Open Mike 07/09/2016
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6:00 am, September 7th, 2016 - 100 comments
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- Finally
Back in March, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier resigned after hitting the age limit for his office. And now, almost a year later, parliament has finally gotten around to appointing a replacement: John Richard Allen is likely to take over the role of chief ombudsman from Peter Boshier, who still ...7 hours ago - Close To The Edge.
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- National Hugging Day
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominique Falla, Associate Professor, Queensland College of Art and Design, Griffith University JYP Entertainment A South Korean boy band you’ve probably never heard of recently made history by becoming the first act to debut at No. 1 on the US Billboard ...6 hours ago
- Trump promises a second term focused on immigration and nationalism – as well as revenge and retri...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Shortis, Adjunct Senior Fellow, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University Today, in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington DC, the 47th President of the United States was sworn into office. The second Trump era has begun. In his inaugural ...8 hours ago
- The Fold: On Meta going Maga, TikTok’s perilous future and NZ media in 2025
Anna Rawhiti-Connell joins Duncan Greive to recap a big month for social media, and make some predictions for the year ahead. You could say it’s been an epochal month in the geopolitics of social media. As The Fold returns for 2025, The Spinoff’s resident social media philosopher queen, Anna Rawhiti-Connell, ...8 hours ago - Game, set, debate: why do women only play 3 sets in tennis?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sophia Nimphius, Professor of Human Performance, Edith Cowan University Tennis fans are once again filling Melbourne Park for the 2025 Australian Open, after setting an all-time attendance record in 2024. The Australian Open is one of four annual Grand Slam events, alongside ...9 hours ago
- Treaty Principles Bill Cannot Proceed – NZCER
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Greenpeace is calling on the Government to significantly strengthen its climate target, in particular the goal to cut methane emissions. This is what the independent Climate Change Commission advised in its report at the end of last year. ...9 hours ago
- Friend or foe? How Trump’s threats against ‘free-riding’ allies could backfire
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Khoo, Associate Professor of International Politics and Principal Research Fellow, Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs (Christchurch), University of Otago Getty Images Donald Trump is an unusual United States president in that he may be the first to strike greater anxiety in ...9 hours ago
- Allen likely to take-over from Boshier as Chief Ombudsman
John Richard Allen has been recommended for the role Peter Boshier still holds - despite a law requiring his resignation at age 72. ...10 hours ago - High-flying Governor-General Rolling Out The Royal Treatment
The Governor-General is already taking home $447,900 a year, plus an allowance of $40,551. Totalling almost seven times the median wage, no one can accuse Dame Cindy Kiro of being underpaid, Taxpayers’ Union Spokesman James Ross said. ...10 hours ago
- One simple trick to conquer your reading goals: read shorter books
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- PM, deputy congratulate Trump, Vance; keen to deepen ties with US
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- Gaza ceasefire: RSF calls for open borders for journalists – end to impunity for Israel’s war cr...
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- A review of the two new ice blocks vying for the Cyclone’s crown
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- Great, there are microplastics in our compost now too
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- Conservative Party Update
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- Green hydrogen: Is it time to switch off the taxpayer tap?
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- Donald Trump to sign orders ending diversity programs, proclaim there are only two sexes
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- The red flowering gum: a perennial favourite and a summer stunner
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As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a student abroad shares his approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Male. Age: 19. Ethnicity: Tongan/European. Role: Student, research assistant at a ...15 hours ago
- Despite fears of falling trust in expert knowledge, a global survey shows New Zealanders value scien...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Kranz, Assistant Lecturer in Psychology, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Shutterstock/Volha_R Five years since the start of the COVID pandemic, it can feel as if trust in the knowledge of experts and scientific evidence is in crisis. ...15 hours ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Summer, Early Career Researcher, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University Ken Griffiths/Shutterstock Superbugs that are resistant to existing antibiotics are a growing health problem around the world. Globally, nearly five million people die from antimicrobial resistant infections each ...15 hours ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Andrejevic, Professor of Media, School of Media, Film, and Journalism, Monash University, Monash University Shutterstock In the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg fired the fact-checking team for his company’s social media platforms. At the ...15 hours ago
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11704745
I had wondered about soper but this leaves me in no doubt that he works for the national government.
