Rugby in the news again for all the wrong reasons.
Until Tew and co take the issue seriously, this will continue.
“On the Sunday in Christchurch after the South African test at the Christchurch Airport, Aaron and a female friend were seen by members of the public to enter the disabled toilets.
“Clearly Aaron is bitterly disappointed with his behaviour and feels he has let the team down but just as importantly feels he is bitterly disappointed in letting his family and partner down.
I liked the way the wife was disgusted by the actions and hung around 5-10 minutes, just to make sure of course, instead of going off and finding a security guard or something
Still not a good look considering the bad press rugbys getting at the moment
Yes i think entertained is the word she was looking for. Its a bit pervy hanging around the toilets for with your children for ten minutes recording people having sex, for all they knew it could have been his partener.
…….. actually James public toilet sex sounds rather grotty and the only thing good I can think about it would be that its slightly better than wanking in a public toilet ………
It all sounds very low grade and as sexy as a public toilet ….. …….
… but speaking of rugby and the chiefs in particular.
I still have rugby contacts involved with the game and the information which has come back to me claims it was a couple of All Blacks involved with the bad behavior ….
I had been argueing/debating with my rugby mate ….. as initially he thought the stripper incident would “blow over” ….. I said it would have if they had identified the offenders and dished out appropriate punishment and an apology ….. the cover up was the thing multiplying the damage for Rugby ….
Anyway about a week later he came back with the info that it was senior players/ All blacks involved …… which is why individuals were not named and held accountable …..
They are protecting the All Black brand…… and the chiefs would not have wanted their team weakened by suspending and leaving out a couple of their best players either ……
My rugby mate agreed it was pretty shitty behavior….. in trying to understand what could make All Blacks believe it was ok for them to act that way towards women ….we thought it was like they had been influenced and come under the spell of a pony tail pulling pervert …
I pointed out that the other influence from their sub prime mascot is probably dodgy tax stuff …. our national heroes could be using Keys tax haven contacts ( like his lawyer mate ), to protect their wealth from poor kiwi kids and others who need state aid …….
If I were running rugby and was concerned for its health and future I would get rid of all the bad anti-family influences ….. and do some apologizing for past bad behaviors like selecting all white All black teams to tour south africa, ruining the montral olympics etc …..
I would try to get some leaders with good morals and decent ethics involved …
So, if you are accurate, two of these six.
I am pretty certain Sam Cane did not go to the function and Sonny Bill Williams does not drink alcohol.
Six Gallagher Chiefs players have been named in the All Blacks squad for the 2016 Investec Rugby Championship starting on August 20 in Sydney.
The squad is as follows: (with province, Investec Super Rugby team and Test caps in brackets)
Nathan Harris (Bay of Plenty / Chiefs, 4)
Brodie Retallick (Hawke’s Bay / Chiefs, 50)
Sam Cane (Bay of Plenty / Chiefs, 34)
Tawera Kerr-Barlow (Waikato / Chiefs, 21)
Aaron Cruden (Manawatu / Chiefs, 39)
Sonny Bill Williams (Counties Manukau / Chiefs, 33)
Further to this, young stars, Damian McKenzie, Anton Lienert-Brown and Seta Tamanivalu will be part of a two-day wider training camp commencing this Thursday.
Here are some newspaper cuttings on some of them…….
Cruden left at home after night out drinking
Some players used the time to go to Auckland pub The Zookeeper’s Son. Photos from the night were later posted on Facebook saying “The ‘Men In Black’ dined and partied with us last night… thanks guys! Great to see you again!”
Pub owner Lindy Catchpole said the group arrived around 8pm, dined, played pool and were well behaved, leaving before midnight.
“They had a great time, they enjoyed themselves, they had dinner and just hung out. Nothing out of the ordinary,” she said.
Cruden, Aaron Smith, Brodie Retallick, Kieran Read, Conrad Smith and Sam Whitelock were at the pub, according to Catchpole. And the pub’s Facebook page featured the players posing with staff and patrons.
All but Cruden were understood to have retired at an acceptable time after dinner.
“We didn’t have a curfew. He was out drinking and he didn’t get there in time,” Hansen added.
“It’s obviously disappointing and out of character for [Aaron]. He’s extremely disappointed in himself. He understands there has to be a consequence for his actions.
”Once we get this out of the way then he will be coming back into the group when we go to Brisbane [for the third Bledisloe Cup test].
“It’s not what we, or he, stands for. We all make mistakes. Like our children we loved them but sometimes we don’t love their behaviour.
”The team is well aware when we don’t get that right there are consequences. He’s paid the price for that.”
A member of the New Zealand under 20 rugby squad joked about a rapist in a Facebook post as a teammate was being investigated for rape by South African police.
Baby Blacks hooker Nathan Harris today outed himself as the player accused of raping a 22-year-old woman at a Cape Town hotel on the night of his side’s junior world championship defeat to hosts South Africa last Friday.
New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew would not comment on today’s developments but said earlier this week the Baby Blacks squad had been reminded of team protocols only hours before the alleged rape.
Tew said players had been drinking on Friday night but didn’t believe they were grossly intoxicated.
However squad members made comments on social networking sites about “drowning sorrows” after their loss to South Africa.
And yesterday one joked on Facebook that “they can’t find the rapist cause he is in Australia”.
Hi Paul …. my friend was doing the same ‘narrow down the suspects’ process …… but much like John Keys tax returns the truth is being kept secret …….. presumably because the information is damaging.
I gave up on watching or following rugby long long ago so any rugby names are pretty much unknown and irrelevant to me …… The Chiefs behavior does not surprise me and is a natural result of allowing lower standards of behavior from those ‘higher’ in society ……
I pointed out to my rugby union friend that many of the professional Rugby League club sides ban alcohol for the players during the season…. they did this to try and stop the bad press resulting from bad and often violent behavior which sometimes erupts when sports teams or players get pissed…….
Rugby is an aggressive game centered on controlled violence … elite sportsmen often have BIG egos ……. then get them pissed … hhhmmmm smells like trouble .
Its also Ironic teams may ban players from using what is often a sponsors product because of the shit which results … but the club still making money pushing this drug and effectively advertising it in front of children.
Steinlager All blacks ……………… The mascot drinks a lot 😉
I’m honestly passing on information as told to me by someone who I would say almost loves rugby ….. and probably played it to a much higher standard than you james ….
I trust my source but it is second hand information so would not be allowed in court …
The main evidence in support of it is the poor leadership and a convoluted unfair to innocent players apology which came from the chiefs …
Not to mention the other stripper who came forward from the year before …. as at the time the “she’s a liar” narrative was being pushed by the BM’s , Ross’s ……. and maybe you james???
Of course a proper punishment with the appropriate players getting it would clear everything up ……….and would have from the start
Well James i have missed out.
Where public toilets are concerned i just want to get out as quick as when i went in.
As for rugby and the All Black concerned it just proves what i have always thought
they are human after all and not the gods they are made out to be.
When you strip away the hype and exaggerated status and the pedestal they are placed upon ( the lead story on the national news ) its just a game of footie and compared to the major issues confronting us in this country its like we have got our priorities all wrong if this behaviour is treated as a major news story.
Hilarious that the rugby bosses leap on this non-story about someone having consensual sex with someone else and impose immediate disciplinary action for such immoral and shameful behaviour, but when their players do things that genuinely do bring the game into disrepute they see no need to take any action and have to be shamed into it by the media. These guys are seriously fucked in the head.
Now I’m curious. Is it still illegal in NZ to have sex in a public place? If so, are the bosses objecting to him possibly breaking the law or for having sex?
They basically don’t get what consent is, so for them the thing that distinguishes this incident from ones like the Chiefs sexually assaulting strippers is that the people complaining this time are “decent” people, not “strippers” or “some slut one of our players fucked.” Hence the prompt disciplinary action.
No Cinny he is an ALL Black , a god it gives him licence and big money to do what he likes and then go out in public afterwards and sign autographs
Christ even Key has jumped on the bandwagon and gone on about standards and behaviour!!!!! as if he knows what that actually means … pulling womans hair !
Hypocrite of the century.
‘Change is coming’: May turns her back on 40 years of Tory ideology
‘If you’re an accountant, a financial adviser or a middleman who helps people to avoid what they owe to society, we’re coming after you too,’ says PM.
Ms May also criticised those who saw themselves as “a citizen of the world”, free from the “bonds” of citizenship and the duties that brought.
She told them: “You don’t understand what the very word ‘citizenship’ means.
“So if you’re a boss who earns a fortune but doesn’t look after your staff, an international company that treats tax laws as an optional extra, a household name that refuses to work with the authorities even to fight terrorism, a director who takes out massive dividends while knowing that the company pension is about to go bust, I’m putting you on warning.
“Prime Minister John Key introduced legislation in August to amend disclosure rules for the country’s 12,000 foreign trusts, a move triggered by media coverage of New Zealand’s links to Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca.
The disclosure bill, which is now under review by select committee, has the singular feature that it arguably does not increase disclosure.
What a cheek! http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/85000994/john-key-keeps-lid-on-hidden-billions
It is completely overrated as a profession. Too much niggly, unproductive and uncreative work.
Unfortunately I happen to be very good at managing systems and people because of my family background, training, or whatever (personally I think it is mostly genetics). Consequently being a total contrarian I have spent most of my working life figuring out how to avoid it.
I much prefer building systems rather than running them, and being power crazy is all about controlling running systems. The key to getting out of that zone is to make sure that everyone else can run their areas without too much interference or organizing and doing it as a situational structure.
You can see that philosophy running through the anarchy that is this site.
I tend to work mainly on the technical areas for everything from the hardware to security to the community dynamics because I have had a lot of experience in such areas. But I also cede control where-ever I can. That frees up time to work on other projects like paid work or having a relationship.
That all being said, most of the areas I have a crucial role on this site are either purely technical or security / legal.
Anyway, my point is that power crazy is good as a vacation, but it is a drag as a lifestyle. Mostly people who think it’d be a good idea simply haven’t had enough experience to know that. 😈
Brilliant article. Key was never going to do the right thing on disclosure of overseas trusts.
If these crap “reforms” become law, which doubtless they will, there should be an immediate policy response by the Lab/Gr bloc saying they will change the law when elected next year so that a public register of the overseas trusts will be available to be seen by all-comers.
I would have thought Winston would be on-side with this too.
The True Cost is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaGp5_Sfbss
I have just finished watching the full film and I feel like crying. How can we do this to other people and to our own children? What kind of world are we crating for them? And all in the name of greed.
We deserve whatever nature will do to us because we are not only not willing to listen to nature but mock those who stand up for it.
Neoliberal policies that have dominated Western democracies for a generation have brought a reversal of this agenda with a growth of inequality that has been breathtaking in scale and speed. Alongside is the growth internationally of extremist and dehumanising ideologies which threaten the fabric of Western democracies.
The end game of a callous undermining of the public education system is the collapse of an informed participatory citizenship.
Key’s retort.
“He’s one academic, and like lawyers, I can provide you with another one that will give you a counterview. ……”
It would be easy to say the education reforms lack imagination and are simply a lazy reiteration of failed policies of the 1990s. However, that would be to ignore the clear vision that drives them. It’s a vision that privileges the private sector, which creates schools as competing business units and pretends poverty and unfairness don’t matter.
When public education becomes yet another thing we may lose, along with the dream that hard work meant you could leave poverty behind, own your own home and balance a 40-hour working week with leisure time, we will wonder why we let it go so easily and ask what we gained instead.
The right wing will then tell us joylessly that we got choice. And when that happens we will know we got conned. Again.
This is American Soft Culture Power blocking out the noise of Empires at War.
The escapism of now is robbing us of a future.
Hush Sleepy Hobbits. Hush.
Agreed Richard. This incremental shifting is collapsing a pretty good Education system. Who can withstand the diminishing returns for the kids? Only the teachers really but they are labelled as militant unionists and are dismissed as self-interested. Keep it up Peter O’Connor.
From the article I read yesterday, everyone in Ohio is voting Trump, they all think Clinton should be in jail, Ohio apparently is the indicator state for the US, if they pick Trump, Trumps in.
Now if that’s true, either a nuclear war will be soon, or the most interesting times of our lives is about to begin. As Trump like Key, believing their own legacy wrecks the place, and perhaps the planet.
Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Georgia are four states that Trump must win if he is to stand any real chance of getting to the Oval Office.
If he loses any of those states, his chances of beating Hillary start declining very sharply. Florida is of course the big one. If he loses Florida the road immediately gets near-impossible for him.
The interesting guy is Pence, I reckon. it’ll be as easy for him to run the show with a fool like Trump at the top as it was for Cheney with Bush as a figurehead.
yeah… nah – I don’t think Pence and his backers are as hapless as those two, and although Trump has certain characteristics in common with the third character in that play, I’m not sure he’s as cunning.
I’m sticking with the Cheney comparison …. for now.
If Trump was genuinely better than Clinton in any way, you could talk about that rather than inventing pop psychology that even Freud would have thought was a bit kooky.
Tony Veitch (not the partner-bashing 3rd rate broadcaster 6.2.1.1.1
It’s not that Trump is genuinely better then “the most qualified person to ever stand for the presidency,” to quote Obama, but that Clinton is struggling to beat the clown!
Just think for a moment what that tells us about the two candidates!
It reminds me of Muldoon’s quip about the IQ of NZ and Aussie.
Atkinson’s film explores this build up of weaponry, but it also shows how police rhetoric has been pumped up on rhetorical steroids. In seminars and tactical rehearsals, we hear civilians referred to as “the enemy.” And in one of the film’s most appalling scenes, from a Senate committee meeting in 2014, the Deputy Undersecretary of Acquisition for the Defense Department is asked to explain why the military is giving bayonets to local police in the United States. Bayonets are for war.
The illogical endpoint of all of this is scenes like the ones that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri. This tragedy is folded into the narrative as an example of how legitimate civilian protest is treated as enemy activity by police, who then roll out their latest toys and look for excuses to use them. Instead of nurturing a sense that the police are connected to the communities they are supposed to protect and serve, the rhetoric and weapons instill the idea of the forces in opposition, one side a threat and the other the answer to the threat. This is a fascist mentality, the opposite of democratic ideals.
Two poorly informed comedians, a poorly informed literary man
and a highly constrained, fearful academic talk about death squads. The Panel, RNZ National, Wednesday 5 October 2016, 4:13 p.m.
Jesse Mulligan, Jeremy Elwood, Michael Moynahan, Megan Whelan
The most offensive aspect to the following travesty is not the two professional stand-up comedians struggling to say something erudite—“I’ve been reading quite a lot about this guy, I mean, ahhhmm, I mean”—and blithely talking, with no apparent sense of irony, about the United States lecturing Duterte about “death squads” and “sanctioned killings”. It’s not the ridiculous comments by Michael Moynahan at the end of the farce. No, the worst part of this shambles is the guest, billed grandly as “the Regional Security Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies”, who somehow forgets to mention just why a Filipino president being lectured about “human rights” by the United States should react with such a display of contempt. [1]. But then, on reflection, Paul Sinclair’s mediocrity, timidity, and mealy-mouthedness should hardly come as a surprise, given that he is a departmental colleague of the notorious Lance Beath and Robert Ayson. Like the equally dismal University of Waikato professor Al Gillespie the day before, Paul Sinclair chose to defer to the sensibilities of his colleagues rather than talk candidly.
