While it may seem to be of central interest to the people involved, for me it is something that exploded from out of my peripheral vision – actually, pretty much outside of my vision altogether.
I’m more focused on some significant political issues.
Sorry, I must be really unhip, because I read the comment and the link again, and all it looks like to me is the usual abuse between two people that regularly abuse each other on ts. What am I missing?
UK Labour selection dispute worsens; police called
there is the fact that a row over selections between the Blairite right and the Unite-led left says a huge amount about Labour’s moribund model of organisation. If constituency Labour parties are open to abuses from those factions of the party – the Westminster-endorsed parachute in the case of the former; the packing of local memberships when it comes to the latter – that’s simply more proof that Labour cannot go on with a dwindling membership, and processes that tend not to reach beyond the walls of damp meeting rooms on Wednesday evenings.
Sooner or later, the people in charge of the party will have to face facts: the orthodox mass party is a dead idea, and Labour will have to reorganise itself and be reintroduced to a pluralistic, politically sophisticated world. A party machine essentially run along the same lines as it was before the second world war no longer cuts it: the Falkirk controversy is merely the latest evidence. On Tuesday, I advocated open primaries as a way out of this mess: a remedy also proposed by the Times and that great leftist Daniel Hannan MEP. It’s the right solution.
Labour is leaving the political foreground dangerously empty, which is also why the Unite brouhaha and every utterance from Len McCluskey have acquired such clout.
When this disaster first struck, before the miners bodies had even cooled, and the mine manager was still being lauded in the MSM as a hero in the face of adversity, and before the problems in restarting the mine had become apparent. I remember reading that, (still feeling bullish), Pike River directors and investors said that they were able, and prepared, to put up $70million to restart the mine.
Now in the grim grey light of the aftermath, when even the bodies of the dead are proven beyond recovery. And now that the Company has been convicted of criminal disregard of these workers safety. And the MSM hero of the time, is facing individual charges for which he is also likely to be convicted. These same directors and shareholders have long since removed their money from the company, no hardship has been visited on them. As the report below shows while the families of the miners are doing it hard, those found guilty are living it up in “opulent” splendor.
The Weekend Herald can reveal that Mr Dow is the director of four companies, and owns four properties in Nelson and Whangaparaoa totalling $3,525,000. The most expensive is valued at $1,675,000.
Mr Nattrass is listed as a director of eight companies and owns at least five properties in Christchurch and Geraldine worth a total of $8,943,000. According to QV, one of those is in the upmarket Christchurch suburb of Fendalton and has a rateable value of $2,320,000. The property next door, worth $658,000, is also owned by Mr Nattrass.
Of the other directors, Mr Radford owns a luxury home in Sydney which a local real estate website estimated was worth between A$1,469,800 and A$1,657,800.
And Mr Jagatramka, a major player in the Australian mining industry, reportedly spent $5 million on a property in Illawarra.
According to the Illawarra Mercury, he built a two-storey “palace” on the site, boasting an underground carpark and marble flooring imported from India. He held an open day to show off the “opulent” house and invited local personalities and a sports team he sponsors, the newspaper said.
Anna Leask for the Week end Herald
In the face of this cruel injustice, Judge Farish was moved to say that, (the winding up of the company by the directors), that let the shareholders get away with paying for their crimes “showed a total lack of remorse”.
In my opinion there should be grounds to corral that $70million that was initially put up in greed by these same shareholders, this would be lesson to all those who hope to make money from the blood of workers.
Pike River Coal says there is no cash in its coffers to pay court-ordered compensation to the families of victims of the 2010 mine explosion – despite the personal wealth of its former directors and the assets of its biggest shareholder.
We are the 99%.
An on-line poll conducted by the Herald showed that a combined total of 89 percent of respondents thought the directors and shareholders should pay up. A further 11 percent thought the government should put in money as well. A combined grand total of 99%.
Taking the discretionary $70million investment that these investors and directors said they had available to reopen the mine, as a base line. This would see a more realistic compensation of $2million per family. While no amount of compensation will heal the wound suffered by these families, this amount would be more in line with the losses of these men’s income for the their expected working lives.
Instead the families are being offered $5,000. This risible amount is comparable to the amount the company would be expected to pay in the case of a wrongful dismissal and for which they are insured for. In effect these men’s deaths have cost these investors nothing. And the dead miners and their grieving families, suffering hardship at their loss, are subsidising the rich investors and directors luxury lifestyles.
In light of the “total lack of remorse” and zero cost of human life for investors and directors. Nothing has been learned, and death and disaster is made easy and cost free, and therefore more likely.
What is also more likely is the growing loss of legitimacy for a government and a society that puts the interest of the 1% above everyone else.
Good points Jenny, especially when it comes to the shareholders willingness to pump $70 million into the company to do more mining….
yet they are unwilling to pump $4 million into the company to put the families to right….
Pigs.
Fucking pigs.
There is no other description. Their pigness has been described almost completely by their actions post-deaths, not pre-deaths. And that is the telling thing……
And the dead miners and their grieving families, suffering hardship at their loss, are subsidising the rich investors and directors luxury lifestyles.
That has always been true. You don’t get rich by being held accountable.
In light of the “total lack of remorse” and zero cost of human life for investors and directors. Nothing has been learned, and death and disaster is made easy and cost free, and therefore more likely.
QFT
We need to change legislation so that companies, the directors of those companies and the shareholders when their companies cause such disasters.
What is also more likely is the growing loss of legitimacy for a government and a society that puts the interest of the 1% above everyone else.
We can hope so as it makes it easier to change the system if everyone has become sick of the way things are done now.
This is a perfect reason why companies such as this, that have a massive Event (there is NO such thing as an accident, (There are Incidents, that when combined make a huge event,))
We should make the directors (and the list of riches is spectacular) Pay the damages. And it’s not as if they would miss it. They also should NOT be able to run a company in NZ, until they pay it and they should also lose ALL directorships, lets hit this scum where it hurts in the pocket, as they HAVE no other love except money.
Also it had 2 mil in insurance I see the leeches(lawyers) have hoovered up their fees insultingly quickly, so that the 2 mil is about 150k. This from the Herald.
“It had $2 million worth of liability insurance, but after legal fees were paid, just $156,000 – or about $5380 a family – was still available for compensation payments.”
