Now how would you know that?
My snide remarks to James are simply based on the fact that IMHO his main intention in coming here is to bait and try and show how clever he is – all egotistically driven. Probably not too dissimilar from your own reasons. THey’re certainly not intended to try and engage in debate.
Now, tell me something about this ‘Grinder’ thing. Maaaate! does it do anything for testosterone levels?
As Maria Muldaur once said – it ain’t the meat its the motion. I guess you fail on both counts in her mind.
I tried to reply to @ Nakiman – whoar – you know that man from the Naki.
I couldn’t understand since IMHO your intention in coming to TS is primarily to bait and show how bloody c;lever you think you are – similar reasons to the MAN from the Naki. Sure as shit it isn’t to engage in a debate.
But there ya go.
Chelsea Manning FFS – surely he could have tackled something more relevant if his intentions were genuine – I dunno – maybe the Kim Hill/Annette King interview this morning. Whoar Man!!!! there is grist in there he could have used to show us all how big his penis actually is.
Thank Christ I kept to Highway 4 last nite and evaded your neck of the woods.
Otherwise I could have been classed as a Highway 3 deviate.
But please @ Naki, tell me more about this “Ginder’ thing. Does it resolve the male mid-life crisis symptoms?: Increase the size of your dick or testosterone levels?; Make you a better husband to the woify?; or better still, Does it mean James and yourself become more ‘self-aware’ and all those nancy-boy type of things that might allow yourself to get over yourself?
PLEASE!!!! Tell me about Grinder. Someone just told me it was a dating site for bloody homos and married blokes on the ‘down-low’.
May I say @ solkta how utterly gorgeous I think you are.
It is possible I am a dickhead as well but that’s for me to know and you to ponder
(END OF STORY!!!!! Yea! I win you lose!)
But could you tell me about this ‘Grinder’ thing maybe?
Hi Solkta, None of my business but the “he” I think OnceWasTim was referring to was James, as in, “he” could have chosen a different topic to engage us in and I may be wrong also with the later comment to James but I read it as sarcasm and as a nancy-boy homo myself, I think he was just teasing Naki man and James about Grindr and certainly achieved a pearl clutching from James. If I’m wrong I’ll be the first to line up and give OnceWasTim a good spanking.
It is certainly a terrible piece of england so you might be right. Very strange to be replying to somebody and referring to them as “he” instead of “you”. Even more confusing as he had been speaking of the knackered one.
@RBO. I believe Tim was talking to James about Naki Man who was the HE in question. Therefore acceptable usage both for the political and syntactical police. You are right about Tim baiting James. Anyone who has watched and appreciated his style for a while will realise that he uses his own position on the spectrum (I believe he might have batted for your team on occasion) to take the mick out of himself and his target simultaneously. At times this can be confusing but when it works it does so beautifully.
I see from the paper today that there is a project called Down the Wire to make life better for helicopter pilots. We don;’t want any of them striking wires when they are flying, but particularly now with the prospect of more droughts and fires that need their attendance and skill. It’s hard enough coping with it all without having to cope with electricity lines along their flight lines. So good for getting alternatives going.
And another case of a victim of violent crime having to avoid meeting the perpetrator. He/she might be out of prison but the victim is not free to live and move where she wants. There is a notification system but why should there be the need? Keep violent people away from society. Give them a limited life in okay conditions, and limit their own violence on each other. Why should we all become potential victims. Their rate of recidivism is probably high, even if later in life.
That’s not anger cinny- labour’s ideological CGT was the wish National were waiting for. It’s the single biggest thing that could cost them the election.
He’s very happy that labour are handling this so badly
So while the government who haven’t decided anything yet (but are paying Cullen to sing CGT praises) dither and do nothing – they are losing the debate with the public.
I would never rely on the random conversations I have with people as an indication of what the majority of kiwis think. Would you? Suspect a significant number of people already have an entrenched view,particularly the ones with a vested interest in not having a CGT, eg Amy, Simon, mr poor me I own 80 rentals a la the herald article.
Have there been any polls to show that since the report came out there has been an increase in opposition to the cgt. That would show labour is losing the argument. Otherwise there isn’t any real evidence that labour is losing the argument.
Sounds like Simon was doing a fabulous job on the Nation according to cinny……ha ha ha ha
Simon is giving Labour a great opportunity to listen and understand how best to respond to Simon’s hysterical chicken little prophesising on CGT.
When Labour finally come out with a set of policies on CGT, all of which will address Simon’s hysterical rants, people may very well end up saying “good golly, this isn’t so bad after all”
Simon may very well take the credit in forcing the govt to provide a halfway point, but people don’t listen to him anyway so won’t have much effect for him.
Simons got nothing concrete to criticise. As long as he keeps yammering on about what the dastardly evils of CGT might bring, Labour can continue to artfully respond to such falsities in their eventual policy document.
Simon should shut up and criticise something worth criticising. Like Labours lack of genuine commitment to addressing the cost of living in NZ.
A variety of people is who to talk to about it, not just those in ones social circle, workplace, suburb, income bracket etc etc.
Put in a submission, encourage other people to do so as well, I’m going to.
Tax Working Group welcomes submissions on future of tax
“Submissions open today for those wanting to share their thoughts straight away and on March 14 an updated website will be launched along with a background paper that will provide more assistance. ”
OK James, I had you pegged as someone of intelligence, but you keep denying me that view by your constant undying loyalty and borderline sycophancy in terms of the National Party.
1. The government has done nothing yet but has clearly signalled a time frame in which they will, so your criticism on that front is valueless.
2. Michael Cullen is on a retainer so that he, as the chairman of the task force and therefore intimately knowledgeable about the report, is able to answer queries and provide detail.
3. You intimate that Cullen is there merely to sing praises for the CGT, which is only a small segment of the total report, and is being discussed and largely vilified in a hugely disproportionate way in comparison to other aspects of the report. That is not his job, and that is not what he is doing.
4. You say that the government is losing the debate, which is a hugely subjective statement with no evidence apparent.
The only thing you say here is that Simon is doing his job. He is, but not in the way you think.
“2. Michael Cullen is on a retainer so that he, as the chairman of the task force and therefore intimately knowledgeable about the report, is able to answer queries and provide detail.”
Not a memo – a subjective comment by a journalist on Newshub . . . Newshub FFS. The wonderfully rational and objective employer of Richardson and Garner.
Oh . . . BTW, did you read the link? I read yours.
One of the possible reasons you think soimon’s doing such a great job. Other possible reasons being: avoiding public transport, avoiding cheaper supermarkets, avoiding rougher bars, and avoiding poor people.
Bridges (and you, his unpaid PR flack) wants to misrepresent the commission’s work, hoping to ride into power on a tide of outrage. It’s certainly the only emotion that would move people to vote for him.
But outrage is not appropriate to a a representative and consultative process, the commission invites public input and discussion, which will culminate in legislation in the usual way.
Scaremonger all you want, you only expose your fundamentally undemocratic preferences.
Far-ka-nora!!!
That interview was pure entertainment Cinny. Or it would be if he wasn’t so serious about what he says. And he calls Cullen sly!
I don’t know . . . the worry is about the sheeple who will swallow that as gospel. He may well get enough boss thinkers to carry his party. That’s a scenario I can’t bear thinking about.
Simon does not like Michael Cullen, and Cinny I think many people hold a wee warm spot for Cullen because they have watched their Kiwisaver grow.
They know it was the Gnats who cut the starter in half, lowered the savings amount and were “tricky” and without that interference savers would have bigger balances.
Simon ‘no bridges’ has not got much to recommend his word, compared to Michael.
OPINION: Hi, Simon Bridges here. Hitting new taxes for six! I am literally Martin Guptill!
Hey, but I just wanted to talk about those kids who are going to go truant from school next week because they say not enough’s being done about climate change.
That piece was beautifully written. Hehehehee. Cheers for the link.
If simon thinks the kid’s aren’t serious about climate change then he is sorely mistaken.
His attitude and that of his party re the protest is going to fuel even more kids to act and adults to come out in support of those kids.
Most kids and teens know and care more about climate change than any other global or political issue. It’s a constant topic in schools.
And here I was thinking there are teachers in simons family, maybe they haven’t filled him in about the focus schools put on climate change and the awareness created as a result.
Did someone mention “thick”….that old National poodle Audrey over at the mornings fish wrap had this to say:
“It is time for Ardern to look across the aisle for support on pay transparency measures from Paula Bennett, Amy Adams and Judith Collins to work on some more advances in the interests of improving women’s lives…..”
If there were ever three women across the aisle who are more inclined to ruin women’s lives dear old Audrey could not have picked them better.
