Besides lying and breaking the law, how far will the National Government and our state forces go to please our US ally?
Will John Key and our military leaders condemn our Afghan interpreters and their families to certain death?
Will our courts without hearing the evidence against him, condemn Kim Dotcom to prison conditions which may well constitute torture under the UN conventions against torture?
Just last week Juan Mandez the UN Rapporteur on Torture came out with a statement against the extradition of suspected Islamist terrorists to the US because they will be subjected to a type of incarceration that risks being constituted as torture under the UN conventions against torture.
….. the solitary confinement they will be put in, the lack of communication they will be under, their ability to do anything there, may well constitute torture under the UN torture convention.
“People cannot be sent to the United States because they will be tortured in US custody.”
Michael Ratner President emeritus of the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR) in New York and chair of the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights in Berlin.
Should Dotcom be worried that these conditions will be imposed on him?
Going by the anti-terror tactics used in his arrest and the secret anti-terror organisations that have been deployed against him. The chances are more than even, that Kim Dotcom will find himself in an underground cell under 23 hour solitary confinement in ADX Florence.
this is just dreadful. there are “hells on earth indeed” -some people want their pound of flesh.
and these drones, 1000’s of associated civilian deaths from Drone Strikes. So sad that it has come to this.
The US now has laws which enable indefinite military detention without charges or trial of anyone deemed (either in secret or publically) to be a national security risk.
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Tucked into the U.S. Supreme Court’s busy agenda this fall is a little-known case that could upend your ability to resell everything from your grandmother’s antique furniture to your iPhone 4.
At issue in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons is the first-sale doctrine in copyright law, which allows you to buy and then sell things like electronics, books, artwork and furniture as well as CDs and DVDs, without getting permission from the copyright holder of those products.
Under the doctrine, which the Supreme Court has recognized since 1908, you can resell your stuff without worry because the copyright holder only had control over the first sale.
Its what PC game makers have been trying to do for years. Kill the second hand market for PC games with copy protection (e.g. limited numbers of licence activations) in order to force people to buy new copies of games at premium prices.
But wait. If we need to recycle more, as the worlds raw material run out, then we need to
regulate materials better. If, as I believe, producers need to take responsibility for the waste,
then it follows that ownership in a object isn’t just the holder. This idea then is more in tune with
our per-industrial forebears, sole ownership of any property was essentially theft.
The whole idea behind legislation, its preventative effect, requires a invasion not so invisible
hand into the market place in order to direct the effects of the market towards social goods.
Away from slavery, serfdom…monopolies, regulatory capture (obviously our current regimes
are in denial about that particular one).
Information should be free, ideas should never be patentable (including genes).
The case stems from Supap Kirtsaeng’s college experience. A native of Thailand, Kirtsaeng came to the U.S. in 1997 to study at Cornell University. When he discovered that his textbooks, produced by Wiley, were substantially cheaper to buy in Thailand than they were in Ithaca, N.Y., he rallied his Thai relatives to buy the books and ship them to him in the U.S.
He then sold them on eBay, making upwards of $1.2 million, according to court documents.
haha, that’s funny.
Of course, what we’re actually seeing here is the actions of capitalism to control the market clearly showing that we do not have a free-market. And the reason why we don’t have a free-market is because capitalism would never survive in one.
BTW, reports are that the TPPA will ban parallel imports.
Watching Nigel Latta’s Darklands program last night was sad and depressing. It was about the circumstances that led to Nia Glassie’s death at the hands of her family in 2007. It looked at the broken families and the cycle of violence.
A question occurred to me… When did these broken dyusfunctional families come into existence? I understand how such dysfunctionality can arise and how difficult it is to break, but I don’t understand when this started. Using the Nia Glassie example, she was effectively killed by the Curtis brothers who were raised in an incrediblty violent household, especially from their father Bill Curtis.
So Bill Curtis must also have been raised in similar circumstances, I assume, following the accepted logic and wisdom around this issue. Bill Curtis looks like he would be a baby boomer, meaning he was born around 1950-60. His parents would therefore probably have been born around 1930-40. Did Bill Curtis’s parents start the cycle? Or was it their parents again?
What I am trying to ascertain is when this destructive feature arose in these families. Was it in the 1950s? Or was it in the 1930s? Or was it the generation prior to that? Once that is established the next questions would seem to be around what circumstances existed in NZ at that particular time to ignite this destruction..? When and what circumstances?
Hi vto – my personal theory is that a large number of men came back to NZ from WW2, put everything behind them , married, raised a family, worked hard etc. Many were severely traumatised and the effect on children was sometimes extreme. Just a theory.
It is a great question VTO and would be a fascinating study.
I am not sure it is a 20th century problem. Discipline, was mistaken for violence for generations. Society as whole decided to break the cycle of violent discipline in the second half of last century.
The Curtis family was more violent that most others, but having a father that beat the shit out of his kids for them spilling some milk was not uncommon at all. It was not considered dysfunctional.
I don’t think it began during any period. I think it ended as a result of the left campaigning against domestic violence.
Essentially child abuse and neglect has always been with us. The ‘idyllic’ 50s and 60s were also a time of widespread ‘stranger’ child adoption, fostered out children and private and state run childrens/teens homes and borstals often with violent cultures. Mental health care was institutionalised with little public scrutiny with elctro shock therapy–ECT and ‘chemical straightjackets’ being worse than some disorders. Priests and others charged with looking after kids were often happily kid fiddling away.
Corporal punishment was the norm, can you imagine todays school kids being repeatedly whacked with leather straps and canes? Poorer kids were effected more as ever, the government used to run health camps where disadvantaged kids would go for 6 weeks and be properly fed up. Some is family bred, the abused as modern research show often go on to abuse. Spousal assault was viewed by the Police as a domestic until recent times, rape in marriage was not considered possible again until recent times. So New Zealand has definitely a dark sadistic past and some of us maintain it is still there in some with the bennie bashing etc.
So while today there is more reporting and social work around abuse and public campaigns that have made a difference there is also more of the factors that promote child abuse. It can be about power too, alienated men and women rendered useless by unemployment and poverty lash out at the vulnerable and feel good about themselves for a small while in obviously the most twisted way.
Yes I watched it as well, and of being that age myself I’m 57 I noticed the same thing when growing up in England. Alcoholism mixed with PTSD and god knows what other mental problems after WWII and there were NO psychologists and very few Psychiatrists and the favoured form of Torture treatment was the Electro shock therapy where they fried your synapses and screwed with your memory. So of course people kept away from the Doctor and also it’s not the image of a Man in the 50’s&60’s to have mental problems. And of course this attitude has just been handed down from Father to son and it’s a destructive cycle.
edit:Damn The word Torture should have a strike through, for some reason it didn’t work.
