I’m sure trump will trump Obama if he ever lasts as long. He’s setting up some big ones by shitting on the military – they’ll want to rub his stinking face in his statementa of their ability and will. Thus he will warmonger and all nations will get pulled in – the Pacific, Europe, the east, the med – where he looks is where strife will increase.
A bit of a stretch to characterise Trump as “non-war mongering”. If my recollection is right, the only issue that was pointed to in relation to his “non-war mongering” was Russia.
The guy said he was going to bomb ISIS members and families. Right off the top of my head, he’s been openly far too supportive of Israel, threatening towards Iran and saber rattling with China.
We’ve no idea of Trump’s legal interpretation, what targeting standards apply, what strategic objectives these strikes support.
Obama also had the prerogative to launch drones with no oversight. And he did. Trump is merely using a system of non-accountability set up under Obama and used by Obama.
The guy said he was going to bomb ISIS members and families. Right off the top of my head, he’s been openly far too supportive of Israel, threatening towards Iran and saber rattling with China.
Yep. Everything I saw indicated that he was itching for a war.
“If my recollection is right, the only issue that was pointed to in relation to his “non-war mongering” was Russia.”
Not quite. It was that he was isolationist, so no foreign wars (war on terrorism excluded). The Russian thing was in relationship to Clinton wasn’t it?
Trump is a nationalist, who is saving the world from WW3 by only bombing targets that are Russian approved as that will prevent WW3 with Russia.
Clinton was literally just the scary vagina, who can’t use emails correctly, is a war monger and will ring in a nuclear holocaust on Jan 22nd for breakfast.
“Trump is merely using a system of non-accountability set up under Obama and used by Obama.”
It seems that Trump can’t stand even the tiny little bit of heat from Obama’s system of non-accountability and may be trying to pass the decisions and accountability down the chain.
Given the way Devyn Springer peddles obfuscatory socialist “bulshytt” (per Neal Stephenson), it’s pretty rich for him to claim “…the liberal creation of the “alt-left” is part of the historical assault on the left by those willfully apt to compromise with fascism.” The German socialists’ support of fascism on the basis of “After Hitler, us” should be a little harder to forget than that. Those of us who would have been more like the “social fascists” of the SDP that the socialists refused to compromise with to defeat fascism certainly don’t forget it.
It is not an end to identity politics we seek, rather a politic that encompasses the realities of different identities infused with class analysis and observation of power dynamics.
The version of identity politics that Springer, and some others on the left, are criticising, is one that I have long called “liberal feminism”. I know there are issues with the use of “liberal” as a negative. For me a liberal feminist has always been one who accepts the status quo of capitalism and its patriarchal, imperialist culture – only want equality for women within that system e.g. Judith Collins.
But maybe “conservative feminism” would be a better term.
I see Springer refers to Angela Davis as a positive example of an anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist feminist:
As longtime political activist, writer, and academic Angela Davis (who Wolcott surely would categorize as “alt-left” by his standards) explains in her latest book Freedom Is A Constant Struggle, we “find our strength in collectivities,” and through the “intersectionality of struggles, not only identities.” It is in this same breath that the left wishes to not disrupt or dismiss identity politics, rather move beyond identity politics into a deeper analysis of institutions of power which can easily be infused by the layers of identity-based oppression.
I like this because Davis was also my choice for an example of a more anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist feminist, in my last post on EveningReport.
It is about power. And Springer, via Davis explains that the regimes of power can only be dismantled by collective actions from ordinary people – from the bottom up.
I spluttered and laughed at yesterday’s link. There is no more an ‘alt-left’ than there is an ‘alt-right’. (I guess some will disagree with my take on ‘alt-right’, but hey)
There is a radical center or a liberal center or (call it what you want) status quo that’s kind of lost its sheen – people vote against it when the opportunities arise.
There are some people who hold authoritarian political views that are a part of what we’d normally call the ‘right’ who have been labeled the ‘alt-right’ as though their views are somehow utterly disconnected with the more general body of ‘the right’. They aren’t. They are a continuation or extrapolation.
There are also people on the left who hold authoritarian political views and they (just as the suppossed ‘alt-right’ represent an certain extrapolation of left thought and politics…
The center is lashing in all directions and seeking to cast anything that challenges the status quo as thoroughly despicable…it’s a kind of political infanticide.
On the other hand, there is the non-authoritarian reaction to all this nonsense. And that non-authoritarian streak doesn’t can’t speak against so-called identity politics because they (‘identity politics’) are a fundamental expression of power – asymmetries of power.
We can fall down a collapsing rabbit hole and be buried by meaningless debates on such things and ‘left and alt-left’ and ‘right and alt-right’, or we can draw a meaningful and revealing distinction between authoritarianism (of the left and right) and non-authoritarianism (of the left and right)
I didn’t mean to suggest individual approaches to ‘identity politics’ are beyond criticism. For example, like Corolyn -nth, I’ve long been critical of the accommodation sought by liberal feminism . But there can be no objection to basic analyses of power per se from non-authoritarians.
If alt-right is known by its seeds, then are you not saying the same as me? That the so-called ‘alt-right’ is just an extension or expression of the right?
If we allow it (and some imagined ‘alt-left’) to be separated out, then ‘the centre’ gets to construct a ‘basket of deplorables’ into which it can toss all and sundry who speak against it by the simple act of labeling any criticism ‘alt’ (ie ‘unacceptable) right or left…as opposed to their contained and constrained ideas of, I guess, ‘liberal’ left and’ liberal’ right
In other words, by granting those terms legitimacy, we’d acquiesce to giving the ‘Project Fear of ‘the centre’ a certain degree of form, definition and efficacy.
As already said, rather than slicing and dicing everything to the ‘nth degree’ drawing a quite simple and obvious line between authoritarian and non-authoritarian is far more useful.
I agree it is a subset of rught and structured to appeal to those who don’t identify as right so it is its own thing as well. Because it is disguised it needs to be called out.
I think an authoritarian axis of analysis is also helpful.
There’s something particularly delightful about seeing someone using phrases such as “…which reads like a tabloid-writer grabbed a thesaurus and attempted to assault the left…” or “Logical fallacies and facetious arguments are made quickly within Wolcott’s “article” when he ungracefully pulls quotes…” to argue against someone else’s opinion, when those sentiments are equally (if not more) validly applicable to his own piece.
Espiner grilling Joyce re Super this morning and claimed that 0.6% of $1000.00 is 6 cents. And then had the temerity to call such a balls up a “rounding error”. Epic fail.
It’s not just Trump who is wrong about Islam. All the monotheists are wrong when you take a step back and see how their actions are basically the opposite of what they preach.
Jews ,Christians and Muslims… they are all tarred with the same brush. Blind faith in something supernatural at best, or patriarchal power hungry bastard at worst.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Avoid politics and religion, and all topics likely to excite argument, or to lead to warmth of feeling or expression…
Avoid whatever is personal in tone or allusion; neither flatter nor make observations of an offensive character; do not even indulge in badinage unless with friends, who will not be likely to put a false construction on your words, or to take in earnest what you man in sport…
(In discussion); Never charge him with having made a wilful misstatement; suggest a correction, rather than make it, and if the point in question is immaterial, it is best to let it pass unnoticed. (I think this is one good piece of advice to adopt.)
If addressed in an offensive tone,… even when you perceive an intention to annoy or insult, either pass it over..or..withdraw…Such a thing as a ‘scene’ is, above all things, to be avoided.
Seems to me that this type of approach has passed to us through our majorly British connections and why we have been dubbed (by a Brit who thinks he is better,) as ‘the passionless people’.
May we have lots of discussions, with offensive tone sometimes, and limit ourselves a little so we have only one or two “scenes” a day – too many and they cease to be interesting events that stand out form the normal intercourse.
And let’s have interesting comments that might break this constricting rule of Britishness, xenophobia and lack of learning. Do not interlard your conversation with French and other languages. (Moi!) If you are tempted into a Greek or Latin quotation, apologise to the ladies for its use, or translate it…Puns and slang terms are to be avoided as much as possible.
