8 June 2011
PRESS RELEASE: Penny Bright ‘Anti-corruption campaigner’:
“Is the Solicitor-General maliciously abusing his position, as the second-highest ‘lawyer in the land’ by persecuting/ prosecuting Vince Siemer (AGAIN) for ‘contempt of Court’? ”
Vince Siemer – is facing jail for contempt of court (AGAIN!), through proceedings initiated (AGAIN) by the Solicitor -General for telling the public J Winkelman’s decision that the people arrested in the state terror raids of 15th October 2007 were not only denied a jury trial, but that the public were being denied the right to know that information.
(There will be a protest outside the Wellington High Court
2 Molesworth St (opposite Parliament)
Thursday 9 June 2011 from 9 – 10am, then for those who are able – quiet support inside the court room.
Well-known human rights lawyer Tony Ellis will be defending Vince Siemer).
In my considered opinion, Vince Siemer is NZ’s leading ‘Public Watchdog’ / ‘Whistleblower’ on the lack of transparency and accountability and ‘conflicts of interest’ in the NZ Judiciary. http://www.kiwisfirst.co.nz )
Why is the Solicitor-General David Collins QC himself not facing an investigation for ‘contempt of the House’ – given his role – in my considered opinion, of helping to ‘mislead’ the former Justice and Electoral Select Committee, which resulted in the matters raised in Petition 2005/142 being declared ‘subjudice’, at a time they clearly were NOT?
(Petition 2005/142 presented to the House by Mr Hide MP on 24 July 2007 “requesting that Parliament conduct an inquiry into the comittal for imprisonment of Mr Vincent Ross Siemer for contempt of court”)
Was the former Justice and Electoral Select Committee ‘misled’ – not only by the Solicitor-General David Collins QC (‘the highest acting law officer in the land’); but also by the former Clerk of the House David McGee QC (now an Ombudsman) ; and the former Acting Deputy Solicitor-General (Public Law) Grant Liddell (who later became the CEO of the NZ Serious Fraud Office (SFO)?
Read the following information for yourself – and you be the judge…….”
So now many of the ordinary mums and dads are being subtly cast again as “pariahs” of the state – you know, the ones who belong to unions or are public service employees. Now, let’s list a few other average mums and dads who, with the stroke of their pens, have shunted inordinate amounts of the New Zealand cake offshore – family names like Myers, Douglas, Fay, Aldgate-Whitechapel, Hart, Richwhite, … makes you wonder who the real Kiwis are doesn’t it?
Oh, its far worse, the typically civilisation killer is here. Where the language of debate, if its allowed to happen (in the public eye), is restricted to the needs of the exploiters continued exploitation. Where the only justified work lifestyle has to be in some industry that exploits its workers and its environment, and where if you do have standards to meet the taxpayer not the polluter has to pay. Imagine the markets as a massive bragging competition, we’re made this much money using up this much soil, putting this much high density ore into refuse dumps globally, so we can produce some high end product for the few who braggers who brag the best.
Its not surprising Key is loved by one and all, he is a hero of the brag to make money brigade, what your kids should grow up to be like.
What’s the story with Fiji at the RWC? Articles I’ve read seem confusing as to who can and can’t come and I got the impression the IRB seemed to be thinking it could let in who it liked……ignoring any bans we may have.
So it’s another case of us surrendering sovereignty to some external transnational body? – again!
Thanks Murray! You bring the KY and we will assume the position – again!
What is it with Key and planking? He is now busily trying to reform labour laws to make protection for workers a joke and describes this as a “campaign plank” …
Closing down debate quickly on National Radio—again
Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan, Thursday June 9, 2011
In a discussion about deep sea oil and gas exploration off New Zealand’s coasts, Simon Boxer of Greenpeace mentioned that both the Brazilian government and Petrobras were angry with the New Zealand government for making public announcements about oil-prospecting deals, without having consulted local people.
Incredibly, Kathryn Ryan sternly warned him away: “Well, we had the Associate Minister disputing that the other day. I don’t want that dragged up again. Let’s move on.”
A couple of weeks ago, an equally nervous Jim Mora stopped Richard Langstone and Bomber Bradbury from going after Professor Stephen Hoadley, who had made a couple of preposterous statements asserting the “legality” of the American carpet-bombing of Indo-China, and claiming that it conformed with the Geneva Conventions. Like Ryan, Mora insisted that there was no time to go “off topic” like that. (“The Panel”, May 27, 2011)
These are by no means isolated instances.
It’s clear that, in addition to the highly partisan, unapologetically pro-National-government New Zealand Herald and NewstalkZB, we have a public radio station that is afraid of incurring government wrath by letting critics have a say.
That’s a worry for democracy, as well as a blow for the prospects of interesting or stimulating discussions on the radio.
Morrissey – Be fair, the interviewers must offer their audience a broad view of their subject, and only Mary Wilson, of those I listen to, hammers one aspect into the ground. She doesn’t give up. Sometimes it even seems pointless and I turn the radio off. Interviewers can’t get into the argy-bargy that goes on here sometimes with endless assertions being countered continuously with a lot of rancour and little illumination or new facets being revealed, and other relevant info getting sidelined.
…only Mary Wilson…hammers one aspect into the ground. She doesn’t give up.
Eva Radich is another determined interviewer. When Tony Blair had the hide to make a state visit here some years ago, she went after him about the illegality of the Iraq invasion and his bogus “45 minute” claim. She would not let him evade her questions or divert the focus of the interview. In the end, of course, he just resorted to his usual insulting menu of vague platitudes. But she had discomfited that creep, in a way he rarely faced back in the U.K. And what a great contrast between her interview with Blair and the hesitant treatment he got a day later by an overwhelmed John Campbell, who obviously detested Blair but lacked the fortitude to insist he respond seriously to his questions.
Last year Kim Hill subjected ex-Australian prime minister John Howard to a thirty-five minute interrogation. The Great Man was clearly unsettled by her persistence, something he rarely if ever encountered back in Australia. But one person was even more upset by the interview than Howard was—the Wairarapa oenophile Karl Du Fresne was incensed by Kim’s lack of forelock-tugging, and slammed her “lack of balance” in a dyspeptic column in the Australian Spectator… http://karldufresne.blogspot.com/2010/11/howard-deserved-more-balanced-treatment.html
Sometimes it even seems pointless and I turn the radio off.
I think it’s a pity more interviewers haven’t got the courage, or are insufficiently prepared, to seriously hold politicians to account. When TV and radio stations assign people like John Campbell, Kathryn Ryan, Mike Hosking, and (God save us) Paul Holmes to interview powerful and intimidating politicians, it’s a missed opportunity.
I generally reckon that when the press isn’t being combative they are missing the point of their freedom.
I like seeing all pollies getting their feet held to the fire, particularly when they are ones that I have voted for or are thinking of voting for. Fucking nail them.
I don’t care if a journo ‘gets it wrong’, or asks ‘stupid questions’ or is ‘rude’. That’s ‘doing their job’ as far as I see it.
One of the US founders said (paraphrase) that given the choice between a free press and free elections, he’d take the former every time. And this was in a time when the press was vicious. His point was that a combative and free press lets the public know things by forcing pollies to confront things. Without that knowledge, elections are useless. With that knowledge, even absent elections, remedies are available.
The public is capable of deciding if a journo has been an arsehole, and an arsehole journo at the end of the day, is just a twatcock asking questions and printing the answers. Those answers will always be of some value.
Some detail about the Ecoli outbreak. This has been ruinous for Spain and the wash has spread over all the EU. A British bacteriologist (I think) said that in fact it was a North German problem. All the people sickening outside Germany had contact from there. The researchers have concentrated on salad vegetables because most of those affected are women and probably health conscious, but what about bottled water, or natural beauty preparations? (Light bulb – they need to call House.)
With all the sophisticated, easily accessed labs they have in Germany and Europe, they have not been able to source this thing. Imagine our country affected by a blow to its agriculture like this. It does not even have to be true, just suspected. We have closed down so much of our manufacturing and employment-rich businesses separate from the farming economy. We would be back to slave camps, that’s what they called the work camps during the Depression. And glad to get something no doubt.
