Let’s not miss either the straw man in this ‘Duffer’ – “Many cultures across the world have suffered horrible cruelties but haven’t all become killers and thieves.”
So ALL Maori are that bad are they Alan ? Really ?
What I see is a point of difference wank to rival Henry and Hosking. Not deserving of much respect in my book.
What a rambling and incoherent article.
The conclusions Duff reaches from a group of girls stealing from a dairy are quite ridiculous.
The Herald and the establishment needs useful idiots.
Its funny Duff man wouldn’t be having this dilemma if we got a giant vacuum cleaner and sucked up everyones money in the country. Why would you go and steal tobacco then? Just shows lack of money has massive ramifications through society, and we seem perfectly ok with that.
You and paul up at sparrows fart hammering away at your keyboards in your undies lol and obviously before your brains were in gear !!!
alan duffs credentials are secure and he really neednt worry too much about youre silly comparisons with hoskings and henry sayes more about youre own lack of perspective than his .
I f you wanna believe the same old tired claptrap that the substantive reason for the amount of violence within maori cullture is a direct result of colonization its up to you but shows a slavish dependence on pc pap rather than logical deduction i.m.h.o.
Perhaps you should consider READING a book north.
Funny how colonised peoples end up on the bottom of the head eh brainy. Duff is one dimensional. You appear to be getting up to that level perhaps with more critical thinking application.
Damn right they are – as a pre-bankruptcy fugitive who stiffed his creditors, the piece of shit diddled one woman of an age out of $424,000, while living and working in the style he deemed appropriate for himself and his family.
Well he wouldnt be the first person to come a cropper from delving into property developement an i doubt he’ll be the last either and so what if he was made bankrupt lots of people have made good after becoming bankrupt and he may do also .
Alan duff gave us Once were warriors and books in homes thats good enough for me . His personal relationships are none of my business.
Thanks for the beautiful pics of france from the “working ” link what wonderfull creative souls must have built such special places !!makes nz seem like a hick town .
Weston you’re a dick. You have absolutely no knowledge of my educational level……I can tell you however that it did occasion intimate familiarity with ‘books’, over some years. And with far, far better grammar, diction and results I daresay, than you seem capable of.
Duff is one of those stinking kupapa Maori. Not much better than the white trash I suspect you to be…….if we’re going to address “undies” at dawn.
Citation for what ropata ? You got “citation ” for your claim of “academic literature “? Im sure the list is long … very long…but thats part of the problem i.m.h.o.
holy fuck keys lost it he was just on henry saying we don’t need Labours very popular kiwi build because the private sector is going to build 100,000 houses in the next 3 years instead of labours 10. please remind him of this Mr Littlewhen he says labour can’t get it done
Ooooh, the politics of envy, Gossie! The funny thing is that the writer accurately describes what most TS readers imagine your working day to be. ie coffee, pissing about on the internet, not achieving anything worthwhile … I note this is not written by a union official, so doesn’t actually say anything about the work unions do. Just a disgruntled grunt venting.
The Guardian is the paper of liberal urbanistas who like to think they are progressive whilst quietly being quite happy with winning from neoliberalism.
The veneer of the Guardian being genuinely left wing has been brutally ripped away by it’s repsonse to two events of actual popular democracy that ran against the comfortable received wisdom of it’s journalists and commentators.
First, the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader saw the Guardian do a complete melt down. It’s defence of the established Blairite order is hysterical. In fact, it is so OTT that the paper has almost certainly suffered mortal damage to it’s reputation.
The Guardians extreme position in defence of the 1990s Blairist PLP consensus is actually quite sinister when you couple it with how closely aligned with the anti-Corbyn plotters the Labour Friends of Israel group is, and how the Guardian carefully controls it’s coverage of the middle east. Future historians will surely unravel exactly how active an agent Israel has been in managing to plant such favourable fifth columns of supporters at the very top of democratic parties in the West.
Secondly, the reaction to the Brexit vote was astonishingly elitist and anti democratic. The line from the Guardian was some kind of mistake had occurred, the chavs and prols were too ignorant to count, that the result should be somehow overturned, and that never again should the popular vote be used to decide anything. If you are a student of history who puzzles over how dictatorships come to pass then it would repay studying just how thin the veneer of respect for democracy actually is in the urban liberal elites when their will is contradicted by their social inferiors, even in a country as supposedly democratic as the UK.
At least its veneer has been removed and it’s now been revealed for what it is. Just another pillar of the establishment.
As a matter of interest, what sources do you use to keep abreast of news from Britain?
I am staying with my family just now, and they listen to the Edge in the morning. Christ almighty, how do people listen to such puerile, infantile drivel every fucking day of their life?
They had some no name on just now having a blokey chat about who he’d shag amongst our female olympians, it is all humour you understand. So much for feminism.
Sexism is a bit more subtle on Morning Report. I heard Guyon discussing Trump’s campaign this morning. Apparently Trump is going for the women’s vote with tax deductible child care. Oh right, that must be because child care is just a woman’s responsibility.
Not in the same league as the misogynist offensive shit on commercial stations, but still showing how ingrained attitudes to women’s roles are, even in some educated men
And can you believe it, despite all this 40% to 45% of College educated American women still refuse to support Hillary in this coming election. Gender traitors and failed feminists all.
Shame on these 40% to 45% of College educated women who still refuse to support Hillary Clinton knowing the stakes if Trump gets in because of their misjudgement.
Madeline Albright, a woman who helped lead the way into the top levels of US Government said it best earlier this year when she was campaigning for Clinton:
“There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other,” she said.
Gloria Steinem, veteran feminist leader, went further and accused young women who did not back Hillary Clinton of being too immature and too interested in chasing men to vote the right (Clinton) way.
These are the very sentiments of the Washington glass breaking feminists and Clinton supporters, Albright and Steinem. I’m only repeating them. And I don’t need you to define my rights for me thanks.
Nobody defined your rights.
Marty just described the odour that you emit when you appropriate comments you don’t believe about issues you don’t understand in order to support a presidential candidate you cannot defend without concern-trolling.
Everyone can read the New York Times link for themselves and see what Clinton supporters Albright and Steinem think about those women who refuse to vote Hillary.
