+1 Phillip.
Not sure what to say other than what I already have ( http://thestandard.org.nz/labour-shoots-themselves-in-the-foot-again/#comment-740856 )
…. except that neo-liberalism ISN’T JUST an economic/political programme, but its so pervasive its now a cultural thing that’s infected the language, the media, educational and other institutions, etc.
When it does turn to total shit, it’ll be interesting to see who does the bleating
Don’t get me started!
E.g. link it to tik-a-box qualification industrial needs and WANTS too, such that when an industry’s wants have been satisfied, a whole neo-liberal State’s apparatus can be brought to bear on indebted student(s) to boot them out of the cuntry. (That is after the private educational ‘institution’ has ‘marketed’ itself with utter bullshit (perhaps I should say ….”mismarketed” itself – along the lines of all that “MIS-selling” crap that’s occurred), issued bits of paper, gone belly-up and abrogated its responsibilities, after which arms of the corporatised administration (including Police, Immigration and others) arrest and deport – before that convenient bugger’s muddle of a Muntstry/Department can delve and determine)
…. just but one example (with more than several victims).
But having munted the tertiary education “sector”, let’s then trickle it down even further. I know ….. let’s introduce Charter Schools.
But as I said above Drac – when it all turns to total shite – let’s see who screams/bleats the loudest.
Let’s see what becomes of South American FTA’s, or our African and Asian relationships when the “Free Trader” comes knocking having not only treated their nationals like pieces of shit, but also the citizens of a supposedly 1st World country he purports to “represent”.
(I’m still waiting to see what’s become of that “highly successful” little jaunt of JK and bizniss leaders back in Feb) – not much as far as I can tell.
So why doesn’t this so called industry, which one BTW, pay for it’s own training or offer summer intern jobs, paid, to the students if they need to broaden their experience. It’s about getting the taxpayer to pay for their training assisted by a couple of jumped up polytech managers.
Since Richardson cut welfare to force people into work.
Unfortunately, just like present day National, she forgot that making more people desperate for work does not magic up more jobs. And making the sick and injured apply for jobs does not make them any more employable.
Union Bureaucrats and Parliamentary Services Party? It’d be more accurate. Do Parker and Cunliffe speak to each other?
Slightly Pink but Not Really Party?
Bound Workers Delivery Party?
I understand they still have roots in the working class, but they’re doing their best to pull them up as quickly as possible.
+1 Phillip. I never understood properly why we didn’t overturn the Mother of all budgets – that’s a horrid phrase if ever there was one. Mother wasn’t a nurturing being under Richardson, and the cuts she made continue to live on …. despite 3 terms of Labour. We must have been too cautious and too scared of the turnaround on the electoral vote …. its hugely sad. I dearly hope that if/when Labour gets into a position of power again, that this time we’ll look and do something about poverty. Its just one reason for continuing to stay on-line with Labour.
Yup, shame on both major parties although National seems to try to push people into poverty even more enthusiastically than Labour.
How can this happen in a supposedly developed country? Shame on you New Zealand!
It’s a non-story, the Privacy Commissioner is quoted in the article as saying:
“If you give your details it was reasonable to assume they would be used to contact you.”
Blimmin heck – it just goes to show that people see what they want to see. Where does it say that the Privacy commissioner said that?
the quote was :
“However, Greenpeace New Zealand fundraising director Michael Tritt said it would be “wrong” if it did not use the details people provided when they signed petitions.
“People aren’t silly. They know if they put down a phone number or email, there will be some form of communication.”
“A spokesman for the Privacy Commissioner office said organisations collecting private information had to tell people how details were going to be used. If you give your details it was reasonable to assume they would be used to contact you. ”
well, I figured that petition details might be used to audit the petition signatories, or for contact regarding something related directly to the petition issue. But a friend of mine was pulled out of a meeting for a phone call that was just touting a fucking greenpeace membership deal.
Shit, these days I view donation collectors and petition signature-gatherers with actual suspicion. Which is sad, really.
Be grateful that the Petition Colletors haven’t (I hope) reached the level they have got to in Paris. There you are quite likely to get a group of people pestering you to sign a petition and pushing the clipboard into your face. Beware. They are often just trying to distract you while one of them picks your pocket.
I guess they are just the first line of Woody Guthries song about Pretty Boy Floyd.
Greenpeace are the second part.
“Some will rob you witha six-gun.
And some with a fountain pen”
…what is stopping people using petitions on populist issues simply as a marketing tool to harvest email addresses?
The fact that it is a terribly inefficient and expensive way to harvest email addresses?
Is there anything stopping them selling the names and contact details to other parties?
Probably. And, of course, that is not what was done in this case.
In this case, people gave their contact details when signing a Greenpeace petition about shark finning. Then Greenpeace later used those contact details to inform those people about Greenpeace’s anti-shark finning campaign and ask them if they wanted to contribute to that and other Greenpeace campaigns. How terribly evil and under-handed of Greenpeace!
Blimmin heck – it just goes to show that people see what they want to see. Where does it say that the Privacy commissioner said that?
the quote was :
“However, Greenpeace New Zealand fundraising director Michael Tritt said it would be “wrong” if it did not use the details people provided when they signed petitions.
“People aren’t silly. They know if they put down a phone number or email, there will be some form of communication.”
Yep – that’s where all that “with rights come responsibilities” kaka kicks in (OBVIOUSLY not just within the Natzi sphere of influence, but also STILL within Labour). The political class are really eagre and willing to proffer the spiel, though all the while forgetting that it also applies to them (I.e. & especially) LABOUR. They’ve been given various rights, but they sure as hell ARE NOT living up to their repsonsibilities. I even doubt many within its ranks even understand. Maybe it should be couched in terms of the ‘BRAND’ they’re attempting to sell (though not doing a very good job of it).
Along comes a Cunliffe, duly and democratically erected, pissing out all the correct sounds and flufferings, apparently having appeased the ‘natural’ fuckwits in the party, ….. but then along comes a Parker (who really should be considering whether or not he’s in the correct party).
Actually, (as a former member and loyalist), I’ve decided the “ONE more chance” I was going to give them is pretty pointless really.
I’ve been watching studiously. Still haven’t heard any “sorries”, or admonitions, or EVEN acknowledgment ‘ofs’, that relate to the lost opportunities in their last 3rd term; their real concerns for those affected by Ruth Richardson Limited and/or what they intend doing about it; ……
We know they’re battling a Natzi-compliant media, but I (at least) and the DC know how to battle that – even if it is to begin things with something that’s controversial.
Yep …. sorry Labour – LOST frikken cause – I’d rather my limited energies went to investing in a viable alternative to statquo. (I’ve had some “learnings” – especially after visiting this site)
You don’t have a particularly agile brain do you, Nackers? Communism? You could probably house a busload load of street kids in the vacuum in your cranium.
Listening to Morning Report this morning.
The South African High Commissioner.
This recording should be played in every school and be made compulsory listening
for every New Zealand citizen.
You can hold your heads high, Trevor Richards, Tom Newnham and John Minto et al.
SA and we are proud of you.
Hopefully someone will be able to link to this.
Listening to Cunliffe avoiding to answer Garner’s question would he have given up his place on a delegation to Mandela’s funeral in favour of Minto and I really don’t like what I’m hearing from him.
I find your peculiar punctuation makes it very difficult to understand much of what you are saying phillip.
I suppose I could read almost any two consecutive lines as being part of a sentence.
For example you can run together
“who used to call Mandela “a terrorist” as I said”
Did you really say that Mandela was a terrorist?
to be honest phillipe, while I read your posts, it is not easy, and I have been known to read a little. Be yourself regardless, yet I hope this is helpful feedback, which in itself can be quite attractive to the ear. (recognising my own ‘obscurities’ of course; goes without saying 😉 )
that’s a pretty shit question to ask as it happens. Cunliffe doesn;’ get to decide who goes. He can’t just give his spot to someone. It’s not an ‘admit one’ ticket ffs.
Say he says, “yep, I’ll swap with Minto then, sure thing”, he is doing so as leader of the Labour party, and as leader of the Labour Party (and defacto haed of the opposition in NZs parliament), declining an invitation. That would be pretty much shit.
Pascal’s bookie. I agree…It’s the sort of troll question a ‘shock dick’ asks in an attempt to
prove to us how clever he is and be remembered by the listeners of radio ritalin (or whatever) as an incisive deep thinking journalist (not). Only got 20 seconds to make an impression between ads for quack treatments.
“John Minto, along with Trevor Richards, Tom Newnham and others, was involved in forming Halt All Racist Tours, a group set up to protest against rugby union tours to and from Apartheid South Africa, in 1969. He became the National Chairman of the organisation in 1980. During clashes between police and protesters he was seriously assaulted by rugby supporters the evening after the disruption at Rugby Park in Hamilton. This assault had little impact on his protesting other than him adding a protective helmet to his distinctive outfit of overalls.[4][5] He remained at the forefront of the protests.”
If you were alive during 1981 you must have been asleep if you didn’t notice the leading role John Minto played in organising the anti tour protests.
Why don’t you just say you don’t like him because he continues to be an activist on issues of democracy and poverty in this country instead of trying to rewrite history?
My recollection is that Minto was a bit player during the tour.
Wrong. Certainly on all of the Auckland protests I went to (ie all of them) he was one of the people that was on the megaphone helping to do the organising.
I’m pretty sure he was doing that in Hamilton as well.
My recollection is that Muldoon was Prime Minister of the day…
According to John Key, Bolger was Prime Minister of the day.
“In terms of the protesters, of course we could have had some. It wasn’t that we were particularly shunning them, but in the end we thought the grouping that we got – the former Commonwealth Secretary General, the Prime Minister of the day Jim Bolger, and Pita Sharples is the representative of indigenous people – we had the combination about right.”
“As I’ve always said, I didn’t go to protest against the tour and I didn’t go to any of the games. I was 19 years of age and had lots of other things going on at the time.”
Key actually turned twenty a few days before the first test in Chch. Now, I’m not saying that a ticket to a rugby test is the ideal present for a conservative young kiwi bloke, but I’m not not saying it either.
Who played the main role and who was a bit player seems to depend on whether people lived closer to Auckland or Wellington. I remember Minto being very much at the forefront of protest activity, while Trevor Richards was highly successful at getting onto United Nations committees and such things.
Cunliffe gives a good account of himself here and his attitude towards the make-up of the NZ delegation to Mandela’s funeral. He had contemplated giving up his place to John Minto but was advised against it. I’m more than happy he is there to represent ALL anti-apartheid protestors.
Neville Gibson on the Panel (RNZ) suggesting, in the spirit of reconciliation, the nation forgives John Minto and sends him.
FFS Gibson, John Minto was an anti-apartheid hero.
He might forgive the NZRU and the National Party but hell will freeze over before that lot say sorry to Black Africa.
Just when you begin to think the Greens are looking like part of a Government, one of the has-beens from the Rogernomics era, again! shows that they have NFI how to get elected and they are still clinging desperately to the Neo-liberal paradigm.
I’m going to have to reconsider whether I will give my party vote to the Greens now that they have exposed themselves as gutless wonders. What a sell out they are! The referendum is not even finished yet and here they are surrendering to the neo-liberal agenda like the toothless capitalist lickspittles they are!! I blame the so called “Doctor” Russel Norman, who has been obviously co-opted to do the bidding of the 1% in order to maintain his privileged lifestyle!!!