From google listings – 1 The EHEC strain may cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is characterised by acute kidney failure and can lead to seizures, strokes and coma.
Reinhard Burger, head of Germany’s Robert Koch Institute which monitors epidemics, said the country usually saw between 50 and 60 cases of HUS annually, whereas it had recorded about 80 during the current outbreak.
Earlier –
2 Ten people have been hospitalized in Frankfurt with another 50 experiencing mild symptoms. In Hamburg, another forty patients are being treated for EHEC as well. Other cases have been confirmed in the Northern part of Germany including Rostock, Lower Saxony, Bremen and Schleswig Holstein. There are up to 600 suspected cases across Germany.
3 The latest cases in the U.K. involve three people with bloody diarrhea and one person who has developed the potentially fatal form of the condition known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
Three of the four new cases are in U.K. residents who have recently returned from Germany, and the other involves a person from Germany who is on vacation in England.
Recent news 8/6 http://news.uk.msn.com/world/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=158154499
4 Another person has died in Germany from the infection, raising the toll to 24 in Germany, plus one in Sweden.
The number of reported cases is up by more than 300 over the previous day to 2,648, including nearly 700 suffering from a serious complication that can cause kidney failure.
Interesting, the photo accompanying the above article showed a laboratory worker? not wearing gloves with an opened bean sprout packet which the caption said was to be tested. Surely a file photo. I wouldn’t want to put my flesh anywhere near something as possibly infective as that.
“Imagine our country affected by a blow to its agriculture like this. It does not even have to be true, just suspected.”
This is why the American beef industry does their own management of testing for mad cow disease, and deliberately do a very poor job of it while covering up any actual infections detected (any cows ‘suspected’ of having it are killed and incinerated before samples can be taken for proper testing). That way they can be sure that if there is actually a problem with mad cow disease, it would have to be quite widespread before the public became aware of it.
In milk we trust.
Solely, absolutely and forever and ever.
Kiss goodbye to rail and engineering technology (Kevin Welsh @ 1:44pm).
May the sacredness of our milk always prevail over all disasters – national or National.
And may our milk be always completely free from health scares.
If you’re not keen about being a milk slave, erm, farmer or dairy maid, please take the next one-way flight out of Milkland.
I don’t know if I would trust all milk, there was something on TV news last night about modified cows producing “human ” milk. Curdled thoughts on that.
lanthanide – Gosh! The usa beef lobby is powerful – remember them suing Oprah for saying she wouldn’t eat hamburger or similar. I think that was at the mad cow disease outbreak. Also I remember a couple of journalists being harrassed by the usa dairy lobby who managed to get control of the wording of legislation about quality of milk so they could ensure that people remained unaware of possible problems. The ‘What you don’t know, won’t hurt you’ approach. This was another scare, back a decade or two.
You can imagine how tough the usa lobby is when you hear Federated Farmers leaders like Don Nicholson talking about farmers’ interests.
according to some very smart people, including the Koch Institute mentioned above, Mother Nature simply does not work in the manner the Bankers would like us to believe. No naturally occuring process can achieve this level of resistance complexity and then magically appear simulaneously in multiple links on the food chain. It does not happen, not without a concerted level of assistance.
The very complex questions, often have very simple answers.
What a load of BS. Bacteria such as E. coli typically acquire multidrug resistance via horizontal gene transfer from other bacteria, and not via multiple rounds of selection. And bacterial contamination is easy spread given the right conditions (and of course that all the cases are linked to a single country anyway). Mother nature is not benevolent.
And the theory of how the strain was ‘engineered’ is just as dumb. If I was going to engineer a deadly strain of bacteria, it wouldn’t be via that method.
This is shocking. But this Government prefers to purchase Chinese workers and have our own as unemployed on the street and on the dole because it is more “efficient”.
I dont think we should be suprised about this one. And we shouldnt blame the current administration.
This has been happening for about the past 25 years or so, with NZR, TranzRail and then Toll running down the railway workshops, that provided NZ with a lot of skill, expertise and engineering infrastructure for the past century or so. Eastown, Otahuhu, Addington (now replaced by a shopping mall), all gone, and Hutt, along with Hillside, running at a fraction of its orginal capacity.
If you want to blame anyone for this, blame Richard Prebble. He was the one who stripped NZR to the bone for it to be flogged off.
Yep and, unfortunately, neither of the two main parties are willing to change the direction just yet. One because of the ideology – they actually want NZ to go the wrong way because it directly benefits them and they don’t care what it does to everyone else. The other doesn’t seem to want to admit that it got it wrong three decades ago and some of them even want to continue going the wrong way as well.
Choice: A) Wrong way or b) Wrong way with conditions.
Not really all that appertising and none of the minor parties are talking about the necessary changes needed to make us sustainable/more egalatarian either. They’re sayijg that’s what they want but not how to go about doing it.
Some thoughts on religion, the good, the bad and the ugly.
The good ideas and ideals from religion can get dereailed after the ambitious and the fanatical and the dogmatic pedants and the supernaturally moral (in theory) get their hold on it and find a hopefully, comfortable position within it and a hopefully decent income and elevated position in society. It’s true that men have dominated in the past, but in the Catholic church some of the nuns have been remarkably bold in setting up an Order in a new place. And Anglican nuns as well I think. The belief of a woman in the goodness of Christ and his life as a shining example to follow led her into an adventurous and strenuous life. Read about Gladys Aylward in The Small Woman by Alan Burgess. Often comes up on Trademe. Religion has been a comfort, a scourge, a challenge. Here is a link I’ve got – can’t remember exactly what’s on it. http://www.bdcconline.net/en/stories/a/aylward-gladys.php
And if you are a leftie then you will have heard of The Tolpuddle Martyrs – basically one family of godly men who started the farm union movement in southern England, got punished by being sent as convicts to Australia, and by popular acclaim of British crowds who supported them, were pardoned and allowed back to England. It was their Methodism that kept them sane in their souls, and gave them strength to endure the very nasty privations they bore.
For the rest of us, it is sometimes just comfortable to front up and gabble the responses, kneel and rise if that’s how they do it in Rome, sing a few good songs, and hopefully be better people for a while. There are worse things than meeting with others who have shared beliefs in trying to be kind and think of others before ourselves sometimes. But as M says in the blog for Key’s Destiny it doesn’t last beyond Sunday morning for some people.
Nice one prism and I don’t down people for having faith having being raised a Catholic but I don’t like it where religion is misused to keep people down, for example Joseph Ratzinger aka God’s policeman describing homosexuals as backyard mongrels.
As a teenager it began to chafe the way I saw women very much in the background with their worth seeming to be in motherhood or the religious life instead of the human flawed beings like their male counterparts.
I’m lapsed for many years now but take with me the social justice aspect of my upbringing and try to effect change where I can or speak out in defence of those under nasty yokes and I think many other lapsers do too.
Don’t have a problem with people being churchgoers or talking about their faith as I have friends from all over the spectrum from hardened atheists to the most ardent believers and when faith or religion is put to use for the good like say the sisters of the Home of Compassion I’m their most vehement supporter.
My old Grandmother – a life-long Athiest and left-wing Labour Party activist – always said Lapsed Catholics made the best, most passionate, most committed Lefties.
Agreed swordfish. My grandmother had a picture of Jesus Christ the sacred heart on one side of her mantlepiece and Micky Savage on the other. Both pictures were about the same size and of an identical height!
May i suggest that lapsed Catholics make good lefties because the good hearts of these people were still beating after realising the Church was one big lie and they really really wanted to believe that there is a way for Humans to help each other live a better life without the endless deference to greed and brutality
Nice one prism and I don’t down people for having faith having being raised a Catholic but I don’t like it where religion is misused to keep people down, for example Joseph Ratzinger aka God’s policeman describing homosexuals as backyard mongrels.
I have come to believe that I had a huge advantage by being raised by parents who were atheist and agnostic/apathetic.. (although afaik they didn’t stay that way.) I didn’t learn anything about God/religion/church until I was 19. I started as a fundamentalist, and have become an Anglo-Catholic.