Well, how do you like that ladies, get back to your embroidery and female duties, and don’t give out that you have any education or ideas of your own. Not the thing, you know. Feeling smothered, mother? Don’t frown girly. Look pretty, talk pretty, be agreeable, and conform or else you won’t find a husband and being married is really the only thing for a woman of good family and repute. For rabid feminists who don’t understand sarcasm, I’m channelling that male society.
Let’s keep on having informed, honest, interesting discussion all pointed towards building knowledge, understanding and the ability to form thoughtful scenarios to be used as a base for shaping policy to keep our world in balance at a high level of wellbeing which is above just accumulation or exchange of money or virtual tokens.
hey, stop all those pesky abortion, and we are not gonna cut your funding.
(lucky, the signer of this document has a penis and can thus walk away from any female he fucked and got pregnant, so clearly this is a win win – cause he wont ever need an abortion, or a pap smear, or birth control or any such thing, cause rich too.)
Not the first time you’ve thrown that riposte in relation to the debacle around abortion in the US .
But do you really mean to suggest that the welfare of Syrian women is somehow lesser than that of US women – that no challenge to ‘Roe versus Wade’ would have outweighed the sum total suffering that would have been inflicted upon Syrian women with a ‘no-fly’ zone (Clinton’s Syrian preference)?
And what of the many Syrian women who right now can no longer access abortions because they are unfortunate enough to live in areas ruled over by western backed and armed militias/terrorists? Is that of any lesser significance than women in some US states being denied abortion services?
What about women in Libya having no access to abortion services (or much of anything else) since the western engineered overthrow of Gaddafi? Or the women in Afghanistan who enjoyed a great leap backwards in their rights as a direct consequence of western meddling there, after having already taking a backwards tumble with the ascendancy of the Taliban?
Iraqi women? It doesn’t matter that they’re negotiating a decimated health service/system due to years of western sanctions, two invasions and a clusterfuck of an occupation? (Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s not “really” an occupation)
The direction of travel in the US with abortion is lamentable. But I’m a bit lost when it gets played off against suffering elsewhere in a way that would suggest that that suffering (potential and/or actual) is somehow inconsequential or secondary.
Thank fuck there’s less bombing of women going on in Syria than there would have been with a ‘no-fly’ zone. Does that make the shit around abortion in the US okay? No – just as no challenge to Roe versus Wade would not in any way have excused the imposition of a ‘no-fly’ zone in Syria.
“But do you really mean to suggest that the welfare of Syrian women is somehow lesser than that of US women ”
No, I don’t. I’m not the one that pitted those two politics against each other.
I think it’s highly problematic to make arguments politically where one is trying to trade off one sets of women’s rights against another. As soon as you start weighing up abortion against Syria, you’re in fucked up territory. It’s even more problematic for left wing men to do this without risking minimising some pretty fundamental human rights of women. And I’d say it’s almost impossible to do that since the US election.
mate if we have to stop working for the welfare of women until other women in other countries have rights we would still be burning women on the stakes on grounds of witchcraft.
But i guess welfare for women has absolutely no meaning if one has a penis.
It makes it so much easier chastising women who might not be bombed as greedy and selfish and why won’t you just shut up until the women in syria ain’t being bombed anymore or the women in Saudi Arabia get to drive a car, or the girls in Afghanistan are not being married of at 13, or the Duggar women in the US stop breeding like cattle.
Another 4 minute wait to get onto site, and then from Home to Open Mike a further 4 minutes. Even the statcounter readout has to wake itself up, shake, and start counting again! Are machines allowed to discriminate, is this fair, wot abart equality then. I am in the slow queue while other b…s go flying by because I haven’t got a new toy with all the bells and whistles. Sniffs…
Sabine
The bloke might have to be careful himself as I think that syphillus is on the rise, a nasty VD.
The thing for an ultimate authoritarian government of the future would be to ban sexual intercourse. and rapes would go down, births would go down, and we would be a less stressed planet and people. Maybe. Ordinary living might be better but wars would go up where men are away from their civilised lives to a theatre of war where you ad lib the moves so you can manage to live. Then there is an excuse for letting the soul go and doing whatever you can get away with. So women need to tame the world thoughtfully rather than with emotion or admonishment, fat chance but a noble cause.
Did you try BMs answer from a couple days ago that blocks secure.statcounter.com? It worked for me, joe90 and maybe weka. It’s also sped up a few other sites like HuffPo and Salon that would be very slow cause of loading lots of shite. Yes, I did a brief check on it before installing and it seems legit.
okay Andre thanks. I copied the link but don’t dash in to muck my machine around, as if I would know how to do that purposefully. I wonder why we suddenly need this new antiblocker.
Nikki Kaye is getting publicity rubbishing Jacinda Arden for a Super flip-flop.
Gold medal gymnastics material that, to be part of a whole big team doing a big group flip-flop and being so aware as to discern in the spinning landscape that someone else could be doing the same.
How come the spinning one’s perception gets the attention?
All I can see in an Herald article by a Nat cheerleader, in which Ardern gets all the running. Kaye just sounds like her nose is a bit out of joint – doesn’t get the attention of Bennett in the media.
Ben Carson Refers to Slaves as ‘Immigrants’ in First Remarks to HUD Staff
by LIAM STACK, New York Times, March 6, 2017
Ben Carson’s first full week as secretary of Housing and Urban Development got off to a rough start on Monday after he described African slaves as “immigrants” during his first speech to hundreds of assembled department employees. The remark, which came as part of a 40-minute address on the theme of America as “a land of dreams and opportunity,” was met with swift outrage online.
Mr. Carson turned his attention to slavery after describing photographs of poor immigrants displayed at the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. These new arrivals worked long hours, six or seven days a week, with little pay, he said. And before them, there were slaves.
“That’s what America is about, a land of dreams and opportunity,’’ he said. “There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for less. But they too had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great-grandsons, great-granddaughters, might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land.”
The comparison was first reported by USA Today and quickly drew the ire of social media users who attacked the secretary, who is African-American, for what they saw as racially insensitive comments. …..
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING MYTH 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate. FACT: The HadCRUT3 surface temperature index, produced by the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, shows warming to 1878, cooling to 1911, ...
For the past week, Extinction Rebellion has been peacefully protesting in London to demand action on climate change. The British government's response? Ban their protests:Police have banned Extinction Rebellion protests from continuing anywhere in London, as they moved in almost without warning to clear protesters who remained at the movement’s ...
When they were running for election, Labour promised to overhaul the Employment Relations Act and introduce fair pay agreements to set basic pay and conditions on an industry level, preventing bad employers from undercutting good ones. They followed this up by establishing a working group, which reported back in January ...
A list of indicators of bad science – many of these are found in articles promoted by anti-fluoride activists. Anti-fluoride activists have been pouring money into a scaremongering campaign warning pregnant women not to drink fluoridated water. They claim fluoride will lower the IQ of their future child. Fluoride ...
Nothing Left To Say: Labour's pollster, Stephen Mills, remains swaddled-up in the comforting myths of the 1980s. As if the experience of Roger Douglas’s genuinely radical post-Muldoon policy agenda was literally a once-in-a-lifetime thing – as much as the party could possibly absorb for at least the next 50 years.MEMO ...
The Royal Commission on abuse in care is very significant for the disability community. For many decades last century, thousands of disabled children, and adults who managed to survive, were locked away from families and communities. This was not for anything they had done, but for the perceived threat their ...
With an unfair voting system, uneven electorates and an un-elected upper house, the UK's "democracy" is barely worthy of the name. But now the government wants to make it worse:The government has been accused of suppressing voters’ rights with the potential disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of people after plans ...
Back in the 90's and early 2000's, the building industry was building leaky homes which should never have been granted consent. Now it turns out they've been building dodgy office blocks as well:New imaging technology has revealed hundreds of major buildings nationwide have defective or missing concrete or reinforcing steel. ...