Listening to Russell Norman on RadioNZ it would appear that the ‘idea’ is that an offer will be put to those who have bought the Meridian shares and who have now had second thoughts that they can forgo the 50 cent per share payment due on those shares in return for being allocated a lesser shareholding with the subtraction form their allocation of the number of shares matching the value of the 50 cent per share still owed,
Seems logical economics to me with Russell pointing out the ‘sums’ where the Crown got to keep 67% of the meridian shares and being questioned about the efficacy of this where Crown debt repayments as per the added dividend from the extra 18% of shares would leave the Crown some 18 million dollars yearly better off,
Hardly any sell out to anything Neo-Liberal as Te Reo’s whine suggests and i would suggest that posting such a comment is ‘in defense’ of David Cunliffe and David Parker who have copped some recent, and well deserved in my opinion, flak over the Labour plan to raise the age of superannuation entitlement a truly abhorrent piece of Neo-Liberalism(again in my opinion),
Russell Norman nor Green Party members are in no way saying that the quite intelligent plan to offer the initial investors in Meridian an ‘out’ as far as paying the 50 cents a share owing on their initial take-up will or is the be all and end of of the re-aquisition of the sold off parts of the States assets simply a step in the right direction…
That’s a spectacular mis-reading of the Greens’ statement. It’s interesting to see your strategy of belittlement and misrepresentation in action on a whole party here, not just one person.
Oh hang on! I see you’ve had a go at Russell Norman, deliberately mis-spelling his name, and putting sarcastic quote marks around his academic qualifications. You’ve even slung off at his “privileged lifestyle”.
Thank God that, with the party finally seeing sense and installing someone electable as the leader, your faction of the Labour Party is in abeyance. I guess that posting nasty and dishonest personal attacks on the internet is some consolation for you, and you even have a support crew. Not a very good one, I’m sorry to say, but they’re there for you—though you will know perfectly well that they have about as much integrity as John Key.
When the malicious lies fail, the vacuous sound effects come in. You’re having a worse day than John Key, my friend. And that is a very bad day indeed.
Why don’t you roll yourself a joint and smoke it, then come back to us, a mellower and a better man?
And, counter-intuitive as it might seem, your remarks would be a lot less dopey.
I acknowledge your surrender, my friend. Off you go now….
[lprent: You know that it is unwise to use the pwned/owned/victory approach here. I get irritated about the resulting flamewars and have a tendency towards long sentences for whoever I think is inciting them whatever words they are using. Don’t do it again. I’ve already warned you about this. ]
Poor moz, ‘tiz you having the bad day. Not only incapable of spotting satire, even in its broadest and most obvious form (big hint; I nicked the opening words from the ‘labour shoots itself in foot’ post), but apparently equally unable to spot his own failings in the area of nomenclature related pedantry despite repeated gentle prodding:
Sorry TRP.
For some reason I didn’t see any of your comments on the name when I contributed my effort below. I wouldn’t have put it in if I had as your contribution was much better, even if appears to have been a bit to subtle for Morrissey.
Oh, dear Moz, have you not read the comments above? If it’ll help, there’s a reference or three there to your usual levels of accuracy being displayed around the spelling of Dr Russel Norman’s name.
It’s text, unless it’s got a /satire tag then the chances are it’s going to be missed. The problem wasn’t Morrissey’s inability to spot satire but your inability to communicate effectively.
They had satire before the interwebs, Draco. Back in the day, people used their brains to recognise it and many were quite succesful at spotting satire when it was put in front of them without the need of further visual aids.
If you like, the next time I extract the urine, I’ll write two versions. One for the majority and one for the dullwitted. You’ll be able to spot the 2nd version because I’ll use an appropriate tag.
Well, no actually. There were only comments from a minority, one of whom is terminally bewildered, and I’m reasonably sure the majority of regular readers would have twigged the reference to the ‘shoots itself in the foot’ post, which garnered a couple of hundred comments over the weekend (despite apparently being written without the benefit of actually reading Labour’s proposal).
And I would have thought the extra exclamation marks, phrases such as ‘capitalists lickspittles’ and the bogus threat to ‘reconsider voting green’ would have been sufficient clues that I wasn’t being entirely serious.
Despite what I said in the comment above, I’m going to continue to write sans hash. I credit TS readers with enough nous to spot the occasional joke comment. Plus, it had the additional benefit of making Moz write something so painfully foolish he can’t bring himself to write a correction.
morrissey has admitted being less than perfect on at least one occasion (when the yawning gap between what he claimed and what was objective reality was presented to him in triplicate, presented again, moved around in front of him so that it was shown from every angle and highlights could be pointed out, much discussion was had on the nature of “sameness” and the doctrine of forms, flipcharts and diagrams and dictionaries were in close attendance, and it was made so clear via the use of nine-mile-high neon letters etched in the firmament by God that any dispute on the nature of that particular point would be sufficient evidence to detain the delusional disputant under the mental health act for fear that the universe would explode under the enormity of the logical contradiction).
In circumstances similar to that he has readily conceded a typographical error or two.
It is futile I’m afraid. The only way you can get most people to get what you are saying is to put it quite bluntly and then repeat it over and over.
Say something like this
Russel Norman’s first name is spelt with ONE L
Russel Norman’s first name is spelt with ONE L
Russel Norman’s first name is spelt with ONE L.
Continue till you have done it about 50 times. It might, and I only say might sink in that they have made a fool of themselves.
I tried a minor joke with a comment by Colonial Viper a few days ago. He accidentally put that The Herald was owned by Fairfax. I’m sure he didn’t mean it and he knew it was APN. My comment was simply to ask when Fairfax bought the Herald.
Another contributor, who will remain anonymous, then proceeded to berate me and tell me I could look it up myself. Even when I teased him as to how to do that, claiming I couldn’t manage it he didn’t realise that he had got it wrong.
The really important question is why does Russel’s name have only one “l”?
It’s a bit dodgy, that, don’t you think? I mean, he has two “s”s. Has anyone asked the PM what he thinks?
Like, maybe his dad said something like, “Russell, if you go into politics there’ll be ‘l’ to pay”. Or something. It’s the fact nobody’s asking the question that’s got me wondering what’s behind it all.
Very funny Arfamo (sincerely)- the other ‘L’ is silent and therefore not needed to be put in – that is efficiency, which does beg the obvious question…
Oh hang on Morrissey. I see you have been deliberately mis-spelling Russel Norman’s name as Russell Norman.
Why is it that, when we try to correct someone’s grammar or spelling, we always screw it up?
Lol
Although it’s actually turned out to be fun watching the scabs thicken over the gulf between his delusions and reality. He’s almost back to near-perfect accuracy 🙂
Your Red China-style campaigns of harassment against me are tiresome, Te Reo. I am sure that that’s the way anyone who sticks his/her head up in your local Labour Party branch is treated, and you might even succeed in cowing some people into submission, or at least make them too afraid to speak.
Your vigilance and your fanaticism is quite a phenomenon; you’re quite the little apparatchik. If I were a weaker or less confident person, your constant campaign of belittlement and name-calling would have had an effect by now. But you are clearly impervious to the fact that I don’t kow-tow to bullies, and your constant badgering—the equivalent of the National Party’s strategy of hooting and cat-calling in the House—only makes you look bereft of ideas.
I see you have a couple of faithful servants enthusiastically registering their approval of your little performance; you should pay them a retainer.
The voice of reason, aka one man doctrinaire commissariat , so true M…….I think the most reasonable action Morrissey is to ignore the bastards. Cant recall any of them having anything vaguely amusing interesting to say on a regular basis. Apply the shit filters and save your fingers time on the keyboard in response.
Thanks, Ennui. I know I shouldn’t encourage these gadflies, but that’s me—I can’t resist slapping them. Mind you, I’m in good company: every time Robert Fisk or Noam Chomsky or John Pilger say or write anything, they are attacked in identical fashion by the same kind of people as have had a go at me this morning.
You are a fucken schoolboy kid. In Christchurch Trevor Richards was the most visable along with Murray Horton and guys like Graeme Wells. I was as involved as anyone.
Ah, I remember Richards from my youth, in my Christchurch days. My strongest memory is of him frequently being at a friend’s flat/shared house, at the kitchen table, typing away, with a Shostakovich record LP (vinyl) on the turntable playing in the background.
Richards was a remarkable guy. He seemed to attract the radical fring of which there were a lot in Christchurch. Newnham appealed more to the apolitical or middle of the road market. Together they were very effective. I remember the meeting at a church hall in central Christchurch when Richards made the grand entrance in company with Burgess, the current All black 1st five. You were probably there too Karol.
K, was the vinyl scratched? (That can tend to make Shostakovitch more bearable). Its actually quite funny seeing film of the protests, my neighbour pointed out to me his image on the pitch in Hamilton. And I often used to see one prominent individual at protests who I met years later, turned out to be a relative of the wife. I have freeze framed Patu and cannot identify myself (little bit of ego tripping….) but in there somewhere I must be.
What this tells me is that this country is very small, two degrees of separation rigidly self enforces. Which in turn indicates that Key claiming a lack of memory etc somewhat disingenuous. And it makes my lumps and bruises from the protests hurt again to see the prat attending the funeral representing us anti tour protesters.
I remember Bob whilst I was still at school marking Barry John against the 1971 Lions. Cant remember if he was in the frame for the previous years tour of Yappieland, or if he refused to go. I do remember him stating anti tour views in 1981 but by then he was well retired and out of the AB frame. I recall seeing Ken Gray at a Wellington protest, and remember Graham Mourie and Bruce Robertson withdrawing from the AB side in protest.
Thanks for the link Grumpy, so it was the 1970 tour Burgess declined, plus availability for the 73 tour the Kirk government objected to. Despite years of alcohol abuse and rugby injuries my memory still works (sort of). Quite remarkable that Burgess got selected in 1971 then.
“I could explain it but I’m not going to.”
Key’s train-wreck performance on Breakfast
Television One, Monday 9 December 2013, 7:15 a.m.
The prime minister’s lack of integrity and his persistent dishonesty—he “can’t remember” anything of consequence—is finally starting to alienate even the tamest, most malleable broadcasters. Even those smiling, personable, government-friendly personalities on TV1’s Breakfast programme are now confronting him quite boldly….
PETER WILLIAMS: There is growing criticism of John Key’s plan to attend the funeral of Nelson Mandela, given some comments he has made about the tour in the past.
TONI STREET You said you “can’t remember” what your stance was toward the 1981 Springbok tour. JOHN KEY: Those comments were made on a regional radio station seven years ago. I could explain it but I’m not going to. TONI STREET: You can’t remember whether you were for or against the tour in 1981? JOHN KEY: I’m not saying I was for or against it. I was anti-apartheid but I didn’t go on any protest marches, and I didn’t go to any of the games. I was about twenty at the time and I had other things on my mind. [conspiratorial smirk] TONI STREET: But can you remember what your stance was on the 1981 tour?
…..[Awkward silence]…..
JOHN KEY: I’m not going to go into it. If I say I was for or against it, that will open up a whole new series of questions, so I am not going to comment on it.
…..[Awkward silence]…..
TONI STREET: But can you remember what your stance was on the 1981 tour? JOHN KEY: I’m not going to comment on the matter. Let’s just leave it at that.
Great that the lamestream are even holding Key to account on his “can’t remember” stance on the Springboks tour. This surprises me, they usually have selective memories when it comes to Key’s Dubious Moments.
(In the meantime as well as respectful musical tributes to Mandela since Friday Radio Active have gone hard out with their lampooning of Key all morning, putting together a collection of sound bites spliced in with a fake interview)
Will 2014 finally be Key’s undoing? The year he finally, can no longer slither away from the truth of his disastrous reign? With Bradley Ambrose suing him for defamation, Banks’ trial, Dotcom’s hearing, and fingers crossed, a powerful NO message coming the asset sales referendum will his star finally descend? Will the voters finally, finally see him for what he is, a con?