I’ve heard that Benedict said that, but I’d like ‘chapter and verse’, simply because from what I know of him (which was nothing, until recently my dear beloved Italian teacher, sent me his latest book as a Christmas present) it does not sound like the sort of thing he would say! When I am not here, I spend far too long on ATS, talking about politics which is fine, and ‘debating’ with atheists, which is not – because said atheists are much more into personal abuse than all but a few here (you know who you are! 😀 ) It just makes me completely exhausted to see all the same old techniques – the old assertiveness training ‘broken record’ is a favourite…. Sadly, so is citing the most rage-inducing quotes, without sources, and then when the sources are tracked down, turns out to have been something interpreted very creatively! Having the same problem convincing Americans that Admadinejad never said he wanted to nuke Israel, not even ‘wipe it off the map’ – I can’t understand why lefties are quite happy to use right wing techniques such as mis-quoting, etc against we religious… 🙁
Yesterday, the Green Party co-leader Dr Russel Norman asked the Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key a number of pertinent questions concerning Ministers receiving “corporate hospitality.” As usual John Key was evasive and did not answer appropriately continuing to obfuscate and deliberately withhold relevant information. The current Speaker of the House Lockwood Smith then protected John Key by implementing procedural trivialities in an appalling display of arrogance that perverted Parliamentary justice from being served.
Easy street, insulated by their wealth, are up in arms over loss of free weather reports for pilots.
Unlike boaties, rock anglers, etc, anyone, who can jump off anywhere to get on the ocean, not just anyone can jump in a plane, or hellicopter.
What exactly were they thinking when they thought cuts would be on the poor singularly?
What did they understand to mean back office cuts and privatization?
Of course it would mean less generosity towards their luxuries hobbies.
What comes around goes around, we can be generous, grow the economy by providing incentives in real growth rather than exporting people, profits and future opportunities.
Capital farming is an attack on capitalism, since it rewards those with massive wealth to keep it and shut out new hard working citizens entering their industry, or the home ownership club.
Oh, and when did free market come to mean free for all? Markets aren’t fair, uniform, unless well regulated by government and society. When the cultural norms break down in punishing criminals, and short cut takers, then government needs to step up its game rather than rush to join up with the government hands off driving.
Economic outlook is uncertain, but what is certain is energy will cost more, transport cost will rise.
That reminds me… I’ve been meaning to tell everyone that DF has reinstalled his LSO cookie.
The best way to combat it is to install Better Privacy and restart your browser each time you visit Kiwibog. Whaleoil has also recently implemented the technology on his site.
You can learn a little bit more about the DF LSO in this Jackal blog post.
I read this extract from Hansard (dated 7-6-11) on Red Alert a few minutes ago.It was posted by Trevor M.under “Late Play Annie to the Leader of the National Party.” It was about the contract given to Parents Inc not being put out for tender.
“Hon Annette King: What evidence and scientific advice did he seek before agreeing to allocate $2.4 million to Parents Inc. for a parenting programme that even the Minister for Social Development and Employment said she had neither sought nor received advice on, or was she carrying out his promise that he made before the election that he would make sure that Parents Inc. got money?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Members will accept that, as Prime Minister, I am not responsible for the allocation of that contract; that actually goes through the Ministry of Social Development. But I would say I have seen that Toolbox; I have seen the programme. In my opinion it is a very, very successful programme that is helping New Zealand parents, and we do need to help parents in New Zealand.”
Is there not something very wrong about this? John Key did not deny that he had made a promise before the election! More arbitrary government from Mr.’if i ruled the world,forget democratic procedures’ K.ey? Is this not similar to PEDA and Bill English the budget before last, or perhaps worse as it was promised bfore the election?
In Britain, arbitrary government under Charles 1,caused a civil war and Charles, thinking he had “divine right” as king to make decisions off the top off his head, lost said head to the executioner(1649). At least in the case of Charles he was leader and king, but Mr. Key apparently made a promise before he became leader! How many other promises did he make and why? And he often makes decicisions of his head.
According to Speake’s rules, if there is more than one question asked in Question Time, the minister or PM addressed only needs to answer one. So the fact that Key didn’t answer the question on promises, doesn’t mean he DID make a promise. He just chose to answer the first question.
But if the answer was in the negative then Mr Key would have said so, and thus closed off the issue. To avoid answering does increase the possibility that Key made a promise that was outside the tendering rules. Unlawful? But Key can do that because who can stop him. And the MSM are not going to question the ethics of it are they?
I’ve noticed a lot of epic spelling mistakes on Stuff lately. They’re probably employing some minimum wage slave who’s in constant fear of being fired before 90 days is up. It would be their style.
A Fairfax exec told me a couple of years ago that the occasional payoff to an accidentally libelled member of the public was still going to be cheaper than employing subbies. He wasn’t sure that they had an obligation to always be accurate anyway, but he did reckon they were obliged to correct their mistakes, but only if they were pointed out to them.
So, are these people objective judges of individual’s right to regain some freedom or just rightwing ringins this government has put in place to control people?
What’s significant here is that the overall confidence rating hasn’t changed, but party vote preferences have. So that “disconnect” (i.e. people not happy but supporting status quo) has been reduced. Good.
I wouldn’t read much into the minor party results – Morgan has always been funny on those. But overall, it’s encouraging for those (like me!) who had started to give up on under-performing Labour.
Yep, that’s a good result for the left. A nominal 7 point gap between Team Key and the opposition, the smallest it’s been since the start of the year. Factor in the likely electoral neutering of ACT and the maori party and it’s getting down to a seat or three. Continuous job losses, a moribund economy and no fucken idea what to do about either are starting to kill Key’s chances in November. And did I mention Kiwisaver and asset sales?
Interesting that Tariana Turia was all over the news today bigging up Darren Hughes. A olive branch of sorts to Labour?
It gets even better – “the Budget” is an organism separate and independent from the Government as Acting (good actor?) Economic Decimation, erm, Development Minister David Carter told the commerce select committee today he was not aware that any analysis had been done …
“Bear in mind the Government hasn’t said it will create the 170,000 new jobs – the Budget said there will be 170,000 jobs,” he said.
The Budget said. The Government hasn’t said. The Budget said. The Government hasn’t said.
Oh yes yes yes, we understand.
At the risk of saying something unpopular for me, this was a bit of a WTF moment
The heritage advisor for Auckland’s main iwi hadn’t heard of an inner-city taniwha before yesterday, but he says the point about consultation over the CBD Rail Link project is valid.
I am sorry but the last time I remember hearing about a Taniwha was a few years ago, and it caused all sorts of problems. But this one, is one, that few people seem to have heard of.
But it’s very handy for Steven Joyce, who we all know is so in favour of the Britomart rail link, NOT
I imagine the right’s silence over this issue would be quite deafening, simply because that the ‘taniwha’ lies in the path of a railway line, not a road.
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The Sincerest Form Of Flattery: As anybody with the intestinal fortitude to brave the commentary threads of local news-sites, large and small, will attest, the number of Trump-supporting New Zealanders is really quite astounding. IT’S SO DIFFICULT to resist the temptation to be smug. From the distant perspective of New Zealand, ...
RNZ reports on continued arbitrariness on decisions at the border. British comedian Russell Howard is about to tour New Zealand and other acts allowed in through managed isolation this summer include drag queen RuPaul and musicians at Northern Bass in Mangawhai and the Bay Dreams festival. The vice-president of the ...
As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop focusing on our managed isolation and quarantine system and instead protect the elderly so that they can ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 10, 2021 through Sat, Jan 16, 2021Editor's ChoiceNASA says 2020 tied for hottest year on record — here’s what you can do to helpPhoto by Michael Held on Unsplash ...
Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...
Happy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...
Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichThanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...
Tide of tidal data rises Having cast our own fate to include rising sea level, there's a degree of urgency in learning the history of mean sea level in any given spot, beyond idle curiosity. Sea level rise (SLR) isn't equal from one place to another and even at a particular ...
Well, some of those chickens sure came home bigly, didn’t they… and proceeded to shit all over the nice carpet in the Capitol. What we were seeing here are societal forces that have long had difficulty trying to reconcile people to the “idea” of America and the reality of ...
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 ...