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Two years have now gone by since the Friday afternoon when my university-student son and I headed out of our Barcelona flat to a nearby primary school, designated as a polling station for the vote that was to be held the following Sunday: the referendum on Catalonia’s independence from Spain ...
Overruled: The joint decision of Finance Minister, Grant Robertson (Labour) and his Associate Minister, David Parker (Labour) arguably the two most powerful ministers in Jacinda Ardern’s government, to grant OceanaGold the consents which Land Information Minister, Eugenie Sage (Greens) had earlier denied them, offers bitter proof of how hard fighting ...
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...
A Statement on Abortion Law Reform by the Council of Disobedient Women On the eve of bringing an end to antiquated, anti-women abortion laws Green MP Jan Logie intends to write women out of the Bill. With a stroke of the pen, the woke are aiming for total erasure ...
Musings continue apace about “the experienced businessman!” soon to be taking up a National Party MP position. Or to be more accurate, being parachuted into a seat to shut down their former MP Jamie-Lee Ross, who despite his own shortcomings shed at least some more light on the inner workings ...
The Ugandan government wants to murder gay people:Uganda has announced plans to impose the death penalty on homosexuals. The bill, colloquially known as “Kill the Gays” in Uganda, was nullified five years ago on a technicality, but the government said on Thursday it plans to resurrect it within weeks. The ...
Freedom Of Speech? The Säuberung (cleansing by fire) was the work of the German Student Union which, on 10 May 1933, under the watchful eye of the Nazi Reichminister for Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, consigned 25,000 books to the flames in a ritual exorcism of “un-German thought”. According to the logic of the ...
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New Zealand’s media is doing its part in Japan, reassuring those in the path of the storm that they won’t miss any rugby while away from their flooded homes. New Zealand sports reporters stationed in Japan for the Rugby World Cup have had the rare and heartwarming opportunity to inform ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones is the only Cabinet member in favour of putting it all on green. As Finance Minister Grant Robertson finds himself with an enormous $7.5 billion surplus, the Government has begun intense, at times contentious conversations about whether to put the money on red or black at ...
by Susanne Kemp At the start of September close to 100,000 school teachers went on strike in Jordan. They demanded a 50% pay rise. A pay rise actually agreed to by the regime back in 2014. In early October, however, in the face of government repression and threats, the teachers’ ...
Back in 2011, journalist Nicky Hager published Other People's Wars, an expose on NZDF's activities over the previous decade of the "war on terror". NZDF didn't like this, and especially didn't like the fact that it was base don leaks from their own. So, they had the SIS investigate him ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is due back from select committee in two weeks, and will likely pass its final stages in November. So naturally, farmers are planning a hate-march against it. But they're not just demanding lower methane targets so they can keep on destroying the planet; they're also demanding ...
Last year, California burned. This year, to stop it happening again (or rather, to stop themselves from being found liable if it happens again), Pacific Gas and Electric is cutting power to half the state for a week:Schools are closed. Traffic lights down. Tunnels dark. Businesses unopened. Hospitals running on ...
The Best Way: Missing from the on-line voting debate is any reference to the voting system that produces turn-out figures ranging from 77 to 93 percent of registered voters. The voting system used to collect and count the votes cast in our parliamentary elections. The system that involves citizens making ...
Among the great new bunch of political friends we have been making recently is the excellent Australian-based Marxist gender-critical site, Freer Lives. So we asked the comrade who set up that blog to write something for Redline on the blog, himself, his analysis of the rise of gender politics and ...
by Don Franks The Auckland City Mission is struggling with a 40 percent increase in demand for food parcels this year. A total of 23,020 were needed by June. Last month Missioner Chris Farrelly told the Herald the “cupboards are bare” and without an emergency food drive, he can’t see ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Massey Wellington Student Association had a sit-in today. Imagine a sit-in. On a campus. Against a women’s rights meeting. Did the ’60s really happen or did we fucking dream it? They gathered in the student square, an echo chamber. Sitting on soft pillows ...
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...
First, almost a score of Labour MPs seem to have sent a letter to the EU basically begging them to accept a deal - any deal - just so Britain can get the Heck on with Brexiting instead of being trapped in limbo:
by Phil Duncan In 2016 the National-led government suspended the Parent Visa Category, through which migrants were able to bring their parents into New Zealand. Since then over 5,700 people have been in immigration limbo, stuck on the visa wait list. Labour is now bringing back the scheme. Well, sort ...
The following was released yesterday (Tues, October 8) by the women’s liberation organisation Speak Up for Women. On 23 September Speak Up For Women announced that we would be holding an event at the Massey University Theaterette in Wellington. The event is called Feminism 2020. The intention of the event ...
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by Nick Rogers The debate around the meaning of sex and gender made an appearance at this year’s British Labour Party conference in Brighton. Women’s Place UK – an organisation that questions the demand that biological males who self-identify as woman should have access to women’s spaces, to all-women shortlists, ...
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The Workshop is a charitable trust for public good. The Workshop undertake research to find ways of communicating that will build support for the solutions that work to solve complex social and environmental problems. See their Report on Talking about Poverty and Welfare Reform below. ...
Being and Being Bought (Spinifex Press, 2013) by Kajsa Ekis Ekman A synopsis and commentary of Chapters 1-2 by Daphna Whitmore Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book She opens the discussion with a definition of ...
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The attempts of anti-democratic transactivists to (often violently) disrupt women’s rights organising is largely ignored by those sections of the left most prone to misogyny and authoritarianism in New Zealand. In Britain, however, scores of trade union and left activists added their names to a letter in July, defending ...
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by The Spark On September 14, a total of 22 drones and cruise missiles struck two oil installations in Saudi Arabia, the Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais oil field. Abqaiq is the largest oil production facility in the world. For a few days afterwards, Saudi Aramco, the Saudi national ...
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Below is the start of another excellent article on the Freer Lives blog. Click onto the link at the end of this extract to read the full article. The punch-a-terf, kill-a-terf message pervades social media, always righteously delivered, chin held high. By contrast, the dehumanised “terfs” themselves, that is gender-critical ...
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Its the usual story: a police officer beats a handcuffed suspect so hard they break one of their own fingers. The IPCA investigates and concludes that the use of force was unlawful. And the police refuse to do anything about it:A man punched repeatedly in the face by a police ...
From time to time we add links to our blogroll. The latest blog we have added is Freer Lives. This is a Marxist gender-critical blog, based in Melbourne, Australia. On it you will find a bunch of excellent articles which use the tools of Marxist analysis to critique the rise ...
Last Friday say the largest protest in a generation, as 170,000 people joined the school strike and marched to demand real action on climate change. The demands of the school strike were simple and clear: declare a climate emergency, set a climate target of net-zero by 2040, impose a total ...
Labour is a rather middle of the road capitalist party and earlier this year we discussed how far from being ‘transformative’, Ardern’s government is. An article published this week in the Guardian, by Bryce Edwards (political scientist and commentator at Victoria University), looks at Ardern’s business as usual performance. Where ...
In the hours since my last interminable wittering about the possibility of a Government of National Unity (GNU) in Britain, there has been a slight maybe development:A Corbyn-led caretaker government could then sit for several months while it enacted and delivered a referendum with the support of smaller parties and ...
Jeremy Clarkson says much like Greta Thunberg, Anne Frank “didn’t like what was going on”, but “she didn’t have a tantrum about it.” Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has offered praise to historical figure Anne Frank, comparing her favourably to 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg, who he attacked in ...
Press release by Speak Up For Women Lesbians from women’s rights group Speak Up For Women are furious at reports that Rainbow Tick are threatening Massey University with the removal of their ‘tick’ if they let the group’s event go ahead. The group has been under attack from trans ...
By Duncan Garner Before you jump down my throat, nobody cares about the environment more than me. I have a garden, and since my wife and I broke up, I’ve let it grow wildly out of control, so please don’t tell me I’m not doing enough for plants. They’re ten ...
Local government elections are upon us again. It is a fair bet that, when they are over, we will have all the usual complaints that, despite their undoubted importance, the turnout was depressingly low. So, why do local elections attract so little attention and involvement from the general public? I ...
