Open mike 08/08/2016
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6:00 am, August 8th, 2016 - 78 comments
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Returning to the model that was failing for most polytechnics and Institutes of Technology is not the answer. ...2 days ago
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- Release: Why not both? Luxon shuns Waitangi celebrations
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The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...3 days ago - Release: Nicola Willis spirals country deeper into recession
The economy shrank 1% this quarter and New Zealand has tumbled into the depths of a recession of Nicola Willis’ making. ...3 days ago
- Release: Hikes for company directors but not ordinary Kiwis
Working people are going backwards while company directors are being given huge pay hikes. ...4 days ago
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The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...4 days ago
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A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...4 days ago
- Release: Labour will continue fight against destructive projects
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...5 days ago
- Green Government will revoke dodgy fast-track projects
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...5 days ago
- Government for the wealthy keeps pushing austerity
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...5 days ago
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The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...5 days ago
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With more debt and a larger deficit, Nicola Willis’ reputation is in tatters after her failure to return the Government’s books to surplus. ...5 days ago
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The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...6 days ago
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All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...6 days ago
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The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...6 days ago
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The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...6 days ago
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The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...6 days ago
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The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...1 week ago
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Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...1 week ago
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Today’s announcement from the Government on its plan for new ferries throws more uncertainty on the future of the country’s rail network. ...2 weeks ago
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After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...2 weeks ago
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Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
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The Government has done the right thing in moving to ban greyhound racing. ...2 weeks ago
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Perhaps I’m being naive, but if true and not manipulated by the anti-clinton brigade, this video clip is quite disturbing!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqbDBRWb63s
Was there ever a presidential campaign like this 2016 one? Jill Stein is looking more and more like the only credible and worthwhile candidate!
According to deleted wiki the guy whose name is on that video is a
More on uncyclopedia Make of that what you will.
Hmm – uncyclopedia. I learned something new today…
“strange lesions on her tongue…”
lol thanks for that laugh – I hope we never lose the comedy types that create this ‘info’. Luckily those types are thick in the air in certain places and yay there is lots of flypaper up at The Standard.
I think health reasons are behind why Hillary never does more than one open public campaign stop every two or three days. Which for this stage of the election, is crazy lazy. And she never does press conferences. She just releases statements or does one on one interviews with fully vetted questions.
To be fair, every time Trump has opened his mouth in the last week, Clinton got a poll boost. There’s simply no pressure on her at all, so she can run the campaign in idle at the moment. We can expect the turbo chargers to kick in in the last weeks, if needed. Trump also hasn’t got the Republican organisation behind him. It’s hard to win elections without door knockers, phone callers etc. and it looks like the on the ground Republican organisation is switching to trying to retain seats and governorships rather than the presidency.
American Nazti Party chairman endorses trump today – more votes for someone else methinks.
You might get a laugh out of this spoof Japanese Trump ad, marty. Vote Trumpo, get sparkly unicorns!
Who are these American Nazti you talk of marty mars?
I’m getting all the fringe far right hate groups are loving trump. From the KKK to white power have lined up behind him.
So the real question is, are you going to vote for someone who is a fascist like trump, or more of the same which gave us a fascist like trump, h.r.c?
The choice is yours.
I’m on the Māori roll so thankfully not my choice.
The latest clinton attack ad linking putin and trump is pretty despicable imo.
Sorry – struggling to link again from phone
Unless there really is a link….
https://twitter.com/TheDailyEdge/status/761902747935469568
Seems pretty mild to me, Marty. Linking the alleged Russian business links with Trump’s refusal to release his tax records is clever politics. Almost Trump like in it’s dumbed down approach.
https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/videos/2016/08/05/new-video-what-is-donald-trumps-connection-to-vladimir-putin/
Her most ardent critic Bernie Sanders is out of the picture and subdued and now it would seem his supporters.
With 12 weeks too the general election she will want to consolidate support after the “convention bounce”.
The next 6 weeks polling data will be eagerly anticipated and the effect from the first of 3 debates at the end of September.
Its shaping up to be the most wacky ,unpredictable race in the history of the States and the debates will be worth watching if the last 8 months is anything too go by.
Importantly for the Clinton team is she appears too be holding the support Obama has banked scince 2008 according too CNN projections and a variety of polling data and is giving Trump a run for his money (excuse the pun) in the republican stronghold of Georgia.
