The Guardian’s live feed on the Occupy Wall Street protests.
One interesting post noted that JP Morgan Chase has just donated US$4.6 million to the NYPD: “The gift was the largest in the history of the foundation and will enable the New York City Police Department to strengthen security in the Big Apple. The money will pay for 1,000 new patrol car laptops, as well as security monitoring software in the NYPD’s main data center.”
Of interest is the media coverage: apparently the MSM were not courted or invited by the protest. One specific reason is that they are in the pay of the people being protested against.
Of more interest is the role of sites such as this one, the blogs and the sites set up specifically to overcome the MSM grip upon our minds. The OWSer sites are multiplying and linking with other sites, for the users this means the MSM can be cut out to get the word out. The real issue now is not that we dont have an alternative to the MSM, it is getting the critical mass to bypass them.
In NZ if we wait for fair treatment from the MSM for our views, or for them to expose Jokey and his blackshirt privatisers for what they are we will be waiting a long time. How do we get critical mass?
How do we get critical mass, convince all you know to get onto Twitter. It seems to me, having been observing #occupywallstreet on it since the day before the action started, that when used as a tool to circumvent the MSM it is unsurpassed. It is a way to aggregate all of what you currently read and spread it exponentially.
Although, the NYPD is not the only recent JP Morgan benefactor, they also just bought 400mill in Twitter shares .
Need to use those networks to build real physical relationships and contacts. We have already seen the authorities shut down websites and even cell phone transmission when it suited them to disrupt protests being planned.
Worth remembering that in many ‘dictatorships’ activists refuse to use things like FB and twitter because the authorities can infiltrate and use the information gained against the movement.
American intelligence agencies have broad and direct connection to everything which passes through GMail and Facebook for instance, access provided by those companies themselves, according to Julian Assange.
I heard on the radio that there is an application called ‘disconnect’ that is a free download which prevents the likes of Facebook snooping on your browsing.
CV, surely the best way to prevent / push against the fascism you’re talking about is to continue to talk and agitate openly, in spite who might be watching. The moment you self edit, they’ve won. The moment you build a critical mass you win.
I agree the connections need to be real and physical as well, but to reach critical mass we need to be able to connect with those we’re unlikely to meet in our normal lives but share convictions and ideals with also.
I agree, and my point was not to self-edit as such, but to be aware of the security monitoring implications and also prepare for the day that TPTB flick the kill switch on those advanced systems that they own and control.
Pen, paper and message runners may seem archaic but they also have strengths and uses as a communications medium in a hostile environment.
And so we need to act now in order to prevent that moment.
I’m about to read a novel, which I believe was popular last year, slow adopter. Hans Fillada, Alone in Berlin, about exactly that, a man who used postcards deposited around Berlin as a way of protesting, disseminating info during Nazi reign, timely!
I often think this, especially when I hear people anxiously talking on comment threads here about what the right think, or would think, or might say, if they hear us say this or that, how they could use it against us etc. I wonder why they give such a big flying fuck about what the right think of us. I’m damn sure the right doesn’t knead its hands worrying about what we think of them. I think this kind of attitude is a big problem for the left.
(However, self-editing abusive, non-inclusive (sexism, racism etc.), hyperbolic, polarised, overly personalised or competitive, egotistical, ungenerous and downright nasty communication is usually a good idea, in any community, imho).
“..but to reach critical mass we need to be able to connect with those we’re unlikely to meet in our normal lives but share convictions and ideals with also.
And filter information through our multiple real world networks. Like most of us here I’m sure, I spread the word about things like the “occupation” movement informally to left-leaning friends and acquaintances, especially those who rely on the mainstream media. The worst part of that is convincing people that things really are happening. When CERA was passed I had endless arguments, and needed to provide copious evidence of the what it meant because most people refused to believe that such a thing could happen without any coverage, and that trained, highly-paid journalists wouldn’t think it worth mentioning. For the most part, people are highly suspicious of information, even from “reliable” sources, that isn’t mainstream-reported, especially if it runs counter to what is.
But e-links are fantastic and so effortless to share. I really appreciate many of the links provided by posters here. A vital part of my learning
which is what is so clever and successful about the OWS movement, they’ve all got camera’s, every bit of it is documented. It’s just then up to us to disseminate it so as to over ride the MSM.
A picture tells a thousand words they say, like video footage of cops waving protesters onto Brooklyn Bridge when the MSM narrative was that they were only arrested because they deviated from the footpath.
I’m all for living out in the open too. I’ve found a lot of activist groups so insular and paranoid that it’s hard for anyone new to get involved. The Rob Gilchrist saga certainly didn’t help.
In NZ if we wait for fair treatment from the MSM for our views, or for them to expose Jokey and his blackshirt privatisers for what they are we will be waiting a long time. How do we get critical mass?
You can bypass the MSM in NZ for a mere $500K to $1M initial investment. You can set up an alternative internet TV news channel with a basic studio, hire a couple of journalists and an anchor, and link it into a satellite broadcast feed as well.
Sign up a deal with Al Jazeera and RT for the international news content part of it and off you go. Broadcast 6 hours from 5pm to 11pm every night.
Here is the OSW newspaper, over 70,000 in print and now collector’s items for sure. You can get your digital copy by clicking a couple of buttons. Citizen media is not a crime. It is our future. http://www.scribd.com/doc/67436424/Occupied-Wsj
Like to see a lot more published about the corrupt decisions behind supershity IT systems…..picking either ARC or AKL city’s SAP and upsizing it would’ve been fine.
Wodney, Ford and his water care IT man Foley, now supershity CIO behind the NACTs rushed and botched grab for assets should be interrogated.
Also there’s some big stuff still underway yet to be costed like another new inventory system……when you already have SAP…WTF !
akl needs to be shown as mike lee states that it’s been taken to the cleaners by these self serving highly paid yes men.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.php?c_id=1&objectid=10757131
Truly bizarre ‘journalism’ here, expects us to believe English is happy. He’s not. He’s lashing out behind the scenes according to my sources. Not a happy chappy at all given that we’re in financial crap and no one has any ideas how to dig us ou.
Somebody should tell him he could be the hero if he exposes John Key for what he is and the role he had in getting the global economy in the chaos it’s in today. Mr. Derivative would be a good nickname for Shonkey.
The next step would be to ditch the reserve banks and reserve act and us starting to print our own money again. Get rid of the foreign banks next and bob’s your uncle. The Icelanders did and it worked miracles for them.
It’s support is at 0.8% which equates to one seat, 5% threshold, Ergo, the only chance they have of getting a seat is to win an electorate and that’s looking less and less likely.
The Herald has an article this morning with the heading ”
King won’t back down on ‘scumbag’ insult to PM”.
Shouldn’t the question have been directed to the PM asking if he regretted performing the Kapa O Pango in Parliament and the headline reporting his response?
Labour speaker Margaret Wilson has banned Herald journalists from Parliament. “It’s a disgrace – the very worst of Hel*ngr*d”, according to all right-wing blogs and parrots. “Save free speech!”.
Of course that was then and this is now, and outrageous is the new nice. So … silence on the right.
Seriously, this is an absurd over-reaction by the Speaker, and whatever we may think of the Herald’s reporting, banning them for doing their job is totally unjustified. An election campaign without reporters? Must be John Key’s wet dream.
pity there is only the one feed from the House now as the editing in the video does not show this moment where Key is reported to have leaned over to Brownlee and made the comment about security, i smell a big fat moment of plausible deniability. I do wonder if the full feed from all cameras is recorded for Security reasons and an Official Info request could release this magic moment thus proving the reported commment to be true.
From your linked article: ..it’s been reported that Mr Key also turned to Gerry Brownlee and said: “And they wonder why I have security.” still no source for this allegation, though it’s been widely reported as fact.
Even if he did go on to say that then, (and I don’t believe he did), it doesn’t change what he had already said and done, and the ‘angry about the bodyguard issue’ explanation still doesn’t stack up for that.
Loving the ‘they’re as bad as each other’ masking technique.
The IRB is fair and an equal opportunity purveyor of high moments of sporting achievement and passion and low moments of injury and punishment and this applies to well-off players and poorer players alike. The thing is that any rule it makes is fair, so imposing large penalties off the field for mouthguard offences is ergo and ipso facto a good and right law.