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. ...
[Opening comments, welcome and thank you to Auckland University etc] It is a great pleasure to be here this afternoon to celebrate such an historic occasion - the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This is a moment many feared would never come, but ...
The Government is providing $3 million in one-off seed funding to help disabled people around New Zealand stay connected and access support in their communities, Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni announced today. The funding will allow disability service providers to develop digital and community-based solutions over the next two ...
Border workers in quarantine facilities will be offered voluntary daily COVID-19 saliva tests in addition to their regular weekly testing, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. This additional option will be rolled out at the Jet Park Quarantine facility in Auckland starting on Monday 25 January, and then to ...
The next steps in the Government’s ambitious firearms reform programme to include a three-month buy-back have been announced by Police Minister Poto Williams today. “The last buy-back and amnesty was unprecedented for New Zealand and was successful in collecting 60,297 firearms, modifying a further 5,630 firearms, and collecting 299,837 prohibited ...
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 ...
At an antagonistic hearing yesterday, the internet giant laid out the ‘worst case scenario’. And Facebook is also considering an ‘amputation’. Hal Crawford was watching.Google is poised to hit self-destruct in Australia according to a fractious Senate hearing into an unprecedented law that will force digital giants to pay money ...
It’s great to hear Phil Twyford celebrating a success. Not a personal ministerial success, it’s fair to say, but a success nevertheless related to arms control. The arms on which Twyford is focused, it should be noted, will make quite a mess if they are triggered. They tend to be ...
Duncan Greive and Leonie Hayden were young hip hop heads and music journalists during the era captured in a new documentary about the rise and fall of South Auckland hip hop label Dawn Raid. Here they discuss the film and their memories (what’s left of them) of that time. Warning: contains ...
Houses might be the most popular and inflated purchases in New Zealand, but there are plenty of other products that are seeing soaring demand and prices over the past few months. Here’s a list of what New Zealanders are spending their money on with international travel out of the picture.Used ...
"The young boy leaps, the muscles in his thighs tensing and twisting as he lifts from the handrail": the noble art of bombing, by Pātea writer Airana Ngarewa A beautifully muscled boy is posted on the side of a pool, his feet fixed to the top of a pair of ...
How Waiwera Hot Pools went from New Zealand’s most visited water park to dereliction and decay. Many who grew up in Auckland likely have fond memories of Waiwera Hot Pools. Like me, they remember summer days spent racing down the slides and playing in the naturally hot pools. But how did ...
A government contract for a P rehab programme was canned after half a million dollars of taxpayer money was given out. Aaron Smale investigates. The Ministry of Health spent over half a million dollars on a P Rehab contract before pulling the pin because there were no results or progress reports. ...
Kia Koropp and her husband John Daubeny have been cruising the Pacific, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean over the past decade with their two children onboard their 50ft yacht, Atea. Starting in 2011 from Auckland, New Zealand, they have sailed more than 64,000 kilometres and just completed their longest ...
We are drowning out the natural world with synthetic sounds, and it’s getting worse, writes Michelle Langstone.It used to be quiet once. Remember that? Remember the hush that settled over the cities like the silence that comes down in a snowstorm? It’s less than a year since Aotearoa first locked ...
Summer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden in the latest episode of On the Rag as they examine the topic of boobs from every possible angle. First published November 16, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its ...
Seventy-five years after the US detonated the first nuclear tests in the Pacific, New Zealand pledges its support to Joe Biden's first tentative step towards disarmament. Today, the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons comes into effect, making it illegal for New Zealand and the 50 other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Terry, Professor of Psychology, University of Southern Queensland The challenge of bringing the world’s best tennis players and support staff, about 1,200 people in all, from COVID-ravaged parts of the world to our almost pandemic-free shores was always going to be ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoffrey Browne, Research Fellow in International Urban Development, University of Melbourne The Victorian government has committed to removing 75 road/rail level crossings across Melbourne by 2025. That’s the fastest rate of removal in the city’s history. The scale of the investment — ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW In an age of hyperpartisan politics, the Biden presidency offers a welcome centrism that might help bridge the divides. But it is also Biden’s economic centrism that offers a chance to cut through what has become ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Stevens, Lecturer in History, University of Waikato In a year of surprises, one of the more pleasant was the recent runaway viral popularity of 19th century sea shanties on TikTok. A collaborative global response to pandemic isolation, it saw singers and ...
The sudden departure of Graine Moss from her Chief Executive role at Oranga Tamariki is a vital first step in a sequence of changes that must take place at the Ministry according to a group of wahine Māori leaders. Dame Naida Glavish, Dame Tariana Turia, ...
A new poem from Dunedin poet Jenny Powell.Her uncle’s eyeShe introduced us to her uncle’s eye floating in a jar.Lost in an accident, he hadn’t wanted to lose it again. He left it to her in his will.We must have looked shocked. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘I turn him to ...
The chief executive of Oranga Tamariki is quitting, leaving behind an agency she’s admitted suffers from structural racism. Justin Giovannetti looks at the future of Oranga Tamariki.Grainne Moss’s tenure as head of Oranga Tamariki has been untenable since November when the government’s senior Māori minister wouldn’t express any confidence in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Sainsbury, Senior Lecturer Composition, Australian National University Despite having different cultural backgrounds and experiences — Indigenous composers with an Indigenous mentor, and a pianist descended from Anglo-colonial history — it is nevertheless possible to create a project that can serve as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Plank, Professor in Applied Mathematics, University of Canterbury With new, more infectious variants of COVID-19 detected around the world, and at New Zealand’s border, the risk of further level 3 or 4 lockdowns is increased if those viruses get into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Hogg, Lecturer in Psychology, Charles Sturt University Horse racing is an ethical hotbed in Australia. The Melbourne Cup alone has seen seven horses die after racing since 2013, and animal cruelty protesters have become a common feature at carnivals. The latest ...
Right now, our most fiery national debate is over whether New Zealanders were nice to the singer Amanda Palmer in a café. Desperate to restore peace in our nation, Hayden Donnell went in search of the truth.Joe Biden had barely finished calling for unity when Amanda Palmer posted a tweet ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut (Pushkin Press, $37)Maths, cyanide, suicide, gardening; ye ...
Wellington artist Estère isn’t just breaking boundaries, she’s dissecting them. Maddi Rowe spoke to her about her new album, Archetypes.“That’s the story of pelicans, they’ll stab themselves in the heart to feed their young.”Despite the somewhat dark subject matter, Estère Dalton’s eyes sparkle with fascination. We’ve met to discuss Archetypes, ...
Cycling advocates are welcoming new advice from the Transport Agency on safe cycling. "Cyclists hate it when drivers pass too close. That's scary and dangerous," said Patrick Morgan from Cycling Action Network. "So it's encouraging to see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tilman Ruff, Honorary Principal Fellow, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne Today, many around the world will celebrate the first multilateral nuclear disarmament treaty to enter into force in 50 years. The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear ...
The Public Service Association welcomes the creation of a Chief Executive role to lead the public service’s pay equity work, and the appointment of Grainne Moss to this position. "Unions and public service employers are currently working ...
The Council of Trade Unions is warning that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures out today illustrate that the cost of living is increasing disproportionately for those on lower incomes; resulting in the poor getting poorer. CTU Economist Craig ...
Why are there so many offensive comments on the New Zealand Police Facebook page and are they breaking the law? Janaye Henry investigates. New Zealand Police Facebook pages – there are a number of them, for different regional police districts around the country – are an interesting place to spend ...
Our guide to stopping procrastinating and actually (finally) getting on top of investing. Because there’s a good chance that if you’re reading this, you don’t know a single thing about it.In part one, we covered some of the basic things you need to know about investing – why do it? ...
Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft acknowledges the huge effort and commitment of departing Oranga Tamariki Chief Executive Grainne Moss and says her decision to resign today was principled. “The issues facing Oranga Tamariki are beyond individual ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Two Large Waves versus One Tsunami. Chart by Keith Rankin. Two Large Waves versus One Tsunami. Chart by Keith Rankin. With Covid19, Italy shows the classic European pattern, with its early outbreak, substantial recovery thanks to lockdowns and other public health measures, and resurgence thanks to complacency ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabrielle Appleby, Professor, UNSW Law School, UNSW This year has already seen significant progress in the government’s commitment to establish a body – a “Voice” – that would allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have a say when the government ...