Hmm, all interesting points. There is surely an element of the old school “discipline” hangover from colonists and other immigrants carrying over to the different norms of today. But it is seemingly more prevalent in polynesian families so how would that have transferred to them so viciously? I can understand how it has come about in families of british background but not how it has come about in the others, and when it comes to that when and how did it arise? We are told that it didn’t exist in pre-european maori society yet it exists today – when did that happen? In the generation of Bill Curtis’ parents born around 1930’s? Or the generations prior to that? 1930’s, 1950’s, 1910’s, 1880’s? When did it start? And then, why?
For the upright will live in the land,
and the blameless will remain in it;
but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the unfaithful will be torn from it.
-Pr 3:21
God Bless Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers (“I Should Have Known”)
How to help bail out Australia with its refugee “problem” perhaps? ….and of course at the same time find a way of legitimising recent POINTLESS NZ legislation to do with those countless waves of “boat people/queue jumpers/illegals” we supposedly going to get.
Nearly missed this from yesterday. Hope Draco doesn’t mind but it seems important to me:
Draco T Bastard 26
9 October 2012 at 12:01 am
“Spin me a brain exchange”, said Dear Leader!
I offer this salient piece of advice to Dear Leader and the National Party; if we expect commitment from New Zealanders – then, as a nation, we must show commitment to our young folk, and to each other.
That involves old fashioned concepts and values such as pride in our country. Not just our flag or rugby team or latest successful movie by Peter Jackson – but pride in a nation that invests in each citizen with universal, free education; food in schools programmes; decent housing; comprehensive free healthcare for our young people; fair wages sufficient to raise a family on; everyone paying their taxes (no exceptions for capital gains, sorry), and ensuring that no one is left behind.
A simple clear statement of aspiration which would suit many, -I reckon.
In the last hour, Winston Peters has issued a press release saying he has evidence that the PM’s office knew about Dotcom earlier than previously stated. Key claims his staff didn’t pass the information on to him?
The Prime Minister confirmed in reply to a written question from New Zealand First that his office knew about Dotcom in July last year.
“In July 2011 one of my staff was advised by Hon Simon Power’s office by phone that Hon Power was declining an OIO [Overseas Investment Office] application from Kim Dotcom.
“This information was not conveyed to me as it was routine,” Mr Key said in his written reply.
It’s the headline story on TV3 6pm news, and Garner reckons it’s not good news for Key.
TV One News haven’t included it in it’s headline summary. It’s leading with the cuts to youth wage.
I’ve taken to recording the 6pm news on My freeview so I can switch between them, and stop and start – flick through the ads.
I would like to know what documentation Dotcom has got from Power in regard to OIO if any and what the documentation from OIO is to Power and Dotcom. As well if Key signed anything to do with the OIO regarding Dotcom.
Different story to what he said in Parliament,where he now has to make a personal statement.Which which will be the third statement ( 3 strikes).Winston if framed correctly can now call him a liar in parliament thanks to Lockwood’s ruling.
Of course the Right Honourable Prime Minister John Key (Knighthood Pending), would be constantly thinking of high level Philosophical Aspirations for his Gated Planet Key, and therefore the trivial matters like Growing Unemployment, National Security Mega-upload, and unobtrusive constituents such as Kim Dotcom would not dare to be referred to him.
Beggars belief John Key. Either Dishonest, or Incompetent. Choose one.
It’s called Plausible Deniability, a term first coined by the CIA. What Key and the GCSB are doing is taken directly out of their handbook:
In politics and espionage, deniability refers to the ability of a “powerful player” or intelligence agency to avoid “blowback” by secretly arranging for an action to be taken on their behalf by a third party ostensibly unconnected with the major player.
Yes. I can imagine Powers phone clerk in PM’s office. The clerk tells a special person. The special person tells Key in a lift or somewhere private. Key nods and says “I did not hear what you just said. Get it?”
The trouble with that is that the clerk knows Key knows.
If the staffer was Phil de Joux (as rumoured) then he would know not to tell Key.
Plausible deniability is more than just “I didn’t hear”, it’s having staff who know the drill in the first place. Those who have worked with Brand Key since he was in opposition (as de Joux has) would know automatically that protecting the Brand is paramount.
Now it begins to work against Key however, as it looks like what it is: a pattern of deliberate ignorance brought about by a strategy of active avoidance.
there’s a reason one-trick ponies are not regarded highly.
Oh, I’ll grant them it was a good trick for a couple of elections, but they need to pull finger and find something else doubleplus fast.
“No-one tells John Key anything to do with Kim Dotcom! Could an instruction have been issued along the lines:
If its to do with that Dotcom guy, I don’t want to know?”
I’ve been thinking this for a while.
Key is very adamant he’d never heard of Dotcom before the raid. So I think there won’t be any evidence to contradict this claim, because he’ll have made sure there isn’t.
With 8 Countries involved and the number of NZ. Government agencies acknowledged by the FBI for their “substantial and critical assistance” it is difficult to believe that Mr Slip, Slide and walk away was oblivious to what was going on.
Yes Lanth. He has always been pretty smug about his denials. But if he was in total ignorance some one or people must have believed that it was wise for the PM to distance himself – at least on paper, records or any traceable means. Maybe a leak might appear eventually to explain the link that must have occurred?
Why. So that his office can decide if he needs to know. They are all paranoid gatekeepers of information. Same thing happened under Clark. Just cos Heather Simpson knew about things didn’t mean HC did.
Mickey I was comparing processes not people. I don’t think anyone would disagree that Clark was a micro manager and is a once in a generation event. but even she did not know everything her office knew at all times. Flunkies filter. That’s their job.
Perhaps. But once your boss is telling the country that he had never heard of Dotcom before the raid, then it’s certainly the flunky’s job to tell the boss: “Excuse me Sir, the office knew” – so the PM can stop giving hostages to fortune.
Unless, of course, the flunky has been told (directly or not) that such information should not be passed on, even after the fact.
I don’t think anyone would disagree that Clark was a micro manager and is a once in a generation event.
May have been a once in a generation event (I doubt it though as far too many people don’t get to sit in the spotlight to be able to tell) but I don’t think she was a micro-manager – she didn’t move into managing someone else’s responsibility unless that someone else fucked up. Just a manager that knew what she should have known.
Flunkies filter. That’s their job.
They filter it down to bite size pieces – they do not keep it from the person they work for.
No they also filter out stuff that they don’t consider important or relevant, and timing and context are important criteria in those decisions. You’re saying the boss gets to hear about absolutely everything the minions know, just in précis. Organisations don’t work that way, because i suspect we all know that huge amounts of information gets passed on between individuals for a range of reasons, but not all of it is useful. Can you say that every single email you’ve received this week contained something relevant to you?