The IRB is God. There is no other God. Or if a player wants to display alternative religious messages they must be too small for a television camera to pick up.
And the IRB may be right to seek exclusivity on advertising from this direction. There is money to be made from promulgating forms of religion. The IRB knows this and will no doubt seek sponsorship from God or his/her earthly agents soon. That’s an idea that could work for NZ Inc.
Religion as a ‘good” – perhaps NZ can become another holy centre for the world and have people flocking to our sacred sites and to listen to our message of purity in the environment and how to achieve it in person. ‘:???:’ Icon confused! Quite right.
Just reposting a quote from No Right Turn over the Video Surveillance Bill.
There were 438 submissions – and only 6 in favour. So, we have a government of the 1.5%, stomping on the human rights of the rest of us.
This was from the select committee. I’m angry at National for this awful law, but I’m also angry at the Labour types on this blog who didn’t pressure their leadership to listen to people. It wasn’t a compromise that you won. You rolled over. Congrats.
“It wasn’t a compromise that you won. You rolled over. Congrats.”
I simply disagree.
Note that Act and United Future both voted it through the final stages. If Labour had opposed it, National only had to change it enough for Act to agree to vote for it, which could have been less than what Labour was seeking.
In the end, if Labour hadn’t done the deal they did, we may have ended up with a worse law being passed anyway with the edition of Labour looking weak in the media. This way they come off looking powerful while also delivering a better law.
But Act wasn’t particularly interested in the bill, neither was the Maori Party, and United, well, they would have gone with National but that doesn’t make up the numbers. There was a chance to have this law not make it through before the end of the term, I think that chance should have been taken.
Alex I made a submission. I thought the bill was an abomination. The Labour negotiated change was a lot better. There is one dead rat in it, people who had evidence of covert surveillance at their trial cannot appeal the decision relying on the fact that Hamed showed that the power to video was wrong.
This is wrong in principle but way, way better than what was proposed. Few if any may be affected by it.
You can accuse Labour of selling out or of intervening and making the bill considerably better. Such is the life of an opposition party.
Not quite correct, in fact I’d say deliberately wrong.
There were 438 submissions and only 6 in favour of the bill put up by the government.
I don’t suppose you have ever figured out what the purpose of the select committee is? It is to modify legislation. The purpose of almost all submissions is usually to suggest ways in which that should be achieved. So substantive submissions (rather than the rather meaningless postcard ones) usually don’t oppose the bills, the say where it is flawed and what should be done to fix it.
If you wanted a accurate statement for what you want to imply, then you perhaps you should count only the submissions that say that the police should never be able to use video surveillance?
BORED.
there are two things ‘we’ can do to address the balance of fairness in the media.
1. everybody on here start a blog and write what they FEEL. Mention names and make persons responssible. this blog is like two featherweights sparring. They dont hurt each other and nobody watches except the specialists. the average kiwi has no idea what goes on here. A personal blog may not seem like it is making much headway but the search engines and the rss make sure the audience is amplified and talked about especially when the writer is not constrained by the operations of parliamentary process politics.
2. the Labour party needs to spend some money and buy micropulse radio stations and programme them with handmade music. i.e. folk music, blues, pacific islands choral groups etc.
anything that is not rapcrap, or teenage whining gamines.
This blog is by extension an arm of the parliamentary party but things must change or Labour will always be behind the eight ball trying to joust with the tories and their hammerlock on the msm.
[lprent: You were doing so well until this – “This blog is by extension an arm of the parliamentary party…”. You have to know I will react to it.
And no it isn’t. I’m sure that some of the authors apart from Ben have contact with Labour and Green MP’s and various candidates of the left and receive frequent suggestions like I do. After all we’re interested in politics and especially that of the broad left. But like me they will tend to take about as much notice of those as we do of the local concern trolls – not much.
Both make you feel like Pete George’s suggestions. You know that there is a concern for what they can push you to do for them rather than what they can do for for the author, the site, or in most cases people outside their narrow definitions of being important (like most of the public).
Even the known authors generally don’t hear much from MP’s or candidates apart from being on their general mailing lists. I suspect most of the feedback goes the other way with them reading us based on the reactions I sometimes hear (usually after Irish writes…). ]
“This blog is by extension an arm of the parliamentary party but things must change or Labour will always be behind the eight ball trying to joust with the tories and their hammerlock on the msm.”
Alert alert alert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 9.1.1
“RICK: That’s all very well! But finally, after years of stagnation, the TV people have woken up to the need for locally-based minority programs! Made by amateurs! And perhaps of interest only to two or three people! It’s important, right? It’s now!”
If this blog is an extension of Labour, please explain why you wimps sold out on the Video Surveillance Bill.
[lprent: We are not and did not.
There is quite a range of views between authors on that subject. I’m almost certainly one of the harshest critics of the police actions in operation 8 and other attacks on activists – especially because of their deliberate collection of evidence in an unlawful manner. The resulting bill was broadly acceptable to me as a stopgap until the S&S bill gets debated fully.
So I’d say that in my opinion and bearing in mind you haven’t actually stated an argument, that you’re displaying the outrage of an a person being a bit of an idiot who probably hasn’t thought through either issue. ]
A fair response, I had assumed NRT was talking about the submissions against the compromise as he was indicting politicians in general, as opposed to National. Apologies for my error.
But I am outraged that the police (and others) can now spy on people with such ease. Yes, I understand that criminals might get off now, but if thats the trade off for defending civil liberties, so be it. And I think Labour would have been better off trying to kick up a fuss and be the opposition, rather than try and accommodate National. There’s a reason people think they are very similar. Labour should be risking being painted as soft on crime by the right, in order to potentially gain the support of the left back. The ‘tough on crime’ types will never vote Labour anyway, no point in trying to get them onside.
Randal says “the Labour party needs to spend some money”, which raises several points:
1) Labour have very little of their own to spend
2) Labours has lost of practioce spending others
Two points. The second of which is foolish, because spending others’ money is cheaper than the National practise of borrowing huge amounts of money and sending the bill to others.
MC does it need to be explained to you that every dollar of Government spending which is not collected in TAXES needs to be BORROWED* from China, Abu Dhabi, Japan, etc and the paid back with INTEREST?
If not just get Bill English to explain it to you, he’s the expert aat Government borrowing.
*Actually we could just print the money we needed ourselves, and not borrow it from foreign bankers.
We can’t and NAct have no intention of making it so that we can. Doing so costs money and that means that they would have to put taxes up and they won’t do that – unless it’s taxes on the less well off like GST.
exactly dave – I agree with your comment and post.
“This is a test case for the response teams and if this turns into more of an environmental danger it will be clear that we have little defence against these events – and they want more drilling for oil and more potential disasters. Sadly we will have to get expert at cleaning up oil spills and we will have to learn how to decontaminate birds and dispose of dead fish and animals, and we will have to learn how to clean oil out of sand and wetlands and of course, the open water. Yes, unless we stop their exploitation we will have to learn many new skills.”
yes, better to stop it before it begins – the new skills we really need to learn are community orientated and the opposite to the current “absurdity of expecting to get away with infinite economic growth on a finite planet,” as the Archdruid has outlined in his most recent post
Can someone tell me again why NZ rugby signed Carter and McCaw for another 4 seasons for probably an obscene amount of coin, when it looks likely that they won’t play any part in winning the wool cup, if indeed NZ win it at all ?
Jerome Kaino is the one player we can’t do without, Ma’a Nonu second and they’ll be fired up no end given the shoddy treatment Samoa got with their draw and refs.
Note that most of the ads that have Carter in them, he isn’t representing the All Blacks, he’s representing himself and therefore gets all the money. Same with Sonny Bill when he did the Rebel Sport ads.
The All Blacks actually have a rule that in any media advertising that contains the All Black brand there must be at least 3 team members involved, as this (apparently) shows that they are a team.
Yeah I am aware of that, but I would be very surprised if they did not get a cut of any personal sponsorships – to be fair I am basing this on the fact that they can stop any player promoting anything that they don’t like or conflicts with one of their current sponsors.
Either way they will bring more money in, because you can guarantee that when Rexona wants Dan Carter to feature in their ads along with Mils etc they have to pay more than they would if they were getting someone like Anthony Boric.