But CV doesn’t despise Trump. He loves Trump. Trump’s an ‘opportunity’ for CV. To flaunt his bitter weirdness about the NZLP. Which is making TS (where CV figures) quite unreadable frankly. Do you have the slightest idea of how risibly playschool and infantile you make look your vaunted, pure, impeccable, omnipresent leftness CV ? Obviously not. You continue to lather, self righteously. Pain in the arse who adds nothing I’m sorry. In contrast to the person who always added heaps when he wasn’t obssessed and bitter.
“Shame on these 40% to 45% of College educated women who still refuse to support Hillary Clinton knowing the stakes if Trump gets in because of their misjudgement.”
WTF have your anti-Clinton feelings got to do with my comment about a New Zealand male journalist/presenter expressing the view that child care is a women’s issue?
Excuse me, but child care is an issue for PARENTS, you know mothers AND fathers.
But no, you can’t let a chance go by to make yourself heard.
Thanks CV (sarc)
Just another example of shouting women down when we speak up against sexism.
I’m clearly in an irritating and contrarian mood, as has been pointed out to me. Going to take a tiny break off The Standard. Enjoy the afternoon. Bright and sunny down here in Dunedin.
Everytime they go to court they lose. Of course, the PLP and the NEC refuse to allow reality to intrude, and they plan to appeal, despite being more or less told it will be pointless.
Given the attitude of utter delusional denial and complete arrogance from the Blairites, I fully expect they’ll actually go for the nuclear option and split the party, and probably try and seize the party assets and name in yet another long and damaging legal process they will lose. The Blairites really are a Tory fifth column.
the blairites are just following orders from their financial backers. seems like the current plan is to blow themselves up and take the whole Labour Party with them
Sanctuary: No Right Turn reports that:
“Labour has decided to appeal a High Court ruling, passed down on Monday which suggested the party’s governing body had illegally barred 130,000 people from voting in the leadership election.”
Incredible. I suppose like our Government shopping around until they get the answer that they want, so are the UK Labour Party shopping for a sympathetic Court.
Thanks Scott. This fits with cv’s view. I am not in agreement because I just don’t think trump will do much of what he has promised once the realities of the seat hit home.
Like most “Trump good” analyses, it relies on omitting Trump policies that the author disagrees with.
In this case, the author talks about Trump wanting to lower US expenditure on NATO and pivot/withdraw away from Asian deployments. The author does not mention that Trump was the NATO expenditure to be made up by the 28 or so NATO states that are currently not spending 4% of their GDP on defense, as mandated during the Cold War. He still sees increasing numbers of US-made tanks on Russia’s borders, just with different flags painted on them.
More concerning is his solution to withdrawing from Korea and Japan while ensuring that they are still under a nuclear umbrella: ditching the non-proliferation treaty and pressuring Japan and South Korea to develop their own nuclear weapons. This will simply result in a quid-pro-quo by the Russians and Chinese, who will export nuclear weapon technology as a means of gaining especially favoured allies in Africa, Asia and maybe South America. Only Russia and China will do it to expand their influence, while little-fingers-on-little-hands would be doing it to try to reduce its influence.
As for NZ having an independent foreign policy, international politics are schoolyard rules: the weak kid with no big friends gets bullied. With a Trump presidency, we’re fucked in trade and regional influence.
Well, none other than the numerous expressions of interest and that one time he was considered as a running mate and that other time when he actually had a tilt at the Presidency.
But chin up, chump, I’m sure you’ll do better next time.
//
Involvement in politics, 1988–2015
Trump first expressed interest in running for office in 1987, when he spent $100,000 to place full page ads critiquing U.S. defense policy in several newspapers.[230][231]
Trump floated the idea of running for president in 1988, 2004, and 2012, and for Governor of New York in 2006 and 2014, but did not enter those races.[232][233] He was considered as a potential running mate for George H. W. Bush on the Republican Party’s 1988 presidential ticket but lost out to future Vice President Dan Quayle. There is dispute over whether Trump or the Bush camp made the initial pitch.[234]
In 1999, Trump filed an exploratory committee to seek the presidential nomination of the Reform Party in 2000.[235][236] A July 1999 poll matching him against likely Republican nominee George W. Bush and likely Democratic nominee Al Gore showed Trump with seven percent support.[237] Trump eventually dropped out of the race due to party infighting, but still won the party’s California and Michigan primaries after doing so.[238][239][240][241]
Not sure if details already given last night but:
The full poll results are: Labour 32.7% + Greens 11.5% = 44.2%. National 45.1%. New Zealand First 8.1%
Oh good, we can look forward to high renewable power generation in the years that there is a lot of rain on the divide in the autumn. How often does that happen? 😉
Israel’s dirty, shameful little secret. Abducting, selling and giving away Arab babies to Israeli Jews in the 1950s! Sickening!
Yet to criticize Israel for anything, invites accusations of antisemitism! The rest of the world needs to wake up to exactly what Israel is … a rogue nation, rotten to its core!
mary_a one way to fight zionism, and not get sucked into a debate about anti semitism is to use good language.
For example: You could have said “Abducting, selling and giving away Arab babies to Israeli citizens in the 1950s! Sickening!”
Thereby making it squarely about the state of Israel and the nature of zionism as a failed project on so many levels. Instead you opened yourself up to a anti-semitic criticism by saying “Israeli Jews”.
Zionism is not Judaism, and to criticize an ideology is not criticising a people. No matter how much these zealots want that to be the case.
Especially as this appears to be good old fashioned colonial racism – the babies were taken from Jewish families who were Arab and given to Jewish couples who were European, by a state led by Europeans. Another Stolen Generation.
Especially as this appears to be good old fashioned colonial racism
They were pretty damn good at good old fashioned xenophobia, too.
“Soaps”
A nickname coined by the Sabras during the 1948 War of Independence, a relic of the soap industry that developed in the death camps (a tale that probably has no grounding in reality). The nickname portrayed the “Holocaust Remnants” as pale, cowardly and weak, as compared to the tanned, brawny and heroic Sabras. They called the survivors cakes of soap.
But during WWII, the tanned Sabras evaded service and even digging ditches. Being citizens of the British Mandate, they were not obligated to enlist. There were indeed some who volunteered and enlisted for combat duty in the British army, but the vast majority found ways to evade combat. Some did so in a “Zionist” manner, others just shirked the responsibility and acted for their own benefit.