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...
Defence Minister Ron Mark has used his powers to overrule a noise complaint ruling against Whenuapai airbase on the grounds of "national security". The Environment Court last month released a ruling in favour of a private developer, declaring the Auckland airbase had to comply with noise restrictions when it performs ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has opened fire against "unreconstructed morons" after NZ First MP Shane Jones was photographed on holiday holding an AR-15 rifle. Mr Peters is defending Mr Jones, telling Magic Talk host Peter Williams that his MP was just having fun "like most people do". "The ...
New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau was in attendance during the morning blessing of the Rotorua Lakefront development project. Around 60 people gathered on the shores of Lake Rotorua, including city mayor Steve Chadwick and deputy Dave Donaldson. The Lakefront development is a ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones is considering reining in on conversions of farmland to forestry, and also issued a warning to foreign-owned forestry companies that make up nearly 75 per cent of the industry. He said too many foreign companies had not provided enough access for domestic processors to get timber. ...
Speaking to Radio NZ, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the tightening of the parental category visa is a direct result of the Party’s coalition negotiations with the Labour Party. He said the new changes switch the financial onus from the parent moving to New Zealand to the child ...
The Coalition Government is set to cut red tape in the building and construction sector in an effort to allow more houses to be built, including prefabricated houses. The changes will enable the mass factory production of "high quality" buildings, slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced ...
Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to tackle homelessness and make sure everyone has a warm, dry home. And today, on World Homeless Day, we want to report back and update you on our progress so far. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at National Party leader Simon Bridges who criticized the Coalition Government’s approach to crime, and said that the latter isn't credible in his attack on the Government over gang recruitment. "We've got as massive drug problem in this country. It is ...
New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today in Gisborne an investment of $17.27m into bringing “world-leading” food-growing technology and the creation of more than 100 new jobs in the East Coast city. The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, and included a $15 million loan to LeaderBrand, a ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development More than 100 people in Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga Bay will benefit from two employment initiatives supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. “Tolaga Bay is an incredibly tight-knit community, but one in ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is supporting Gisborne business Leaderbrand to produce salad vegetables year round and create more jobs in the Tairāwhiti region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Our support for Leaderbrand will help them build large greenhouses ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has praised the promise by New Zealand’s biggest banks not to close any provincial branches while the Coalition Government trials regional banking hubs across the country. The Minister said the announce was the “first sign of hope for regional communities”, many of which have ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have delivered an upgrade of the SuperGold Card website and a new smartphone app, which will help unlock the full benefits of the SuperGold Card for 750,000 New Zealand seniors.Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters, ...
Delivering a key election campaign promise, New Zealand First is proud to have accomplished a long overdue upgrade of the SuperGold Card today. At an event in Auckland, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters joined Minister for Seniors Hon. Tracey Martin in unveiling the new website and smartphone app which ...
Another busy week, from speaking with world leaders on the world stage about climate change, to equipping our school leavers with everything they need to get ahead in life. ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says Air New Zealand has "an obligation to look after Kiwis", and urged the national carrier not to hike up their prices after Jetstar airline announced their withdrawal from regional flights this week. The Provincial Champion also expressed his disappointment at Jetstar’s decision on ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) will help fund a new dredge for the Port of Greymouth to ensure the regional fishing fleet have a reliable and productive harbour, Parliamentary Undersecretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today “Last year the movements of ...
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...
"Let’s start by acknowledging that it has been a huge year. " Police Association Annual Conference James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou katoa. President of the Police Association, Chris Cahill; Members of the Association and ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter welcomes PHARMAC’s move to improve access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). PHARMAC has today announced it will fund the full cost of Mirena and Jaydess for anyone seeking long term contraception, lifting previous restrictions on access to Mirena. “I welcome women having greater choices ...
The Government has approved the next stage of a major redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital, which will deliver new and improved facilities for patients. Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced details of a $300 million dollar project to build a new East Wing at the New Plymouth hospital. It ...
Extra funding will allow Rural Support Trusts to help farming families, says Minister for Rural Communities and Agriculture Damien O’Connor. “I know that rural families are worried about some of the challenges facing them, including the ongoing uncertainty created by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. “Those concerns sit alongside ongoing worries ...
Thank you for the opportunity to be here to present certificates to the 16 graduates who have completed a beekeeping course delivered by the Howard League. Let us start by acknowledging Auckland Prison’s Deputy Prison Director Tom Sherlock, and Acting Assistant Regional Commissioner of Corrections Northern Region Scott Walker - ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson leaves this weekend to attend the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile. Discussions between APEC Finance Ministers at the meeting will include the effects of the current global economic uncertainty, risks for APEC economies and sustainable development of the region. While at APEC Grant Robertson ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says for Pacific people, language can be a source of strength. It can help ground us and give us confidence. When we speak them, our languages provide us with an immediate and intimate access to our identity and our story - and ...
The Coalition Government has announced an action plan to improve the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport. The initiative includes training to develop a workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments, advocacy for fit ...
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through some of the red tape of the Building Act. “Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed further details on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to New Zealand next month. Their Royal Highnesses will visit New Zealand from 17-23 November – their third joint visit to New Zealand and first in four years. They arrive in Auckland ...
Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, heads to Thailand today to attend the final Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting, as negotiations enter their final stages. “The RCEP Agreement would anchor New Zealand in a regional agreement that covers 16 countries, ...
Pacific young people living in the Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Otago regions will have access to support services that have proved successful in helping young people find new earning and learning opportunities. “Tupu Aotearoa is about changing Pacific young peoples’ lives. Our young people are talented, they are smart, they ...
Introduction As the Minister for ACC I thank you all for the work that you do supporting New Zealanders in their literally most vulnerable moments. From those who hold people’s lives in their hands, to the people who research technique, technology and trends, your work is highly valued. A special ...
Notes prepared for speeches in Christchurch – Wednesday 9 October 2019 Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There ...
Minister of Health Dr David Clark and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare say this year’s World Mental Health Day theme is a reminder of why the Government’s work on mental health is so important. “This year the World Federation for Mental Health has made suicide prevention the main theme ...
Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni will represent the government at Australia’s Meeting of Cultural Ministers in Adelaide this week. “This year’s meeting is special because New Zealand is expected to become an International Member of the Meeting of Cultural Ministers at this Australian forum,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “The meeting is an opportunity to ...
The Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service has resolved 608 insurance and EQC claims in its first year in operation, Minister Megan Woods has announced. The government service, which celebrates its first birthday today, provides a one stop shop to help Cantabrians still battling to get their homes repaired or rebuilt ...
Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There has been an increasing amount of attention paid to the outlook ...
The Government is acting swiftly to strengthen NZTA’s regulatory role following a review into the Transport Agency, and Ministry of Transport’s performance as its monitor, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. An independent review by Martin Jenkins has found NZTA failed to properly regulate the transport sector under the previous ...
The Netherlands and New Zealand have a long-standing and close relationship based on many shared interests and values. We value the rule of law, our democracies, and multilateralism. And we value our environment – at home and globally. Right now there are major global challenges in all of these areas – ...
The Government is putting right a decade’s worth of underpayment to nurses, doctors and other health workers, says Health Minister Dr David Clark. Initial sampling of District Health Boards payroll records has found that around $550-$650 million is owed to DHB staff to comply with the Holidays Act. It’s expected ...
A strong surplus and low debt show the economy is performing well, and means the Government is in a good position to meet the challenges of global economic uncertainty. “The surplus and low levels of debt show the economy is in good shape. This allows the Government to spend more ...
New applications from mining company OceanaGold to purchase land in Waihi for new tailings ponds associated with its gold mines have been approved. Minister of Finance Grant Robertson and Associate Minister of Finance David Parker considered the applications under the Overseas Investment Act. Earlier this year, applications from OceanaGold to ...
New Zealanders in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay will witness Māori, Pākehā and Pacific voyaging traditions come together today as the Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla assembles for the first time, Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Minister Kelvin Davis says. “Tuia 250 is a national commemoration and an opportunity for honest conversations ...
Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker leaves tomorrow for Dubai, London and Berlin for a series of meetings to advance New Zealand’s trade interests. In Dubai he will visit New Zealand’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 where construction is underway. There he will meet Minister of State for International Cooperation, Her ...
Confirmation that PHARMAC will fund two new cancer drugs is further evidence of the good progress the Government is making to improve the treatment of New Zealand’s leading cause of death, Health Minister David Clark says. From 1 December PHARMAC will fund alectinib (Alecensa) for ALK positive advanced non-small cell ...
An additional $2.7 million has been announced for the Government Strategy for Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation on the first anniversary of the strategy’s launch. Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson gave the opening address to the first Sport NZ Women + Girls Summit in Wellington today, ...
As part of its work to ensure businesses can get the skilled workers they need, the Coalition Government is re-opening and re-setting the Parent Category visa programme, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. The move will: support skilled migrants who help fill New Zealand’s skills gaps by providing a pathway for ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has today announced Major General Evan Williams of the New Zealand Defence Force has been selected as the commander of a significant, longstanding peacekeeping mission in the Middle East. In December, Major General Williams takes over as Force Commander for the Multinational Force and Observers ...
A record number of nurses are now working to deliver health services to New Zealanders as the Government’s increased funding and new initiatives rebuild key workforces start to show results, Health Minister Dr David Clark says. • 1458 more DHB nurses since the Government took office • 106 more midwives ...
Farmer and former Nuffield scholar Mel Poulton has been appointed New Zealand’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, Minister for Trade and Export Growth, David Parker, and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, announced today. The position supports key Government objectives, including raising the value of New Zealand agricultural goods and services. Mel is ...
New Zealand’s Pacific and Māori voyaging heritage is acknowledged and celebrated today as waka of the Tuia 250 voyage flotilla arrive in Tūranga / Gisborne. “Today we celebrate Tangata Whenua, the first people of Aotearoa, and the triumphs of the voyaging tradition that brought our ancestors here from Polynesia 1000 ...
“Fijian Language Week starts on Sunday and the theme reminds us how important it is that we each have something to anchor ourselves to, something that can help us pause and feel in control in a rapidly changing world,” says Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. “Family, culture, faith, ...
The Government is establishing an Airspace Integration Trials Programme to support the safe testing and development of advanced unmanned aircraft and accelerate their integration into the aviation system, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods announced today. The Government will work with leading, innovative aviation industry partners to test and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The last PM shock jock Alan Jones slapped down was Jacinda Ardern. His language was particularly offensive, advertisers deserted his program and he apologised to New Zealand’s leader. But at least Ardern didn’t have to ...
By Michael Andrew and Sri Krishnamurthi The true story of one of the Pacific’s great waka builders and sailor has been captured in a stirring and visually gripping documentary. Loimata: The Sweetest Tears follows the final years of Ema Siope, a Samoan born kiwi who endured a tumultuous past ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Cowie, Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity Around one-third of Australians living with hepatitis C have been cured in the last four years. Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C is ...
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. Image AsiaPacificReport.nz/RNZ.Commentators across the political spectrum seem to agree – the Labour-led Government’s popularity is being damaged by its failure to deliver in Jacinda Ardern’s self-proclaimed “Year of Delivery”. Instead, the delivery of bad news to Labour and the Government has come in ...
Internet Service Providers have cautiously greeted the news that the Government is exploring an internet filter for violent extremist and terrorist content. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Polls Richard Harman (Politik): Ardern now dependent on Peters Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern still standing, but ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Austin, Professor UNSW Canberra Cyber, UNSW This is part of a new series looking at the national security challenges facing Australia, how our leaders are responding to them and how these measures are impacting society. Read other stories in the series ...
Researchers from Lincoln University are investigating how to use nanotechnology in agriculture to increase productivity and reduce environmental impact. ...
The increased presence of anti-trans and white supremacist stickers around the University of Auckland campus is proof that inaction is enabling hate groups, write Anisha Sankar and Max Whitehurst.Anisha Sankar is a Chennai-born, Te Awakairangi-raised, South Indian Tamil studying at the University of Auckland. Max Whitehurst is a transgender Pākehā ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Following the Christchurch mosque shootings, the New Zealand government’s first response was to ban the firearms the alleged gunman had used to murder 51 people. Seven months later, the second tranche of this process ...
The nine members for the next three year term of the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) for Auckland have been appointed by the statutory Selection Body. Their appointments begin on 1 November 2019 and continue to 31 October 2022. Mana Whenua ...
“If we are truly to solve the challenge of poverty within the Te Ao Maori world we must lift our people from the low wage and low skills growth side of the economy. At the same time we must continue to ensure our people, no matter where they are, ...
Alex Casey asks Rose Stewart from Family Planning every single question she can think of about New Zealand’s new free IUDs. Listen up, womb-owners who love free shit and long-term contraceptive options: Pharmac announced that they will be fully funding two new long-lasting, reversible contraceptives in New Zealand from November 1, ...
Patients are increasingly being turned away for treatment and there can be no more excuses from the Government over properly funding district health boards to boost specialist numbers in public hospitals, says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the ...
Today’s Council of Trade Unions’ report, Fair Pay Agreements: A Framework for Fairness , provides a much-needed pathway to fair wages and conditions across several major industries, and the Government must deliver on its promise to introduce FPAs ...
The Speaker has limited the number of questions Simon Bridges can ask in the House as a punishment for the National Party defying Trevor Mallard by not pulling down their attack ads. ...
Sunshine capital? Check. Rich artisan tradition? Check. Incredible sausages? That’s a big check. We’ve put together a list of all you need to know before you explore the truly gorgeous Nelson region this summer. If you’ve got friends or relatives visiting Aotearoa, top of their list should be sorting out their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University In the four years since the Paris climate agreement was adopted, countries have debated the fine print of how emissions reduction should be tracked and ...
The flight drink company 1Above, partly-owned by the high profile, venture capital fund Movac and businessman Gareth Morgan, is in liquidation owing almost $10 million. ...
In recent weeks Responsible Campers Association Incorporated (RCAi) has become involved in some high level discussions about our right to camp. This began out of discussion about the disabled who which to participate in Sport and Recreation activities. ...
In their quest for a cashless society the Japanese have beaten New Zealand to its own next-gen shopping experience.New Zealanders are missing out to the Japanese on a Kiwi technology that is set to eliminate supermarket queues.The first store to implement the SmartCart cashierless shopping system will be in Osaka, ...
If you don’t like Shortland Street, or you’re unconvinced that Michael Galvin actually is a doctor, does that mean all New Zealand television is rubbish? Some say yes. Tara Ward says an emphatic no. The world is our TV oyster, but lately it seems not everyone in Godzone is feeling the ...
The National Party is accusing the Immigration Minister of a "Sroubek 2.0" after revelations he granted residence to a man with multiple drink-driving convictions. ...
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu urges the Crown to ensure that the Establishment Board of the newly formed Institute of Skills and Technology meets its Treaty obligations and addresses the statutory role of iwi as Treaty partners in redesigning the education ...
The top-selling food magazine in New Zealand is closing its print operation. Niki Bezzant, Healthy Food Guide‘s former editor, reflects on the challenges the title faced.The news that after 14 years and 176 issues Healthy Food Guide magazine is closing its print operation came as a shock to some. It ...
A unique deal saw Sky buy the rugby rights and sell some of itself to NZ Rugby. Trevor McKewen breaks down what it all means.The news came thick and fast over a remarkable five-day corporate slugfest, starting last Thursday. First, Spark Sport struck, gobbling up New Zealand Cricket’s domestic broadcasting ...
In what’s thought to be the last piece of writing Peter Wells completed before he died, he wonders about his great-grandfather, and the locket he wore all his life. ‘The Story of a Locket’ is published in part here, and features in the extraordinary collection of essays Queer Objects, released this ...
Relationship expert Holly Dixon explains why the entire Married at First Sight franchise is based on bunk science.As the third MAFS NZ season has come to an end, I thought it relevant to answer the question upon which the entire MAFS enterprise is built: Is it possible to predict attraction and ...