Great that the lamestream are even holding Key to account on his “can’t remember” stance on the Springboks tour. This surprises me, they usually have selective memories when it comes to Key’s Dubious Moments.
I suspect it’s because they can’t ignore what he’s already said on it as everyone remembers and thought it was BS then as well.
Initially i was, as usual, disgusted with key for saying he couldn’t remember but it is a blessing in disguise because that line will haunt him and thank the gods he didn’t say he protested – having a shallow fake as a prime minister is one thing but it would be worse to have him on our side of that anti-apartheid fight. Hopefully he’ll make an utter fool of himself over there by trying some 3-way handshake or something. He doesn’t represent me, he represents the exploiters and they are international.
“I’m strongly opposed to apartheid, but I’m not going to make up stuff that wasn’t the case 30 years ago and try and reinvent history because it’s inconvenient for the left.
“I’m strongly opposed to apartheid, but I’m not going to make up stuff that wasn’t the case 30 years ago and try and reinvent history because it’s inconvenient for the left.”
Classic mangled Keyism there – is anyone trying to pressure him to ‘make stuff up’ over this? And why on Earth would it be inconvenient for da left if he doesn’t?
My translation: “Lying and saying I was interested and involved in the protests isn’t an option for me, but I’m not going to tell the truth which is that I couldn’t give a flying fuck about either rugby nor the plight of the oppressed, because Labour would love that.”
I reckon your translation is spot on e.m. Let’s extend that out to “I don’t give a flying fuck about about anything except for advancing my mates and me”
And m.m. There’s bound to be some kind of etiquette cock up in S.A on His behalf, which in the past has arisen out of insincerity, ignorance and immaturity. We can just laugh when he does here at home, but when he does it overseas it’s cause for head in the hands moments. This is how it must have been for the Americans every time Dubya opened his gob in regard to world matters.
Mr Key told Newstalk ZB this morning that the protesters had not ruined the party.
“They’re the same people protesting about deep sea oil drilling, they’re the same people protesting about the convention centre, they’re the same people that protested about changes to the labour laws for the Hobbit, they’re the same people that protested about the 90 day probationary period.
“So yeah, they just protest because that’s all they’ve got to do all day.”
Talk about making shit up. And this guys our fucken PM.
I find it extraordinary the stance the pm is taking re protest.
He lost all credibility on the matter when he referred to the Law Society and the Human Rights Commission amongst others as ‘misinformed’ and ‘not understanding the law’ (GCSB concerns).
He is dealing with people lobbying on a daily basis – they are ‘all the same people’, they protest to get their interests upheld and could be described in the same way. That’s what they do all day. When they are paid to do it ‘protesting’ is called ‘lobbying’, however and that’s different. /sarc
Protest is an important part of the democratic process and I would like to see Nzers voting for politicians and political leaders that have some respect and understanding of democracy, unlike our pm who appears to have none.
Interesting 2011 report on the Counterfire website on the rising trend of protest and fall in public trust in government.
Two of the stated findings:
“There has been an unprecedented fall in public trust in government, the media, corporations and other central institutions in British society – with less than a quarter of Britons trusting national government, less than a fifth trusting parliament and fewer than 15% having any confidence in the press.
There has been a marked and significant rise in protest movements – twice as many of us are taking part in demonstrations compared to the 1970s and the proportion of the population describing themselves as ‘left wing’ has grown by over 2 million since the 1980s. – “
So perhaps Key and those who sycophantically repeat his mutterings marginalising protest need to ‘get over it’ and start dealing with the issues that these ‘lobbyists for public interest’ are raising.
“The party can rebuild. …We have a number of very talented potential candidates.”
—-ACT president John Boscawen
The sheep of Epsom will vote for anyone they are instructed to vote for. You don’t get to the level of mediocrity that enables you to live in such a nice area without being obedient and amenable. Here are the most appealing prospects for ACT in Epsom….
Kyle Chapman Positives: principled, in an ACT kind of way, and sounds just like an ACT spokesman. Downside: would possibly set fire to downtown Wellington.
Garth “Gaga” George Positives: old and dopey, and never asks questions. Downside: would probably die after three months in office, thus necessitating a by-election.
Kerre McIvor (née ohoWmad) Positives: enormous ego; staunch supporter of Chinese government; intolerant of dissent; doesn’t read much and knows less; very attractive to silly old men like Brian Edwards; very supportive of violent males like Tony Veitch. Downside: can be extraordinarily unpleasant, intolerant and judgmental. (Then again, this is ACT, and those are therefore further positives.)
Alan Titford Positives: principled, brave, well spoken; sounds just like an ACT spokesman. Downside: in prison for the next 24 years, which would make him only slightly more effective than John Banks.
Tony Veitch Positives: high profile; young; fit; enthusiastic; desperately eager to please, very much in the manner of Rodney Hide. Downsides: anathema to women, and knowing nothing about anything, including his “specialty” of sports; prone to extreme violence against women.
This was first posted on Frank Macskasy’s excellent blog….
In fact, if you put Kyle Chapman in a suit, he’d look and sound very much like Don Brash or Trevor Loudon giving a speech on human rights and how Maori seats are the same as apartheid.
You forgot Pete George. Sure, he presents himself as “reasonable” and “moderate” but then he’d present anything as “reasonable” and “moderate” and bore people to death explaining why.
“Yes, it is true that Anadarko Petroleum Corporation had a 25 percent ownership of the company or one of the companies that had a problem in the gulf. I think it is also worth remembering that in the Gulf of Mexico since 1947, 50,000 wells have been drilled, and to the best of my knowledge that problem in the gulf was the one major one that most people can remember.”
I’m posting and then the browser slows down and the comment doesn’t appear. Only way around it for me is to leave that page cranking away and to open a new tab, go to TS, and keep hitting refresh until the comment from my previous tab page appears. Hitting refresh on the same, slow page just causes duplicate posts.
elementary my dear Watson, although, when comment submission completes, and ‘blank’ appears, I just hit TS bookmark on the same open tab, and there are your comments in all their perceptive glory. Which reminds me, must be time for a Head Like A Hole track.
Throughout the weekend and continues today for me Lprent. Getting the same issues mentioned above on google chrome. Am using firefox at the mo and am encountering the same issues but it is however a little faster.
The Maori Party has finally made a selection for Aunty Tariana’s Te Tai Hauauru electorate,(affectionately known as the sinking Waka),
Chris McKenzie, a relative unknown in political circles,(something set to continue after November 2014), will be the candidate to usher the Maori Party into electoral oblivion, leaving the vexed question of the selection of a female ‘co-leader’ to be answered at some time in the future,(perhaps at the time Pita Sharples electorate of Tamaki-Makaurau selects a replacement for Him),
The Maori Party has one slim hope of political survival past November 2014 and that is for EGO’s to be put aside and a reunification with Hone Harawira’s Mana Party be engineered,
As the Te Tai Hauauru electorate to be vacated by Turia at the end of the current Parliament now stands it is looking increasingly like reverting back to Labour as Mana have not and never had a strong presence in this electorate,
The Green Party might like to look at it’s,(quite good), 2011 electorate results here and devise a strategy that they think will divert ‘electorate votes’,(2007 in 2011),to the Labour candidate while keeping the ‘Party Vote’ building,
‘Strategic voting’ for a long lasting Government of the left should be the battle cry for the 2014 election…
Does the Maori Party Constitution require both a male and female leader?
If so is McKenzie going to chnage sex if elected or is Flavell going to do the deed
Ron, yes to your first question and i did suggest last week that Party vice-Prez,(or is He the Prez these days), Ken Mair do the deed poll thing to Kendra and stand in the seat…
That sounds a little self-aggrandising, but if it’s taxpayer funded, shouldn’t the raw footage and all the snaps be subject to the Official Information Act? It may prove more embarassing than intended.
He has run out of things to say (no text, no facts, nothing of substance) and in other cases, says he can’t remember (yeah, right). So now he needs to have just pictures.
From the tone and angle of the piece, it is quite surprising that Claire Robinson does not seem to have applied for the job or volunteered to be the photographer.
He’s on the ‘throne’, above Soweto, can hear some singing…
“Mirror in the bathroom
Please talk free
The door is locked
Just you and me
Can I take you to a restaurant
That’s got glass tables
You can watch yourself
While you are eating”.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again but I DO appreciate the musical interludes brought to TS, (including ALL of the above) and it’s often by you two, Roguey and fender.
It brings a cheeriness to the day when there isn’t much to cheer about.
Superfluous info: Glory Glory – I had as a high rotate ear worm recently but luckily that was a good ear worm. As you know with ear worms, any genre, including the really bad ones (eg, phil collins) can land in your brain and infect it, sometimes for days.
Last word: Do not ever, under any circumstance allow this in as ear worm prior to a job interview or any serious and important meeting or event
Key with flash cards he saves for public at meetings (that he can’t avoid)! Saves all those time wasting, incredibly nosy questions asked by barmy individuals just trying to turn a well organised gathering into a circus. PR people start amassing a pile of cards with simple slogans now. One word a card would do.
In a new development, the PM declares there will be no more press releases, starting from his office and extending to other ministerial offices. Any government announcements and policy initiatives will be provided as pictures. When asked whether this will be a new practice or just for the interim until the next election, the PM shrugged and pointed to his spokesperson who mimed that verbal press releases would be aspirational and the PM is ambitious for the government to have higher standards. At a subsequent interview, when questioned about the advertisement for a new taxpayer-funded photographer and videographer, the PM said, “I’m not going to go and revisit that because if I do I’ll spend all day talking about it and I can’t be bothered.”
Just read yesterdays columns on teaching and the standard of education, what it is like to teach etc etc. Chris73, that was, despite the crap you received well worth reading as a from the front line commentary. Redlogix, nice counterpoise, shows how perceptions of the same thing differ with each individual.
What might we take out of this? As somebody who is in front of staff, customers, suppliers etc all day what I am very aware of is that my reality and perception thereof is often at odds with the other party. Hard as the more doctrinaire bloggers over here might find it, there is no reason why we cannot accept that we are often both correct. Duality, it is possible and we can face it with rancour if we care to open our ears and minds.
Until such time as all private donations to political parties are banned completely there can be no true democracy as the political parties are simply bought by the largest cheque.
The gabbymouth is hooting away. Where is Col Craig’s support coming from? The grassy knoll conspiratorists? etc are going to keep voting Green. WTF.
I don’t see Greens as dragging themselves through the sludge of dubious theories and endless arguments and abandoning their practical, and present concerns. What is of moment to them is how we are acting now with a view to the future for ourselves and the planet. That is what I expect from the Greens and that is essential, as no other Party is showing half the responsibility for that vital role.
The rest is history and worth thinking about and analysing, but the Greens have to keep the greatest part of their mind on the important things for now and the future. But also a watchful eye on those who use the smallest part of their minds, like Hooten, and so are nearly mindless.
Right here’s how it’s gone for my first comment this morning.
I put one on in Open Mike. Unconnected to any other, did not press Reply. Did it. put name and email in. Highlighted and took copy just in case. Submitted it. Got Closed by Remote Server.
Went back- the comment still there. Thought I had better not do anything else as I would probably just be doubling up. Left it and closed TS.
Called up site again and got in, saw greywarbler in comment list, and clicked. When I got to bottom of Open Mike comment wasn’t there. Went back up to the Comment List and my pseudo wasn’t there any more.
Talk about fun and games. Hide the parcel and find in how many moves?
So I’ll see what this one does. But some ghost in the machine is haunting me. Bah humbug!
And this removes my edit option. I followed the same procedure with my second comment which was a test. When I came back on to site again and clicked on my pseudonym in the comments list, I saw the list shift up and so my name disappeared. Refreshed using F5, waited some seconds, and it came back again.