The Americanization of New Zealand is entering a new phase…. Get caught out flooding the country with imported unskilled labour and his answer is to introduce time limited benefits as in the USA. I believe that man is corrupt.
It amazes me how ignorant and shallow some “commentators” are
Soper should know that drug-testing of beneficiaries showed an extremely low fail rate.. i.e. they are not taking drugs
Soper should be pushing the free market which he supports and suggest these employers up their pay rates to meet the market..
currently all these whingeing employers are failures
stop whingeing and get on with it
human dna has not changed in the last 40 years
what has changed is the settings within which our dna operate
and those settings are where the problems lie
not in our dna
pay a man a decent wage for a decent day’s work
frikkin’ cheap-arse bludgers
+1
Because our managers are thick as two planks and won’t employ them unless they have 5+ years experience in the field which they can’t get until they’re employed.
Youth crime is down apparently, prob too stoned & lazy…(sarc).
+1 Draco.
Just an echo chamber for Key.
Soper has been a scruffy, dirty looking, malodorous blowhard for years. I’ll never forget the time when Winnie was Minister of Foreign Affairs meeting McCain in Washington. Scruffy jumped in and tried to take over, blasting Winnie about miscellaneous domestic matters. Winnie closed down the interview, at least for Scruffy’s continued involvement. Excellent ! No class Soper ! The dopey wife doesn’t improve matters.
yep it’s a shame talent isn’t required to rise to the top in nz
Good to see this site running like a rocket again.
Great work LPrent!
+100
The Hillary Report
‘#HackingHillary: Coughing fit causes concern over Clinton’s health, sparks sarcastic viral hashtags’
https://www.rt.com/usa/358447-hacking-hillary-health-questions/
“The hashtags for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and VP pick Tim Kaine sound like a pediatrician’s superheros: #HackingHillary and #CoughDropMan. After Clinton suffered two coughing fits, though, they’re being used to question her health.
From concussions to coughing, Clinton has long been dogged by concerns over her health, and whether it will prevent her from being an effective leader in the White House. On Monday, those questions again came to the forefront of the election cycle after she suffered two coughing fits on the campaign trail…
‘Universal bogeyman’
https://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/357995-hillary-moscow-mainstream-media/
“Turning reality on its head. Candidate Hillary Clinton claims the woes of the world are due to a vast alt-right conspiracy – and it is run out of Moscow. The fact is Western elites are in a panic. Publics and audiences around the world are no longer convinced by the messages propagated by the corporate mainstream media.
CrossTalking with Matthew Gordon-Banks, Gilbert Doctorow, and Earl Rasmussen.”
‘Bullhorns revolt’
https://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/358263-clinton-exceptionalism-brazil-coup/
“Candidate Clinton’s extended spin of American exceptionalism. Also, have we witnessed a soft unconstitutional coup in Brazil? More on the shifting sands in Syria. Plus, the G-20 confab.
CrossTalking with Dmitry Babich, Mark Sleboda, and Alexander Mercouris.”
Oh goody, right on time. This morning’s edition of Putin Puppet Talking Points.
lol…ha ha…suggest you read and watch those links …you might learn something
An essential read for anyone interested in the future of the Worldwide Left…
‘Labour is engulfed by the same crisis facing its sister parties in Europe. Political commentary tends to focus on politicians, and describe the world as if parties can be pulled here and there by the sheer will of powerful individuals. But Labour’s problems are systemic, rooted in the deepest structures of the economy and society. The left’s basic ideals of equality, solidarity and a protected public realm should be ageless. But everything on which it once built its strength has either disappeared, or is shrinking fast.’…..
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/06/does-the-left-have-a-future
An excellent starting point for those interested in a revival of Leftist Policies would be to stop giving the Guardian any sort of credibility.