Also finally having players of that stature involved lift the All Blacks brand as a whole increasing the value – without McCaw Carter and Sonny-Bill there would be a lot of sponsors looking elsewhere to spend their money.
Never mind that McCaw can barely make it through this campaign without breaking down and we’re saddled with him for the next four years regardless, in one of the most competitive and demanding positions on the field.
I guess rugby isn’t the winner on the day then, but you’d only have to look at Samoa getting fucked over by that racist welsh cunt siding with them cheating jappie muthafuckas to know that.
If NZ do win the wool cup i’d love to se the Samoan allblacks do the Siva Tau in honour of their motherland.
and lastly fuck the greedy IRB, SANZAR and the NZRU.
The dompost had a tom scott cartoon this morning implying that 3D (dipton double dipper) had inherited the deposit guarantee scheme from Labour but I distinctly heard him [English} say that they [national] had done it themselves on 9-noon on Monday. so the fiasco was all his own work. The msm wont take him on because it meant that he paid off his own [and theirs] mates.
I didn’t think there was any doubt that Labour started the deposit guarantee scheme. National were the ones that resigned SCF though. Arguably that just stopped them going under earlier, but not sure delaying it really accomplished anything.
SCF could have been re-signed on, but any bond holders and depositers should have taken 50% hair cuts on amounts over $250K as a condition of resigning.
That would have stopped the awful self serving speculative activity which occurred.
Yeah that would have probably been the best way but I’m still convinced that basically taking half of the major investors funds would have left the company as a viable going concern.
Pete, there is very deep unease among Green members about a deal with National. Metiria Turei spelt it out when they first made the announcement that they were considering a deal, but it got ignored. There is a very long list of Green demands that would have to be met before any deal, and frankly, many members would leave, possibly destroying the Green party in the process. And at the end of the day, the members have the final say anyway.
I understand that alex – the point I’m making is that if they stand for parliament shouldn’t they accept any democratic process? Saying you will resign (almost straight away) if your party does something you disagree with would seem to make a mockery of the election.
The Green Party is really going to have to work out their approach properly before the election if the alternative is to risk resignations within a month.
This is fascinating; the press crying out about the speaker, Lockwood Smith, banning the herald journalists from Parliament for 10 days because Audrey took a photo of that man trying to throw himself off the balcony into the parliamentary bear pit.
Hilarious the press complaining about freedom of the press when a) they don’t report objectively so take away my freedom to have a fair and objective reporting of what happens in New Zealand and
b) the journalists in the main are owned and controlled by Key and co or the newspaper owners.
Move along ladies and gentleman – nothing in the way of free press in New Zealand – move along; nothing to see here.
Lockwood trying to shut down a bad look for Key and Bennett – Parliament taking away the freedom of New Zealanders to have an objective look at our parliamentary actions and consequences of those actions by Key and Bennett. That is shameful.
The other day I was thinking about the faster than speed of light neutrinos problem
and wonder whether the source and detector were at the same height, then realized
the mountainous location may have altered gravity, but that would not make much
sense since they fire particles through there all the time. But it may turn out that
because the neutrinos are traveling so fast that General Reality plus the location
may have effects… …nice. Unintended consequences thing again, put note in
diary, ever asked to build particle accelerator build near large mountains.
Lprent. Ididnt know how you would react but I do now.
[lprent: I always do to any suggestion that any political party runs this site, and especially a parliamentary wing (technophobia seems to be a primary characteristic of the genre in my unhumble opinion). It is as irritating as hell and leads to to the most boring and futile speculative discussions imaginable to the people who run the site. I always put on the old spiked boots and rake offenders until they understand exactly how irritated I get. This discourages reoffending. ]
Where the hell are these Maritime New Zealand ‘oil spill response experts’ Minister of Transport – Steven Joyce?
“Maritime New Zealand
Organisation governance and structure
Maritime New Zealand is a Crown entity established in 1993 under the name Maritime Safety Authority. It was renamed Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) in July 2005.
Maritime New Zealand is governed by an independent Board appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport.
The five-member Authority directs the overall Maritime New Zealand strategy, and appoints the Director of Maritime New Zealand.
The Director manages the organisation and has independent statutory powers under the Maritime Transport Act 1994.
Maritime New Zealand Statement of Intent: 2011–2014
“3. Marine pollution response
Almost 10 million tonnes of oil is transported around New Zealand’s pristine coastline by oil tankers
every year. Maritime New Zealand operates the Marine Pollution Response Service, whose oil spill
response experts are able to respond to significant oil spills in New Zealand, and overseas if required.
These specialists maintain the National Oil Spill Response Plan and manage the national stockpile of
oil spill response equipment. They also conduct oil spill exercises and training for regional responders.”
Really?
Penny Bright
Independent ‘Public Watchdog’
Candidate for Epsom
Authorities have dismally failed to react properly to the grounding of the 236-metre cargo vessel MV Rena, which struck Astrolabe Reef north of Motiti Island in the Bay of Plenty on Wednesday at approx 2.20 AM…
Concern about Corexit 9500 being used in the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill – it’s the same ‘dispersant’ being used NOW in NZ – and it has been banned since 1998 by the UK!
Louisiana oil spill: toxic chemical fear over BP’s clean-up efforts
Officials, scientists and fishermen warn of threat to sealife in the Gulf of Mexico
Peter Beaumont
The Observer, Sunday 16 May 2010
Scientists have raised urgent new concerns over the latest efforts to mitigate the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the oil rig explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon. Latest efforts to limit the environmental damage involve an untried deep-water technique, using a toxic dispersant that they believe may damage ocean life. But the new method has so far only succeeded in ratcheting up the growing controversy surrounding the spill.
…………………
Approval by the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for the pumping of tens of thousands of litres of the chemical Corexit 9500 deep on to the seabed early yesterday comes despite warnings from Louisiana state health officials, scientists and fishermen that the technique is untested and potentially hazardous to marine life and the wider ecosystem. Louisiana officials claim BP and the EPA ignored their concerns about how the chemicals may harm the sea floor.”
BoP faces ecological disaster
Stricken container ship still leaking oil
Despite initial indications that dispersant was effective , further analysis last night confirmed the Corexit 9500 was not dispersing the oil, Mr Service said. ”
http://www.maritimenz.govt.nz/Publications-and-forms/Environmental-protection/OPPRC-Review-February-2011.pdf
10.6 Dispersants and Dispersant Application Systems
MNZ holds a range of dispersants suitable for application to differing oil types, including heavy fuel oil. Arguably, the most effective dispersant for use on heavier oils, including crude oil, is Corexit 9500. New Zealand‘s entire 30,000 litres stock of Corexit 9500 is held at NOSSC Te Atatu. ”
COREXIT 9500 HAS BEEN BANNED IN THE UK SINCE 1998 – BECAUSE IT DID NOT PASS THE ‘ROCKY SHORE TEST’
All products approved after 1 April 1996 have been required to pass both the Sea/Beach and Rocky Shore Toxicity Tests. Any products coming up for renewal that have only passed the Sea/Beach toxicity test in the past are required, before they can be renewed, to pass the Rocky Shore Test also. The following products have been removed from the list of approved products because they did not pass the Rocky Shore Test when submitted for renewal:
•
Chemkleen OSDA JAC (removed from list 21/01/1998)
•
Corexit 9527 (removed from list 30/07/1998)
•
Corexit 9500 (removed from list 30/07/1998).
Existing stocks of these products may still be used away from rocky shorelines in appropriate conditions. Approval should be sought from the relevant licensing authority before any proposed use.”
The stranding of the Containership Rena on Wednesday morning, occurred in clear fine weather which has persisted for 3 days now. This clear weather is due to deteriorate starting tomorrow with a change in wind direction around midday.
It is expected that by the middle of the week it will be too late, high winds will prevent any attempt to unload the fuel oil from the Rena and the likely hood is high that before the next calm period the ship will be broken on the reef.
It appears that the resources that could have taken advantage of the good weather to pump ALL the oil from this ship are near at hand have been sitting idle and unused.
Collapsible rapid response emergency oil barges made to deal with just this sort of emergency are right here in New Zealand. With even more available in Australia. These collapsable oil barges are specifically designed and made to be deployed instantly in just such an emergency.