No, but I can say that if my boss ever goes on TV and says he’s never heard of somebody, and I had previously had a phone call from a senior colleague about that somebody, then I would make damn sure I told my boss about it after he’d gone on telly. To save his blushes, or mine.
So … Did Key’s office tell him AFTER Dotcom became NZ’s Number One news story?. There is a gap of eight months between then and now – during which Key has said nothing about it … until today. Until he was forced to.
Your “hear about absolutely everything” line is classic evasion by hyperbole. It’s THE thing for Key, and has been since February. Why has he wanted not to know – or say?
If they thought that the Dotcom stuff was immaterial and Key did not have to know about it then it is difficult to know what he would have to know about.
I’ve called ministers offices plenty of times and passed on info I’ve had no expectation of them hearing at the time. I’m briefing the officials just in case something related comes up and they can use it if they see fit. In July 2011 kdc probably was irrelevant to the pm. I don’t disagree that since January something should have been said by one of his officials somewhere.
No they also filter out stuff that they don’t consider important or relevant, and timing and context are important criteria in those decisions.
Generally speaking, if it’s reaching the office of the PM then, at a guess, I’d say it was important enough for him to know about. He doesn’t need to know all the details but he does need to know about it. Sure, there’d be some that gets passed on to other ministers (wrong address) but stuff about intelligence operations would go to him.
There’s some confusion here- it was not an intelligence issue when either peters asked his question or powers office contacted keys. Your guess i think is wrong. Officials give each other heads ups all the time, just like peers in many organisations. That doesn’t mean the info is intended for the boss.
Bollocks insider. You’re not fooling anyone except yourself. When Simon Power contacted the PM’s office he was giving the PM a heads up on where things were at with Dotcom. That means he was given the information by a member of his staff.
John Key and his staff are indulging in “plausible deniability”. See Jackal @ 8.1.1.1
I wonder if the staff member was Captain Panic Pants?
They could have a the “Panic Pants Suit” on the wall for the next “Not John Key” meeting.
That way he’ll never forget 🙂
Diapers on the outside maybe M8!
The “Protocol” Grows M8!
Imagine the Bus ride to the Beehive!
Actualy I remember that, Wasn’t it John Key himself who allowed Dotcom to buy the mansion?
(i.e. Vetoed his minister)
Would’ve been a Herald Article of course.
If you are going to cry bollocks anne getting the facts right first would help your case. It was one of powers staff not power himself. That lowers the issue down the food chain quite significantly.
It came from Powers office, and went to the Prime Mincer’s office. Where is that picture of the monkey chiefs covering their eyes and ears when you need it.
That is probably the reason why he chose to inform the PM’s Office of his intention to deny Dotcom’s overseas investment application. And if that’s the case, then Key probably had some prior knowledge.
The fact is Power deliberated over Dotcom’s application for three months before making a decision. Is it believable that he didn’t discuss it with the PM at some point?
the US govt knows one thing for sure, having the growing middle east wars as a distraction allows all sorts of space for what you get up to at home. Remember, in the modern Amerika you are a suspected terrorist first and a citizen second.
This ruling has been overturned, then an injunction was won, then a stay was put on the injunction, so now a whole bunch of other judges have been asked by the big boss man to secure the stay permanently and get his ‘lock em up then ask the questions’ law rolling nationwide. Sure it’s over in America so what does it matter right? Not like they are gonna start spying on kiwis, imprisoning people without charges, ask for troops on the ground or start flying Drone missions over here . . .
and business not looking too positive in the land of the long grey crowd either according to the daily fish and chip wrappings.
(sorry Prism, it was “Infidels” by Bob Dylan i keep forgetting to reference)
What a prophet dear Bob has been; The only international concert i have seen was Bob with Patti Smith at a stadium in Christchurch; Patti Smith, now she is as wonderful as Helen Kelly and Julie-Ann
(i am such a man)
-“The Minstrel In The Gallery….looked down upon the smiling faces…”
who read todays Dompost?
one story is about Annette King complaining to the speaker of the house about craig (hamburger) heatley giving incoherent mumbling replies to oral questions.
On the letters page one writer is complaining about Russell Norman getting too much time on teevee3.
Nashnil cant have it both ways.
If they put up up drawling bumblers on the floor of the house who cant make it in the world at large then tough luck.
From the foregoing survey of conspicuous leisure and consumption, it appears that the the utility of both alike for the purposes of reputability lies in the element of waste that is common to both.
In the one case it is a waste of time and effort, in the other it is a waste of goods.
“Theory of the Leisure Class”
-Thorstein Veblen; american economist and social scientist
Agreed, I’ve suspected this for some time now, hence all the belt tightening rhetoric.
2.34 years before some people will even start to rebuild their lives.
4.44 Years after the quake they start to rebuild.
And Brownlee is calling them ungrateful ……
What does this Gnat government actually do for us!.
There, sources report, Huawei readily admitted that it was undertaking such data interception and collection.
The ISS conference is an annual gathering of Middle East and African law enforcement, intelligence and homeland security telecom operators responsible for “lawful interception, electronic investigations and network intelligence gathering,” according to the ISS agenda. A similar event is scheduled from March 4-6, 2013, also in Dubai.
In its presentation, Huawei said that it had this capability using a particular technology called Deep Packet Inspection, or DPI.
DPI is the key technology in high capacity data interception and mining, according to the WND source who asked not to be named but attended the Huawei briefing.
WND has obtained a copy of Huawei’s DPI briefing.
While Huawei’s presentation of its DPI capability was meant to show how it protected Huawei-equipped networks by detecting malicious code, sources said that the very same technology “can be very effectively used to conduct widespread industrial espionage and breach national telecommunications security.”
While many of these techniques are not unique to Huawei, one only has to look at the CCP’s overtly totalitarian history vis a vis the internet (The Great Wall of China) to quickly conclude that they are wholly the authors of their own misfortune here.
But that can’t be real TRP, everyone knows cops are the best of the best doing the hardest most thankless job around for entirely altruistic reasons.
There’s no way the job would attract thugs and rapists and murderers, certainly not the kind of cowardly scum who would electrocute a man to death after they already had him in handcuffs.
+1
I remember when Julia Gillard became Prime Minister of Australia, she spoke of Helen Clark as “having been her role model.” Well, I could see Helen Clark standing there making exactly the same speech. Congratulations Julia.
I agree, but while Helen refused to engage with the vile misogyny that was directed at her (does anyone else recall the filth that was being email circulated in the months before the 2008 election?) … it’s remarkable to see Gillard name it and shame it so very directly.
Thanks for the link. My impression was that the Aussie house isn’t as shouty as the NZ one. Gillard delivers her ticking off emphatically – but it’s in the way it’s stated, and the body language.
The opposition front bench looks a glum ,rum, unimpressed and unimpressive lot.