SkyCity Casino workers will be on strike and picketing today as Rob Campbell, the Chair of SkyCity Casino talks to other employers about making pay fair at a “Wellbeing at Work” conference today. ...
He was the prototypical high school nerd, hanging on Don Brash’s every word. Then the financial world turned upside down. This is the story of how Kiwibank’s Jarrod Kerr became a most unconventional economist.In 2008, Jarrod Kerr was working at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia when the global financial crisis ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabriela D’Souza, Affiliate, Monash department of business statistics and econometrics, Monash University For most people the second week in October probably doesn’t hold much promise. Longer days for some, perhaps. But for those is us in the economics profession, come the second ...
One of the important parameters of the agreement’s aims was to ensure there was no threat to food production from the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. ...
A monument to Winston Peters and Think Big projects would both boost the economy, but Argentina learned the hard way they can also impoverish a nation, writes Tony Burton.Everyone who loves New Zealand should visit Argentina. There are more similarities than you might think – large areas of wild natural ...
The Salvation Army foodbank in Waitakere ran out of food last week; an indication of the strain many New Zealand whanau are under as they struggle to afford the cost of living. Wednesday, October 16 is World Food Day, and as demand for services offered ...
Phil Goff was re-elected by a huge margin on Saturday. How will he put that mandate to use this term? Hayden Donnell asks the questions.Phil Goff is once again Auckland’s mayor. Preliminary local election results show him with a lead of nearly 100,000 votes over his nearest challenger, John Tamihere. ...
Catherine Bindon from Ban the Boom has created these colourful and positive posters for you to use to show you don't support the use of fireworks in your neighbourhood over the next few weeks distressing our animals and birds. ...
On Tuesday morning the Operation Burnham inquiry hearing resumed after it was suspended three weeks ago. The hearing is being held at Royal Society of New Zealand, 11 Turnbull St, Thorndon, Wellington on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Ellerton, Lecturer in Critical Thinking; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland It’s not uncommon for science and religion to be framed as two opposing forces. The Catholic church has famously struggled to accommodate scientific research in its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cat Pausé, Senior Lecturer in Human Development, Massey University The British Psychological Society is calling for changes for how we talk about fatness, suggesting we should no longer use the phrase “obese people”, but instead, “people with obesity” or “people living with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University The federal government’s much-vaunted Snowy Hydro expansion is supposed to smooth out the bumps in electricity supply as Australia transitions to renewables. But not only is the project a bad deal for taxpayers, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By María Yanotti, Lecturer of Economics and Finance Tasmanian School of Business & Economics, University of Tasmania The housing market is moving again. In the past month, national prices have climbed 0.9%. What matters most to buyers (and especially to investors), along with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Mendelssohn, Principal Fellow (Hon), Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, University of Melbourne It seems appropriate that a painting titled Feng Shui dominates the new exhibition of Guan Wei’s work ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Matthews, Lecturer in Digital Media and Popular Culture Researcher, Auckland University of Technology According to a recent study, the sixth leading cause of death for young men in the United States is the warranted and unwarranted use of police force. With ...
The Council of Trade Unions has today released its report - Fair Pay Agreements: A Framework for Fairness . The report details the six key principles needed for Fair Pay Agreements to deliver real change for working people, and democratic agreements ...
Too many New Zealanders endure poor working conditions in jobs that don’t pay enough and offer few opportunities for career progression, and the union movement is calling for change. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the latest polls which show a drop in support for Labour are not a concern when it comes to forming a government. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: A pair of polls put pressure on the Labour Party, a wild night of weather in the North Island, and Shane Jones snapped brandishing a semi-automatic.Parliament resumes today after a fortnight recess, and MPs were given a welcome-back present in ...
Mandy Hager, the newly elected head of the New Zealand Society of Authors, is lobbying the government to improve the lot of writers - to no avail, despite the Prime Minister's championing of the arts. ...
Given the vast impacts that poor diet have had on global health, a deficit in nutrition education in medicine represents a big problem, writes Dr Jennifer Crowley. ...
Any time Olympian Luuka Jones needs advice or encouragement in her pursuit of more canoe slalom success, she doesn’t have to look far. Jones’ coach, Campbell Walsh, is also her partner. ...
Competition for the rights to broadcast sports matches involving NZ’s top teams has produced a bonanza for the sporting bodies, forcing media companies to be a lot more innovative. ...
The Wellington suburb’s successful opposition to a proposed Bottle-O shows how the system is biased towards communities with the organisation, capacity and resources to protest effectively, says Jenesa Jeram.For those unfamiliar with Wellington geography, Khandallah is a Very Nice place to live (Aucklanders: think Remuera). So when it was reported ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Humphery-Jenner, Associate Professor of Finance, UNSW The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission conducted an inquiry into mortgage pricing as recently as last year. Now Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has asked it to do another, broader one, in order to ensure the banks’ ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsThe results of the local government elections appear to show that New Zealanders are generally supportive of a more diverse range of representatives, having voted in greater numbers for candidates from traditionally under-represented groups. The elections have therefore modernised our councils in a small but very significant ...
The Inquiry has today published Minute No 21. This Minute sets out how the Inquiry intends to proceed given that the Attorney-General the Hon David Parker has agreed to extend the Inquiry’s reporting date by three months to 31 March 2020. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grace Skrzypiec, Senior Lecturer, Flinders University Many Australian students don’t know the difference between banter and bullying, with some saying they joke about wishing their friend would “drown” or “die in a car crash”. More than 800 Australian students aged 11-16 took ...
But he did play a crucial role in helping journeyman Andy Foster knock over Justin Lester. Team Gone By Lunchtime size up the local elections, gaze plaintively at the dramas in the NZ First Party, and ask how bad the new poll is for Jacinda Ardern.Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and ...
In the fifth episode of Actually Interesting, The Spinoff’s monthly podcast exploring the effect Artificial Intelligence has on our lives, Russell Brown speaks to Ben Reid, executive director of the AI Forum, about the role of government in embracing and regulating AI.Subscribe to Actually Interesting via iTunes or listen on the player below.To ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Local government Henry Cooke (Stuff): How to lose an election: Over-promise or under-deliver Simon Collins ...
By RNZ Pacific A Solomon Islands province has agreed to lease a large island to a Chinese developer to develop into a special economic zone, weeks after the country opened diplomatic ties with China. But already cracks abound; there has been no official announcement and the provincial premier says the ...
Open Mike 07/03/2017 
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...8 hours ago
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For the past week, Extinction Rebellion has been peacefully protesting in London to demand action on climate change. The British government's response? Ban their protests:Police have banned Extinction Rebellion protests from continuing anywhere in London, as they moved in almost without warning to clear protesters who remained at the movement’s ...10 hours ago
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Ah, the non-war mongering president,
Update: Trump has approved at least 36 drone strikes or raids in 45 days—one every 1.25 days.
In Obama’s 8 yrs, only one 45-day period (in 2012, when CIA bombed Pak Taliban constantly) saw such numerous drone strikes.
Troubling: We’ve no idea of Trump’s legal interpretation, what targeting standards apply, what strategic objectives these strikes support.
For an alleged “non-interventionist” president, Trump is quite willing to OK a huge quantity of strikes so early in his presidency.
Finally: Trump admin’s absence of transparency + accountability, and vast increase in lethal strikes, is a terrible combo for democracy.
Thread,
…she persisted.
🗽 @leahmcelrath
We are at a critical point in our #resistance.
Trump is feeling the heat and melting down.
…
In many ways, that makes our situation more dangerous than ever before.
Trump knows he’s cornered. Cornered animals have nothing to lose.
Lets bring back that peace loving leftist pres Obama then, only 26,000+ bombs last year and I’m sure they were all surgical strikes…
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/09/america-dropped-26171-bombs-2016-obama-legacy
I’m sure trump will trump Obama if he ever lasts as long. He’s setting up some big ones by shitting on the military – they’ll want to rub his stinking face in his statementa of their ability and will. Thus he will warmonger and all nations will get pulled in – the Pacific, Europe, the east, the med – where he looks is where strife will increase.