Kat noticed she said that labour didn’t give national any credit for the Bartlett pay equity bill. My understanding is that National fought it every step of the way and that Audrey knows this
Ankerrawshark you are correct, typically National only went so far with the Pay Equity Bill then inserted a “Paula Bennett pull up the ladder” clause. Audrey doesn’t like mentioning betrayal and National in the same sentence.
“He has lived an otherwise blameless life,” said Judge T. S. Ellis as he sentenced Paul Manafort to just 47 months in prison on Thursday.
In an otherwise blameless life, Paul Manafort lobbied on behalf of the tobacco industry and wangled millions in tax breaks for corporations.
In an otherwise blameless life, he helped Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos bolster his image in Washington after he assassinated his primary political opponent.
[…]
In an otherwise blameless life, he acted with impunity, as if the laws never applied to him. When presented with a chance to show remorse to the court, he couldn’t find that sentiment within his being. And with Ellis’s featherweight punishment, which deviated sharply downward from the sentencing guidelines, Manafort managed to bring his life’s project to a strange completion. He had devoted his career to normalizing corruption in Washington. By the time he was caught, his extraordinary avarice had become so commonplace that not even a federal judge could blame him for it.
In his latest post entitled “Why we need to tax landlords”, idiot-savant attempts to make the case for imposing a capital gains tax on landlords by quoting from a Herald article by Keith Ng. However the original article has some flaws.
Ng points out, probably correctly, that interest of $456,000 has been deducted entirely from the rental income when it probably should be deductible against the capital cost of the property. I have long believed that interest should be either non deductible, which would mean that landlord would be paying a respectable amount of tax on the rental income while having to meet the interest costs from his own pocket, or, alternatively, subject to an interest “claw back” up to the amount of any capital gain when the property is sold.
Also, if neither of those above options seems acceptable, Ng should recognise that tax on the interest is being paid by the bank, so the landlord is in effect paying that tax indirectly in any case, given that he receives no material benefit from interest payments.
They hated it because it gave every decent earning man and women an excellent chance.
If The Trolls demand Simon Bridges attack CGT and Stop the Kiwi saver, National will die a miserable death. The public have seen exactly What Mr Key and Mr English have done to our highly valued Kiwi Saver. All for the Trolls.
The Trolls will be skinned alive. By their own wealthy mongrels.
The Nats couldn’t possibly come up with such ingrained and accepted norms as WFF and Kiwisaver – they are ideologically opposed to policies with social benefit, and you’ve sometimes got to wonder whether they are ideologically opposed to any form of social thinking.
They put up with WFF and Kiwisaver because as you rightly point out they would spend decades out of government were they to abolish them.
They made a good effort to damage Kiwisaver out of spite for people wanting to save. Numbers dropped and people stopped enrolling their kids, but it is so popular that the Nats failed at that too. They can’t even get spite right!
Given your comments about National reducing the benefits of KiwiSaver by reducing the government top up from $1 per $1 invested up to $1,040 per year, down to 50 cents & then taxing the employer contribution, you would then agree that KiwiSaver should be exempt from capital gains tax ? As this too is further damaging KiwiSaver balances ?
Kiwi Saver should be exempt because it is a savings program, not a speculative sale of an asset.
CGT is to be applied to the profit made when selling an asset, Kiwi Saver only makes money because you are saving and your boss is helping you to do so as is the government. You can’t sell the Kiwi saver during its live time, you have to wait till you are 65 until you can access is. or maybe via hardship if you are actively dying, or buying your first house, and even then you are not receiving the full amount.
So essentially two different ways to make money, speculative selling for profit, or putting your pennies in a savings accounts – btw these pennies already got hit with income tax when you made them. And as you stated you already pay income tax on the interest you receive.
I feel I have to repost this because the episode appears to have sneaked under the radar. I had a think about it this morning and Prebble clearly had in mind a separation of the nation in his example. This is called apartheid. Prebble seems to believe that if you take brown people out of the education system then our place in the world will be something to be proud of.
Think that over for a sec…
Appalling comments from Prebble. Quite staggering that this thinking still exists in this country.
Secondary school teacher Melanie Webber, who was at the meeting, said Prebble seemed to infer people “should be more concerned about maintaining the success of the 80 per cent than concerned about the 20 per cent who are failing”.
She said she felt the comments were “racist”.
Webber raised the issue with Prebble at the end of the night and he took “extreme umbrage”, she said.
“He thrust his chest up against mine, started jabbing my face […] just absolutely lost [the] plot.”
She said she was asked to leave by ACT Party leader David Seymour, who organised the event.
Now, I’m constantly told by RWNJs that the left are guilty of wanting to shut down anyone who doesn’t agree with them but it seems they don’t practice what they preach.
Shame on David Seymour for promoting such naked racism. The swift demise of ACT and all its supporters can’t come quick enough.
You don’t think asking for brown students achievements to be excluded is racist?
Just a minute. I imagine you’re taking the Wayne defence, which is to say that the he only meant it figuratively.
South Auckland voters will have heard this loud and clear and if Simon Bridges doesn’t come out and condemn those words, National are in for a real kick in the balls next year.
RP has ‘memberships’ … gained through performing certain actions and tasks…politics such as you refer to…well documented…damaging…long term…
Prebble did not osmosis the ideology…it was a job opportunity… a contract which he accepted…planned turncoat against party and country…
One must harbor certain ‘beliefs’ to be offered the chance to gain ‘membership’…
That he is paraded while having clear mental health issues and in a late stage of life…serves to highlight the sinister nature of the ‘dominant ideology’…he is still under contract…
This is a sign of fightback. We WILL get OUR water back from the exploiters external AND internal.
“A crowd of at least 2000 protesters took to the streets of Christchurch to oppose a water bottling company shipping billions of litres of water overseas.”
I notice that you delight in repeating, ad nauseam , all the words you claim to find offensive, James. You’ve done it so often that I believe you are doing it on purpose in order to offend and that you derive pleasure from your offensive behaviour. I reckon you’re … odd.
A blog site agitator… bottom feeding on negativity…creating negativity…revelling in negativity…
Pretending to care about language used by others…simultaneously taking a pious stance…while lauding his piousness over those who do not share a passion for propagating the words…of bottom feeders…
James. You often claim that by not railing against something, a person is supporting it.
Yesterday, Muttonbird called you out, in regard Michael Jackson;
“By not taking a stand against Michael Jackson, both he and you are enabling child molesters.
Your definition.”
I thought Muttonbird elegantly skewered your silly behaviour, but it seems you missed the moment, so I’ve posted it here for your benefit. I don’t claim you intend to enable child molesters, but you’ve not been thinking very deeply, it’s clear.
Fair question. I pointed out that he has been found not guilty of being a child molester and that calling him such based off a tv show and not a court of law was wrong.
Do you think we should take stands against others who have been found not guilty?
I’d just be more inclined to believe your sincerity if you didn’t also take every opportunity to recycle and remind people of vicious slanders against someone simply because of their relationship with a left wing politician.
Appreciate you agreeing. But you will be hard to find two examples of what you say I do at every opportunity. And the one you can find I was using it as an example of how rumours can be very wrong.
You’re correct, it is not o.k. I’d moderate it, and I probably can, but I’m waiting for feedback from LPrent.
Let me ask you this, James: do you feel that you play any role at all when standards slip here on TS and you happen to be in the thick of it? Or do you see yourself as an innocent bystander who happens to be in the wrong ‘place’ at the wrong time? This is a genuine question.
Pretty easy. In this case it was said by once was Tim in reply to naki man.
While I was in the convo – I was hardly being rude or insulting- it’s there for you to read. I’d say I was targeted as opposed to being in the think of it.
And yes – genuine answer, I think we all have a role to call out obviously homophobic or racist comments.
What amazes me is how people are happy to overlook it if it’s said to someone they don’t like or disagree with.
In short if I used the term “gook or Nancy boy” most commenters would be over me like a rash and shouting from the roof tops. But most (not all) are happy to let it slide if their “mate” says it.
I think prevention is better than cure. In other words, better to try and slow down things before they get out of hand and beyond the point of no return at which you’re usually the first at calling out the act and perpetrator. And I do feel you do it with a certain glee too. Fair?
Can I humbly suggest that people involved in this thread go back and read OWT’s ‘offending’ comment closely and take the time to unpack it. Those who do may also care to read my reply to Red Blooded One a little further down thread from that.
Anyone with moderately good reading comprehension skills will soon get the gist of where OWT was coming from and as usual he got a beautiful bit of pearl clutching from James who’s been turning that into a bit of an art form lately. Very funny really because it’s usually something lefties get accused of.