Women chiefs being dumped from throughout UK publishing houses. My cynical comment – there may certainly be a problem here, perhaps an industry quota will solve it?
This report touches only briefly on the how, so ably dealt with elsewhere,42 choosing instead to focus more on ‘why there should be more women on boards.’
These data support twin conclusions: that the service of women on boards is symbolically impor- tant, particularly as the face of culture, society, and the workplace change so rapidly, and that the service of women on boards makes a practical difference to how the board functions, the strength of its governance, and how this contributes to better overall performance.
In short, women on boards is not only the “right” thing to do, it is also the “bright” thing to do.
Ah, because addressing inequality is electoral suicide.
Given that you’re a self-loathing Labour member, I’m surprised you haven’t volunteered your own party. Make it “electoral disaster” number three or four. According to you, the sky has fallen so many times for Labour that they’d need to open-cast mine just to have a sunny day.
“Ah, because addressing inequality is electoral suicide.”
Not that I ever said that. Of course if you do it in a shockingly hamfisted and ineffective way, it certainly is. Gets played out again in a few months, so enjoy the experience.
My apologies. Over the last few days you have been a champion in forwarding solutions to gender inequality in parliament, in the boardroom, and in society as a whole.
Oh no, wait, over the last few days you’ve been channeling the tortured soul of Henry Wright.
Mmm, that’s an idea. Gender quota for stock market and foreign exchange traders.
“Testosterone and high finance do not mix: so bring on the women”
“Gender inequality has been an issue in the City [of London] for years, but now the new science of ‘neuroeconomics’ is proving the point beyond doubt: hormonally-driven young men should not be left alone in charge of our finances…”
For all those in the Assange dispute who view Sweden as such a trustworthy paragon of EU human rights.
1) a few weeks ago news came to light that Sweden cooperated with the US in the extraordinary rendition of two Swedish citizens of Somali decent. Thanks Sweden.
2) Sweden has just helped the UK veto a broad European inquiry into the US/UK electronic surveillance scandal against various EU governments including France and Germany, and the EU itself.
Conclusion – Sweden is deeply cooperative with US intelligence and internal security activities.
Dear Morrissey,
For over 21 years Toyota has been supporting Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) in the quest for the America’s Cup. And this year we are urging all Kiwis to show their support during our ‘Lean with us’ campaign!
Why lean?
’Lean with us’ is a play on the boat’s ability to lean at an incredible angle before it foils at spectacular high speeds. The more Emirates Team New Zealand can foil, the faster the boat goes. And the same goes for your support. The more Kiwis that lean, the more motivated our ETNZ crew will be to win. It’s a simple, fun way to show the team that you’re really behind them.
Emirates Team New Zealand Director Grant Dalton knows the magical power of having the whole country supporting you, telling us: “It’s no coincidence that our greatest America’s Cup successes over the years have come on the back of nationwide support from Kiwis, and that’s what will make the difference in 2013.” …..[continues]…..
—Letter from Toyota New Zealand, 4 July 2013
Humbug Corner is dedicated to gathering, and highlighting, the most striking examples of faux solicitude, insincere apologies, and particularly stupid recycling of official canards. It is produced by the Insincerity Project®, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc.
More humbug….
No. 12 Pem Bird: “We’re there to do the business of advancing our people.”
No. 11 Whenua Patuwai: “They’re my brothers and to see one of them goes [sic]—it’s tough.”
No. 10 “Sir” Owen Glenn: “I do care that every person, especially children, have [sic] the right to feel safe.”
No. 9 “Sir” Owen Glenn: His abuse inquiry is floundering after revelations he was accused of physically abusing a young woman in 2002.
No. 8 Barack Obama: “…people standing up for what’s right…yearning for justice and dignity…”
No. 7 Barack Obama: “Nelson Mandela is my personal hero…”
No. 6 John Key: “Yeah well the Greens’ answer to everything is rail, isn’t it.”
No.5 Dr. Rodney Syme: “If you want good, open, honest practice, you have to make it transparent.”
No. 4 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton’s… integrity beyond reproach…such great character…”
No. 3 Dean Lonergan: “Y’ know what? The only people who will mock them are people who are dwarfists.”
No. 2 Peter Dunne: “What a load of drivel and sanctimonious humbug…”
No. 1 Dominic Bowden: “It’s okay to be speechless.”
Overly simplistic Tigger. But, on that simplistic take, if it is solely money then why do so many corporate men receive knighthoods for their services? Surely the knighthood should go to the money.
——-
Money was not in charge at Pike River, people were. They were driven by money – or more accurately, they were driven by greed.
G R E E E E E E D
This is the way our world (or rather, their world) is today. You may also have noticed the comment by Yes somewhere here where hisher vote for National was right because it made hisher house worth one million dollars. The world is awash with lust for money. Money money money.
As highlighted by our very own Prime Minister. The fact of his popularity also indicates how far this lust has permeated into our core. Watch his slimy eyes light up when any converstion turns to money and its making.
So, Tigger, I suggest that it is not money that was the problem at Pike River (in the sense you speak) but rather it was the inability of corporate men to control their greed and lust for money.
And that is why you should never trust corporate man. Corporate man cannot control the lust and greed such is the pedestal upon which money has been placed today.
And that is why the New Zealand corporate man is a pig. Pike River paints the pig.
Mr. Pickering was targeted by a longtime surveillance system called mail covers, a forerunner of a vastly more expansive effort, the Mail Isolation Control and Tracking program, in which Postal Service computers photograph the exterior of every piece of paper mail that is processed in the United States — about 160 billion pieces last year. It is not known how long the government saves the images.
Good question, Joe! There is no recording device in the sorting machines themselves, but a similar scheme to that applied to Pickering’s mail is possible. But I would assume that would require a warrant in NZ. Though given what we now know about our spy agencies loose engagement with lawfullness, who knows for sure?
This might sound a bit weird but… A chap who manages a fruit packing shed says as every apple enters the system it is photographed 3 different ways and this decides the ultimate bin it ends up in. Once it has been processed washed, fumigated etc, that individual apple ends up with identical apples ready for export.
So for people sorting, the technology is there but…
“Jaffa city” (not pejorative, moving back for a couple of years) mayor “Lenslide” is on a downslide.
Minto for Mayor!
All working class people of Auckland should vote for him. It is a postal vote so prob half the population have never posted a letter in recent internet days. So if more candidates pop up from the right it would not worry me if John got in on a minority vote given the participation rate.