Here, for those who can bear such naked mediocrity and cowardice, is the transcript of eight miserable minutes of taxpayer-funded dissembling….
JESSE MULLIGAN: Ah, we’ll stay overseas. The president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has told Barack Obama to “go to Hell.” He doesn’t like the U.S. president criticizing his War on Drugs and Crime which has led to the killing of—oh this is incredible—the killing of three and a half thousand people, the SANCTIONED killing of three and a half thousand people. He-e-e’s also likened himself to Hitler—he’s a real piece of work. He said he’d be happy to slaughter three million drug users, ahem, this guy seemed to come out of NOWHERE, Jeremy.
JEREMY ELWOOD: Yeah, um, I’ve been reading quite a lot about this guy, I mean, ever since he announced that he was running for the presidency, ahhhmm, I mean, I, I guess one of the things here is, no one in the Philippines should be surprised at this. He SAID right from the beginning, when he was mayor of, um, and I’m sorry I’ve forgotten the name of the town.
JESSE MULLIGAN: Yeah, it’s an old school bloodlust town, yeah.
JEREMY ELWOOD: Yeah. I mean, he was mayor of there and there were a lot of allegations about death squads and killings—sanctioned killings—of DRUG DEALERS. I mean, his main push is against the drug trade. Um, and he ran on a platform that he was going to, quote, “wipe out drug crime within six months.” Um, I mean it does, if, if you just come as an observer it reads like the plot for The Raid 3, or some ridiculous action movie. He’s almost like a Bond-esque villain but I think he’s FRIGHTENING, he’s very very frightening.
JESSE MULLIGAN: And doesn’t seem afraid, Michael, to be making international enemies.
MICHAEL MOYNAHAN:[speaking slowly, carefully, to convey moral seriousness] No he doesn’t seem to at ALL, um, it, it is, um, ah, he did, he did ENTIRELY telegraph what it was he was going to do, AND he had done all of this stuff before. What I thought was interesting from some of the stuff I’ve been reading and seeing lately is that the Philippine electorate EMBRACED him because actually he was seen as the ALTERNATIVE to all of the corruption, all of the promises they’d been made post, um, ah, Marcos, ahh, you know, “We’re gonna sort this out, we’re going to organize, a civil society et cetera, none of that happened, and so he’s actually the RESPONSE that the Philippine electorate has given, and he’s PART of, in an extraordinarily extreme way, the whole BACKLASH against the establishment.
JESSE MULLIGAN:[dolefully] Yeah.
JEREMY ELWOOD: Yeah he’s basically Donald Trump with a bloodlust!
JESSE MULLIGAN:[restrained, mirthless, grave] Ah ha ha ha ha.
MICHAEL MOYNAHAN: Oh, GOD!
JESSE MULLIGAN: Well there’s a piece, there’s an interesting piece in the Guardian which quotes a senior Filipino police officer, because the police have been turned into KILLERS really, which’d be an incredible thing to go on if your usual job is keeping the peace and then you get orders to go out and start SHOOTING people.
JEREMY ELWOOD: Yeah, and, and there’s SO many issues that ARISE from that, I mean if you’ve given the police a license to KILL, um, and, and if you have, as Duarte [sic] HAS done, um, enticed public civilians to take the laws into their own hands when it comes to when, if there’s a drug dealer, I mean that just blows open the doors of SO much potential corruption.
JESSE MULLIGAN: Yeah, yeah.
JEREMY ELWOOD: All you need, I mean in terms of, you know, what happened a LOT in Stalinist Russia, you just need to ACCUSE somebody, you know, if you don’t LIKE your neighbor, all you need to do is drop a line saying “I’m pretty sure my neighbor’s a drug dealer” and, you know, problem solved.
MICHAEL MOYNAHAN: And, and, the interesting thing is what IS at the bottom of it? Is it a cynical ploy on behalf of this particular politician who’s in fact, you know, actually BEHIND a lot of the corruption, you know, what lies behind it which we have no way of really TELLING in amongst all the noise that he is making and the, ahh, you know, telling off the U.S., telling off China, or WHATEVER it is? Is there something that lies beyond that, which is even more sinister? And that’s the bit that worries ME.
JESSE MULLIGAN: Well let’s ask Paul Sinclair. He’s Regional Security Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies and he joins us now. Hi Paul.
PAUL SINCLAIR: Oh hi how are you?
JESSE MULLIGAN: GOOD thank you. So the, the drug-related killings is one thing, but what’s the purpose behind all the anti-American rhetoric?
PAUL SINCLAIR: Ahhhhhmmm, I think that that’s a reflection of the fact that, ah, he, ah, has got this single-minded agenda, um, ah, to wipe out drug dealers, the Americans have CRITICIZED it, ah, on human RIGHTS grounds, understandably, ahhhhh, and he has reacted very very strongly, ahhhh, that has posed a real conundrum for Washington, ahhh, because it is starting to undermine, ahhh, what the United States regards as a bedrock alliance commitment to the Philippines.
JESSE MULLIGAN: Yeah, what’s the HISTORY of that commitment and that alliance?
PAUL SINCLAIR: It’s, it’s got a very interesting and somewhat checkered history, ahhh, it dates back, ahhhh, post-War, post-World War Two, ahhhhhmm, prior to that, um, the Philippines was an American colony for, um, several decades and there lies part of the ISSUES that surface from time to time between the Philippines and the United States. Ahhhhmm, all went WELL with that alliance, ahhh, between 1951 and 1992, until the Philippines senate at that time, ahhh, instructed the U.S. to leave ALL of its military bases in the Philippines, of which at that time there were very very many. Ahhhh, and, uh, the relationship went into a deep cold FREEZE for a number of years. It’s been built back, in particular in respect of issues over the South China Sea; the Philippines very actively sought U.S. support for the case that it mounted in The Hague.
JESSE MULLIGAN: Yeah that was interesting wasn’t it, I mean, you would certainly put the U.S. and the Philippines on the same side there, and China on the other side, but it sounds like, uh, the President Duterte is warming UP to China a little?
PAUL SINCLAIR: Very much, ahhhhhh, he just said the other day that, uh, if the United States refuses to sell the Philippines weapons because of, uh, human rights concerns, um, he will source them from China and Russia, ahh, they’ll have NO COMPUNCTION, ah, about selling him military equipment, ahhh, he has I understand brought FORWARD his planned visit to Beijing and will now visit next month with a business delegation, and he sees China as the, ahhhh, as a potential source of significant investment that the Philippines badly needs to, um, strengthen its infrastructure.
JESSE MULLIGAN: Yeah, well speaking of the infrastructure and the economy, this has not been good for business in the Philippines, ahhh, going around and killing people tends to add a feeling of INSTABILITY. Do you think there’ll be a point at which the populace of the Philippines look at what’s going on in the economy and think, Hey well maybe this isn’t working?
PAUL SINCLAIR: Ahhhm, yes there MAY be, ahhh, or hopefully there will be a realization, ahhh, um, that this has NOT been a particularly CLEVER thing for Duterte to do, ahhhh, but there is an element within the Philippines, ahhmm, the nationalist STRONGMAN which still holds quite a bit of appeal, ahmm, and it may take a WHILE for what’s happening now in a business sense to register with the Philippines population. The wealthy elite certainly will have a very strong view about this but whether the population more generally will, it’s really hard to say.
JESSE MULLIGAN: All right, Paul Sinclair, ahhhh, Regional Security Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University, thanks so much for your time today.
MICHAEL MOYNAHAN: D’ya know how many PEOPLE live in the Philippines? I just Googled it, by the way.
MICHAEL MOYNAHAN: Hundred million people! ….[long pause]…That’s TERRIFYING!
JESSE MULLIGAN: I wonder how much impact this is having on DRUG USE over there? Whether it’s working? I mean, it’s sort of irrelevant, isn’t it, but it would be interesting to see how the drug community is RESPONDING. Oh by the way, I enjoyed what Paul said there, Jeremy: despite the fact that it might not make sense economically, the people are responding to a strongman who, I think it plays into what you were saying.
JEREMY ELWOOD: Yeah I mean I think you see a LOT of that in, ahem, you know, countries which are, which had a history of both colonialism and often the drug trade. Um, you certainly see it a LOT in South America where, y’know, these, y’know, democratically elected leaders, um, turn into dictators very quickly, um, you look at someone like Noriega back in the um, y’know, eighties and nineties. Umm, there is a response to strong leadership, um, and in this case to the point, like I say, I mean this guy’s coming across like a modern-day Rambo or something, with his personal agenda, it’s ahhh….
——————————————————————————————
I wrote the host of this débâcle the following email, to which he has yet to reply….
Dear Jesse,
While the terrifying President Duterte is indeed all the things you say, how is he any worse than President Obama?
Sadly, Richard, they were all pretending to be serious. At least Jim Mora would have made a joke about the death squads, kidder that he is.
The funny part of this is entirely unintentional. It’s when Jesse Mulligan, after a lengthy meditation on the evils of President Duterte, then throws to someone even more vacuous than himself: “this guy seemed to come out of NOWHERE, Jeremy.”
If Duterte keeps heading down this road he’ll be set up in the western media for a regime changing “colour revolution”, “responsibility 2 protect” or similar coup.
Great to have uninformed dolts commenting about matters they know nothing about.
Pointlessness.
Whereas Mulligan could have spoken to an expert on the matter.
It has nothing to do with funding. It has everything to do with making sure that whatever academics they have on are inoffensive and unlikely to say something “controversial”, i.e. truthful. Thats why the likes of Robert Patman and Al Gillespie are on so often, but never someone like Mike Joy.
I wrote the host of this débâcle the following email, to which he has yet to reply….
Given that Mulligan probably looked at it, thought “Fuck I hate this false equivalence bullshit” and set a rule directing future emails from this sender straight to the deleted-items folder, I wouldn’t expect a reply if I were you.
RNZ is trying to give an alternative non establishment , non mainstream media view ! …at least it was last night… with this entertaining interview by the stand in for Bryan Crump ( yesterday evening on ‘Nights’) on the USA Election
LOTUS (Lionel of the United States)
Emmy Award Winning Renaissance Lawyer and News Decoder Michael William Lebron AKA Lionel on the state of political play in the U.S.
Russia, doing nuclear war drills evacuating 40 million people to shelters as we speak, Trumps a mad dog, wars in Syria and tensions brewing, North Korea threatening to make build and launch against the south or America nuclear weapons.
There’s more trouble going on currently than during the cold war i’m starting to think.
I wonder currently what the minutes to midnight clocks set at currently? Or defcon status of the planet.
In all seriousness, with Putin, and Obama, and then Trump threatening to become president of the most powerful nation on the planet and the rhetoric about making the USA powerful again.
I think we as a country also need to re-evaluate the current state of international diplomacy for our own good.
A risk of nuclear war being imminent is highly increased surely?
Alex Jones on Chair of the Joint Chiefs Dunford’s testimony to Congress that implementing a no fly zone in Syria would be starting a war against Syria and Russia – and he wasn’t going to make that decision.
Trump may be a mad dog, but Clinton also wants to add Syria to the glorious achievements of Iraq and Libya.
India and Pakistan are ramping it up in Kashmir (Both nuclear armed now thanks to li’l ol’ NZ)
If the White Helmets get the Nobel Peace prize they’ve been nominated for, then we’re way down some rabbit hole that’s not in Kansas. (Other signifiers of unreality that can be added to the Alice and Dorothy references would probably be appropriate.)
On a darkly lighter note.
If someone was to ‘rent’ Saudi Arabia a nuclear device, most of the terrorism in the ME would end, our carbon emissions would plummet and all that blasted sand entering the atmosphere could possibly have a welcome, short term cooling effect on our planet.
That’s three birds with one stone by my reckoning.
How many wake up calls does the New Zealand public need?
Dirty politics.
Extensive slavery and fish dumping – environmental destruction – and screeds of evidence that the goverment has known about it for years and covered it up. And now customs covering up more abuses of the poorest, most exploited people in the world!
The Lying away the outrageous increase in child poverty and homelessness.
New Zealand’s key role, as yet unreported, in Panama. Of course, what many people don’t know is that that company has strong connection to Mi6 and the CIA: for it was the NZ goverment who initiated that financial arrangement, during the Iran crisis, given how much dirty operational money needed to be obscured… that’s right, folks… just as all the Iranian intel passed through the New Zealand embassy in Manila during that time, it was New Zealanders, and Mi6 employees stationed in NZ who facilitated the cashflow! Wonder why NZ has some strange surveillance concern with Iran? It’s historical.
Conspiracy theory no doubt…. As likely as members of the Hearst dynasty tied up with the Weather Underground moving to Christchurch and changed their surname to Tree.
What’s the point of the media, and you so-called leftists in the face of what you really face…. You can’t even see the tip of the iceberg! Sorry, just a little disappointed. Please, travel some more. Go live in a pagoda for a month in an empoverished province of a Western fucked nation.
Those who can, do what they can. We will live and die unknown and you will never know any better. Well, better to try than to do nothing at all. But you know who this is, don’t you SIS and friends. Thanks for the visit last year by the way. I didn’t say anything and showed her a good time. Trust she enjoyed herself.
In the next few months more revelations will come out – if there are people ready to listen. But to what end? To what effect? So depressing. Banging the old head against the wall…
It took you (opposition, media) two bloody years to twig to the extent of migrant labour abuses despite individuals from fairfax and other media organizations having the truth rubbed in your noses, repeatedly, by friends of ours. But there’s been some good work, especially by one particular journo now working for radio NZ. You know who I mean. Shoutout, sister! Still, you – the media – haven’t reported on the fact that anti-slavery activists have been harassed into the dirt by the intelligence services.
Yes, correct: go talk to all those who have housed, fed, and advocated for abused migrant workers. The filmmakers who tried to bring the issue to attention also. Followed, harassed, and intimidated by our own security services as well as by private contractors. No doubt they were affecting New Zealand’s economic well being…
Talk to the director of Slaves of the Ocean about it. Talk to the activists who protected the fishermen who fled the Oyang. It’s an incredible story of human rights defenders – patriots of the highest order – being harrasssed and crushed by the state and by private contractors working closely together. They were even spying the hell out of the Anglican Church, for God’s sake. Facist, anti – human rights surveillance. Yes, in New Zealand.
Oh, to change the subject just slightly (cough – prettty obvious guys), be quite skeptical about who exactly was behind the leak of Slater’s emails. Curious, isn’t it, who was mentioned in those dumps (not always by the same people by the way).
The fact is that Cameron Slater realized that he had been breached multiple times, and he sought to mitigate that. Think about it… that doesn’t apply to all releases….
The fact is that “Rawshark” is not one person at all, but a number, including Cameron Slater himself. Confusing I know. Well, that was Cameron’s original plan but the idiot had a keystroke recorder on his machine and that made making plans, well, a bit of a game for his detractors, haha. I wonder how long Cameron would go to jail if it came out that he did or was at least planning that before it went awry. Heh.
Ask yourself how many leaks of this magnitude have not resulted in an arrest. Yes. Ponder that. In the history of large scale hacks, how often is it that the purpetrator (lol) has not been caught?
The true situation is much, much more complex that people realize. The mix is extraordinary.
Reasons for why the PM didn’t want to pursue “Rawshark”?
One: Slater and Co initially created the idea of a super hacker to cover his arse but hilariously real super hackers were monitoring him in real time.