Sail-World magazine report, that Lancer Industries here in New Zealand manufacture inflatable barges designed specifically to allow oil to be offloaded from ships which have run aground to prevent significant spillage and environmental damage. The barges from Lancer are owned by many maritime authorities around the world including the US Coast Guard.
Able to hold 100 tonnes of oil at a time, they can be delivered in folded up form not much bigger than an office desk. Once filled they can then be towed ashore and after being emptied can be reused.
“Lancer barges are designed to be taken alongside a vessel and have the oil pumped into them directly, before being towed ashore to a shore installation”
‘These barges can also be used in a cleanup operation to skim oil that has already leaked, reducing the need to use dispersant’.
Three days down the track these emergency barges have not been deployed.
Why?
Martime New Zealand own two of these barges.
Sail-World believes that the Martime NZ Lancer barges are located in Te Atatu only a few hours trip by road to Tauranga.
Have these barges been delivered to the scene of the disaster?
If not, why not?
Sail-World also reports that all major governments of the world have agreements in place to fly in such equipment, in the case of an oil spill or pending disaster to offload fuel oil and reduce the extent of any damage.
These additional barges could easily be flown in from Australia if required.
Has our government made this call?
If not, why not?
As well as the two Maritime NZ owned emergency barges, Lancer Industries ltd who are based in the Auckland suburb of Henderson have just made some more of these barges for the US Coastguard with significantly more capacity than the two owned by Maritime NZ.
Why have these barges not been requisitioned as an emergency measure?
These specially designed barges, built for just this sort of scenario, are all owned by private concerns and different authorities.
Why is there no single government authority which in an emergency could commandeer these resources?
Why aren’t these purpose built emergency oil barges already on the scene and being deployed to unload the oil before the weather deteriorates?
Emergency barges are good. But they are useless without tugboats.
Only today, this afternoon in fact, have two large tugs departed from Auckland for Tauranga to deal with the disaster.
Why the delay?
Why were they not dispatched immediately?
Were the commercial operations of the Ports of Auckland given priority over this unfolding disaster?
Who made this decision?
If the weather window closes and the ship is broken on the reef to discharge it’s full load of oil into the ocean. Will anyone be held accountable?
More proof that cutting government is bad for society – and the RWNJs want to cut even more.
Our inability to respond shows just what happens when you plan for when things go wrong. We’ve seen it in Chch, Pike River and now on a reef off of Tauranga.
If i was any sort of conspiracy theorist i’d see a manufactured media shitstorm about an impending eco crisis, replete with dire warnings for wildlife, just by delaying gov’t response to take the heat off the drunken monkey’s throat slitting antics in parliament this week…
…then get that chump Joyce to deny responsibilty for taking charge by saying the gov’t are in no position to take the lead on this issue
…and corexit doesn’t disperse the oil, it sinks it and lets natural tidal/current forces break it up. Out of sight out of mind is what the oil companies want us to see.
‘drunken monkey’s throat slitting antics in parliament this week…
…then get that chump Joyce’
LOL
It’s a bit spooky because I have been increasingly seeing this Key and Joyce twosome going through each other’s fur looking for little crawly things to eat.
I had this same issue with Maurice Williamson and Gerry Brownlee grinning like Cheshire cats, dressed up as Tweedledum and Tweedledee before the last election.
The creepy crawlies of the rightwing are starting to get to me.
I remember seeing this picture of Maurice Williamson grinning from ear to ear thinking he had forced New Zealanders into ID cards with microchipping on the back until Labour forced them to rethink that. People were still angry though that National had forced them to get new drivers’ licences before their 25 year cards had expired. Labour knocked down Williamson’s cost of the licences too.
NAct haven’t changed their spots except to become more rightwing and out to make more money from people while having the nerve to say they weren’t increasing taxes.
At present, increasing cops to give out road fines is their sneaky tax. Then the GST, etc. etc.
Questions1. How did Old Mate Grabaseat describe his soon-to-be-Deputy-PM’s letter to police advocating for Philip Polkinghorne?a.Ill-advisedb.A perfect letterc.A letter that will live in infamyd.He had me at hello2. What did Seymour say in response?a.What’s ill-advised is commenting when you don’t know all the facts and ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff has called on OJI Fibre Solutions to work with the government, unions, and the community before closing the Kinleith Paper Mill. “OJI has today announced 230 job losses in what will be a devastating blow for the community. OJI needs to work with ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is sounding the alarm about the latest attack on workers from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden, who is ignoring her own officials to pursue reckless changes that would completely undermine the personal grievance system. “Brooke van Velden’s changes will ...
Hi,When I started writing Webworm in 2020, I wrote a lot about the conspiracy theories that were suddenly invading our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds. Four years ago a reader, John, left this feedback under one of my essays:It’s a never ending labyrinth of lunacy which, as you have pointed ...
And if you said this life ain't good enoughI would give my world to lift you upI could change my life to better suit your moodBecause you're so smoothAnd it's just like the ocean under the moonOh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from youYou got the ...
Aotearoa remains the minority’s birthright, New Zealand the majority’s possession. WAITANGI DAY commentary see-saws manically between the warmly positive and the coldly negative. Many New Zealanders consider this a good thing. They point to the unexamined patriotism of July Fourth and Bastille Day celebrations, and applaud the fact that the ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announcedKāinga Ora would be stripped of ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
Everything you missed from day five of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard eight hours of submissions.Read our recaps of the previous hearings here.It was another work from home day for the Justice Committee, the only people in Room 3 being security guards, committee ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor & Principal Fellow in Urban Risk & Resilience, The University of Melbourne Juris Teivans/Shutterstock In Australia, fatal road crashes are climbing again, especially since the pandemic, and despite years of attempts to reduce road trauma, the numbers ...
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The Guardian’s live feed on the Occupy Wall Street protests.
One interesting post noted that JP Morgan Chase has just donated US$4.6 million to the NYPD: “The gift was the largest in the history of the foundation and will enable the New York City Police Department to strengthen security in the Big Apple. The money will pay for 1,000 new patrol car laptops, as well as security monitoring software in the NYPD’s main data center.”
Ther are some excellent articles on http://www.energybulletin.net.
Of interest is the media coverage: apparently the MSM were not courted or invited by the protest. One specific reason is that they are in the pay of the people being protested against.
Of more interest is the role of sites such as this one, the blogs and the sites set up specifically to overcome the MSM grip upon our minds. The OWSer sites are multiplying and linking with other sites, for the users this means the MSM can be cut out to get the word out. The real issue now is not that we dont have an alternative to the MSM, it is getting the critical mass to bypass them.
In NZ if we wait for fair treatment from the MSM for our views, or for them to expose Jokey and his blackshirt privatisers for what they are we will be waiting a long time. How do we get critical mass?
How do we get critical mass, convince all you know to get onto Twitter. It seems to me, having been observing #occupywallstreet on it since the day before the action started, that when used as a tool to circumvent the MSM it is unsurpassed. It is a way to aggregate all of what you currently read and spread it exponentially.
Although, the NYPD is not the only recent JP Morgan benefactor, they also just bought 400mill in Twitter shares .
Need to use those networks to build real physical relationships and contacts. We have already seen the authorities shut down websites and even cell phone transmission when it suited them to disrupt protests being planned.
Worth remembering that in many ‘dictatorships’ activists refuse to use things like FB and twitter because the authorities can infiltrate and use the information gained against the movement.
American intelligence agencies have broad and direct connection to everything which passes through GMail and Facebook for instance, access provided by those companies themselves, according to Julian Assange.
I heard on the radio that there is an application called ‘disconnect’ that is a free download which prevents the likes of Facebook snooping on your browsing.
Go to Avaaz and sign the petition of support for #occupywallstreet which will be displayed as a massive counter in Zuccotti park.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/the_world_vs_wall_st/?sbc
CV, surely the best way to prevent / push against the fascism you’re talking about is to continue to talk and agitate openly, in spite who might be watching. The moment you self edit, they’ve won. The moment you build a critical mass you win.
I agree the connections need to be real and physical as well, but to reach critical mass we need to be able to connect with those we’re unlikely to meet in our normal lives but share convictions and ideals with also.