A lot of republicans now wish they had speaker Paul Ryan as the nominee as his skills are now becoming recognised as a potential president.
“A lot of republicans now wish they had speaker Paul Ryan as the nominee as his skills are now becoming recognised as a potential president.”
He’s going to run in 2020, and if Hillary is the President, he’s got a pretty good shot at winning.
Her most ardent critic simply does not view her as the worst of the two candidates. Hardly subdued.
Great endorsement of HC from Sanders last Friday:
http://bipartisanreport.com/2016/08/05/just-in-bernie-sanders-publishes-stunning-oped-in-la-times-makes-major-announcement/
I dont buy that about him viewing her the lesser evil when Republicans are always bad for the people who support Bernie that just a given.
But its the Democratic party thats moved away from representing blue collar workers and Clinton is a product of the establishment that Bernie was rallying against and is just a lighter version of the Republican party and those who pull the strings.
He was pressured too show unity by endorsing her even though he knows nothing will change.
Better to be in the tent pissing out than outside pissing in…. for now.
Even taking your pessimistic, unsupportable assertion (does he look like the guy who can be forced to do something against his principles? What in his track record makes you think that?), “a lighter version of the Republican party” is still a better candidate for workers than a xenophobic and impulsive far-right demagogue. The [weaker] enemy of my [strongest and could possibly beat me] enemy is my friend.
So you’re happy to support the far right demagogue, so you don’t have to support the ever further right demagogue? How that working out for you? You get rotten, or completely rotten.
Now if voting for the far right demagogue means you don’t get the even further far right demagogue this time. Every time you vote for this far right demagogue, you are step closer to the next far right demagogue, and at some point the far right demagogue you didn’t want now, gets in anyway – because there is a far worse far right demagogue in play.
So don’t tell me what better for working people McFlock because you choice is a insanity now, or insanity later. At some point you actually have to be an adult and stop this.
The choice is someone with a proven track record of service to the people or someone with a track record of looking after No 1. The former’s clearly not perfect, however the latter is the ugly face of capitalism, with a sideline in misogyny, racism and anti-working class rhetoric. Nobody with any empathy for their fellow humans would give the 1%er their support.
They both represent the 1% te reo putake. And that is the problem. One is the face of it is self indulgence, versus a self absorbed maniac and I struggle with which is which some days.
That aside, my argument is simple – the one we can not influence is the neo fascist trump – the one we can influence is h.r.c. and the only way to do that is for her to fear working people. If the only thing that happens is a vote, epic fail for the us, and epic fail for all my friend in america.
The pressure has to be from working people on her, and one her hard. That if she wants a second term, she better cough up or she is gone. Electoral reform, money out of politics, these are basics to fix the american republic. If she does not do these, and she won’t unless pressure is kept up.
Going ra ra h.r.c helps no one, except maybe the fascist little pig. And let’s be clear – trump is a fascist little pig!
I have no idea what that comment means, Adam. Are you saying that working class people should put the fear into Clinton by voting for Trump? If so, that’s not the least bit rational and is obviously counter productive.
Btw, saying Clinton is for the 1% is pretty childish. As a politician, she’s quite literally put the working and middle classes first. Millions of Americans now have medical cover for the first time because of the work she did to champion health insurance for the poor. She’s a progressive who actually does seem to make a difference. That’s kinda why the right hate her. Well, that and she’s a woman.
You do know what is meant by 1%? The income and power that is involved in being part of that group. You know trump and bill are friends right, 1% friends. Because you seem to be either misinformed, or using the term to suit your own political agenda.
That aside, I’m saying you don’t have to vote for h.r.c. If you are in a safe republican and or safe democrat state, then a vote for the Greens is a vote for a more progressive america.
You can say she is progressive till the cows come home, I’m not buying it. She voted for two broken wars – that is not progressive. She oversaw the bombing of countries into the stone age, yeah real progressive. She helped write and championed a bill which means that 2 million black americans under 25 have been, or are incarcerated – that’s not progressive. I can go on.
Obama care is not progressive, it helped the insurance industry – as a matter of fact if anything it will hold back true socialized medicine in the USA for some time.
But the reality is rara h.r.c, is as painful as rara trump as far as I’m concerned.
Yeah, well, if you can’t tell the difference between the two, that says a lot about your political nous. Or lack thereof. Do some research and then have a hard think about which candidate will be best positioned to make life better for the majority. Hint: it’s not the billionaire bigot who we already know has done nothing good for anyone, ever.