Hope this indicates something useful to you lprent. Otherwise it must be that my crankshaft is flat. (Toad Wind in Willows.)
LABOUR SUCKERED AGAIN .
Have a look at this from w/oil.
Topic greenpease and the greens tactics.
” The main reason the Greens spent tens of thousands of (taxpayers) dollars paying people to collect petition signatures wasn’t to actually have a referendum”
It seems those of you who signed the petition opposing asset sales can expect to be hounded by the greens now that many of you gave them your e mail address when signing the petition, that’s all they really wanted .
The greens must be having a good laugh at labour, what labour has done is assist the greens to build their political base.
Brilliant own GOAL labour.
Ummm I see that you are kind of stupid. Why do you assume that it is just the greens and greenpeace who collect information?
Incidentally you should really read the actual privacy legislation before acting like a illiterate wanker from whaleoil. I realise this will be hard for you as you don’t seem too capable at the comprehension parts of life. But in particular you should note that the political parties have certain privacy exemptions.
The most notable use by a political party of collecting names and addresses can be seen in the raffle sized cost and long duration of the National party membership. So many people have regretted the stigmata of receiving mail in their new status as National party members after buying a raffle ticket.
from the link;
of the 280,000 awaiting elective surgery (only 110,000 on lists)
25% have had time of work as a result
50% have a poorer QOL than five years ago; for 25% their QOL is ” a lot worse”.
so, 265,000 children overlooked, 280,000 awaiting surgery… at least we do not have a trade in human body parts, yet.
Jeepers that is a lot of pending surgery and as you note RT – the longer the wait the often worse life gets for people. I hope we don’t have a trade in body parts but if there’s money in it the scum will will set up a business. Meanwhile we also have this – De-racialisation – bloody hell – they say if you live long enough you see most things – I’m starting to see shit I never ever thought I’d see and it ain’t pretty.
I’ll just put this here while my liver . regenerates naturally. Watched a documentary once on a similar theme; The billion-dollar market for hair-straightening targeting African-Americans- Good Hair with Chris Rock.
Nice to see the old double standard at work again. Son of a well known N.Z.er gets name suppression. Guess another wealthy white middle class kid gets to cover up his misdemeanors. Or course, if he was from a lower socio-economic group, he’d probably be incarcerated by now.
I have no idea who he is, but I did notice the term “prominent leader” for his father. I might be wrong, but isn’t a term like this more normally used for Maori than for whites, who are usually described as prominent sportsmen, politicians, businessmen, etc. I wouldn’t be surprised if he were the son of some prominent Maori Tory.
In Dunedin the ‘crisis’ has cost hundreds of real, well paid manufacturing jobs over the last 5 years. Your point? Are you trying to say that this is the start of years of sustained manufacturing growth and the drought is now over?
I saw that nutter from the business org on teevee in the weekend going on about taxes and compliance costs.
Well the question must be asked if someone is not capable of filling in a form then are they capable of running a business.
Its just an excuse for not paying tax.
Some of these people want everything but dont want to pay their way at all.
Castigating the poor for being poor;
Jock Anderson rampant on the Panel today The Panel, Radio NZ National, Monday 9 December 2013
Jim Mora, Jock Anderson, Mark Inglis
First of all, perky girl Noelle McCarthy made a statement of blithering hypocrisy, which for its humbug level is right up there—or down there—with Barack Obama’s eulogy for Nelson Mandela….
JIM MORA: It’s Noelle McCarthy with what the WOOOOOOOOORLD’s talking about. NOELLE McCARTHY:[light-hearted tone] Well there’s an interesting one first up. If you can swallow your ideological scruples and are going to the Winter Olympics, there’s a list of things you are not allowed to take with you! JIM MORA: Oh? Ha ha ha ha ha! MARK INGLIS: Ha ha ha ha ha! JOCK ANDERSON: Haw haw haw haw haw!
Later, Jock Anderson launched into one of his ideologically charged discourses, claiming, without being challenged by either Mora or Inglis, that John Minto* was responsible for a great deal of disruption in this country in 1981, and then expressed his “skepticism” about the levels of poverty in this country, before blaming the poor for making “poor choices”. (Interestingly, he has never castigated the rich for making poor choices—at least not on this programme.) He also sneered at “the likes of Charles Waldegrave and company who make more of this than there really is.”
Far from making him defend these extreme ideological statements, Inglis and Mora chimed in with more of the same….
MORA: Why would Charles Waldegrave do this? Is this the poverty industry that Rodney Hide speaks of? MARK INGLIS: Hmmmm, I struggle with this idea of poverty. You know, I’ve been to India, where I can show you real poverty. MORA:[Deep sigh to indicate moral seriousness] All right, now, let’s talk to Dr Elizabeth Craig of the NZ Child and Youth Epidemiology Service at the University of Otago. Ahhhh, Elizabeth, I remember Helen Clark denying we had the really poor and we’ve just had Mark Inglis talking about India….
Dr Craig spoke clearly and patiently, in spite of an initial barrage of faux-naïve and contrarian statements from Mora. Almost in spite of his antics, this ended up as an interesting and informative discussion. By the end of her appearance he was talking intelligently and not making dishonest and provocative statements. He is actually very good when he concentrates; it shows what he is capable of if he did not spend so much of his time trying to formulate complex sentences and pandering to his right wing guests.
* Designated target for abuse by selected Labour Party apparatchiks.
Jock Anderson on the Panel (RNZ) suggesting, in the spirit of reconciliation, the nation forgives John Minto and sends him.
FFS!!! John Minto was an anti-apartheid hero.
He might forgive the NZRU and the National Party but hell will freeze over before that lot say sorry to Black Africa.
Jock Anderson, wasn’t it? I only got to hear part of what he said, but he started by saying he’s rethought his opposition to Minto going while driving to the studio and now accepted that someone from the anti-tour movement should go. I thought that sounded rather considered, but if, as you say, he was just being snide, I’m disappointed.
TRP Anderson was conceding that John Minto should go. But only in the spirit of forgiveness. My point is that the likes of Anderson, the RFU, The majority of the National Party, despised John Minto and will never say that they were sorry for the sporting contacts.
John Minto does not need any forgiveness.
I agree logie – for me John Minto is at the top of heroes of this country – well above Ed for instance and he needs zero forgiveness from anyone. The best thing is that he is still with us and you can befriend him on facebook for instance – being a friend of your hero – wow it doesn’t get better than that!!!!!
That Facebook thing Marty…….yeah must admit how good it feels to be in a place small enough and special enough (excuse a whiff of hand-over-heart there) when your heroes often live just around the corner, figuratively if not literally.
Remember a bit of a flame war happening on FB with this person whose profile picture quite ludicrously had a wallpaper of a trillion peace symbols behind her. While she performed like a right little Zionist Nazi. Until then an FB friend of Minto’s she lavishly “de-friended” him online in real time. Was hilarious !
Admit it was good to get a thumbs up from John Minto to some comment I made. Reassured that my moral compass was working sorta thing.
Anyway John…………you go to the funeral or you don’t…………..what really matters is Mandela knows !
Listen to what the South African High Commissioner had to say this morning on
Morning Report regarding the “protest movement” – HART et al http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/2579182
Talking about Noelle McCarthy does anyone know why RNZ have such a love affair with her. When she was resident in NZ they were always using her on air. She left NZ and returned to Ireland and now every year we find her coming out to NZ for her summer holidays and find work on Radio NZ. It has been suggested that RNZ pay for her to come out here. Does anyone know if this is correct and if so why?
What political hue were the prime ministers of
Britain, New Zealand, Australia in 1981. and what was their attitude to sporting contact with SA?
Margaret Thatcher, Robert Muldoon, and Malcolm Fraser.
One of them was vehemently opposed to sporting contacts. (- it wasn’t Thatcher or Muldoon).
And what political hue are the prime ministers of those countries who are attending the funeral.
Cameron, Key, Abbott.
Nothing changes does it ? (Except, were apartheid to be in existence still, you can bet all these three would still be branding the protesters as wreckers and criminals.)
Jesus, Morrissey, why do you put yourself through this? I suppose that I should be grateful that you do it so that I don’t have to, but think of your own health!
ah yes “real poverty”. yes, Mark, let’s wait until we have people like India, it will be easier to deal with it then, won’t it.
Mr Inglis who put quite the burden on the taxpayer and rescue services with his sometimes reckless climbing excursions. I wonder, since he’s been on the speaking circuit etc, how much has he paid back? I mean, if we use India as a template, as he wishes, an amputee such as he would be sitting on a street with a bowl begging for money.
you jest, yet I still bear a scar on my cheek from such a missile; Vandal, may God rest his soul, died a violent death not too many years after. And still, Punks Not Dead. 😀
Perceptive though Arfamo; had a sh*t, time for a shower, no necessity to shave, and we’re off, Into The Great Wide Open.
l prent Thanks I like the name Sphinx for the database. To me it is as enigmatic as the sphinx.
Incidentally I have been having trouble with the set up of another site, the page has gone haywire. The opinions received are that it could be that my set up is too slow and so distortion occurring. So will have to look at updating my system which is more than a few years old.
Fixed that up last night. Since web servers get chopped in and out according to load and they start from a old copy of the search db AND the search db only does a single full update once per day – the web server versions got out of sync. Actually the wind up with ruddy great hole from when the image was created to when a web server was started with that image.
The files server is now the only server indexing the search database. The web servers talk to it and don’t try to each maintain a search database.
the populace permit it. PM, close to a belated figurehead. Other than the periodic ground-breaking political lead, NZ has historically dragged the chain. ANYONE REMEMBER THE SEVENTIES?
Agreeable climate though, for now.
Just something strange with the internal VPN routing. Testing this morning it appears to be be working correctly again. But on the other hand there is no particular reason to do it one way or another. Just irritating detecting the bug the hard way.
It is unfortunate when this vehicle is struggling. Still, perseverance , onwards and upwards.
Have not e-mailed you for yonks. Must be something Panning out 😀
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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. ...
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 ...
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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 ...
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 ...
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child poverty has doubled since the 80’s..
..for shame..!..clarkite-labourites..eh..?
..for yr roles in this sad/sorry outcome..
..you did nothing..for nine long years..
..budget after budget i wd lift my head and go..’surely now?’..
..but..nah..!..eh..?
..how cd you not be hanging yr heads..?
..i am one who lived thru those nine years of marginalising/ignoring of those most in need..
..i can’t forget..
..and you know what really sucks/blows/really sticks in the craw..?
..nary a ‘sorry’…
..from any of you..
..and you have clearly learnt nothing..
..if parkers’ t.i.n.a promise/threat to raise the pension age is anything to go by..
..why don’t you have an online competition to find a new name for yr party..?
..’cos a ‘labour’ party..you fucken ain’t…
..phillip ure..
+1 Phillip.
Not sure what to say other than what I already have ( http://thestandard.org.nz/labour-shoots-themselves-in-the-foot-again/#comment-740856 )
…. except that neo-liberalism ISN’T JUST an economic/political programme, but its so pervasive its now a cultural thing that’s infected the language, the media, educational and other institutions, etc.
When it does turn to total shit, it’ll be interesting to see who does the bleating
How To Design Widgets
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11169093
-enrol at Unitec, Design of Industry Parts
How do you destroy education? Ensure that it aligns with what industry wants
😀
Don’t get me started!