I agree, and my point was not to self-edit as such, but to be aware of the security monitoring implications and also prepare for the day that TPTB flick the kill switch on those advanced systems that they own and control.
Pen, paper and message runners may seem archaic but they also have strengths and uses as a communications medium in a hostile environment.
And so we need to act now in order to prevent that moment.
I’m about to read a novel, which I believe was popular last year, slow adopter. Hans Fillada, Alone in Berlin, about exactly that, a man who used postcards deposited around Berlin as a way of protesting, disseminating info during Nazi reign, timely!
AAMC and CV
The moment you self edit, they’ve won.
I often think this, especially when I hear people anxiously talking on comment threads here about what the right think, or would think, or might say, if they hear us say this or that, how they could use it against us etc. I wonder why they give such a big flying fuck about what the right think of us. I’m damn sure the right doesn’t knead its hands worrying about what we think of them. I think this kind of attitude is a big problem for the left.
(However, self-editing abusive, non-inclusive (sexism, racism etc.), hyperbolic, polarised, overly personalised or competitive, egotistical, ungenerous and downright nasty communication is usually a good idea, in any community, imho).
“..but to reach critical mass we need to be able to connect with those we’re unlikely to meet in our normal lives but share convictions and ideals with also.
And filter information through our multiple real world networks. Like most of us here I’m sure, I spread the word about things like the “occupation” movement informally to left-leaning friends and acquaintances, especially those who rely on the mainstream media. The worst part of that is convincing people that things really are happening. When CERA was passed I had endless arguments, and needed to provide copious evidence of the what it meant because most people refused to believe that such a thing could happen without any coverage, and that trained, highly-paid journalists wouldn’t think it worth mentioning. For the most part, people are highly suspicious of information, even from “reliable” sources, that isn’t mainstream-reported, especially if it runs counter to what is.
But e-links are fantastic and so effortless to share. I really appreciate many of the links provided by posters here. A vital part of my learning
which is what is so clever and successful about the OWS movement, they’ve all got camera’s, every bit of it is documented. It’s just then up to us to disseminate it so as to over ride the MSM.
A picture tells a thousand words they say, like video footage of cops waving protesters onto Brooklyn Bridge when the MSM narrative was that they were only arrested because they deviated from the footpath.
Thanks AAMC, signed.
Sorry, I’m spamming now, but here’s Naomi Klein’s speech at #occupywallstreet, pertinent to all of us!
http://www.thenation.com/article/163844/occupy-wall-street-most-important-thing-world-now
Occupywallstreet press
http://paper.li/occupymanhattan/1317517749
Occupythehood
I’m all for living out in the open too. I’ve found a lot of activist groups so insular and paranoid that it’s hard for anyone new to get involved. The Rob Gilchrist saga certainly didn’t help.
Doing that now.. 🙂
You can bypass the MSM in NZ for a mere $500K to $1M initial investment. You can set up an alternative internet TV news channel with a basic studio, hire a couple of journalists and an anchor, and link it into a satellite broadcast feed as well.
Sign up a deal with Al Jazeera and RT for the international news content part of it and off you go. Broadcast 6 hours from 5pm to 11pm every night.
Here is the OSW newspaper, over 70,000 in print and now collector’s items for sure. You can get your digital copy by clicking a couple of buttons. Citizen media is not a crime. It is our future.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/67436424/Occupied-Wsj
Podcast from Laurie Penny about watching as the crowed chanted the 1st Amendment as they were prevented from entering Wall St to protest yeaterday.
http://www.theworld.org/2011/10/whats-american-about-the-occupywallstreet-protests/
Makes a mockery of the claim from many lefties/tax-lovers that the rich don’t/wont donate to public service, eh?
Good talk about Marxian economics and the state of the US from Richard Wolff. Richard has also been supporting the Occupy Wall St protest.
http://podcast.lannan.org/2011/09/21/richard-wolff-with-anthony-arnove-conversation-13-september-2011-video/
Like to see a lot more published about the corrupt decisions behind supershity IT systems…..picking either ARC or AKL city’s SAP and upsizing it would’ve been fine.
Wodney, Ford and his water care IT man Foley, now supershity CIO behind the NACTs rushed and botched grab for assets should be interrogated.
Also there’s some big stuff still underway yet to be costed like another new inventory system……when you already have SAP…WTF !
akl needs to be shown as mike lee states that it’s been taken to the cleaners by these self serving highly paid yes men.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.php?c_id=1&objectid=10757131
Truly bizarre ‘journalism’ here, expects us to believe English is happy. He’s not. He’s lashing out behind the scenes according to my sources. Not a happy chappy at all given that we’re in financial crap and no one has any ideas how to dig us ou.
Somebody should tell him he could be the hero if he exposes John Key for what he is and the role he had in getting the global economy in the chaos it’s in today. Mr. Derivative would be a good nickname for Shonkey.
The next step would be to ditch the reserve banks and reserve act and us starting to print our own money again. Get rid of the foreign banks next and bob’s your uncle. The Icelanders did and it worked miracles for them.
Watch for post-election tax rises if the nats return.
English has as good as admitted as much. Money is needed to refill the EQC coffers. But the Nats want to put off the announcement.
Announcing is to National like listening is to Labour, and like continuity is to Act
… and like getting votes is to United Future.
You’re confused about known current with unknown future.
You are confused about United Future’s relevance.
It looks likely UnitedFuture will maintain or increase it’s number of seats.
It looks likely Labour will get less seats.
It looks likely UnitedFuture will be a part of the next Government.
It looks unlikely Labour will be a part of the next Government.
Your point?
It looks likely UnitedFuture will maintain or increase it’s number of seats
Yeah right.
It looks likely UnitedFuture will be a part of the next Government
You should not equate being a poodle with being relevant.
You accusing others of being poodles is kinda funny.
Micky went to the telegraph office, wrote “Woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof” on a form and handed it over at the counter.
The cleark said “You could add one more woof to that for no extra charge”.
Micky replied “But that would make no sense at all”.
Pete you just lost the only possible vote for UF amongst the ranks of readers of the Standard. Well done, keep it up.
Their is a Kronic shortage of political satire in this country aye PG
It’s support is at 0.8% which equates to one seat, 5% threshold, Ergo, the only chance they have of getting a seat is to win an electorate and that’s looking less and less likely.
Does Pete do stand up too?
Right.. hadn’t noticed. English and Key should be hammered over that possibility during the election campaign then.
Link doesn’t work for me.
Use this one: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10757131
The Herald has an article this morning with the heading ”
King won’t back down on ‘scumbag’ insult to PM”.
Shouldn’t the question have been directed to the PM asking if he regretted performing the Kapa O Pango in Parliament and the headline reporting his response?
Cheer up, Micky. There was some good news in the Herald this morning:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10757133
Alternative universe:
Labour speaker Margaret Wilson has banned Herald journalists from Parliament. “It’s a disgrace – the very worst of Hel*ngr*d”, according to all right-wing blogs and parrots. “Save free speech!”.
Of course that was then and this is now, and outrageous is the new nice. So … silence on the right.
Seriously, this is an absurd over-reaction by the Speaker, and whatever we may think of the Herald’s reporting, banning them for doing their job is totally unjustified. An election campaign without reporters? Must be John Key’s wet dream.
Yes, Lockwood has gotten a bit carried away on his little power trip.
But banning Key and National’s biggest cheerleaders from Parliament for 10 days during an election campaign so counterproductive that it’s funny.
Perhaps the Herald can wheel out their ‘democracy under attack’ slogans again.
pity there is only the one feed from the House now as the editing in the video does not show this moment where Key is reported to have leaned over to Brownlee and made the comment about security, i smell a big fat moment of plausible deniability. I do wonder if the full feed from all cameras is recorded for Security reasons and an Official Info request could release this magic moment thus proving the reported commment to be true.
From your linked article:
..it’s been reported that Mr Key also turned to Gerry Brownlee and said: “And they wonder why I have security.” still no source for this allegation, though it’s been widely reported as fact.
Even if he did go on to say that then, (and I don’t believe he did), it doesn’t change what he had already said and done, and the ‘angry about the bodyguard issue’ explanation still doesn’t stack up for that.
Loving the ‘they’re as bad as each other’ masking technique.