Looking back things like Ports of Auckland only survived thanks to the likes of Bruce Jesson. Auckland needs to go left.
A provocative read for a Saturday morning .. a view into the crystal ball of what is happening here in precious Aotearoa … from Le Monde Diplomatique, English edition
“In this new war, politics, as the organiser of the nation state, no longer exists. Now politics serves solely in order to manage the economy, and politicians are now merely company managers.
The world’s new masters have no need to govern directly. National governments take on the role of running things on their behalf. This is what the new order means – unification of the world into one single market. States are simply enterprises with managers in the guise of governments, and the new regional alliances bear more of a resemblance to shopping malls than political federations. The unification produced by neoliberalism is economic: in the giant planetary hypermarket it is only commodities that circulate freely, not people.”
and more …
“Neoliberalism thus imposes the destruction of nations and of groups of nations in order to fuse them into one single model. The war which neoliberalism is conducting against humanity is thus a planetary war, and is the worst and most cruel ever seen.
What we have here is a puzzle. When we attempt to put its pieces together in order to arrive at an understanding of today’s world, we find that a lot of the pieces are missing. Still, we can make a start with seven of them, in the hope that this conflict will not end with the destruction of humanity. Seven pieces to draw, colour in, cut out and put together with others, in order to try to solve this global puzzle.
The first of these pieces is the two-fold accumulation of wealth and of poverty at the two poles of planetary society. The second is the total exploitation of the totality of the world. The third is the nightmare of that part of humanity condemned to a life of wandering. The fourth is the sickening relationship between crime and state power. The fifth is state violence. The sixth is the mystery of megapolitics. The seventh is the multiple forms of resistance which humanity is deploying against neoliberalism.”
Superb clarity. I am so pleased I found it this morning.
Then you might dive deep into this excellence also, DTB … once again, a clear and horrible perspective of exactly what it is we are facing with new GCSB legislation …
“In a democracy rule is by consent. In a dictatorship it is by control.
Which do we have in the West? It seems to me, it is no longer clear. We certainly still have the rituals of rule by consent. But behind the elected front men and women is a shadow state. It’s people ritually swear allegiance to those we elect. They declare themselves there to serve and protect. But when it is us they spend their time spying on, whose interests are they protecting? Can you really serve those you do not trust?
In 2008 we discovered that behind the banking system we knew about, there was a vast shadow banking system whose size most of us never suspected. In 2013 we have glimpsed not only the scale of the shadow state but the degree to which it, like the shadown banking system, is out of control and not working for us at all.”
Concluding, he writes:
“But what I want to emphasize is that there is a New Cold War but it is not like the old one. It is not country against country. It is the shadow state in every nation against its own people, with the collusion of an inner core within the regular State. If this is correct, and I believe Mr Snowden has made it very difficult to believe otherwise, then we must not allow ourselves to be distracted by politicians and media barons telling us stories in the familiar mold of the old cold war, of one whole country against another, America against Germany, Britain against France, or Greece against Europe. There are, of course, still real rivalries between nations and they do compete with each other and do try to destabilize each other – but this is not our most pressing problem as citizens, as free men and women. I believe our real problem is what I have called the New Cold War. Because our enemy in that war is here among us.
Nominally we live in democracies but the trust which makes government by consent work is eroding fast. Distrust, fear and control are replacing it. And it is not you and me pushing that change. It is the shadow state allied, as I believe it is, with the shadow financial world, which is pushing it.
As I have said before, we are at war – a frighteningly cold war – of austerity and spying, poverty and trial without jury – but the lines are not between nations any more. They are between you and me on one side and an elite who style themselves as technocrat experts and cyber praetorians, here to help, but in reality here to control us and do away with democracy wherever they can.”
And the comments in reply are magnificent to read. Gives me hope !
Saturday 6 July 2013
Outside Smith and Caugheys
253-261 Queen St Assetkeepers Auckland
12:00pm until 1:00pm
Smith and Caughey’s have asked Auckland City Council to ban all beggars from the streets. We’re going to beg Smith and Caughey’s to leave the beggars alone. Bring a sign to beg with, but beware the Millionaires Against Moochers, dressed to impress with top hats or formal gowns who may try to sweep us all under the carpet and out of their sight.
“The ‘Heartless’ of the City must stop this war on the poorest of the poor,” says Auckland Mayoral candidate Penny Bright.
“For homeless beggars, especially in winter, how can Auckland be the ‘most liveable city in the world’, particularly when this corporate-controlled Auckland Council wants bylaw changes to move them ‘out of sight – out of mind’?”
“This is not the first time that this corporate-controlled Auckland Council has attempted to deny the lawful rights of citizens to what I consider to be ‘freedom of expression’.”
“As an Auckland Mayoral candidate – I support those who are amongst the most marginalised of the 99%, who choose to make the world aware of their plight through signage and some container for those who care and are able to make personal donations to help them.”
“During the Occupy Auckland movement, a number of Auckland homeless became involved in our struggle against the 1%.
At Aotea Square, we lived together, ate together, learned about each other, and collectively made decisions about how we could improve the lot of the 99%. – the public majority.”
“At Occupy Auckland, the homeless had a home, shelter, food, community and above all hope – for a genuinely ‘brighter future’.”
“Auckland Council, representing the corporate 1%, in whose interests the Auckland region really operates, attempted to crush the Occupy Auckland movement, by removing us by an injunction, which was eventually deemed unlawful in the Auckland High Court.”
“As one of the two successful Appellants in the Occupy Auckland vs Auckland Council Appeal – I am prepared to help challenge the ‘legality’ of Auckland Council’s proposed by-law, by raising this matter directly with Council.”
” I do hope that Auckland Council have not been taking legal advice from their General Counsel, Wendy Brandon, who, in my considered opinion, is unprofessional, incompetent and has proven to be a LIAR (over the amount of Auckland Council public monies that were spent on Occupy Auckland legal proceedings).”
Yeah they eventually unbanned it. Nick said in a later interview that his friend who is the head of TED was actually sympathetic to the message, but felt pressure from his elite peer group to suppress the talk.
Goodness me, who is this Nick chap. That is such a mumbling, stumbling, mumbo, jumbo geeky presentation. Let’s wait till Shearer starts his political campaigning with ‘Operation Stun and Awe’ and show how he will be far more articulate, fluent and persuasive.