PS. It should also be noted that Naki Man was the first to go down that path by suggesting that OWT had lost his way and should be on Grindr instead.
There has been no cross pollination between left and right ideas while you’ve been rehearsing emotional and edgy replys but that’s the point isn’t muh ninja.
I can’t work out whether you’re ingenuous or just a tad simple James. Either way you’re really not worth too much of my ever so valuable time. Suffice to say that one man can tell another that he is (or has) a large dick without being in any way homophobic. I offer this information in the spirit of providing a public service announcement. For future reference to help you remember the general principle involved you may care to commit this old saying to memory. “Circumstances alter cases, just as noses alter faces”.
It would be good Grant if your reasoned comment about James was the last one made on this blog to him. He wastes so much time, and makes everyone look fools while he runs rings round the leftie commenters.
Whether he is paid to do this or not, he is an idle talentless person at providing information and reasoned points about how we are going to face climate change now or soon. We haven’t time to waste with him – what is everyone thinking to let him use up our precious time on RW ploys. He is heartless and makes us look hopeless.
I have seen it many times here on TS the patterns that develop over time. People respond in a predictable manner to other commenters rather than to the comments. Hard to break that habit once established and any chance of self-moderation is gone out of the window before dawn break.
One of the patterns is that of the ‘pyromaniac ‘who lights a fire, makes sure it gets enough fuel, and when it has grown into a full blaze that is unstoppable they ring 111 for more action.
(2019 Australian federal election – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Australian_federal_election
The election will be called following the dissolution or expiry of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissolution federal election. The next election must be held by 18 May 2019 for half of the Senate and on or before 2 November 2019 for the House of Representatives and Territory Senators.)
The Trolls are unable to accept the consequences of their statements and actions.
National are looking dreadfully bedraggled. Because the Trolls are accusing everyone – except National Followers – of ” being sick and unhinged.”
I suppose Simon Bridges and David Farrar have advised The Trolls to announce that every Person who is not A National follower is Quote: “Sick and Unhinged”.
Some of James‘ twenty-two comments on today’s OM are very funny, in the same way that the opposition National party’s recent anti-KiwiBuild BBQ ad was very funny.
James, 22 out of 93 comments just isn’t enough – you can do better, and we love the laughs.
This feeble attempt at reverse psychology may backfire, but it’s worth a try – nothing else has worked.
When we find any good practical thing our pollies are doing, even if small, we should remember it and post it here on the blog. Don’t let it escape – trap it, handle the fragile delicate thing, observe it and tell us about it.
Bridges is one wonderful puppet. I went looking for puppet examples – here are some things from Youtube to provide light relief for a moment,
A mix of UK pollies quoting what their daddies were doing in the last war
and they are not putting up with things over there any more!
Quite good to see the different styles and the different parties support
for their speaker/s.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjluqIEmRXc
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In the wake of Donald Trump's incitement of an assault on the US capitol, Twitter finally enforced its terms of service and suspended his account. They've since followed that up with action against prominent QAnon accounts and Trumpers, including in New Zealand. I'm not unhappy with this: Trump regularly violated ...
Peter S. Ross, University of British ColumbiaThe Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern ...
Susan St John makes the case for taxing a deemed rate of return on excessive real estate holdings (after a family home exemption), to redirect scarce housing resources to where they are needed most. Read the full article here ...
I’m less than convinced by arguments that platforms like Twitter should be subject to common carrier regulation preventing them from being able to decide who to keep on as clients of their free services, and who they would not like to serve. It’s much easier to create competition for the ...
The hypocritical actions of political leaders throughout the global Covid pandemic have damaged public faith in institutions and governance. Liam Hehir chronicles the way in which contemporary politicians have let down the public, and explains how real leadership means walking the talk. During the Blitz, when German bombs were ...
Over the years, we've published many rebuttals, blog posts and graphics which came about due to direct interactions with the scientists actually carrying out the underlying research or being knowledgable about a topic in general. We'll highlight some of these interactions in this blog post. We'll start with two memorable ...
Yesterday we had the unseemly sight of a landleech threatening to keep his houses empty in response to better tenancy laws. Meanwhile in Catalonia they have a solution for that: nationalisation: Barcelona is deploying a new weapon in its quest to increase the city’s available rental housing: the power ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD The 2020 global wildfire season brought extreme fire activity to the western U.S., Australia, the Arctic, and Brazil, making it the fifth most expensive year for wildfire losses on record. The year began with an unprecedented fire event ...
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a digital story – read the full story here.Tess TuxfordKo te Kauri Ko Au, Ko te Au ko Kauri I am the kauri, the kauri is me Te Roroa proverb In Waipoua Forest, at the top of the North Island, New ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Coming attraction: IPCC's upcoming major climate assessmentLook for more emphasis on 'solutions,' efforts by cities, climate equity ... and outlook for emissions cuts in ...
Ringing A Clear Historical Bell: The extraordinary images captured in and around the US Capitol Building on 6 January 2021 mirror some of the worst images of America's past.THERE IS A SCENE in the 1982 movie Missing which has remained with me for nearly 40 years. Directed by the Greek-French ...
To impact or not to impeach? I understand why some of those who are justifiably aghast at Trump’s behaviour over recent days might still counsel against impeaching him for a second time. To impeach him, they argue, would run the risk of making him a martyr in the eyes of ...
The Capitol Building, Washington DC, Wednesday, 6 January 2021. Oh come, my little one, come.The day is almost done.Be at my side, behold the sightOf evening on the land.The life, my love, is hardAnd heavy is my heart.How should I live if you should leaveAnd we should be apart?Come, let me ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 3, 2021 through Sat, Jan 9, 2021Editor's ChoiceAfter the Insurrection: Accountability, Reform, and the Science of Democracy The poisonous lies and enablers of sedition--including Senator Hawley, pictured ...
This article, guest authored by Prof. Angela Gallego-Sala & Dr. Julie Loisel, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Dec 21, 2020. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Peatlands Peatlands are ecosystems unlike any other. Perpetually saturated, their ...
The assault on the US Capitol and constitutional crisis that it has caused was telegraphed, predictable and yet unexpected and confusing. There are several subplots involved: whether the occupation of the Michigan State House in May was a trial run for the attacks on Congress; whether people involved in the ...
On Christmas Eve, child number 1 spotted a crack in a window. It’s a double-glazed window, and inspection showed that the small, horizontal crack was in the outermost pane. It was perpendicular to the frame, about three-quarters of the way up one side. The origins are a mystery. It MIGHT ...
Anne-Marie Broudehoux, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Will the COVID-19 pandemic prompt a shift to healthier cities that focus on wellness rather than functional and economic concerns? This is a hypothesis that seems to be supported by several researchers around the world. In many ways, containment and physical distancing ...
Does the US need to strike a grand bargain with like-minded countries to pool their efforts? What does this tell us about today’s global politics? Perhaps the most remarkable editorial of last year was the cover leader of the London Economist on 19 November 2020. Shortly after Joe Biden was ...
Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato and Valmaine Toki, University of WaikatoAotearoa New Zealand likes to think it punches above its weight internationally, but there is one area where we are conspicuously falling behind — the number of sites recognised by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Globally, there are 1,121 ...
An event organised by the Auckland PhilippinesSolidarity group Have a three-course lunch at Nanam Eatery with us! Help support the organic farming of our Lumad communities through the Mindanao Community School Agricultural Foundation. Each ticket is $50. Food will be served on shared plates. To purchase, please email phsolidarity@gmail.com or ...
"Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here." Prisons are places of unceasing emotional and physical violence, unrelieved despair and unforgivable human waste.IT WAS NATIONAL’S Bill English who accurately described New Zealand’s prisons as “fiscal and moral failures”. On the same subject, Labour’s Dr Martyn Findlay memorably suggested that no prison ...
This is a re-post from Inside Climate News by Ilana Cohen. Inside Climate News is a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for the ICN newsletter here. Whether or not people accept the science on Covid-19 and climate change, both global crises will have lasting impacts on health and ...
. . American Burlesque As I write this (Wednesday evening, 6 January), the US Presidential election is all but resolved, confirming Joe Biden as the next President of the (Dis-)United State of America. Trump’s turbulent political career has lasted just four years – one of the few single-term US presidents ...
The session started off so well. Annalax – suitably chastised – spent a pleasant morning with his new girlfriend (he would say paramour, of course, but for our purposes, girlfriend is easier*). He told her about Waking World Drow, and their worship of Her Ladyship. And he started ...
In a recent column I wrote for local newspapers, I ventured to suggest that Donald Trump – in addition to being a liar and a cheat, and sexist and racist – was a fascist in the making and would probably try, if he were to lose the election, to defy ...
A growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...
The Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
Babies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...
The prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...
Travellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...
Summer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey, Leonie Hayden and a lineup of incredibly successful New Zealand women as they confront their imposter syndrome once and for all. First published 20 October, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members ...
With criticism from National piling on over the property market, the prime minister has detailed when the government will make housing announcements. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marco Rizzi, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Western Australia Some Australians could be receiving a COVID-19 vaccine within weeks. Amid the continued spread of the virus and emergence of highly contagious variants, the federal government has accelerated the start of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Australia’s Threatened Species Strategy — a five-year plan for protecting our imperilled species and ecosystems — fizzled to an end last year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Lecturer, General Dentist & PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Baby teeth, or milk teeth, act like lighthouses to guide the adult ones to their correct destination. A baby tooth will become wobbly and fall out because the adult tooth ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Simon Coley, co-founder of All Good and Karma Drinks.Bananas are one of the ...
Tackling topics such as rugby and body image, Stuff’s latest podcast shines a much-needed light on Aotearoa’s complex relationship with masculinity, writes Trevor McKewen, author of the book Real Men Wear Black.I wasn’t sure what to think when two episodes of the new local podcast He’ll Be Right landed in ...
The Rainforest Alliance reveals that 68%* of Kiwis say the COVID-19 pandemic has made them more conscious about environmental and social sustainability issues. Seventy two percent* state that they have been trying to make more sustainable purchasing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin University The inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, has raised concerns that Australia’s proposed News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code could fundamentally break the internet as we know it. His concerns ...
ANALYSIS:By Scott Lucas, University of Birmingham Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path Two weeks after the storming of the US Capitol by the followers of his predecessor, in the middle of an out-of-control pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Cantrell, Lecturer, Creative Writing & English Literature, University of Southern Queensland Described as “the world’s greatest storyteller”, Roald Dahl is frequently ranked as the best children’s author of all time by teachers, authors and librarians. However, the new film adaptation of ...
Peak housing body, Community Housing Aotearoa (CHA) welcomes the updated Public Housing Plan announced today by Minister Woods, and the commitment by this Government to fix New Zealand’s housing crisis. The 8,000 additional homes are a significant ...
Having recently walked much of the South Island stretch of Te Araroa, Kirsten O’Regan reflects on the magnificent landscapes and interesting characters she encountered along the way.On our 36th day of walking, we climb through the fire-blackened hills above Ohau, stopping to examine heat-disfigured trail markers. Fresh green shoots have ...
Miss Torta in central Auckland is putting the spotlight on a snack that’s commonplace in Mexico, but until now relatively unknown in New Zealand.You’ve heard of a torta, but what is it, exactly? Well, depending on the cuisine it can mean a flatbread, cake, tart, sweet pie, savoury pie or ...
Two of three ministerial statements from the Beehive have been released in the name of the PM over the past two days. The more important, insofar as it involves political action that will affect the wellbeing of significant numbers of Kiwis, was the release of the government’s Public Housing Plan ...
Jacinda Ardern has reminded Labour MPs "ongoing vigilance" will be required in 2021 to avoid another Covid outbreak, admitting she held her breath over the summer break. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Monash University Despite many young Australians having a deep interest in political issues, most teenagers have a limited understanding about their nation’s democratic system. Results from the 2019 National Assessment Program – Civics and ...
Pinged $65 for overstaying 10 minutes in a parking block? Put away your hard-earned cash and read this first.Hopefully, by now, I’ve already established myself at The Spinoff as the resident tightarse, determined to avoid all unfair and unnecessary punishments (see: oversize baggage charges). Today, I’m focusing my attention on ...
Nuclear weapons states and their allies risk reputational ruin if they flout a new UN Treaty, Carolina Panico argues The United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will come into force this month, on January 22, 2021, turning nuclear weapons into illegal objects. It is an achievement that ...
How does one turn into a rabid extremist over the description of a children’s bike? Emily Writes looks at Facebook comments so you don’t have to.You’ve been there, I know it. You’re scrolling along, trying to avoid QAnon conspiracy theories and Trump apocalypse memes when a story catches your eye. ...
Joe Biden is now the President of the United States and many people across America and throughout the world will consequently be breathing more easily. But while the erratic, unpredictable and irresponsible years of the Trump Presidency may be over, ...
Tough border testing for New Zealand honey imports to Japan is re-igniting the conversation about the use of the weed killer glypohsate in New Zealand. ...
The Taxpayers Union should be aware of the law and of the history of ACC. The ACC is a legal system introduced in 1974 to replace the common law right of accident victims to sue for damages for personal injury sustained as a result of negligence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne Terrorism, political extremism, Donald Trump, social media and the phenomenon of “cancel culture” are confronting journalists with a range of agonising free-speech dilemmas to which there are no easy answers. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Associate Professor of the Sydney Pharmacy School, University of Sydney You’ve just come from your monthly GP appointment with a new script for your ongoing medical condition. But your local pharmacy is out of stock of your usual medicine. Your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna D’Alessandro, Professor & ARC Future Fellow, University of Sydney On Wednesday this week, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was measured at at 415 parts per million (ppm). The level is the highest in human history, and is growing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Renwick, Professor, Physical Geography (climate science), Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington It might be summer in New Zealand but we’re in for some wild weather this week with forecasts of heavy wind and rain, and a plunge in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Monash University Despite many young Australians having a deep interest in political issues, most teenagers have a limited understanding about their nation’s democratic system. Results from the 2019 National Assessment Program – Civics and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle O’Shea, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University Last week, the McIver’s Ladies Baths in Sydney came under fire for their (since removed) policy stating “only transgender women who’ve undergone a gender reassignment surgery are allowed entry”. The policy was ...
There are good grounds for optimism after the guardrails of American democracy held firm through to Joe Biden's inauguration today as President, writes Stephen Hoadley Pessimism abounds about the perilous condition of American democracy. Commentators and headline writers proffer memes such as ‘broken and divided nation’, ‘the threat from within’. ...
*This article was originally appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. Donald Trump will forever be remembered as the president who was impeached twice - and for his rhetoric that struck a chord so deep in America that it will take years to dissipate. Donald Trump leaves Washington with the lowest approval ...
A new plan shows how and where the Government will build 8,000 new state housing places it funded in Budget 2020, Marc Daalder reports Jacinda Ardern has kicked off the political year with a major announcement, promising hundreds of new state housing places in regional centres across the country. With ...
This is the full transcript of President Joe Biden's speech after being sworn in at his inauguration this morning in Washington DC Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, and my distinguished guests, my fellow Americans, this is America's day. This ...
Analysis: President Donald Trump has left the White House, and his deputy chief of staff confirms he is withdrawing his candidacy to lead the OECD. New Zealander Christopher Liddell withdrew his nomination to be Secretary-General of the powerful 37-member OECD and was one of the last members of the Trump Administration to depart ...
Kate Wills is facing stage four cancer with the same fierce approach she takes into her ocean swimming - never say can't. Even on the mornings Kate Wills feels wretched from her fortnightly chemotherapy treatment, she drags herself up at 5am and goes swimming. “I have to. It’s my job – to ...
Some costs associated with meetings speak for themselves, others are less conspicuous. Victoria University of Wellington's Val Hooper lays those costs out, making suggestions on where we can rein them in. Meetings – when last did we count the costs? And so it’s back to work and one of the ...
Andrew Paul Wood assesses the best-selling picture book by Grahame Sydney It's no great secret the commercially very successful Grahame Sydney has a long-standing beef that his work doesn’t receive more critical and institutional approval. I sympathise about the lack of critical attention, but I can understand why. The Discourse™ ...
This story was produced in collaboration with the Center for Public Integrity and Columbia Journalism Investigations. It was originally published by Public Integrity, Mother Jones, The Arizona Republic and Orlando Sentinel. It is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the ...
Analysis: It has been easy to ignore anyone daring to criticise or even question any aspect of the government’s Covid-19 response. Their voices have rarely been heard, and when they have been raised they have been quickly and decisively howled down by the favoured coterie of academics. ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s US presidential inauguration live blog: inauguration news, analysis and reaction, updated through Wednesday and Thursday. The inauguration ceremony begins at 5.15am Thursday, NZ time, and Joe Biden takes the oath of office around 6am. 7.25am: And what about Trump?In the early hours of this morning, NZ ...
In 10 x 100, we survey a group of 100 people via Stickybeak and ask them 10 questions. Last month we quizzed Wellingtonians. Today, we ask NZ drivers how they’ve found a holiday period without international tourists, and what they get up to while they’re on the road.Across Aotearoa roads ...
