I’d suggest to the Greens (and others) that they’ll get more support if, rather than playing rich against poor,, they argued on the merits of a Capital Gains Tax rationally rather than pandering to envy emotion.
SS, go chomp on some nuts. Your moaning is no more effectual than a spoilt child who knew only of Automatic Dishwashers being told they must now use soap and water in the kitchen sink.
Languaging in Right Wing terms of envy and greed now?
Maybe you don’t think that the massive wealth and income inequity this country suffers from should be a factor in the discussions around a CGT but you would be wrong.
Why ? If you take the article at face value it suggests he votes for policies not because he belongs to a tribe who votes for the same team regardless of how crap they are.
Well, friends of mine reckoned that the moment they realised the 4th labour government was irretrievably sold to the dark side was when the ODT started editorialising in favour of it…
I am sure Collins and Bennett will love reading this,
” It’s a handy way of reaching out to women who would be otherwise put off by the bolshier characters in the party such as Judith Collins and Paula Bennett.”
Does Andrea Vance know that the Pm’s wife is not actually a Member of Parliament? On that note,
is Bronagh actually a member of the Party at all?
The article in Woman’s Day was sickly sweet – the Bronagh (rhymes with Mona in case you didn’t know – are Woman’s Day readers that tick?) and John show had nearly as many pictures of the smiling assasin, cooking, ironing and being a new age man – as if!
Seriously, the charm offensive needs nailing, we cannot have another three years of this won by virtue of Woman’s Day et. al.
Ratigan, a finance talking head, Eliot Spitzer the former Wall street sheriff who like Dominic Strauss Kahn was caught with his pants down and thrown out of his job just before he planned to march down Wall street with his posse to start cleaning the town up and comedian Sherrod Small play a game of credit rating theatre.
This is how John Key made his money.
Watch this little video and spread it around and while your at it here is Max Keiser about the Greek collapse and Professor Michael Hudson tells you why John Key with his huge financial interest in BoA has a vested interest in keeping the corrupt banking system going and that means the looting of every Nation in the world and that includes New Zealand
It’s pretty obvious the US is going to have to default or hyper-inflate their currency to get out of the mess they’re in. The only question is when that’s going to happen.
Such are the screaming headlines from a huge paid advertisement by the ACT Party in the New Zealand Herald today.
Typically such advertisements cost thousands of dollars.
Well well, for a party that claims to have the economic answers for the country, it is very telling that ACT choose to run their electoral campaign on an emotive race issue.
The real message of this advertising campaign is that we at ACT have no answers but we will give you a scape goat instead.
We cynically hope to divert all your disillusionment with the economy onto Maori, while the banksters and financiers who wrecked the economy and who gave us the money for this sick racist electoral campaign, are left alone, to continue quietly plundering the economy and the country.
Both Goff and Key fronted up to a question session with Family First. According to the Herald in “Goff, Key reveal core beliefs” on the moral issues that concerned Mr McCoskrie, they were “surprisingly akin”.
On euthanasia Mr Key said:
… he voted for the first reading of a private member’s bill to legalise it in 2003 and would vote for a bill to go to a select committee if it came up again.
Mr Goff said:
that when his mother was terminally ill three years ago, stopped eating and wanted to die, the family refused to let her.
“She lived for three months, but those three months were entirely without quality and all of us now wonder whether we did the right thing,” he said.
“It’s a hard question. I think we should keep discussing it. I would want to have the choice.”
Being closely involved with an extended death can be harrowing for the person who dies and their family. There has to be a better way, in limited situations, where comfort and dignity are given much more priority than archaic law.
I particularly liked the comments, especially No 3, but the info in No 2 disappointed me for two reasons;
One – if the Chinese agreement includes them being treated to ‘national’ equality are all profits kept in New Zealand and used in New Zealand for New Zealanders? Is the money being spent on rail coaches (being built in China, at the expense of our economy and our workers’ employment) staying in New Zealand and the Chinese spending that money in New Zealand for New Zealanders? Obviously not, but that is what ‘national equality’ should be about.
Surely when a country’s workers are unemployed that must take precedence over impersonal and greedy business transactions. The Dunedin debacle where workers lost their jobs and this New Zealand government led by America’s men Key and his PR man Joyce rejected its own people’s welfare was a reprehensible decision made purely for profit over people.
Tenders never have to be about the cheapest price, so Key/Joyce had an opt out choice.
Two – If the Chinese do not allow ownership in their land/assets then that is not ‘national’ equality of treatment if we are selling ours to them and this government, via Bill -in denial- English’s visit to China with the knowledge that the Chinese government have $6 billion put aside to buy our assets, is preparing to sell us off. They’ve already spent over $6 million on preparation work for something there is no mandate for, not to mention cooking their budget books with the $6 billion from asset sales. Key’s behaviour in signing off on English’s un-mandated budget is outrageous.