The fallen soldiers of the 1948 War of Independence were: 3000 of the original settlement, which consisted of 600,000 individuals, and 3000 “soap” soldiers, derived from a population of 60,000 men and women who immigrated to Israel in 1941-1948. These “cakes of soap” comprised 5% of the population, while the figure of those in service from the old settlement was 0.5%.
A few months ago, I reported here on the case of Baby Adele, the Palestinian infant who was essentially stolen by the Israeli welfare ministry from her biological mother and father. To recap the sad tale, Daniela Vaknin, who was raised in a troubled Jewish home, married a Palestinian man. Together they had a baby they named Adele.
But they had a problem. Or I should say they were a problem. Israel officially disapproves of miscegenation. The idea of a Jewish woman marrying an Arab is a social phenomenon that Israeli racialists like Bentzi Gopstein and his terror group, Lehava, rail against.
[…]
The welfare ministry awarded Adele to an ultra-Orthodox couple as foster parents, with the intent of moving to adoption as soon as possible. But there was a minor fly in the ointment. The foster couple divorced. Then officials had a quandary: you cannot award a child to a single parent. But they fixed that quick by finding a new woman for him to marry. Now the new couple has resumed the adoption process and it is close to finalized.
But Daniela still believes she has a chance to redeem Adele from the social welfare system. Before she gave birth, she went before a Sharia court (an officially-recognized Israeli State body) and attested to judges that she had converted to Islam. As far as Israeli law is concerned, after their approval she was officially recognized as Muslim.
Who doesn’t think Netanyahu and the upper echelon Zionists are but Nazis ? And who doesn’t think that callow Israeli teenagers who viciously define Palestinians as “not even human”, saying they deserve death, are but followers of Zionist Nazis ?
“Two top electronic security firms have discovered a new powerful malware suite being used to target just dozens of high-value targets around the world. The research shows that it was likely developed on the orders of a government engaging in cyber espionage.
The California-based Symantec has labeled the group behind the attack Strider, while Moscow-based Kaspersky Labs dubbed it ProjectSauron. Both are references to J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, a nod to the fact that the original malware code contained the word “Sauron.”…
Commented the other day on Trump’s mental instability.
Now he’s saying Clinton is mentally unstable, complete with his idiotic artificial TV induced hand gestures and insincere body language.
Pots and kettles abound. He really is a raving loony. God save America! …God.. are you bloody listening?
lol…looking like the GOP are increasingly agreeing with you….
“On Thursday a long list of GOP national security hands wrote a letter saying Trump would be “the most reckless president in American history” and that electing him in November would but the nation’s security at risk. Some of the 50 signatories said they’d vote for Clinton while others deemed it better to abstain from voting entirely. But all were in fundamental agreement on one main point: “Trump is not qualified and would be dangerous.”
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It gives me the biggest kick to learn that something I’ve enthused about has been enough to make you say Go on then, I'm going to do it. The e-bikes, the hearing aids, the prostate health, the cheese puffs. And now the solar power. Yes! Happy to share the details.We ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Can CO2 be ...
The old bastard left his ties and his suitA brown box, mothballs and bowling shoesAnd his opinion so you'd never have to choosePretty soon, you'll be an old bastard tooYou get smaller as the world gets bigThe more you know you know you don't know shit"The whiz man" will never ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The Numbers2024 could easily have been National’s “Annus Horribilis” and 2025 shows no signs of a reprieve for our Landlord PM Chris Luxon and his inept Finance Minister Nikki “Noboats” Willis.Several polls last year ...
This Friday afternoon, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced an overhaul of the Waitangi Tribunal.The government has effectively cleared house - appointing 8 new members - and combined with October’s appointment of former ACT leader Richard Prebble, that’s 9 appointees.[I am not certain, but can only presume, Prebble went in ...
The state of the current economy may be similar to when National left office in 2017.In December, a couple of days after the Treasury released its 2024 Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HEYFU24), Statistics New Zealand reported its estimate for volume GDP for the previous September 24 quarter. Instead ...
So what becomes of you, my love?When they have finally stripped you ofThe handbags and the gladragsThat your poor old granddadHad to sweat to buy you, babySongwriter: Mike D'aboIn yesterday’s newsletter, I expressed sadness at seeing Golriz Ghahraman back on the front pages for shoplifting. As someone who is no ...
It’s Friday and time for another roundup of things that caught our attention this week. This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers and fans. If you’d like to support our work, you can join ...
Note: This Webworm discusses sexual assault and rape. Please read with care.Hi,A few weeks ago I reported on how one of New Zealand’s richest men, Nick Mowbray (he and his brother own Zuru and are worth an estimated $20 billion), had taken to sharing posts by a British man called ...
The final Atlas Network playbook puzzle piece is here, and it slipped in to Aotearoa New Zealand with little fan fare or attention. The implications are stark.Today, writes Dr Bex, the submission for the Crimes (Countering Foreign Interference) Amendment Bill closes: 11:59pm January 16, 2025.As usual, the language of the ...
Excitement in the seaside village! Look what might be coming! 400 million dollars worth of investment! In the very beating heart of the village! Are we excited and eager to see this happen, what with every last bank branch gone and shops sitting forlornly quiet awaiting a customer?Yes please, apply ...
Much discussion has been held over the Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB), the latest in a series of rightwing attempts to enshrine into law pro-market precepts such as the primacy of private property ownership. Underneath the good governance and economic efficiency gobbledegook language of the Bill is an interest to strip ...
We are concerned that the Amendment Bill, as proposed, could impair the operations and legitimate interests of the NZ Trade Union movement. It is also likely to negatively impact the ability of other civil society actors to conduct their affairs without the threat of criminal sanctions. We ask that ...
I can't take itHow could I fake it?How could I fake it?And I can't take itHow could I fake it?How could I fake it?Song: The Lonely Biscuits.“A bit nippy”, I thought when I woke this morning, and then, soon after that, I wondered whether hell had frozen over. Dear friends, ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Green Party has welcomed the provisional ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, and reiterated its call for New Zealand to push for an end to the unlawful occupation of Palestine. ...
The Green Party welcomes the extension of the deadline for Treaty Principles Bill submissions but continues to call on the Government to abandon the Bill. ...