Love to see NZ wages drop?
Here’s your blighted future …
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/employment/news/article.cfm?c_id=11&objectid=10757038
The IRB is fair and an equal opportunity purveyor of high moments of sporting achievement and passion and low moments of injury and punishment and this applies to well-off players and poorer players alike. The thing is that any rule it makes is fair, so imposing large penalties off the field for mouthguard offences is ergo and ipso facto a good and right law.
The IRB is God. There is no other God. Or if a player wants to display alternative religious messages they must be too small for a television camera to pick up.
And the IRB may be right to seek exclusivity on advertising from this direction. There is money to be made from promulgating forms of religion. The IRB knows this and will no doubt seek sponsorship from God or his/her earthly agents soon. That’s an idea that could work for NZ Inc.
Religion as a ‘good” – perhaps NZ can become another holy centre for the world and have people flocking to our sacred sites and to listen to our message of purity in the environment and how to achieve it in person. ‘:???:’ Icon confused! Quite right.
Just reposting a quote from No Right Turn over the Video Surveillance Bill.
There were 438 submissions – and only 6 in favour. So, we have a government of the 1.5%, stomping on the human rights of the rest of us.
This was from the select committee. I’m angry at National for this awful law, but I’m also angry at the Labour types on this blog who didn’t pressure their leadership to listen to people. It wasn’t a compromise that you won. You rolled over. Congrats.
“It wasn’t a compromise that you won. You rolled over. Congrats.”
I simply disagree.
Note that Act and United Future both voted it through the final stages. If Labour had opposed it, National only had to change it enough for Act to agree to vote for it, which could have been less than what Labour was seeking.
In the end, if Labour hadn’t done the deal they did, we may have ended up with a worse law being passed anyway with the edition of Labour looking weak in the media. This way they come off looking powerful while also delivering a better law.
Politics – the art of the possible.
But Act wasn’t particularly interested in the bill, neither was the Maori Party, and United, well, they would have gone with National but that doesn’t make up the numbers. There was a chance to have this law not make it through before the end of the term, I think that chance should have been taken.
A betting man.
And the consequences of losing the bet and the NATs passing the original, unwatered down bill through? Think of that?
Then National look like ogres, and you can repeal it when they get voted out.
Alex I made a submission. I thought the bill was an abomination. The Labour negotiated change was a lot better. There is one dead rat in it, people who had evidence of covert surveillance at their trial cannot appeal the decision relying on the fact that Hamed showed that the power to video was wrong.
This is wrong in principle but way, way better than what was proposed. Few if any may be affected by it.
You can accuse Labour of selling out or of intervening and making the bill considerably better. Such is the life of an opposition party.
Yeah I made a submission too, can’t get up in arms about something if you aren’t prepared to do anything.
Not quite correct, in fact I’d say deliberately wrong.
There were 438 submissions and only 6 in favour of the bill put up by the government.
I don’t suppose you have ever figured out what the purpose of the select committee is? It is to modify legislation. The purpose of almost all submissions is usually to suggest ways in which that should be achieved. So substantive submissions (rather than the rather meaningless postcard ones) usually don’t oppose the bills, the say where it is flawed and what should be done to fix it.
If you wanted a accurate statement for what you want to imply, then you perhaps you should count only the submissions that say that the police should never be able to use video surveillance?
BORED.
there are two things ‘we’ can do to address the balance of fairness in the media.
1. everybody on here start a blog and write what they FEEL. Mention names and make persons responssible. this blog is like two featherweights sparring. They dont hurt each other and nobody watches except the specialists. the average kiwi has no idea what goes on here. A personal blog may not seem like it is making much headway but the search engines and the rss make sure the audience is amplified and talked about especially when the writer is not constrained by the operations of parliamentary process politics.
2. the Labour party needs to spend some money and buy micropulse radio stations and programme them with handmade music. i.e. folk music, blues, pacific islands choral groups etc.
anything that is not rapcrap, or teenage whining gamines.
This blog is by extension an arm of the parliamentary party but things must change or Labour will always be behind the eight ball trying to joust with the tories and their hammerlock on the msm.
[lprent: You were doing so well until this – “This blog is by extension an arm of the parliamentary party…”. You have to know I will react to it.
And no it isn’t. I’m sure that some of the authors apart from Ben have contact with Labour and Green MP’s and various candidates of the left and receive frequent suggestions like I do. After all we’re interested in politics and especially that of the broad left. But like me they will tend to take about as much notice of those as we do of the local concern trolls – not much.
Both make you feel like Pete George’s suggestions. You know that there is a concern for what they can push you to do for them rather than what they can do for for the author, the site, or in most cases people outside their narrow definitions of being important (like most of the public).
Even the known authors generally don’t hear much from MP’s or candidates apart from being on their general mailing lists. I suspect most of the feedback goes the other way with them reading us based on the reactions I sometimes hear (usually after Irish writes…). ]
“This blog is by extension an arm of the parliamentary party but things must change or Labour will always be behind the eight ball trying to joust with the tories and their hammerlock on the msm.”
Alert alert alert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“RICK: That’s all very well! But finally, after years of stagnation, the TV people have woken up to the need for locally-based minority programs! Made by amateurs! And perhaps of interest only to two or three people! It’s important, right? It’s now!”
Please leave The Young Ones and Monty Python alone. They’re not there for Tories to play with.
That’s the left for you. Always appropriating ownership of stuff that isn’t theirs.
Like farmers sucking the ground water dry?
You need to have a chat with Rik Mayall and Alexei Sayle sometime. No appropriation required.
That would undermine democracy lowering the standard again for personal gain
If this blog is an extension of Labour, please explain why you wimps sold out on the Video Surveillance Bill.
[lprent: We are not and did not.
There is quite a range of views between authors on that subject. I’m almost certainly one of the harshest critics of the police actions in operation 8 and other attacks on activists – especially because of their deliberate collection of evidence in an unlawful manner. The resulting bill was broadly acceptable to me as a stopgap until the S&S bill gets debated fully.
So I’d say that in my opinion and bearing in mind you haven’t actually stated an argument, that you’re displaying the outrage of an a person being a bit of an idiot who probably hasn’t thought through either issue. ]
A fair response, I had assumed NRT was talking about the submissions against the compromise as he was indicting politicians in general, as opposed to National. Apologies for my error.
But I am outraged that the police (and others) can now spy on people with such ease. Yes, I understand that criminals might get off now, but if thats the trade off for defending civil liberties, so be it. And I think Labour would have been better off trying to kick up a fuss and be the opposition, rather than try and accommodate National. There’s a reason people think they are very similar. Labour should be risking being painted as soft on crime by the right, in order to potentially gain the support of the left back. The ‘tough on crime’ types will never vote Labour anyway, no point in trying to get them onside.
Randal says “the Labour party needs to spend some money”, which raises several points:
1) Labour have very little of their own to spend
2) Labours has lost of practioce spending others
Two points. The second of which is foolish, because spending others’ money is cheaper than the National practise of borrowing huge amounts of money and sending the bill to others.
nice one
MC does it need to be explained to you that every dollar of Government spending which is not collected in TAXES needs to be BORROWED* from China, Abu Dhabi, Japan, etc and the paid back with INTEREST?
If not just get Bill English to explain it to you, he’s the expert aat Government borrowing.
*Actually we could just print the money we needed ourselves, and not borrow it from foreign bankers.
It would still need to be collected as taxes but at least we’d not have the rort of interest to pay on it.
Taxes are OK, as long as they go back into infrastructure and services provided for the benefit of the people.
What is critical mass??? This has been mentioned on several boards.
It’s now in 756 cities, so I suggest you continue watching, and we’ll see if critical mass is reached….
http://www.occupytogether.org/
Think “tipping point”, but with uranium. Then apply it an analogy for movements for social change.
If one person in a rugby team is upset with the coach that’s a whinger. If four (senior) people in the team are upset, that’s critical mass.
If we can’t handle an oil leak from a wrecked ship, how will we manage the environmental impacts of the rampant oil exploration that National is planning…?
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.com/2011/10/sinking-ship-reveals-flaw-in-energy.html
We can’t and NAct have no intention of making it so that we can. Doing so costs money and that means that they would have to put taxes up and they won’t do that – unless it’s taxes on the less well off like GST.
exactly dave – I agree with your comment and post.