This NActMU government is allowing China to take us over; they have the money, we will have less because we will have less dividends coming in because they will soon own all our productive assets if NActMU gets in on 26 November. There is no way we can compete with global low wages, and nor should we; hopefully we have more respect for our workers.
So with low wages which would rightfully never be lower than China’s, no productive assets, no dividends, a widening gulf between rich and poor for income and health (both emotional and physical) New Zealand will become the fifth rate country this fifth rate government wants it to be, ripe for takeover and plundering by the American-driven Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and any New Zealander who thinks that is a good result is scum.
In the 2008 election the scum content of New Zealand was higher than the egalitarian reasoning of the thinking Kiwi. Pre-election 2008 there was more than enough evidence that National was lying in its intentions; dead fish – swallow… I do hope that situation reverses on 26 November and I can be a proud New Zealander once again.
Scum = greedy and selfish aggrandisement at the expense of all our children’s futures, for the benefit of the few. Not to mention stupidity in the majority of these NActMU voters imagining the ‘few’ will invite them in to enjoy the plunder.
Probably a little bit off the point, but there will be a time when the Chinese will put away their chequebooks and use bombs and machine guns instead.
The NACToids and their pro-Chinese quislings supporters, such as Hooten and Shipley may become part of a Vichy government here, but us plebs wont be so lucky..
Probably a little bit off the point, but there will be a time when the Chinese will put away their chequebooks and use bombs and machine guns instead.
Not quite.
The Chinese don’t like to use bombs and guns directly on a foreign populace. What they sometimes do is install (or help keep in power) a rump government and supply them with the money and weapons needed to tame their own people.
When Eddie of The Standard described the Maori Party leadership as ‘kupapa’, was he insulting Sharples and Turia, or nineteenth century rangatira like Waka Nene? Is it historically appropriate and politically useful to use the word ‘kupapa’ in a derogatory way?
New Zealand war heroes in their 90s ended up paying to attend commemorations in Europe while the taxpayer funded the Defence Minister’s luxury travel, personal assistant and top hotels.
The treatment of the veterans on the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Crete shocked observers, who had expected to see them treated as the centrepiece of the New Zealand contingent.
Defence Minister Wayne Mapp spent more than $26,000 on flights and top hotels for himself and a secretary, in luxurious suites overlooking the Bay of Chania.
But New Zealand’s war heroes were forced to pay out of their own pockets, arrange their own itineraries and stay in modest accommodation, with just $2000 Government support – less than a return airfare.
Australian veterans were flown over by their Government and cared for by provided doctors. They stayed at the same upmarket lodgings as Australia’s defence and government officials.
Crete veteran Malcolm Coughlan said he had travelled on his own savings, and the Government grant only covered about 15 per cent of his expenses.
…
The Australian party had arranged everything for its veterans and their families to attend, and at ceremonies Australian officials stood behind the old troops, he said.
“All the focus was clearly on the veterans. Meanwhile, it seemed like the New Zealand top brass and minister were sitting safely in their seats and the New Zealand veterans had to make do.”
…
He said the attitude of Australian officials towards their veterans was “whatever they want, our pleasure to provide”.
“With New Zealanders there was just no recognition – no deference paid them for what they went through.”
…
Country Calendar tonight, so inspirational – 60yo Maori woman single handedly running a northland farm. Has more understanding of the issues with our agriculturual industry than the entire fed farmers/National govt rolled together..
She just made an interesting comment on modern grasses – it won’t re-seed itself, so if it dies off in a drought you have to sow more seed (ie buy more) or weeds will be all that comes back.
Today, the Act Party ran a racist and divisive advertisement in the New Zealand Herald. The advertisement is headed Fed up with pandering to Maori radicals? Act’s assumptions are completely ludicrous to anybody with half a brain…
Ian we lost you when you held up The Standard as the be ll and end all of sane and rational logic when it comes to running internet commenting policy.
and
When The Standard authors make themselves public will be about the same time that we will. So far there are only two of the prepared to own their hate filled posts under their own names, and those two generally are more mild since they started using their own names.
I didn’t realise I was associating (albeit electronically) with such nasty people!
They are rather lost in the past. In no particular order..
lprent = Lynn Prentice
Mike Smith
Ben Clark
Anthony Robins = r0b
rocky = Rochelle Rees
I guess that they are too stupid to make the jump from a pseudonym to a real name. But personally I couldn’t care less if it is a pseudonym or a real name, and neither does the law. It is really only if you want to pursue extra-legal attacks that it becomes an issue.
I don’t think you can escape the reality that real names have more credibility.
If you post under a real name you remove most speculation about associations and motives. I acknowledge there can be good reasons for using a pseudonym, especially for commenters.
But I think your chances of being taken seriously as a blog poster are enhanced considerably by being open and transparent about your identity. Especially in politics.