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 ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has delivered a refreshed team focused on unleashing economic growth to make people better off, create more opportunities for business and help us afford the world-class health and education Kiwis deserve. “Last year, we made solid progress on the economy. Inflation has fallen significantly and now ...
Veterans’ Affairs and a pan-iwi charitable trust have teamed up to extend the reach and range of support available to veterans in the Bay of Plenty, Veterans Minister Chris Penk says. “A major issue we face is identifying veterans who are eligible for support,” Mr Penk says. “Incredibly, we do ...
A host of new appointments will strengthen the Waitangi Tribunal and help ensure it remains fit for purpose, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka says. “As the Tribunal nears its fiftieth anniversary, the appointments coming on board will give it the right balance of skills to continue its important mahi hearing ...
Almost 22,000 FamilyBoost claims have been paid in the first 15 days of the year, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The ability to claim for FamilyBoost’s second quarter opened on January 1, and since then 21,936 claims have been paid. “I’m delighted people have made claiming FamilyBoost a priority on ...
The Government has delivered a funding boost to upgrade critical communication networks for Maritime New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand, ensuring frontline search and rescue services can save lives and keep Kiwis safe on the water, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “New Zealand has ...
Mahi has begun that will see dozens of affordable rental homes developed in Gisborne - a sign the Government’s partnership with Iwi is enabling more homes where they’re needed most, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. Mr Potaka attended a sod-turning ceremony to mark the start of earthworks for 48 ...
New Zealand welcomes the ceasefire deal to end hostilities in Gaza, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Over the past 15 months, this conflict has caused incomprehensible human suffering. We acknowledge the efforts of all those involved in the negotiations to bring an end to the misery, particularly the US, Qatar ...
The Associate Minster of Transport has this week told the community that work is progressing to ensure they have a secure and suitable shipping solution in place to give the Island certainty for its future. “I was pleased with the level of engagement the Request for Information process the Ministry ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour says he is proud of the Government’s commitment to increasing medicines access for New Zealanders, resulting in a big uptick in the number of medicines being funded. “The Government is putting patients first. In the first half of the current financial year there were more ...
New Zealand's first-class free trade deal and investment treaty with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been signed. In Abu Dhabi, together with UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, New Zealand Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, witnessed the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and accompanying investment treaty ...
The latest NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion, which shows the highest level of general business confidence since 2021, is a sign the economy is moving in the right direction, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “When businesses have the confidence to invest and grow, it means more jobs and higher ...
Events over the last few weeks have highlighted the importance of strong biosecurity to New Zealand. Our staff at the border are increasingly vigilant after German authorities confirmed the country's first outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in nearly 40 years on Friday in a herd of water buffalo ...
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee reminds the public that they now have an opportunity to have their say on the rewrite of the Arms Act 1983. “As flagged prior to Christmas, the consultation period for the Arms Act rewrite has opened today and will run through until 28 February 2025,” ...
Complaints about disruptive behaviour now handled in around 13 days (down from around 60 days a year ago) 553 Section 55A notices issued by Kāinga Ora since July 2024, up from 41 issued during the same period in the previous year. Of that 553, first notices made up around 83 ...
The time it takes to process building determinations has improved significantly over the last year which means fewer delays in homes being built, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “New Zealand has a persistent shortage of houses. Making it easier and quicker for new homes to be built will ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the annual list of New Zealand’s most popular baby names for 2024. “For the second consecutive year, Noah has claimed the top spot for boys with 250 babies sharing the name, while Isla has returned to the most popular ...
Work is set to get underway on a new bus station at Westgate this week. A contract has been awarded to HEB Construction to start a package of enabling works to get the site ready in advance of main construction beginning in mid-2025, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“A new Westgate ...
Minister for Children and for Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is encouraging people to use the resources available to them to get help, and to report instances of family and sexual violence amongst their friends, families, and loved ones who are in need. “The death of a ...
If you believe Prime Minister Chris Luxon economic growth will solve our problems and, if this is not just around the corner, it is at least on the horizon. It won’t be too long before things are “awesome” again. If you believe David Seymour the country is beset by much greater ...
Opinion: New Zealand’s universities are failing to prepare students for the entrepreneurial realities of the modern economy. That is a key finding of the Science System Advisory Group report released Thursday as part of the Government’s major science sector overhaul.The report highlights major gaps in entrepreneurship and industry-focused training. PhD ...
I first met Neve at a house party in Mount Maunganui. She was tall, blonde and tanned. An influencer typecast. She wore a string of pearls and a shell necklace that sat around her collarbones, and a silk dress that barely passed her crotch. Her hair was in tight curls—I ...
The Angry LeftSummer in New Zealand, and what does Christopher Luxon do about it? He goes fishing. Unbelievable.And worse, he does it in a boat. How tone-deaf is that? There he is, fishing, at sea, in a boat that would be better put to some practical use, like housing. How ...
A Complete Unknown may be fictionalised but it gets the key parts right. What is biography for? Especially the biopic, in which years and people and facts must be compressed into a mass-audience-friendly, sub-three-hour format. And what does biography do with an artist as immortal, inimitable and unwilling as Bob ...
The pool is a summery delight for swimmers and a smart move from the mayor. Last week I walked through Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter, commando and braless. After smugly setting off that morning for my second swim at the Karanga Plaza pool, dubbed Browny’s Pool by mayor Wayne Brown, I realised ...
Following his headline act in the Christchurch Buskers Festival, Alex Casey chats to Sam Wills about spending two decades as the elusive Tape Face. It’s a Thursday night at The Isaac Theatre Royal in Ōtautahi, and the fly swats, rubbish bags, and coat hangers littered across the stage make it ...
In my late 50s, I discovered long-distance hiking – and woke up to a new life infused with the rhythms of nature. The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous support of our members.It began innocuously, just before my ...
The comedian and actor takes us through his life in television, including the British sitcom that changed his life and the trauma of 80s Telethons. You may know him best as Murray from Flight of the Conchords, or Stede Bonnet from Our Flag Means Death, but Rhys Darby is taking ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. Nearly every piece of advice or social trend can be boiled down to encouraging people to say “yes” more or “no” more. Dating advice has a foundation of saying yes, putting yourself out there, being open to new people and possibilities. The ...
