor of history, is the lead witness in a case designed to force the Crown to recognise the tribe’s rangatiratanga ...
Pacific Media Watch Trump administration officials barred two Associated Press (AP) reporters from covering White House events this week because the US-based independent news agency did not change its style guide to align with the president’s political agenda. The AP is being punished for using the term “Gulf of Mexico,” ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific Presenter/Bulletin editor France’s top diplomat in the Pacific region says talks around the “unfreezing” of New Caledonia’s highly controversial electoral roll are back on the table. The French government intended to make a constitutional amendment that would lift restrictions prescribed under the Nouméa Accord, which ...
By bringing these global voices to the fight for free expression in New Zealand, we’ll continue to protect and expand our culture of free speech, says Nathan Seiuli, the Free Speech Union's Events Manager. ...
The issue is no longer a hypothetical one. US President Donald Trump will not explicitly suggest death camps, but he has already consented to Israel’s continuing a war that is not a war but rather a barbaric assault on a desolate stretch of land. From there, the road to annihilation is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cecelia Cmielewski, Research Fellow, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University To be selected as the artist and curator team to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale is considered the ultimate exhibition for an artistic team. To have your selection rescinded, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Turton, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography, CQUniversity Australia Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia is bearing down on the northwest coast of Australia and is likely to make landfall early Friday evening. It’s a monster storm of great concern to Western Australia. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Ireland-Piper, Associate Professor, ANU National Security College, Australian National University A Victorian government decision to allow dingo culling in the state’s east until 2028 has reignited debate over what has been dubbed Australia’s most controversial animal. Animals Australia, an animal welfare ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Deakin University Overnight, Robert F. Kennedy Jr was confirmed as the secretary of the US Health and Human Services Department. Put simply, this makes him the most influential figure in overseeing the health and wellbeing of more ...
Everything you missed from day five of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard eight hours of submissions.Read our recaps of the previous hearings here.It was another work from home day for the Justice Committee, the only people in Room 3 being security guards, committee ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor & Principal Fellow in Urban Risk & Resilience, The University of Melbourne Juris Teivans/Shutterstock In Australia, fatal road crashes are climbing again, especially since the pandemic, and despite years of attempts to reduce road trauma, the numbers ...
In its eagerness to appease supporters of Israel, the media is happy to ride roughshod over due process and basic rights. It’s damaging Australia’s (and New Zealand’s?) democracy.COMMENTARY:By Bernard Keane Two moments stand out so far from the Federal Court hearings relating to Antoinette Lattouf’s sacking by the ...
“The reality is we’re getting poorer. The government this year is leaning heavy on chasing economic growth, which is absolutely the right thing to do.” ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 The Vegetarian by Han Kang (Granta, $28) Han Kang’s astounding novel was based on an ...
And in the middle east a Palestinian Feminist MP is placed in administrative detention by Isreali forces. She is one of 17 legislators who have been treated this way.
“According to the Alternative Information Center, Jarrar is joining 16 other members of the PLC who are currently serving time in Israeli prisons, which means that more than 10 percent of Palestinian lawmakers are currently in Israeli prisons. Nine of those members — including Hamas member Aziz Dweik — are in administrative detention, and have not stood trial nor been sentenced. The PLC is comprised of 132 members who were elected in the last democratic elections held in the PA in 2006.”
http://972mag.com/israel-puts-feminist-palestinian-mp-in-admin-detention/105317/
Unusual way of spelling Israel Mickey, or was that intentional?
Typo Ron. Easy to transpose two letters when typing.
For instance typing Mickey instead of micky 😉
Totally accidental Ron. I was in a hurry …
No Problem I just had a thought that you might have intentionally spelt it that way to make a point.
Ron, what was the point you imagined mickysavage might have been making?
The el at the end of Israel refers to their God. Thought he might have been making a point on that considering the subject.
My mind works in funny ways, just wanted to see if I was seeing something that sounded interesting to me.
The “Palestinian feminist MP” thing is a bit misleading (makes her sound like she could be a Palestinian version of Hillary Clinton!).
This isn’t at all a criticism of you Micky, you just got it from another magazine and it’s great that you’ve mentioned her case – but I really dislike the way people in the West, like that magazine, continuously deny agency to the Palestinians. In this case denying Khalida Jarrar the right to be presented as what she actually is.
Khalida Jarrar is a Marxist and a member of the Politbureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. That’s why she was snatched by the Israeli occupation forces.
Her two main areas of work as a central leader of the PFLP are around prisoners and women’s rights. The occupation has been continuously harassing her, trying to force her to leave Ramallah, while simultaneously attempting to prevent her leaving the country.