Emmanuel Macron's anti-separatist policies have garnered backlash from the international Muslim community. Now, a global coalition has complained to the UN. ...
Summer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden as they go on an odyssey of women’s rage, and find out how we can channel our anger into good. First published September 15, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by ...
By Lorraine Ecarma in Cebu City The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) will continue to stand against any threats to human rights, chancellor Clement Camposano has declared in response to the termination of a long-standing accord preventing military incursion on campus. In a Facebook post, Camposano said the academic ...
ANALYSIS:By Jennifer S. Hunt, Australian National University Every four years on January 20, the US exercises a key tenant of democratic government: the peaceful transfer of power. This year, the scene looks a bit different. If the last US presidential inauguration in 2017 debuted the phrase “alternative facts”, the ...
By Lulu Mark in Port Moresby In spite of Papua New Guinea’s mandatory mask-wearing requirement under the National Pandemic Act 2020, many public servants attending a dedication service in Port Moresby have failed to wear one. They were issued masks before entering the Sir John Guise Indoor Complex but took ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Moro, Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, Bond University How do scabs form? — Talila, aged 8 Great question, Talila! Our skin has many different jobs. One is to act as a barrier, protecting us from harmful things in the ...
US President Donald Trump is pardoning former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who is accused of fraud in a case involving funds for the border wall. ...
Joel Little with Lorde, Dera Meelan with Church & AP, Josh Fountain with Maala and Randa and Benee – producers make good songs great. Now a new fund from NZ on Air is putting the focus on them.Six months ago it looked like the music industry was on the brink ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denise Buiten, Senior Lecturer in Social Justice and Sociology, University of Notre Dame Australia On average, one child is killed by a parent almost every fortnight in Australia. Last week, three children — Claire, 7, Anna, 5, and Matthew, 3 — were ...
This commendable and realistic decision again underlines that it is the police, not government, who are largely responsible for the reduction in cannabis prosecutions over the past 15 years, writes Russell Brown.The news that New Zealand police have discontinued the annual Helicopter Recovery Operation, which has, each summer for more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ilan Noy, Professor and Chair in the Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington We will not be able to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us until the world’s population is mostly immune through vaccination ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s US inauguration live blog: inauguration news, analysis and reaction, updated throughout Wednesday and Thursday, NZ time. Reach me at catherine@thespinoff.co.nz.4.00pm: What will Trump be doing tomorrow?It’s pretty well known by now that outgoing president Donald Trump intends to throw out the rulebook when it comes to ...
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is calling out Mayor Phil Goff for his undignified comment that the claim made by Councillor Greg Sayers asking why Auckland Council is funding yoga classes is “bullshit.” Yesterday, Councillor Greg Sayers penned ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne At 4am Thursday AEDT, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be inaugurated as president and vice president of the United States, replacing Donald Trump and Mike Pence. What follows is ...
*This article was originally published on RNZ and is republished with permission. New Zealanders flocked to beaches and lakes this summer, but it wasn't enough to fill the gap left by international tourists in other regions. The tourism industry is struggling to fill a $6 billion hole left by international tourists ...
Summer reissue: Chef Monique Fiso joins us for a chat about Hiakai – her acclaimed Wellington restaurant, and the title of her stunning new book.First published November 3, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn ...
A new trough was brought to our attention this morning, although ethnicity will limit the numbers of eligible applicants. If you are non-Maori, it looks like you shouldn’t bother getting into the queue – but who knows?We learned of the trough from the Scoop website, where the Kapiti ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Britta Denise Hardesty, Principal Research Scientist, Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, CSIRO Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing costs economies up to US$50 billion globally each year, and makes up to one-fifth of the global catch. It’s a huge problem not only for the ...
Police stopping major cannabis eradication operations has given the green light to drug dealers and gangs to expand operations, make more profit, and continue to wreak havoc on the most vulnerable in our society, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. ...
Varieties of merino wool footwear are emerging faster than Netflix series about British aristocracy. Michael Andrew takes a look at the rise of the shoe that almost everyone – including his 95-year-old grandma – is wearing.Some might say it all started with Allbirds. After all, to the average consumer, it ...
A new report from New Zealand’s Independent Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) highlights the realities and challenges disabled people faced during the COVID-19 emergency. The report, Making Disability Rights Real in a Pandemic, Te Whakatinana i ngā Tika ...
The Maritime Union is questioning the reasons provided for ongoing delays at the Ports of Auckland. Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Craig Harrison says there is a need for an honest conversation about what has gone wrong at the ...
As New Zealand faces a dire shortage of veterinarians, a petition has been launched urging the Government to reclassify veterinarians as critical workers so we can Get Vets into NZ. “New Zealand desperately needs veterinarians from overseas to counter ...
New Zealand is fast developing a reputation as a South Pacific vandal, says Greenpeace, as the government continues to fight against increased ocean protection. At the upcoming meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), ...
The Department of Internal Affairs and Netsafe are urging parents and caregivers to be mindful of the online content their tamariki may be consuming in the lead up to the inauguration of president-elect of the United States of America Joe Biden ...
Care is at the centre of Auckland Zoo’s mandate, and it’s clear to see when you witness the staff doing their day-to-day jobs up close. Leonie Hayden went behind the scenes to talk to two people who would do anything for the animals they look after. “We were having this ...
The Game Animal Council (GAC) is applying its expertise in the use of firearms for hunting to work alongside Police, other agencies and stakeholder groups to improve the compliance provisions for hunters and other firearms users. The GAC has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Verica Rupar, Professor, Auckland University of Technology “The lie outlasts the liar,” writes historian Timothy Snyder, referring to outgoing president Donald Trump and his contribution to the “post-truth” era in the US. Indeed, the mass rejection of reason that erupted in a ...
The internet ain’t what it used to be, thanks to privacy issues, data leaks, censorship and hate speech. But a group of New Zealanders are working on a way to give power back to the people. A flood of headlines over the last week made it clear: the internet has become ...
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/03/chelsea-manning-jailed-again-due-to-contempt-of-court.html
Chelsea Manning back in jail. It will be good when her Wikileaks friend joins her.
My what a big penis you have @James
I think you are on the wrong site Tim, this isn’t grinder.
Now how would you know that?
My snide remarks to James are simply based on the fact that IMHO his main intention in coming here is to bait and try and show how clever he is – all egotistically driven. Probably not too dissimilar from your own reasons. THey’re certainly not intended to try and engage in debate.
Now, tell me something about this ‘Grinder’ thing. Maaaate! does it do anything for testosterone levels?
Not really, but I guess its all comparitive.
As Maria Muldaur once said – it ain’t the meat its the motion. I guess you fail on both counts in her mind.
I tried to reply to @ Nakiman – whoar – you know that man from the Naki.
I couldn’t understand since IMHO your intention in coming to TS is primarily to bait and show how bloody c;lever you think you are – similar reasons to the MAN from the Naki. Sure as shit it isn’t to engage in a debate.
But there ya go.
Chelsea Manning FFS – surely he could have tackled something more relevant if his intentions were genuine – I dunno – maybe the Kim Hill/Annette King interview this morning. Whoar Man!!!! there is grist in there he could have used to show us all how big his penis actually is.
Thank Christ I kept to Highway 4 last nite and evaded your neck of the woods.
Otherwise I could have been classed as a Highway 3 deviate.
But please @ Naki, tell me more about this “Ginder’ thing. Does it resolve the male mid-life crisis symptoms?: Increase the size of your dick or testosterone levels?; Make you a better husband to the woify?; or better still, Does it mean James and yourself become more ‘self-aware’ and all those nancy-boy type of things that might allow yourself to get over yourself?
PLEASE!!!! Tell me about Grinder. Someone just told me it was a dating site for bloody homos and married blokes on the ‘down-low’.
Chelsea Manning FFS – surely he
That comment puts you well and truly in the dickhead column yourself.
May I say @ solkta how utterly gorgeous I think you are.
It is possible I am a dickhead as well but that’s for me to know and you to ponder
(END OF STORY!!!!! Yea! I win you lose!)
But could you tell me about this ‘Grinder’ thing maybe?
Hi Solkta, None of my business but the “he” I think OnceWasTim was referring to was James, as in, “he” could have chosen a different topic to engage us in and I may be wrong also with the later comment to James but I read it as sarcasm and as a nancy-boy homo myself, I think he was just teasing Naki man and James about Grindr and certainly achieved a pearl clutching from James. If I’m wrong I’ll be the first to line up and give OnceWasTim a good spanking.
It is certainly a terrible piece of england so you might be right. Very strange to be replying to somebody and referring to them as “he” instead of “you”. Even more confusing as he had been speaking of the knackered one.