Their undermining of Bernie, and continued campaign to discredit and ignore Corbyn, which they are proud to admit to, make it clear they are, as advertised on their Wikipedia page, strictly and committedly Centrist.
They would rather eat tacks than give any critical coverage of Hillary, her track record or her policies. Even though that means that their American Politics coverage has to be 99% dedicated to Trump, because, let’s face it, even die hard Hillary fans have nothing to say beyond pointing out she has female reproductive bits.
The Guardian has no reason to undermine their neo liberal world by giving fair voice to the Left.
They are not a reliable source of commentary of the Left.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/jul/19/yes-jeremy-corbyn-has-suffered-a-bad-press-but-wheres-the-harm
” … as advertised on their Wikipedia page, strictly and committedly Centrist.”
Cite?
As I read their wikipedia page I find things like “a platform for liberal and left-wing opinions” and “it is no secret we are a centre-left newspaper”. I don’t find “strictly and committedly Centrist”.
The clue is in the word “centre”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrism
So unless an opinion comes from a source that completely meets your personal approval it cannot possibly be valid and worthy of your attention and discussion Siobhan? You can just dismiss it out of hand.
That’s exactly the kind of intolerant bigotry that is destroying The Left as a force capable of adapting to social change. As the article discusses.
I have read the article. The article is, like many articles in the Guardian, not there to encourage the current change and growth in the Left, and for the sake of this conversation, the UK Labour Party.
The likes of Corbyn (and in the States, Bernie) are bringing about change and growth, and it would seem to be The Guardians job to make damned sure that doesn’t happen.
So, there you go, I read and discuss the Guardian on a daily basis. They get ALOT of my attention. I comment on their boards almost every day. Though not so much now that they have shut down conversations on Corbyn and Clinton stories.
But they are not a vehicle of positive Leftist commentary.
Why spend ALOT of your time there then? If change and growth is flowering on the Left, then surely you have more positive places to spend your energy?
The ‘change and growth’ is not that in the wider social sense, of course.
It is a ‘consolidation’ of the Far Left into a more homogeneous form.
In the UK / NZ / Europe the steady decline in general voter support for The Left continues to bleed. Corbyn and Bernie have made no impact on that at all.
I also read the Grauniad most days, it is much better than Stuffed or other rubbish, but I’ve been very disappointed at the treatment of Corbyn.
The article in question also has a pointless dig:
“Corbyn’s “10-point plan to rebuild and transform Britain” is all about “full employment and an economy that works for all”, and promises to restore “security to the workplace”. These visions are either naive or dishonest,…”
That is what I think whenever I read the sewer at kiwiblog or listing to a “speech” (idiotic rant) from The Orange Turd
Agree. Bigotry looks like shit wherever it occurs.
The Left used to pride itself on it’s open mindedness to diverse ideas, so it’s been sad to watch the trend towards an aggressive intolerance of opinion over the last 10 or so years. Especially when it mostly seems to be Left Wingers being more intolerant of small diversities in LW thought than it is of Right.
The Broad Church increasingly looks like The Spanish Inquisition.
Listening to the Auckland mayoral candidates on Nat Rad.
Oh dear.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
I’m sure Goff will be fine. No…?
Why? What it an hour of comms trained sound bytes ?
Didn’t listen to debate..
Quacks like a duck……
The line of attack “baffled” political analysts, who wondered why Trump would possibly think referencing a largely-unknown European leader would help him win votes in the United States. A Pew survey last year found that “Germany is not on the radar of many Americans,” with more than a third reporting “no opinion” of Merkel at all.
But there is at least one group of Americans well familiar with Merkel, her immigration policies, and her connections to Hillary Clinton: white supremacists.