“This is a test case for the response teams and if this turns into more of an environmental danger it will be clear that we have little defence against these events – and they want more drilling for oil and more potential disasters. Sadly we will have to get expert at cleaning up oil spills and we will have to learn how to decontaminate birds and dispose of dead fish and animals, and we will have to learn how to clean oil out of sand and wetlands and of course, the open water. Yes, unless we stop their exploitation we will have to learn many new skills.”
http://mars2earth.blogspot.com/2011/10/oil-off-tauranga.html
All of which the NActs won’t budget for showing their complete misunderstanding of the economy.
yes, better to stop it before it begins – the new skills we really need to learn are community orientated and the opposite to the current “absurdity of expecting to get away with infinite economic growth on a finite planet,” as the Archdruid has outlined in his most recent post
http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/
JMG rocks
The Fourth Estate under attack
Democracy under attack
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5748326/Heralds-Parliament-ban-over-photo-raises-media-ire
It’s disgraceful. As I said up-thread, you can just imagine the reaction if Clark/Wilson had done this.
I hope the Press Gallery unite and stand firm on this.
Can someone tell me again why NZ rugby signed Carter and McCaw for another 4 seasons for probably an obscene amount of coin, when it looks likely that they won’t play any part in winning the wool cup, if indeed NZ win it at all ?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/5748117/McCaw-faces-major-test-surviving-three-finals
Jerome Kaino is the one player we can’t do without, Ma’a Nonu second and they’ll be fired up no end given the shoddy treatment Samoa got with their draw and refs.
And if Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu ever ran for politics he’d blitz Michael Jones or whoever the hell other token nigga Labour or National put up against him.
Because McCaw and Carter bring in a lot more money than the others you mentioned. Just look how many ads have Carter in them
Note that most of the ads that have Carter in them, he isn’t representing the All Blacks, he’s representing himself and therefore gets all the money. Same with Sonny Bill when he did the Rebel Sport ads.
The All Blacks actually have a rule that in any media advertising that contains the All Black brand there must be at least 3 team members involved, as this (apparently) shows that they are a team.
Yeah I am aware of that, but I would be very surprised if they did not get a cut of any personal sponsorships – to be fair I am basing this on the fact that they can stop any player promoting anything that they don’t like or conflicts with one of their current sponsors.
Either way they will bring more money in, because you can guarantee that when Rexona wants Dan Carter to feature in their ads along with Mils etc they have to pay more than they would if they were getting someone like Anthony Boric.
Also finally having players of that stature involved lift the All Blacks brand as a whole increasing the value – without McCaw Carter and Sonny-Bill there would be a lot of sponsors looking elsewhere to spend their money.
oh chur…
Never mind that McCaw can barely make it through this campaign without breaking down and we’re saddled with him for the next four years regardless, in one of the most competitive and demanding positions on the field.
I guess rugby isn’t the winner on the day then, but you’d only have to look at Samoa getting fucked over by that racist welsh cunt siding with them cheating jappie muthafuckas to know that.
If NZ do win the wool cup i’d love to se the Samoan allblacks do the Siva Tau in honour of their motherland.
and lastly fuck the greedy IRB, SANZAR and the NZRU.
Is there any update on Wainuiototo?
Even the Geens with Frog were pushing this. It has all gone quiet. With Labour weekend fast looming and isn’t there an election? Perhaps the time is ripe for this to regain some prominence?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/4509605/Message-to-protect-New-Chums-Beach
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/goff-weighs-in-coromandel-development-3757065
The dompost had a tom scott cartoon this morning implying that 3D (dipton double dipper) had inherited the deposit guarantee scheme from Labour but I distinctly heard him [English} say that they [national] had done it themselves on 9-noon on Monday. so the fiasco was all his own work. The msm wont take him on because it meant that he paid off his own [and theirs] mates.
I didn’t think there was any doubt that Labour started the deposit guarantee scheme. National were the ones that resigned SCF though. Arguably that just stopped them going under earlier, but not sure delaying it really accomplished anything.
SCF could have been re-signed on, but any bond holders and depositers should have taken 50% hair cuts on amounts over $250K as a condition of resigning.
That would have stopped the awful self serving speculative activity which occurred.
Yeah that would have probably been the best way but I’m still convinced that basically taking half of the major investors funds would have left the company as a viable going concern.
Sorry that was meant to say not convinced.
Delahunty on Vote Chat: “I would resign from Parliament if the Greens were to support a National government”.
Wow. She’s putting herself forward for three years or not?
Pete, there is very deep unease among Green members about a deal with National. Metiria Turei spelt it out when they first made the announcement that they were considering a deal, but it got ignored. There is a very long list of Green demands that would have to be met before any deal, and frankly, many members would leave, possibly destroying the Green party in the process. And at the end of the day, the members have the final say anyway.
I understand that alex – the point I’m making is that if they stand for parliament shouldn’t they accept any democratic process? Saying you will resign (almost straight away) if your party does something you disagree with would seem to make a mockery of the election.
The Green Party is really going to have to work out their approach properly before the election if the alternative is to risk resignations within a month.
United future doesn’t have a polcy except to grese up the majority party the same way that would explain the hair style and the brown nose.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10757227
This is fascinating; the press crying out about the speaker, Lockwood Smith, banning the herald journalists from Parliament for 10 days because Audrey took a photo of that man trying to throw himself off the balcony into the parliamentary bear pit.
Hilarious the press complaining about freedom of the press when a) they don’t report objectively so take away my freedom to have a fair and objective reporting of what happens in New Zealand and
b) the journalists in the main are owned and controlled by Key and co or the newspaper owners.
Move along ladies and gentleman – nothing in the way of free press in New Zealand – move along; nothing to see here.
Lockwood trying to shut down a bad look for Key and Bennett – Parliament taking away the freedom of New Zealanders to have an objective look at our parliamentary actions and consequences of those actions by Key and Bennett. That is shameful.
No, I think Lockwood is just sticking to the letter of the standing order and not allowing for the exceptional circumstances of the case.
I think he should have banned them for 1 or 2 days as a point not to take standing orders lightly.
I agree, I think some penalty was warranted but 10 days seems too harsh.
Personally, I’d prefer it if those standing orders were removed.
Where has “Red Alert” gone today ?
Are they no longer bothering to so called “blog” ? Not surprised – getting more useless – go “Staandard”.
The other day I was thinking about the faster than speed of light neutrinos problem
and wonder whether the source and detector were at the same height, then realized
the mountainous location may have altered gravity, but that would not make much
sense since they fire particles through there all the time. But it may turn out that
because the neutrinos are traveling so fast that General Reality plus the location
may have effects… …nice. Unintended consequences thing again, put note in
diary, ever asked to build particle accelerator build near large mountains.
Lprent. Ididnt know how you would react but I do now.
[lprent: I always do to any suggestion that any political party runs this site, and especially a parliamentary wing (technophobia seems to be a primary characteristic of the genre in my unhumble opinion). It is as irritating as hell and leads to to the most boring and futile speculative discussions imaginable to the people who run the site. I always put on the old spiked boots and rake offenders until they understand exactly how irritated I get. This discourages reoffending. ]
Where the hell are these Maritime New Zealand ‘oil spill response experts’ Minister of Transport – Steven Joyce?
“Maritime New Zealand
Organisation governance and structure
Maritime New Zealand is a Crown entity established in 1993 under the name Maritime Safety Authority. It was renamed Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) in July 2005.
Maritime New Zealand is governed by an independent Board appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport.
The five-member Authority directs the overall Maritime New Zealand strategy, and appoints the Director of Maritime New Zealand.
The Director manages the organisation and has independent statutory powers under the Maritime Transport Act 1994.
http://www.maritimenz.govt.nz/About-us/About-Maritime-New-Zealand.asp
Maritime New Zealand Statement of Intent: 2011–2014
“3. Marine pollution response
Almost 10 million tonnes of oil is transported around New Zealand’s pristine coastline by oil tankers
every year. Maritime New Zealand operates the Marine Pollution Response Service, whose oil spill
response experts are able to respond to significant oil spills in New Zealand, and overseas if required.