You don’t strike me a racist, anti-worker, woman hating tool, Adam. But yet here you are advocating for someone who is all of those things. That’s not a good look, bud.
Try and get some perspective. You might start with a bit of Marx. or more pertinently, Lenin on social democracy. Supporting a lurch to the right is entirely counter productive. There has not been a single incidence in the world’s political history where the workers’ lot was improved by voting in a neo-fascist bully.
So you are marxist-leninist, that explains a lot.
Not sure if it explains why you have not read a word I said, but hey you’re waka – you chose how to paddle it.
If you can’t see the similarities between h.r.c and trump that, says a lot about your political nous.
How about you try reading Emma Goldman or Kropotkin or Murray Bookchin and get your head around that Marx is not the be all and end all.
Actually, Marx is quite a sexist prick in my opinion, if it was not for Engles most marxist would be like him. I’ve read Marx, Engel (who I like better) and lenin who I found is an apologist for any sort of extreme violence. Lenin was the road to Stalin, and PLA – which still plagues humanity.
I’ve read Stalin too, sick puppy that he is. Mao was little better, except for his analysis on guerrilla warfare – which is exceptional. Ironical if anyone from the US military had read it, they might have won the two wars they just lost.
I’m saying that the left in USA is actually waking up to the nightmare of lesser of two evils. Now is the time to do somthing about it. If you OK with the lesser evil, again your waka. Just don’t tell me I’m wrong, for not supporting your evil.
Oh, bollocks.
1: no matter how much you say it, Clinton isn’t a “far right demagogue” in the US political spectrum. Barely even compared to NZ spectrum.
2: even if 1 is incorrect, stopping the ‘farther-right’ candidate by supporting the ‘less farther-right’ candidate, you still stop the worst candidate from winning and fucking things up until next time.
3: “At some point you actually have to be an adult and stop this.” What are you going to do, as an individual? Do a drum circle in a park and say “it’s not my fault” when the racist cheet-o nukes someone? How the fuck are you going to “stop” a damned thing?
At some point you actually have to be an adult and realise that in the real world, some situations have no “best” outcome, just a “least bad”. Stand up straight, look it squarely in the eye, and if you can’t fix it at least try to fuck it up as little as possible. That way you still have some hope of doing better next time. Take it on the chin, reassess, and improve.
Don’t cry and throw your toys out of the cot in impotent rage – that’ll just ensure you’re even more fucked next time.
Have you slipped so far to the right McFlock that you think h.r.c is not far right? Because you’re deluded if you think she is left, left of centre or even in the middle. She is on the right, just look at her voting record. I have, have you? Have you actually taken the time to look at her record as a member of the Obama cabinet?
You’re the one proposing to do jack, not me. Vote for h.r.c, like that will save society – thats just deluded. I’m saying do somthing, and most of all think about the problem that has been presented. You’re approach to put it off till next time serves no one. It’s that approach which will leave us with somthing worse that trump next time.
What are you suggest people do adam?
“Hillary Rodham Clinton is a liberal Democrat on domestic matters, and Bernie Sanders is a socialist. They voted the same way 93 percent of the time in the two years they shared in the Senate.”
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/28/upshot/the-senate-votes-that-divided-hillary-clinton-and-bernie-sanders.html?_r=0
No.
I disagree.
Yes.
Yes.
Nope.
Not what I said.
“Do something”? What is this “something” that we should do?
My approach serves people who might actually have something to do.
What approach will actually improve things? Name it. Don’t hand-wave. In a choice between Trump, Clinton, third-party that might be the difference between Clinton beating trump, and doing nothing of any consequence in the electoral system, what should US voters do? Because those are the cards that have been dealt to the American people, right now, in 2016.
weka, in NZ.
Go online and talk to yanks. particular left wing yanks. Make sure they vote, and if in swing states encourage them to hold their nose and vote h.r.c.
But to actually vote Green in safe areas. Get the greens over 5%, this will send shock waves throughout the left in USA. It also send a clear message to h.r.c that working people are watching her, and will walk if she does not give what she has said.
Pressure must be put on h.r.c. to actually reform.
The rest – organise, join groups like Blank Lives Matter, the Greens and other groups which actually represent the left in the USA.
Because if the democratic party does not feel the fear of working people, we are sunk.