Asia Pacific Report The Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network (FPSN) and its allies have called for “justice and accountability” over Israel’s 15 months of genocide and war crimes. The Pacific-based network met in a solidarity gathering last night in the capital Suva hosted by the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and ...
Analysis - There needs to be recognition of the significant risks associated with focusing on mining and tourism, Glenn Banks and Regina Scheyvens write. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Andriana Syvanych/Shutterstock Most of us are fortunate that, when we turn on the tap, clean, safe and high-quality water comes out. But a senate inquiry ...
Analysis: Try as they might, Christopher Luxon and his partners in NZ First have been unable to distance themselves from the division caused by the Treaty Principles Bill, hampering the potential for further progress in areas where the Prime Minister believes the Crown and tangata whenua can collaborate.While the celebration ...
The Treaty Principles Bill continues to dog the National Party despite Luxon's repeated efforts to communicate the legislation will not go beyond second reading. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julia Richardson, Professor of Human Resource Management, Head of School of Management, Curtin University Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock US President Donald Trump has called time on working from home. An executive order signed on the first day of his presidency this week requires all ...
The prime minister says he can mend the relationship with Māori after the bill is voted down, and he would refuse a future referendum in the next election's coalition negotiations. ...
Forest & Bird will continue to support New Zealanders to oppose these destructive activities and reminds the Prime Minister that in 2010, 40,000 people marched down Queen Street, demanding that high-value conservation land be protected from mining. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Glenn Banks, Professor of Geography, School of People, Environment and Planning, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University Getty Images Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s state-of-the-nation address yesterday focused on growth above all else. We shouldn’t rush to judgement, but at least ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Minister for Health and Medical Services has declared an HIV outbreak. Dr Ratu Atonio Rabici Lalabalavu announced 1093 new HIV cases from the period of January to September 2024. “This declaration reflects the alarming reality that HIV is evolving faster than our current services can cater for,” ...
Acting PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says the ACT proposals would take money from public services and funnel it towards private providers. Privatisation will inevitably mean syphoning money off from providing services for all to pay profits ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claudio Bozzi, Lecturer in Law, Deakin University Shutterstock On his way to the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro in November, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte to officially open a new US$3.6 billion (A$5.8 billion) deepwater ...
A new poem by Zoë Deans. Fleeced just call me Hemingway because I’m earnest get it? I’m always falling for it, always saying “really?” mammal-eyed me, begging for the next epiphany, gagging for the magic, hot for sweetness and spring. tell me the stories of the world bounding along all ...
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 Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (Piatkus, $38) “Get your leathers, we have dragons to ride,” goes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Toby Murray, Professor of Cybersecurity, School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne Before the end of its first full day of operations, the new Trump administration gutted all advisory panels for the Department of Homeland Security. Among these was ...
Pacific Media Watch The Al Jazeera Network has condemned the arrest of its occupied West Bank correspondent by Palestinian security services as a bid by the Israeli occupation to “block media coverage” of the military attack on Jenin. Israeli soldiers have killed at least 12 Palestinians in the three-day military ...
An A-to-Z cheat sheet to help you keep up with the awards chat this year.It’s hard to stay on top of awards buzz here in Aotearoa, especially when all the announcements tend to happen when we’re all off the grid and at the beach. The Golden Globes, for example, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lowe, Chair in Contemporary History, Deakin University After many years of heated debate over whether January 26 is an appropriate date to celebrate Australia Day – with some councils and other groups shifting away from it – the tide appears to ...
This article shows the dire state of journalism in New Zealand in 2016.
Claire Trevett, hang your head in shame.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11689574
an amusing/sarcastic summary of FJK’s screwups and peculiarities. not the usual pro FJK drivel, but not too critical either.
That’s the way I read it to, even the worms are turning on key (in a gentle please don’t get me fired way)
Trevett loves Key.
Interesting to see how keen Key is on Clark’s bid for the top UN job. The government is even funding her bid for the job. Clearly there are no significant political difference between Key and Clark.
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2016/08/03/helen-clarks-un-bid-maori-party-leaders-note-the-empress-has-no-clothes/
Alan Duff – “aspiration” – Huh !
Let’s not miss either the straw man in this ‘Duffer’ – “Many cultures across the world have suffered horrible cruelties but haven’t all become killers and thieves.”
So ALL Maori are that bad are they Alan ? Really ?
What I see is a point of difference wank to rival Henry and Hosking. Not deserving of much respect in my book.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11689621
What a rambling and incoherent article.
The conclusions Duff reaches from a group of girls stealing from a dairy are quite ridiculous.
The Herald and the establishment needs useful idiots.
Alan Duff has always been full of right wing drivel.
oh wow, i can see why the herald would not allow comments.
Its funny Duff man wouldn’t be having this dilemma if we got a giant vacuum cleaner and sucked up everyones money in the country. Why would you go and steal tobacco then? Just shows lack of money has massive ramifications through society, and we seem perfectly ok with that.
You and paul up at sparrows fart hammering away at your keyboards in your undies lol and obviously before your brains were in gear !!!
alan duffs credentials are secure and he really neednt worry too much about youre silly comparisons with hoskings and henry sayes more about youre own lack of perspective than his .
I f you wanna believe the same old tired claptrap that the substantive reason for the amount of violence within maori cullture is a direct result of colonization its up to you but shows a slavish dependence on pc pap rather than logical deduction i.m.h.o.
Perhaps you should consider READING a book north.
Funny how colonised peoples end up on the bottom of the head eh brainy. Duff is one dimensional. You appear to be getting up to that level perhaps with more critical thinking application.
Damn right they are – as a pre-bankruptcy fugitive who stiffed his creditors, the piece of shit diddled one woman of an age out of $424,000, while living and working in the style he deemed appropriate for himself and his family.
Well he wouldnt be the first person to come a cropper from delving into property developement an i doubt he’ll be the last either and so what if he was made bankrupt lots of people have made good after becoming bankrupt and he may do also .
Alan duff gave us Once were warriors and books in homes thats good enough for me . His personal relationships are none of my business.
Thanks for the beautiful pics of france from the “working ” link what wonderfull creative souls must have built such special places !!makes nz seem like a hick town .
Weston you’re a dick. You have absolutely no knowledge of my educational level……I can tell you however that it did occasion intimate familiarity with ‘books’, over some years. And with far, far better grammar, diction and results I daresay, than you seem capable of.