Another breather who unfortunately left a trail of sorts is an activist authorities don’t dare arrest because the dirt he has is even worse, much, much worse and damaging. GCSB and industry related.
Another is a woman with such just cause very few in the NZ public, no matter how mean they may have become, would abide her persecution I bet – and they bet too clearly.
Oh and there’s others… It’s an open joke among hackers how open the systems of Slater, that slithery insect, were. He should be grateful to the hackers he so loathes. They have standards or morals to such a degree that they have agreed to draw a line (for example, Cam, concerning your porn browsing history). Because they believe people deserve to have a private life however “deviant” their sexual proclivities, and the right to some semblance of dignity, even if they don’t deserve it. That’s right, Cam: some of them have had that used against them by the security services you praise so much. I’m afraid they operate to a much higher ethical standard.
Will anyone ever get to the bottom of it? Well the truth is they mostly have and for the above and other reasons it won’t come out. The PM won’t be naming anyone, not when he knows certain anonymous people have records of him discussing the bailout of MediaWorks with Joyce is some pretty sweary, morally dubious terms; Records of Bennett as well as English liasing with Indonesian human traffickers; Collins making illegal deals with the Chinese; Simon Bridges arranging for future backhanders with Oil and gas companies…
If this comment gets through, know, players listed above, that we know all your weaknesses. We have documents for East Germany and dirt for Africa. But you know that don’t you? You rely on the fact that the public doesn’t care: that it doesn’t care about the minutiae of your business, of the shady deals you do, for example, to not underground power wires in Auckland even though it’s ultimately cheaper because of a dodgy background deal with one of your blue chip monopolies…. could run to 500 pages but due to go clubbing just shortly…
We are here, we are not going away, and any move (or more moves) you make against us will result in devastating leaks. But you know that.
We have communicated what we expect. And recently you have been coming to the party at least in terms of prosecuting migrant labour abuses. Smiley face and big tick!
But we are not going away. We know you purposefully did not consult with Maori over the Kermadecs. It’s not the first time you have tried to use Tangata Whenua (sorry, the Maori Party who are hardly representational) to shoot down labour and environmental issues at sea. Remember when the Maori Party changed their mind at the last moment in respect of the foreign charter legislation? They looked freaked out, didn’t they…. I wonder why. Don’t forget who you are dealing with. You cannot arrest us, we know too much – and you know that very well now don’t you?
We know you know who we are. Hell, we don’t even bother to hide ourselves to mr LP. Top bloke.
Will this help people vote Trump knowing Pence is in background, will this deter people voting Clinton if they think she might not last the distance and Kaine has to take over or will voters just ignore what happened as they’ve already made up their minds?
Quite possibly his tactics though I’m leaning towards the whole people have already made up their minds bit, it might make a couple of Trump voters feel a bit better in their choice but that’s probably about it
That is because Trump acts like such a buffoon that he attracts a whole lot of free media. The problem for Trump’s supporters is that he really is a incompetent, self-entitled, and an ineffective narcissistic buffoon who trades on being good at media attention rather than being effective at the mechanics of actual politics.
Basically he is a classic useless arsehole with a mouth and not much else.
This has been getting clearer and clearer as the haze from the multiplicity of the primaries clears. It appears quite unlikely that Trump will be able to carry the election. He is just entertainment that went out of a control because the Republicans had a confused primary.
I would agree with your position on Trump’s free media exposure helping him -except that the overwhelming balance of that media exposure displays him as a racist misogynist incompetent “buffoon.”
btw I still think that Trump will win easily, and looking at Hillary’s competence in Ukraine and Libya and Syria, I’m still happy to say that Trump’s incompetence is preferable.
I’m curious CV. Given that Trump, by any objective assessment, genuinely is a racist misogynist incompetent buffoon, how do you think the media should display him?
It’s not the media who display him as a racist misogynist incompetent buffoon, it’s Trumps own words that make him a racist misogynist incompetent buffoon.
I think the reason Trump nuked the primaries this year was simply because he was up against something like 16 others. As the loudest one in the crowd, he stood out. I think the Democrats had maybe a couple of others beyond Sanders and Clinton, but they dropped out quickly.
Now it’s down to 1 on 1, he’s still just as loud and outrageous because he can’t help himself, but Clinton has the uninterrupted space to set him up for more foot-in-mouth outbreaks (like doubling-down on calling women fat).
He is just entertainment that went out of a control because the Republicans had a confused primary….and the Democrats ran someone so deeply problematic that even the Dem. friendly Press couldn’t even mention her name without being greeted by a deluge of scorn.
Hillary caught using a child actor to set up a question on Trump’s misogyny
At a Hillary Clinton town hall yesterday in Haverford, Pennsylvania, a 15 year old girl was supposedly “chosen at random” to ask a question of the former Secretary of State. But, the well-scripted performance raised some suspicion with a YouTuber named Spanglevision who decided to dig a little deeper. And, wouldn’t you know it, the “random” participant was none other than child actor, Brennan Leach, whose father just happens to be Pennsylvania democratic State Senator Daylin Leach. Oh, and in case it wasn’t obvious, Daylin supports Hillary for president…shocking.
Lets be honest, as soon as the question was asked it was pretty obvious it was a set up:
“Hi Madam Secretary. I’m Brennan and I’m 15 years old. At my school, body image is a really big issue for girls my age. I see with my own eyes the damage Donald Trump does when he talks about women and how they look. As the first female president how would you undo some of that damage and help girls understand that they’re so much more than just what they look like?”
so not really a big deal I’d have thought because I’m sure Trump will have his set question as well
Yeps trumps one could be, ‘Mr trump I am a law abiding citizen who cares for his country. I pay my taxes and work hard for our country, my community in appleburg and my family. What do yo say to someone like me.
Trump. I have an investment there, a terrific investment, as you know I’m a terrific investor I’m really smart, terrifically smart. Next question.
omg
a patsy question was asked by a supporter at an election event. It might even have been prearranged. The end is nigh!
She already is an awesome young Democrat. You’re just pissed because Trump looks like a zombie when he reads an autocue and can’t hold a script in his head for longer than twenty seconds.
Posting Hitchens’ opinions of Hillary Clinton is effectively an appeal to authority – in which case, it’s reasonable to point out that the authority isn’t necessarily correct.
As to his critique, there isn’t much of one in there, other than that he thought she had little foreign policy experience in 2008 and was prone to lying about her achievements (and her a politician! How could she?!). The bulk of it is just those clever Hitch-slaps that make you bloody glad he never heard of you – he certainly didn’t like her, but there isn’t much of a substantive critique in any of that.
You’re an extremely generous and indulgent bloke. When I look at Psycho Milt’s posts, I see only facetious and witless throwaway comments, but from now on I’m going to read his output as if he’s serious and competent.
Pilkington notes that several of the claims in the book have been proven factually false. According to Pilkington, Schweizer does not prove corruption on the part of the Clintons, nor does he provide any evidence.
…a film adaptation of the book, funded by co-founder of Government Accountability Institute and Breitbart News executive chairman Stephen Bannon… (emphasis mine)
From your link to the feminist hatchet job:
…the irrational right-wing hatred of Clinton has fed her progressive appeal…
Yup. Choice company you’re keeping there. The thing I find interesting is how a fairly ordinary presidential candidate like Hillary Clinton manages to generate such virulent hatred at the loonier ends of the political matrix. There’ll be research papers in it for historians, sociologists and political scientists for decades to come.
Mall of America takes bold stand by closing on Thanksgiving this year
“We’ve been talking about this for months, looking at the numbers, looking at the pros and the cons,” said Jill Renslow, the mall’s senior vice president of marketing and business development. “We’re excited to give this day back to our employees so they can celebrate with their families.” http://www.startribune.com/mall-of-america-takes-bold-stand-by-closing-on-thanksgiving-this-year/396016881/
I usually listen to Radio Live for 30min before I turn over for the night.
Last night was continuous racism of the worst type.,So bad I turned off .
What ever has happened to our tolerant society . Have Muslims taken the place
I usually listen to radio Live talk back for 30min before I turn over to sleep .Last night was so racist i had to turn off early.Whatever has happened to our once tolerant country .And are
I usually listen to Radio Live talk-back before turning over to sleep .
Last night was so racist I turned off early.What is happening to our tolerant country .Have Muslims unfortunately taken the place were Jewish were placed in in the 1930s?
It seems that The Spinoff, after interviewing social media marketing CONsultant, Chloe Swarbrick ( but not myself) about our recent ‘spat’ – where I called her out, have not published my side of the story?
(Mind you – given that it’s The Spinoff – no real surprises there ….)
The effective CENSORSHIP of anti-corporate 1% 2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate Penny Bright, continues ….
____________________________
My ‘Open Letter’ to Hayden Donnell from The Spinoff’:
“FYI Hayden
Like to publish this on The Spinoff?
Kind regards
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate
4 October 2016
Auckland Mayoral candidate Penny Bright calls out fellow Mayoral candidate Chloe Swarbrick as a ‘social media marketing CONsultant’
Ah Chloe Swarbrick 🙂
Who, at just 22 has her own private marketing consultancy company called TIPS Ltd.
What a WONDERFUL thing to be able to put on your future (corporate marketing ) CV!
That because of your social media marketing ‘savvy’ – you were able to, in my opinion, (suck in) oops! ‘persuade’ thousands of Aucklanders to vote for you, because you presented as a fresh-faced millennial, purportedly advocating for the disadvantaged and disenfranchised – while simultaneously supporting privatisation via Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), and intensification via the Auckland Unitary Plan.
Sorry Chloe, but as fellow Auckland Mayoral candidate, I’m calling you out as, in my opinion, an effective mouthpiece for multi-national companies and commercial property developers.
In my view, the Auckland voting public have been CONNED, by yet another CONsultant.
Sold a ‘pup’ – who is actually, in my view, a neo-liberal ‘wolf cub’, who actually is not actively opposed to the corrupt, corporate 1%, locally, nationally, or internationally.
(Unlike myself, who is and has been actively opposed to the following mechanisms of corrupt corporate control for years, Council (Corporate) Controlled Organisations (CCOs), Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), for years.
However, in my view, Chloe, you would not have been as successful in your very social media savvy ‘marketing’ ploy, without the assistance of mainstream corporate media?
Just calling it as I see it, as a proven ‘anti-corruption whistle-blower’.
I expect many won’t like it.
So be it.
……
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
‘Anti-privatisation / anti- corruption Public Watchdog’
Told with all the graciousness we have come to expect.
Chloe Swarbrick is everything you are not:
– Charming
– Accomplished
– Attractive to voters
– A voice from a new generation
– Gracious
– Likely to go on to far greater things
So why not keep all your bile to yourself.
At least until the results are published.
Or are we going to see another repeat of last time, in which you sat with your mates screaming and jeering at the candidates who won as they were inducted into Council?
…they have paid approx 50k to Patrick Reynolds on Transport blog.
Yeah, over many years for doing work in his professional area. Incidentally, the sheer hypocrisy of Bomber’s argument is quite astounding. From my viewpoint, Bomber is way more compromised by his funding that Patrick Reynolds is. Bomber probably squanders that amount collected from interested organisations every year.
The guy laps up union funds for his little self-promotional job project like they were candy. While it often seems that TDB is mostly about himself, he also does a considerable amount of publicity for unions and presumably for his other funders.
This is the only major political blog that has nothing much to do with what the site’s operators and authors do professionally. Sure Mickey and Ben stand for elections. Others like Stephanie or Helen work for unions periodically. But everyone writes what they want to and material that is self-interested is very clearly marked voluntarily by the authors.
How do we finance? Effectively I pay for the site (and the legal bills), with help from donations. And in my professional life, I either code for startups or corps provided they export IP. Can’t exactly see that showing up in what I write eh? It certainly doesn’t get funded by ANY interested organisation.
Perhaps you should take that as a bench mark and evaluate Bombers hypocrisy by that.
If you want to slag off other bloggers for their profession because of what a self-interested narcissistic and spitefully jealous personality asserts about them, then be my guest. However, I’m likely to just treat it as simple minded trolling unless you can come up with something apart from looking like a simple parrot who has a problem thinking.
Is Chlöe Swarbrick that young wannabe politician with no life experience?
Perfect female Mayor for Auckland, as a stepping stone to being an outstanding Prime Minister for NZ.
Also I love her preferred use of those nice little accent marks. It signals a certain kind of distinguished education and mindset.
And I found this on the ‘net”
She enrolled in a BA…She started a clothing label…She became a patron of the arts…She finished her BA and started a law degree…She graduated, and started a marketing consultancy.
This all sounds like a load of fucking bullshit but some people will lap it up as being the best thing since sliced bread.
Question: how much money and connections do her family have.
That’s kind of like people deciding you’re an arse because you are also a chiropracter. Judge the person on what they say and do, not on what prejudices you hold about their labels. I can’t see anything wrong with the list of jobs she has had.
OK well, I just found out that she is also a fashion designer. And she owns a cafe. That’s on top of the two BA and LLB, starting her own fashion label, launching a marketing consultancy firm, being a “patron of the arts”, and now also candidate for mayor.
So yeah, I judged based on that. BTW how old is she again?
Reminds me of the Elizabeth Holmes story in the USA, a brilliant smart successful self made billionaire by 29 years old.
I can’t see anything wrong with the list of jobs she has had.
She’s hardly had any “jobs.” I wonder how her team mates at 2 degrees found her.
You’re a snob CV. Saying that someone who’s been at uni a lot is deficient is not that different than saying that someone who hasn’t been at uni a lot is deficient. By judge someone on what they say and do, I meant in relation to the politics and the role (of Mayor). Not seeing much in your critique about that, just a load of bigotry apparently based on your perceptions of class.
You’re also a dick. Swarbrick’s been working as a journalist for the past few years. Bearing in mind that she’s 22 and holds two undergrad degrees (ie she’s been at uni most of the time since she left school), the list of things she’s done suggests someone who is active, motivated and involved in the community.
Your shit tinted glasses are on too tight today CV. Try looking at her politics (which I don’t know much about other than she is wanting to get young people involved in politics).
OK so at 22 she’s been a fashion designer, started a fashion label, worked for 2degrees, owns a cafe, is a “patron of the arts”, got a BA, got an LLB, launched a marketing consultancy firm, has been working as a journalist for 2 years and is now running for Mayor.
You sound spiteful and jealous like the blight. People can do more than 1 thing at once you know. Your judgement is flawed beyond recall and certainly beyond belief you sad loser.
“OK so at 22”
Wow. I found that quite impressive. You seem however seem to think that no one can accomplish all those things by that age.
Perhaps I can refer you to Isaac Newton.
He had a very slow start but by about that age he had come up with a good explanation of Optics, developed his laws of motion and his law of gravitation. He had also, as a little side-line, developed Calculus and the generalised binomial theorem.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton
Perhaps she has really done all the things she claims.
On your website, the about/bio page (not linking as I don’t know how public you are with your private persona…though you have openly stated it here). From that I don’t see you have had many “jobs”, as you put it
Great PR for your Chloe’s marketing firm by running for Mayor. I guess public office is about self promotion now rather than actually ‘the public’ side of things.
I guess that is why Ralston is the preferred candidate to Mike Lee via the Spinoff panel.
I just don’t understand why the lefties are so taken in by it all. In the old days you had ernest young things trying to save the world and the planet trying to get into politics now it’s Xero marketers, Cafe marketers, Social media marketers…
Sorry I can’t get in on this leftie Chloe orgie of love because I actually read her policies which don’t seem Green, left or helpful to the young.