Northland farmer Derek Robinson was sentenced earlier today by the District Court in Whangarei for two offences of ill-treating animals at rodeo events. Mr Robinson was found guilty in November last year, following a defended hearing. The charges ...
Under fire Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss has announced she will resign, effective February 28, Marc Daalder reports After four and a half years at the helm of child protection agency Oranga Tamariki, chief executive Grainne Moss has announced she will be leaving the position at the end of ...
The Department of Internal Affairs and New Zealand Police acknowledge the sentencing of 36-year-old Aaron Joseph Hutton on charges relating to the possession of child sexual exploitation material, and entering into a dealing involving the sexual exploitation ...
Ngā Tāngata Microfinance (NTM) is calling for tougher penalties for those caught promoting pyramid schemes. Such business models are illegal under the Fair Trading Act 1986. This call comes after the Commerce Commission issued a ‘stop now’ notice ...
British High Commissioner to New Zealand Laura Clarke is calling on young women aged 17 to 25 to apply for the annual ‘Be British High Commissioner for the Day’ competition. The winner will have the opportunity to become an ‘honorary High Commissioner’, ...
The Māori Party is welcoming the resignation of Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss after sustained pressure from leading figures within the Māori Party. This resignation is the result of the continued strong pressure of the Māori Party ...
In a historic corner of Dunedin, startup culture is thriving. Catherine McGregor visited the city’s Warehouse Precinct to meet the people driving the movement. When Jason and Kate Lindsey bought the four storey building now known as Petridish, it was an absolute wreck. Once home to a thriving hat and textiles ...
Summer reissue: The Fold’s very first guest is back to tell Duncan Greive how she pulled off the media deal of the year.The chaotic couple of weeks which finally saw the end of the Stuff-NZME saga were riveting and strange, replete with stock exchange announcements, legal challenges and finally the ...
Chris Liddell has dropped his candidacy to become director-general of the Paris-based OECD. Without support from the Ardern government and vilified in the media as somehow being involved in the encouragement by Donald Trump of the Washington riots, he plainly saw he had little chance of crowning his stellar career ...
Tara Ward hands out her first impression roses as she dives deep into the sea of single men vying to win The Bachelorette NZ’s heart. While the world burns in a searing fireball of unpredictability, we can take comfort in the fact that some things never change. The heart still yearns, ...
People from all around New Zealand will be converging on the super-secret Waihopai satellite interception spybase, in Marlborough, on Saturday January 30th. ...
In its Thursday editorial the NZ Herald speaks an important truth: “Investment important to stay on track”. This won’t have startled its more literate readers but in its text it notes the strong result in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, which prompted Westpac to raise its forecast for dairy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Craig Mark, Professor, Faculty of International Studies, Kyoritsu Women’s University With the spread of COVID-19 steadily worsening in Japan since the onset of winter — daily records for infections and deaths continue to be broken — the fate of the Tokyo Summer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Taylor, Early Career Research Leader, Emerging Viruses, Inflammation and Therapeutics Group, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University All eyes are on COVID-19 vaccines, with Australia’s first expected to be approved for use shortly. But their development in record time, without compromising ...
Yesterday’s government announcement on new state housing is a pathetic response to the biggest housing crisis in New Zealand since the 1940s. At a time when the country needs an industrial-scale state house building programme, the government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Obadiah Mulder, PhD Candidate in Computational Biology, University of Southern California Australia is in the midst of tropical cyclone season. As we write, a cyclone is forming off Western Australia’s Pilbara coast, and earlier in the week Queenslanders were bracing for a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lynette Vernon, School of Education – VC Research Fellow, Edith Cowan University When the holidays end, barring a fresh outbreak of COVID-19, teenagers across Australia will head back to school. Some will bounce out of bed well before the alarm goes off, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW In an age of hyperpartisan politics, the Biden presidency offers a welcome centrism that might help bridge the divides. But it is also Biden’s economic centrism that offers a chance to cut through what has become ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology Twenty years ago, on January 25 2001, a virtually unknown German supermarket chain quietly opened its first stores in Australia. The two stores – one in Sydney’s inner-west suburb of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liz Giuffre, Senior Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology Sydney Bluey is easily the most successful Australian television show of the last decade. A record-breaking success for its local broadcaster the ABC, as well as production partners BBC Studios and Screen Australia, ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permissionIt will take $3 million to clean up 1 million litres of abandoned toxic waste from a property in Ruakaka - three times more than the last big chemical clean-up undertaken by government agencies A two-year mission to clean up 1 million ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. The action Biden took on just his first afternoon in office demonstrates a radical shift in priority for the US when it comes to its efforts to combat the climate crisis. It could put more pressure on New Zealand to step up. ...
Ban Bomb Day event at the New Brighton Pier, 9am, on January 22nd, 2021 January 22nd, 2021, marks the first day the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) Enters into Force and becomes international law. Aotearoa NZ is one of the ...
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve BrauniasFICTION 1 Tell Me Lies by J.P. Pomare (Hachette, $29.99) Every January, there's a new best-selling crime thriller by the New Zealand-born author who lives in Melbourne. Pomare is ...
Our approach so far in trying to end what Dr Collin Tukuitonga describes as a 'racist' disease - rheumatic fever - has not worked. It's time we try something new, he writes. Acute rheumatic fever and the rheumatic heart disease it causes, long-known as a disease of poverty, is a blight on ...
New Zealand triple-code star, Anna Harrison, can't stop returning to the courts - whether it's netball or beach volleyball. She tells Ashley Stanley what keeps drawing her back. The day before Anna Harrison leaps back into netball, she will have one more hit-out at another of her favourite old sports ...
The lights are burning into the night at the New York Yacht Club's America's Cup base as they race to fix their damaged boat. And Suzanne McFadden discovers something surprising may emerge. Out of American Magic’s calamity may come opportunity - for even more speed. While the lights burn bright ...
New to sailing? With the Prada Cup resuming this weekend, here’s how to bluff your way into sounding like a pro. When I was 10, my mum made my brother and I join the local sailing club. It was a favourite pastime of families in Kerikeri, and my brother was actually ...
A formal complaint to the UN, signed by a NZ Muslim group, says France’s Islamophobic laws and policies are entrenching discrimination and breaching human rights laws. The Khadija Leadership Network has joined a global coalition of Muslim organisations to formally complain about the French government’s systemic entrenchment of Islamophobia and discrimination against ...
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. ...
8 June 2011
PRESS RELEASE: Penny Bright ‘Anti-corruption campaigner’:
“Is the Solicitor-General maliciously abusing his position, as the second-highest ‘lawyer in the land’ by persecuting/ prosecuting Vince Siemer (AGAIN) for ‘contempt of Court’? ”
Vince Siemer – is facing jail for contempt of court (AGAIN!), through proceedings initiated (AGAIN) by the Solicitor -General for telling the public J Winkelman’s decision that the people arrested in the state terror raids of 15th October 2007 were not only denied a jury trial, but that the public were being denied the right to know that information.
(There will be a protest outside the Wellington High Court
2 Molesworth St (opposite Parliament)
Thursday 9 June 2011 from 9 – 10am, then for those who are able – quiet support inside the court room.
Well-known human rights lawyer Tony Ellis will be defending Vince Siemer).
In my considered opinion, Vince Siemer is NZ’s leading ‘Public Watchdog’ / ‘Whistleblower’ on the lack of transparency and accountability and ‘conflicts of interest’ in the NZ Judiciary.
http://www.kiwisfirst.co.nz )
Why is the Solicitor-General David Collins QC himself not facing an investigation for ‘contempt of the House’ – given his role – in my considered opinion, of helping to ‘mislead’ the former Justice and Electoral Select Committee, which resulted in the matters raised in Petition 2005/142 being declared ‘subjudice’, at a time they clearly were NOT?