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/free-khalida-jarrar/
On ‘administrative detention’ see:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/palestine-ireland-free-the-political-prisoners/
(this is from a talk I gave a few years ago on political prisoners in Ireland and Palestine, places internment without trial have been widely used)
An update on ‘administrative detention’ was provided by one of our readers yeterday, see: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/israels-use-of-administrative-detention-an-update/
Police shut 30 stations in an effort to combat budget cuts-‘O’connor says stations are being moved from low-socio economic areas, because residents tend to put up less of a fight. “That’s why we are a little cynical about this . . . people there often do need somewhere to go running to.”
– The Dominion Post
They claim there are more cops on the street instead of in the station but 111 call response times have lengthened and have failed to meet targets which makes a mockery of the “street vs station approach” does it not?
David Farrar’s love of statistics is well known – I wonder if he’ll highlight this?
And there has been this 20% drop in crime says Mike Bush – really so why not have budget cuts too ?? Or is the drop just lack of recording
Lack of recording. Last time I went in to report a crime they tried really hard to get me not to. I suspect those that aren’t as much of a bastard as I am are probably persuaded not to.
This clip from ‘The Wire’ seems relevant:
First it was the post offices…
..then it was the hospitals…
..then the schools…
now the police stations..
What goes around, comes around ..
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/when-it-comes-to-moneyshufflers-its-time-for-the-whip-20150405-1meivv.html
I have just searched TS (POA Tony Gibson) and am puzzled as to why the latest item about POA on TS dates back to the fight between the Union and POA in 2012.
ON TVNZ Q&A yesterday Gibson claimed he was not arrogant , that he had discussed
expansion plans, that the extensions proposed did not need to be notified , etc etc etc ad nauseum.
It is my opinion that the complex governance arrangement where our elected Mayor & Councillors are twice removed from the POA by two appointed boards, ACIL and POA
who appear to be in thrall to the CEO Tony Gibson is part of the problem.
Be quite clear that the major shipping company using POA is Maersk and Tony Gibson is an ex CEO of Maersk , The Fox in the Henhouse?
He also said that continuing expansion will not be needed as there will be a “Paradigm Shift” in the international freight industry , what ever that means.
The fact that we Aucklanders own the POA outright and that we have elected a Mayor and Council seems to be lost to the people near the action, is this Democracy in the 21st Century?
So many things to write about, so little time…. And authors tend to write opinions about things that they are interested in
Guest post
Thanks for your comment Iprent so now a search will show April 2015, cool.
I noted in the first interview that Mayor, Les Brown suggested expanding the Onehunga port on the Manukau Harbour and building the much needed railway across the isthmus connecting the two ports. Seemed like an eminently sensible idea to me and would counter the need to expand out into the harbour.
When it came to the interview with Gibson, he appeared to ignore Brown’s suggestion and to concentrate instead on the geographical and economic inadequacies of moving port facilities to Whangarei or Tauranga. I had the impression he deliberately left out the alternate idea of the Onehunga port expansion probably because it came from Mayor Brown. In other words there is the usual political game playing from POA.
These POA executives were put in place by Rodney Hide were they not?
The Manukau is a mass of shifting sandbanks and not really suitable for a major port:
Surely with modern equipment the sandbanks and the bar at the mouth could be regularly dredged to keep a channel open and clear. Of course the large container ships could not use the port, but the small cargo boats – and there’s plenty of them – could be diverted to Onehunga, especially if facilities are expanded to cater for them.
It probably could be but how much damage do you want to do to the ecosystem there?
Personally I’m more in favour of shutting down the ports and moving most of the operation to Marsden Point where there’s a nice deep harbour and rail to Auckland.
@ DTB
As I understand it there is no rail link to Marsden from Whangarei and the tunnels to Auckland are not big enough for 40ft containers, other wise that does seem to be a smart solution for more and bigger ships.
Heh, was wondering about that but couldn’t find it either way so just guessed. Still, it’s one of those things that should be put in before more roads.
I’m sure that there will be one by the end of the year.
Their new MP has promised it. As he said while campaigning.
“Mr Peters said the Northland to Auckland line has been run down, but worse than that was no rail link to the deep water port at Marsden Pt. “We will fix both of those up.””
He didn’t say how he would get it to happen though.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11317686
He can advance a members bill and I’m reasonably certain that a majority of MPs in parliament would support it – if it gets pulled from the hat. We really do need to make government more representative of the voters.
Alwyn above @ 2.56 pm today – some bleak consolation I guess that the 13,000 turnaround Northland thrashing can be turned to fuel a mock-fest because Peters not being in government is actually powerless without the happenchance of ballot draw supported beyond the opposition benches.