I don’t think most of the public are buying it either judging by the 18% turnout.
If you make public office about self promotion, all the candidates seem to have the same policies and then tell everyone Phil Goff has won it already, it’s a turn off.
Great PR for your Chloe’s marketing firm by running for Mayor. I guess public office is about self promotion now rather than actually ‘the public’ side of things.
BOOOOOOM
Unlike some others, you spotted the obvious straight away, save nz.
Jeez CV how about you leave the Auckland politics to the grown ups. I have met Chloe and seen her speak a few times and I know the dynamics of the different campaigns. Attacking her is about as valid as supporting Donald Trump.
You have no idea. I have multiple comments from a variety of people who I trust about her and I have met her and seen her perform at meetings. She is the same age as my youngest daughter. To expect her to have a perfectly formed CV and a policy platform that will satisfy all lefties is a big ask. No politician I have met has been able to achieve this.
I was tempted to vote for her, in the hope that she would poll second and beat Crone, Palino and Thomas. This would be a huge statement to the powers that be.
Don’t diss her. She has run the best mayoral super city campaign in Auckland I have seen and I can assure you I have an appreciation of them.
Attacking her but supporting Trump is a rather strange place for a lefty to be in …
Self made billionaire 29 year old Elizabeth Holmes had plenty of ability, charm and convincing conversation too.
But I’m hearing you, I’ll leave you Aucklanders to it, you’re doing a great job of running your city after all, good luck with it.
EDIT someone get her to run for the left in Auckland Central, at least I can say that it would be an improvement, however long term I see her going a different way.
Not sure where this leftie love orgie is happening (did you make that up?). I was hoping that CV might focus on her politics, but apparently making judgements about one’s work life is where it’s at. Ironic, given your comment about old school vs new school.
In the old days you had ernest young things trying to save the world and the planet trying to get into politics now it’s Xero marketers, Cafe marketers, Social media marketers…
Sure. It’s the post-neoliberalism generations. That’s what the old days raised them to do. I think the problem here is that they’re often not into party politics, so there is a divide between their values, and ours. Slagging them off for being successful in terms of the mainstream culture doesn’t seem like it’s going to improve things.
I read this blog a fair bit and as a righty I seldom comment. I’m inclined to ask what evidence Penny, CV or whomever has to prove Chloe was running PR for her company? Secondly who gives a toss?
Regardless of her politics she has put herself out there and wants to do more than just sit back and bitch about the society she lives in. You can do that in two ways: vote or be involved.
She chose both and good on her for doing so. When I was her age I honestly couldn’t think past what I was doing that weekend with my mates and how much money I could spend on beer.
From what I have read about her she is a candidate for the left so I would not vote for her being a righty. I do however respect candidates for What their politics are not for what their professional back ground is. Sorry to say CV but you sound like a boring old man attacking her over the above. That being said I can also she pays her rates making her in my mind far more appealing than penny 10 times out of ten.
Yes I have a problem with all these Marketing specialists running for Mayor. Sorry we have big problems in Auckland that need real solutions, not a marketeer putting a rosy gloss on the situation. I would prefer a choice of a range of candidates that actually used to have a job that achieves something real rather than a job that is to put a spin on a situation or product. Or has some sort of activism, social conscience or some evidence they have achieved something for the community not just themselves.
Additionally I would like some policy in their campaign that actually means something. Yes the Natz also say they love cycling and want affordable housing too, but what they have done has provided the opposite. When the family on the street can’t afford the rates of their modest bungalow while the McMansion which has 7 toilets and pool on the same land size pays the same rates which seems to be Chloe’s anti progressive rateing policy and the left support that vision, I can see why the left votes keep getting split.
And if you rent, do you really think your rent will decrease if your properties rates are subsiding the richer neighbours improvements?
The whole Aaron Smith thing is completely pathetic.
It’s the bitter hobbits of Middle NZ, outraged at the thought that someone out there is getting laid. Puritanical, neurotic, jealous. You could write a psychological paper on the national reaction.
Interestingly enough, it’s usually the RWNJs that are so puritanical, that demand to have a say in others personal lives. Just look at the abortion debate.
He’s being punished for harming the brand, Weetbix & other ‘wholesome’ brands do not want to be associated with randy dickheads & Tew & crew also get to sound like they getting ‘tough’ on this kinda thing.
Clickbait, sex + seedy sex + AB = hot news. I await the media hounding the woman involved, Womens Weekly spot? I am quite surprised at the public backlash too, obviously people do hold up the ABs as something ‘theirs’ which is bizarre to me as I see them as a marketing tool like Coke of McDs.
If a talented young athlete is bad for the AB branding because he has a quick liaison in a loo, what does on make of the sponsor (AIG) that has either screwed Christchurch residents or held out on making payments for five years in the hope that fatigue will see their clients fold to get over it. Seems Tew needs to chew that one over two.
Looks like Clark missed out on the UN job. And also looks like the US did not support her. So much for Key’s special relationship with Obama and the NZ special relationship with the US.
It’s about time our government realised that NZ is a blip and not matter how matey we are with the US, UK or with China or anyone else they will always back someone else and their own people and corporations who they can gain more from or use their power to try to benefit their interests.
Allowing both China and the US to dictate and control our foreign and trade policy is going to end in disaster.
Key who would give up his own grandmother for a photo op with someone famous. Need more troops, just a handshake and a smile and they are deployed unlike Clark who always drove a harder bargain.
‘Helen Clark’s UN campaign ‘well worth it’ despite result, Government says’
“John Key suspects big world powers were nervous about the reforms Helen Clark would have made to the UN. But he says Antonio Guterres is a good choice.”
All current funding proposals are about shifting around existing funds. There is no further investment and no recognition that quality public education is vital and deserves real and sustained financial support.
It would be easy to say the education reforms lack imagination and are simply a lazy reiteration of failed policies of the 1990s. However, that would be to ignore the clear vision that drives them. It’s a vision that privileges the private sector, which creates schools as competing business units and pretends poverty and unfairness don’t matter.
When public education becomes yet another thing we may lose, along with the dream that hard work meant you could leave poverty behind, own your own home and balance a 40-hour working week with leisure time, we will wonder why we let it go so easily and ask what we gained instead.
The right wing will then tell us joylessly that we got choice. And when that happens we will know we got conned. Again.
They have a lot of voters but that doesn’t mean that the party itself isn’t fringe. In fact, just look at some of the supporters here who declare that National isn’t going far enough with the hard right-wing policies.
National is definitely radical but they’re toning it down so as not to lose voters/power.
“Syrian onslaught”… “Russian aggression” …”ever wilder legislation”—
The Qatari dictatorship’s official TV channel never lets up on the propaganda.
Al Jazeera News, 3 p.m., Thursday 6 October 2016
Anyone who watches the Qatari dictatorship’s Al Jazeera TV channel for any length of time will soon realize that it is anything but a fair and balanced television channel. We have dealt with this unrelentingly anti-Houthi, anti-Syrian, anti-Iranian outlet and its retinue of English and Kiwi reporters before. [1]
An egregious, yet typical, example of this never-ending stream of propaganda came from the mouth of “reporter” Rory Challands in Moscow this afternoon. Ostensibly covering the opening of the Russian Parliament, Challands (no doubt under orders) used the occasion as a chance to unleash a swingeing rhetorical attack on one of the main enemies of the Qatari dictatorship.
“The legislature has been churning out ever wilder legislation, to please THIS man.” (Cut to Vladimir Putin, looking ominous, silently presiding over the parliament.) A little later, Challands intones darkly about how what Putin is doing is “a recreation of the Stalin era.”
In stark contrast to this inflammatory tone employed against the official enemy, Barnaby Phillips in Birmingham is beamingly effusive and unrelentingly positive in his coverage of Theresa May at the Conservative Party conference.
This is from a fb site nz farming,come on labour get out and educate and look after rural workers.
”As a follow up to our earlier post regarding a boss who was upset about a worker taking sick leave, shit has got MESSY”
”Hey guys, thanks for putting up my post regarding sick leave. I’m still sick and have just spent the night in hospital after being diagnosed with leptospirosis. I’m still here and sounds as though I could be a few days, now my boss is saying he needs a room in my house for someone to stay to cover me. Is this something that is normal, or even allowed? (My house is my house not like single mans quaeters). I don’t know who the person is nor if they intend on using my things or what? Seeing ive been ill for almost a week and haven’t been home in 24 hours, you can imagine my house is quite untidy. Some input would be good. He has been rather rude as my family has come down from auckland to waikato to stay and look after me when I’m out of here but he said to them they need to go and stay in a motel. I don’t consider that professional nor courteous. Long term I’m looking to move on but until then what are my options????”
@ b. waghorn…much sympathy!…looks like leptospirosis is not a thing you should take lightly!…and you must look after yourself. You may have to take a lot of time off work and away from work with your family caring for you.
…”In people it can cause a minor flu-like sickness, but may also make some people seriously ill, needing intensive care at hospital. They may be off work for several months, have lasting kidney or liver damage, and may suffer long term fatigue and depression.”
Do you belong to any union?…If so you should contact them for support and making decisions…You could try the PSA for help
“Opposition parties want assurances the Maori Land Court won’t be undermined by Ministry of Justice restructuring proposals. A consultation paper distributed to ministry staff is reported to propose cutting 165 positions and creating 114 new jobs.”
“It appears the Maori Land Court is being undermined and hollowed out in advance of the government implementing the reforms,” the party’s co-leader Metiria Turei said on Thursday.”
“Labour’s Meka Whaitiri says Maori landowners deserve answers about the changes.
“This can’t be viewed as a normal restructure within a public service department,” she said.”
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 ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
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 ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
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Rugby in the news again for all the wrong reasons.
Until Tew and co take the issue seriously, this will continue.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11723446
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/85015214/star-halfback-aaron-smith-leaves-all-blacks-tour-in-disgrace
I don’t see the big deal. It’s sad that’s it’s not his partner. But as for a quick knee trembler in the toilets – plenty of us have done it.
If you haven’t – I’d say you have missed out.
I liked the way the wife was disgusted by the actions and hung around 5-10 minutes, just to make sure of course, instead of going off and finding a security guard or something
Still not a good look considering the bad press rugbys getting at the moment
“I liked the way the wife was disgusted”
Yes i think entertained is the word she was looking for. Its a bit pervy hanging around the toilets for with your children for ten minutes recording people having sex, for all they knew it could have been his partener.
…….. actually James public toilet sex sounds rather grotty and the only thing good I can think about it would be that its slightly better than wanking in a public toilet ………
It all sounds very low grade and as sexy as a public toilet ….. …….
… but speaking of rugby and the chiefs in particular.
I still have rugby contacts involved with the game and the information which has come back to me claims it was a couple of All Blacks involved with the bad behavior ….
I had been argueing/debating with my rugby mate ….. as initially he thought the stripper incident would “blow over” ….. I said it would have if they had identified the offenders and dished out appropriate punishment and an apology ….. the cover up was the thing multiplying the damage for Rugby ….
Anyway about a week later he came back with the info that it was senior players/ All blacks involved …… which is why individuals were not named and held accountable …..
They are protecting the All Black brand…… and the chiefs would not have wanted their team weakened by suspending and leaving out a couple of their best players either ……
My rugby mate agreed it was pretty shitty behavior….. in trying to understand what could make All Blacks believe it was ok for them to act that way towards women ….we thought it was like they had been influenced and come under the spell of a pony tail pulling pervert …
I pointed out that the other influence from their sub prime mascot is probably dodgy tax stuff …. our national heroes could be using Keys tax haven contacts ( like his lawyer mate ), to protect their wealth from poor kiwi kids and others who need state aid …….
If I were running rugby and was concerned for its health and future I would get rid of all the bad anti-family influences ….. and do some apologizing for past bad behaviors like selecting all white All black teams to tour south africa, ruining the montral olympics etc …..
I would try to get some leaders with good morals and decent ethics involved …
Rugby needs people like Graham Mourie who are great leaders and role models worthy of respect …. http://pukeariki.com/Learning-Research/Taranaki-Research-Centre/Taranaki-Stories/Taranaki-Story/id/629/title/springbok-tour-forces-brave-decision
http://pukeariki.com/Learning-Research/Taranaki-Research-Centre/Taranaki-Stories/Taranaki-Story/id/626/title/graham-mourie-a-man-of-conscience
Get rid of the bent keys and other trash ………
So, if you are accurate, two of these six.
I am pretty certain Sam Cane did not go to the function and Sonny Bill Williams does not drink alcohol.
http://www.chiefs.co.nz/news/news/latest-news/246-six-gallagher-chiefs-players-named-in-the-all-blacks-2016-investec-rugby-championship-squad
Here are some newspaper cuttings on some of them…….
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/10528759/Cruden-left-at-home-after-night-out-drinking
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10816182
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10816058
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/7744363/Baby-Black-over-cleared-of-rape-allegation
Hi Paul …. my friend was doing the same ‘narrow down the suspects’ process …… but much like John Keys tax returns the truth is being kept secret …….. presumably because the information is damaging.
I gave up on watching or following rugby long long ago so any rugby names are pretty much unknown and irrelevant to me …… The Chiefs behavior does not surprise me and is a natural result of allowing lower standards of behavior from those ‘higher’ in society ……
I pointed out to my rugby union friend that many of the professional Rugby League club sides ban alcohol for the players during the season…. they did this to try and stop the bad press resulting from bad and often violent behavior which sometimes erupts when sports teams or players get pissed…….
Rugby is an aggressive game centered on controlled violence … elite sportsmen often have BIG egos ……. then get them pissed … hhhmmmm smells like trouble .
Its also Ironic teams may ban players from using what is often a sponsors product because of the shit which results … but the club still making money pushing this drug and effectively advertising it in front of children.
Steinlager All blacks ……………… The mascot drinks a lot 😉
So – do you have anything to back up your allegations or do we just have to take the word of your “mate”.
Of course your mate knows more than the report, statements given etc.
I’m honestly passing on information as told to me by someone who I would say almost loves rugby ….. and probably played it to a much higher standard than you james ….
I trust my source but it is second hand information so would not be allowed in court …
The main evidence in support of it is the poor leadership and a convoluted unfair to innocent players apology which came from the chiefs …
Not to mention the other stripper who came forward from the year before …. as at the time the “she’s a liar” narrative was being pushed by the BM’s , Ross’s ……. and maybe you james???
Of course a proper punishment with the appropriate players getting it would clear everything up ……….and would have from the start
Its much better in bed .
Well James i have missed out.
Where public toilets are concerned i just want to get out as quick as when i went in.
As for rugby and the All Black concerned it just proves what i have always thought
they are human after all and not the gods they are made out to be.
When you strip away the hype and exaggerated status and the pedestal they are placed upon ( the lead story on the national news ) its just a game of footie and compared to the major issues confronting us in this country its like we have got our priorities all wrong if this behaviour is treated as a major news story.
Hilarious that the rugby bosses leap on this non-story about someone having consensual sex with someone else and impose immediate disciplinary action for such immoral and shameful behaviour, but when their players do things that genuinely do bring the game into disrepute they see no need to take any action and have to be shamed into it by the media. These guys are seriously fucked in the head.
Now I’m curious. Is it still illegal in NZ to have sex in a public place? If so, are the bosses objecting to him possibly breaking the law or for having sex?
No – a toilet is not a public place. Yes, in the general sense of the word it is, but the room itself is private.