‘Assange tells Green Party convention choosing Trump or Clinton like ‘cholera or gonorrhea’ (VIDEO)’
https://www.rt.com/usa/354974-assange-green-party-trump-clinton/
An unfortunate choice of words from someone who apparently likes his sex condom free.
Clinton and Trump should challenge him to come outside and say it 😉
yes Assange the risk taker did indulge in risque behavour with THOSE women …HE could have caught something… ( and one purportedly a CIA agent)
…and that is why he is locked up ( but they deny making any charges)
Regardless of condoms or of where he is when he says it the analogy’s still spot on.
I would not have been as nice as Assange, it’s really a choice between shit that will kill you – trump. Or the that, that will give you the shit that will kill you – h.r.c.
When a choice is this bad, you know something’s wrong, you also know the debate around what is good for working people has gone out the window.
As an alleged sex offender he may know what he is talking about.
yes WikiLeaks does get under some people’s political skin…especially the USA who wants him extradited ( and “alleged” by whom?…the women concerned laid NO charges)
“The United Nation’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found, by a majority, that he has been “arbitrarily detained” and that his detention should be brought to an end.[4]”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Assange
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35499942
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/feb/24/britain-precedent-defy-un-report-julian-assange-politicians
Arbitrarily detained by … himself.
…you got a quarrel with the UN?
…clearly detained by the British Government because if he takes a step outside that refuge embassy a British policeman will nab him and make sure he gets extradited
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/feb/24/britain-precedent-defy-un-report-julian-assange-politicians
Are the Olympics over yet?
not quite, being the “Brazilian” Olympics things are expected to go smoothly though
An example of razor sharp wit there TM!
Making jokes about these Olympics is easy if you go south of the equator…
Everyone waxing lyrical about their favourite sporting event once again 🙂
No and one of or sports woman got a silver today , good a!
She did good all right, well done to her 🙂
rugby the subterranean culture…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11689016
“Root more! Eat more! Drink more piss!” (’81 Springbok tour NZ Police Red Squad unit training chant, Red Squad was headed by future Nat and ROC MP Ross Meurant)
In all fairness Ross Meurant has had a complete turnaround from the infamy of his red squad days and is now one of the good guys with respect to the tour. I can’t understand how you didn’t know this TM.
read that a while back, yes I could have added “has recanted” but jeez every post cannot cover every angle, and I certainly would not tag Ross Meurant with “good guy” in any event, the cops were blatantly used by Muldoon to assist the Nat’s re-election in that era
Same guy recommended david lange
‘ be strung up from the nearest power pole “…. in his maiden speech to parliment if my memory serves me well !
Bit of a long bow to draw there don’t you think?
no, even under FPP Rob Muldoon needed the votes in the less populous regions to get home in 1981, Labour got more votes overall, National more electorate seats
the Police Commissioner got a hell of a towelling after the cancellation of the Hamilton game and policing subsequently got even tougher to ensure Robs Mob got their rugby, to the extent the 3rd test was virtual civil war in the streets of Mt Eden
the Red Squad represented the fantasies of what rugby heads across the nation both wanted to “do” to “the protestors” and on occasion did do
that has to do with what happened in Scotland how exactly? (and that he thought it was good idea is probably why he’s coaching a second teir team)
oh, you were referring to the rabbit mangling, that puts rugby in such a good light too
Trying to work out the connection between NZ Police Red Squad and what Vern Cotter was making his players do, yes
Yeah TM Muldoon just got over the try line winning Taupo and giving him a 1 seat majority after specials were confirmed ending the prospect of a Labour- Social Credit coalition in this Rugby-Think Big Election.
It is the latest dairy to be targeted in a spate of robberies nationwide that appear to be aimed at stealing cigarettes.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/82907776/porirua-dairy-owner-stabbed-up-to-five-times-returns-to-work-the-next-day
And think, there are more tobacco price increases to come.
Thoughts?
Yeah, but who could possibly have foreseen that making an addictive recreational drug really, really expensive would create a black market and get criminals involved in supplying it? I mean, what are the odds?
look we need criminals and the ‘war on drugs’ is really good at creating criminals. I mean how would Serco have a guaranteed ‘bed occupancy’ and ‘profit’ if it were not for us creating laws and such to grow criminals.
Yes, private companies are bound by their shareholders to maximise profit and if that means creating more crime then all the better for them.