A bit of a stretch to characterise Trump as “non-war mongering”. If my recollection is right, the only issue that was pointed to in relation to his “non-war mongering” was Russia.
The guy said he was going to bomb ISIS members and families. Right off the top of my head, he’s been openly far too supportive of Israel, threatening towards Iran and saber rattling with China.
We’ve no idea of Trump’s legal interpretation, what targeting standards apply, what strategic objectives these strikes support.
Obama also had the prerogative to launch drones with no oversight. And he did. Trump is merely using a system of non-accountability set up under Obama and used by Obama.
Yep. Everything I saw indicated that he was itching for a war.
“If my recollection is right, the only issue that was pointed to in relation to his “non-war mongering” was Russia.”
Not quite. It was that he was isolationist, so no foreign wars (war on terrorism excluded). The Russian thing was in relationship to Clinton wasn’t it?
nah, mate you are getting this mixed up somehow.
Trump is a nationalist, who is saving the world from WW3 by only bombing targets that are Russian approved as that will prevent WW3 with Russia.
Clinton was literally just the scary vagina, who can’t use emails correctly, is a war monger and will ring in a nuclear holocaust on Jan 22nd for breakfast.
“Trump is merely using a system of non-accountability set up under Obama and used by Obama.”
It seems that Trump can’t stand even the tiny little bit of heat from Obama’s system of non-accountability and may be trying to pass the decisions and accountability down the chain.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/01/generals-may-launch-new-isis-raids-without-trump-s-ok.html
For those that read this bit on the supposed alt-left in yesterday’s OM,
a follow up piece,
View at Medium.com
Given the way Devyn Springer peddles obfuscatory socialist “bulshytt” (per Neal Stephenson), it’s pretty rich for him to claim “…the liberal creation of the “alt-left” is part of the historical assault on the left by those willfully apt to compromise with fascism.” The German socialists’ support of fascism on the basis of “After Hitler, us” should be a little harder to forget than that. Those of us who would have been more like the “social fascists” of the SDP that the socialists refused to compromise with to defeat fascism certainly don’t forget it.
Thanks weka. This from the Springer link:
The version of identity politics that Springer, and some others on the left, are criticising, is one that I have long called “liberal feminism”. I know there are issues with the use of “liberal” as a negative. For me a liberal feminist has always been one who accepts the status quo of capitalism and its patriarchal, imperialist culture – only want equality for women within that system e.g. Judith Collins.
But maybe “conservative feminism” would be a better term.
I see Springer refers to Angela Davis as a positive example of an anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist feminist:
I like this because Davis was also my choice for an example of a more anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist feminist, in my last post on EveningReport.
It is about power. And Springer, via Davis explains that the regimes of power can only be dismantled by collective actions from ordinary people – from the bottom up.
I spluttered and laughed at yesterday’s link. There is no more an ‘alt-left’ than there is an ‘alt-right’. (I guess some will disagree with my take on ‘alt-right’, but hey)
There is a radical center or a liberal center or (call it what you want) status quo that’s kind of lost its sheen – people vote against it when the opportunities arise.
There are some people who hold authoritarian political views that are a part of what we’d normally call the ‘right’ who have been labeled the ‘alt-right’ as though their views are somehow utterly disconnected with the more general body of ‘the right’. They aren’t. They are a continuation or extrapolation.
There are also people on the left who hold authoritarian political views and they (just as the suppossed ‘alt-right’ represent an certain extrapolation of left thought and politics…
The center is lashing in all directions and seeking to cast anything that challenges the status quo as thoroughly despicable…it’s a kind of political infanticide.
On the other hand, there is the non-authoritarian reaction to all this nonsense. And that non-authoritarian streak doesn’t can’t speak against so-called identity politics because they (‘identity politics’) are a fundamental expression of power – asymmetries of power.
We can fall down a collapsing rabbit hole and be buried by meaningless debates on such things and ‘left and alt-left’ and ‘right and alt-right’, or we can draw a meaningful and revealing distinction between authoritarianism (of the left and right) and non-authoritarianism (of the left and right)
+1 Bill
Thank you for your contibution to this meaningless debate.
Alt right is a thing imo it is known by its seeds.
People that believe in identity politics can be criticized, as identity politics itself can be, must be, and is, by people that believe in it.
The middle is just the hole on a farmers farm – all the shit gets chucked down it. It is used to attract pests.
I didn’t mean to suggest individual approaches to ‘identity politics’ are beyond criticism. For example, like Corolyn -nth, I’ve long been critical of the accommodation sought by liberal feminism . But there can be no objection to basic analyses of power per se from non-authoritarians.
If alt-right is known by its seeds, then are you not saying the same as me? That the so-called ‘alt-right’ is just an extension or expression of the right?
If we allow it (and some imagined ‘alt-left’) to be separated out, then ‘the centre’ gets to construct a ‘basket of deplorables’ into which it can toss all and sundry who speak against it by the simple act of labeling any criticism ‘alt’ (ie ‘unacceptable) right or left…as opposed to their contained and constrained ideas of, I guess, ‘liberal’ left and’ liberal’ right
In other words, by granting those terms legitimacy, we’d acquiesce to giving the ‘Project Fear of ‘the centre’ a certain degree of form, definition and efficacy.
As already said, rather than slicing and dicing everything to the ‘nth degree’ drawing a quite simple and obvious line between authoritarian and non-authoritarian is far more useful.
I meant deeds lol but seeds is right ☺
I agree it is a subset of rught and structured to appeal to those who don’t identify as right so it is its own thing as well. Because it is disguised it needs to be called out.
I think an authoritarian axis of analysis is also helpful.
There’s something particularly delightful about seeing someone using phrases such as “…which reads like a tabloid-writer grabbed a thesaurus and attempted to assault the left…” or “Logical fallacies and facetious arguments are made quickly within Wolcott’s “article” when he ungracefully pulls quotes…” to argue against someone else’s opinion, when those sentiments are equally (if not more) validly applicable to his own piece.
Personally I think both sides need their heads banging together.
Espiner grilling Joyce re Super this morning and claimed that 0.6% of $1000.00 is 6 cents. And then had the temerity to call such a balls up a “rounding error”. Epic fail.
The media are the opposition in your mind, eh.
Understanding of maths WRONG twice!!
Not even close to a rounding error as 6 cents in 1000 is 0.006%
0.6% of 1000 is $6!!!!!!
Not only can’t work percentages, doesn’t under stand rounding.
Thank heavens he is not the finance minister!!
Oh but wait………Bugger
Um, it was Guyon Espiner who made the “rounding error”. Sam is doing his best to divert attention from Mr. Fuxit’s performance.
OH, so did Fuxirt fix it?
He seized the opportunity to waste airtime on a diversion. Have a listen to the interview, eh?
Not trying to divert at all. But you could tell from the glee in Guyon’s voice that he thought he had scored a big hit on Joyce. Um, not so much.
That time Mr. Fuxit did better sums than a journalist. It’s nice that you have something to feel good about 😆
Very good post about Auckland’s pollution of the Waitemata harbour and how the government and council are minimising and covering it up.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/03/02/guest-blog-mike-lee-aucklands-dirty-secret-can-we-handle-the-truth/
you’ll never get an angry response to a dirty water post unless you insert the words
”DIRTY DAIRY FARMERS” better luck next time
And on a similar vein about increasing pollution cover ups…
Forest & Bird quits water forum, saying govt ignores advice
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/326009/forest-and-bird-quits-water-forum,-saying-govt-ignores-advice
Surprised?
“Jacinda Ardern, my nominee to be our next Deputy Leader, has just been confirmed to the role, with the unanimous support of Caucus.”
It’s not just Trump who is wrong about Islam. All the monotheists are wrong when you take a step back and see how their actions are basically the opposite of what they preach.