And Gillard does something I don’t recall Helen Clark ever doing: she publicly and clearly calls out the leader of the opposition, opposition MPs and members of their party for some of the slurs they have directed at her personally. She calls them out for calling out to her in the House that she needs to be made “an honest woman”; she calls them out for the way they refer to her as a bitch and a witch.
That’s the way to do it – take them on in public. Clark tried to avoid giving such slurs oxygen by publicly ignoring them.
Clark tried to avoid giving such slurs oxygen by publicly ignoring them.
That’s true Karol but I don’t think Helen had much choice. Most of the vitriol was being spread in bars, sports clubs, work-places etc. With the exception of the ‘childless’ barb, very little of it came out in the House or by way of the MSM. The ‘Alan Jones slur’ on the other hand gave Julia the opportunity to get stuck into all of them.
Most of the nasty stuff against Helen began very soon after she was selected to be the new MP for Mt Albert. She was extremely hurt by them, but because she didn’t know who was spreading them there wasn’t much she could do about it.
She did come out in public over the disgusting stories about her husband, Peter Davis but it didn’t stop her opponents from continuing to spread those stories.
Thanks for that. It makes complete sense. All I can say is that the slurs, the jokes and nastiness while obviously less personal and pointed for us than it was for HC, it was still nonetheless felt by many of us on the left as a malign, shameful episode in this nation’s history.
What I can tell you RedLogix is: most of the individuals who started the rumours lived in the locality, and they all ended up in ACT. Are you surprised?
these Youth Wages; occupational trenching.into Agricultural Colleges.
Low Wages.What is the incentive? only the stick of benefit sanctions.
Low Wages.What is the incentive for productivity?
Low Wages.What will the displaced boomers live on?
Low Wages.Will keep young people domestically dependent.
Targeting Beneath Vote Majority. How Slippery Is That?
that Lovely Sister Wendy and her Art Illustrations.
Pay It Forward
Traditionally Modern
these “niche schools”. I enjoyed the exploration of the Sikh School from Birmingham.
“not counter-productive to their children” the Head suggested.
They Teach All Faiths; Teachers of All Ethnicities and Religions
Think Kura. (that John Tamihere, his mouth is less disciplined than Hone; arrogant! Wow!)
As useful as a bucket of Dog Slobber – That’s our memory impaired leader – He and his Partys latest edition on the Jobs front. = $10,80/hr Jobs rate. Wooo Hooo economic Genius or what!
He and his fool minions have just handed all Fast Food Corparates a 33% profit increase on the wage bill they currently pay their young workers.
It’s a gift to companies already rolling about in a sea of excess cash. At the expense of the NZ worker.
One has to ask how desparate are these eejit Tories. And what else are they not telling an increasingly impoverished NZ public.
Bernie Monk rips John Key a new one for weaseling out of the effort to retrieve the Pike River dead. It’s a new personal worst in a month of lows for Johnny Sparkles and National may as well stop standing candidates in the West Coast for a generation or two.
“Mr Monk says he got the impression that the Pike River mine was no longer a priority for the Prime Minister – but told Mr Key that if he thinks that the issue will go away, it won’t happen”.
Weirdly, Stuff’s front page are reporting Key’s latest bout of forgetfulness under the headline “Pike recovery revisted”, but. hey, who needs sub editors these days?
I found this article by putting in the search engine ‘john key and bank of america’
It says that shonkey was the head of global forex at meryll lynch as they
transfered enough debt into the irish economy to completely wipe it out
along with the middle us classes and their homes.
Key started borrowing $380 million a week here in nz and i can remember
he was borrowing more than needed, ‘his reply from memory was that it
was ‘cheap money’,what he didn’t tell the tax payers of nz is that he has
substantial shares in the bank of america where he got those ‘nz’ loans.
From observations it seems that our ‘dear leader’ is steering nz in the
same direction as those economies he has overseen in his bankster days,
i would bet that he is still ’employed’ with them as a pm’s job is not a long
one, just long enough to cause a country immeasurable damage,there is a
concerning pattern emerging in correlation with what i have read.
Some good reading on www. mediawhore.co.nz.
Also bank of america bankrolls bathurst,so that is why the front bench
of the nacts are pushing the enviromentalist to back off court action,key
is ‘shonkey’ deep in this as well, what a ‘slippery’ slope, when we try to
deceive’ eh shokey.
I don’t think that Greens and Labour should jump in unequivocally to the Chinese-USA techno dispute. Back doors have been mentioned in the Chinese programs well Microsoft was accused of doing this. And as the USA is trying to flex its muscles over China we should be wary and try to remain neutral.
Unfortunately Australia feels threatened by its closer Asian neighbours and welcomes USA defence, there is a contingent in Darwin I think now, and as it aligns with the USA and we tend to integrate with Oz and sign up for TPP (all done in secret), it will be hard to think for ourselves if we ever get round to that.
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
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 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 29 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Besides lying and breaking the law, how far will the National Government and our state forces go to please our US ally?
Will John Key and our military leaders condemn our Afghan interpreters and their families to certain death?
Will our courts without hearing the evidence against him, condemn Kim Dotcom to prison conditions which may well constitute torture under the UN conventions against torture?
Just last week Juan Mandez the UN Rapporteur on Torture came out with a statement against the extradition of suspected Islamist terrorists to the US because they will be subjected to a type of incarceration that risks being constituted as torture under the UN conventions against torture.
US state no longer upholds legal rights: “Violates the law”, lawyer
At 7:20 on the tape
Should Dotcom be worried that these conditions will be imposed on him?
Going by the anti-terror tactics used in his arrest and the secret anti-terror organisations that have been deployed against him. The chances are more than even, that Kim Dotcom will find himself in an underground cell under 23 hour solitary confinement in ADX Florence.
“A cleaner version of hell”
this is just dreadful. there are “hells on earth indeed” -some people want their pound of flesh.
this is just dreadful. there are “hells on earth indeed” -some people want their pound of flesh.
and these drones, 1000’s of associated civilian deaths from Drone Strikes. So sad that it has come to this.
The US now has laws which enable indefinite military detention without charges or trial of anyone deemed (either in secret or publically) to be a national security risk.
Say bye bye to democracy.
Why not, they have laws in their own country prohibiting food being given away in public to the needy, good old uncle sam eh.
US dumpster diving resource. Forget being “vegan”, in this economic climate its about being “freegan”.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-great-online-resources-support-dumpster-diving-lifestyle-si/
Cv
That can’t be good USA sounds more like bad Russia. That wouldn’t be’baseball’ would it.
Day by day the USA is becoming the great enemy and oppressor of citizens that it worked so hard and so long to defeat.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/29/ndaa-danger-american-liberty
Your right to resell your own stuff is in peril
Interesting….
Madness. Pure and simple madness. But what can you expect from the land of the Paranoid and Insane?