@RBO. I believe Tim was talking to James about Naki Man who was the HE in question. Therefore acceptable usage both for the political and syntactical police. You are right about Tim baiting James. Anyone who has watched and appreciated his style for a while will realise that he uses his own position on the spectrum (I believe he might have batted for your team on occasion) to take the mick out of himself and his target simultaneously. At times this can be confusing but when it works it does so beautifully.
“and all those nancy-boy type of things”
Your hateful homophobic comments are disgusting.
What is happening with the standard that this kind of thing is seen as acceptable to some.
+1 James, totally agree.
Still no sign of Sir Ray Avery’s lifesaving pods to save a million babies.
Some people have donated thousands.
Last year he said the deadline was February,just gone.
The factory in Chennai India was supposed to be all go.
What sort of ‘dark Knight’ do we have here?
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/sir-ray-avery-asking-publics-forgiveness-promises-lifepod-incubators-their-way?variant=tb_v_1
I see from the paper today that there is a project called Down the Wire to make life better for helicopter pilots. We don;’t want any of them striking wires when they are flying, but particularly now with the prospect of more droughts and fires that need their attendance and skill. It’s hard enough coping with it all without having to cope with electricity lines along their flight lines. So good for getting alternatives going.
Un-notified unrecorded electric fence feeds are the problem.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/97469147/chopper-pilot-died-because-unused-wires-were-not-removed–coroner
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/78523638/fatal-whanganui-helicopter-crash-charges-withdrawn
And another case of a victim of violent crime having to avoid meeting the perpetrator. He/she might be out of prison but the victim is not free to live and move where she wants. There is a notification system but why should there be the need? Keep violent people away from society. Give them a limited life in okay conditions, and limit their own violence on each other. Why should we all become potential victims. Their rate of recidivism is probably high, even if later in life.
simons on ‘The Nation’, trying to preach fear re the CGT. He’s an angry little man.
https://www.threenow.co.nz/live-tv-guide/three
That’s not anger cinny- labour’s ideological CGT was the wish National were waiting for. It’s the single biggest thing that could cost them the election.
He’s very happy that labour are handling this so badly
Yeah he’s real happy lol – you are the goofiest gnat cheerleaderless yet – keep up the good work.
Hiya James, simons done a wonderful job of making me giggle this morning.
Describing the CGT as hairy chested. Closed fist near on banging on the table. Blaming journalists for his failing ratings.
Crack up 🙂
Meanwhile, it’s a report of a working group, nothing has been proposed by the govt.
So while the government who haven’t decided anything yet (but are paying Cullen to sing CGT praises) dither and do nothing – they are losing the debate with the public.
Simon is exactly doing his job.
Not sure there is any evidence labour are losing the cgt debate James
Are you quoting Hoskins again hahahaha what a fool
You you can’t see where I’m getting that from – best you get outside and talk to people.
James where are you getting that from?
I would never rely on the random conversations I have with people as an indication of what the majority of kiwis think. Would you? Suspect a significant number of people already have an entrenched view,particularly the ones with a vested interest in not having a CGT, eg Amy, Simon, mr poor me I own 80 rentals a la the herald article.
Have there been any polls to show that since the report came out there has been an increase in opposition to the cgt. That would show labour is losing the argument. Otherwise there isn’t any real evidence that labour is losing the argument.
Sounds like Simon was doing a fabulous job on the Nation according to cinny……ha ha ha ha
Simon is giving Labour a great opportunity to listen and understand how best to respond to Simon’s hysterical chicken little prophesising on CGT.
When Labour finally come out with a set of policies on CGT, all of which will address Simon’s hysterical rants, people may very well end up saying “good golly, this isn’t so bad after all”
Simon may very well take the credit in forcing the govt to provide a halfway point, but people don’t listen to him anyway so won’t have much effect for him.
Simons got nothing concrete to criticise. As long as he keeps yammering on about what the dastardly evils of CGT might bring, Labour can continue to artfully respond to such falsities in their eventual policy document.
Simon should shut up and criticise something worth criticising. Like Labours lack of genuine commitment to addressing the cost of living in NZ.
A variety of people is who to talk to about it, not just those in ones social circle, workplace, suburb, income bracket etc etc.
Put in a submission, encourage other people to do so as well, I’m going to.
Tax Working Group welcomes submissions on future of tax
“Submissions open today for those wanting to share their thoughts straight away and on March 14 an updated website will be launched along with a background paper that will provide more assistance. ”
https://taxworkinggroup.govt.nz/resources/tax-working-group-welcomes-submissions-future-tax
Edit.. Am back to working fulltime and with no kids this weekend, it’s power tool time, doing some renovations 🙂 Enjoy your day out there everyone.
OK James, I had you pegged as someone of intelligence, but you keep denying me that view by your constant undying loyalty and borderline sycophancy in terms of the National Party.
1. The government has done nothing yet but has clearly signalled a time frame in which they will, so your criticism on that front is valueless.
2. Michael Cullen is on a retainer so that he, as the chairman of the task force and therefore intimately knowledgeable about the report, is able to answer queries and provide detail.
3. You intimate that Cullen is there merely to sing praises for the CGT, which is only a small segment of the total report, and is being discussed and largely vilified in a hugely disproportionate way in comparison to other aspects of the report. That is not his job, and that is not what he is doing.
4. You say that the government is losing the debate, which is a hugely subjective statement with no evidence apparent.
The only thing you say here is that Simon is doing his job. He is, but not in the way you think.
BTW check out this link –
https://socialistaotearoa.org.nz/taxing-the-richardson-not-enough/
“2. Michael Cullen is on a retainer so that he, as the chairman of the task force and therefore intimately knowledgeable about the report, is able to answer queries and provide detail.”
Cullen is a political appointment
You may missed the memo.
https://www.google.co.nz/amp/s/www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/03/sir-michael-cullen-s-job-to-correct-simon-bridges-inaccurate-hypotheticals-kris-faafoi.amp.html
Not a memo – a subjective comment by a journalist on Newshub . . . Newshub FFS. The wonderfully rational and objective employer of Richardson and Garner.
Oh . . . BTW, did you read the link? I read yours.
I choose never to read a link that starts with socialistanything
One of the possible reasons you think soimon’s doing such a great job. Other possible reasons being: avoiding public transport, avoiding cheaper supermarkets, avoiding rougher bars, and avoiding poor people.
Ok. I will admit I avoid public transport completely.
As for avoiding rougher bars – only an idiot would seek them out.
the beer’s cheap.
Some of them do an ok meal, too. You’d be surprised.
simons daily rate is more than Cullens, and Cullen only charges for a few days a month, where as for simon it’s every single day.
In which case, one begins to wonder just why Cullen has come up with so many many more ideas than simon.
Actually, what are simons ideas and plans re tax? Probably the same old narrative key used to spin.
Nothing new, yet simon get’s paid more than Cullen, how does that work?
I think you are getting confused.
The ideas are not his – the are the committees. And a lot (as a %age) of the committee disagree with them.
Also the committee has done its job – this is now a political appointment.
By no means – it’s public education.
Bridges (and you, his unpaid PR flack) wants to misrepresent the commission’s work, hoping to ride into power on a tide of outrage. It’s certainly the only emotion that would move people to vote for him.
But outrage is not appropriate to a a representative and consultative process, the commission invites public input and discussion, which will culminate in legislation in the usual way.
Scaremonger all you want, you only expose your fundamentally undemocratic preferences.
If it’s public education why won’t they hire the committee member who disagreed so both arguments can be made for balanced education?
Why don’t we get them all back then? 😆
That would cost a lot.
He’s jolly funny to watch. Very energetic. A bit like a Thunderbirds puppet operated by someone with Parkinson’s.
IKR 🙂 He’s very animated with both his words and actions. Super funny
The link is up now for the full interview
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2019/03/sir-michael-cullen-caught-out-simon-bridges-claims.html
Thanks for the link Cinny
Ha ha ha ha ha #lets keep Simon
He almost said a new word ‘biodesertification’. Truly a genius among hobbits.
The interviewer had a tell when she was trying to conceal a mental eye roll, she breathed in sharply.
Far-ka-nora!!!
That interview was pure entertainment Cinny. Or it would be if he wasn’t so serious about what he says. And he calls Cullen sly!
I don’t know . . . the worry is about the sheeple who will swallow that as gospel. He may well get enough boss thinkers to carry his party. That’s a scenario I can’t bear thinking about.
Yeah. Simon proposing a CGT, on the family home. Otherwise it is “unfair to farmers”. LOL. “The gift that keeps on giving”.
Simon does not like Michael Cullen, and Cinny I think many people hold a wee warm spot for Cullen because they have watched their Kiwisaver grow.