Jews ,Christians and Muslims… they are all tarred with the same brush. Blind faith in something supernatural at best, or patriarchal power hungry bastard at worst.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Could you take this kind of broader debate to Open Mike please.
Some tips from my 1880 book of etiquette:
Seems to me that this type of approach has passed to us through our majorly British connections and why we have been dubbed (by a Brit who thinks he is better,) as ‘the passionless people’.
May we have lots of discussions, with offensive tone sometimes, and limit ourselves a little so we have only one or two “scenes” a day – too many and they cease to be interesting events that stand out form the normal intercourse.
And let’s have interesting comments that might break this constricting rule of Britishness, xenophobia and lack of learning.
Do not interlard your conversation with French and other languages. (Moi!) If you are tempted into a Greek or Latin quotation, apologise to the ladies for its use, or translate it…Puns and slang terms are to be avoided as much as possible.
Well, how do you like that ladies, get back to your embroidery and female duties, and don’t give out that you have any education or ideas of your own. Not the thing, you know. Feeling smothered, mother? Don’t frown girly. Look pretty, talk pretty, be agreeable, and conform or else you won’t find a husband and being married is really the only thing for a woman of good family and repute. For rabid feminists who don’t understand sarcasm, I’m channelling that male society.
Let’s keep on having informed, honest, interesting discussion all pointed towards building knowledge, understanding and the ability to form thoughtful scenarios to be used as a base for shaping policy to keep our world in balance at a high level of wellbeing which is above just accumulation or exchange of money or virtual tokens.
You’re not in 1880 any more Doctor Ropata.
its only identity politics if …..
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/us/politics/planned-parenthood.html?_r=0
hey, stop all those pesky abortion, and we are not gonna cut your funding.
(lucky, the signer of this document has a penis and can thus walk away from any female he fucked and got pregnant, so clearly this is a win win – cause he wont ever need an abortion, or a pap smear, or birth control or any such thing, cause rich too.)
2017, still protesting this shit.
But think of all the women in Syria not being bombed.
Not the first time you’ve thrown that riposte in relation to the debacle around abortion in the US .
But do you really mean to suggest that the welfare of Syrian women is somehow lesser than that of US women – that no challenge to ‘Roe versus Wade’ would have outweighed the sum total suffering that would have been inflicted upon Syrian women with a ‘no-fly’ zone (Clinton’s Syrian preference)?
And what of the many Syrian women who right now can no longer access abortions because they are unfortunate enough to live in areas ruled over by western backed and armed militias/terrorists? Is that of any lesser significance than women in some US states being denied abortion services?
What about women in Libya having no access to abortion services (or much of anything else) since the western engineered overthrow of Gaddafi? Or the women in Afghanistan who enjoyed a great leap backwards in their rights as a direct consequence of western meddling there, after having already taking a backwards tumble with the ascendancy of the Taliban?
Iraqi women? It doesn’t matter that they’re negotiating a decimated health service/system due to years of western sanctions, two invasions and a clusterfuck of an occupation? (Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s not “really” an occupation)
The direction of travel in the US with abortion is lamentable. But I’m a bit lost when it gets played off against suffering elsewhere in a way that would suggest that that suffering (potential and/or actual) is somehow inconsequential or secondary.
Thank fuck there’s less bombing of women going on in Syria than there would have been with a ‘no-fly’ zone. Does that make the shit around abortion in the US okay? No – just as no challenge to Roe versus Wade would not in any way have excused the imposition of a ‘no-fly’ zone in Syria.
“But do you really mean to suggest that the welfare of Syrian women is somehow lesser than that of US women ”
No, I don’t. I’m not the one that pitted those two politics against each other.
I think it’s highly problematic to make arguments politically where one is trying to trade off one sets of women’s rights against another. As soon as you start weighing up abortion against Syria, you’re in fucked up territory. It’s even more problematic for left wing men to do this without risking minimising some pretty fundamental human rights of women. And I’d say it’s almost impossible to do that since the US election.
My previous comment was wholly sarcastic.
mate if we have to stop working for the welfare of women until other women in other countries have rights we would still be burning women on the stakes on grounds of witchcraft.
But i guess welfare for women has absolutely no meaning if one has a penis.
It makes it so much easier chastising women who might not be bombed as greedy and selfish and why won’t you just shut up until the women in syria ain’t being bombed anymore or the women in Saudi Arabia get to drive a car, or the girls in Afghanistan are not being married of at 13, or the Duggar women in the US stop breeding like cattle.
yeah, It must be really good to be a man.
I have a question…
If the Cullen Fund contributions had not been suspended by National would it cover shortfalls in funding Super going forward?
If not, couldn’t we just increase contributions?
Or, is the problem much bigger than that?
Yes, yes, no.
Another 4 minute wait to get onto site, and then from Home to Open Mike a further 4 minutes. Even the statcounter readout has to wake itself up, shake, and start counting again! Are machines allowed to discriminate, is this fair, wot abart equality then. I am in the slow queue while other b…s go flying by because I haven’t got a new toy with all the bells and whistles. Sniffs…
Sabine
The bloke might have to be careful himself as I think that syphillus is on the rise, a nasty VD.
The thing for an ultimate authoritarian government of the future would be to ban sexual intercourse. and rapes would go down, births would go down, and we would be a less stressed planet and people. Maybe. Ordinary living might be better but wars would go up where men are away from their civilised lives to a theatre of war where you ad lib the moves so you can manage to live. Then there is an excuse for letting the soul go and doing whatever you can get away with. So women need to tame the world thoughtfully rather than with emotion or admonishment, fat chance but a noble cause.
Did you try BMs answer from a couple days ago that blocks secure.statcounter.com? It worked for me, joe90 and maybe weka. It’s also sped up a few other sites like HuffPo and Salon that would be very slow cause of loading lots of shite. Yes, I did a brief check on it before installing and it seems legit.
okay Andre thanks. I copied the link but don’t dash in to muck my machine around, as if I would know how to do that purposefully. I wonder why we suddenly need this new antiblocker.
Well done the greens, Jan Logie’s Bill has the numbers.
https://www.greens.org.nz/policy/fairer-society/domestic-violence-victims-protection-bill
AWESOMENESS 😀
Nikki Kaye is getting publicity rubbishing Jacinda Arden for a Super flip-flop.
Gold medal gymnastics material that, to be part of a whole big team doing a big group flip-flop and being so aware as to discern in the spinning landscape that someone else could be doing the same.
How come the spinning one’s perception gets the attention?
Not seeing it. Links please?
All I can see in an Herald article by a Nat cheerleader, in which Ardern gets all the running. Kaye just sounds like her nose is a bit out of joint – doesn’t get the attention of Bennett in the media.
Ben Carson Refers to Slaves as ‘Immigrants’ in First Remarks to HUD Staff
by LIAM STACK, New York Times, March 6, 2017
Ben Carson’s first full week as secretary of Housing and Urban Development got off to a rough start on Monday after he described African slaves as “immigrants” during his first speech to hundreds of assembled department employees. The remark, which came as part of a 40-minute address on the theme of America as “a land of dreams and opportunity,” was met with swift outrage online.
Mr. Carson turned his attention to slavery after describing photographs of poor immigrants displayed at the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. These new arrivals worked long hours, six or seven days a week, with little pay, he said. And before them, there were slaves.
“That’s what America is about, a land of dreams and opportunity,’’ he said. “There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for less. But they too had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great-grandsons, great-granddaughters, might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land.”
The comparison was first reported by USA Today and quickly drew the ire of social media users who attacked the secretary, who is African-American, for what they saw as racially insensitive comments. …..
Read more…
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/us/politics/ben-carson-refers-to-slaves-as-immigrants-in-first-remarks-to-hud-staff.html?rref=collection%2Fnewseventcollection%2FThe%20Trump%20White%20House&action=click&contentCollection=Business%20Day&module=Collection®ion=Marginalia&src=me&version=newsevent&pgtype=article
“But they too had a dream that one day…”
too sickening to have a decent comment on it – I hope carson suffers for those statements.
In the Trump administration, stupidity and ignorance are rewarded handsomely.