Something we all knew of course when ‘sending the message’ about conceit and duplicity and emperor-no-clothes. Apparently not known to the conceited and duplicitous and emperor-no-clothes however who invested considerable fetid air in fearmongering that the sky would fall in if they weren’t ‘allowed’ to win.
Goodness…….the unnatural contortions of the miffed ‘Born To Rule’, found out and suffering third-termitis !
@Anne The suggestion about using Onehunga may not be as silly as some think.
What if the waste area above the bridge was reclaimed and used for industry but more importantly heaps of space to store imported cars while they are processed before being released for sale thus leaving a huge area clear for container freight at Auckland . The vehicle ships would simply use Onehunga rather than Auckland.
Sound too simple??
My knowledge of the subject is very limited, but every time I cross the bridge and look across at the port it saddens me that it has been left to run down. It was a bustling port once. My conclusion is that the decision over the decades to ignore the area is a political one. That is, there were/are few votes in it for the predominantly National govts. since the 1950s. The potential to turn it into a modern day collection point for appropriate cargo storage and a quick turn-around for the smaller cargo boats is huge. Add a dedicated railway link between the two ports and that has got to be good for the entire Auckland isthmus and well beyond.
The problem is, it takes imagination and a long term outlook. We know the self- grandiosing NAct puppets have negligible quantities of both.
The capitalists don’t like democracy as it gets in the way of them doing anything they want. This is shown in National’s canning of democracy and implementation of dictatorship in Canterbury.
The fact of the matter is that our entire Representative Democracy was set up so as to prevent actual democracy and to leave the rich and powerful in charge.
How Gibson wasn’t frog marched into council chambers and dismissed after the antics exposed in the book Dirty Politics has me fucked. On that note the one pity of Maritime Union finally settling their collective agreement with the POAL, was the union didn’t seek discovery. This is the real reason the port company settled. Damage control and what came out would have been very very interesting.
Gibson is scum, the first thing Phil Goff Off needs to be pinned down on is a shake up of the port board and getting rid of Gibson and or both.
Most likely that the fake competition between ports, and lack of co-operative planning, will result in NZ losing the major hub port to Australia or Singapore.
6 days remaining until the scheduled return of the Rawshark 2.
Who?
Kevin who?…CR whose who..
what?
..& PU makes 2 for you..
What is this, a Billie Piper song?
+100 Parsupial…lol…am with you …still waving the placard for absent friends
There, there. You can play with the WAAAAAAAHMBULANCE as soon as Pete George has finished playing with it.
I see Pete has just put up his 5th post in four days about how he’s not at all obsessional about TS. Even his regular righty commenters are starting to question his sanity.
Heh, that was worth a look to see the quality of his commenters 😈
Useful to see The Al1en showing his true colours.
I’m glad he’s not bovvered at all 🙂
Not all his fault. I tend to goad people sometimes to display the full force of their personality (defects) when they start having a go at this site.
PG has shown his true colours (authoritarian worshiper of the wealthy) and gone back to his mates at Kiwibog. DPF to tries appear beige and reasonable as well, even though his blog is composed of ACT talking points.
It’s a relief not to face PG ‘s walls of text diverting from the serious issues facing NZ
the serious issues facing NZ
Such as long thread below on 9/11 Truth. Irony.
That’s nothing compared to PG’s long winded papal missives.
This is hilarious-and would probably have been banned in an election here….(maybe not any more after the recent HC decision)
https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FiSo39wiRxOM&h=DAQG4tBci
Fixed link
Thanks folks
That was funny
Greece draws up drachma plans, prepares to miss IMF payment
So the creditors are upset that Greece may help it’s people? This comes back to:
When you loan someone money you’re taking the risk that you’re not going to get it back.
And now they’re whinging that they won’t get it back despite knowing that risk.
Former European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso warned Greece that they have a moral obligation to other states, describing the demands for more time and money as “completely unacceptable”.
“We should remember that there are poorer countries that are lending money to Greece, so to propose a cut to their debt would be certain to receive a no from their partners,” he said.
Poorer than Greece… lending them money…
That makes sense.
As we’re being blessed with increasing establishment palaver about Gallipoli, it’s important to remember just what a dirty political business it was. Nothing glorious about NZ’s motives – we were helping invade Turkey so that Britain (and France) could carve up the Ottoman Empire.
Gallipoli: a dirty and bloody business: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/gallipoli-invasion-a-dirty-and-bloody-business/
And for NZ society in WW1, you can’t go past Eldred-Grigg’s work: Stevan Eldred-Grigg’s The Great Wrong War: NZ society and WW1: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2013/08/02/stevan-eldred-griggs-the-great-wrong-war-nz-society-and-ww1/
Plus Field Punishment Number One reviewed: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/04/24/field-punishment-no-1-reviewed-reminder-that-the-wars-not-over/
I’ve stuck up on Redline a major feature on the catastrophe in the Middle East since the western powers invaded Iraq:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/the-middle-east-blowback-from-the-iraq-war/
A Kiwi mum in Perth whose baby boy has a rare medical condition is pleading for help.