(Petition 2005/142 presented to the House by Mr Hide MP on 24 July 2007 “requesting that Parliament conduct an inquiry into the comittal for imprisonment of Mr Vincent Ross Siemer for contempt of court”)
Was the former Justice and Electoral Select Committee ‘misled’ – not only by the Solicitor-General David Collins QC (‘the highest acting law officer in the land’); but also by the former Clerk of the House David McGee QC (now an Ombudsman) ; and the former Acting Deputy Solicitor-General (Public Law) Grant Liddell (who later became the CEO of the NZ Serious Fraud Office (SFO)?
Read the following information for yourself – and you be the judge…….”
(Full post on http://waterpressure.wordpress.com )
Penny Bright
So now many of the ordinary mums and dads are being subtly cast again as “pariahs” of the state – you know, the ones who belong to unions or are public service employees. Now, let’s list a few other average mums and dads who, with the stroke of their pens, have shunted inordinate amounts of the New Zealand cake offshore – family names like Myers, Douglas, Fay, Aldgate-Whitechapel, Hart, Richwhite, … makes you wonder who the real Kiwis are doesn’t it?
Oh, its far worse, the typically civilisation killer is here. Where the language of debate, if its allowed to happen (in the public eye), is restricted to the needs of the exploiters continued exploitation. Where the only justified work lifestyle has to be in some industry that exploits its workers and its environment, and where if you do have standards to meet the taxpayer not the polluter has to pay. Imagine the markets as a massive bragging competition, we’re made this much money using up this much soil, putting this much high density ore into refuse dumps globally, so we can produce some high end product for the few who braggers who brag the best.
Its not surprising Key is loved by one and all, he is a hero of the brag to make money brigade, what your kids should grow up to be like.
What’s the story with Fiji at the RWC? Articles I’ve read seem confusing as to who can and can’t come and I got the impression the IRB seemed to be thinking it could let in who it liked……ignoring any bans we may have.
That’s probably because McCully has promised the IRB that any such existing bans will not be enforced for the purposes of the RWC.
So it’s another case of us surrendering sovereignty to some external transnational body? – again!
Thanks Murray! You bring the KY and we will assume the position – again!
Glenn Greenwald finds a(nother) classic example of one his favorite bugbears; ridiculously inappropriate use of anonymous sourcing.
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/06/02/hersh/index.html
Shorter: Dear journo’s, when officials are feeding you the official line, they don’t need anonymity, and shouldn’t get it.
What is it with Key and planking? He is now busily trying to reform labour laws to make protection for workers a joke and describes this as a “campaign plank” …
Plonker.
Probably think he’s “cool”
Interesting flick – it’s long though at nearly three hours
Haha they said “a NZ study done in a town called Doo-Ned-In”
Hmmmm…
So, some indications show that the US went into recession in 2006 and still hasn’t come out. That’s gotta hurt.
Closing down debate quickly on National Radio—again
Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan, Thursday June 9, 2011
In a discussion about deep sea oil and gas exploration off New Zealand’s coasts, Simon Boxer of Greenpeace mentioned that both the Brazilian government and Petrobras were angry with the New Zealand government for making public announcements about oil-prospecting deals, without having consulted local people.
Incredibly, Kathryn Ryan sternly warned him away: “Well, we had the Associate Minister disputing that the other day. I don’t want that dragged up again. Let’s move on.”
A couple of weeks ago, an equally nervous Jim Mora stopped Richard Langstone and Bomber Bradbury from going after Professor Stephen Hoadley, who had made a couple of preposterous statements asserting the “legality” of the American carpet-bombing of Indo-China, and claiming that it conformed with the Geneva Conventions. Like Ryan, Mora insisted that there was no time to go “off topic” like that. (“The Panel”, May 27, 2011)
These are by no means isolated instances.
It’s clear that, in addition to the highly partisan, unapologetically pro-National-government New Zealand Herald and NewstalkZB, we have a public radio station that is afraid of incurring government wrath by letting critics have a say.
That’s a worry for democracy, as well as a blow for the prospects of interesting or stimulating discussions on the radio.
Morrissey – Be fair, the interviewers must offer their audience a broad view of their subject, and only Mary Wilson, of those I listen to, hammers one aspect into the ground. She doesn’t give up. Sometimes it even seems pointless and I turn the radio off. Interviewers can’t get into the argy-bargy that goes on here sometimes with endless assertions being countered continuously with a lot of rancour and little illumination or new facets being revealed, and other relevant info getting sidelined.
…only Mary Wilson…hammers one aspect into the ground. She doesn’t give up.
Eva Radich is another determined interviewer. When Tony Blair had the hide to make a state visit here some years ago, she went after him about the illegality of the Iraq invasion and his bogus “45 minute” claim. She would not let him evade her questions or divert the focus of the interview. In the end, of course, he just resorted to his usual insulting menu of vague platitudes. But she had discomfited that creep, in a way he rarely faced back in the U.K. And what a great contrast between her interview with Blair and the hesitant treatment he got a day later by an overwhelmed John Campbell, who obviously detested Blair but lacked the fortitude to insist he respond seriously to his questions.
Last year Kim Hill subjected ex-Australian prime minister John Howard to a thirty-five minute interrogation. The Great Man was clearly unsettled by her persistence, something he rarely if ever encountered back in Australia. But one person was even more upset by the interview than Howard was—the Wairarapa oenophile Karl Du Fresne was incensed by Kim’s lack of forelock-tugging, and slammed her “lack of balance” in a dyspeptic column in the Australian Spectator…
http://karldufresne.blogspot.com/2010/11/howard-deserved-more-balanced-treatment.html
Sometimes it even seems pointless and I turn the radio off.
I think it’s a pity more interviewers haven’t got the courage, or are insufficiently prepared, to seriously hold politicians to account. When TV and radio stations assign people like John Campbell, Kathryn Ryan, Mike Hosking, and (God save us) Paul Holmes to interview powerful and intimidating politicians, it’s a missed opportunity.
I generally reckon that when the press isn’t being combative they are missing the point of their freedom.
I like seeing all pollies getting their feet held to the fire, particularly when they are ones that I have voted for or are thinking of voting for. Fucking nail them.
I don’t care if a journo ‘gets it wrong’, or asks ‘stupid questions’ or is ‘rude’. That’s ‘doing their job’ as far as I see it.
One of the US founders said (paraphrase) that given the choice between a free press and free elections, he’d take the former every time. And this was in a time when the press was vicious. His point was that a combative and free press lets the public know things by forcing pollies to confront things. Without that knowledge, elections are useless. With that knowledge, even absent elections, remedies are available.
The public is capable of deciding if a journo has been an arsehole, and an arsehole journo at the end of the day, is just a twatcock asking questions and printing the answers. Those answers will always be of some value.
I note that Ryan is often like that, ruthlessly cutting people off… either for time reasons, or for reasons of what seems to be clearly censorship…
Some detail about the Ecoli outbreak. This has been ruinous for Spain and the wash has spread over all the EU. A British bacteriologist (I think) said that in fact it was a North German problem. All the people sickening outside Germany had contact from there. The researchers have concentrated on salad vegetables because most of those affected are women and probably health conscious, but what about bottled water, or natural beauty preparations? (Light bulb – they need to call House.)
With all the sophisticated, easily accessed labs they have in Germany and Europe, they have not been able to source this thing. Imagine our country affected by a blow to its agriculture like this. It does not even have to be true, just suspected. We have closed down so much of our manufacturing and employment-rich businesses separate from the farming economy. We would be back to slave camps, that’s what they called the work camps during the Depression. And glad to get something no doubt.
From google listings –
1 The EHEC strain may cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is characterised by acute kidney failure and can lead to seizures, strokes and coma.
Reinhard Burger, head of Germany’s Robert Koch Institute which monitors epidemics, said the country usually saw between 50 and 60 cases of HUS annually, whereas it had recorded about 80 during the current outbreak.
Earlier –
2 Ten people have been hospitalized in Frankfurt with another 50 experiencing mild symptoms. In Hamburg, another forty patients are being treated for EHEC as well. Other cases have been confirmed in the Northern part of Germany including Rostock, Lower Saxony, Bremen and Schleswig Holstein. There are up to 600 suspected cases across Germany.