Use Google – he does provoke discussion (or as you demonstrate: affronted indignation with no actual points) but he is firmly in top income bracket he speaks of, part owner of a venture capitalist group based in the Seattle area.
Also, what do you expect from a five minute presentation, especially one that is intended only to invite people to think differently, rather than provide a nuanced, and completely spun debate on the issue? Isn’t that the premise of TED talks?
Thanks for pointing out the clip, Molly. Much appreciated, truly. My comments at 12:13pm could have been clearer but then I may not be as practised as a certain political so-called leader with mumbling, stumbling, fumbling and bumbling.
Tried to search Hanauer on the TED site, and only came up with the comments regarding it’s non-posting. But found references that it had been published later on, although still can’t find it through the search engine, – there may be a direct link.
Did come across this reference to an email from Chris Anderson (TED) regarding the original choice not to publish on one of the YouTube posters –
” Published on May 2, 2013
A TED Talk on Income Inequality by Nick Hanauer…
Chris Anderson, director of TED, refuses to release the video of the talk on its website, saying that the message is overtly controversial and too partisan for broad consumption.
In an email sent to Hanauer and shared with Jim Tankersley at the National Journal, Anderson wrote:
“… even if the talk was rated a home run, we couldn’t release it, because it would be unquestionably regarded as out and out political. We’re in the middle of an election year in the US. Your argument comes down firmly on the side of one party. And you even reference that at the start of the talk. TED is nonpartisan and is fighting a constant battle with TEDx organizers to respect that principle….
“Nick, I personally share your disgust at the growth in inequality in the US, and would love to have found a way to give people a clearer mindset on the issue, without stoking a tedious partisan rehash of all the arguments we hear every day in the mainstream media.
“Alas, my judgment – and it is just a judgment, and that’s why my job title is ‘curator’ – is that publishing your talk would not meet that goal.””
kweewee and kit.condom are birds of a feather.
they both think its ok to go through life taking what they want and to hell with anybody who gets in the way.
losers and counterparties are expected to just flake off and security at the door keeps them from becoming a nuisance
however in a democracy everybody has a say!
.condom thinks he can steal the intellectual property of anyone and escape to the south seas but they are gonna get him.
tough luck to both I say
Just when I thought I couldn’t like or respect shane jones less he says this shit,
Mr Jones said he had spent yesterday in and around Kerikeri and Kaitaia talking about the proposal, “and the overwhelming response is the public doesn’t want the country run by geldings”.
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday working animal. As a verb, “gelding” or “to geld” refers to the castration procedure itself.
I may have it wrong but I cannot remember any proposal to castrate men. It may seem extreme but I really wish shane jones would politically fuck off forever.
What it means is that Shane wants the country run by men who will put women in their place, by whatever means necessary. He really is in the wrong party*, but I tend to agree, it would be better if he just fucked off out of politics altogether.
*although it’s hard to see exactly what party he would fit in. Maybe he could start his own – the macho shithead party, except I think he would find that most of the members wouldn’t want a maaari for leader.
Jones continues his corporate behavioural ways as an MP.
Labour has picked some real lazy self serving troughers over the past 10 years, none more typical than Shane. The fishing industry I heard were happy to see the back of him, one nasty piece of work is Mr jones.
‘historical, social and economic conditions (have) laid the groundwork for society to return to religion”- Geneive Abdo http://www.opednews.com/articles/Egypt-s-revolution-betraye-by-Eric-Walberg-130705-644.html?
-Islamaphobes imperialist backed?
-a civil war like in Algeria, US supported secularists?
A need for Egypt to disconnect from the US- dominated world order (while their Navy requires the canal).
… the largest change (or even second or third largest) change is not to the most recent decade. And, in fact, the largest observed decadal increase is actually from the average of 1987-1996 to the average of 1997-2006, at +0.24K.
… 2001-2010 is the warmest 10-year period in the instrumental record. This is evidence enough of a warmer climate, but NOT of an accelerated warming rate.
Here’s a hint Vodafone – if you put the link to the network status back on the front page of your website in an easy to find place, then when you have a network problem your call centre won’t get overloaded.
And btw, the word ‘communication’ in the term telecommunication actually means something. Look it up.
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It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Ngaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own.Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...
Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...
Performance Review King Luxon sat behind His massive polished oak desk. It is Performance Review time. There is a knock on the door. “Enter!” says the King. In steps Minister of Disabilities and Carer Pedicures, Penny Simmonds. “I can explain everything …” she begins. “Fine,” says King Luxon, pressing the ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
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The “Ouch!” file
No. 2: Te Reo Putake gets served by Professor Longhair
Friday 5 July 2013
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-03072013/#comment-658247
The “Ouch!” File is dedicated to public slapdowns of the hapless, the hopeless, the horrible and the hypocritical.
Feel the humiliation one more time….
No. 1 ratesarerevolting gets served by L. Prent
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27052013/#comment-639510
Classy.
Classy.
Classy indeed. Made even classier by Te Reo’s response. One couldn’t make that up.
Take it outside. Schoolboy playground stuff. Why continue to perpetuate it on open mike?
Fair comment, karol. I urge Te Reo Putake to take heed of your admonishment and refrain from further comments on this issue.
Thanks, Morrissey.
While it may seem to be of central interest to the people involved, for me it is something that exploded from out of my peripheral vision – actually, pretty much outside of my vision altogether.
I’m more focused on some significant political issues.
Keep up the good work, karol. Your contributions are always worth reading.
Unlike yours.
Unlike yours.
Ouch! That’s one for the file.
+1 Karol.
And it doesn’t even make sense (the opening post and links).
And it doesn’t even make sense (the opening post and links).
Errr, yes it does.
Come ON, weka, I didn’t think you were that unhip.
Sorry, I must be really unhip, because I read the comment and the link again, and all it looks like to me is the usual abuse between two people that regularly abuse each other on ts. What am I missing?
What am I missing?
You just missin’ that slight bit of bein’ hip enough.
Piss off, noddy.
UK Labour selection dispute worsens; police called
http://m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/04/tom-watson-resignation-labour
Interesting.
This:
Yep- its a vacuum which then gets filled by Tory media spin doctors. It has this annoying familiarity about it.
jolly politically sophisticated and plural of your bad self Viper 😉
.