Duff is one of those stinking kupapa Maori. Not much better than the white trash I suspect you to be…….if we’re going to address “undies” at dawn.
[citation needed]
the academic literature doesn’t support your claim at all.
Citation for what ropata ? You got “citation ” for your claim of “academic literature “? Im sure the list is long … very long…but thats part of the problem i.m.h.o.
holy fuck keys lost it he was just on henry saying we don’t need Labours very popular kiwi build because the private sector is going to build 100,000 houses in the next 3 years instead of labours 10. please remind him of this Mr Littlewhen he says labour can’t get it done
FJK is going to solve the housing crisis with bullshit? Hasn’t worked yet…
I believe some african villages build houses out of that very thing so maybe keys onto something.
Softening us up for awarding a large contract to China – complete with imported overseas workers to produce the next leaky building crisis?
Probably.
I hear that if you build them with the new flexible steel china makes they’ll stand up to a 8 earth quake.
One of the reasons the Union movement is in serious decline around the Western World.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/08/secret-life-trade-union-employee-work-benefits-workers-rights
Ooooh, the politics of envy, Gossie! The funny thing is that the writer accurately describes what most TS readers imagine your working day to be. ie coffee, pissing about on the internet, not achieving anything worthwhile … I note this is not written by a union official, so doesn’t actually say anything about the work unions do. Just a disgruntled grunt venting.
Anonymous, eh? Seems legit.
Yes because the Guardian is a rabid anti-worker rag.
The Guardian is the paper of liberal urbanistas who like to think they are progressive whilst quietly being quite happy with winning from neoliberalism.
The veneer of the Guardian being genuinely left wing has been brutally ripped away by it’s repsonse to two events of actual popular democracy that ran against the comfortable received wisdom of it’s journalists and commentators.
First, the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader saw the Guardian do a complete melt down. It’s defence of the established Blairite order is hysterical. In fact, it is so OTT that the paper has almost certainly suffered mortal damage to it’s reputation.
The Guardians extreme position in defence of the 1990s Blairist PLP consensus is actually quite sinister when you couple it with how closely aligned with the anti-Corbyn plotters the Labour Friends of Israel group is, and how the Guardian carefully controls it’s coverage of the middle east. Future historians will surely unravel exactly how active an agent Israel has been in managing to plant such favourable fifth columns of supporters at the very top of democratic parties in the West.
Secondly, the reaction to the Brexit vote was astonishingly elitist and anti democratic. The line from the Guardian was some kind of mistake had occurred, the chavs and prols were too ignorant to count, that the result should be somehow overturned, and that never again should the popular vote be used to decide anything. If you are a student of history who puzzles over how dictatorships come to pass then it would repay studying just how thin the veneer of respect for democracy actually is in the urban liberal elites when their will is contradicted by their social inferiors, even in a country as supposedly democratic as the UK.
The Guardian has also showed its colours over Israel, Scotland and the Ukraine.
And in their treatment of Assange, Greenwald, Appelbaum and Poitras.
At least its veneer has been removed and it’s now been revealed for what it is. Just another pillar of the establishment.
As a matter of interest, what sources do you use to keep abreast of news from Britain?
but but
we don’t have the resources
all our builders are stretched thin
and the councils are not helping
and and and and
oh the poor dear, someone quickly help him to a ponytail, he needs some stress relive
.
Emmerson nails it with “John Key Pied Piper” Kiwis want to be rid of rats, stoats and pests
I am staying with my family just now, and they listen to the Edge in the morning. Christ almighty, how do people listen to such puerile, infantile drivel every fucking day of their life?
It’ll do you good.
They had some no name on just now having a blokey chat about who he’d shag amongst our female olympians, it is all humour you understand. So much for feminism.
Sexism is a bit more subtle on Morning Report. I heard Guyon discussing Trump’s campaign this morning. Apparently Trump is going for the women’s vote with tax deductible child care. Oh right, that must be because child care is just a woman’s responsibility.
Not in the same league as the misogynist offensive shit on commercial stations, but still showing how ingrained attitudes to women’s roles are, even in some educated men
And can you believe it, despite all this 40% to 45% of College educated American women still refuse to support Hillary in this coming election. Gender traitors and failed feminists all.
THAT is a pretty horrible comment – shame on you.
Shame on these 40% to 45% of College educated women who still refuse to support Hillary Clinton knowing the stakes if Trump gets in because of their misjudgement.
Madeline Albright, a woman who helped lead the way into the top levels of US Government said it best earlier this year when she was campaigning for Clinton:
“There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other,” she said.
Gloria Steinem, veteran feminist leader, went further and accused young women who did not back Hillary Clinton of being too immature and too interested in chasing men to vote the right (Clinton) way.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/08/us/politics/gloria-steinem-madeleine-albright-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders.html?_r=0
You have no right on any level to direct that nasty slur upon women you deem failed feminists and gender traitors. Trumpitis is making you stink.
These are the very sentiments of the Washington glass breaking feminists and Clinton supporters, Albright and Steinem. I’m only repeating them. And I don’t need you to define my rights for me thanks.
Nobody defined your rights.
Marty just described the odour that you emit when you appropriate comments you don’t believe about issues you don’t understand in order to support a presidential candidate you cannot defend without concern-trolling.
As usual you know best eh – repeating them to bait and offer snideness – such meager fair.
Everyone can read the New York Times link for themselves and see what Clinton supporters Albright and Steinem think about those women who refuse to vote Hillary.
McFlock nailed it – you’ve got nothing.
That’s a strange statement laeced with helpings of agenda bias of its own
The comments posted by Colonial Viper are perfectly relevant in context
Choosing to not see the relevance doesn’t make it disappear
So many ostriches
On ya CV. I don’t give any credence to anyone who says you have to vote for Hillary because she is a woman. To all you others I despise Trump too.
But CV doesn’t despise Trump. He loves Trump. Trump’s an ‘opportunity’ for CV. To flaunt his bitter weirdness about the NZLP. Which is making TS (where CV figures) quite unreadable frankly. Do you have the slightest idea of how risibly playschool and infantile you make look your vaunted, pure, impeccable, omnipresent leftness CV ? Obviously not. You continue to lather, self righteously. Pain in the arse who adds nothing I’m sorry. In contrast to the person who always added heaps when he wasn’t obssessed and bitter.