3 The latest cases in the U.K. involve three people with bloody diarrhea and one person who has developed the potentially fatal form of the condition known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
Three of the four new cases are in U.K. residents who have recently returned from Germany, and the other involves a person from Germany who is on vacation in England.
Recent news 8/6 http://news.uk.msn.com/world/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=158154499
4 Another person has died in Germany from the infection, raising the toll to 24 in Germany, plus one in Sweden.
The number of reported cases is up by more than 300 over the previous day to 2,648, including nearly 700 suffering from a serious complication that can cause kidney failure.
Interesting, the photo accompanying the above article showed a laboratory worker? not wearing gloves with an opened bean sprout packet which the caption said was to be tested. Surely a file photo. I wouldn’t want to put my flesh anywhere near something as possibly infective as that.
“Imagine our country affected by a blow to its agriculture like this. It does not even have to be true, just suspected.”
This is why the American beef industry does their own management of testing for mad cow disease, and deliberately do a very poor job of it while covering up any actual infections detected (any cows ‘suspected’ of having it are killed and incinerated before samples can be taken for proper testing). That way they can be sure that if there is actually a problem with mad cow disease, it would have to be quite widespread before the public became aware of it.
In milk we trust.
Solely, absolutely and forever and ever.
Kiss goodbye to rail and engineering technology (Kevin Welsh @ 1:44pm).
May the sacredness of our milk always prevail over all disasters – national or National.
And may our milk be always completely free from health scares.
If you’re not keen about being a milk slave, erm, farmer or dairy maid, please take the next one-way flight out of Milkland.
In milk we trust.
I don’t know if I would trust all milk, there was something on TV news last night about modified cows producing “human ” milk. Curdled thoughts on that.
Hey PeteG, maybe National can now find a productive use for all those DPB mums eh?
Careful, Colonial Viper; I don’t think the NActs understand satire. At least I hope it was satire…
😛
lanthanide – Gosh! The usa beef lobby is powerful – remember them suing Oprah for saying she wouldn’t eat hamburger or similar. I think that was at the mad cow disease outbreak. Also I remember a couple of journalists being harrassed by the usa dairy lobby who managed to get control of the wording of legislation about quality of milk so they could ensure that people remained unaware of possible problems. The ‘What you don’t know, won’t hurt you’ approach. This was another scare, back a decade or two.
You can imagine how tough the usa lobby is when you hear Federated Farmers leaders like Don Nicholson talking about farmers’ interests.
http://beforeitsnews.com/story/693/134/Forensic_Evidence_Emerges_that_European_E.Coli_Superbug_was_Bioengineered_to_Produce_Human_Fatalities.html
according to some very smart people, including the Koch Institute mentioned above, Mother Nature simply does not work in the manner the Bankers would like us to believe. No naturally occuring process can achieve this level of resistance complexity and then magically appear simulaneously in multiple links on the food chain. It does not happen, not without a concerted level of assistance.
The very complex questions, often have very simple answers.
What a load of BS. Bacteria such as E. coli typically acquire multidrug resistance via horizontal gene transfer from other bacteria, and not via multiple rounds of selection. And bacterial contamination is easy spread given the right conditions (and of course that all the cases are linked to a single country anyway). Mother nature is not benevolent.
And the theory of how the strain was ‘engineered’ is just as dumb. If I was going to engineer a deadly strain of bacteria, it wouldn’t be via that method.
Just another kick in the guts for what is left of New Zealand’s heavy engineering industry.
This is shocking. But this Government prefers to purchase Chinese workers and have our own as unemployed on the street and on the dole because it is more “efficient”.
Loyalty to a company never amounts to anything. The directors/owners ask for it all the time but never extend it themselves.
And yes, this act is just another way that NAct are undermining our economy.
I dont think we should be suprised about this one. And we shouldnt blame the current administration.
This has been happening for about the past 25 years or so, with NZR, TranzRail and then Toll running down the railway workshops, that provided NZ with a lot of skill, expertise and engineering infrastructure for the past century or so. Eastown, Otahuhu, Addington (now replaced by a shopping mall), all gone, and Hutt, along with Hillside, running at a fraction of its orginal capacity.
If you want to blame anyone for this, blame Richard Prebble. He was the one who stripped NZR to the bone for it to be flogged off.
NZ has been going down the wrong road for a very long time.
Yep and, unfortunately, neither of the two main parties are willing to change the direction just yet. One because of the ideology – they actually want NZ to go the wrong way because it directly benefits them and they don’t care what it does to everyone else. The other doesn’t seem to want to admit that it got it wrong three decades ago and some of them even want to continue going the wrong way as well.
Choice: A) Wrong way or b) Wrong way with conditions.
Not really all that appertising and none of the minor parties are talking about the necessary changes needed to make us sustainable/more egalatarian either. They’re sayijg that’s what they want but not how to go about doing it.
Some thoughts on religion, the good, the bad and the ugly.
The good ideas and ideals from religion can get dereailed after the ambitious and the fanatical and the dogmatic pedants and the supernaturally moral (in theory) get their hold on it and find a hopefully, comfortable position within it and a hopefully decent income and elevated position in society. It’s true that men have dominated in the past, but in the Catholic church some of the nuns have been remarkably bold in setting up an Order in a new place. And Anglican nuns as well I think. The belief of a woman in the goodness of Christ and his life as a shining example to follow led her into an adventurous and strenuous life. Read about Gladys Aylward in The Small Woman by Alan Burgess. Often comes up on Trademe. Religion has been a comfort, a scourge, a challenge. Here is a link I’ve got – can’t remember exactly what’s on it. http://www.bdcconline.net/en/stories/a/aylward-gladys.php
And if you are a leftie then you will have heard of The Tolpuddle Martyrs – basically one family of godly men who started the farm union movement in southern England, got punished by being sent as convicts to Australia, and by popular acclaim of British crowds who supported them, were pardoned and allowed back to England. It was their Methodism that kept them sane in their souls, and gave them strength to endure the very nasty privations they bore.
For the rest of us, it is sometimes just comfortable to front up and gabble the responses, kneel and rise if that’s how they do it in Rome, sing a few good songs, and hopefully be better people for a while. There are worse things than meeting with others who have shared beliefs in trying to be kind and think of others before ourselves sometimes. But as M says in the blog for Key’s Destiny it doesn’t last beyond Sunday morning for some people.
Nice one prism and I don’t down people for having faith having being raised a Catholic but I don’t like it where religion is misused to keep people down, for example Joseph Ratzinger aka God’s policeman describing homosexuals as backyard mongrels.
As a teenager it began to chafe the way I saw women very much in the background with their worth seeming to be in motherhood or the religious life instead of the human flawed beings like their male counterparts.
I’m lapsed for many years now but take with me the social justice aspect of my upbringing and try to effect change where I can or speak out in defence of those under nasty yokes and I think many other lapsers do too.
Don’t have a problem with people being churchgoers or talking about their faith as I have friends from all over the spectrum from hardened atheists to the most ardent believers and when faith or religion is put to use for the good like say the sisters of the Home of Compassion I’m their most vehement supporter.
My old Grandmother – a life-long Athiest and left-wing Labour Party activist – always said Lapsed Catholics made the best, most passionate, most committed Lefties.
Agreed swordfish. My grandmother had a picture of Jesus Christ the sacred heart on one side of her mantlepiece and Micky Savage on the other. Both pictures were about the same size and of an identical height!
May i suggest that lapsed Catholics make good lefties because the good hearts of these people were still beating after realising the Church was one big lie and they really really wanted to believe that there is a way for Humans to help each other live a better life without the endless deference to greed and brutality
I have come to believe that I had a huge advantage by being raised by parents who were atheist and agnostic/apathetic.. (although afaik they didn’t stay that way.) I didn’t learn anything about God/religion/church until I was 19. I started as a fundamentalist, and have become an Anglo-Catholic.