I’m reminded of a job I did a few years ago at a certain power tools manufacturer’s NZ conference. The global sales guy spoke and with graphs and pie charts and lamented the lack of natural disasters that particular year having an negative impact on turnover.
Short story is no corporate is interested in societal wellbeing first, that’s why the state must do it.
+1
Cognitive dissonance on the part of pc anti smoking lobbyists in refusing to take into account the quite obvious raft of worsoning effects of their doomed to fail campaign to make nz smoke free by whenever !!
Hats off to Nick Smith for his latest innovation in solving the housing crisis.Tree cars.
How about tree huts – now that would be innovative Nat policy. The leafy suburbs would applaud, I’m sure.
Too funny, took up the top half of the front page, big colour photo in the Nelson Mail, trying to sound heroic he was.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/82907160/boy-racer-crashes-into-mp-nick-smiths-home
And today he went to assist Parata in bullying Salisbury School into closure again in what I feel is a land grab. See you in court for the later.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/82907792/exstudents-back-fight-to-save-salisbury-school-at-rally-in-richmond
RNZ National Nine to Noon in the past 20 minutes; Hooton flaunting his sociopathc core…….increase the supply of housing in a concerted way so as to reach those hopelessly denied……..that’s creating slum housing and crime according to the sociopath.
Hooton is the nimby’s nimby. Won’t truck any support of the vulnerable or of future generations lest it affect the value of his house.
He’s the ultimate ladder-kicker.
Goodness me, I think I upset the hipsters over at transport blog, You can never accuse them of not taking themselves very serriously.
What have you done now, Sanctuary?
I’ve not read transport blog but the fact one of the highest rating blogs in NZ is solely devoted to transport shows that NZ is in major trouble on this issue, imo.
You say ‘hipsters’ derogatorily, but I’m not sure why. What is the tone of posts at transport blog that make you refer to them as hipsters? Are the pro rail? Are they socially aware and distrustful of the current government?
Sanctuary. I went and read the post in question and understand what you mean about level of discussion at the transport blog. They seem obsessed with the detail of what decisions their masters (i.e, anyone in authority) deliver to them rather than questioning the reasoning behind the policy of those decisions.
What is wrong with the Christchurch City Council?…hope they haven’t got Auckland’s disease?…or become compromised like Len Brown
“The Christchurch City Council is accused of shameful behaviour in going back on an agreement to keep 800 notable trees on a protected list. The future of the trees is now back in the hands of an Independent Hearings Panel.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201811223/council-accused-of-shameful-u-turn
Let’s see Farrar and other conformist white males attack this…
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/310409/mahuta-in-mp-tattoo-first
They’ll have to stay silent no matter how much it irks them.
Time Clark conceded, it’s absolutely rotten that tax payers fund her ego trip when we are switching to 100 pupil classrooms in decile one zones and have children sleeping in bushes meanwhile we’re paying for her to run a losing campaign that will be of no benefit to nz. I time for her to accept defeat, and bow out of public life, this is no less a waste of money than keys flag referendum. Tax payers shouldn’t fund political vanity projects
Key’s vanity project cost us $26 million. Clark’s bid is going to be funded to the tune of a few hundred thousand, if she makes it to the final cut. The benefit to NZ if she wins is clear in terms of global recognition, trade, tourism etc., while Key’s flag project had no upside at all. If you’re going to troll, at least put some thought into it.
Yes, lets send an email to the National Party led Government to fund larger class rooms, emergency housing for teenagers, babies and adults that sleep in bushes, cars and in garages. It is truly time the National led Government accepts defeat in their ‘trickle down economics’ campaing that has been and will be of no benefits ot the country.
I think it is time for them to accept defeat and bow out of public life, they already have wasted money on keys flag referendum, Sheep for Saudi Arabia, and payments to homeless / badly housed people to leave Auckland and payments to unemployed people to move to Auckland.
i aggree.
The politics of envy. And hatred. Clark’s international mana and success must really wind you up, and now I’m laughing at you 😆
‘Corruption PSYOPS’
https://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/338885-panama-papers-interpretation-west/
“The so-called Panama Papers are sold to us as a vast leak chronicling the financial misdeeds of the rich and powerful. But is this really the case? Certainly we are given insight into the secretive world of offshore banking, but is it a complete and balanced story? One interpretation of the Panama Papers is the West targeting its enemies.
CrossTalking with Mitch Feierstein, Alexander Mercouris, and Pepe Escobar.”