These specialists maintain the National Oil Spill Response Plan and manage the national stockpile of
oil spill response equipment. They also conduct oil spill exercises and training for regional responders.”
Really?
Penny Bright
Independent ‘Public Watchdog’
Candidate for Epsom
BOP Oil Spill Response Failure
Authorities have dismally failed to react properly to the grounding of the 236-metre cargo vessel MV Rena, which struck Astrolabe Reef north of Motiti Island in the Bay of Plenty on Wednesday at approx 2.20 AM…
Concern about Corexit 9500 being used in the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill – it’s the same ‘dispersant’ being used NOW in NZ – and it has been banned since 1998 by the UK!
FYI.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/16/louisiana-oil-spill-toxic-chemical-bp
Louisiana oil spill: toxic chemical fear over BP’s clean-up efforts
Officials, scientists and fishermen warn of threat to sealife in the Gulf of Mexico
Peter Beaumont
The Observer, Sunday 16 May 2010
Scientists have raised urgent new concerns over the latest efforts to mitigate the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the oil rig explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon. Latest efforts to limit the environmental damage involve an untried deep-water technique, using a toxic dispersant that they believe may damage ocean life. But the new method has so far only succeeded in ratcheting up the growing controversy surrounding the spill.
…………………
Approval by the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for the pumping of tens of thousands of litres of the chemical Corexit 9500 deep on to the seabed early yesterday comes despite warnings from Louisiana state health officials, scientists and fishermen that the technique is untested and potentially hazardous to marine life and the wider ecosystem. Louisiana officials claim BP and the EPA ignored their concerns about how the chemicals may harm the sea floor.”
Corexit 9500 is being used NOW in NZ!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/5745996/BoP-faces-ecological-disaster
BoP faces ecological disaster
Stricken container ship still leaking oil
Despite initial indications that dispersant was effective , further analysis last night confirmed the Corexit 9500 was not dispersing the oil, Mr Service said. ”
http://www.maritimenz.govt.nz/Publications-and-forms/Environmental-protection/OPPRC-Review-February-2011.pdf
10.6 Dispersants and Dispersant Application Systems
MNZ holds a range of dispersants suitable for application to differing oil types, including heavy fuel oil. Arguably, the most effective dispersant for use on heavier oils, including crude oil, is Corexit 9500. New Zealand‘s entire 30,000 litres stock of Corexit 9500 is held at NOSSC Te Atatu. ”
COREXIT 9500 HAS BEEN BANNED IN THE UK SINCE 1998 – BECAUSE IT DID NOT PASS THE ‘ROCKY SHORE TEST’
http://www.marinemanagement.org.uk/protecting/pollution/documents/approval_approved_products.pdf
All products approved after 1 April 1996 have been required to pass both the Sea/Beach and Rocky Shore Toxicity Tests. Any products coming up for renewal that have only passed the Sea/Beach toxicity test in the past are required, before they can be renewed, to pass the Rocky Shore Test also. The following products have been removed from the list of approved products because they did not pass the Rocky Shore Test when submitted for renewal:
•
Chemkleen OSDA JAC (removed from list 21/01/1998)
•
Corexit 9527 (removed from list 30/07/1998)
•
Corexit 9500 (removed from list 30/07/1998).
Existing stocks of these products may still be used away from rocky shorelines in appropriate conditions. Approval should be sought from the relevant licensing authority before any proposed use.”
__________________________________________________________________________
Penny Bright
Independent ‘Public Watchdog’
Candidate for Epsom
They’ll be like the Mines Inspection body; they’ll have a bloke with a Tinny boat, a 15 hp outboard and a bottle of washing up liquid.
The stranding of the Containership Rena on Wednesday morning, occurred in clear fine weather which has persisted for 3 days now. This clear weather is due to deteriorate starting tomorrow with a change in wind direction around midday.
It is expected that by the middle of the week it will be too late, high winds will prevent any attempt to unload the fuel oil from the Rena and the likely hood is high that before the next calm period the ship will be broken on the reef.
It appears that the resources that could have taken advantage of the good weather to pump ALL the oil from this ship are near at hand have been sitting idle and unused.
Collapsible rapid response emergency oil barges made to deal with just this sort of emergency are right here in New Zealand. With even more available in Australia. These collapsable oil barges are specifically designed and made to be deployed instantly in just such an emergency.
Sail-World magazine report, that Lancer Industries here in New Zealand manufacture inflatable barges designed specifically to allow oil to be offloaded from ships which have run aground to prevent significant spillage and environmental damage. The barges from Lancer are owned by many maritime authorities around the world including the US Coast Guard.
Able to hold 100 tonnes of oil at a time, they can be delivered in folded up form not much bigger than an office desk. Once filled they can then be towed ashore and after being emptied can be reused.
“Lancer barges are designed to be taken alongside a vessel and have the oil pumped into them directly, before being towed ashore to a shore installation”
‘These barges can also be used in a cleanup operation to skim oil that has already leaked, reducing the need to use dispersant’.
Three days down the track these emergency barges have not been deployed.
Why?
Martime New Zealand own two of these barges.
Sail-World believes that the Martime NZ Lancer barges are located in Te Atatu only a few hours trip by road to Tauranga.
Have these barges been delivered to the scene of the disaster?
If not, why not?
Sail-World also reports that all major governments of the world have agreements in place to fly in such equipment, in the case of an oil spill or pending disaster to offload fuel oil and reduce the extent of any damage.
These additional barges could easily be flown in from Australia if required.
Has our government made this call?
If not, why not?
As well as the two Maritime NZ owned emergency barges, Lancer Industries ltd who are based in the Auckland suburb of Henderson have just made some more of these barges for the US Coastguard with significantly more capacity than the two owned by Maritime NZ.
Why have these barges not been requisitioned as an emergency measure?
These specially designed barges, built for just this sort of scenario, are all owned by private concerns and different authorities.
Why is there no single government authority which in an emergency could commandeer these resources?
Why aren’t these purpose built emergency oil barges already on the scene and being deployed to unload the oil before the weather deteriorates?
Emergency barges are good. But they are useless without tugboats.
Only today, this afternoon in fact, have two large tugs departed from Auckland for Tauranga to deal with the disaster.
Why the delay?
Why were they not dispatched immediately?
Were the commercial operations of the Ports of Auckland given priority over this unfolding disaster?
Who made this decision?
If the weather window closes and the ship is broken on the reef to discharge it’s full load of oil into the ocean. Will anyone be held accountable?
More proof that cutting government is bad for society – and the RWNJs want to cut even more.
Our inability to respond shows just what happens when you plan for when things go wrong. We’ve seen it in Chch, Pike River and now on a reef off of Tauranga.
If i was any sort of conspiracy theorist i’d see a manufactured media shitstorm about an impending eco crisis, replete with dire warnings for wildlife, just by delaying gov’t response to take the heat off the drunken monkey’s throat slitting antics in parliament this week…
…then get that chump Joyce to deny responsibilty for taking charge by saying the gov’t are in no position to take the lead on this issue
…and corexit doesn’t disperse the oil, it sinks it and lets natural tidal/current forces break it up. Out of sight out of mind is what the oil companies want us to see.
Pollywog,
‘drunken monkey’s throat slitting antics in parliament this week…
…then get that chump Joyce’
LOL
It’s a bit spooky because I have been increasingly seeing this Key and Joyce twosome going through each other’s fur looking for little crawly things to eat.
I had this same issue with Maurice Williamson and Gerry Brownlee grinning like Cheshire cats, dressed up as Tweedledum and Tweedledee before the last election.
The creepy crawlies of the rightwing are starting to get to me.
I remember seeing this picture of Maurice Williamson grinning from ear to ear thinking he had forced New Zealanders into ID cards with microchipping on the back until Labour forced them to rethink that. People were still angry though that National had forced them to get new drivers’ licences before their 25 year cards had expired. Labour knocked down Williamson’s cost of the licences too.
NAct haven’t changed their spots except to become more rightwing and out to make more money from people while having the nerve to say they weren’t increasing taxes.
At present, increasing cops to give out road fines is their sneaky tax. Then the GST, etc. etc.
I hadn’t noticed this aspect of the Fairfax poll before.
Go Auckland! (Now, that comes hard as I live in Christchurch).