To white nationalist communities that fervently support Trump, Merkel has been a popular villain. Sites like the Daily Stormer, the White Genocide Project, American Renaissance, and The White Resister have posted constantly about her since the Syrian refugee crisis began escalating earlier this year. They have accused her of making a “deliberate attempt to turn Germany from a majority White country into a minority White country.” They have called her a “crazy childless bitch,” “Anti-White Traitor,” and “patron saint of terrorists.” They have asked in articles about her, “Why would you allow a woman to run a country, unless you were doing it as a joke?”
https://thinkprogress.org/donald-trumps-new-attack-on-hillary-echoes-white-supremacist-websites-70579c9d7e50#.sxvd5bsrn
Trump is going after Merkel because well educated Americans know who Merkel is, and are aware of the new surge in unwanted boat people into Europe.
And potential Trump supporters amongst them know the disruption and unpopularity that Merkel’s immigration policies are bringing to Germany.
Merkel’s own party is sinking in the polls even in her own home state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Where her mainstream party just polled third behind the anti-immigrant AfD.
Yeah, bagging women and refugees will really appeal to the college-educated white voters, especially women, that he so desperately needs.
/
35% to 40% of College educated US women refuse to support Hillary Clinton, and while they may not support Trump either, they are showing more thinking process than other people around here.
agreed
‘ ”I’m not with her’: why women are wary of Hillary Clinton —
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/23/women-female-voters-us-election-hillary-clinton
+100 CV…and has Merkel once criticised the causes of the refugee crisis?!
…not that I am aware of
….many of these poor refugees want to go back home to peaceful countries of their origin…now destabilised and wartorn.
what caused the MIddle East crisis?…who has caused destabilisation in Afghanistan and North Africa…Libya?!…Iraq ?…Iran?
….these are the real questions and Merkel has never addressed them…therefore is she complicit?
Inconvenient questions that the politicians don’t want asked, but which the public is starting to understand the answers to.
yep joe it is all part of trumps plan to monetize his dimwitted followers. That’s what happens when you have no morals, no plan, no idea, just slogans and bullshit.
You just described the Brighter Future!!
You really could just swap the word “Key” for “Trump” – they are entirely interchangeable in your comment.
For those interested in Internet rights and how a simple copywrite case has now morphed into an extradition case so the ‘right’ judgement in the USA can be bought for it’s billionaire Hollywood backers.
Liveblogging the livestream: the Kim Dotcom appeal
http://thespinoff.co.nz/politics-media/05-09-2016/liveblogging-the-livestream-the-kim-dotcom-appeal/
Why people don’t like pipelines.
Federal, state and local authorities are investigating the cause of Saturday’s natural gas pipeline explosion that killed five adults and five children and left two other people in critical condition in southeast New Mexico.
[…]
The 30-inch pipeline exploded around 5:30 a.m. Saturday, and left a crater about 86 feet long, 46 feet wide and 20 feet deep. Police say the resulting fire probably lasted 30 to 40 minutes. It reportedly was visible about 20 miles to the north in Carlsbad, N.M.
Virtual Flamethrower
Authorities said one end of the ruptured line became a virtual flame-thrower, showering fire on the victims camped beneath a bridge about 200 yards away.
“The evidence out there at the scene indicates it was horrendously hot,” State Police Capt. John Balderston said. “It incinerated everything in its path. If it burned for as long as we think it burned, that explains the extensive damage to the vehicles and to the property and people.
http://bients.com/pipeline-explosion-kills-10-campers-n-m/
Could anyone who has had a problem with comments not updating on screen this morning tell me
1. Operating system (XP, Vista, 10, el capitian etc).
2. Browser
3. Likely to be behind a corporate style caching system system.
I’ve just changed it to remove http2 as the most likely cause. So tell me if it is now fixed.
It works on everything that I have tested to date in the test browser stacks. But there are a lot of combinations
Thanks.
It had not updated for me when I came onto the site just now. But it updates at once if I click on one of the posts.
That does sound like a simple caching issue (which is a lot easier to deal with). But it puzzles me because I didn’t change anything there.
Do you mean that it didn’t update when you opened the browser? That could just be the local browser caching. My android browser when it opens doesn’t reload the page, it just shows whatever you had last time if the browser “went to sleep” rather than was off.