Its what PC game makers have been trying to do for years. Kill the second hand market for PC games with copy protection (e.g. limited numbers of licence activations) in order to force people to buy new copies of games at premium prices.
But wait. If we need to recycle more, as the worlds raw material run out, then we need to
regulate materials better. If, as I believe, producers need to take responsibility for the waste,
then it follows that ownership in a object isn’t just the holder. This idea then is more in tune with
our per-industrial forebears, sole ownership of any property was essentially theft.
The whole idea behind legislation, its preventative effect, requires a invasion not so invisible
hand into the market place in order to direct the effects of the market towards social goods.
Away from slavery, serfdom…monopolies, regulatory capture (obviously our current regimes
are in denial about that particular one).
Information should be free, ideas should never be patentable (including genes).
QFT
haha, that’s funny.
Of course, what we’re actually seeing here is the actions of capitalism to control the market clearly showing that we do not have a free-market. And the reason why we don’t have a free-market is because capitalism would never survive in one.
BTW, reports are that the TPPA will ban parallel imports.
Watching Nigel Latta’s Darklands program last night was sad and depressing. It was about the circumstances that led to Nia Glassie’s death at the hands of her family in 2007. It looked at the broken families and the cycle of violence.
A question occurred to me… When did these broken dyusfunctional families come into existence? I understand how such dysfunctionality can arise and how difficult it is to break, but I don’t understand when this started. Using the Nia Glassie example, she was effectively killed by the Curtis brothers who were raised in an incrediblty violent household, especially from their father Bill Curtis.
So Bill Curtis must also have been raised in similar circumstances, I assume, following the accepted logic and wisdom around this issue. Bill Curtis looks like he would be a baby boomer, meaning he was born around 1950-60. His parents would therefore probably have been born around 1930-40. Did Bill Curtis’s parents start the cycle? Or was it their parents again?
What I am trying to ascertain is when this destructive feature arose in these families. Was it in the 1950s? Or was it in the 1930s? Or was it the generation prior to that? Once that is established the next questions would seem to be around what circumstances existed in NZ at that particular time to ignite this destruction..? When and what circumstances?
Hi vto – my personal theory is that a large number of men came back to NZ from WW2, put everything behind them , married, raised a family, worked hard etc. Many were severely traumatised and the effect on children was sometimes extreme. Just a theory.
It is a great question VTO and would be a fascinating study.
I am not sure it is a 20th century problem. Discipline, was mistaken for violence for generations. Society as whole decided to break the cycle of violent discipline in the second half of last century.
The Curtis family was more violent that most others, but having a father that beat the shit out of his kids for them spilling some milk was not uncommon at all. It was not considered dysfunctional.
I don’t think it began during any period. I think it ended as a result of the left campaigning against domestic violence.
There are studies of this on the net. Once over lightly intro here at Te Ara http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/child-abuse/5
Essentially child abuse and neglect has always been with us. The ‘idyllic’ 50s and 60s were also a time of widespread ‘stranger’ child adoption, fostered out children and private and state run childrens/teens homes and borstals often with violent cultures. Mental health care was institutionalised with little public scrutiny with elctro shock therapy–ECT and ‘chemical straightjackets’ being worse than some disorders. Priests and others charged with looking after kids were often happily kid fiddling away.
Corporal punishment was the norm, can you imagine todays school kids being repeatedly whacked with leather straps and canes? Poorer kids were effected more as ever, the government used to run health camps where disadvantaged kids would go for 6 weeks and be properly fed up. Some is family bred, the abused as modern research show often go on to abuse. Spousal assault was viewed by the Police as a domestic until recent times, rape in marriage was not considered possible again until recent times. So New Zealand has definitely a dark sadistic past and some of us maintain it is still there in some with the bennie bashing etc.
So while today there is more reporting and social work around abuse and public campaigns that have made a difference there is also more of the factors that promote child abuse. It can be about power too, alienated men and women rendered useless by unemployment and poverty lash out at the vulnerable and feel good about themselves for a small while in obviously the most twisted way.
Yes I watched it as well, and of being that age myself I’m 57 I noticed the same thing when growing up in England. Alcoholism mixed with PTSD and god knows what other mental problems after WWII and there were NO psychologists and very few Psychiatrists and the favoured form of Torture treatment was the Electro shock therapy where they fried your synapses and screwed with your memory. So of course people kept away from the Doctor and also it’s not the image of a Man in the 50’s&60’s to have mental problems. And of course this attitude has just been handed down from Father to son and it’s a destructive cycle.
edit:Damn The word Torture should have a strike through, for some reason it didn’t work.
Truth in All The Above.
This can be one dark freakin country unfortunately. It is It is Extremely Necessary and Sufficient that
We Seek The Light
🙂
Very true Jokerman, very true!
IMO, When the nuclear family started to become the norm and extended families and community integration were shut down.
As far as NZ goes, I’ve heard that it was imported from Britain in the 19th century.
Labour was in power so it must be their fault, just like everything happening now is Key’s 🙂
Hmm, all interesting points. There is surely an element of the old school “discipline” hangover from colonists and other immigrants carrying over to the different norms of today. But it is seemingly more prevalent in polynesian families so how would that have transferred to them so viciously? I can understand how it has come about in families of british background but not how it has come about in the others, and when it comes to that when and how did it arise? We are told that it didn’t exist in pre-european maori society yet it exists today – when did that happen? In the generation of Bill Curtis’ parents born around 1930’s? Or the generations prior to that? 1930’s, 1950’s, 1910’s, 1880’s? When did it start? And then, why?
oh well, shall have to go elsewhere to find the answer …….
The Poor
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/08/new-delhi-westminster-cavalier-poor?
Monbiot on The Poison of Colonisation
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/08/empire-torture-kenya-catastrophe-europe?
Chavez The Faithful
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/08/venezuela-election-hugo-chavez?
Commodus
http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/stocks-commodities-weaker-on-world-outlook-20121009-279v8.html?
The Olive Pit
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article36907.html?
For the upright will live in the land,
and the blameless will remain in it;
but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the unfaithful will be torn from it.
-Pr 3:21
God Bless Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers (“I Should Have Known”)
Thanks Jokerman.
The Manibot link was particularly powerful, and is very pertinent to the discussion at 3, above.
Muff McGillicuddy to visit Malaysia, Indonesia
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1210/S00137/mccully-to-visit-malaysia-indonesia.htm
What do you reckon might be on his agenda?
How to help bail out Australia with its refugee “problem” perhaps? ….and of course at the same time find a way of legitimising recent POINTLESS NZ legislation to do with those countless waves of “boat people/queue jumpers/illegals” we supposedly going to get.
Nearly missed this from yesterday. Hope Draco doesn’t mind but it seems important to me:
A simple clear statement of aspiration which would suit many, -I reckon.