John Dow and other directors at Pike River…
Corporate pigs.
Human pigs.
Didn’t even attend. Haven’t fronted up. Didn’t do their job. Killed 29 men dead.
Greedy pigs.
Fuck off Dow, never return to the Coast.
When this disaster first struck, before the miners bodies had even cooled, and the mine manager was still being lauded in the MSM as a hero in the face of adversity, and before the problems in restarting the mine had become apparent. I remember reading that, (still feeling bullish), Pike River directors and investors said that they were able, and prepared, to put up $70million to restart the mine.
Now in the grim grey light of the aftermath, when even the bodies of the dead are proven beyond recovery. And now that the Company has been convicted of criminal disregard of these workers safety. And the MSM hero of the time, is facing individual charges for which he is also likely to be convicted. These same directors and shareholders have long since removed their money from the company, no hardship has been visited on them. As the report below shows while the families of the miners are doing it hard, those found guilty are living it up in “opulent” splendor.
In the face of this cruel injustice, Judge Farish was moved to say that, (the winding up of the company by the directors), that let the shareholders get away with paying for their crimes “showed a total lack of remorse”.
In my opinion there should be grounds to corral that $70million that was initially put up in greed by these same shareholders, this would be lesson to all those who hope to make money from the blood of workers.
We are the 99%.
An on-line poll conducted by the Herald showed that a combined total of 89 percent of respondents thought the directors and shareholders should pay up. A further 11 percent thought the government should put in money as well. A combined grand total of 99%.
Taking the discretionary $70million investment that these investors and directors said they had available to reopen the mine, as a base line. This would see a more realistic compensation of $2million per family. While no amount of compensation will heal the wound suffered by these families, this amount would be more in line with the losses of these men’s income for the their expected working lives.
Instead the families are being offered $5,000. This risible amount is comparable to the amount the company would be expected to pay in the case of a wrongful dismissal and for which they are insured for. In effect these men’s deaths have cost these investors nothing. And the dead miners and their grieving families, suffering hardship at their loss, are subsidising the rich investors and directors luxury lifestyles.
In light of the “total lack of remorse” and zero cost of human life for investors and directors. Nothing has been learned, and death and disaster is made easy and cost free, and therefore more likely.
What is also more likely is the growing loss of legitimacy for a government and a society that puts the interest of the 1% above everyone else.
Good points Jenny, especially when it comes to the shareholders willingness to pump $70 million into the company to do more mining….
yet they are unwilling to pump $4 million into the company to put the families to right….
Pigs.
Fucking pigs.
There is no other description. Their pigness has been described almost completely by their actions post-deaths, not pre-deaths. And that is the telling thing……
Stuart Natrass is a pig
John Dow is a pig.
Moving post, Jenny.
Major shareholder, NZ Oil and Gas, reported a recent full-year profit of $19.9M.
That has always been true. You don’t get rich by being held accountable.
QFT
We need to change legislation so that companies, the directors of those companies and the shareholders when their companies cause such disasters.
We can hope so as it makes it easier to change the system if everyone has become sick of the way things are done now.
utterly vacuous post Jenny…
What debt do they have against the properties?
This is a perfect reason why companies such as this, that have a massive Event (there is NO such thing as an accident, (There are Incidents, that when combined make a huge event,))
We should make the directors (and the list of riches is spectacular) Pay the damages. And it’s not as if they would miss it. They also should NOT be able to run a company in NZ, until they pay it and they should also lose ALL directorships, lets hit this scum where it hurts in the pocket, as they HAVE no other love except money.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10895115
Also it had 2 mil in insurance I see the leeches(lawyers) have hoovered up their fees insultingly quickly, so that the 2 mil is about 150k. This from the Herald.
“It had $2 million worth of liability insurance, but after legal fees were paid, just $156,000 – or about $5380 a family – was still available for compensation payments.”
Actually, I think it should be that they lose all their wealth as fines and that they never be in a position of management again.
http://guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jul/05/women-publishing-gail-rebuck-victoria-barnsley
Women chiefs being dumped from throughout UK publishing houses. My cynical comment – there may certainly be a problem here, perhaps an industry quota will solve it?
personally I’d be in favour of a “quota” that all boards of directors are 50% female.
Jan Logie linked this today
http://www.europeanpwn.net/files/women_on_boards_canada.pdf
This report touches only briefly on the how, so ably dealt with elsewhere,42 choosing instead to focus more on ‘why there should be more women on boards.’
These data support twin conclusions: that the service of women on boards is symbolically impor- tant, particularly as the face of culture, society, and the workplace change so rapidly, and that the service of women on boards makes a practical difference to how the board functions, the strength of its governance, and how this contributes to better overall performance.
In short, women on boards is not only the “right” thing to do, it is also the “bright” thing to do.
Sure McFlock, which political party would you like to push for this boardroom gender quota?
don’t care which party.
Make it a party you hate, and don’t want around any more.
Ah, because addressing inequality is electoral suicide.
Given that you’re a self-loathing Labour member, I’m surprised you haven’t volunteered your own party. Make it “electoral disaster” number three or four. According to you, the sky has fallen so many times for Labour that they’d need to open-cast mine just to have a sunny day.
More BS from McFlock
“Ah, because addressing inequality is electoral suicide.”
Not that I ever said that. Of course if you do it in a shockingly hamfisted and ineffective way, it certainly is. Gets played out again in a few months, so enjoy the experience.
My apologies. Over the last few days you have been a champion in forwarding solutions to gender inequality in parliament, in the boardroom, and in society as a whole.
Oh no, wait, over the last few days you’ve been channeling the tortured soul of Henry Wright.
My apologies you are full of shit as usual.
But I can take a dump before bed, whereas you will always be a simple-minded hypocrite.
Taking a dump is indeed what you excel at.
Gracias.
Imagining overwhelming shortcomings of others from a perspective of wilful ignorance is your particular forte.
Mmm, that’s an idea. Gender quota for stock market and foreign exchange traders.
“Testosterone and high finance do not mix: so bring on the women”
“Gender inequality has been an issue in the City [of London] for years, but now the new science of ‘neuroeconomics’ is proving the point beyond doubt: hormonally-driven young men should not be left alone in charge of our finances…”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/19/neuroeconomics-women-city-financial-crash
For all those in the Assange dispute who view Sweden as such a trustworthy paragon of EU human rights.