When I first open TS page, the most recent comment showing is one from Stuart Munro to Bill, at 9.11pm, 6/9. Today’s Open Mike does not show, and it looks as if there has been no recent activity. Then I open one of the posts, at random, and the newer posts at once appear, along with the most recent comments.
That is caching. And I see that weka got it as well.
Ok that could be due to https as there weren’t any changes overnight. Oh well it could be due to the temp certificate not being trusted fully. New one with better trusts arrived overnight, so I will plug it in tonight. I’ll check later for cache effects…
I’m getting the lost comments thing now too (or listing from cache), but on the Mavericks Firefox, not my iPhone which seems fine.
Except the name and email fields are blank on the ph now.
When I first went on this morning, the front page loaded an old version eg there was no open mike for today. I tried safari and got an up to date one. Then opened a new tab in Firefox and tried again and got the updated one. Odd though as I haven’t seen Ts load from the cache like that in a very long time.
Haven’t noticed anything with comments but haven’t been on much either.
Mavericks, Firefox.
It doesn’t update for me but I just press the home page and refresh and then the 7th comes up. Lprent I still have no search engine tool on my opening page where it used to be – up in the top right corner – is there something malfunctioning on the site, or is it just me? I use Chrome to get in.
By 8:30 this morning there were no updates not even Open Mike.
Using el Capitan.
Spark reported a general fault with the 03 region affecting internet as well.
All OK now.
That could be an explanation for you, but probably not for nakiman
Whenever I re-open The Standard (after closing the window, closing the browser, or even restarting the confuser) it opens to the state of about 9:29 this morning. When I click on a comment, it seems to update to current.
Running Chrome (Version 53.0.2785.89 m), Windows 10 (OS Build 10.586.545) , Orcon ISP
For what it’s worth, neither the refresh button on the browser nor CTRL f5 brings it up to current, but hitting the “home” button on The Standard’s front page does bring it to current.
Andre – It does for me too.
+1 re-Andre
It’s now 3:45pm and no updating of comments. No search or reply facilities.
If you get to a page that’s behaving weirdly, try refreshing that page now. It may have been cached on your machine in the weird state, and a refresh now may work to get a refresh from the server. It does for me now.
Yes, I tried that just now and it has worked. Fingers crossed….
Confuser, lovely auto correct.
No auto-correct, my machine does more confusing than computing.
Ah.. That may be a problem with http vs https – which I was loking at last night. I will reset it back to back to https only
lprent (9) Bit slow updating earlier. But I tapped the refresh button and it managed to update itself. All good now.
Ok I have just changed the system to force https.
I think that will get rid of the caching problems. It was getting caught between being http and https.
Two completely different sites depending on whether I’m signed in or not.
Not signed in = top comment is Joe 90 on open mike at 11.00am
Signed in = top comment is lprent at 1.11pm
Front page (not signed in) Park up for Government and Eileen Brown headlining and RNZ mayoral debate.
Front page (signed in) Race Class Global Warming, Racism Resurgent, Park Up etc
Also…when I submitted the Class, Racism post it disappeared and I found myself signed out from the site. (It also wouldn’t preview prior to posting)
Not looking for answers or explanations for any of this – just hoping it helps you track down issues.
edit – now telling me ‘site can’t be reached’ when I try to submit this comment. Have hit the back button. Have edited and will submit one more time before being away for the day…
Yes, I finally managed to see it on Internet Explorer 11 on windows. It was locked on the pages as at this morning.
It looks like something in the caching system jammed up. I have shifted it back to the working configuration, drastically dropped the cache time outs, forces reloads and restarted the server processes.
Some combination is causing the pages to be cached even after they have updates.
I will have
Test – add a comment
Last comment – honest. Just adding info. Not signed in and using chrome on windows 7.
Test – adding another comment.
Test another comment
An additional test comment. 🙂
Career criminal has friends in high places.