Stacy Maitai had to give up her job to care for her baby and she now survives on less than $100 a week.
Her son, Malakai, is seven months old and has never left hospital.
“It breaks my heart that I can’t do that for him, I can’t do what I can to get him home,” Ms Maitai says.
Ms Maitai is from Tolaga Bay and moved to Perth four years ago.
Her baby boy has a rare condition called Pallister Killian Syndrome (PKS), and he can’t see or hear and struggles to breathe.
A single mother of two, Ms Maitai has had to give up work to care for him, but because she’s not an Australian citizen, she survives on $180 a fortnight. She can barely pay for her bus ride to the hospital.
“I’ve looked at every avenue to get support for us, but basically there is nothing, only because I am a Kiwi,” says Ms Maitai.
“If Malakai was just a normal baby I would be able to part-time work, but because of my condition there’s a stop with my future because of what I can do and what I can’t do.”
PKS is a rare developmental disorder, with only a few hundred people diagnosed with it. Two live here in New Zealand – one in Whangarei, the other in the Waikato.
Read more:
http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/kiwi-mum-needs-help-with-sick-baby-2015040517#ixzz3WUBIlFVs
A ‘Hope for Malakai’ fundraising page has been set up. If you would like to contribute, here is the link to the fund raising page:
https://www.mycause.com.au/page/90460/hopeformalakai
How many of folks on The Standard, have actually read and considered the research and opinions of over 2000 registered architects and engineers for 9/11 truth?
http://www.ae911truth.org
Given that 9/11 was arguably a convenient UNtruth upon which was based the (unlawful) invasion of Iraq, the never-ending (and very profitable) ‘War on Terror’, the mass surveillance and attacks on privacy of millions of people, and attacks on civil liberties and democratic rights of USA citizens under the Patriot Act?
Remember – the focus of architects and engineers for 9/11 TRUTH is not WHO was behind and caused 9/11.
The focus is HOW 9/11 happened.
Could the heat generated by burning airline fuel (kerosene), cause the collapse of the Twin Towers in their footprint at ‘free fall’ speed?
Seriously?
If so – how come your kerosene heater doesn’t melt when you fire it up?
Penny Bright
I agree Penny.
Expect to cop some abuse for saying this.
I agree to.
What happens if you put a bunch of curtains and office furniture and stationary and other flammable items on your burning kerosene heater?
PS: how does temperature affect the tensile strength of steel?
…and is her kerosene heater holding up a decent-sized building while being used</i.
For the upteenth time:
1: it wasn’t “free fall speed”
2: they didn’t collapse into their own “footprint”
3: even if we assumed the fire consisted solely of “kerosene” and had no other environmental factors, it would have been hot enough to significantly weaken steel structures that were already overloaded due to having an aircraft collision damage the structure.
Yes, bush/cheney used 9/11 and spurious intelligence on Al Qaeda connections as excuses to invade Iraq. That doesn’t mean that they engineered the 9/11 attacks.
Yes, bush/cheney used 9/11 and spurious intelligence on Al Qaeda connections as excuses to invade Iraq. That doesn’t mean that they engineered the 9/11 attacks
It makes them along with a number of others who share long standing associations the top of the suspects sheet
So about those 28 redacted pages
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Inquiry_into_Intelligence_Community_Activities_before_and_after_the_Terrorist_Attacks_of_September_11,_2001#Redacted_sections
[lprent: Interesting, you just used a IP that has been previously used to permanently exclude a troll. A offshore cell IP. Explanation please. ]
Most people who question the 9/11 fairy tale just want an open, full and transparent enquiry.
Not a big ask.
BTW, 9/11 was also the gateway for major incursions into our civil rights.
Five Eyes and total surveillance could not have happened without 9/11.
That’s why the events of that day are so important and need to be investigated properly.
Five Eyes was going long before 9/11, fool. All that’s changed in the last 14 years is the technology.
As for a full and transparent enquiry, the yanks went one better and had a commission. You wanna try reading the report, all the answers are in there. Or you can continue parroting the lines of the US right, boring friends and acquaintances shitless with your witterings. Happily, as time goes by, less and less time is wasted on this shit.
Is it a nice day where you are? Why don’t you go for a walk?