“Shame on these 40% to 45% of College educated women who still refuse to support Hillary Clinton knowing the stakes if Trump gets in because of their misjudgement.”
Citation for all of that please.
WTF have your anti-Clinton feelings got to do with my comment about a New Zealand male journalist/presenter expressing the view that child care is a women’s issue?
Excuse me, but child care is an issue for PARENTS, you know mothers AND fathers.
But no, you can’t let a chance go by to make yourself heard.
Thanks CV (sarc)
Just another example of shouting women down when we speak up against sexism.
If you think you can be shouted down on an internet forum, you can always fight back by typing faster or using the caps lock.
Any comment on child care, or are you just here to make snide remarks?
I’m clearly in an irritating and contrarian mood, as has been pointed out to me. Going to take a tiny break off The Standard. Enjoy the afternoon. Bright and sunny down here in Dunedin.
This’ll cheer you up, CV
http://dark-mountain.net/blog/finding-strength-in-stones/
A gift that was much appreciated, thanks Robert.
Which actually means taking a tiny break off yourself CV. Excellent !
CV You ask,,” Can you believe it?”
Answer- No! Why would we?
Come up with raw data..not manicured percentages.
So the UK PLP and the NEC have lost again in the courts, and Corbyn supporters have swept the ticket on elections for the NEC
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/08/labour-must-allow-all-members-leadership-vote-court-rules
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/high-court-rules-new-labour-members-can-vote-in-leadership-contest-a7178791.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-to-appeal-high-court-ruling-that-new-members-should-have-right-to-vote-in-leadership-election-a7179066.html
Everytime they go to court they lose. Of course, the PLP and the NEC refuse to allow reality to intrude, and they plan to appeal, despite being more or less told it will be pointless.
Given the attitude of utter delusional denial and complete arrogance from the Blairites, I fully expect they’ll actually go for the nuclear option and split the party, and probably try and seize the party assets and name in yet another long and damaging legal process they will lose. The Blairites really are a Tory fifth column.
Who would trust the Blairites to lead the UK after these fiascos?
They were always going to lose this case and the previous one brought by the Blairite donor. Incompetent, and no conception of fairness or democracy.
the blairites are just following orders from their financial backers. seems like the current plan is to blow themselves up and take the whole Labour Party with them
Sanctuary: No Right Turn reports that:
“Labour has decided to appeal a High Court ruling, passed down on Monday which suggested the party’s governing body had illegally barred 130,000 people from voting in the leadership election.”
Incredible. I suppose like our Government shopping around until they get the answer that they want, so are the UK Labour Party shopping for a sympathetic Court.
How would a Trump presidency affect NZ foreign policy?
http://readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2016/08/trump-pacific-and-unintended.html
Thanks Scott. This fits with cv’s view. I am not in agreement because I just don’t think trump will do much of what he has promised once the realities of the seat hit home.
Like most “Trump good” analyses, it relies on omitting Trump policies that the author disagrees with.
In this case, the author talks about Trump wanting to lower US expenditure on NATO and pivot/withdraw away from Asian deployments. The author does not mention that Trump was the NATO expenditure to be made up by the 28 or so NATO states that are currently not spending 4% of their GDP on defense, as mandated during the Cold War. He still sees increasing numbers of US-made tanks on Russia’s borders, just with different flags painted on them.
More concerning is his solution to withdrawing from Korea and Japan while ensuring that they are still under a nuclear umbrella: ditching the non-proliferation treaty and pressuring Japan and South Korea to develop their own nuclear weapons. This will simply result in a quid-pro-quo by the Russians and Chinese, who will export nuclear weapon technology as a means of gaining especially favoured allies in Africa, Asia and maybe South America. Only Russia and China will do it to expand their influence, while little-fingers-on-little-hands would be doing it to try to reduce its influence.
As for NZ having an independent foreign policy, international politics are schoolyard rules: the weak kid with no big friends gets bullied. With a Trump presidency, we’re fucked in trade and regional influence.
With a Trump presidency, we’re fucked in trade and regional influence
As Trump has no history in politics at any level, your statement is completely baseless
Which is why I assume posters such as CV might be prepared to take the chance of the ‘unknown’
Without a track record of action, all we have are his words.
My point was that this means one has to examine all his words, even the stupid ones. Especially the stupid ones.
The man is a foreign policy minnow, as you admit, and sharks swim in those global waters.
Well, none other than the numerous expressions of interest and that one time he was considered as a running mate and that other time when he actually had a tilt at the Presidency.
But chin up, chump, I’m sure you’ll do better next time.
//
Involvement in politics, 1988–2015
Trump first expressed interest in running for office in 1987, when he spent $100,000 to place full page ads critiquing U.S. defense policy in several newspapers.[230][231]
Trump floated the idea of running for president in 1988, 2004, and 2012, and for Governor of New York in 2006 and 2014, but did not enter those races.[232][233] He was considered as a potential running mate for George H. W. Bush on the Republican Party’s 1988 presidential ticket but lost out to future Vice President Dan Quayle. There is dispute over whether Trump or the Bush camp made the initial pitch.[234]
In 1999, Trump filed an exploratory committee to seek the presidential nomination of the Reform Party in 2000.[235][236] A July 1999 poll matching him against likely Republican nominee George W. Bush and likely Democratic nominee Al Gore showed Trump with seven percent support.[237] Trump eventually dropped out of the race due to party infighting, but still won the party’s California and Michigan primaries after doing so.[238][239][240][241]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump#Involvement_in_politics.2C_1988.E2.80.932015
Not sure if details already given last night but:
The full poll results are: Labour 32.7% + Greens 11.5% = 44.2%. National 45.1%. New Zealand First 8.1%
Women’s Rugby 7 win Silver loosing to Australia in Final. Pretty good! Congratulations.
NZ hits > then 90 % of renewable electricity generation feb to july.
Mostly due to hydro levels being 140% of capacity.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1608/S00257/new-zealand-heads-towards-90-renewable-generation.htm
Oh good, we can look forward to high renewable power generation in the years that there is a lot of rain on the divide in the autumn. How often does that happen? 😉
h =0.7
what?