They know it was the Gnats who cut the starter in half, lowered the savings amount and were “tricky” and without that interference savers would have bigger balances.
Simon ‘no bridges’ has not got much to recommend his word, compared to Michael.
And yet several of the working group agree with Simon (and the tax experts at that).
Funny old world huh.
I am glad you are enjoying the fruits of capitalism Patricia with your kiwisaver growing
Oh god Cinny….I just watched that! Ewwwww….(I knew there was a good reason I don’t watch telly anymore)
Echoes of….
ROFL !!!!!!!!!
Stuff nails it.
OPINION: Hi, Simon Bridges here. Hitting new taxes for six! I am literally Martin Guptill!
Hey, but I just wanted to talk about those kids who are going to go truant from school next week because they say not enough’s being done about climate change.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/111135142/stay-at-school-kids-weve-got-it-covered
That piece was beautifully written. Hehehehee. Cheers for the link.
If simon thinks the kid’s aren’t serious about climate change then he is sorely mistaken.
His attitude and that of his party re the protest is going to fuel even more kids to act and adults to come out in support of those kids.
Most kids and teens know and care more about climate change than any other global or political issue. It’s a constant topic in schools.
And here I was thinking there are teachers in simons family, maybe they haven’t filled him in about the focus schools put on climate change and the awareness created as a result.
Pilot scheme for hearing rape cases in NZ. I think this sounds a promising path to better law here.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1903/S00043/gordon-campbell-on-the-handling-of-sexual-assault-complaints.htm
We knew Simon was a bit thick but boy what a crack up.
It sure was Patricia, watched it again on the plus one, lmao 🙂
Emma Jolliff was trying really hard not to laugh at Simon during the interview.
Did someone mention “thick”….that old National poodle Audrey over at the mornings fish wrap had this to say:
“It is time for Ardern to look across the aisle for support on pay transparency measures from Paula Bennett, Amy Adams and Judith Collins to work on some more advances in the interests of improving women’s lives…..”
If there were ever three women across the aisle who are more inclined to ruin women’s lives dear old Audrey could not have picked them better.
Kat noticed she said that labour didn’t give national any credit for the Bartlett pay equity bill. My understanding is that National fought it every step of the way and that Audrey knows this
Ankerrawshark you are correct, typically National only went so far with the Pay Equity Bill then inserted a “Paula Bennett pull up the ladder” clause. Audrey doesn’t like mentioning betrayal and National in the same sentence.
Look what happened last time a woman from a rural Canterbury farming background who had the Selywn electorate held the Finance role.
Manafort’s otherwise blameless life.
“He has lived an otherwise blameless life,” said Judge T. S. Ellis as he sentenced Paul Manafort to just 47 months in prison on Thursday.
In an otherwise blameless life, Paul Manafort lobbied on behalf of the tobacco industry and wangled millions in tax breaks for corporations.
In an otherwise blameless life, he helped Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos bolster his image in Washington after he assassinated his primary political opponent.
[…]
In an otherwise blameless life, he acted with impunity, as if the laws never applied to him. When presented with a chance to show remorse to the court, he couldn’t find that sentiment within his being. And with Ellis’s featherweight punishment, which deviated sharply downward from the sentencing guidelines, Manafort managed to bring his life’s project to a strange completion. He had devoted his career to normalizing corruption in Washington. By the time he was caught, his extraordinary avarice had become so commonplace that not even a federal judge could blame him for it.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/03/paul-manaforts-otherwise-blamess-life-crime/584419/
In his latest post entitled “Why we need to tax landlords”, idiot-savant attempts to make the case for imposing a capital gains tax on landlords by quoting from a Herald article by Keith Ng. However the original article has some flaws.
Ng points out, probably correctly, that interest of $456,000 has been deducted entirely from the rental income when it probably should be deductible against the capital cost of the property. I have long believed that interest should be either non deductible, which would mean that landlord would be paying a respectable amount of tax on the rental income while having to meet the interest costs from his own pocket, or, alternatively, subject to an interest “claw back” up to the amount of any capital gain when the property is sold.
Also, if neither of those above options seems acceptable, Ng should recognise that tax on the interest is being paid by the bank, so the landlord is in effect paying that tax indirectly in any case, given that he receives no material benefit from interest payments.
The Trolls wanted the Kiwi Saver stopped.
They hated it because it gave every decent earning man and women an excellent chance.
If The Trolls demand Simon Bridges attack CGT and Stop the Kiwi saver, National will die a miserable death. The public have seen exactly What Mr Key and Mr English have done to our highly valued Kiwi Saver. All for the Trolls.
The Trolls will be skinned alive. By their own wealthy mongrels.
“The Trolls will be skinned alive. By their own wealthy mongrels.”
you are sounding more and more unhinged. Seek help.
The Nats couldn’t possibly come up with such ingrained and accepted norms as WFF and Kiwisaver – they are ideologically opposed to policies with social benefit, and you’ve sometimes got to wonder whether they are ideologically opposed to any form of social thinking.
They put up with WFF and Kiwisaver because as you rightly point out they would spend decades out of government were they to abolish them.
They made a good effort to damage Kiwisaver out of spite for people wanting to save. Numbers dropped and people stopped enrolling their kids, but it is so popular that the Nats failed at that too. They can’t even get spite right!
Muttonbird
Given your comments about National reducing the benefits of KiwiSaver by reducing the government top up from $1 per $1 invested up to $1,040 per year, down to 50 cents & then taxing the employer contribution, you would then agree that KiwiSaver should be exempt from capital gains tax ? As this too is further damaging KiwiSaver balances ?
Kiwi Saver should be exempt because it is a savings program, not a speculative sale of an asset.
CGT is to be applied to the profit made when selling an asset, Kiwi Saver only makes money because you are saving and your boss is helping you to do so as is the government. You can’t sell the Kiwi saver during its live time, you have to wait till you are 65 until you can access is. or maybe via hardship if you are actively dying, or buying your first house, and even then you are not receiving the full amount.
So essentially two different ways to make money, speculative selling for profit, or putting your pennies in a savings accounts – btw these pennies already got hit with income tax when you made them. And as you stated you already pay income tax on the interest you receive.
You know your KiwiSaver fund invest in assets specifically to sell them at a higher price later right ?
I feel I have to repost this because the episode appears to have sneaked under the radar. I had a think about it this morning and Prebble clearly had in mind a separation of the nation in his example. This is called apartheid. Prebble seems to believe that if you take brown people out of the education system then our place in the world will be something to be proud of.
Think that over for a sec…
– Muttonbird
Great to have these debates in public.
From reading the full piece neither Prebble nor Seymour were promoting or saying anything racist.
You don’t think asking for brown students achievements to be excluded is racist?
Just a minute. I imagine you’re taking the Wayne defence, which is to say that the he only meant it figuratively.
South Auckland voters will have heard this loud and clear and if Simon Bridges doesn’t come out and condemn those words, National are in for a real kick in the balls next year.
Great to have these debates in public.
From reading the full piece neither Prebble nor Seymour were promoting or saying anything racist.
Fair enough. This is why National is tanking.
Given you being happy to overlook the racist comments the other day because it suited you – I can only assume you are an expert on the matter.
Undoubtedly, the comment has racist overtones…but Prebbles comment is more sinister in nature…IMO…
‘Human junk’…to be discarded…left behind…undereducated…disabled…poor…untermensch…
Pebbles comment delves far beneath the level of pure racism…my interpretation…
Agree One Two. There is a baseline of blind prejudice there. I don’t think he was born with it. It is learned through his politics.
Agree, MB..
RP has ‘memberships’ … gained through performing certain actions and tasks…politics such as you refer to…well documented…damaging…long term…
Prebble did not osmosis the ideology…it was a job opportunity… a contract which he accepted…planned turncoat against party and country…
One must harbor certain ‘beliefs’ to be offered the chance to gain ‘membership’…
That he is paraded while having clear mental health issues and in a late stage of life…serves to highlight the sinister nature of the ‘dominant ideology’…he is still under contract…
His words, are sinister
Yes!!!
This is a sign of fightback. We WILL get OUR water back from the exploiters external AND internal.
“A crowd of at least 2000 protesters took to the streets of Christchurch to oppose a water bottling company shipping billions of litres of water overseas.”
https://i.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/111156847/water-protest-in-chch-attracts-thousands
I notice a lot more disgusting terminology coming into the standard of late.
From the gooks and faggot comments the other day (which resulted in a ban) to the “Nancy boy” comments by Once was Tim in this thread.
Whilst this is a place for robust debate – there is no need for this kind of hate speech.
Lets wind this back at?