Not like he was standing out in the foyer.
By your argument it would be legal to photograph someone in a toilet cubicle as it is a “public place”.
They basically don’t get what consent is, so for them the thing that distinguishes this incident from ones like the Chiefs sexually assaulting strippers is that the people complaining this time are “decent” people, not “strippers” or “some slut one of our players fucked.” Hence the prompt disciplinary action.
Agree. Only real offense was tying up the disabled toilet when they aren’t disabled.
Those rugby boys need to learn the art of discretion and living in the public eye.
I feel sorry for his partner.
Most def.
Some other role model behaviour from All Blacks (not Chiefs)
The brand must be defended.
Malakai Fekitoa
‘Ashamed and regretful’ All Black Malakai Fekitoa goes public on his anger issues.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/76767488/Ashamed-and-regretful-All-Black-Malakai-Fekitoa-goes-public-on-his-anger-issues
Israel Dagg
Sky high ‘lap dance’ targeted Israel Dagg
http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/travel-troubles/64137174/sky-high-lap-dance-targeted-israel-dagg
All Blacks wing Cory Jane caught boozing
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/5755753/All-Blacks-wing-Cory-Jane-caught-boozing
Julian Savea
All Blacks’ Jane, Vito, Savea dropped by Hurricanes for breaking team rules
http://www.eurosport.com/rugby/super-rugby/2016/all-blacks-jane-vito-savea-dropped-by-hurricanes-for-breaking-team-rules_sto5568848/story.shtml
All Blacks support Savea through court case
http://en.espn.co.uk/newzealand/rugby/story/185731.html
No Cinny he is an ALL Black , a god it gives him licence and big money to do what he likes and then go out in public afterwards and sign autographs
Christ even Key has jumped on the bandwagon and gone on about standards and behaviour!!!!! as if he knows what that actually means … pulling womans hair !
Hypocrite of the century.
Why is that even news?
It isn’t.
The talk……
‘Change is coming’: May turns her back on 40 years of Tory ideology
‘If you’re an accountant, a financial adviser or a middleman who helps people to avoid what they owe to society, we’re coming after you too,’ says PM.
Ms May also criticised those who saw themselves as “a citizen of the world”, free from the “bonds” of citizenship and the duties that brought.
She told them: “You don’t understand what the very word ‘citizenship’ means.
“So if you’re a boss who earns a fortune but doesn’t look after your staff, an international company that treats tax laws as an optional extra, a household name that refuses to work with the authorities even to fight terrorism, a director who takes out massive dividends while knowing that the company pension is about to go bust, I’m putting you on warning.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-speech-tory-conference-party-pm-change-thatcher-conservativism-immigration-a7346226.html
The action……
UKIP is now governing Britain as the Tories make their extreme policies a devastating reality
http://www.thecanary.co/2016/10/05/ukip-now-governing-britain-tories-make-extreme-policies-devastating-reality/
Was this discussed yesterday?
“Prime Minister John Key introduced legislation in August to amend disclosure rules for the country’s 12,000 foreign trusts, a move triggered by media coverage of New Zealand’s links to Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca.
The disclosure bill, which is now under review by select committee, has the singular feature that it arguably does not increase disclosure.
What a cheek!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/85000994/john-key-keeps-lid-on-hidden-billions
This morning when I opened The Standard in Chrome, I found myself logged in as you, and could not log out.
If it happened to me who knows who else? Might pay to change passwords etc.
…and yeah, I agree – Clayton’s disclosure.
Damn. Good thing that you weren’t logged in as me. Turned the Page cache off.
How much trouble could we get into. Ha 👿
Damn. I always wondered what it would be like to feel power crazy 😈
It is completely overrated as a profession. Too much niggly, unproductive and uncreative work.
Unfortunately I happen to be very good at managing systems and people because of my family background, training, or whatever (personally I think it is mostly genetics). Consequently being a total contrarian I have spent most of my working life figuring out how to avoid it.
I much prefer building systems rather than running them, and being power crazy is all about controlling running systems. The key to getting out of that zone is to make sure that everyone else can run their areas without too much interference or organizing and doing it as a situational structure.
You can see that philosophy running through the anarchy that is this site.
I tend to work mainly on the technical areas for everything from the hardware to security to the community dynamics because I have had a lot of experience in such areas. But I also cede control where-ever I can. That frees up time to work on other projects like paid work or having a relationship.
That all being said, most of the areas I have a crucial role on this site are either purely technical or security / legal.
Anyway, my point is that power crazy is good as a vacation, but it is a drag as a lifestyle. Mostly people who think it’d be a good idea simply haven’t had enough experience to know that. 😈
I was also automatically logged in as you.
So had I, if that helps.
Brilliant article. Key was never going to do the right thing on disclosure of overseas trusts.
If these crap “reforms” become law, which doubtless they will, there should be an immediate policy response by the Lab/Gr bloc saying they will change the law when elected next year so that a public register of the overseas trusts will be available to be seen by all-comers.
I would have thought Winston would be on-side with this too.
World’s largest fashion retailer Zara opens its doors in NZ
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11723486
The True Cost is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaGp5_Sfbss
Excellent doco that one, here is a link for the full film.
http://putlocker.is/watch-the-true-cost-online-free-putlocker.html
I have just finished watching the full film and I feel like crying. How can we do this to other people and to our own children? What kind of world are we crating for them? And all in the name of greed.
We deserve whatever nature will do to us because we are not only not willing to listen to nature but mock those who stand up for it.
same I emailed lprent within 3 minutes it seemed fixed..thanks sysop.
now there is an absolute slamming attack on Hekia. this gave me sexual urges it was so good!!!!! (settle folks, figuratively)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11722160
read it, please read it!!!!
It was fixed as soon as I read OAB’s comment. Pre-coffee as well.
Key’s retort.
“He’s one academic, and like lawyers, I can provide you with another one that will give you a counterview. ……”
“Peter O’Connor is professor of education in the faculty of education and social work at the University of Auckland.”
he wishes.
?
Great article.
Hidden below Kim Kardashian.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/10/05/no-you-shouldnt-mock-kim-kardashian-for-being-violently-robbed-yes-you-should-mock-the-media-focus-on-this-banal-crap/
Agreed Richard. This incremental shifting is collapsing a pretty good Education system. Who can withstand the diminishing returns for the kids? Only the teachers really but they are labelled as militant unionists and are dismissed as self-interested. Keep it up Peter O’Connor.
Meanwhile the sleepy hobbits sleep on….
https://virtuousfinedu.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/boiling-frog.png
NY Attorney General brags about Trump Foundation mistakes; later forced to quietly admit Clinton Foundation failed to file 3 years of paperwork
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-05/ny-attorney-general-clinton-foundation-failed-provide-3-years-records-donors-and-con
From the article I read yesterday, everyone in Ohio is voting Trump, they all think Clinton should be in jail, Ohio apparently is the indicator state for the US, if they pick Trump, Trumps in.
Now if that’s true, either a nuclear war will be soon, or the most interesting times of our lives is about to begin. As Trump like Key, believing their own legacy wrecks the place, and perhaps the planet.
can’t wait, where’s the popcorn.
Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Georgia are four states that Trump must win if he is to stand any real chance of getting to the Oval Office.
If he loses any of those states, his chances of beating Hillary start declining very sharply. Florida is of course the big one. If he loses Florida the road immediately gets near-impossible for him.
Agreed.
Hurricane Matthew enters Stage Left.
How both candidates respond to its impact will be televisually highly relevant to Florida’s voting tendency.
The interesting guy is Pence, I reckon. it’ll be as easy for him to run the show with a fool like Trump at the top as it was for Cheney with Bush as a figurehead.
Yeah, Pence comes across as smart all right—just like those smart German politicians Franz von Papen and Kurt von Schleicher.
yeah… nah – I don’t think Pence and his backers are as hapless as those two, and although Trump has certain characteristics in common with the third character in that play, I’m not sure he’s as cunning.
I’m sticking with the Cheney comparison …. for now.
lol
Paperwork that was subsequently filed as soon as the apparent oversight was brought to the Foundation’s attention.
Unlike Trump’s crowd.
Still fighting to defend every raised point for Hillary and The Foundation
Is it infatuation, vagina envy or are you that you can’t control the urge when CV posts?
Defending filth with extensive ‘criminal’ history decades long is idiotic
Is that your “higher frequency” operating again?
If Trump was genuinely better than Clinton in any way, you could talk about that rather than inventing pop psychology that even Freud would have thought was a bit kooky.
It’s not that Trump is genuinely better then “the most qualified person to ever stand for the presidency,” to quote Obama, but that Clinton is struggling to beat the clown!
Just think for a moment what that tells us about the two candidates!
It reminds me of Muldoon’s quip about the IQ of NZ and Aussie.
Is that the result of the player or the umpire?
More the result of the spectators, I think! The disillusionment with the status quo runs pretty deep in the US.
A documentary film to keep an eye out for:
Do Not Resist
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/do-not-resist-2016
Atkinson’s film explores this build up of weaponry, but it also shows how police rhetoric has been pumped up on rhetorical steroids. In seminars and tactical rehearsals, we hear civilians referred to as “the enemy.” And in one of the film’s most appalling scenes, from a Senate committee meeting in 2014, the Deputy Undersecretary of Acquisition for the Defense Department is asked to explain why the military is giving bayonets to local police in the United States. Bayonets are for war.
The illogical endpoint of all of this is scenes like the ones that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri. This tragedy is folded into the narrative as an example of how legitimate civilian protest is treated as enemy activity by police, who then roll out their latest toys and look for excuses to use them. Instead of nurturing a sense that the police are connected to the communities they are supposed to protect and serve, the rhetoric and weapons instill the idea of the forces in opposition, one side a threat and the other the answer to the threat. This is a fascist mentality, the opposite of democratic ideals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zt7bl5Z_oA
All the ways you can comply with the police (and still die)
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-04/all-ways-you-can-comply-still-die-during-encounter-police
Inevitably:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_Dredd
Two poorly informed comedians, a poorly informed literary man
and a highly constrained, fearful academic talk about death squads.
The Panel, RNZ National, Wednesday 5 October 2016, 4:13 p.m.
Jesse Mulligan, Jeremy Elwood, Michael Moynahan, Megan Whelan
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/thepanel/audio/201818806/philippines-president's-anti-american-rhetoric
The most offensive aspect to the following travesty is not the two professional stand-up comedians struggling to say something erudite—“I’ve been reading quite a lot about this guy, I mean, ahhhmm, I mean”—and blithely talking, with no apparent sense of irony, about the United States lecturing Duterte about “death squads” and “sanctioned killings”. It’s not the ridiculous comments by Michael Moynahan at the end of the farce. No, the worst part of this shambles is the guest, billed grandly as “the Regional Security Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies”, who somehow forgets to mention just why a Filipino president being lectured about “human rights” by the United States should react with such a display of contempt. [1]. But then, on reflection, Paul Sinclair’s mediocrity, timidity, and mealy-mouthedness should hardly come as a surprise, given that he is a departmental colleague of the notorious Lance Beath and Robert Ayson. Like the equally dismal University of Waikato professor Al Gillespie the day before, Paul Sinclair chose to defer to the sensibilities of his colleagues rather than talk candidly.
Here, for those who can bear such naked mediocrity and cowardice, is the transcript of eight miserable minutes of taxpayer-funded dissembling….
JESSE MULLIGAN: Ah, we’ll stay overseas. The president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has told Barack Obama to “go to Hell.” He doesn’t like the U.S. president criticizing his War on Drugs and Crime which has led to the killing of—oh this is incredible—the killing of three and a half thousand people, the SANCTIONED killing of three and a half thousand people. He-e-e’s also likened himself to Hitler—he’s a real piece of work. He said he’d be happy to slaughter three million drug users, ahem, this guy seemed to come out of NOWHERE, Jeremy.
JEREMY ELWOOD: Yeah, um, I’ve been reading quite a lot about this guy, I mean, ever since he announced that he was running for the presidency, ahhhmm, I mean, I, I guess one of the things here is, no one in the Philippines should be surprised at this. He SAID right from the beginning, when he was mayor of, um, and I’m sorry I’ve forgotten the name of the town.
JESSE MULLIGAN: Yeah, it’s an old school bloodlust town, yeah.
JEREMY ELWOOD: Yeah. I mean, he was mayor of there and there were a lot of allegations about death squads and killings—sanctioned killings—of DRUG DEALERS. I mean, his main push is against the drug trade. Um, and he ran on a platform that he was going to, quote, “wipe out drug crime within six months.” Um, I mean it does, if, if you just come as an observer it reads like the plot for The Raid 3, or some ridiculous action movie. He’s almost like a Bond-esque villain but I think he’s FRIGHTENING, he’s very very frightening.
JESSE MULLIGAN: And doesn’t seem afraid, Michael, to be making international enemies.
MICHAEL MOYNAHAN: [speaking slowly, carefully, to convey moral seriousness] No he doesn’t seem to at ALL, um, it, it is, um, ah, he did, he did ENTIRELY telegraph what it was he was going to do, AND he had done all of this stuff before. What I thought was interesting from some of the stuff I’ve been reading and seeing lately is that the Philippine electorate EMBRACED him because actually he was seen as the ALTERNATIVE to all of the corruption, all of the promises they’d been made post, um, ah, Marcos, ahh, you know, “We’re gonna sort this out, we’re going to organize, a civil society et cetera, none of that happened, and so he’s actually the RESPONSE that the Philippine electorate has given, and he’s PART of, in an extraordinarily extreme way, the whole BACKLASH against the establishment.
JESSE MULLIGAN: [dolefully] Yeah.
JEREMY ELWOOD: Yeah he’s basically Donald Trump with a bloodlust!
JESSE MULLIGAN: [restrained, mirthless, grave] Ah ha ha ha ha.
MICHAEL MOYNAHAN: Oh, GOD!
JESSE MULLIGAN: Well there’s a piece, there’s an interesting piece in the Guardian which quotes a senior Filipino police officer, because the police have been turned into KILLERS really, which’d be an incredible thing to go on if your usual job is keeping the peace and then you get orders to go out and start SHOOTING people.
JEREMY ELWOOD: Yeah, and, and there’s SO many issues that ARISE from that, I mean if you’ve given the police a license to KILL, um, and, and if you have, as Duarte [sic] HAS done, um, enticed public civilians to take the laws into their own hands when it comes to when, if there’s a drug dealer, I mean that just blows open the doors of SO much potential corruption.
JESSE MULLIGAN: Yeah, yeah.
JEREMY ELWOOD: All you need, I mean in terms of, you know, what happened a LOT in Stalinist Russia, you just need to ACCUSE somebody, you know, if you don’t LIKE your neighbor, all you need to do is drop a line saying “I’m pretty sure my neighbor’s a drug dealer” and, you know, problem solved.
MICHAEL MOYNAHAN: And, and, the interesting thing is what IS at the bottom of it? Is it a cynical ploy on behalf of this particular politician who’s in fact, you know, actually BEHIND a lot of the corruption, you know, what lies behind it which we have no way of really TELLING in amongst all the noise that he is making and the, ahh, you know, telling off the U.S., telling off China, or WHATEVER it is? Is there something that lies beyond that, which is even more sinister? And that’s the bit that worries ME.
JESSE MULLIGAN: Well let’s ask Paul Sinclair. He’s Regional Security Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies and he joins us now. Hi Paul.