E.g. link it to tik-a-box qualification industrial needs and WANTS too, such that when an industry’s wants have been satisfied, a whole neo-liberal State’s apparatus can be brought to bear on indebted student(s) to boot them out of the cuntry. (That is after the private educational ‘institution’ has ‘marketed’ itself with utter bullshit (perhaps I should say ….”mismarketed” itself – along the lines of all that “MIS-selling” crap that’s occurred), issued bits of paper, gone belly-up and abrogated its responsibilities, after which arms of the corporatised administration (including Police, Immigration and others) arrest and deport – before that convenient bugger’s muddle of a Muntstry/Department can delve and determine)
…. just but one example (with more than several victims).
But having munted the tertiary education “sector”, let’s then trickle it down even further. I know ….. let’s introduce Charter Schools.
But as I said above Drac – when it all turns to total shite – let’s see who screams/bleats the loudest.
Let’s see what becomes of South American FTA’s, or our African and Asian relationships when the “Free Trader” comes knocking having not only treated their nationals like pieces of shit, but also the citizens of a supposedly 1st World country he purports to “represent”.
(I’m still waiting to see what’s become of that “highly successful” little jaunt of JK and bizniss leaders back in Feb) – not much as far as I can tell.
But – like I said – don’t get me started.
So why doesn’t this so called industry, which one BTW, pay for it’s own training or offer summer intern jobs, paid, to the students if they need to broaden their experience. It’s about getting the taxpayer to pay for their training assisted by a couple of jumped up polytech managers.
Actually it has doubled since 1991.
Since Richardson cut welfare to force people into work.
Unfortunately, just like present day National, she forgot that making more people desperate for work does not magic up more jobs. And making the sick and injured apply for jobs does not make them any more employable.
Union Bureaucrats and Parliamentary Services Party? It’d be more accurate. Do Parker and Cunliffe speak to each other?
Slightly Pink but Not Really Party?
Bound Workers Delivery Party?
I understand they still have roots in the working class, but they’re doing their best to pull them up as quickly as possible.
The Don’t Mention Rogernomics Party?
+1 Phillip. I never understood properly why we didn’t overturn the Mother of all budgets – that’s a horrid phrase if ever there was one. Mother wasn’t a nurturing being under Richardson, and the cuts she made continue to live on …. despite 3 terms of Labour. We must have been too cautious and too scared of the turnaround on the electoral vote …. its hugely sad. I dearly hope that if/when Labour gets into a position of power again, that this time we’ll look and do something about poverty. Its just one reason for continuing to stay on-line with Labour.
Yup, shame on both major parties although National seems to try to push people into poverty even more enthusiastically than Labour.
How can this happen in a supposedly developed country? Shame on you New Zealand!
Family falls through the gaps
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/9492231/Family-falls-through-the-gaps
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/9492084/Greenpeace-defends-fundraising-strategy
– I approve of this, you gotta do what you gotta do
Early trolling.
Ok I don’t agree with it then?
Well they clearly support the cause and now their charitable status has been stripped it’s gotta be much harder for them.
Aren’t petitions public info? I don’t know.
So the little ” – ” that indents your comment, that indicates that you wrote that bit, right? That’s what you do sometimes, right?
It’s a non-story, the Privacy Commissioner is quoted in the article as saying:
“If you give your details it was reasonable to assume they would be used to contact you.”
Blimmin heck – it just goes to show that people see what they want to see. Where does it say that the Privacy commissioner said that?
the quote was :
“However, Greenpeace New Zealand fundraising director Michael Tritt said it would be “wrong” if it did not use the details people provided when they signed petitions.
“People aren’t silly. They know if they put down a phone number or email, there will be some form of communication.”
Are you deliberately trying to mislead?
You really should read to the last word…
“A spokesman for the Privacy Commissioner office said organisations collecting private information had to tell people how details were going to be used. If you give your details it was reasonable to assume they would be used to contact you. ”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/9492084/Greenpeace-defends-fundraising-strategy
well, I figured that petition details might be used to audit the petition signatories, or for contact regarding something related directly to the petition issue. But a friend of mine was pulled out of a meeting for a phone call that was just touting a fucking greenpeace membership deal.
Shit, these days I view donation collectors and petition signature-gatherers with actual suspicion. Which is sad, really.
“Shit, these days I view donation collectors and petition signature-gatherers with actual suspicion. Which is sad, really.”
I agree Mc Flock, generally if personal contact details are required I don’t participate.
Be grateful that the Petition Colletors haven’t (I hope) reached the level they have got to in Paris. There you are quite likely to get a group of people pestering you to sign a petition and pushing the clipboard into your face. Beware. They are often just trying to distract you while one of them picks your pocket.
I guess they are just the first line of Woody Guthries song about Pretty Boy Floyd.
Greenpeace are the second part.
“Some will rob you witha six-gun.
And some with a fountain pen”
It would seem that lately I’ve mastered the art of the “fuck off” vibe. Or maybe I just no longer fit their demographic target.
ugh … Sorry Jetlagged (in Europe at moment).
I stand corrected and quote myself “it just goes to show that people see what they want to see” – goes for myself as well huh.
I stand corrected.
I still think its bad form – else what is stopping people using petitions on populist issues simply as a marketing tool to harvest email addresses?
Is there anything stopping them selling the names and contact details to other parties?
I stand corrected.
Thank you.
…what is stopping people using petitions on populist issues simply as a marketing tool to harvest email addresses?
The fact that it is a terribly inefficient and expensive way to harvest email addresses?
Is there anything stopping them selling the names and contact details to other parties?
Probably. And, of course, that is not what was done in this case.
In this case, people gave their contact details when signing a Greenpeace petition about shark finning. Then Greenpeace later used those contact details to inform those people about Greenpeace’s anti-shark finning campaign and ask them if they wanted to contribute to that and other Greenpeace campaigns. How terribly evil and under-handed of Greenpeace!
Blimmin heck – it just goes to show that people see what they want to see. Where does it say that the Privacy commissioner said that?
the quote was :
“However, Greenpeace New Zealand fundraising director Michael Tritt said it would be “wrong” if it did not use the details people provided when they signed petitions.
“People aren’t silly. They know if they put down a phone number or email, there will be some form of communication.”
Are you deliberately trying to mislead?
I agree with the douches.
If I put my contact details on a petition I assume it’s for the purpose of auditing the petition, not for a fucking upsell.
+1. The reason for providing name and address information is is verification.
I’ll stop signing petitions if I think I’ll be contacted about something else.
one can always decline follow-ups or, remain unreachable.
Yup. Nailed it.
And lets not ignore this
http://www.childpoverty.co.nz/
The best way to deal with poverty is to either pretend it doesnt exist or blame parents. Its also the cheapest way.
Yep – that’s where all that “with rights come responsibilities” kaka kicks in (OBVIOUSLY not just within the Natzi sphere of influence, but also STILL within Labour). The political class are really eagre and willing to proffer the spiel, though all the while forgetting that it also applies to them (I.e. & especially) LABOUR. They’ve been given various rights, but they sure as hell ARE NOT living up to their repsonsibilities. I even doubt many within its ranks even understand. Maybe it should be couched in terms of the ‘BRAND’ they’re attempting to sell (though not doing a very good job of it).
Along comes a Cunliffe, duly and democratically erected, pissing out all the correct sounds and flufferings, apparently having appeased the ‘natural’ fuckwits in the party, ….. but then along comes a Parker (who really should be considering whether or not he’s in the correct party).
Actually, (as a former member and loyalist), I’ve decided the “ONE more chance” I was going to give them is pretty pointless really.
I’ve been watching studiously. Still haven’t heard any “sorries”, or admonitions, or EVEN acknowledgment ‘ofs’, that relate to the lost opportunities in their last 3rd term; their real concerns for those affected by Ruth Richardson Limited and/or what they intend doing about it; ……
We know they’re battling a Natzi-compliant media, but I (at least) and the DC know how to battle that – even if it is to begin things with something that’s controversial.
Yep …. sorry Labour – LOST frikken cause – I’d rather my limited energies went to investing in a viable alternative to statquo. (I’ve had some “learnings” – especially after visiting this site)
well it is not the kids fault. what do you suggest communism?
You don’t have a particularly agile brain do you, Nackers? Communism? You could probably house a busload load of street kids in the vacuum in your cranium.
Read some Mao; brought many former slaves in from the fields.
And yes, in case you were lost at the base of the mountain, sometimes ‘God is a Bullet.
Listening to Morning Report this morning.
The South African High Commissioner.
This recording should be played in every school and be made compulsory listening
for every New Zealand citizen.
You can hold your heads high, Trevor Richards, Tom Newnham and John Minto et al.
SA and we are proud of you.
Hopefully someone will be able to link to this.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/2579182
TPP secret deal going on in Singapore…
Listening to Cunliffe avoiding to answer Garner’s question would he have given up his place on a delegation to Mandela’s funeral in favour of Minto and I really don’t like what I’m hearing from him.
Will John Minto not be there at Mandela’s service?
But John Key will be?
Did the universe flip inside out overnight?
aye..white men who were on the wrong side of history..
..led by john ‘i’m quite relaxed about apartheid’ key..
..are going to represent those from here who stood beside/behind mandela…?
..but/and minto doesn’t get to go..?
..this is beyond irony..
..minto and richards should be honoured-guests/’our’ representatives there..
..not this cabal of old white men…
..who used to call mandela ‘a terrorist’..
..as i said:..
..’beyond irony’..
..phillip ure..
don’t forget the white women too phillip
Key has selected no women to go to the funeral vto
That is a very good point blue.
“cabal of old white men”
You do realise that Minto is nearly 10 years older than Key and Cunliffe I suppose?
y’see alwyn..you left off the second part of the sentence:..
‘cabal of old white men..who used to call mandela a terrorist’..
..mm-kay..?
phillip ure..
I find your peculiar punctuation makes it very difficult to understand much of what you are saying phillip.
I suppose I could read almost any two consecutive lines as being part of a sentence.
For example you can run together
“who used to call Mandela “a terrorist” as I said”
Did you really say that Mandela was a terrorist?
it’s all a matter of rhythm there..alwyn..
..you have to read the beats..
..phillip ure..
to be honest phillipe, while I read your posts, it is not easy, and I have been known to read a little. Be yourself regardless, yet I hope this is helpful feedback, which in itself can be quite attractive to the ear. (recognising my own ‘obscurities’ of course; goes without saying 😉 )
What’s he saying?
that’s a pretty shit question to ask as it happens. Cunliffe doesn;’ get to decide who goes. He can’t just give his spot to someone. It’s not an ‘admit one’ ticket ffs.
Say he says, “yep, I’ll swap with Minto then, sure thing”, he is doing so as leader of the Labour party, and as leader of the Labour Party (and defacto haed of the opposition in NZs parliament), declining an invitation. That would be pretty much shit.
Pascal’s bookie. I agree…It’s the sort of troll question a ‘shock dick’ asks in an attempt to
prove to us how clever he is and be remembered by the listeners of radio ritalin (or whatever) as an incisive deep thinking journalist (not). Only got 20 seconds to make an impression between ads for quack treatments.
pray you don’t listen to that White Noise, White Heat Rodel; will rot your brain quicker than an Alien intrusion.
amirite: which bit did you not like hearing?
the audio file is here:
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/AUDIO-Who-would-David-Cunliffe-take-to-South-Africa/tabid/506/articleID/39514/Default.aspx#.UqUh2eKt5Ao
My recollection is that Minto was a bit player during the tour. Certainly Newnham and Richards, if still alive, should go.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Minto#Halt_All_Racist_Tours
“John Minto, along with Trevor Richards, Tom Newnham and others, was involved in forming Halt All Racist Tours, a group set up to protest against rugby union tours to and from Apartheid South Africa, in 1969. He became the National Chairman of the organisation in 1980. During clashes between police and protesters he was seriously assaulted by rugby supporters the evening after the disruption at Rugby Park in Hamilton. This assault had little impact on his protesting other than him adding a protective helmet to his distinctive outfit of overalls.[4][5] He remained at the forefront of the protests.”