The signers are indeed Russian environmental activists so it seems to be legitimate.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1789659071273663&id=100006887614791
screencap – http://archive.is/UeXOX/image
Russia’s Green Party has no authentic grassroots public support. Wouldn’t be surprised if all its funding was bought and paid for by foreign based NGOs.
Test the cache with another comment
It looks like removing the page / browser cache system entirely has worked. However it looks like there are cached pages in the browser side with long timeouts.
I’ll leave the caching off for a while for those to clear out.
Fuck, when did Michael Laws shift down south? He’s standing for the Otago Regional Council 🙁
Poor Otago. Oh well at least he didn’t move to Auckland.
he got run outta town?
what Lprent says.
He was dumped by the voters of Whanganui in 2013. Having seen the writing on the wall, he buggered off to Timaru where he got a job as a figure of authority over small boys. That didn’t last long and apparently he has headed further south. Hopefully he will continue heading south until his only neighbours are penguins.
LOL. With climate change an’ all he might be able to set up a little bach and see out his sunset years in comfort in Antarctica.
It’s funny, I saw a faceblab post of his a few weeks ago. He was all angry that that NZ wasn’t over in Syria fighting the good fight against ISIS and Asad. He was under the impression that we said NO to some kind of imaginary invitation to go and fight, and we’re all a bunch of peacenik commies for not going. I think he was getting mixed up with the Iraq war over a decade ago…………
Heh, super mayor of the Auckland Island archipelago.
pity the little penguins.
phenguins…
lucky you, I wonder how long before he has a little following of black jacket wearing tragics like he had in whanganui
I just thought my thumbs had poor circulation…
Oh shit, that’s fucked a favourite part of the country of mine.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/19473099@N05/29221759970/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/19473099@N05/29321758696/in/dateposted-public/
I see the Colin – Jordan Tory scandal show has added a new star today….Phoenix like Christine Rankin has now joined the cast…. (oh how boring is my own life existing on a meagre diet of schadenfreude . ..why wasn’t I born a Tory?)
All we need now are Slater and Graham Capill as extras.
The movie will be great.
Got to admit that the Colin Craig case is popcorn worth reading.
I really feel for the poor lady who (supposedly) on the wrong end of his attention.
On the bright side for all here – no need to worry about him campaigning again – he’s political toast.
Honey trap ?
😆
1. He isn’t worth it.
2. When was the last time a religious politician needed help to expose his character?
James. Yes I agree with you if it is poor lady syndrome..but really what a bunch of deviants..and Colin wanted to be one of our leaders!
I don’t know how but someone in the media should point out to the sleepy New Zealand public and media colleagues that the so called Taxpayers Union is NOT a union, does not have the membership of a union, does not have the democratic voting rights of a union and is completely devoid of the ethical values of a union.
To me it is verging on illegality and copyright theft that they dare to use the word ‘union’ for their nefarious Tory pretenses.
Still fun to hear them bare their souls in public though. ( Did I say ‘souls’…sorry, I meant ‘*@##^^%^ washing’).
“ethical values of a union”.
oh thats tooooo funny.
Rodel, have you noticed that right wingers use socialist wording (like “unions” etc), to make their organisations more publicly acceptable and appealing?
You’re pulling our legs, surely?
No.
The NZ taxpayers union is a perfect example of it.
Check, mate!
His wife must be hurting. That’s sad. Hopefully she knows him well enough to make sense of it.
Yes Christine is very pure too and no form. H-h-hummpphh !
Williams is apparently calling Carrick Graham and Hooton, McVicar and Nicky Hager as well.
Chris-I think Hager will be able to hold his own against them.
Pity the others hadn’t held their own.
“It’s important people know this: John Key has just ordered his MPs to vote against a proposal to build 100,000 new affordable homes.
Yet again, he’s rejected a common-sense step to help fix the crisis.
Just this week, the average price of an Auckland home hit a staggering $1,000,000. What chance do young families have of ever making the Kiwi Dream a reality?