Now this looks interesting for the Auckland mayoralty
https://twitter.com/_chloeswarbrick
Or maby no so
http://www.chloeforauckland.co.nz/#/housing-rates-policy/
“I propose a rates calculation based on one thing alone:
Land Value”
The Herald uses the Olympics to foster hostility.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11689854
Ajamu Baraka – I like this guy. Glad he is VP for the Greens. Talks about people’s agency and alternative power.
Uber.
So dodgy even Simon Bridges criticises them.
This tax evading multinational needs to be shown the door.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/310512/uber-'mocking'-nz-laws-transport-minister
I have the utmost respect for Cornel West
http://www.cornelwest.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornel_West
Great interview, looks like the Greens convention is going well. Lots of ideas being discussed and lots of really good people involved.
From Aljazeera …
Israel’s dirty, shameful little secret. Abducting, selling and giving away Arab babies to Israeli Jews in the 1950s! Sickening!
Yet to criticize Israel for anything, invites accusations of antisemitism! The rest of the world needs to wake up to exactly what Israel is … a rogue nation, rotten to its core!
This one is about as disgraceful as it gets.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/08/shocking-story-israel-disappeared-babies-160803081117881.html
mary_a one way to fight zionism, and not get sucked into a debate about anti semitism is to use good language.
For example: You could have said “Abducting, selling and giving away Arab babies to Israeli citizens in the 1950s! Sickening!”
Thereby making it squarely about the state of Israel and the nature of zionism as a failed project on so many levels. Instead you opened yourself up to a anti-semitic criticism by saying “Israeli Jews”.
Zionism is not Judaism, and to criticize an ideology is not criticising a people. No matter how much these zealots want that to be the case.
Well said.
Especially as this appears to be good old fashioned colonial racism – the babies were taken from Jewish families who were Arab and given to Jewish couples who were European, by a state led by Europeans. Another Stolen Generation.
They were pretty damn good at good old fashioned xenophobia, too.
“Soaps”
A nickname coined by the Sabras during the 1948 War of Independence, a relic of the soap industry that developed in the death camps (a tale that probably has no grounding in reality). The nickname portrayed the “Holocaust Remnants” as pale, cowardly and weak, as compared to the tanned, brawny and heroic Sabras. They called the survivors cakes of soap.
But during WWII, the tanned Sabras evaded service and even digging ditches. Being citizens of the British Mandate, they were not obligated to enlist. There were indeed some who volunteered and enlisted for combat duty in the British army, but the vast majority found ways to evade combat. Some did so in a “Zionist” manner, others just shirked the responsibility and acted for their own benefit.
The fallen soldiers of the 1948 War of Independence were: 3000 of the original settlement, which consisted of 600,000 individuals, and 3000 “soap” soldiers, derived from a population of 60,000 men and women who immigrated to Israel in 1941-1948. These “cakes of soap” comprised 5% of the population, while the figure of those in service from the old settlement was 0.5%.
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2016/06/15/the-holocaust-and-zionisms-broken-oath/
Nah, they’re doing way worse shit.
A few months ago, I reported here on the case of Baby Adele, the Palestinian infant who was essentially stolen by the Israeli welfare ministry from her biological mother and father. To recap the sad tale, Daniela Vaknin, who was raised in a troubled Jewish home, married a Palestinian man. Together they had a baby they named Adele.
But they had a problem. Or I should say they were a problem. Israel officially disapproves of miscegenation. The idea of a Jewish woman marrying an Arab is a social phenomenon that Israeli racialists like Bentzi Gopstein and his terror group, Lehava, rail against.
[…]
The welfare ministry awarded Adele to an ultra-Orthodox couple as foster parents, with the intent of moving to adoption as soon as possible. But there was a minor fly in the ointment. The foster couple divorced. Then officials had a quandary: you cannot award a child to a single parent. But they fixed that quick by finding a new woman for him to marry. Now the new couple has resumed the adoption process and it is close to finalized.
But Daniela still believes she has a chance to redeem Adele from the social welfare system. Before she gave birth, she went before a Sharia court (an officially-recognized Israeli State body) and attested to judges that she had converted to Islam. As far as Israeli law is concerned, after their approval she was officially recognized as Muslim.
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2016/05/26/baby-adele-stolen-by-israeli-welfare-ministry-from-israeli-palestinian-couple-placed-for-orthodox-adoption/
Who doesn’t think Netanyahu and the upper echelon Zionists are but Nazis ? And who doesn’t think that callow Israeli teenagers who viciously define Palestinians as “not even human”, saying they deserve death, are but followers of Zionist Nazis ?
Households went through $4 million of extra power over the weekend.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/82945808/wintry-blast-could-prove-expensive-for-businesses-households
Who is spying on who?…and why?
‘One bug to rule them all: ‘State-supported’ Project Sauron malware attacks world’s top PCs’
https://www.rt.com/news/355165-sauron-malware-cyber-espionage/
“Two top electronic security firms have discovered a new powerful malware suite being used to target just dozens of high-value targets around the world. The research shows that it was likely developed on the orders of a government engaging in cyber espionage.
The California-based Symantec has labeled the group behind the attack Strider, while Moscow-based Kaspersky Labs dubbed it ProjectSauron. Both are references to J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, a nod to the fact that the original malware code contained the word “Sauron.”…
https://www.rt.com/news/353990-russia-cyber-attack-hackers/
https://www.rt.com/usa/353840-us-intelligence-hyperventilation-dnc-hack/
A patient story regarding Medical Cannabis, this time from one of your own readership here at the standard.
http://mcawarenessnz.org/2016/08/09/chronic-pain-edge-society/
can you say why they stopped using cannabis?
Commented the other day on Trump’s mental instability.
Now he’s saying Clinton is mentally unstable, complete with his idiotic artificial TV induced hand gestures and insincere body language.
Pots and kettles abound. He really is a raving loony. God save America! …God.. are you bloody listening?
lol…looking like the GOP are increasingly agreeing with you….
“On Thursday a long list of GOP national security hands wrote a letter saying Trump would be “the most reckless president in American history” and that electing him in November would but the nation’s security at risk. Some of the 50 signatories said they’d vote for Clinton while others deemed it better to abstain from voting entirely. But all were in fundamental agreement on one main point: “Trump is not qualified and would be dangerous.”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/08/trump-national-security-neocons-freaking-out-republicans