Grumpy
If you were alive during 1981 you must have been asleep if you didn’t notice the leading role John Minto played in organising the anti tour protests.
Why don’t you just say you don’t like him because he continues to be an activist on issues of democracy and poverty in this country instead of trying to rewrite history?
My recollection is that Minto was a bit player during the tour.
Wrong. Certainly on all of the Auckland protests I went to (ie all of them) he was one of the people that was on the megaphone helping to do the organising.
I’m pretty sure he was doing that in Hamilton as well.
Fair enough. My experience was in Christchurch where Trevor Richards was most visable with Murray Horton and Graeme Wells. Big plus for John here though, tells it like it is.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-510888/Anti-apartheid-activist-refuses-South-African-medal-changes-helped-black-elite.html
Don’t think he would want to attend – do you?
OK. My experience was in Christchurch where Trevor Richards was the most visable, together with Murray Horton and Graeme Wells.
My recollection is that Muldoon was Prime Minister of the day…
According to John Key, Bolger was Prime Minister of the day.
“In terms of the protesters, of course we could have had some. It wasn’t that we were particularly shunning them, but in the end we thought the grouping that we got – the former Commonwealth Secretary General, the Prime Minister of the day Jim Bolger, and Pita Sharples is the representative of indigenous people – we had the combination about right.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11169387
To be fair to John Key he probably meant when Mandela took office, I assume sloppy reporting by the Herald to allow for ambiguity.
More breening from Key:
“As I’ve always said, I didn’t go to protest against the tour and I didn’t go to any of the games. I was 19 years of age and had lots of other things going on at the time.”
Key actually turned twenty a few days before the first test in Chch. Now, I’m not saying that a ticket to a rugby test is the ideal present for a conservative young kiwi bloke, but I’m not not saying it either.
@ Grumpy – can I give you all my old aluminum saucepans?
Just pay the postage and packaging – they’re YOURS for the taking
Who played the main role and who was a bit player seems to depend on whether people lived closer to Auckland or Wellington. I remember Minto being very much at the forefront of protest activity, while Trevor Richards was highly successful at getting onto United Nations committees and such things.
If you watch Patu, Minto seems to be well-involved.
Cunliffe gives a good account of himself here and his attitude towards the make-up of the NZ delegation to Mandela’s funeral. He had contemplated giving up his place to John Minto but was advised against it. I’m more than happy he is there to represent ALL anti-apartheid protestors.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9493269/Kiwi-Mandela-delegation-without-tour-protesters
Neville Gibson on the Panel (RNZ) suggesting, in the spirit of reconciliation, the nation forgives John Minto and sends him.
FFS Gibson, John Minto was an anti-apartheid hero.
He might forgive the NZRU and the National Party but hell will freeze over before that lot say sorry to Black Africa.
Apologies – I believe it was Jock Anderson (Well NBR type anyway)
And in saying that he was actually intimating all anti-apartheid protestors be forgiven. What kind of rational thinking is that? I choked on my cuppa…
Yes, it was Jock Anderson.
The greens shoot themselves in the foot again!
Just when you begin to think the Greens are looking like part of a Government, one of the has-beens from the Rogernomics era, again! shows that they have NFI how to get elected and they are still clinging desperately to the Neo-liberal paradigm.
https://www.greens.org.nz/press-releases/new-green-party-proposal-will-keep-more-meridian-public-hands
I’m going to have to reconsider whether I will give my party vote to the Greens now that they have exposed themselves as gutless wonders. What a sell out they are! The referendum is not even finished yet and here they are surrendering to the neo-liberal agenda like the toothless capitalist lickspittles they are!! I blame the so called “Doctor” Russel Norman, who has been obviously co-opted to do the bidding of the 1% in order to maintain his privileged lifestyle!!!
i thought it was quite a good example of lateral-thinking..
..a not that unsavoury means to the desired end..(ie..returning more ownership to the people..)
..and that’s quite the conspiracy-theory you have going there with norman..eh..?
..whoar..!..
..who knew..?..
..and re ‘so called’…i think he is entitled to call himself ‘dr’..eh..?..(a phd..)
..could you be more specific about just what it is about this proposal that is burring under yr saddle..?
..phillip ure..
..
Listening to Russell Norman on RadioNZ it would appear that the ‘idea’ is that an offer will be put to those who have bought the Meridian shares and who have now had second thoughts that they can forgo the 50 cent per share payment due on those shares in return for being allocated a lesser shareholding with the subtraction form their allocation of the number of shares matching the value of the 50 cent per share still owed,
Seems logical economics to me with Russell pointing out the ‘sums’ where the Crown got to keep 67% of the meridian shares and being questioned about the efficacy of this where Crown debt repayments as per the added dividend from the extra 18% of shares would leave the Crown some 18 million dollars yearly better off,
Hardly any sell out to anything Neo-Liberal as Te Reo’s whine suggests and i would suggest that posting such a comment is ‘in defense’ of David Cunliffe and David Parker who have copped some recent, and well deserved in my opinion, flak over the Labour plan to raise the age of superannuation entitlement a truly abhorrent piece of Neo-Liberalism(again in my opinion),
Russell Norman nor Green Party members are in no way saying that the quite intelligent plan to offer the initial investors in Meridian an ‘out’ as far as paying the 50 cents a share owing on their initial take-up will or is the be all and end of of the re-aquisition of the sold off parts of the States assets simply a step in the right direction…
sounded sensible to me too. People can go ahead and pay for their remaining shares if they want. NOT if they don’t. Good thinking by the Greens.
That’s a spectacular mis-reading of the Greens’ statement. It’s interesting to see your strategy of belittlement and misrepresentation in action on a whole party here, not just one person.
Oh hang on! I see you’ve had a go at Russell Norman, deliberately mis-spelling his name, and putting sarcastic quote marks around his academic qualifications. You’ve even slung off at his “privileged lifestyle”.
Thank God that, with the party finally seeing sense and installing someone electable as the leader, your faction of the Labour Party is in abeyance. I guess that posting nasty and dishonest personal attacks on the internet is some consolation for you, and you even have a support crew. Not a very good one, I’m sorry to say, but they’re there for you—though you will know perfectly well that they have about as much integrity as John Key.
woooosh!!!
ps, Doctor who?
When the malicious lies fail, the vacuous sound effects come in. You’re having a worse day than John Key, my friend. And that is a very bad day indeed.
Why don’t you roll yourself a joint and smoke it, then come back to us, a mellower and a better man?
And, counter-intuitive as it might seem, your remarks would be a lot less dopey.
Dr who?
I acknowledge your surrender, my friend. Off you go now….
[lprent: You know that it is unwise to use the pwned/owned/victory approach here. I get irritated about the resulting flamewars and have a tendency towards long sentences for whoever I think is inciting them whatever words they are using. Don’t do it again. I’ve already warned you about this. ]
Poor moz, ‘tiz you having the bad day. Not only incapable of spotting satire, even in its broadest and most obvious form (big hint; I nicked the opening words from the ‘labour shoots itself in foot’ post), but apparently equally unable to spot his own failings in the area of nomenclature related pedantry despite repeated gentle prodding:
Dr who?
https://www.greens.org.nz/people/russelnorman
Sorry TRP.
For some reason I didn’t see any of your comments on the name when I contributed my effort below. I wouldn’t have put it in if I had as your contribution was much better, even if appears to have been a bit to subtle for Morrissey.
Te Reo Putake’s contribution was “much better” than yours? Yes it was, but that’s a really embarrassing thing to have to acknowledge.
Oh, dear Moz, have you not read the comments above? If it’ll help, there’s a reference or three there to your usual levels of accuracy being displayed around the spelling of Dr Russel Norman’s name.
Waiting ….
It’s text, unless it’s got a /satire tag then the chances are it’s going to be missed. The problem wasn’t Morrissey’s inability to spot satire but your inability to communicate effectively.
satire…hmmm, how does one go about this I wonder… 😛
Wooosh!
They had satire before the interwebs, Draco. Back in the day, people used their brains to recognise it and many were quite succesful at spotting satire when it was put in front of them without the need of further visual aids.
If you like, the next time I extract the urine, I’ll write two versions. One for the majority and one for the dullwitted. You’ll be able to spot the 2nd version because I’ll use an appropriate tag.
test: #draco.
Yep, that seems to work. (#draco)
Considering the replies you actually got it seems to me that the only person who thought your comment was satire was you.
As I said, the failure was yours and it still is as you dig yourself deeper.
Well, no actually. There were only comments from a minority, one of whom is terminally bewildered, and I’m reasonably sure the majority of regular readers would have twigged the reference to the ‘shoots itself in the foot’ post, which garnered a couple of hundred comments over the weekend (despite apparently being written without the benefit of actually reading Labour’s proposal).
And I would have thought the extra exclamation marks, phrases such as ‘capitalists lickspittles’ and the bogus threat to ‘reconsider voting green’ would have been sufficient clues that I wasn’t being entirely serious.
Despite what I said in the comment above, I’m going to continue to write sans hash. I credit TS readers with enough nous to spot the occasional joke comment. Plus, it had the additional benefit of making Moz write something so painfully foolish he can’t bring himself to write a correction.
When does Morrissey *ever* admit failure or correct himself?
He’s never done it, as far as I can recall.
Lanth: Morrissey has demonstrated contrition on occasion; on occasion.
I agree Rogue,
morrissey has admitted being less than perfect on at least one occasion (when the yawning gap between what he claimed and what was objective reality was presented to him in triplicate, presented again, moved around in front of him so that it was shown from every angle and highlights could be pointed out, much discussion was had on the nature of “sameness” and the doctrine of forms, flipcharts and diagrams and dictionaries were in close attendance, and it was made so clear via the use of nine-mile-high neon letters etched in the firmament by God that any dispute on the nature of that particular point would be sufficient evidence to detain the delusional disputant under the mental health act for fear that the universe would explode under the enormity of the logical contradiction).
In circumstances similar to that he has readily conceded a typographical error or two.
had some funny fodder for lunch Flockie 😀
🙂
had a couple of good lines at work, too. Must be the sleep deprivation.
Big effort on Mondays, just in case we get lost out-back later in the week. (or have a lay-in).
It is futile I’m afraid. The only way you can get most people to get what you are saying is to put it quite bluntly and then repeat it over and over.
Say something like this
Russel Norman’s first name is spelt with ONE L
Russel Norman’s first name is spelt with ONE L
Russel Norman’s first name is spelt with ONE L.
Continue till you have done it about 50 times. It might, and I only say might sink in that they have made a fool of themselves.
I tried a minor joke with a comment by Colonial Viper a few days ago. He accidentally put that The Herald was owned by Fairfax. I’m sure he didn’t mean it and he knew it was APN. My comment was simply to ask when Fairfax bought the Herald.
Another contributor, who will remain anonymous, then proceeded to berate me and tell me I could look it up myself. Even when I teased him as to how to do that, claiming I couldn’t manage it he didn’t realise that he had got it wrong.
Alwyn 🙂
The really important question is why does Russel’s name have only one “l”?
It’s a bit dodgy, that, don’t you think? I mean, he has two “s”s. Has anyone asked the PM what he thinks?
Like, maybe his dad said something like, “Russell, if you go into politics there’ll be ‘l’ to pay”. Or something. It’s the fact nobody’s asking the question that’s got me wondering what’s behind it all.
Very funny Arfamo (sincerely)- the other ‘L’ is silent and therefore not needed to be put in – that is efficiency, which does beg the obvious question…
Oh hang on Morrissey. I see you have been deliberately mis-spelling Russel Norman’s name as Russell Norman.