PAUL SINCLAIR: Oh hi how are you?
JESSE MULLIGAN: GOOD thank you. So the, the drug-related killings is one thing, but what’s the purpose behind all the anti-American rhetoric?
PAUL SINCLAIR: Ahhhhhmmm, I think that that’s a reflection of the fact that, ah, he, ah, has got this single-minded agenda, um, ah, to wipe out drug dealers, the Americans have CRITICIZED it, ah, on human RIGHTS grounds, understandably, ahhhhh, and he has reacted very very strongly, ahhhh, that has posed a real conundrum for Washington, ahhh, because it is starting to undermine, ahhh, what the United States regards as a bedrock alliance commitment to the Philippines.
JESSE MULLIGAN: Yeah, what’s the HISTORY of that commitment and that alliance?
PAUL SINCLAIR: It’s, it’s got a very interesting and somewhat checkered history, ahhh, it dates back, ahhhh, post-War, post-World War Two, ahhhhhmm, prior to that, um, the Philippines was an American colony for, um, several decades and there lies part of the ISSUES that surface from time to time between the Philippines and the United States. Ahhhhmm, all went WELL with that alliance, ahhh, between 1951 and 1992, until the Philippines senate at that time, ahhh, instructed the U.S. to leave ALL of its military bases in the Philippines, of which at that time there were very very many. Ahhhh, and, uh, the relationship went into a deep cold FREEZE for a number of years. It’s been built back, in particular in respect of issues over the South China Sea; the Philippines very actively sought U.S. support for the case that it mounted in The Hague.
JESSE MULLIGAN: Yeah that was interesting wasn’t it, I mean, you would certainly put the U.S. and the Philippines on the same side there, and China on the other side, but it sounds like, uh, the President Duterte is warming UP to China a little?
PAUL SINCLAIR: Very much, ahhhhhh, he just said the other day that, uh, if the United States refuses to sell the Philippines weapons because of, uh, human rights concerns, um, he will source them from China and Russia, ahh, they’ll have NO COMPUNCTION, ah, about selling him military equipment, ahhh, he has I understand brought FORWARD his planned visit to Beijing and will now visit next month with a business delegation, and he sees China as the, ahhhh, as a potential source of significant investment that the Philippines badly needs to, um, strengthen its infrastructure.
JESSE MULLIGAN: Yeah, well speaking of the infrastructure and the economy, this has not been good for business in the Philippines, ahhh, going around and killing people tends to add a feeling of INSTABILITY. Do you think there’ll be a point at which the populace of the Philippines look at what’s going on in the economy and think, Hey well maybe this isn’t working?
PAUL SINCLAIR: Ahhhm, yes there MAY be, ahhh, or hopefully there will be a realization, ahhh, um, that this has NOT been a particularly CLEVER thing for Duterte to do, ahhhh, but there is an element within the Philippines, ahhmm, the nationalist STRONGMAN which still holds quite a bit of appeal, ahmm, and it may take a WHILE for what’s happening now in a business sense to register with the Philippines population. The wealthy elite certainly will have a very strong view about this but whether the population more generally will, it’s really hard to say.
JESSE MULLIGAN: All right, Paul Sinclair, ahhhh, Regional Security Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University, thanks so much for your time today.
MICHAEL MOYNAHAN: D’ya know how many PEOPLE live in the Philippines? I just Googled it, by the way.
JESSE MULLIGAN: Ah, I’m gonna guess: sixty million?
MICHAEL MOYNAHAN: Hundred!
JESSE MULLIGAN: [faintly] Oh yeah?
MICHAEL MOYNAHAN: Hundred million people! ….[long pause]…That’s TERRIFYING!
JESSE MULLIGAN: I wonder how much impact this is having on DRUG USE over there? Whether it’s working? I mean, it’s sort of irrelevant, isn’t it, but it would be interesting to see how the drug community is RESPONDING. Oh by the way, I enjoyed what Paul said there, Jeremy: despite the fact that it might not make sense economically, the people are responding to a strongman who, I think it plays into what you were saying.
JEREMY ELWOOD: Yeah I mean I think you see a LOT of that in, ahem, you know, countries which are, which had a history of both colonialism and often the drug trade. Um, you certainly see it a LOT in South America where, y’know, these, y’know, democratically elected leaders, um, turn into dictators very quickly, um, you look at someone like Noriega back in the um, y’know, eighties and nineties. Umm, there is a response to strong leadership, um, and in this case to the point, like I say, I mean this guy’s coming across like a modern-day Rambo or something, with his personal agenda, it’s ahhh….
——————————————————————————————
I wrote the host of this débâcle the following email, to which he has yet to reply….
Dear Jesse,
While the terrifying President Duterte is indeed all the things you say, how is he any worse than President Obama?
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
[1] http://fonsucu.blogspot.co.nz/2005/11/filipino-genocide.html
I think mate, this is actually supposed to be comedy?
otherwise, if it’s serious debate, just switch off like everyone else would be.
Mum knows more about it than that lot, so it must of um ahh been ah comedy. And a poor attempt at live comedy.
Sadly, Richard, they were all pretending to be serious. At least Jim Mora would have made a joke about the death squads, kidder that he is.
The funny part of this is entirely unintentional. It’s when Jesse Mulligan, after a lengthy meditation on the evils of President Duterte, then throws to someone even more vacuous than himself: “this guy seemed to come out of NOWHERE, Jeremy.”
If Duterte keeps heading down this road he’ll be set up in the western media for a regime changing “colour revolution”, “responsibility 2 protect” or similar coup.
Thanks Morrissey.
You listen to the Panel to save us the torture.
And I really enjoy your transcripts.
Absolutely.
I only ever ‘listen’ to the panel via these transcripts now.
We were selling a tshirt with the print;
‘”I know nothing about this subject but….”
The afternoon panel on National Radio’.
The idea was to send them in to particularly annoying panel members.
But they don’t deserve a free shirt.
Siobhan, that T-shirt idea is absolutely brilliant. You should make them—people would buy them.
https://media0.giphy.com/media/1PFKJexfdpO7u/200_s.gif
I would buy one!
Great to have uninformed dolts commenting about matters they know nothing about.
Pointlessness.
Whereas Mulligan could have spoken to an expert on the matter.
The problem here, Paul, is that Paul Sinclair IS an expert, but he would not speak plainly and honestly.
Funding issues???
MIke Joy has much to say about compromised academics….
It has nothing to do with funding. It has everything to do with making sure that whatever academics they have on are inoffensive and unlikely to say something “controversial”, i.e. truthful. Thats why the likes of Robert Patman and Al Gillespie are on so often, but never someone like Mike Joy.
Great to have uninformed dolts commenting about matters they know nothing about.
Er, hello? Have you noticed where we are?
I wrote the host of this débâcle the following email, to which he has yet to reply….
Given that Mulligan probably looked at it, thought “Fuck I hate this false equivalence bullshit” and set a rule directing future emails from this sender straight to the deleted-items folder, I wouldn’t expect a reply if I were you.
Mulligan probably looked at it, thought “Fuck I hate this false equivalence bullshit”
I don’t think that Obama is equivalent to Duterte. That would be unfair to Duterte.
Like he gives a flying care about your email – Im sure it was deleted right away as unworthy of even reading.
Oh look, guys, it’s a clever intellectual. And he’s funny too.
Dear Morrissey. You are. An idiot.
Ever heard. Of. Sentences?
Could you elaborate, Mr Smith?
https://media.makeameme.org/created/im-all-ears.png
You.
Deal in.
Ad Hominems?
RNZ is trying to give an alternative non establishment , non mainstream media view ! …at least it was last night… with this entertaining interview by the stand in for Bryan Crump ( yesterday evening on ‘Nights’) on the USA Election
LOTUS (Lionel of the United States)
Emmy Award Winning Renaissance Lawyer and News Decoder Michael William Lebron AKA Lionel on the state of political play in the U.S.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/nights/audio/201818845/lotus-lionel-of-the-united-states
http://lionelmedia.com/
Lionel is a very interesting and funny commentator…listen to him talk about his personal journey around 9/11 here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLI4DxydG5A
Russia, doing nuclear war drills evacuating 40 million people to shelters as we speak, Trumps a mad dog, wars in Syria and tensions brewing, North Korea threatening to make build and launch against the south or America nuclear weapons.
There’s more trouble going on currently than during the cold war i’m starting to think.
I wonder currently what the minutes to midnight clocks set at currently? Or defcon status of the planet.
In all seriousness, with Putin, and Obama, and then Trump threatening to become president of the most powerful nation on the planet and the rhetoric about making the USA powerful again.
I think we as a country also need to re-evaluate the current state of international diplomacy for our own good.
A risk of nuclear war being imminent is highly increased surely?
anyone else having concerns?
Plenty of people are very concerned.
Chooky put this link up to RT’s most recent Crosstalk episode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu3O9MHDzdQ
Alex Jones on Chair of the Joint Chiefs Dunford’s testimony to Congress that implementing a no fly zone in Syria would be starting a war against Syria and Russia – and he wasn’t going to make that decision.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY36P6Tyf98
Jon Batchelor show interviewing Prof Stephen F Cohen on the escalating new cold war
https://audioboom.com/boos/5128734-tales-of-the-new-cold-war-options-on-the-syria-table-stephen-f-cohen-nyu-princeton-university-eastwestaccord-com
Trump may be a mad dog, but Clinton also wants to add Syria to the glorious achievements of Iraq and Libya.
India and Pakistan are ramping it up in Kashmir (Both nuclear armed now thanks to li’l ol’ NZ)
If the White Helmets get the Nobel Peace prize they’ve been nominated for, then we’re way down some rabbit hole that’s not in Kansas. (Other signifiers of unreality that can be added to the Alice and Dorothy references would probably be appropriate.)
On a darkly lighter note.
If someone was to ‘rent’ Saudi Arabia a nuclear device, most of the terrorism in the ME would end, our carbon emissions would plummet and all that blasted sand entering the atmosphere could possibly have a welcome, short term cooling effect on our planet.
That’s three birds with one stone by my reckoning.
But back to your point. Concerns? Yes.
Breaking News Greens MP Marama arrested.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11723621
That was kind of the point wasn’t it? Go to a blockade, get detained and deported and get some publicity so…mission accomplished?
@ Pukish
That should read “illegal blockade [of Gaza]” and for that reason, yes you are right.
Please try to be more accurate with your descriptions though.
Where’s the fun in that?
pr has moral free politics.
Hi Paul, woken up from your John Key-induced neo-liberal nightmare I see 🙂
Or was it a desire not to suffer through more sanctimonious prattle from a smug Tory prick 🙂
Naah Bearded Gits all right, hes (assuming of course) more balanced then most on here
Huge Kudos to her for supporting the struggle. Very proud of Marama for joining the flotilla, walking the talk, RESPECT <3
Stay safe, they don't fuck around over there huni and we need you in Parliament you are a STAR.
+100 Cinny
How many wake up calls does the New Zealand public need?
Dirty politics.
Extensive slavery and fish dumping – environmental destruction – and screeds of evidence that the goverment has known about it for years and covered it up. And now customs covering up more abuses of the poorest, most exploited people in the world!
The Lying away the outrageous increase in child poverty and homelessness.
New Zealand’s key role, as yet unreported, in Panama. Of course, what many people don’t know is that that company has strong connection to Mi6 and the CIA: for it was the NZ goverment who initiated that financial arrangement, during the Iran crisis, given how much dirty operational money needed to be obscured… that’s right, folks… just as all the Iranian intel passed through the New Zealand embassy in Manila during that time, it was New Zealanders, and Mi6 employees stationed in NZ who facilitated the cashflow! Wonder why NZ has some strange surveillance concern with Iran? It’s historical.
Conspiracy theory no doubt…. As likely as members of the Hearst dynasty tied up with the Weather Underground moving to Christchurch and changed their surname to Tree.
What’s the point of the media, and you so-called leftists in the face of what you really face…. You can’t even see the tip of the iceberg! Sorry, just a little disappointed. Please, travel some more. Go live in a pagoda for a month in an empoverished province of a Western fucked nation.
Those who can, do what they can. We will live and die unknown and you will never know any better. Well, better to try than to do nothing at all. But you know who this is, don’t you SIS and friends. Thanks for the visit last year by the way. I didn’t say anything and showed her a good time. Trust she enjoyed herself.
In the next few months more revelations will come out – if there are people ready to listen. But to what end? To what effect? So depressing. Banging the old head against the wall…
It took you (opposition, media) two bloody years to twig to the extent of migrant labour abuses despite individuals from fairfax and other media organizations having the truth rubbed in your noses, repeatedly, by friends of ours. But there’s been some good work, especially by one particular journo now working for radio NZ. You know who I mean. Shoutout, sister! Still, you – the media – haven’t reported on the fact that anti-slavery activists have been harassed into the dirt by the intelligence services.
Yes, correct: go talk to all those who have housed, fed, and advocated for abused migrant workers. The filmmakers who tried to bring the issue to attention also. Followed, harassed, and intimidated by our own security services as well as by private contractors. No doubt they were affecting New Zealand’s economic well being…
Talk to the director of Slaves of the Ocean about it. Talk to the activists who protected the fishermen who fled the Oyang. It’s an incredible story of human rights defenders – patriots of the highest order – being harrasssed and crushed by the state and by private contractors working closely together. They were even spying the hell out of the Anglican Church, for God’s sake. Facist, anti – human rights surveillance. Yes, in New Zealand.
Oh, to change the subject just slightly (cough – prettty obvious guys), be quite skeptical about who exactly was behind the leak of Slater’s emails. Curious, isn’t it, who was mentioned in those dumps (not always by the same people by the way).
The fact is that Cameron Slater realized that he had been breached multiple times, and he sought to mitigate that. Think about it… that doesn’t apply to all releases….
The fact is that “Rawshark” is not one person at all, but a number, including Cameron Slater himself. Confusing I know. Well, that was Cameron’s original plan but the idiot had a keystroke recorder on his machine and that made making plans, well, a bit of a game for his detractors, haha. I wonder how long Cameron would go to jail if it came out that he did or was at least planning that before it went awry. Heh.
Ask yourself how many leaks of this magnitude have not resulted in an arrest. Yes. Ponder that. In the history of large scale hacks, how often is it that the purpetrator (lol) has not been caught?
The true situation is much, much more complex that people realize. The mix is extraordinary.
Reasons for why the PM didn’t want to pursue “Rawshark”?
One: Slater and Co initially created the idea of a super hacker to cover his arse but hilariously real super hackers were monitoring him in real time.
Another breather who unfortunately left a trail of sorts is an activist authorities don’t dare arrest because the dirt he has is even worse, much, much worse and damaging. GCSB and industry related.
Another is a woman with such just cause very few in the NZ public, no matter how mean they may have become, would abide her persecution I bet – and they bet too clearly.
Oh and there’s others… It’s an open joke among hackers how open the systems of Slater, that slithery insect, were. He should be grateful to the hackers he so loathes. They have standards or morals to such a degree that they have agreed to draw a line (for example, Cam, concerning your porn browsing history). Because they believe people deserve to have a private life however “deviant” their sexual proclivities, and the right to some semblance of dignity, even if they don’t deserve it. That’s right, Cam: some of them have had that used against them by the security services you praise so much. I’m afraid they operate to a much higher ethical standard.