You have weird ideas on why people blog. At least you do from the view of someone who has participated in online discussion for most of my life through BBS’es to usenet and now to blogs.
I don’t care one way or the other for other people’s opinion of how I or others write. Most people around blogging are not writing for effect – they are writing to express themselves on topics that they feel are important about why they feel they are important. This can be anything from politics to cars. Readers can take from it what they will and comment on it how they know or feel. The interactions and conflicts of commentary are just fun. But isn’t hard to find blogs with excellent posts and no comments or readers where people are writing for them for the sheer joy of expression.
Sure it has a wider influence, as do the comments. But personalities and knowlege express regardless of if it is on arbitrary label or another. Someone’s name is just an arbitrary label, and has very little to do with who they are.
So as I said, wanting to know who someone is in real life is pretty much a sign of someone who doesn’t understand the world of blogging / usenet / bbs. People who insist on it in my opinion usually have online symptoms of being a bully, or a gossip, or a narcissist.
Of course there is an exception to that generalization. Journalists have this creed of real names – largely as far as I can see for litigation reasons. So people with aspirations towards being a journalist or something similar tend to assume that bloggers should be the same. But that is simply a pile of hogwash.
I think the strengths of journalism and blogging are best combined, it’s become a mega media mix. Both have to keep adapting to a rapidly changing medium.
It’s possible your long history of blogging clouds your view of how the wider world may see it. Most people probably don’t care about identities if they are prattling and entertaining themselves.
But when it comes to politics most people want openness and honesty, things badly and sadly lacking in politics.
Some parties may prefer to keep things undercover, that won’t improve public perceptions of deviousness and deceit.
Well this site isn’t run by a party. Most political parties have problems finding their arse with any hands when it comes to online presences. Quite simply the only reason that kiwiblog and the standard got so dominant in the political debate online is because the parties were so late and incompetent. Frogblog is pretty good, but for a party that is off the mainstream. Red Alert is a bit constrained. The Nats and Act are just pathetic.
That is much the same as internationally.
But I suspect that you simply don’t understand the social dynamics of online. But just look around at what works. The social experiment has been in full swing for decades and what you think theoretically is a lot less interesting than just observing happens in practice.
The journos have their own blogs. Look at something like pundit or the comments off nzherald. They have this one basic trait – they tend towards the boring, and people don’t argue with each other enough to shake anything loose. The social dynamic doesn’t work.
The blogs that have very high participation rates all allow pseudonyms in the comments – which is where most of the writing goes. Some blogs have authors who use pseudonyms, some do not, and some have pseudonyms where the identities are also known. It does not appear to make any difference apart from people like yourself who try to use it as a hammer.
Perhaps you should look at online as is rather than blathering on about how you’d like it to be – ie being a critic. if you want to try something different then just do it and see how well it works – that is the way that the net tests theories.
I’m not disputing the need to allow anonymous posts, that’s essential. I’m talking about the blog posters. What are the three most viewed political blogs? Kiwiblog, The Standard and The Dim-Post?
How many of those operate under the blogger’s name? The “theories” have already been tested.
Each blog can obviously do things however it likes. I only expressed my opinion that I think posts with an identifiable author usually have more credibility. I don’t think that’s blathering on.
Read open parachute listings you are a little short, and you missed public address
But out of the three ones you’ve mentioned. My rough count says… There are four authors using their own names – three of them here. Three using pseudonyms with known names (like myself) attached – two here. Remainder (all here as the other two sites are effectively single person blogs) are pseudonyms only
So what exactly are you waffling about? How you are unobservant?
Quite simply what you are blathering about is simply your opinion. A not very well informed opinion, one that doesn’t have anything to back it up, and one that clearly has never exercised their brain to think about what is going on at a social level.
It is an opinion you’re putting up against that of someone who has been studying and participating in the type of social media we’re discussing for decades, and who is helping to run a successful example.
The tens of thousands of readers and commentators on this site have been voting with their fingers. They’re using what they read and discuss here out in the communities where politics actually happens. The journo’s come here to read and pick up ideas – but they are merely doing their job. The site isn’t run for them, they are just parasitical on it.
The participants, authors, commentators, and readers come here to just have fun playing with ideas and words.
And meanwhile you’re busy touting some theoretical model of how such social media should operate. You’re as pathetic as that polsci lecturer from Canterbury that John Drinnan was quoting. Understanding why people participate in these sites is really the key to them. And the people who participate really don’t give a crap if a author or a commentator is a name or a pseudonym. It is a meaningless distinction if they cannot contribute, and they certainly cannot contribute if they trade on their name because the usual reason to do it is to shut down debate.
Those few who have an anal reaction of the sphincter clenching when they deal with pseudonyms can always find somewhere boring that doesn’t offend them. Basically they are almost by definition too boring to be around people who like to argue because they always want to appeal to some kind of ‘authority’ which really doesn’t exist. If they were any good then they’d just point to supporting material and convince others.