Why is it that, when we try to correct someone’s grammar or spelling, we always screw it up?
the standard is my favorite soap opera
not sitcom? Ayyyyyyy
Yes, you got me, alwyn. I was the one who got the spelling wrong. That’s another round to you guys. Well done, buddy.
Silly variant of “Russell”, all the same.
“I’m going to have to reconsider whether I will give my party vote to the Greens now …..”
Please excuse me for inquiring – were you ever seriously going to give your party vote to the Greens anyway?
My recollection is that Minto was a bit player during the tour…
Your “recollection” is faulty, or you are a liar. Either way, you are not competent to post anything on this matter.
Hypocrisy watch no.94: Breen, M.
lolz
Lol
Although it’s actually turned out to be fun watching the scabs thicken over the gulf between his delusions and reality. He’s almost back to near-perfect accuracy 🙂
Your Red China-style campaigns of harassment against me are tiresome, Te Reo. I am sure that that’s the way anyone who sticks his/her head up in your local Labour Party branch is treated, and you might even succeed in cowing some people into submission, or at least make them too afraid to speak.
Your vigilance and your fanaticism is quite a phenomenon; you’re quite the little apparatchik. If I were a weaker or less confident person, your constant campaign of belittlement and name-calling would have had an effect by now. But you are clearly impervious to the fact that I don’t kow-tow to bullies, and your constant badgering—the equivalent of the National Party’s strategy of hooting and cat-calling in the House—only makes you look bereft of ideas.
I see you have a couple of faithful servants enthusiastically registering their approval of your little performance; you should pay them a retainer.
The voice of reason, aka one man doctrinaire commissariat , so true M…….I think the most reasonable action Morrissey is to ignore the bastards. Cant recall any of them having anything vaguely amusing interesting to say on a regular basis. Apply the shit filters and save your fingers time on the keyboard in response.
Thanks, Ennui. I know I shouldn’t encourage these gadflies, but that’s me—I can’t resist slapping them. Mind you, I’m in good company: every time Robert Fisk or Noam Chomsky or John Pilger say or write anything, they are attacked in identical fashion by the same kind of people as have had a go at me this morning.
Well said Ennui & Morrissey
TRP’s behaviour toward Morrissey (& others) reflect very badly on TRP.
You are a fucken schoolboy kid. In Christchurch Trevor Richards was the most visable along with Murray Horton and guys like Graeme Wells. I was as involved as anyone.
That probably was the reason then. I was in Auckland and Hamilton.
My God. Were you Mandela’s bestest friend forever too?
Nope, back then I think it was Steve Biko was all the go. There are more heroes of the fight for freedom than just Mandela.
Ah, I remember Richards from my youth, in my Christchurch days. My strongest memory is of him frequently being at a friend’s flat/shared house, at the kitchen table, typing away, with a Shostakovich record LP (vinyl) on the turntable playing in the background.
Richards was a remarkable guy. He seemed to attract the radical fring of which there were a lot in Christchurch. Newnham appealed more to the apolitical or middle of the road market. Together they were very effective. I remember the meeting at a church hall in central Christchurch when Richards made the grand entrance in company with Burgess, the current All black 1st five. You were probably there too Karol.
My memories are from the early 70s, when Trevor Richards was very active in HART (Halt All Racist Tours). I was living in London in 1981.
K, was the vinyl scratched? (That can tend to make Shostakovitch more bearable). Its actually quite funny seeing film of the protests, my neighbour pointed out to me his image on the pitch in Hamilton. And I often used to see one prominent individual at protests who I met years later, turned out to be a relative of the wife. I have freeze framed Patu and cannot identify myself (little bit of ego tripping….) but in there somewhere I must be.
What this tells me is that this country is very small, two degrees of separation rigidly self enforces. Which in turn indicates that Key claiming a lack of memory etc somewhat disingenuous. And it makes my lumps and bruises from the protests hurt again to see the prat attending the funeral representing us anti tour protesters.
What happened to Bob Burgess? Now there was a hero, chucked away a career as potentially one of the best All Black 1st fives on a matter of principle!
I remember Bob whilst I was still at school marking Barry John against the 1971 Lions. Cant remember if he was in the frame for the previous years tour of Yappieland, or if he refused to go. I do remember him stating anti tour views in 1981 but by then he was well retired and out of the AB frame. I recall seeing Ken Gray at a Wellington protest, and remember Graham Mourie and Bruce Robertson withdrawing from the AB side in protest.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/7487607/Why-I-turned-down-the-All-Blacks
Thanks for the link Grumpy, so it was the 1970 tour Burgess declined, plus availability for the 73 tour the Kirk government objected to. Despite years of alcohol abuse and rugby injuries my memory still works (sort of). Quite remarkable that Burgess got selected in 1971 then.
Yep, he was selected because he was way better than the next best option.
put on the ‘Rach III 😀
Malignant past and present figures who may shuffle off this mortal coil in the not too distant future…
Pat Robertson, past US televangelist and Republican presidential aspirant- 83
Ian Paisley, former Northern Ireland First Minister and fundamentalist
Protestant agitator- 87
Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI- 86
Fred Nile, fundamentalist homophobe and NSW Legislative Councillor- 79
George H.Bush- former Republican US President- 89
Lord Norman Tebbit, Thatcher era relic- 82
John Howard, former Australian Prime Minister- 74 [sadly, this is a long-term prospect]
Fortunately, none of the great and good from the past seems to be in this category- apart from
Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Capetown Desmond Tutu- 82
“I could explain it but I’m not going to.”
Key’s train-wreck performance on Breakfast
Television One, Monday 9 December 2013, 7:15 a.m.
The prime minister’s lack of integrity and his persistent dishonesty—he “can’t remember” anything of consequence—is finally starting to alienate even the tamest, most malleable broadcasters. Even those smiling, personable, government-friendly personalities on TV1’s Breakfast programme are now confronting him quite boldly….
PETER WILLIAMS: There is growing criticism of John Key’s plan to attend the funeral of Nelson Mandela, given some comments he has made about the tour in the past.
TONI STREET You said you “can’t remember” what your stance was toward the 1981 Springbok tour.
JOHN KEY: Those comments were made on a regional radio station seven years ago. I could explain it but I’m not going to.
TONI STREET: You can’t remember whether you were for or against the tour in 1981?
JOHN KEY: I’m not saying I was for or against it. I was anti-apartheid but I didn’t go on any protest marches, and I didn’t go to any of the games. I was about twenty at the time and I had other things on my mind. [conspiratorial smirk]
TONI STREET: But can you remember what your stance was on the 1981 tour?
…..[Awkward silence]…..
JOHN KEY: I’m not going to go into it. If I say I was for or against it, that will open up a whole new series of questions, so I am not going to comment on it.
…..[Awkward silence]…..
TONI STREET: But can you remember what your stance was on the 1981 tour?
JOHN KEY: I’m not going to comment on the matter. Let’s just leave it at that.
…..[Awkward shit-eating smirk]…..
aye..it was quite the watershed moment..
..when the co-compere of the tvone breakfast show starts asking awkward-questions of key..
..ya gotta know key/national are in deep trouble..
..and the disbelieving look on her face..at/to his answers..
..spoke/screamed volumes..
..why doesn’t key just say..that like with so many other things..?
..like child-poverty/greenhouse-gas-warming/oil spills etc. etc.
..that he was ‘quite relaxed’ with/about apartheid..?
..phillip ure..
Funtastic. That should get more publicity.
Great that the lamestream are even holding Key to account on his “can’t remember” stance on the Springboks tour. This surprises me, they usually have selective memories when it comes to Key’s Dubious Moments.
(In the meantime as well as respectful musical tributes to Mandela since Friday Radio Active have gone hard out with their lampooning of Key all morning, putting together a collection of sound bites spliced in with a fake interview)
Will 2014 finally be Key’s undoing? The year he finally, can no longer slither away from the truth of his disastrous reign? With Bradley Ambrose suing him for defamation, Banks’ trial, Dotcom’s hearing, and fingers crossed, a powerful NO message coming the asset sales referendum will his star finally descend? Will the voters finally, finally see him for what he is, a con?
Book ya tickets for Hawaii Johnny boy!
I suspect it’s because they can’t ignore what he’s already said on it as everyone remembers and thought it was BS then as well.
‘lamestream’ that is very good.
Initially i was, as usual, disgusted with key for saying he couldn’t remember but it is a blessing in disguise because that line will haunt him and thank the gods he didn’t say he protested – having a shallow fake as a prime minister is one thing but it would be worse to have him on our side of that anti-apartheid fight. Hopefully he’ll make an utter fool of himself over there by trying some 3-way handshake or something. He doesn’t represent me, he represents the exploiters and they are international.
Newsflash!
John Key says he’s not going to ‘make stuff up’
“I’m strongly opposed to apartheid, but I’m not going to make up stuff that wasn’t the case 30 years ago and try and reinvent history because it’s inconvenient for the left.
Wow! That’ll be a change from his usual form….
“I’m strongly opposed to apartheid, but I’m not going to make up stuff that wasn’t the case 30 years ago and try and reinvent history because it’s inconvenient for the left.”
Classic mangled Keyism there – is anyone trying to pressure him to ‘make stuff up’ over this? And why on Earth would it be inconvenient for da left if he doesn’t?
My translation: “Lying and saying I was interested and involved in the protests isn’t an option for me, but I’m not going to tell the truth which is that I couldn’t give a flying fuck about either rugby nor the plight of the oppressed, because Labour would love that.”
I reckon your translation is spot on e.m. Let’s extend that out to “I don’t give a flying fuck about about anything except for advancing my mates and me”
And m.m. There’s bound to be some kind of etiquette cock up in S.A on His behalf, which in the past has arisen out of insincerity, ignorance and immaturity. We can just laugh when he does here at home, but when he does it overseas it’s cause for head in the hands moments. This is how it must have been for the Americans every time Dubya opened his gob in regard to world matters.
ooh, must have touched a blister-pack on Key’s lying backside.
I think it’s because mandela trumps key in their kow towing stakes… Key can lie to the people but NOT about Nelson.
Xox
They say Liars must have fantastic memories. Or they “can’t remember”. Ho hum.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11169127
‘Police try and control protestors…’ Yeah, looks like a complete riot going on there…
Talk about making shit up. And this guys our fucken PM.
Well, we got what 30% didn’t vote for with this creep. Maybe next time they’ll vote the bastard out.
Yes, DTB,
I find it extraordinary the stance the pm is taking re protest.
He lost all credibility on the matter when he referred to the Law Society and the Human Rights Commission amongst others as ‘misinformed’ and ‘not understanding the law’ (GCSB concerns).
He is dealing with people lobbying on a daily basis – they are ‘all the same people’, they protest to get their interests upheld and could be described in the same way. That’s what they do all day. When they are paid to do it ‘protesting’ is called ‘lobbying’, however and that’s different. /sarc
Protest is an important part of the democratic process and I would like to see Nzers voting for politicians and political leaders that have some respect and understanding of democracy, unlike our pm who appears to have none.
Interesting 2011 report on the Counterfire website on the rising trend of protest and fall in public trust in government.
Two of the stated findings:
“There has been an unprecedented fall in public trust in government, the media, corporations and other central institutions in British society – with less than a quarter of Britons trusting national government, less than a fifth trusting parliament and fewer than 15% having any confidence in the press.
There has been a marked and significant rise in protest movements – twice as many of us are taking part in demonstrations compared to the 1970s and the proportion of the population describing themselves as ‘left wing’ has grown by over 2 million since the 1980s. – “
So perhaps Key and those who sycophantically repeat his mutterings marginalising protest need to ‘get over it’ and start dealing with the issues that these ‘lobbyists for public interest’ are raising.