I’ve heard that Benedict said that, but I’d like ‘chapter and verse’, simply because from what I know of him (which was nothing, until recently my dear beloved Italian teacher, sent me his latest book as a Christmas present) it does not sound like the sort of thing he would say! When I am not here, I spend far too long on ATS, talking about politics which is fine, and ‘debating’ with atheists, which is not – because said atheists are much more into personal abuse than all but a few here (you know who you are! 😀 ) It just makes me completely exhausted to see all the same old techniques – the old assertiveness training ‘broken record’ is a favourite…. Sadly, so is citing the most rage-inducing quotes, without sources, and then when the sources are tracked down, turns out to have been something interpreted very creatively! Having the same problem convincing Americans that Admadinejad never said he wanted to nuke Israel, not even ‘wipe it off the map’ – I can’t understand why lefties are quite happy to use right wing techniques such as mis-quoting, etc against we religious… 🙁
More Questions Than Answers
Yesterday, the Green Party co-leader Dr Russel Norman asked the Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key a number of pertinent questions concerning Ministers receiving “corporate hospitality.” As usual John Key was evasive and did not answer appropriately continuing to obfuscate and deliberately withhold relevant information. The current Speaker of the House Lockwood Smith then protected John Key by implementing procedural trivialities in an appalling display of arrogance that perverted Parliamentary justice from being served.
Easy street, insulated by their wealth, are up in arms over loss of free weather reports for pilots.
Unlike boaties, rock anglers, etc, anyone, who can jump off anywhere to get on the ocean, not just anyone can jump in a plane, or hellicopter.
What exactly were they thinking when they thought cuts would be on the poor singularly?
What did they understand to mean back office cuts and privatization?
Of course it would mean less generosity towards their luxuries hobbies.
What comes around goes around, we can be generous, grow the economy by providing incentives in real growth rather than exporting people, profits and future opportunities.
Capital farming is an attack on capitalism, since it rewards those with massive wealth to keep it and shut out new hard working citizens entering their industry, or the home ownership club.
Oh, and when did free market come to mean free for all? Markets aren’t fair, uniform, unless well regulated by government and society. When the cultural norms break down in punishing criminals, and short cut takers, then government needs to step up its game rather than rush to join up with the government hands off driving.
Economic outlook is uncertain, but what is certain is energy will cost more, transport cost will rise.
Ugh I just found WhaleOil. I need to go and scrub myself now. I feel dirty.
I recommend paumice and hospital strength disinfectant.
And beer and whisky. Then go and deliver 500 pamphlets and erect 10 billboards and you will feel better …
That reminds me… I’ve been meaning to tell everyone that DF has reinstalled his LSO cookie.
The best way to combat it is to install Better Privacy and restart your browser each time you visit Kiwibog. Whaleoil has also recently implemented the technology on his site.
You can learn a little bit more about the DF LSO in this Jackal blog post.
ugh, feel your pain, I did the same a couple of days ago. Still de-Oiling.
I read this extract from Hansard (dated 7-6-11) on Red Alert a few minutes ago.It was posted by Trevor M.under “Late Play Annie to the Leader of the National Party.” It was about the contract given to Parents Inc not being put out for tender.
“Hon Annette King: What evidence and scientific advice did he seek before agreeing to allocate $2.4 million to Parents Inc. for a parenting programme that even the Minister for Social Development and Employment said she had neither sought nor received advice on, or was she carrying out his promise that he made before the election that he would make sure that Parents Inc. got money?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Members will accept that, as Prime Minister, I am not responsible for the allocation of that contract; that actually goes through the Ministry of Social Development. But I would say I have seen that Toolbox; I have seen the programme. In my opinion it is a very, very successful programme that is helping New Zealand parents, and we do need to help parents in New Zealand.”
Is there not something very wrong about this? John Key did not deny that he had made a promise before the election! More arbitrary government from Mr.’if i ruled the world,forget democratic procedures’ K.ey? Is this not similar to PEDA and Bill English the budget before last, or perhaps worse as it was promised bfore the election?
In Britain, arbitrary government under Charles 1,caused a civil war and Charles, thinking he had “divine right” as king to make decisions off the top off his head, lost said head to the executioner(1649). At least in the case of Charles he was leader and king, but Mr. Key apparently made a promise before he became leader! How many other promises did he make and why? And he often makes decicisions of his head.
According to Speake’s rules, if there is more than one question asked in Question Time, the minister or PM addressed only needs to answer one. So the fact that Key didn’t answer the question on promises, doesn’t mean he DID make a promise. He just chose to answer the first question.
But if the answer was in the negative then Mr Key would have said so, and thus closed off the issue. To avoid answering does increase the possibility that Key made a promise that was outside the tendering rules. Unlawful? But Key can do that because who can stop him. And the MSM are not going to question the ethics of it are they?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/5120337/Reserve-Bank-keeps-official-cash-rate-steady
We don’t need no stinkin sub-editors.
Isn’t it all done out of Aussie now? Or not done as the case may be…
Still there as I write this btw…
I’ve noticed a lot of epic spelling mistakes on Stuff lately. They’re probably employing some minimum wage slave who’s in constant fear of being fired before 90 days is up. It would be their style.
That’s the efficiency gain of privatisation the NACTs want to bring to the public sector, I guess…
A Fairfax exec told me a couple of years ago that the occasional payoff to an accidentally libelled member of the public was still going to be cheaper than employing subbies. He wasn’t sure that they had an obligation to always be accurate anyway, but he did reckon they were obliged to correct their mistakes, but only if they were pointed out to them.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1106/S00142/new-parole-board-appointments-announced.htm
So, are these people objective judges of individual’s right to regain some freedom or just rightwing ringins this government has put in place to control people?
An excellent question Jum.
For the first time in a while, the latest Morgan poll shows a major shift – to the opposition:
http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2011/4675/
What’s significant here is that the overall confidence rating hasn’t changed, but party vote preferences have. So that “disconnect” (i.e. people not happy but supporting status quo) has been reduced. Good.
I wouldn’t read much into the minor party results – Morgan has always been funny on those. But overall, it’s encouraging for those (like me!) who had started to give up on under-performing Labour.
I’m still gonna vote Green though.
heh. That would be an interesting parliament. Act potentially out, Mana in.
Yep, that’s a good result for the left. A nominal 7 point gap between Team Key and the opposition, the smallest it’s been since the start of the year. Factor in the likely electoral neutering of ACT and the maori party and it’s getting down to a seat or three. Continuous job losses, a moribund economy and no fucken idea what to do about either are starting to kill Key’s chances in November. And did I mention Kiwisaver and asset sales?
Interesting that Tariana Turia was all over the news today bigging up Darren Hughes. A olive branch of sorts to Labour?
9.5% undecided. Up 2%. That may be a good sign for the Opposition too as maybe a few are not so sure about the Nacts.
Newsflash
~ ~ In Search of 170,000 jobs ~ ~
Fantastic! John Key’s Government has overexceeded his aspirational bullshit and is now taking up residence in political fantasy islands:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5123165/Ministry-unsure-about-Budgets-job-promise
It gets even better – “the Budget” is an organism separate and independent from the Government as Acting (good actor?) Economic Decimation, erm, Development Minister David Carter told the commerce select committee today he was not aware that any analysis had been done …
“Bear in mind the Government hasn’t said it will create the 170,000 new jobs – the Budget said there will be 170,000 jobs,” he said.
The Budget said. The Government hasn’t said. The Budget said. The Government hasn’t said.
Oh yes yes yes, we understand.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5123165/Ministry-unsure-about-Budgets-job-promise
Time to blame the peasants and boy sells kidney to buy iPad – gotta love Max Keiser:
At the risk of saying something unpopular for me, this was a bit of a WTF moment
The heritage advisor for Auckland’s main iwi hadn’t heard of an inner-city taniwha before yesterday, but he says the point about consultation over the CBD Rail Link project is valid.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10731219
I am sorry but the last time I remember hearing about a Taniwha was a few years ago, and it caused all sorts of problems. But this one, is one, that few people seem to have heard of.
But it’s very handy for Steven Joyce, who we all know is so in favour of the Britomart rail link, NOT
http://www.imperatorfish.com/2011/06/guest-post-from-horotiu-taniwha.html
I imagine the right’s silence over this issue would be quite deafening, simply because that the ‘taniwha’ lies in the path of a railway line, not a road.