Had to come back to this – got called away. I was insufficiently sarcastic in the first draft.
“But when it comes to politics most people want openness and honesty, things badly and sadly lacking in politics.’
Most people have know idea what they really want SS, they’re just following the crowd and the latest fashions, until we start practicing what we preach, there will be no openness in politics, expecting our poly’s to do what we have no intention of doing ourselves is a bit rich, don’t you think.
The individual generally sees little advantage in openness and honesty, instead we copyright and patent still, until people come to understand, that our poly’s are just a projection of ourselves, following the crowd, while doing whatever is popular (fashion) to stay in power. Little will change until it is forced upon us.
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This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – The United States shares the pathologies of all dying empires with their mixture of buffoonery, rampant corruption, military fiascos, economic collapse and savage state repression.ANALYSIS: By Chris Hedges The billionaires, Christian fascists, grifters, psychopaths, imbeciles, narcissists and deviants who ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government has secured bipartisan support for a major new regime covering political donations and spending, after making significant concessions. The government agreed to increase the proposed threshold above which donations must be disclosed ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With the election only months away, the Labor government finds itself suddenly battling with the Trump administration for an exemption from new US tariffs on steel and aluminium. The opposition has supported the effort, but ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julee McDonagh, Senior Research Fellow of Frailty Research, University of Wollongong PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock Ageing is a normal part of the life course. It doesn’t matter how many green smoothies you drink, or how many “anti-ageing” skin care products you ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bronwyn Carlson, Professor, Critical Indigenous Studies and Director of The Centre for Global Indigenous Futures, Macquarie University The Conversation, CC BY-SAAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people. Colonial commemorations ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hazel, Associate Professor, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide Masarik/Shutterstock In some overseas countries, pets can travel with their owners in a plane’s cabin, in a carrier under a seat. In Australia, pets must travel in the ...
A raft of proposed legislation changes to the media and screen industry have been announced this morning – we read through it all all so you don’t have to. What’s all this then? This morning the Ministry for Culture and Heritage released its draft proposed changes to media and screen ...
David Seymour's recent off-road parliamentary excursion led to a reprimand from the Speaker, who also said the rules didn't apply to this instance. What are the rules? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee Morgenbesser, Associate Professor, School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University, Griffith University Many Americans have watched in horror as Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has been permitted to tear through various offices of the United States government in recent ...
By Patrick Decloitre,RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls has announced he will travel to New Caledonia later this month to pursue talks on the French territory’s political future. These discussions on February 22 follow preliminary talks held last week in Paris in “bilateral” mode ...
As Benjamin Netanyahu threatens to resume war, Hamas outlines widespread Israeli ceasefire violations in document sent to the mediators.By Jeremy Scahill and Sharif Abdel Kouddous of Dropsite News Hamas officials submitted a two-page report to mediators yesterday listing a wide range of Israeli violations of the Gaza ceasefire since ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Murray Print, Professor of Education, University of Sydney A federal parliamentary inquiry has just recommended civics and citizenship become a compulsory part of the Australian Curriculum, which covers the first year of school to Year 10. The committee also recommended a ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits of Aotearoa writers, and guests. This week: Claire Baylis, author of Dice and guest at the forthcoming HamLit programme at the Hamilton Arts Festival. The book I wish I’d writtenMy mind seems surprisingly unwilling ...
The courts should deal with illegal fishing, not the "court of public opinion", Shane Jones says, as he announces proposed changes to the Quota Management System. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Megan McElhone, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Monash University A London court has found Sam Kerr not guilty of the racially aggravated harassment of Metropolitan Police officer Stephen Lovell. As captain of the Australian women’s national soccer team, Kerr was widely condemned when ...
Could iwi and hapū be the unexpected solution to the government’s asset dilemma? David Seymour pressured the prime minister into an unwelcome conversation, and in the couple of weeks since the Act leader raised the issue in his state of the nation speech, privatisation has shifted from absent in the ...
Human rights advocates must uphold human dignity, rights and justice, while rejecting the discriminatory tactics we oppose, writes Taimor Hazou.Two weeks ago the Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) launched a campaign inviting New Zealanders to call a hotline if they suspected an Israel Defence Force (IDF) soldier that had ...
Immigration New Zealand figures shows more people have been looking at the ETA and visitor visa pages on the website, however fewer people have applied to come or to extend their stay. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kirsten Banks, Lecturer, School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology Debris on the surface of Mars from the Perseverance mission, captured on April 19 2022. NASA/JPL-Caltech In his inauguration speech in January, United States President Donald Trump ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alix Woolard, Senior Research Fellow, The Kids Research Institute Australia Stock Unit/Shutterstock Have you ever asked someone how their day was, or been chatting casually with a friend, only to have them tell you a horrific story that has left you ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Quentin Grafton, Australian Laureate Professor of Economics, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Roper RiverChris Ison/Shutterstock Water is now a contested resource around the world. Nowhere is this more evident than in the fight playing out over the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Graeme Turner, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Studies, The University of Queensland Matej Kastellic/ Shutterstock As we head towards the federal election, both sides of politics are making a point of criticising universities and questioning their role in the community. ...