FTFY
Yeah, that’s right, Draco. 800 pages that explain exactly what happened doesn’t count. The eyewitness testimony of thousands of New Yorkers doesn’t count. The deaths of 3000 people doesn’t count. Some mad righties with no alternatives frothing on the interwebs? Totes reliable.
lol
talk about editing “as necessary”
“The deaths of 3000 people doesn’t count.”
How is that relevant to the point you’re making?
unless the redactions in the 911 commission report include bits like “and everything else in this report is fabricated and made up”, it’s erroneous to say that “all the answers are ██ █████.”
Included in the unredacted bits are analyses of how 3000 people died.
I didn’t think anyone was arguing that 3000 people hadn’t died though.
depends on which flavour truther you speak to, apparently
Seriously? That’s fucking nuts. Who here is arguing that?
McFlock is just out on some sort of flight of fancy reading in more than what was there.
Weird thing for TRP to say.
There’s been a lot of that lately:
“doesn’t count” becoming “hadn’t died”, for example.
So where’s the relevance then?
All I’m doing is pointing out a weird non-sequitur. If you think there’s a reasonable explanation for it that doesn’t amount to ‘AND THEY HATE PUPPIES TOO!!!’ then I’m all ears.
Ok Felix:
Draco said all the answers are redacted.
TRP listed three things that supply or strongly imply answers: 800 pages, eyewitness testimony, and 3000 deaths. And TRP said that apparently according to DTB, none of those things count, but some rightwing nutter on the internet provides totally reliable evidence.
Are you up with the play, now?
I have been all along buddy.
It only makes sense if TRP is saying that Draco doesn’t believe those examples represent facts.
Draco contests the redacted report. TRP therefore reasonably attributes to Draco the belief that the report doesn’t count.
Then – in the exact same context – he attributes the belief that “the deaths of 3000 people doesn’t count”.
The problem with that is that the fact that 3000 people died isn’t evidence for or against any particular theory under discussion, crackpot or otherwise.
Like I say, it depends what flavour crackpot we’re dealing with. But whatever. If you want to focus on one out of three as some sort of victory of… whatever, that’s cool. What about the other two?
The other two relate to the discussion. The third one was a weird irrelevant accusation.
Are you up with the play yet?
Yeah I’ve figured out that you’re playing the “ignore things that don’t suit you, fixate on the one thing you think you can distract with” game.
Although personally I’d like every truther here to categorically state that they believe the official victim count is correct before I agree with your call on its relevance.
So go ahead and ask them, but playing games with the precise body count doesn’t change what’s already been said and it doesn’t open up any explanations for it neither.
And I’ll thank you not to ascribe motives to me when you seem to be having so much trouble even following what I’ve said, which really hasn’t been all that complicated.
Meh ok I’ll rephrase without suggesting motive:
You’ve spent half a dozen comments debating one of three things trp listed that contradict dtb’s statement that all the answers are redacted.
You have made no comments on the other points.
Dtb is still incorrect.
Here you go McFlock, France has an answer for you.
😈 😆
“You’ve spent half a dozen comments debating one of three things trp listed that contradict dtb’s statement that all the answers are redacted.
You have made no comments on the other points.”
Why should I respond to those other points, McFlock? I’m not disputing them.
If you like I can go through every comment on every thread on TheStandard and put a +1 after all the ones I agree with, but I reckon you might then want to know why I haven’t actively disputed all of the remainder.
Arguing about the relevance of a single point when the outcome of that argument is irrelevant to the outcome of the argument that the points were made in does seem remarkably postmodern of you, Felix.
Whereas sandwiching emotive attacks on your opponents in-between relevant rebuttals of their arguments is just an excersise in nasty dishonest bullshit.
So in this instance, sure I’ll be the post-modernist. Of course you could probably qualify too by arguing that being right about something means you can ascribe absolutely any view to people who are wrong about that thing, and that process doesn’t matter as long as the outcome doesn’t change.
It’s not dishonest. It’s the honest outcome of listening to ten years of nutbars fail to comprehend basic concepts like gravity and footprint. Given that and the nanothermite bullshit in links commenters have posted in this very thread, you’re lucky that only every other comment has been “emotive”.
While you’ve apparently been a fucking Vulcan all along. /sarc
No I’m just a Vulcan right now. It’s a post modern thing.
I understand your frustration on this topic. However there is no justification for accusing people of thinking 3000 deaths “doesn’t count” when they haven’t said anything of the sort.
Even if they’ve said other things that drive you nuts.
Even if they’re wrong about all of them.
Even when you have other valid points to make, that just isn’t one of them.
And although it’s right up TRP’s alley to fling that sort of monkey shit at the wall, it’s beneath you to defend it.
+1 felix
I had a browse of this thread and while I couldn’t really understand what you and McFlock were arguing about, your summary here clarifies it quite a bit. It really is very poor to attribute outrageous statements to people when they didn’t make them.