1) a few weeks ago news came to light that Sweden cooperated with the US in the extraordinary rendition of two Swedish citizens of Somali decent. Thanks Sweden.
2) Sweden has just helped the UK veto a broad European inquiry into the US/UK electronic surveillance scandal against various EU governments including France and Germany, and the EU itself.
Conclusion – Sweden is deeply cooperative with US intelligence and internal security activities.
Yes, finally watched TPB – AFK (The Pirate Bay – Away From Keyboard which demonstrates the trend.
🙄
Humbug Corner
No. 13: Toyota New Zealand
Dear Morrissey,
For over 21 years Toyota has been supporting Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) in the quest for the America’s Cup. And this year we are urging all Kiwis to show their support during our ‘Lean with us’ campaign!
Why lean?
’Lean with us’ is a play on the boat’s ability to lean at an incredible angle before it foils at spectacular high speeds. The more Emirates Team New Zealand can foil, the faster the boat goes. And the same goes for your support. The more Kiwis that lean, the more motivated our ETNZ crew will be to win. It’s a simple, fun way to show the team that you’re really behind them.
Emirates Team New Zealand Director Grant Dalton knows the magical power of having the whole country supporting you, telling us: “It’s no coincidence that our greatest America’s Cup successes over the years have come on the back of nationwide support from Kiwis, and that’s what will make the difference in 2013.” …..[continues]…..
—Letter from Toyota New Zealand, 4 July 2013
Humbug Corner is dedicated to gathering, and highlighting, the most striking examples of faux solicitude, insincere apologies, and particularly stupid recycling of official canards. It is produced by the Insincerity Project®, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc.
More humbug….
No. 12 Pem Bird: “We’re there to do the business of advancing our people.”
No. 11 Whenua Patuwai: “They’re my brothers and to see one of them goes [sic]—it’s tough.”
No. 10 “Sir” Owen Glenn: “I do care that every person, especially children, have [sic] the right to feel safe.”
No. 9 “Sir” Owen Glenn: His abuse inquiry is floundering after revelations he was accused of physically abusing a young woman in 2002.
No. 8 Barack Obama: “…people standing up for what’s right…yearning for justice and dignity…”
No. 7 Barack Obama: “Nelson Mandela is my personal hero…”
No. 6 John Key: “Yeah well the Greens’ answer to everything is rail, isn’t it.”
No.5 Dr. Rodney Syme: “If you want good, open, honest practice, you have to make it transparent.”
No. 4 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton’s… integrity beyond reproach…such great character…”
No. 3 Dean Lonergan: “Y’ know what? The only people who will mock them are people who are dwarfists.”
No. 2 Peter Dunne: “What a load of drivel and sanctimonious humbug…”
No. 1 Dominic Bowden: “It’s okay to be speechless.”
$3.41 million – small change the ex gratia payment of which would do nothing to displace the hell the families endure.
No, we and our accountants and our lawyers and our brokers have expressed our sadness many, many times.
Be uncorrupted by the lippy Judge Farish. There might easily have been a judge with a contrary view.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10895115
“Total lack of remorse” indeed !
Yep North, the stinking rotten stench of the worst of human behaviour….
The New Zealand corporate man.
In all his glory – exposed for the cruel and dirty pigs they are…
Never trust the corporate world. Never. Always keep an escape route up your sleeve and never ever trust them with your money……
How many times do we need be shat on by these c…ts?
……..
NEVER TRUST CORPORATE MAN
Money was in charge at Pike River. And money feels not loss nor remorse.
Overly simplistic Tigger. But, on that simplistic take, if it is solely money then why do so many corporate men receive knighthoods for their services? Surely the knighthood should go to the money.
——-
Money was not in charge at Pike River, people were. They were driven by money – or more accurately, they were driven by greed.
G R E E E E E E D
This is the way our world (or rather, their world) is today. You may also have noticed the comment by Yes somewhere here where hisher vote for National was right because it made hisher house worth one million dollars. The world is awash with lust for money. Money money money.
As highlighted by our very own Prime Minister. The fact of his popularity also indicates how far this lust has permeated into our core. Watch his slimy eyes light up when any converstion turns to money and its making.
So, Tigger, I suggest that it is not money that was the problem at Pike River (in the sense you speak) but rather it was the inability of corporate men to control their greed and lust for money.
And that is why you should never trust corporate man. Corporate man cannot control the lust and greed such is the pedestal upon which money has been placed today.
And that is why the New Zealand corporate man is a pig. Pike River paints the pig.
So from what you’re saying I get that ultimately money was in charge at Pike River.
Is NZ post doing this?.
Mr. Pickering was targeted by a longtime surveillance system called mail covers, a forerunner of a vastly more expansive effort, the Mail Isolation Control and Tracking program, in which Postal Service computers photograph the exterior of every piece of paper mail that is processed in the United States — about 160 billion pieces last year. It is not known how long the government saves the images.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/us/monitoring-of-snail-mail.html?hp&_r=3&
Good question, Joe! There is no recording device in the sorting machines themselves, but a similar scheme to that applied to Pickering’s mail is possible. But I would assume that would require a warrant in NZ. Though given what we now know about our spy agencies loose engagement with lawfullness, who knows for sure?
This might sound a bit weird but… A chap who manages a fruit packing shed says as every apple enters the system it is photographed 3 different ways and this decides the ultimate bin it ends up in. Once it has been processed washed, fumigated etc, that individual apple ends up with identical apples ready for export.
So for people sorting, the technology is there but…
“Jaffa city” (not pejorative, moving back for a couple of years) mayor “Lenslide” is on a downslide.
Minto for Mayor!
All working class people of Auckland should vote for him. It is a postal vote so prob half the population have never posted a letter in recent internet days. So if more candidates pop up from the right it would not worry me if John got in on a minority vote given the participation rate.
Looking back things like Ports of Auckland only survived thanks to the likes of Bruce Jesson. Auckland needs to go left.
A provocative read for a Saturday morning .. a view into the crystal ball of what is happening here in precious Aotearoa … from Le Monde Diplomatique, English edition
http://mondediplo.com/1997/09/marcos
“In this new war, politics, as the organiser of the nation state, no longer exists. Now politics serves solely in order to manage the economy, and politicians are now merely company managers.