Why would I mind? I didn’t write it.
BTW, it’s polite to include the link to the article.
Oops. The link as in “Spin me a brain exchange” did not survive the copy. Sorry. Anyway a great post.
Excellent article….. and advice. Thanks for the link. I absolutely agree with this clear statement of aspiration. We pass this way but once…..
In the last hour, Winston Peters has issued a press release saying he has evidence that the PM’s office knew about Dotcom earlier than previously stated. Key claims his staff didn’t pass the information on to him?
Simple question:
“Does the PM hold any concerns that he has been kept isolated from other important information by his staff?”
Love it.
Just listened to the news and it was all bad for key, real bad – Winston ripping key. I’m starting to believe that he might go down for this.
It’s the headline story on TV3 6pm news, and Garner reckons it’s not good news for Key.
TV One News haven’t included it in it’s headline summary. It’s leading with the cuts to youth wage.
I’ve taken to recording the 6pm news on My freeview so I can switch between them, and stop and start – flick through the ads.
I would like to know what documentation Dotcom has got from Power in regard to OIO if any and what the documentation from OIO is to Power and Dotcom. As well if Key signed anything to do with the OIO regarding Dotcom.
Different story to what he said in Parliament,where he now has to make a personal statement.Which which will be the third statement ( 3 strikes).Winston if framed correctly can now call him a liar in parliament thanks to Lockwood’s ruling.
Seriously:
There’s a pattern developing here and its been going on for a long time.
No-one tells John Key anything to do with Kim Dotcom! Could an instruction have been issued along the lines:
If its to do with that Dotcom guy, I don’t want to know?
Of course the Right Honourable Prime Minister John Key (Knighthood Pending), would be constantly thinking of high level Philosophical Aspirations for his Gated Planet Key, and therefore the trivial matters like Growing Unemployment, National Security Mega-upload, and unobtrusive constituents such as Kim Dotcom would not dare to be referred to him.
Beggars belief John Key. Either Dishonest, or Incompetent. Choose one.
Dishonest
It’s called Plausible Deniability, a term first coined by the CIA. What Key and the GCSB are doing is taken directly out of their handbook:
Yes. I can imagine Powers phone clerk in PM’s office. The clerk tells a special person. The special person tells Key in a lift or somewhere private. Key nods and says “I did not hear what you just said. Get it?”
The trouble with that is that the clerk knows Key knows.
If the staffer was Phil de Joux (as rumoured) then he would know not to tell Key.
Plausible deniability is more than just “I didn’t hear”, it’s having staff who know the drill in the first place. Those who have worked with Brand Key since he was in opposition (as de Joux has) would know automatically that protecting the Brand is paramount.
Now it begins to work against Key however, as it looks like what it is: a pattern of deliberate ignorance brought about by a strategy of active avoidance.
there’s a reason one-trick ponies are not regarded highly.
Oh, I’ll grant them it was a good trick for a couple of elections, but they need to pull finger and find something else doubleplus fast.
I agree – active avoidance + deliberate ignorance = shifty. And once that sticks down he goes.
“No-one tells John Key anything to do with Kim Dotcom! Could an instruction have been issued along the lines:
If its to do with that Dotcom guy, I don’t want to know?”
I’ve been thinking this for a while.
Key is very adamant he’d never heard of Dotcom before the raid. So I think there won’t be any evidence to contradict this claim, because he’ll have made sure there isn’t.
This FBI press release makes interesting reading, given that it was issued on the same day of the Dotcom Raid.
http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/justice-department-charges-leaders-of-megaupload-with-widespread-online-copyright-infringement
With 8 Countries involved and the number of NZ. Government agencies acknowledged by the FBI for their “substantial and critical assistance” it is difficult to believe that Mr Slip, Slide and walk away was oblivious to what was going on.
Yes Lanth. He has always been pretty smug about his denials. But if he was in total ignorance some one or people must have believed that it was wise for the PM to distance himself – at least on paper, records or any traceable means. Maybe a leak might appear eventually to explain the link that must have occurred?
Why. So that his office can decide if he needs to know. They are all paranoid gatekeepers of information. Same thing happened under Clark. Just cos Heather Simpson knew about things didn’t mean HC did.
BS on that insider.
Helen Clark had this amazing really scary ability to know what was happening around her. She knew most ministers’ portfolios better than they did.
Key is the opposite. It seems that all sorts of carnage can happen around him and he has no idea, and he never sees it coming.
To compare him to Clark is to compare chalk and cheese.
Mickey I was comparing processes not people. I don’t think anyone would disagree that Clark was a micro manager and is a once in a generation event. but even she did not know everything her office knew at all times. Flunkies filter. That’s their job.
Flunkies filter. That’s their job.
Perhaps. But once your boss is telling the country that he had never heard of Dotcom before the raid, then it’s certainly the flunky’s job to tell the boss: “Excuse me Sir, the office knew” – so the PM can stop giving hostages to fortune.
Unless, of course, the flunky has been told (directly or not) that such information should not be passed on, even after the fact.
May have been a once in a generation event (I doubt it though as far too many people don’t get to sit in the spotlight to be able to tell) but I don’t think she was a micro-manager – she didn’t move into managing someone else’s responsibility unless that someone else fucked up. Just a manager that knew what she should have known.
They filter it down to bite size pieces – they do not keep it from the person they work for.
No they also filter out stuff that they don’t consider important or relevant, and timing and context are important criteria in those decisions. You’re saying the boss gets to hear about absolutely everything the minions know, just in précis. Organisations don’t work that way, because i suspect we all know that huge amounts of information gets passed on between individuals for a range of reasons, but not all of it is useful. Can you say that every single email you’ve received this week contained something relevant to you?
No, but I can say that if my boss ever goes on TV and says he’s never heard of somebody, and I had previously had a phone call from a senior colleague about that somebody, then I would make damn sure I told my boss about it after he’d gone on telly. To save his blushes, or mine.
So … Did Key’s office tell him AFTER Dotcom became NZ’s Number One news story?. There is a gap of eight months between then and now – during which Key has said nothing about it … until today. Until he was forced to.
Your “hear about absolutely everything” line is classic evasion by hyperbole. It’s THE thing for Key, and has been since February. Why has he wanted not to know – or say?
If they thought that the Dotcom stuff was immaterial and Key did not have to know about it then it is difficult to know what he would have to know about.
Is that what you really mean insider?
I’ve called ministers offices plenty of times and passed on info I’ve had no expectation of them hearing at the time. I’m briefing the officials just in case something related comes up and they can use it if they see fit. In July 2011 kdc probably was irrelevant to the pm. I don’t disagree that since January something should have been said by one of his officials somewhere.