“doesn’t count” as evidence. Like the other two things in TRP’s list. If all the answers are redacted, nothing can be concluded from everything that is unredacted. Which is bullshit.
But even if your complaint were accurate, what’s your point: that it harms the reputation of a bunch of nutbars who seem to treat 911 as a hobby? It doesn’t.
Nope, the point is (still) that he didn’t say it. And you (still) don’t think that matters, because nutbars. Or something.
And it (still) wouldn’t be evidence anyway unless someone were denying that 3000 people died, which (still) no-one here seems to have done.
how did you get “denying that 3000 people died” from “The deaths of 3000 people doesn’t count”, again?
I didn’t, you did. Because that’s what would have to have been said in order for your “evidence” defense to stand.
Again.
Yawn.
You are incorrect. What would have to have been said is that the deaths of 3000 people do not count as evidence, not that they didn’t happen.
As in “oh fuck, all these people are dead. What can we infer from that? Nothing. Wow – 800 pages of report. what can we infer from that? Nothing. Holy crap, loads of eyewitnesses say that they saw planes fly into buildings. What can we infer from that? Nothing”.
All because some of one report was redacted. Which is what dtb said: “all the answers are ██ █████”.
“You are incorrect. What would have to have been said is that the deaths of 3000 people do not count as evidence, not that they didn’t happen.”
Only (yawn) if it was (yaaawn) someone’s argument that (yaaaaaawn) those people didn’t die, i.e. that the (yaaaaawn) event itself never occurred.
Which it (yaaaaaaaaaawn) still isn’t.
Seriously dude, I’ve explained this to you so many times now. You’re either not being honest or you have a serious problem with comprehension. And you’ve never struck me as a fool.
It’s all there in black and white for anyone who’s interested, I’m done wasting time with people who treat 911 as a hobby.
Ah.
Your fixation on a logical fallacy is obviously due to fatigue.
Fuck off and get some sleep, then. Maybe you’ll understand basic logic when you wake up.
And yet you go to such effort to defend their reputations.
Q. How does the report explain exactly what happened ?
You are unwilling to debate this topic reasonably
It absolutely did not fall at free fall speed. Why do people keep repeating this easily disproved “fact” when it has conclusively shown to be fucking rubbish?
Have you seen the Architects and Engineers film?
You can see chunks of rubble, which are in free fall, fall faster than the building. Pretty clear evidence the building isn’t falling at free fall.
Have you seen the Architects and Engineers film?
Yes. An it is still very clear that the building isn’t falling at free fall.
It’s clear the official story is nonsense.
How would you know? You haven’t even read the official story, nor are you equipped to assess its veracity, nor willing to debate any of your talking points.
For example, when Penny Bright displayed her ignorance of the tensile response of steel to temperature, and pretended that aviation fuel was the only flammable substance present, you agreed with her, then failed to respond to the rebuttal.
I take this as a demonstration of ignorance and bias rather than willful deceit. Apparently 0.1% (approx.) of the architects and engineers of the USA are similarly afflicted. So what?
Name 1 steel framed skyscraper that has collapsed due to fire except on 9/11
I think you are missing something…was it just a fire or was it a fire caused by a fucking airliner smashing into the building at several 100’s of kms per hour.
No plane hit WTC7
WTC7 was severally damaged by debris – one of many buildings damaged
Hardly touched, actually
Have you watched the Architects film?
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CS3OZtI7Go4
http://www.911myths.com/html/wtc7_damage.html
but it wasn’t just “steel framed”, was it. And it wasn’t just a fire, was it.
Or to flip it around, can you name a single building with similar construction design (as well as materials) that had a decent-sized passenger jet fly into it and it didn’t collapse? Because AFAIK plane crashes are running at two for two.
No plane crashed into WTC7.
Apparently it crashed due to fire.
Are you aware of WTC7?
Indeed I am.
So feel free to replace “decent-sized passenger jet fly into it” with “hit by debris from a larger building collapsing next to it”, if you wish.
Hardly touched it.
And there were only tiny fires.
Are you aware the BBC reported its collapse before it happened.
Have you seen clips of its free fall collapse?
Clips of firefighters saying they were blowing it?
Really have you actually looked at the mass of evidence supported by architects and engineers about WTC7?
I take evidence from experts seriously.
Who do you listen to?
The governments flawed enquiry ?
You cherry pick the evidence that suits your beliefs, while either ignoring the vast majority of opinion, or implying that everyone who disagrees with you is corrupt.
It’s pathetic.
4,954 Days. No evidence.
According to you.
Not 2000 Architects and Engineers.