Alex Casey examines the perils of having your period at a music festival. It was right after Clairo’s swooning set that Sarah* knew it was time. She was on the second day of her period at Auckland’s Laneway festival, and braved the portaloos to empty her menstrual cup and change ...
A battle between health officials and local councils is heating up, as one government party seeks to change the rules. The Bulletin’s Stewart Sowman-Lund explains. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
I’d suggest to the Greens (and others) that they’ll get more support if, rather than playing rich against poor,, they argued on the merits of a Capital Gains Tax rationally rather than pandering to envy emotion.
SS, go chomp on some nuts. Your moaning is no more effectual than a spoilt child who knew only of Automatic Dishwashers being told they must now use soap and water in the kitchen sink.
This site has been debating the merits of the CGT for the past few days. Didn’t you notice?
LOLZWUT
Languaging in Right Wing terms of envy and greed now?
Maybe you don’t think that the massive wealth and income inequity this country suffers from should be a factor in the discussions around a CGT but you would be wrong.
Wow – John Roughan likes CGT and Labour.. Read and weep Mr Key. This is gettting very interesting
I feel exhilarated but worried that he is thinking of voting Labour …
Why ? If you take the article at face value it suggests he votes for policies not because he belongs to a tribe who votes for the same team regardless of how crap they are.
Well, friends of mine reckoned that the moment they realised the 4th labour government was irretrievably sold to the dark side was when the ODT started editorialising in favour of it…
Roughan’s last three paragraphs are spot on.
I see your John Roughan and raise you a Fran O’Sullivan:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10737284
You’re not raising much with Fran O’Sullivan (certainly not standards)
She was ok in her time and has lost her shine and been more of a yesterday’s commentator.
Not bothered to read her pieces these days.
THE TRADER (from Songs Of Expedience)
By William Blank
Trader! Trader! polling bright
In the bullpen of the right,
What opposing gal or guy
Could front thy frank expediency?
In what Hawaiian deeps or skies
Burst the framing of thine lies?
On what cycleway dare he perspire?
Will the left dare face the liar?
And what Textor, & false start
Could twist the media to thy heart?
And will thy Banksy get a seat,
What right hand? are ACT dead meat?
What the capital? tax the gain?
In what furnace was thy train?
What the angle? what fiscal grasp
Dare its policy errors clasp?
When the Maori threw down their spears,
And watered cows replaced the shears,
Did he smile their work to see?
Will he who defended Rog defeat thee?
Trader! Trader! polling bright
In the bullpen of the right,
What opposing gal or guy
Dare front thy frank expediency?
And over at http://www.billenglish.co.nz 61% of nearly 5,700 votes support the CGT. Epic social media fail!
I’d say that was social media win 😀
Kudos to the lefties for (finally) learning from and implementing ideas from the VRWC
Welcome to the dark side
(Seriously Bill what were you thinking putting an internet based poll up on your site…)
On line poll, must be accurate. In light of these results, lets just call the election off and put labour in.
Seems he might have learnt something. The poll currently asks:
“Do you support Govt steps to improve NZ’s infrastructure?”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5258992/PMs-wife-the-medias-new-darling
I am sure Collins and Bennett will love reading this,
” It’s a handy way of reaching out to women who would be otherwise put off by the bolshier characters in the party such as Judith Collins and Paula Bennett.”
Does Andrea Vance know that the Pm’s wife is not actually a Member of Parliament? On that note,
is Bronagh actually a member of the Party at all?
The article in Woman’s Day was sickly sweet – the Bronagh (rhymes with Mona in case you didn’t know – are Woman’s Day readers that tick?) and John show had nearly as many pictures of the smiling assasin, cooking, ironing and being a new age man – as if!
Seriously, the charm offensive needs nailing, we cannot have another three years of this won by virtue of Woman’s Day et. al.
Ratigan, a finance talking head, Eliot Spitzer the former Wall street sheriff who like Dominic Strauss Kahn was caught with his pants down and thrown out of his job just before he planned to march down Wall street with his posse to start cleaning the town up and comedian Sherrod Small play a game of credit rating theatre.
This is how John Key made his money.
Watch this little video and spread it around and while your at it here is Max Keiser about the Greek collapse and Professor Michael Hudson tells you why John Key with his huge financial interest in BoA has a vested interest in keeping the corrupt banking system going and that means the looting of every Nation in the world and that includes New Zealand
BMB
The country stands with Dunedin today at 1pm for their Kiwirail rally. Best wishes.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/168440/speakers-ready-support-hillside
Save Hillside jobs:
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/168455/hillside-protest-sends-strong-message
Ok this is scary.