The world’s new masters have no need to govern directly. National governments take on the role of running things on their behalf. This is what the new order means – unification of the world into one single market. States are simply enterprises with managers in the guise of governments, and the new regional alliances bear more of a resemblance to shopping malls than political federations. The unification produced by neoliberalism is economic: in the giant planetary hypermarket it is only commodities that circulate freely, not people.”
and more …
“Neoliberalism thus imposes the destruction of nations and of groups of nations in order to fuse them into one single model. The war which neoliberalism is conducting against humanity is thus a planetary war, and is the worst and most cruel ever seen.
What we have here is a puzzle. When we attempt to put its pieces together in order to arrive at an understanding of today’s world, we find that a lot of the pieces are missing. Still, we can make a start with seven of them, in the hope that this conflict will not end with the destruction of humanity. Seven pieces to draw, colour in, cut out and put together with others, in order to try to solve this global puzzle.
The first of these pieces is the two-fold accumulation of wealth and of poverty at the two poles of planetary society. The second is the total exploitation of the totality of the world. The third is the nightmare of that part of humanity condemned to a life of wandering. The fourth is the sickening relationship between crime and state power. The fifth is state violence. The sixth is the mystery of megapolitics. The seventh is the multiple forms of resistance which humanity is deploying against neoliberalism.”
Superb clarity. I am so pleased I found it this morning.
Seven
Good link
Then you might dive deep into this excellence also, DTB … once again, a clear and horrible perspective of exactly what it is we are facing with new GCSB legislation …
http://www.golemxiv.co.uk/2013/07/nsagchq-the-new-praetorians/
“In a democracy rule is by consent. In a dictatorship it is by control.
Which do we have in the West? It seems to me, it is no longer clear. We certainly still have the rituals of rule by consent. But behind the elected front men and women is a shadow state. It’s people ritually swear allegiance to those we elect. They declare themselves there to serve and protect. But when it is us they spend their time spying on, whose interests are they protecting? Can you really serve those you do not trust?
In 2008 we discovered that behind the banking system we knew about, there was a vast shadow banking system whose size most of us never suspected. In 2013 we have glimpsed not only the scale of the shadow state but the degree to which it, like the shadown banking system, is out of control and not working for us at all.”
Concluding, he writes:
“But what I want to emphasize is that there is a New Cold War but it is not like the old one. It is not country against country. It is the shadow state in every nation against its own people, with the collusion of an inner core within the regular State. If this is correct, and I believe Mr Snowden has made it very difficult to believe otherwise, then we must not allow ourselves to be distracted by politicians and media barons telling us stories in the familiar mold of the old cold war, of one whole country against another, America against Germany, Britain against France, or Greece against Europe. There are, of course, still real rivalries between nations and they do compete with each other and do try to destabilize each other – but this is not our most pressing problem as citizens, as free men and women. I believe our real problem is what I have called the New Cold War. Because our enemy in that war is here among us.
Nominally we live in democracies but the trust which makes government by consent work is eroding fast. Distrust, fear and control are replacing it. And it is not you and me pushing that change. It is the shadow state allied, as I believe it is, with the shadow financial world, which is pushing it.
As I have said before, we are at war – a frighteningly cold war – of austerity and spying, poverty and trial without jury – but the lines are not between nations any more. They are between you and me on one side and an elite who style themselves as technocrat experts and cyber praetorians, here to help, but in reality here to control us and do away with democracy wherever they can.”
And the comments in reply are magnificent to read. Gives me hope !
FYI:
6 July 2013
Press Release from Auckland Mayoral candidate Penny Bright:
“Leave the poor beggars alone!”
“I support the following protest, in support of the homeless, who, because of their circumstances, beg for money, in order to live.”
https://www.facebook.com/events/384259328352958/
Saturday 6 July 2013
Outside Smith and Caugheys
253-261 Queen St Assetkeepers Auckland
12:00pm until 1:00pm
Smith and Caughey’s have asked Auckland City Council to ban all beggars from the streets. We’re going to beg Smith and Caughey’s to leave the beggars alone. Bring a sign to beg with, but beware the Millionaires Against Moochers, dressed to impress with top hats or formal gowns who may try to sweep us all under the carpet and out of their sight.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10894464
___________________________________________________________________________
“The ‘Heartless’ of the City must stop this war on the poorest of the poor,” says Auckland Mayoral candidate Penny Bright.
“For homeless beggars, especially in winter, how can Auckland be the ‘most liveable city in the world’, particularly when this corporate-controlled Auckland Council wants bylaw changes to move them ‘out of sight – out of mind’?”
“This is not the first time that this corporate-controlled Auckland Council has attempted to deny the lawful rights of citizens to what I consider to be ‘freedom of expression’.”
“As an Auckland Mayoral candidate – I support those who are amongst the most marginalised of the 99%, who choose to make the world aware of their plight through signage and some container for those who care and are able to make personal donations to help them.”
“During the Occupy Auckland movement, a number of Auckland homeless became involved in our struggle against the 1%.
At Aotea Square, we lived together, ate together, learned about each other, and collectively made decisions about how we could improve the lot of the 99%. – the public majority.”
“At Occupy Auckland, the homeless had a home, shelter, food, community and above all hope – for a genuinely ‘brighter future’.”
“Auckland Council, representing the corporate 1%, in whose interests the Auckland region really operates, attempted to crush the Occupy Auckland movement, by removing us by an injunction, which was eventually deemed unlawful in the Auckland High Court.”
http://www.occupyaucklandvsaucklandcouncilappeal.org.nz/?p=113
“As one of the two successful Appellants in the Occupy Auckland vs Auckland Council Appeal – I am prepared to help challenge the ‘legality’ of Auckland Council’s proposed by-law, by raising this matter directly with Council.”
” I do hope that Auckland Council have not been taking legal advice from their General Counsel, Wendy Brandon, who, in my considered opinion, is unprofessional, incompetent and has proven to be a LIAR (over the amount of Auckland Council public monies that were spent on Occupy Auckland legal proceedings).”
http://www.occupyaucklandvsaucklandcouncilappeal.org.nz/?p=130
_______________________________________________________
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation’ campaigner
2013 Auckland mayoral candidate
Banned TED talk from 2012 (who knew there was such a thing? perhaps not published is more accurate):
Nick Hanauer “Rich people don’t create jobs”
Worth the five minute watch – if only to see the mix of responses in the audience afterwards….