But hey, you know better.
0.1% of the engineers in the USA!
out of how many hundreds of thousands?
Every profession has its share of nutters, I guess.
“Hardly touched it”.
How would you know? You’re too lazy to gain an understanding of the engineering reports, and yet suddenly now you’re an expert on building fires.
See, the thing is that I have seen those clips due to previous arguments. And they never live up to their advertising, or rely on heavy editing. Like your “free fall collapse” theory, it took significantly longer than free-fall time to collapse. The math blatantly disproves the “free fall” hyperbole. I argued this with CR last time, using footage and G calculators and everything.
I’m surprised you missed that debate.
And another one.
And another one.
And oh look, 2009.
But feel free to keep recycling the same old bullshit.
Hi Paul
I must admit i’m a bit bemused that people still debate what happened that day. I’ve never found it surprising that any of the buildings collapsed after the damage that they suffered.
Can you explain what issue you have with the official story of plane crashes followed by fires and the other nearby buildings being collateral damage from the major two buildings collapsing ?
I think the significant issue is that 911 was used as a pretext for extreme paranoia, the creation of a police state, and an endless war on terror in “the land of the free”.
With the strange stock market fluctuations leading up to the disaster, and GWB’s weird reaction to it, it’s not too much of a leap to think it was an inside job.
If it wasn’t a deliberate false flag operation it was a perfect opportunity for Bush, Cheney et al to live out their teenage wet dreams and play global war games (encouraged by their .mil sponsors).
But as Hanlon’s razor goes (paraphrase) “never attribute to conspiracy that which is adequately explained by an epic fuck-up”
I would have thought they could have come up with a better load of perpetrators than “Saudis trained in Afghanistan”, if it were all a bush/cheney concoction to invade Iraq.
Iraqi kurds, for example. Then throw in suspicion that it was Saddam not the Kurds.
I fully agree that it was an excuse to invade Iraq, and even that maybe they thought they might be able to build and protect an oil pipeline across Afghanistan as well. But a number of charlatans have also made a lot of money out of pretending way more happened than what seemed to happen on the day: nineteen hijackers gambling that hostages on four aircraft will work to an old template, while the hijackers switch it up a notch.
Here’s a handy index to truther claims and the rebuttals thereof. Should save you some effort in future iterations of this argument.
Skepticism is healthy when applied to TPTB but not so useful when opining on matters requiring some training in engineering or science.
There are plenty of real conspiracies happening under our noses, no need to add a fictional one
(the military surveillance state, brazen bankster rorts, TPPA and the sale of NZ for example)
plus 100 ropata!
“There are plenty of real conspiracies happening under our noses, no need to add a fictional one.”
Oh i agree with you on that – the 9/11 stuff all seems as a bit of a distraction from the more important stuff that you’ve highlighted.
Any of you folk arguing against 9/11 TRUTH ever cut steel with an oxy-acetylene gas axe ?
Familiar with the term ‘heat sink’?
Have you actually bothered reading the research of over 2000 qualified architects and engineers on this matter?
Seriously?
http://www.ae911truth.org
Just have a look for yourselves – with an open mind?
Kind regards
Penny Bright
I stopped looking at it – years ago- when it brought out the same old easily-disprovable myths you’re recycling here.
Which myths?
Really? I listed some of them upthread.
I posted an article on why many on the left are scared of questioning 9/11
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41437.htm
Note the violence of the attacks made, Penny.
These 9/11 deniers are not open to critical thinking on this issue.
No open minds on this topic for some.
🙄
Wow, those rolly-eyes really are violent, eh /sarc
That does not represent a reasoned argument.
Have you actually watched this film?
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CS3OZtI7Go4
Before I watch yet another truther video, have you read the NIST report cover to cover?
edit: btw, the comment my rolly eyes comment was replying to was not a “reasoned argument” either. So stop being precious.
Truther? Name calling.
Actually 2000 Arcitects and Engineers.
I call that experts.
But hey you know better!
Make an argument rather than attack the messenger.
Is an attack to point out you and your right wing mates are mad as cut snakes? If so, I apologise unreservedly.
I have previously given you the names of renowned left wing thinkers who question 9/11.
What’s left of their arguments that hasn’t been comprehensively debunked years ago?
How sad for them. It’s a right wing beat up. Entirely up to you whether you buy into it.
Hahaha, rebutting right-wing nut-jobs with “renowned left wing thinkers”…
It really doesn’t matter if they’re left or right; we’re really just pointing out the fact that those with right-wing tendencies are on average more fearful and also distrustful of government/organisation, thus increasing their propensity to believe in conspiracy theories.
Architects whose beliefs have been publicly disowned by their professional body.