Jane Young writing in Pundit
Are the Tea Party deliberately trying to force the US to default so they can get power!!
http://pundit.co.nz/content/americas-ugly-ideological-hostage-takers
It’s pretty obvious the US is going to have to default or hyper-inflate their currency to get out of the mess they’re in. The only question is when that’s going to happen.
Civil war, they could manipulate that in various ways, Mexican immigrants, race riots, etc.
‘
Such are the screaming headlines from a huge paid advertisement by the ACT Party in the New Zealand Herald today.
Typically such advertisements cost thousands of dollars.
Well well, for a party that claims to have the economic answers for the country, it is very telling that ACT choose to run their electoral campaign on an emotive race issue.
The real message of this advertising campaign is that we at ACT have no answers but we will give you a scape goat instead.
We cynically hope to divert all your disillusionment with the economy onto Maori, while the banksters and financiers who wrecked the economy and who gave us the money for this sick racist electoral campaign, are left alone, to continue quietly plundering the economy and the country.
We have to say that ACT wins first prize for playing the politics of envy and hate.
“FED UP WITH PANDERING TO MAORI RADICALS” ?
Nope. Fed up with the pandering to ‘free market’ radicals.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/59632488/MaoriRadicals in case anyone wants to read their drivel
Damn! Should check the Jackals emails a bit more often. BBC asked me to talk on their World have your Say program about the recent dismissal of Alasdair Thompson. They had read the article I wrote about the asshole!
Cool…
Both Goff and Key fronted up to a question session with Family First. According to the Herald in “Goff, Key reveal core beliefs” on the moral issues that concerned Mr McCoskrie, they were “surprisingly akin”.
On euthanasia Mr Key said:
Mr Goff said:
There’s a topic on this on Kiwiblog, and I’ve written on my recent experience in detail.
Being closely involved with an extended death can be harrowing for the person who dies and their family. There has to be a better way, in limited situations, where comfort and dignity are given much more priority than archaic law.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5090982/Case-weak-for-selling-assets
I particularly liked the comments, especially No 3, but the info in No 2 disappointed me for two reasons;
One – if the Chinese agreement includes them being treated to ‘national’ equality are all profits kept in New Zealand and used in New Zealand for New Zealanders? Is the money being spent on rail coaches (being built in China, at the expense of our economy and our workers’ employment) staying in New Zealand and the Chinese spending that money in New Zealand for New Zealanders? Obviously not, but that is what ‘national equality’ should be about.
Surely when a country’s workers are unemployed that must take precedence over impersonal and greedy business transactions. The Dunedin debacle where workers lost their jobs and this New Zealand government led by America’s men Key and his PR man Joyce rejected its own people’s welfare was a reprehensible decision made purely for profit over people.
Tenders never have to be about the cheapest price, so Key/Joyce had an opt out choice.
Two – If the Chinese do not allow ownership in their land/assets then that is not ‘national’ equality of treatment if we are selling ours to them and this government, via Bill -in denial- English’s visit to China with the knowledge that the Chinese government have $6 billion put aside to buy our assets, is preparing to sell us off. They’ve already spent over $6 million on preparation work for something there is no mandate for, not to mention cooking their budget books with the $6 billion from asset sales. Key’s behaviour in signing off on English’s un-mandated budget is outrageous.
This NActMU government is allowing China to take us over; they have the money, we will have less because we will have less dividends coming in because they will soon own all our productive assets if NActMU gets in on 26 November. There is no way we can compete with global low wages, and nor should we; hopefully we have more respect for our workers.
So with low wages which would rightfully never be lower than China’s, no productive assets, no dividends, a widening gulf between rich and poor for income and health (both emotional and physical) New Zealand will become the fifth rate country this fifth rate government wants it to be, ripe for takeover and plundering by the American-driven Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and any New Zealander who thinks that is a good result is scum.
In the 2008 election the scum content of New Zealand was higher than the egalitarian reasoning of the thinking Kiwi. Pre-election 2008 there was more than enough evidence that National was lying in its intentions; dead fish – swallow… I do hope that situation reverses on 26 November and I can be a proud New Zealander once again.
Scum = greedy and selfish aggrandisement at the expense of all our children’s futures, for the benefit of the few. Not to mention stupidity in the majority of these NActMU voters imagining the ‘few’ will invite them in to enjoy the plunder.
Jum,
Probably a little bit off the point, but there will be a time when the Chinese will put away their chequebooks and use bombs and machine guns instead.
The NACToids and their pro-Chinese
quislingssupporters, such as Hooten and Shipley may become part of a Vichy government here, but us plebs wont be so lucky..Not quite.