Generally speaking, if it’s reaching the office of the PM then, at a guess, I’d say it was important enough for him to know about. He doesn’t need to know all the details but he does need to know about it. Sure, there’d be some that gets passed on to other ministers (wrong address) but stuff about intelligence operations would go to him.
There’s some confusion here- it was not an intelligence issue when either peters asked his question or powers office contacted keys. Your guess i think is wrong. Officials give each other heads ups all the time, just like peers in many organisations. That doesn’t mean the info is intended for the boss.
Bollocks insider. You’re not fooling anyone except yourself. When Simon Power contacted the PM’s office he was giving the PM a heads up on where things were at with Dotcom. That means he was given the information by a member of his staff.
John Key and his staff are indulging in “plausible deniability”. See Jackal @ 8.1.1.1
I wonder if the staff member was Captain Panic Pants?
Awesome idea Anne ….
They could have a the “Panic Pants Suit” on the wall for the next “Not John Key” meeting.
That way he’ll never forget 🙂
Diapers on the outside maybe M8!
The “Protocol” Grows M8!
Imagine the Bus ride to the Beehive!
Sorry, it wasn’t Panic Pants – Deputy Chief of Staff. Still, that’s a very senior staff member and he didn’t tell Key? Pull the other one.
Here’s the TV3 news item – pretty damming of JK in my view.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Documents-show-police-knew-Dotcom-a-resident/tabid/370/articleID/272091/Default.aspx
Actualy I remember that, Wasn’t it John Key himself who allowed Dotcom to buy the mansion?
(i.e. Vetoed his minister)
Would’ve been a Herald Article of course.
If you are going to cry bollocks anne getting the facts right first would help your case. It was one of powers staff not power himself. That lowers the issue down the food chain quite significantly.
It came from Powers office, and went to the Prime Mincer’s office. Where is that picture of the monkey chiefs covering their eyes and ears when you need it.
“..the Magical Mystery Tour…they coming to take you away…take you away….take you away.”
The difference here is that in July 2011, Simon Power knew that the FBI was interested in Dotcom. Recall: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10816772
That is probably the reason why he chose to inform the PM’s Office of his intention to deny Dotcom’s overseas investment application. And if that’s the case, then Key probably had some prior knowledge.
The fact is Power deliberated over Dotcom’s application for three months before making a decision. Is it believable that he didn’t discuss it with the PM at some point?
the US govt knows one thing for sure, having the growing middle east wars as a distraction allows all sorts of space for what you get up to at home. Remember, in the modern Amerika you are a suspected terrorist first and a citizen second.
“the extent that 1021(b)(2) purports to encompass protected First Amendment activities, it is unconstitutionally overbroad”
http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/428766-hedges-v-obama-perm-inj.html
This ruling has been overturned, then an injunction was won, then a stay was put on the injunction, so now a whole bunch of other judges have been asked by the big boss man to secure the stay permanently and get his ‘lock em up then ask the questions’ law rolling nationwide. Sure it’s over in America so what does it matter right? Not like they are gonna start spying on kiwis, imprisoning people without charges, ask for troops on the ground or start flying Drone missions over here . . .
THE CHILDREN OF WAR
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/208063_313184525455648_1734282819_n.jpg
night
“The Gold War”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10839360
and business not looking too positive in the land of the long grey crowd either according to the daily fish and chip wrappings.
(sorry Prism, it was “Infidels” by Bob Dylan i keep forgetting to reference)
What a prophet dear Bob has been; The only international concert i have seen was Bob with Patti Smith at a stadium in Christchurch; Patti Smith, now she is as wonderful as Helen Kelly and Julie-Ann
(i am such a man)
-“The Minstrel In The Gallery….looked down upon the smiling faces…”
who read todays Dompost?
one story is about Annette King complaining to the speaker of the house about craig (hamburger) heatley giving incoherent mumbling replies to oral questions.
On the letters page one writer is complaining about Russell Norman getting too much time on teevee3.
Nashnil cant have it both ways.
If they put up up drawling bumblers on the floor of the house who cant make it in the world at large then tough luck.
not craig heatley .. phil heatley
National determined to increase exodus
Be ready to wave goodbye to more of your loved ones, especially if they’re just trying to start out in the workforce…
From the foregoing survey of conspicuous leisure and consumption, it appears that the the utility of both alike for the purposes of reputability lies in the element of waste that is common to both.
In the one case it is a waste of time and effort, in the other it is a waste of goods.
“Theory of the Leisure Class”
-Thorstein Veblen; american economist and social scientist
Believe It, Or Not
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/c0.0.403.403/p403x403/383437_506700752673514_1752747703_n.jpg
6090 people have decided to sell their red zone properties to the Govt.
The Govt is processing them a 50 per week ….
That’s 121.8 weeks before they’re all paid (2.34 years)
Ha yep, doesn’t pay to add up timeframes in Chch, they are too frightening.
Also, see my post at Mr Wrong re the government’s current smoke and fire around not being able to pay its bills. Perhaps the two are linked …….
Agreed, I’ve suspected this for some time now, hence all the belt tightening rhetoric.
2.34 years before some people will even start to rebuild their lives.
4.44 Years after the quake they start to rebuild.
And Brownlee is calling them ungrateful ……
What does this Gnat government actually do for us!.
Investigative Report on the U.S. National Security Issues Posed by Chinese Telecommunications Companies Huawei and ZTE
Those Americans are seriously paranoid, more than a little hypocrytical, and not willing to investigate the hardware properly for themselves.
I’m sure a good Engineer could suss those switches out in short order.
Hence the UK response.
and not willing to investigate the hardware properly for themselves.
Maybe they don’t need to.
While many of these techniques are not unique to Huawei, one only has to look at the CCP’s overtly totalitarian history vis a vis the internet (The Great Wall of China) to quickly conclude that they are wholly the authors of their own misfortune here.
Or maybe not so paranoid after all.
I feel we should give due recognition to the the benefits that this National led Government is delivering to many….(or perhaps I should say some):
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/10/national-govt-brings-much-happiness-to.html
Video of Sydney cops tasering a student to death. Warning, contains nudity and police brutality.
But that can’t be real TRP, everyone knows cops are the best of the best doing the hardest most thankless job around for entirely altruistic reasons.
There’s no way the job would attract thugs and rapists and murderers, certainly not the kind of cowardly scum who would electrocute a man to death after they already had him in handcuffs.
If you haven’t seen the video of Gillard dealing to the, for now, leader of the opposition, it is soooooo well worth the 15 minutes.
http://t.co/YbGgkwcL
That’s a hiding.
Bloody hell. That’s a thrashing.
Spectacular!
Makes Helen look downright meek and mild. Impassioned and intelligently coherent at the same time … bloody impressive.
Unequivocal
+1
I remember when Julia Gillard became Prime Minister of Australia, she spoke of Helen Clark as “having been her role model.” Well, I could see Helen Clark standing there making exactly the same speech. Congratulations Julia.