Will anyone ever get to the bottom of it? Well the truth is they mostly have and for the above and other reasons it won’t come out. The PM won’t be naming anyone, not when he knows certain anonymous people have records of him discussing the bailout of MediaWorks with Joyce is some pretty sweary, morally dubious terms; Records of Bennett as well as English liasing with Indonesian human traffickers; Collins making illegal deals with the Chinese; Simon Bridges arranging for future backhanders with Oil and gas companies…
If this comment gets through, know, players listed above, that we know all your weaknesses. We have documents for East Germany and dirt for Africa. But you know that don’t you? You rely on the fact that the public doesn’t care: that it doesn’t care about the minutiae of your business, of the shady deals you do, for example, to not underground power wires in Auckland even though it’s ultimately cheaper because of a dodgy background deal with one of your blue chip monopolies…. could run to 500 pages but due to go clubbing just shortly…
We are here, we are not going away, and any move (or more moves) you make against us will result in devastating leaks. But you know that.
We have communicated what we expect. And recently you have been coming to the party at least in terms of prosecuting migrant labour abuses. Smiley face and big tick!
But we are not going away. We know you purposefully did not consult with Maori over the Kermadecs. It’s not the first time you have tried to use Tangata Whenua (sorry, the Maori Party who are hardly representational) to shoot down labour and environmental issues at sea. Remember when the Maori Party changed their mind at the last moment in respect of the foreign charter legislation? They looked freaked out, didn’t they…. I wonder why. Don’t forget who you are dealing with. You cannot arrest us, we know too much – and you know that very well now don’t you?
We know you know who we are. Hell, we don’t even bother to hide ourselves to mr LP. Top bloke.
Until soon
Hello Friend(s) Thank you for the information.
Wow
That was rather cryptic.
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/05/politics/mike-pence-tim-kaine-vp-debate-poll/index.html
Will this help people vote Trump knowing Pence is in background, will this deter people voting Clinton if they think she might not last the distance and Kaine has to take over or will voters just ignore what happened as they’ve already made up their minds?
Maybe Kaine wasn’t looking to “win” the debate, maybe he was looking for material to use to win the “after-debate” and thereby help win the election.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/mission-accomplished–6
Do watch the attack ad Clinton’s team has already put out, it’s brutal.
Quite possibly his tactics though I’m leaning towards the whole people have already made up their minds bit, it might make a couple of Trump voters feel a bit better in their choice but that’s probably about it
Clinton is outspending Trump at least 30 to 1.
But everyone knows that she’s so shit, that it barely moves the dial.
That is because Trump acts like such a buffoon that he attracts a whole lot of free media. The problem for Trump’s supporters is that he really is a incompetent, self-entitled, and an ineffective narcissistic buffoon who trades on being good at media attention rather than being effective at the mechanics of actual politics.
Basically he is a classic useless arsehole with a mouth and not much else.
This has been getting clearer and clearer as the haze from the multiplicity of the primaries clears. It appears quite unlikely that Trump will be able to carry the election. He is just entertainment that went out of a control because the Republicans had a confused primary.
I would agree with your position on Trump’s free media exposure helping him -except that the overwhelming balance of that media exposure displays him as a racist misogynist incompetent “buffoon.”
btw I still think that Trump will win easily, and looking at Hillary’s competence in Ukraine and Libya and Syria, I’m still happy to say that Trump’s incompetence is preferable.
I’m curious CV. Given that Trump, by any objective assessment, genuinely is a racist misogynist incompetent buffoon, how do you think the media should display him?
It doesn’t matter. Fewer and fewer “deplorables” and “irredeemables” believe the MSM’s increasingly blatant lying.
By the way, I read all the MSM coverage of how a vote for BREXIT was going to lead to chaos and a destructive loss of confidence in the UK economy.
Now just 3 months later the FTSE has climbed back to its record highs.
It’s not the media who display him as a racist misogynist incompetent buffoon, it’s Trumps own words that make him a racist misogynist incompetent buffoon.
I think the reason Trump nuked the primaries this year was simply because he was up against something like 16 others. As the loudest one in the crowd, he stood out. I think the Democrats had maybe a couple of others beyond Sanders and Clinton, but they dropped out quickly.
Now it’s down to 1 on 1, he’s still just as loud and outrageous because he can’t help himself, but Clinton has the uninterrupted space to set him up for more foot-in-mouth outbreaks (like doubling-down on calling women fat).
He is just entertainment that went out of a control because the Republicans had a confused primary….and the Democrats ran someone so deeply problematic that even the Dem. friendly Press couldn’t even mention her name without being greeted by a deluge of scorn.
Video has emerged of Aaron Smith’s escapade in the Disabled Restroom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDZzl9AyXeg
Some interesting speculation on some actual loopholes in US tax laws that Trump may have been taking advantage of in claiming his $916million “loss”.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-best-theory-weve-seen-173426219.html
And to save CV some time “it’s Killary’s fault”.
Except that it isn’t, and she voted to fix the loophole in 2002.
Hillary caught using a child actor to set up a question on Trump’s misogyny
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-05/clinton-caught-using-child-actor-ask-planted-question-pennsylvania-townhall
Thanks CV, I knew I could count on you for a hilariously irrelevant diversion.
You call it “irrelevant” but it speaks to the heart of the dirty political arts that the “pay for play” Clinton camp is well practiced in.
Yup she’s no Messiah but compared to Trump ….
John Oliver on the subject ..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1Lfd1aB9YI
Well it is irrelevant because it had nothing to do with the original comment.
You made two logical fallacies in a single post. Congrats!
Lets be honest, as soon as the question was asked it was pretty obvious it was a set up:
“Hi Madam Secretary. I’m Brennan and I’m 15 years old. At my school, body image is a really big issue for girls my age. I see with my own eyes the damage Donald Trump does when he talks about women and how they look. As the first female president how would you undo some of that damage and help girls understand that they’re so much more than just what they look like?”
so not really a big deal I’d have thought because I’m sure Trump will have his set question as well
Yeps trumps one could be, ‘Mr trump I am a law abiding citizen who cares for his country. I pay my taxes and work hard for our country, my community in appleburg and my family. What do yo say to someone like me.
Trump. I have an investment there, a terrific investment, as you know I’m a terrific investor I’m really smart, terrifically smart. Next question.
Except you’re busy making that up, while Clinton’s child actor has been found out and confirmed.
That girl is going to make an awesome Young Democrat one day.
omg
a patsy question was asked by a supporter at an election event. It might even have been prearranged. The end is nigh!
She already is an awesome young Democrat. You’re just pissed because Trump looks like a zombie when he reads an autocue and can’t hold a script in his head for longer than twenty seconds.
Everything Christopher Hitchens ever said about Hillary Clinton .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrzyVt1lbpo
Christopher Hitchens — Speaking Honestly About Hillary Clinton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE8PG2mpo58
Hitchens thought the invasion of Iraq was a good idea. Being clever and eloquent doesn’t make you always right.
Hillary’s best bit of foreign policy experience was “her pretense to have been under fire in Bosnia when she was not.”
“Hitchens thought the invasion of Iraq was a good idea.”
As, of course, did Hillary.
How, precisely, does this undermine Hitchens’ critique of his fellow born-again neo-con ???
Hilary has thought every war was a good idea.
As you would, if you accept substantial donations from the military/industrial complex.
http://mondoweiss.net/2016/02/weapons-manufacturers-support-hillary-clinton-more-than-any-other-presidential-candidate/
http://19453-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/w8M4Zxnv.png
Posting Hitchens’ opinions of Hillary Clinton is effectively an appeal to authority – in which case, it’s reasonable to point out that the authority isn’t necessarily correct.
As to his critique, there isn’t much of one in there, other than that he thought she had little foreign policy experience in 2008 and was prone to lying about her achievements (and her a politician! How could she?!). The bulk of it is just those clever Hitch-slaps that make you bloody glad he never heard of you – he certainly didn’t like her, but there isn’t much of a substantive critique in any of that.
“The Clintons never met a foreign donor that they didn’t like.”
You’re out of your depth, Psycho Milt. You need to stop posting and start reading. Books, that is.
Here are some suggestions.
Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Cash
False Choices: The Faux Feminism of Hillary Rodham Clinton
https://www.versobooks.com/books/2121-false-choices
I don’t expect him to actually do any reading, Paul. He seems too smug and indolent to do anything other than trolling the net.
Sounds like Andrew Clay.
Lots of noise…little insight.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/assets/news_crops/15531/eight_col_composite_14720990219943.jpg?1472099116
Oh look, there’s that Dunning-Kruger effect again.
Psycho Milt, why are you still here? You add nothing to the conversation, and you lack the wit to make you an amusing diversion.
Off you go now, to the library. Not the internet, but the library. You need to sit down and read in a sustained and serious way.
I like Psycho Milt’s comments. I don’t always agree with them and they are well argued and often extremely erudite: a genuinely personal voice.
One Anonymous Bloke,
You’re an extremely generous and indulgent bloke. When I look at Psycho Milt’s posts, I see only facetious and witless throwaway comments, but from now on I’m going to read his output as if he’s serious and competent.
Let’s see how that goes….
From your link to the hatchet job “Clinton Cash:”
Pilkington notes that several of the claims in the book have been proven factually false. According to Pilkington, Schweizer does not prove corruption on the part of the Clintons, nor does he provide any evidence.
…a film adaptation of the book, funded by co-founder of Government Accountability Institute and Breitbart News executive chairman Stephen Bannon… (emphasis mine)
From your link to the feminist hatchet job:
…the irrational right-wing hatred of Clinton has fed her progressive appeal…
Yup. Choice company you’re keeping there. The thing I find interesting is how a fairly ordinary presidential candidate like Hillary Clinton manages to generate such virulent hatred at the loonier ends of the political matrix. There’ll be research papers in it for historians, sociologists and political scientists for decades to come.
lol
Soooooo – interesting comments in the “critical reception” bit of your wikipedia article…
Mall of America takes bold stand by closing on Thanksgiving this year
“We’ve been talking about this for months, looking at the numbers, looking at the pros and the cons,” said Jill Renslow, the mall’s senior vice president of marketing and business development. “We’re excited to give this day back to our employees so they can celebrate with their families.”
http://www.startribune.com/mall-of-america-takes-bold-stand-by-closing-on-thanksgiving-this-year/396016881/
meanwhile in NZ..
The Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 was amended in 2016 to enable territorial authorities to decide whether retailers in their districts can open on Easter Sunday.
http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/employment-skills/legislation-reviews/easter-sunday-shop-trading
I usually listen to Radio Live for 30min before I turn over for the night.
Last night was continuous racism of the worst type.,So bad I turned off .
What ever has happened to our tolerant society . Have Muslims taken the place
I usually listen to radio Live talk back for 30min before I turn over to sleep .Last night was so racist i had to turn off early.Whatever has happened to our once tolerant country .And are
I usually listen to Radio Live talk-back before turning over to sleep .
Last night was so racist I turned off early.What is happening to our tolerant country .Have Muslims unfortunately taken the place were Jewish were placed in in the 1930s?
Continue above.. Muslims taking the unfortunate place Jewish people had in the 1930s.
finish as above.
And are Muslims taking the place Jewish people unfortunately had in Germany in the 1930s?
Best not to bother listening to Radio Live.
Full ignorant and opinionated comment.
Just like the Panel.
It seems that The Spinoff, after interviewing social media marketing CONsultant, Chloe Swarbrick ( but not myself) about our recent ‘spat’ – where I called her out, have not published my side of the story?
(Mind you – given that it’s The Spinoff – no real surprises there ….)
The effective CENSORSHIP of anti-corporate 1% 2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate Penny Bright, continues ….
____________________________
My ‘Open Letter’ to Hayden Donnell from The Spinoff’:
“FYI Hayden
Like to publish this on The Spinoff?
Kind regards
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate
4 October 2016
Auckland Mayoral candidate Penny Bright calls out fellow Mayoral candidate Chloe Swarbrick as a ‘social media marketing CONsultant’
Ah Chloe Swarbrick 🙂
Who, at just 22 has her own private marketing consultancy company called TIPS Ltd.
https://www.business.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/5894487?backurl=%2Fcompanies%2Fapp%2Fui%2Fpages%2Fcompanies%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DTips%2520Ltd%2520%26mode%3Dstandard%26advancedPanel%3Dtru
TIPS LIMITED (5894487) Registered
What a WONDERFUL thing to be able to put on your future (corporate marketing ) CV!
That because of your social media marketing ‘savvy’ – you were able to, in my opinion, (suck in) oops! ‘persuade’ thousands of Aucklanders to vote for you, because you presented as a fresh-faced millennial, purportedly advocating for the disadvantaged and disenfranchised – while simultaneously supporting privatisation via Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), and intensification via the Auckland Unitary Plan.
Sorry Chloe, but as fellow Auckland Mayoral candidate, I’m calling you out as, in my opinion, an effective mouthpiece for multi-national companies and commercial property developers.
In my view, the Auckland voting public have been CONNED, by yet another CONsultant.
Sold a ‘pup’ – who is actually, in my view, a neo-liberal ‘wolf cub’, who actually is not actively opposed to the corrupt, corporate 1%, locally, nationally, or internationally.
(Unlike myself, who is and has been actively opposed to the following mechanisms of corrupt corporate control for years, Council (Corporate) Controlled Organisations (CCOs), Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), for years.
However, in my view, Chloe, you would not have been as successful in your very social media savvy ‘marketing’ ploy, without the assistance of mainstream corporate media?
Just calling it as I see it, as a proven ‘anti-corruption whistle-blower’.
I expect many won’t like it.
So be it.
……
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
‘Anti-privatisation / anti- corruption Public Watchdog’
Told with all the graciousness we have come to expect.
Chloe Swarbrick is everything you are not:
– Charming
– Accomplished
– Attractive to voters
– A voice from a new generation
– Gracious
– Likely to go on to far greater things
So why not keep all your bile to yourself.
At least until the results are published.
Or are we going to see another repeat of last time, in which you sat with your mates screaming and jeering at the candidates who won as they were inducted into Council?
Maybe corrupt Auckland Transport will support Chloe, they have paid approx 50k to Patrick Reynolds on Transport blog.
AT say they paid Mr Reynolds $41k over 5 years for his professional photography services. I’ll let him speak for himself about your slur: http://transportblog.co.nz/2016/10/04/confessions-of-an-auckland-voter-why-i-voted-for-chloe/#comment-222677
…they have paid approx 50k to Patrick Reynolds on Transport blog.
Yeah, over many years for doing work in his professional area. Incidentally, the sheer hypocrisy of Bomber’s argument is quite astounding. From my viewpoint, Bomber is way more compromised by his funding that Patrick Reynolds is. Bomber probably squanders that amount collected from interested organisations every year.
The guy laps up union funds for his little self-promotional job project like they were candy. While it often seems that TDB is mostly about himself, he also does a considerable amount of publicity for unions and presumably for his other funders.
This is the only major political blog that has nothing much to do with what the site’s operators and authors do professionally. Sure Mickey and Ben stand for elections. Others like Stephanie or Helen work for unions periodically. But everyone writes what they want to and material that is self-interested is very clearly marked voluntarily by the authors.
How do we finance? Effectively I pay for the site (and the legal bills), with help from donations. And in my professional life, I either code for startups or corps provided they export IP. Can’t exactly see that showing up in what I write eh? It certainly doesn’t get funded by ANY interested organisation.
Perhaps you should take that as a bench mark and evaluate Bombers hypocrisy by that.