Note: that’s an attack upon the message, not the dishonest messenger.
that would be a “no” then.
Indeed I have Penny, and with carefully considered application of techniques and heat sink properties I’ve straightened, cambered, bent, distorted, twisted and deflected all manner and sizes of steel posts, beams, rafters, supports and stanchions using nothing more than propane, cotton waste and a bucket of water.
Used to work in the steel making industry so I know a little bit about it as well. Helps to have some knowledge of the field when throwing conspiracy theories about.
good comments, thanks
Aw Jesus, Penny, you’re not a Truther are you?
Any Rand – why is she still a thing?
Believing the official 9/11 story.
Why is that still a thing?
Trolling. Why is that still a thing?
No…debating a vital topic that makes sense of the the events since 2001.
The Elephant in the Room
You appear in denial.
Denial?
Ever think you might be wrong, that the events have already been pretty thoroughly explained by the “official” story?
Most polls show that increasing numbers of people question 9/11.
We now know the US government lied about WMD in Iraq, chemical weapons in Syria and through Snowden we know they’ve lied about spying.
And so you take the fairy tale about 9/11 as gospel truth.
Most people no longer believe the official tale.
lol
You started with “increasing numbers of people” and finished with “most people”. In one comment.
And yet only 2000 architects and engineers are in that group…
Most polls? Go on, cite me baby! Last time I looked, one in twenty Americans believed Elvis was still alive. I’m told quite a few of them are also convinced that God exists. Funny old world, eh?
via the Irascible Curmudgeon, in the sidebar
`
There’s trouble brewing in Middle Earth
1. Huge dairy slump, down 45% since 2013
2. Overall exports down 27% since last February
3. World dairy prices slide 10.8% in 2 weeks, in anticipation of a huge oversupply
4. Auckland property CVs out of date, 20% jump in median price in 18 months
Here’s Bernard Hickey:
Time is winding down for NZ’s housing bubble ponzi scheme
Let the chips fall where they may.
And Europe cuts it’s milk quota.
Even more oversupply on its way.
http://www.dairyherd.com/news/dairy-groups-analyze-potential-impact-end-eu-milk-quotas
BUT bank economists here and abroad say Key and English are super duper top whizzy guys.
Yep, they do – but have you seen this?
Believing a banker these days is tantamount to stupidity.
Indeed… the self interested talking up the self absorbed and self interested
On Radio NZ news just now:
“Taxpayers Union Executive Director Jordan Williams welcomes the return of 10 years passports.”
Why do they continue to quote this star of “Dirty Politics” and his far-right group?
Anybody out there know the structure and status of of the Taxpayers Union; how many members; who funds it?
Answering my own question. Some info. here:
http://www.taxpayers.org.nz/who_we_are
But I note “when we launched all of our donations were from individuals.” Who were they? How much? And where has the funding come from since?
http://www.taxpayers.org.nz/who_we_are
Read it and chuckle… they say they represent everyone… but they have one woman and are all white and seemingly suited and tied.
and those so-called taxpayers spend money on their accountants and tax lawyers to be taxavoiders. what a hoot.
yeah I know…
heh
There is nothing nerdish about the irrepressible Gabrielle O’Brien. She carries her keys on a Southpark key ring and her Benson and Hedges in her knock-off Gucci handbag. She wears T-shirts with messages: “Do Not Start With Me, You Will Not Win”. O’Brien, at 26, is quite old for a Young Nat. Her parents are staunch Labour. O’Brien is studying politics and Maori and admits she wants to be Prime Minister.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3007056
http://lawisanass-wingate.blogspot.co.nz/2010/09/gabrielle-obrien-regional-deputy-chair.html
I was on a busy motorway when I listened to RNZ news the afternoon. Top story? The bloody pip-squeak from Dirty Politics, Jordan Williams and his equally pip-squeak “tax payers union”. The air turned blue inside my car.
Why oh why don’t the opposition parties expose the little ratbag and his ratbag bunch of dishonest losers? Nah… they sit there and let them get away with the hoax, because that is all it is – a mighty big hoax supported and abetted by the MSM.
Well said Anne, and so bloody true.
Sadly says so much about the direction RNZ is travelling.
@Anne.
Agreed. I think his role in DP needs to be mentioned whenever and wherever possible.
Over the years I’ve watched lots of sci-fi on TV and at the movies. Quite a few of them would have cars and trucks in them with dashboards that’d make a battleships sensors officer jealous.
and then this turned up on twitter.
The machines are taking over…
India to use weaponized drones for crowd control
http://www.thedailysheeple.com/india-to-use-weaponized-drones-for-crowd-control_042015
India has imported that technology from umm which country that has exported and continues to experiment with it?
China?