I agree, but while Helen refused to engage with the vile misogyny that was directed at her (does anyone else recall the filth that was being email circulated in the months before the 2008 election?) … it’s remarkable to see Gillard name it and shame it so very directly.
it’s remarkable to see Gillard name it and shame it so very directly.
Snap, RL. I just said something similar.
‘kin A.
Thanks for the link. My impression was that the Aussie house isn’t as shouty as the NZ one. Gillard delivers her ticking off emphatically – but it’s in the way it’s stated, and the body language.
The opposition front bench looks a glum ,rum, unimpressed and unimpressive lot.
And Gillard does something I don’t recall Helen Clark ever doing: she publicly and clearly calls out the leader of the opposition, opposition MPs and members of their party for some of the slurs they have directed at her personally. She calls them out for calling out to her in the House that she needs to be made “an honest woman”; she calls them out for the way they refer to her as a bitch and a witch.
That’s the way to do it – take them on in public. Clark tried to avoid giving such slurs oxygen by publicly ignoring them.
Clark tried to avoid giving such slurs oxygen by publicly ignoring them.
That’s true Karol but I don’t think Helen had much choice. Most of the vitriol was being spread in bars, sports clubs, work-places etc. With the exception of the ‘childless’ barb, very little of it came out in the House or by way of the MSM. The ‘Alan Jones slur’ on the other hand gave Julia the opportunity to get stuck into all of them.
Most of the nasty stuff against Helen began very soon after she was selected to be the new MP for Mt Albert. She was extremely hurt by them, but because she didn’t know who was spreading them there wasn’t much she could do about it.
She did come out in public over the disgusting stories about her husband, Peter Davis but it didn’t stop her opponents from continuing to spread those stories.
Thanks for that. It makes complete sense. All I can say is that the slurs, the jokes and nastiness while obviously less personal and pointed for us than it was for HC, it was still nonetheless felt by many of us on the left as a malign, shameful episode in this nation’s history.
Collectively we owe her an apology.
Aye
New Zealand’s loss was the United Nation’s gain.
I saw Helen speak in NZ recently and I thought “why do we have this buffoon as a leader when we could still have Helen” …
What I can tell you RedLogix is: most of the individuals who started the rumours lived in the locality, and they all ended up in ACT. Are you surprised?
these Youth Wages; occupational trenching.into Agricultural Colleges.
Low Wages.What is the incentive? only the stick of benefit sanctions.
Low Wages.What is the incentive for productivity?
Low Wages.What will the displaced boomers live on?
Low Wages.Will keep young people domestically dependent.
Targeting Beneath Vote Majority. How Slippery Is That?
that Lovely Sister Wendy and her Art Illustrations.
Pay It Forward
Traditionally Modern
these “niche schools”. I enjoyed the exploration of the Sikh School from Birmingham.
“not counter-productive to their children” the Head suggested.
They Teach All Faiths; Teachers of All Ethnicities and Religions
Think Kura. (that John Tamihere, his mouth is less disciplined than Hone; arrogant! Wow!)
Key’s Sunset Boulevard:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset_Boulevard_(film)
what I want to see is David shearer giving kweewee his beans.
that will be fun!
When spiritually successful men go bankrupt
http://gcxweb.org/Misc/LarryPile-OtherSideOfDiscipleship.aspx
As useful as a bucket of Dog Slobber – That’s our memory impaired leader – He and his Partys latest edition on the Jobs front. = $10,80/hr Jobs rate. Wooo Hooo economic Genius or what!
He and his fool minions have just handed all Fast Food Corparates a 33% profit increase on the wage bill they currently pay their young workers.
It’s a gift to companies already rolling about in a sea of excess cash. At the expense of the NZ worker.
One has to ask how desparate are these eejit Tories. And what else are they not telling an increasingly impoverished NZ public.
Bernie Monk rips John Key a new one for weaseling out of the effort to retrieve the Pike River dead. It’s a new personal worst in a month of lows for Johnny Sparkles and National may as well stop standing candidates in the West Coast for a generation or two.
“Mr Monk says he got the impression that the Pike River mine was no longer a priority for the Prime Minister – but told Mr Key that if he thinks that the issue will go away, it won’t happen”.
Weirdly, Stuff’s front page are reporting Key’s latest bout of forgetfulness under the headline “Pike recovery revisted”, but. hey, who needs sub editors these days?
The interview on Radio Live is even more devastating – one of the most passionate, furious denunciations of Key you will ever hear.
(audio on website from 4.45 pm … perhaps somebody with a fast connection could embed a link? I listened on ye olde radio …).
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/John-Key-not-supporting-Pike-River-families-proposal/tabid/506/articleID/31213/Default.aspx
Here ’tis.
“He showed no emotion”.
nada
Headless Chickens
http://gcxweb.org/Misc/LarryPile-OtherSideOfDiscipleship.aspx
oops,
Headless Chickens
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dooaY06DwKA
(very distorted)
tempting Destiny.
other than those abominations, increased gestation of ethnic sectarianism may successfully parasite WASP capitalism
critical reflection
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucault%E2%80%93Habermas_debate
“Verlaine…verlaine….verlaine….verlaine…”
I found this article by putting in the search engine ‘john key and bank of america’
It says that shonkey was the head of global forex at meryll lynch as they
transfered enough debt into the irish economy to completely wipe it out
along with the middle us classes and their homes.
Key started borrowing $380 million a week here in nz and i can remember
he was borrowing more than needed, ‘his reply from memory was that it
was ‘cheap money’,what he didn’t tell the tax payers of nz is that he has
substantial shares in the bank of america where he got those ‘nz’ loans.
From observations it seems that our ‘dear leader’ is steering nz in the
same direction as those economies he has overseen in his bankster days,
i would bet that he is still ’employed’ with them as a pm’s job is not a long
one, just long enough to cause a country immeasurable damage,there is a
concerning pattern emerging in correlation with what i have read.
Some good reading on www. mediawhore.co.nz.
Also bank of america bankrolls bathurst,so that is why the front bench
of the nacts are pushing the enviromentalist to back off court action,key
is ‘shonkey’ deep in this as well, what a ‘slippery’ slope, when we try to
deceive’ eh shokey.
I don’t think that Greens and Labour should jump in unequivocally to the Chinese-USA techno dispute. Back doors have been mentioned in the Chinese programs well Microsoft was accused of doing this. And as the USA is trying to flex its muscles over China we should be wary and try to remain neutral.
Unfortunately Australia feels threatened by its closer Asian neighbours and welcomes USA defence, there is a contingent in Darwin I think now, and as it aligns with the USA and we tend to integrate with Oz and sign up for TPP (all done in secret), it will be hard to think for ourselves if we ever get round to that.