John Key has shown he has no intention of building more houses. Today’s vote proves it.” Andrew Little
Shambles sees National oppose affordable housing
Wednesday, 7 September 2016, 4:38 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
Andrew Little
Leader of the Opposition
MEDIA STATEMENT
7 September 2016
Shambles sees National oppose affordable housing
National’s shambolic handling of the housing crisis has today resulted in the Government opposing common sense measures to help more Kiwi families into homes, Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little says.
“Despite knowing for the past three years the laws around Special Housing Areas were to lapse next week, Housing Minister Nick Smith has unnecessarily pushed through patch-up legislation under urgency.
“That backfired today when the Government was forced to debate Labour’s comprehensive housing policy. And it resulted in National blocking attempts to build affordable houses and crack down on speculators.
“Labour introduced amendments to Parliament today that would have implemented Labour’s KiwiBuild plan to build 100,000 affordable homes for families to buy, tax speculators who flick properties within five years, and ban foreign speculators from buying existing houses.
“Labour’s comprehensive plan will stabilise house prices and give families a fair shot at the Kiwi dream of owning their own home.
“However, National blocked the KiwiBuild amendment by one vote and is now voting to protect speculators.
“Labour is putting forward concrete plans to fix the housing crisis. Sadly National is putting petty politics ahead of Kiwi families,” Andrew Little says.
<a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1609/S00128/shambles-sees-national-oppose-affordable-housing.htm
National lose control of Parliament, vote down 100 000 affordable homes and media blame Labour???????
The National Party have lost total control of Parliament today in one of the worst cock ups I’ve ever seen.
They went into urgency, denied Question time and then voted down 100 000 affordable homes and voted for the rights of property speculators.
The mainstream media predictably then went and blamed the Greens and Labour for this clusterfuck…
Govt’s housing quick-fix turns into shambles as Labour hijacks debate
An apparently straightforward, quick fix to a housing policy has turned into a shambles for the Government today.
National is attempting to rush through all stages of a housing bill this week, after going into urgency yesterday afternoon.
But the debate has been hijacked by Opposition parties, which have taken advantage of a slip by the Speaker to filibuster the legislation.
…this is NOT the Greens or Labour fault – this is a National Party in absolute meltdown over the Housing Crisis who can’t control the legislative agenda because they are panicking!
National want to be able to take land and never offer it back to the owners they take it from, this will of course hurt Maori and those too poor to fight back. It’s garbage law and it should be debated, not rammed through under urgency.
This is an utter failure of Government, to lose control of the House usually requires them to stand down and call for an election – that’s not going to happen, but this is National’s fault and watching the mainstream media now try and blame the Opposition is sickening.
NZ should be grateful that we have an Opposition prepared to debate + fight tooth and nail in Parliament when the Government cocks up.
Martyn Bradbury. TDB
<a href="http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/09/07/national-lose-control-of-parliament-vote-down-100-000-affordable-homes-and-media-blame-labour/
oh Wayne, a line for you…..”Sherman continues, “When the meeting was called to order, it was standing room only. I could hear murmuring in the crowd. Oh, they were ready to kill the government.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/07/how-great-paradox-american-politics-holds-secret-trumps-success
theres your Havelock North moment….FU
There’s a wind that blows out of the South in the drought,
And we pray for the touch of his breath
When siroccos come forth from the North-West and North,
Or in dead calms of fever and death.
With eyes glad and dim we should sing him a hymn,
For depression and death are his foes,
And he gives us new life for the bread-winning strife —
When the glorious Old Southerly blows.
Old Southerly Buster! your forces you muster
Where seldom a wind bloweth twice,
And your ‘white-caps’ have hint of the snow caps, and glint of
The far-away barriers of ice.
No wind the wide sea on can sing such a poean
Or do the great work that you do;
Our own wind and only, from seas wild and lonely —
Old Southerly Buster! — To you!
Henry Lawson, 1909
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/84027448/live-wild-weather-sweeps-across-new-zealand