The Chinese don’t like to use bombs and guns directly on a foreign populace. What they sometimes do is install (or help keep in power) a rump government and supply them with the money and weapons needed to tame their own people.
When Eddie of The Standard described the Maori Party leadership as ‘kupapa’, was he insulting Sharples and Turia, or nineteenth century rangatira like Waka Nene? Is it historically appropriate and politically useful to use the word ‘kupapa’ in a derogatory way?
http://readingthemaps.blogspot.com/2011/07/should-kupapa-be-swear-word.html
Veterans made do as minister basked in luxury
New Zealand war heroes in their 90s ended up paying to attend commemorations in Europe while the taxpayer funded the Defence Minister’s luxury travel, personal assistant and top hotels.
The treatment of the veterans on the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Crete shocked observers, who had expected to see them treated as the centrepiece of the New Zealand contingent.
Defence Minister Wayne Mapp spent more than $26,000 on flights and top hotels for himself and a secretary, in luxurious suites overlooking the Bay of Chania.
But New Zealand’s war heroes were forced to pay out of their own pockets, arrange their own itineraries and stay in modest accommodation, with just $2000 Government support – less than a return airfare.
Australian veterans were flown over by their Government and cared for by provided doctors. They stayed at the same upmarket lodgings as Australia’s defence and government officials.
Crete veteran Malcolm Coughlan said he had travelled on his own savings, and the Government grant only covered about 15 per cent of his expenses.
…
The Australian party had arranged everything for its veterans and their families to attend, and at ceremonies Australian officials stood behind the old troops, he said.
“All the focus was clearly on the veterans. Meanwhile, it seemed like the New Zealand top brass and minister were sitting safely in their seats and the New Zealand veterans had to make do.”
…
He said the attitude of Australian officials towards their veterans was “whatever they want, our pleasure to provide”.
“With New Zealanders there was just no recognition – no deference paid them for what they went through.”
…
Source:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10737384
(Wow the Hearld does occasionally have good articles!)
Wow. Nothing to moderate for the entire day… No warnings. A few bad tempered comments, but nothing of concern…..
Country Calendar tonight, so inspirational – 60yo Maori woman single handedly running a northland farm. Has more understanding of the issues with our agriculturual industry than the entire fed farmers/National govt rolled together..
She just made an interesting comment on modern grasses – it won’t re-seed itself, so if it dies off in a drought you have to sow more seed (ie buy more) or weeds will be all that comes back.
Older grasses keep producing their own seed.
Gotta love Monsanto
And Agria.
GE grass?
Not so much the GE aspect DtB but the possibility that countries major supplier of grass seed could have China Inc as a controlling share holder.
Some worrying news emerging from Malaysia, a country with which we have a free trade agreement.
http://news.google.co.nz/news?edchanged=1&ned=en_my
What is the NZ Government’s public response to the Malaysia Government?
“Good on ya mate”
Hero of the Week Award – The Dominion Post
Today, the Act Party ran a racist and divisive advertisement in the New Zealand Herald. The advertisement is headed Fed up with pandering to Maori radicals? Act’s assumptions are completely ludicrous to anybody with half a brain…
From our friends at Vote for Change….
and
I didn’t realise I was associating (albeit electronically) with such nasty people!
If you want to join me in asking them questions and not getting any answers they are at https://www.facebook.com/voteforchangenz
They are rather lost in the past. In no particular order..
lprent = Lynn Prentice
Mike Smith
Ben Clark
Anthony Robins = r0b
rocky = Rochelle Rees
I guess that they are too stupid to make the jump from a pseudonym to a real name. But personally I couldn’t care less if it is a pseudonym or a real name, and neither does the law. It is really only if you want to pursue extra-legal attacks that it becomes an issue.
I don’t think you can escape the reality that real names have more credibility.
If you post under a real name you remove most speculation about associations and motives. I acknowledge there can be good reasons for using a pseudonym, especially for commenters.
But I think your chances of being taken seriously as a blog poster are enhanced considerably by being open and transparent about your identity. Especially in politics.
You have weird ideas on why people blog. At least you do from the view of someone who has participated in online discussion for most of my life through BBS’es to usenet and now to blogs.
I don’t care one way or the other for other people’s opinion of how I or others write. Most people around blogging are not writing for effect – they are writing to express themselves on topics that they feel are important about why they feel they are important. This can be anything from politics to cars. Readers can take from it what they will and comment on it how they know or feel. The interactions and conflicts of commentary are just fun. But isn’t hard to find blogs with excellent posts and no comments or readers where people are writing for them for the sheer joy of expression.
Sure it has a wider influence, as do the comments. But personalities and knowlege express regardless of if it is on arbitrary label or another. Someone’s name is just an arbitrary label, and has very little to do with who they are.