If you want to slag off other bloggers for their profession because of what a self-interested narcissistic and spitefully jealous personality asserts about them, then be my guest. However, I’m likely to just treat it as simple minded trolling unless you can come up with something apart from looking like a simple parrot who has a problem thinking.
And the fees he took doing such a great consulting job for the Internet Party
Is Chlöe Swarbrick that young wannabe politician with no life experience?
Perfect female Mayor for Auckland, as a stepping stone to being an outstanding Prime Minister for NZ.
Also I love her preferred use of those nice little accent marks. It signals a certain kind of distinguished education and mindset.
And I found this on the ‘net”
This all sounds like a load of fucking bullshit but some people will lap it up as being the best thing since sliced bread.
Question: how much money and connections do her family have.
That’s kind of like people deciding you’re an arse because you are also a chiropracter. Judge the person on what they say and do, not on what prejudices you hold about their labels. I can’t see anything wrong with the list of jobs she has had.
By bullshit do you mean the list is a lie?
On what she does?
OK well, I just found out that she is also a fashion designer. And she owns a cafe. That’s on top of the two BA and LLB, starting her own fashion label, launching a marketing consultancy firm, being a “patron of the arts”, and now also candidate for mayor.
So yeah, I judged based on that. BTW how old is she again?
Reminds me of the Elizabeth Holmes story in the USA, a brilliant smart successful self made billionaire by 29 years old.
She’s hardly had any “jobs.” I wonder how her team mates at 2 degrees found her.
Citation for her having had hardly any jobs.
You’re a snob CV. Saying that someone who’s been at uni a lot is deficient is not that different than saying that someone who hasn’t been at uni a lot is deficient. By judge someone on what they say and do, I meant in relation to the politics and the role (of Mayor). Not seeing much in your critique about that, just a load of bigotry apparently based on your perceptions of class.
You’re also a dick. Swarbrick’s been working as a journalist for the past few years. Bearing in mind that she’s 22 and holds two undergrad degrees (ie she’s been at uni most of the time since she left school), the list of things she’s done suggests someone who is active, motivated and involved in the community.
Your shit tinted glasses are on too tight today CV. Try looking at her politics (which I don’t know much about other than she is wanting to get young people involved in politics).
OK so at 22 she’s been a fashion designer, started a fashion label, worked for 2degrees, owns a cafe, is a “patron of the arts”, got a BA, got an LLB, launched a marketing consultancy firm, has been working as a journalist for 2 years and is now running for Mayor.
You sound spiteful and jealous like the blight. People can do more than 1 thing at once you know. Your judgement is flawed beyond recall and certainly beyond belief you sad loser.
“OK so at 22”
Wow. I found that quite impressive. You seem however seem to think that no one can accomplish all those things by that age.
Perhaps I can refer you to Isaac Newton.
He had a very slow start but by about that age he had come up with a good explanation of Optics, developed his laws of motion and his law of gravitation. He had also, as a little side-line, developed Calculus and the generalised binomial theorem..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton
Perhaps she has really done all the things she claims.
I looked at your website CV, you have hardly had any “jobs” either.
Huh?
On your website, the about/bio page (not linking as I don’t know how public you are with your private persona…though you have openly stated it here). From that I don’t see you have had many “jobs”, as you put it
Great PR for your Chloe’s marketing firm by running for Mayor. I guess public office is about self promotion now rather than actually ‘the public’ side of things.
I guess that is why Ralston is the preferred candidate to Mike Lee via the Spinoff panel.
I just don’t understand why the lefties are so taken in by it all. In the old days you had ernest young things trying to save the world and the planet trying to get into politics now it’s Xero marketers, Cafe marketers, Social media marketers…
Sorry I can’t get in on this leftie Chloe orgie of love because I actually read her policies which don’t seem Green, left or helpful to the young.
I don’t think most of the public are buying it either judging by the 18% turnout.
If you make public office about self promotion, all the candidates seem to have the same policies and then tell everyone Phil Goff has won it already, it’s a turn off.
BOOOOOOM
Unlike some others, you spotted the obvious straight away, save nz.
Pity you were incapable of explaining it then.
Sorry didnt realise you wanted spoon feeding
Jeez CV how about you leave the Auckland politics to the grown ups. I have met Chloe and seen her speak a few times and I know the dynamics of the different campaigns. Attacking her is about as valid as supporting Donald Trump.
Dunno if you were ever trained to pick up inconsistencies in people’s CVs but hers is all over the place.
You have no idea. I have multiple comments from a variety of people who I trust about her and I have met her and seen her perform at meetings. She is the same age as my youngest daughter. To expect her to have a perfectly formed CV and a policy platform that will satisfy all lefties is a big ask. No politician I have met has been able to achieve this.
I was tempted to vote for her, in the hope that she would poll second and beat Crone, Palino and Thomas. This would be a huge statement to the powers that be.
Don’t diss her. She has run the best mayoral super city campaign in Auckland I have seen and I can assure you I have an appreciation of them.
Attacking her but supporting Trump is a rather strange place for a lefty to be in …
Good job, mickey – you just showed an ability to point out a CV inconsistency 🙂
“No politician I have met has been able to achieve this.”
Except Trump and Putin of course
EDIT: +1 McFlock = lol
*Shrug*
Self made billionaire 29 year old Elizabeth Holmes had plenty of ability, charm and convincing conversation too.
But I’m hearing you, I’ll leave you Aucklanders to it, you’re doing a great job of running your city after all, good luck with it.
EDIT someone get her to run for the left in Auckland Central, at least I can say that it would be an improvement, however long term I see her going a different way.
🙄
Did you end up casting thinly-veiled aspersions on a candidate because her CV made you look inadequate?
Delicate wee snowflake, aintcha
Not sure where this leftie love orgie is happening (did you make that up?). I was hoping that CV might focus on her politics, but apparently making judgements about one’s work life is where it’s at. Ironic, given your comment about old school vs new school.
In the old days you had ernest young things trying to save the world and the planet trying to get into politics now it’s Xero marketers, Cafe marketers, Social media marketers…
Sure. It’s the post-neoliberalism generations. That’s what the old days raised them to do. I think the problem here is that they’re often not into party politics, so there is a divide between their values, and ours. Slagging them off for being successful in terms of the mainstream culture doesn’t seem like it’s going to improve things.
I read this blog a fair bit and as a righty I seldom comment. I’m inclined to ask what evidence Penny, CV or whomever has to prove Chloe was running PR for her company? Secondly who gives a toss?
Regardless of her politics she has put herself out there and wants to do more than just sit back and bitch about the society she lives in. You can do that in two ways: vote or be involved.
She chose both and good on her for doing so. When I was her age I honestly couldn’t think past what I was doing that weekend with my mates and how much money I could spend on beer.
From what I have read about her she is a candidate for the left so I would not vote for her being a righty. I do however respect candidates for What their politics are not for what their professional back ground is. Sorry to say CV but you sound like a boring old man attacking her over the above. That being said I can also she pays her rates making her in my mind far more appealing than penny 10 times out of ten.
Agreed.
Agreed too. Weird sub thread.
I’m a Digital Marketing Specialist….. you got a problem with that?
Feed the capitalist machine and get paid well for it, why not milk the system while you can.
@TheExtremist66
Yes I have a problem with all these Marketing specialists running for Mayor. Sorry we have big problems in Auckland that need real solutions, not a marketeer putting a rosy gloss on the situation. I would prefer a choice of a range of candidates that actually used to have a job that achieves something real rather than a job that is to put a spin on a situation or product. Or has some sort of activism, social conscience or some evidence they have achieved something for the community not just themselves.
Additionally I would like some policy in their campaign that actually means something. Yes the Natz also say they love cycling and want affordable housing too, but what they have done has provided the opposite. When the family on the street can’t afford the rates of their modest bungalow while the McMansion which has 7 toilets and pool on the same land size pays the same rates which seems to be Chloe’s anti progressive rateing policy and the left support that vision, I can see why the left votes keep getting split.
And if you rent, do you really think your rent will decrease if your properties rates are subsiding the richer neighbours improvements?
Real vision, real policy please.
There are too many suckers in the world prepared to swallow any nonsense they’re fed
A cursory look into the background and bio spells out the push stunt this actually is
So called lefties are being mocked and laughed at by the right as they swoon around the ‘leftie honey trap’
Some folk need to reconform what left evn means in political terms
It’s not a ‘spat’ it’s you smearing another candidate with your tired hatred. Get a real hobby.
The whole Aaron Smith thing is completely pathetic.
It’s the bitter hobbits of Middle NZ, outraged at the thought that someone out there is getting laid. Puritanical, neurotic, jealous. You could write a psychological paper on the national reaction.
Punish the real shit, not this.
Interestingly enough, it’s usually the RWNJs that are so puritanical, that demand to have a say in others personal lives. Just look at the abortion debate.
My own personal view is that whatever happens between consenting adults is their own business and no ones else
However there’s a time and a place for everything and public toilet isn’t one of those places but then he has form for this kind of carry on
Hopefully with TJ playing well it’ll send a message for Smith
He’s being punished for harming the brand, Weetbix & other ‘wholesome’ brands do not want to be associated with randy dickheads & Tew & crew also get to sound like they getting ‘tough’ on this kinda thing.
Sounds about right
That’s the employer side of it, no doubt.
But there’s also the shrill media crucifixion, which remains telling.
Clickbait, sex + seedy sex + AB = hot news. I await the media hounding the woman involved, Womens Weekly spot? I am quite surprised at the public backlash too, obviously people do hold up the ABs as something ‘theirs’ which is bizarre to me as I see them as a marketing tool like Coke of McDs.
If a talented young athlete is bad for the AB branding because he has a quick liaison in a loo, what does on make of the sponsor (AIG) that has either screwed Christchurch residents or held out on making payments for five years in the hope that fatigue will see their clients fold to get over it. Seems Tew needs to chew that one over two.
Looks like Clark missed out on the UN job. And also looks like the US did not support her. So much for Key’s special relationship with Obama and the NZ special relationship with the US.
It’s about time our government realised that NZ is a blip and not matter how matey we are with the US, UK or with China or anyone else they will always back someone else and their own people and corporations who they can gain more from or use their power to try to benefit their interests.
Allowing both China and the US to dictate and control our foreign and trade policy is going to end in disaster.
Key who would give up his own grandmother for a photo op with someone famous. Need more troops, just a handshake and a smile and they are deployed unlike Clark who always drove a harder bargain.
‘Helen Clark’s UN campaign ‘well worth it’ despite result, Government says’
“John Key suspects big world powers were nervous about the reforms Helen Clark would have made to the UN. But he says Antonio Guterres is a good choice.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/85014096/helen-clarks-un-dreams-over-after-security-council-chooses-another-candidate
(translation: Helen Clark was too radical for the big boys…she may have rocked the boat of the warmongers )
imo Helen Clark may have done something truly meaningful for world peace and the status of the United Nations had she become Secretary General
….She should stand again next time!
It is about time they had a woman leader!!!
National are the radical right-wing fringe.
Hardly “fringe”
They have a lot of voters but that doesn’t mean that the party itself isn’t fringe. In fact, just look at some of the supporters here who declare that National isn’t going far enough with the hard right-wing policies.
National is definitely radical but they’re toning it down so as not to lose voters/power.
I wouldn’t consider a party that consistently wins with over 40% of votes as “fringe”.
It’s not the votes that counts but the people who actually control the party which is neither the voters nor the members.
And that applies to Labour too
SAY NO TO SEABED MINING IN NEW ZEALAND WATERS
<a href="https://act.greenpeace.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1939&ea.campaign.id=56664
“Syrian onslaught”… “Russian aggression” …”ever wilder legislation”—
The Qatari dictatorship’s official TV channel never lets up on the propaganda.
Al Jazeera News, 3 p.m., Thursday 6 October 2016
Anyone who watches the Qatari dictatorship’s Al Jazeera TV channel for any length of time will soon realize that it is anything but a fair and balanced television channel. We have dealt with this unrelentingly anti-Houthi, anti-Syrian, anti-Iranian outlet and its retinue of English and Kiwi reporters before. [1]
An egregious, yet typical, example of this never-ending stream of propaganda came from the mouth of “reporter” Rory Challands in Moscow this afternoon. Ostensibly covering the opening of the Russian Parliament, Challands (no doubt under orders) used the occasion as a chance to unleash a swingeing rhetorical attack on one of the main enemies of the Qatari dictatorship.
“The legislature has been churning out ever wilder legislation, to please THIS man.” (Cut to Vladimir Putin, looking ominous, silently presiding over the parliament.) A little later, Challands intones darkly about how what Putin is doing is “a recreation of the Stalin era.”
In stark contrast to this inflammatory tone employed against the official enemy, Barnaby Phillips in Birmingham is beamingly effusive and unrelentingly positive in his coverage of Theresa May at the Conservative Party conference.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-22102015/#comment-1085331
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-04102015/#comment-1078141
Carlos Latuff
The Biased Media Coverage of #Syria War.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ct8J_H2WYAA8_Dv.jpg:large
This is from a fb site nz farming,come on labour get out and educate and look after rural workers.
”As a follow up to our earlier post regarding a boss who was upset about a worker taking sick leave, shit has got MESSY”
”Hey guys, thanks for putting up my post regarding sick leave. I’m still sick and have just spent the night in hospital after being diagnosed with leptospirosis. I’m still here and sounds as though I could be a few days, now my boss is saying he needs a room in my house for someone to stay to cover me. Is this something that is normal, or even allowed? (My house is my house not like single mans quaeters). I don’t know who the person is nor if they intend on using my things or what? Seeing ive been ill for almost a week and haven’t been home in 24 hours, you can imagine my house is quite untidy. Some input would be good. He has been rather rude as my family has come down from auckland to waikato to stay and look after me when I’m out of here but he said to them they need to go and stay in a motel. I don’t consider that professional nor courteous. Long term I’m looking to move on but until then what are my options????”
@ b. waghorn…much sympathy!…looks like leptospirosis is not a thing you should take lightly!…and you must look after yourself. You may have to take a lot of time off work and away from work with your family caring for you.
http://www.leptospirosis.org.nz/Leptospirosis.aspx
…”In people it can cause a minor flu-like sickness, but may also make some people seriously ill, needing intensive care at hospital. They may be off work for several months, have lasting kidney or liver damage, and may suffer long term fatigue and depression.”
Do you belong to any union?…If so you should contact them for support and making decisions…You could try the PSA for help
http://union.org.nz/findyourunion/993
Your employer also has a duty and responsibility :
http://www.eat.worksafe.govt.nz/worksafe/information-guidance/all-guidance-items/leptospirosis-the-control-of-occupationally-acquired/leptospirosisguide.pdf
Good luck! …and keep us posted!
Concerns over future of Maori Land Court
“Opposition parties want assurances the Maori Land Court won’t be undermined by Ministry of Justice restructuring proposals. A consultation paper distributed to ministry staff is reported to propose cutting 165 positions and creating 114 new jobs.”
“It appears the Maori Land Court is being undermined and hollowed out in advance of the government implementing the reforms,” the party’s co-leader Metiria Turei said on Thursday.”
“Labour’s Meka Whaitiri says Maori landowners deserve answers about the changes.
“This can’t be viewed as a normal restructure within a public service department,” she said.”
<a href="https://nz.news.yahoo.com/top-stories/a/32820502/concerns-over-future-of-maori-land-court/#page1