Yeah they eventually unbanned it. Nick said in a later interview that his friend who is the head of TED was actually sympathetic to the message, but felt pressure from his elite peer group to suppress the talk.
Goodness me, who is this Nick chap. That is such a mumbling, stumbling, mumbo, jumbo geeky presentation. Let’s wait till Shearer starts his political campaigning with ‘Operation Stun and Awe’ and show how he will be far more articulate, fluent and persuasive.
Use Google – he does provoke discussion (or as you demonstrate: affronted indignation with no actual points) but he is firmly in top income bracket he speaks of, part owner of a venture capitalist group based in the Seattle area.
Also, what do you expect from a five minute presentation, especially one that is intended only to invite people to think differently, rather than provide a nuanced, and completely spun debate on the issue? Isn’t that the premise of TED talks?
Thanks for pointing out the clip, Molly. Much appreciated, truly. My comments at 12:13pm could have been clearer but then I may not be as practised as a certain political so-called leader with mumbling, stumbling, fumbling and bumbling.
Tried to search Hanauer on the TED site, and only came up with the comments regarding it’s non-posting. But found references that it had been published later on, although still can’t find it through the search engine, – there may be a direct link.
Did come across this reference to an email from Chris Anderson (TED) regarding the original choice not to publish on one of the YouTube posters –
” Published on May 2, 2013
A TED Talk on Income Inequality by Nick Hanauer…
Chris Anderson, director of TED, refuses to release the video of the talk on its website, saying that the message is overtly controversial and too partisan for broad consumption.
In an email sent to Hanauer and shared with Jim Tankersley at the National Journal, Anderson wrote:
“… even if the talk was rated a home run, we couldn’t release it, because it would be unquestionably regarded as out and out political. We’re in the middle of an election year in the US. Your argument comes down firmly on the side of one party. And you even reference that at the start of the talk. TED is nonpartisan and is fighting a constant battle with TEDx organizers to respect that principle….
“Nick, I personally share your disgust at the growth in inequality in the US, and would love to have found a way to give people a clearer mindset on the issue, without stoking a tedious partisan rehash of all the arguments we hear every day in the mainstream media.
“Alas, my judgment – and it is just a judgment, and that’s why my job title is ‘curator’ – is that publishing your talk would not meet that goal.””
The real big problem I have with that is that he subscribes to the ever increasing, and thus unsustainable, use of resources.
kweewee and kit.condom are birds of a feather.
they both think its ok to go through life taking what they want and to hell with anybody who gets in the way.
losers and counterparties are expected to just flake off and security at the door keeps them from becoming a nuisance
however in a democracy everybody has a say!
.condom thinks he can steal the intellectual property of anyone and escape to the south seas but they are gonna get him.
tough luck to both I say
Could Mecca’s Kaaba become a massive petri-dish for Mers
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10895122
already found to be residing in a bat population reservoir.
Good point,with filoviruses such as Ebola it is suspected that bats are a transient reservoir.
http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1002304
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/artful-amoeba/2012/04/01/another-bat-die-off-leads-to-discovery-of-first-european-ebola-virus-relative/
The Dark Night Rises.
Just when I thought I couldn’t like or respect shane jones less he says this shit,
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10895113
What does that actually mean?
This is what gelding means
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelding
I may have it wrong but I cannot remember any proposal to castrate men. It may seem extreme but I really wish shane jones would politically fuck off forever.
he is embarrassment (but then, that’s Nu Zillund for ya). Give the fillies a run.
What it means is that Shane wants the country run by men who will put women in their place, by whatever means necessary. He really is in the wrong party*, but I tend to agree, it would be better if he just fucked off out of politics altogether.
*although it’s hard to see exactly what party he would fit in. Maybe he could start his own – the macho shithead party, except I think he would find that most of the members wouldn’t want a maaari for leader.
Jones continues his corporate behavioural ways as an MP.
Labour has picked some real lazy self serving troughers over the past 10 years, none more typical than Shane. The fishing industry I heard were happy to see the back of him, one nasty piece of work is Mr jones.
maybe geldings was the wrong term..I think he was talking of emasculation…..
He’s doing us all a favour in helping show just how out of touch Labour is.
Egypt:
Ultra-conservatives see an opening
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/middleeast/la-fg-egypt-nour-20130706,0,6204110.story?
‘historical, social and economic conditions (have) laid the groundwork for society to return to religion”- Geneive Abdo
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Egypt-s-revolution-betraye-by-Eric-Walberg-130705-644.html?
-Islamaphobes imperialist backed?
-a civil war like in Algeria, US supported secularists?
A need for Egypt to disconnect from the US- dominated world order (while their Navy requires the canal).
oh, forgot, Obama instructs a review of American aid to Egypt- The Spectator.
Venezuela and Nicaragua offer Snowden asylum
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/venezuela-and-nicaragua-offer-asylum-to-nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden-8691647.html
China- Russia Hold Largest Joint naval drills.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/china-russia-hold-largest-joint-naval-drills-19583632#.UdiMuzu1GR4
Climate Warming
http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/8878320/Last-decade-the-warmest
Accelerating.
“Accelerating.”
Nope.
… the largest change (or even second or third largest) change is not to the most recent decade. And, in fact, the largest observed decadal increase is actually from the average of 1987-1996 to the average of 1997-2006, at +0.24K.
… 2001-2010 is the warmest 10-year period in the instrumental record. This is evidence enough of a warmer climate, but NOT of an accelerated warming rate.
http://www.climate-lab-book.ac.uk/2013/wmo-report/
A Long History of Untruthfulness by US Security Intelligence- Tim Weiner.
Here’s a hint Vodafone – if you put the link to the network status back on the front page of your website in an easy to find place, then when you have a network problem your call centre won’t get overloaded.
And btw, the word ‘communication’ in the term telecommunication actually means something. Look it up.
+1
Yes, I noticed there “network status” link became invisible a while back.
Was their a sonic boom in christchurch tonight?, people who live in
chch are saying their was a huge boom, but it wasnt lightening
or an earthquake?
How many people know what a medicine ball is?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10400939
P Lab explosion in chch, apprently.
now lightening. next it will be aliens.
HAARP.
Skynet temporal vortex.
Sideshow Bob.
Or that time traveller who went to mars with President Obama and then went to see Lincoln.
Oh well, that was fun, goodnight
???