So as I said, wanting to know who someone is in real life is pretty much a sign of someone who doesn’t understand the world of blogging / usenet / bbs. People who insist on it in my opinion usually have online symptoms of being a bully, or a gossip, or a narcissist.
Of course there is an exception to that generalization. Journalists have this creed of real names – largely as far as I can see for litigation reasons. So people with aspirations towards being a journalist or something similar tend to assume that bloggers should be the same. But that is simply a pile of hogwash.
So where on those axes do you see you yourself.
I think the strengths of journalism and blogging are best combined, it’s become a mega media mix. Both have to keep adapting to a rapidly changing medium.
It’s possible your long history of blogging clouds your view of how the wider world may see it. Most people probably don’t care about identities if they are prattling and entertaining themselves.
But when it comes to politics most people want openness and honesty, things badly and sadly lacking in politics.
Some parties may prefer to keep things undercover, that won’t improve public perceptions of deviousness and deceit.
Well this site isn’t run by a party. Most political parties have problems finding their arse with any hands when it comes to online presences. Quite simply the only reason that kiwiblog and the standard got so dominant in the political debate online is because the parties were so late and incompetent. Frogblog is pretty good, but for a party that is off the mainstream. Red Alert is a bit constrained. The Nats and Act are just pathetic.
That is much the same as internationally.
But I suspect that you simply don’t understand the social dynamics of online. But just look around at what works. The social experiment has been in full swing for decades and what you think theoretically is a lot less interesting than just observing happens in practice.
The journos have their own blogs. Look at something like pundit or the comments off nzherald. They have this one basic trait – they tend towards the boring, and people don’t argue with each other enough to shake anything loose. The social dynamic doesn’t work.
The blogs that have very high participation rates all allow pseudonyms in the comments – which is where most of the writing goes. Some blogs have authors who use pseudonyms, some do not, and some have pseudonyms where the identities are also known. It does not appear to make any difference apart from people like yourself who try to use it as a hammer.
Perhaps you should look at online as is rather than blathering on about how you’d like it to be – ie being a critic. if you want to try something different then just do it and see how well it works – that is the way that the net tests theories.
I’m not disputing the need to allow anonymous posts, that’s essential. I’m talking about the blog posters. What are the three most viewed political blogs? Kiwiblog, The Standard and The Dim-Post?
How many of those operate under the blogger’s name? The “theories” have already been tested.
Each blog can obviously do things however it likes. I only expressed my opinion that I think posts with an identifiable author usually have more credibility. I don’t think that’s blathering on.
Read open parachute listings you are a little short, and you missed public address
But out of the three ones you’ve mentioned. My rough count says… There are four authors using their own names – three of them here. Three using pseudonyms with known names (like myself) attached – two here. Remainder (all here as the other two sites are effectively single person blogs) are pseudonyms only
So what exactly are you waffling about? How you are unobservant?
Quite simply what you are blathering about is simply your opinion. A not very well informed opinion, one that doesn’t have anything to back it up, and one that clearly has never exercised their brain to think about what is going on at a social level.
It is an opinion you’re putting up against that of someone who has been studying and participating in the type of social media we’re discussing for decades, and who is helping to run a successful example.
The tens of thousands of readers and commentators on this site have been voting with their fingers. They’re using what they read and discuss here out in the communities where politics actually happens. The journo’s come here to read and pick up ideas – but they are merely doing their job. The site isn’t run for them, they are just parasitical on it.
The participants, authors, commentators, and readers come here to just have fun playing with ideas and words.
And meanwhile you’re busy touting some theoretical model of how such social media should operate. You’re as pathetic as that polsci lecturer from Canterbury that John Drinnan was quoting. Understanding why people participate in these sites is really the key to them. And the people who participate really don’t give a crap if a author or a commentator is a name or a pseudonym. It is a meaningless distinction if they cannot contribute, and they certainly cannot contribute if they trade on their name because the usual reason to do it is to shut down debate.
Those few who have an anal reaction of the sphincter clenching when they deal with pseudonyms can always find somewhere boring that doesn’t offend them. Basically they are almost by definition too boring to be around people who like to argue because they always want to appeal to some kind of ‘authority’ which really doesn’t exist. If they were any good then they’d just point to supporting material and convince others.
Had to come back to this – got called away. I was insufficiently sarcastic in the first draft.
“But when it comes to politics most people want openness and honesty, things badly and sadly lacking in politics.’
Most people have know idea what they really want SS, they’re just following the crowd and the latest fashions, until we start practicing what we preach, there will be no openness in politics, expecting our poly’s to do what we have no intention of doing ourselves is a bit rich, don’t you think.
The individual generally sees little advantage in openness and honesty, instead we copyright and patent still, until people come to understand, that our poly’s are just a projection of ourselves, following the crowd, while doing whatever is popular (fashion) to stay in power. Little will change until it is forced upon us.