I notice that you delight in repeating, ad nauseam , all the words you claim to find offensive, James. You’ve done it so often that I believe you are doing it on purpose in order to offend and that you derive pleasure from your offensive behaviour. I reckon you’re … odd.
And I reckon you seem fine with others using that kind of language. I don’t see you calling others out on it – ever.
A blog site agitator… bottom feeding on negativity…creating negativity…revelling in negativity…
Pretending to care about language used by others…simultaneously taking a pious stance…while lauding his piousness over those who do not share a passion for propagating the words…of bottom feeders…
Oh look – my favourite stalker is back.
So you ok with people being called “Nancy boys”?
Come on – it’s an easy yes/no question.
James. You often claim that by not railing against something, a person is supporting it.
Yesterday, Muttonbird called you out, in regard Michael Jackson;
“By not taking a stand against Michael Jackson, both he and you are enabling child molesters.
Your definition.”
I thought Muttonbird elegantly skewered your silly behaviour, but it seems you missed the moment, so I’ve posted it here for your benefit. I don’t claim you intend to enable child molesters, but you’ve not been thinking very deeply, it’s clear.
Fair question. I pointed out that he has been found not guilty of being a child molester and that calling him such based off a tv show and not a court of law was wrong.
Do you think we should take stands against others who have been found not guilty?
You’re not being a virtue signalling white knight snofwake again are you jimby?
Coincidentally, you’re always in the thick of it …
Once was Tim needs to own his homophobic comments. Just because they were pointing at “righties” doesn’t make it ok?
I agree.
I’d just be more inclined to believe your sincerity if you didn’t also take every opportunity to recycle and remind people of vicious slanders against someone simply because of their relationship with a left wing politician.
Appreciate you agreeing. But you will be hard to find two examples of what you say I do at every opportunity. And the one you can find I was using it as an example of how rumours can be very wrong.
I have just read once were Tim’s comments at the top of this thread and I agree with James, they are homophobic. Not ok. Please stop
You’re correct, it is not o.k. I’d moderate it, and I probably can, but I’m waiting for feedback from LPrent.
Let me ask you this, James: do you feel that you play any role at all when standards slip here on TS and you happen to be in the thick of it? Or do you see yourself as an innocent bystander who happens to be in the wrong ‘place’ at the wrong time? This is a genuine question.
Fair question.
Pretty easy. In this case it was said by once was Tim in reply to naki man.
While I was in the convo – I was hardly being rude or insulting- it’s there for you to read. I’d say I was targeted as opposed to being in the think of it.
And yes – genuine answer, I think we all have a role to call out obviously homophobic or racist comments.
What amazes me is how people are happy to overlook it if it’s said to someone they don’t like or disagree with.
In short if I used the term “gook or Nancy boy” most commenters would be over me like a rash and shouting from the roof tops. But most (not all) are happy to let it slide if their “mate” says it.
I think prevention is better than cure. In other words, better to try and slow down things before they get out of hand and beyond the point of no return at which you’re usually the first at calling out the act and perpetrator. And I do feel you do it with a certain glee too. Fair?
“If I use the term…”
You just did. You regularly do. You remain impervious to recognising the behaviour. Odd.
Can I humbly suggest that people involved in this thread go back and read OWT’s ‘offending’ comment closely and take the time to unpack it. Those who do may also care to read my reply to Red Blooded One a little further down thread from that.
Anyone with moderately good reading comprehension skills will soon get the gist of where OWT was coming from and as usual he got a beautiful bit of pearl clutching from James who’s been turning that into a bit of an art form lately. Very funny really because it’s usually something lefties get accused of.
PS. It should also be noted that Naki Man was the first to go down that path by suggesting that OWT had lost his way and should be on Grindr instead.
Ok. Shall we start with the opening statement?
“My what a big penis you have @James”
Perhaps this is the root of the homophobic comments ?
If he didn’t start with personal abuse like this – the discussion would have been a lot better.
There has been no cross pollination between left and right ideas while you’ve been rehearsing emotional and edgy replys but that’s the point isn’t muh ninja.
I can’t work out whether you’re ingenuous or just a tad simple James. Either way you’re really not worth too much of my ever so valuable time. Suffice to say that one man can tell another that he is (or has) a large dick without being in any way homophobic. I offer this information in the spirit of providing a public service announcement. For future reference to help you remember the general principle involved you may care to commit this old saying to memory. “Circumstances alter cases, just as noses alter faces”.
It would be good Grant if your reasoned comment about James was the last one made on this blog to him. He wastes so much time, and makes everyone look fools while he runs rings round the leftie commenters.
Whether he is paid to do this or not, he is an idle talentless person at providing information and reasoned points about how we are going to face climate change now or soon. We haven’t time to waste with him – what is everyone thinking to let him use up our precious time on RW ploys. He is heartless and makes us look hopeless.
I have seen it many times here on TS the patterns that develop over time. People respond in a predictable manner to other commenters rather than to the comments. Hard to break that habit once established and any chance of self-moderation is gone out of the window before dawn break.
One of the patterns is that of the ‘pyromaniac ‘who lights a fire, makes sure it gets enough fuel, and when it has grown into a full blaze that is unstoppable they ring 111 for more action.
French Government Data Indicates Cell Phones Expose Consumers To Radiation Levels Higher Than Manufacturers Claim
Volkswagon also lied about pollution of their vehicles…
SAR regulatory ‘limits’ are completely inadequate, and I’ll address that separately…
Unlikely to have been covered in NZ media…
I dislike the way that Radionz has set the Prime Minister’s face beside the jihad twerp as if they were partners. It is not appropriate and if Peter Wilson chose to set it up like that I think it shows a lack of taste and respect for our PM.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/384282/week-in-politics-cold-shoulder-for-the-kiwi-jihadi
Do you always display such respect for the pms office irrespective of person who holds that office or simply for PMs you approve of
Dame Annette King High Commissioner to Australia. A job which will get her a lot of thanks from NZs if she continues to push our barrow with those people in government and perhaps she will achieve what others have not.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/384333/progress-on-pathway-to-citizenship-for-nzers-in-aus-stalled-dame-annette
(2019 Australian federal election – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Australian_federal_election
The election will be called following the dissolution or expiry of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissolution federal election. The next election must be held by 18 May 2019 for half of the Senate and on or before 2 November 2019 for the House of Representatives and Territory Senators.)
I think she will be very good at the job. If anyone can make it happen – it’s her.
“The Trolls are finding it hard”
The Trolls are unable to accept the consequences of their statements and actions.
National are looking dreadfully bedraggled. Because the Trolls are accusing everyone – except National Followers – of ” being sick and unhinged.”
I suppose Simon Bridges and David Farrar have advised The Trolls to announce that every Person who is not A National follower is Quote: “Sick and Unhinged”.
Not a good look really.
I don’t think anyone is accusing “everyone except national followers” as sick and unhinged.
Although some observers are making comments that make them specifically seem as such.
Interesting if this is accurate
https://mobile.twitter.com/jameslast831/status/1103828256686452736
UMR has national ahead of labour.
Since umr do polling for labour – I’m sure this will make them wind back even more on their cgt nonsense.
Winning the internet for all time.
Some of James‘ twenty-two comments on today’s OM are very funny, in the same way that the opposition National party’s recent anti-KiwiBuild BBQ ad was very funny.
James, 22 out of 93 comments just isn’t enough – you can do better, and we love the laughs.
This feeble attempt at reverse psychology may backfire, but it’s worth a try – nothing else has worked.
It’s call engaging in debate.
But – hey – good job on the counting.
“good job on the counting” – James, you are easily impressed!
James, your “engaging in debate” claim is a bold one.
In the spirit of genuine debate, can you explain how your ‘engaging in debate’ justification is consistent with:
“I choose never to read a link that starts with socialistanything” – James @1.51 pm
To be honest, your ‘engagement’ seems highly selective (prejudged, even), and your justification consequently weak.
Spot on DMK
When we find any good practical thing our pollies are doing, even if small, we should remember it and post it here on the blog. Don’t let it escape – trap it, handle the fragile delicate thing, observe it and tell us about it.
Bridges is one wonderful puppet. I went looking for puppet examples – here are some things from Youtube to provide light relief for a moment,
Example from recent past on the Brexit controversy
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKxsJDIm2Dk
John Cleese leaving Britain for a break from it all (puppet-free)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bteXcJAEKgY
A mix of UK pollies quoting what their daddies were doing in the last war
and they are not putting up with things over there any more!
Quite good to see the different styles and the different parties support
for their speaker/s.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjluqIEmRXc
Spitting Images – old but interesting
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErLcr1AkFfU