Hilariously that’s exactly what his political predecessors said about the anti-apartheid protests too.
kind of like when he was 20, but had far better things to do… like study for his exams…
Suggested candidates for new ACT leader
“The party can rebuild. …We have a number of very talented potential candidates.”
—-ACT president John Boscawen
The sheep of Epsom will vote for anyone they are instructed to vote for. You don’t get to the level of mediocrity that enables you to live in such a nice area without being obedient and amenable. Here are the most appealing prospects for ACT in Epsom….
Kyle Chapman Positives: principled, in an ACT kind of way, and sounds just like an ACT spokesman. Downside: would possibly set fire to downtown Wellington.
Garth “Gaga” George Positives: old and dopey, and never asks questions. Downside: would probably die after three months in office, thus necessitating a by-election.
Kerre McIvor (née ohoWmad) Positives: enormous ego; staunch supporter of Chinese government; intolerant of dissent; doesn’t read much and knows less; very attractive to silly old men like Brian Edwards; very supportive of violent males like Tony Veitch. Downside: can be extraordinarily unpleasant, intolerant and judgmental. (Then again, this is ACT, and those are therefore further positives.)
Alan Titford Positives: principled, brave, well spoken; sounds just like an ACT spokesman. Downside: in prison for the next 24 years, which would make him only slightly more effective than John Banks.
Tony Veitch Positives: high profile; young; fit; enthusiastic; desperately eager to please, very much in the manner of Rodney Hide. Downsides: anathema to women, and knowing nothing about anything, including his “specialty” of sports; prone to extreme violence against women.
This was first posted on Frank Macskasy’s excellent blog….
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/12/07/suggested-candidates-for-new-act-leader/#comments
In fact, if you put Kyle Chapman in a suit, he’d look and sound very much like Don Brash or Trevor Loudon giving a speech on human rights and how Maori seats are the same as apartheid.
you would have a greater following than Kyle Chapman Murray
If I had his followers, I’d lead them over a cliff.
This made me laugh. Alot!
You forgot Pete George. Sure, he presents himself as “reasonable” and “moderate” but then he’d present anything as “reasonable” and “moderate” and bore people to death explaining why.
Another lie for blips collection.
“Yes, it is true that Anadarko Petroleum Corporation had a 25 percent ownership of the company or one of the companies that had a problem in the gulf. I think it is also worth remembering that in the Gulf of Mexico since 1947, 50,000 wells have been drilled, and to the best of my knowledge that problem in the gulf was the one major one that most people can remember.”
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/12/08/key-will-he-put-his-55m-where-his-oily-mouth-is/#sthash.yE6jVkqK.dpuf
deserves its own thread
Unintentional repetition, LP, firefox still playing up on occasion.
Google chrome having the same problem. Don’t think it’s your browser.
I’m posting and then the browser slows down and the comment doesn’t appear. Only way around it for me is to leave that page cranking away and to open a new tab, go to TS, and keep hitting refresh until the comment from my previous tab page appears. Hitting refresh on the same, slow page just causes duplicate posts.
elementary my dear Watson, although, when comment submission completes, and ‘blank’ appears, I just hit TS bookmark on the same open tab, and there are your comments in all their perceptive glory. Which reminds me, must be time for a Head Like A Hole track.
“just like that!”, although, helpful to have another page open to read while TS grinds away 😀
Odd. Has this been showing up over the weekend or just within the last hour?
The reason I ask is because the load balancer just got put on with two server rather than the single server it has been running with over the weekend.
last half hour for me; and slower now; the ‘ghost’ has been lost to the ether.
Throughout the weekend and continues today for me Lprent. Getting the same issues mentioned above on google chrome. Am using firefox at the mo and am encountering the same issues but it is however a little faster.
Ok isn’t to do with the number of servers.. or the web/file server processes which got reset manually on saturday, and automatically on sunday.
That leaves the database server. Ummm…
I’ve had the site disappear on occasions today. But not for very long.
for the last few days for me..intermittant..
..phillip ure..
The Maori Party has finally made a selection for Aunty Tariana’s Te Tai Hauauru electorate,(affectionately known as the sinking Waka),
Chris McKenzie, a relative unknown in political circles,(something set to continue after November 2014), will be the candidate to usher the Maori Party into electoral oblivion, leaving the vexed question of the selection of a female ‘co-leader’ to be answered at some time in the future,(perhaps at the time Pita Sharples electorate of Tamaki-Makaurau selects a replacement for Him),
The Maori Party has one slim hope of political survival past November 2014 and that is for EGO’s to be put aside and a reunification with Hone Harawira’s Mana Party be engineered,
As the Te Tai Hauauru electorate to be vacated by Turia at the end of the current Parliament now stands it is looking increasingly like reverting back to Labour as Mana have not and never had a strong presence in this electorate,
The Green Party might like to look at it’s,(quite good), 2011 electorate results here and devise a strategy that they think will divert ‘electorate votes’,(2007 in 2011),to the Labour candidate while keeping the ‘Party Vote’ building,
‘Strategic voting’ for a long lasting Government of the left should be the battle cry for the 2014 election…
isnt he their “strategist”…
Does the Maori Party Constitution require both a male and female leader?
If so is McKenzie going to chnage sex if elected or is Flavell going to do the deed
Ron, yes to your first question and i did suggest last week that Party vice-Prez,(or is He the Prez these days), Ken Mair do the deed poll thing to Kendra and stand in the seat…
The next MP for Te Tai Hauahuru:
http://www.adrianrurawhe.maori.nz/
Whew that would have to be the best nominee website I’ve seen
The next MP for Te Tai Hauahuru:
http://www.adrianrurawhe.maori.nz/
Um, would this be an example of what happens when you fire all your sub editors?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11169356
Ha ha, that’s brilliant. Wonder how long before they realise.
😆
areeba!
Um, would this be an example of what happens when you fire all your sub editors?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11169356
WTF? Hahahahahahahahaha 🙂
chuckling
The PM wants an official photographer.
That sounds a little self-aggrandising, but if it’s taxpayer funded, shouldn’t the raw footage and all the snaps be subject to the Official Information Act? It may prove more embarassing than intended.
He has run out of things to say (no text, no facts, nothing of substance) and in other cases, says he can’t remember (yeah, right). So now he needs to have just pictures.
Couldn’t he just have ministerial selfies? Has he not heard of Instagram?
what’s the salary, and all the parties are doing it. No wonder there is no money for the children
From the tone and angle of the piece, it is quite surprising that Claire Robinson does not seem to have applied for the job or volunteered to be the photographer.
I think her skills in propaganda will be sought after when they seek someone to write the captions.
Five hours ’till the ‘eagle’ lands; what shall we play today… 😀
😀
Still waiting for your H.L.A.H. track. My tastes are flawed , I know it’s a crying shame but luckily you my friend are on fire
I saw that tickle-up Lyn performed; Death or Glory (and pray the link functions)
When the ‘eagle’ lands (or while in flight) please play this for the shonKey one.
He’s on the ‘throne’, above Soweto, can hear some singing…
“Mirror in the bathroom
Please talk free
The door is locked
Just you and me
Can I take you to a restaurant
That’s got glass tables
You can watch yourself
While you are eating”.
(Beat this English)
For you fender et al; from Molly’s Chambers : “truth with a voice”.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again but I DO appreciate the musical interludes brought to TS, (including ALL of the above) and it’s often by you two, Roguey and fender.
It brings a cheeriness to the day when there isn’t much to cheer about.
Superfluous info: Glory Glory – I had as a high rotate ear worm recently but luckily that was a good ear worm. As you know with ear worms, any genre, including the really bad ones (eg, phil collins) can land in your brain and infect it, sometimes for days.
Last word: Do not ever, under any circumstance allow this in as ear worm prior to a job interview or any serious and important meeting or event
Eels. Mighty Boosh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwcF6ea2PMQ
😀 Rosie
“He doesn’t mind being seen doing weird things,” she said, pointing to pictures of him drinking with Prince William as an example.
All I want for Christmas is a cycle way,
A cycle way,
And photograph……
Key with flash cards he saves for public at meetings (that he can’t avoid)! Saves all those time wasting, incredibly nosy questions asked by barmy individuals just trying to turn a well organised gathering into a circus. PR people start amassing a pile of cards with simple slogans now. One word a card would do.
In a new development, the PM declares there will be no more press releases, starting from his office and extending to other ministerial offices. Any government announcements and policy initiatives will be provided as pictures. When asked whether this will be a new practice or just for the interim until the next election, the PM shrugged and pointed to his spokesperson who mimed that verbal press releases would be aspirational and the PM is ambitious for the government to have higher standards. At a subsequent interview, when questioned about the advertisement for a new taxpayer-funded photographer and videographer, the PM said, “I’m not going to go and revisit that because if I do I’ll spend all day talking about it and I can’t be bothered.”
“The PM wants an official photographer.”
The PM is freaking out that the media have begun to acshly publish his acshull responses to acshull questions.
Must. Control. Narrative.
lprent sorry about multiple entries, delete if you can. Something going wrong…..
Something about having two servers running. Just dropped it to one.
Just read yesterdays columns on teaching and the standard of education, what it is like to teach etc etc. Chris73, that was, despite the crap you received well worth reading as a from the front line commentary. Redlogix, nice counterpoise, shows how perceptions of the same thing differ with each individual.
What might we take out of this? As somebody who is in front of staff, customers, suppliers etc all day what I am very aware of is that my reality and perception thereof is often at odds with the other party. Hard as the more doctrinaire bloggers over here might find it, there is no reason why we cannot accept that we are often both correct. Duality, it is possible and we can face it with rancour if we care to open our ears and minds.
and ipso facto both wrong
Damn it, I will now have to retrace my steps around the office and retract everything this morning…….
face it ‘without’ rancour FIFY
Until such time as all private donations to political parties are banned completely there can be no true democracy as the political parties are simply bought by the largest cheque.
End.
The gabbymouth is hooting away. Where is Col Craig’s support coming from? The grassy knoll conspiratorists? etc are going to keep voting Green. WTF.
I don’t see Greens as dragging themselves through the sludge of dubious theories and endless arguments and abandoning their practical, and present concerns. What is of moment to them is how we are acting now with a view to the future for ourselves and the planet. That is what I expect from the Greens and that is essential, as no other Party is showing half the responsibility for that vital role.
The rest is history and worth thinking about and analysing, but the Greens have to keep the greatest part of their mind on the important things for now and the future. But also a watchful eye on those who use the smallest part of their minds, like Hooten, and so are nearly mindless.
88, our favourite number of comments, and so early in the mornin’
World Cup Construction Workers Score
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/england-world-cup-venue-workers-2904052?
Right here’s how it’s gone for my first comment this morning.
I put one on in Open Mike. Unconnected to any other, did not press Reply. Did it. put name and email in. Highlighted and took copy just in case. Submitted it. Got Closed by Remote Server.
Went back- the comment still there. Thought I had better not do anything else as I would probably just be doubling up. Left it and closed TS.
Called up site again and got in, saw greywarbler in comment list, and clicked. When I got to bottom of Open Mike comment wasn’t there. Went back up to the Comment List and my pseudo wasn’t there any more.
Talk about fun and games. Hide the parcel and find in how many moves?
So I’ll see what this one does. But some ghost in the machine is haunting me. Bah humbug!
It’s haunting
And this removes my edit option. I followed the same procedure with my second comment which was a test. When I came back on to site again and clicked on my pseudonym in the comments list, I saw the list shift up and so my name disappeared. Refreshed using F5, waited some seconds, and it came back again.
Hope this indicates something useful to you lprent. Otherwise it must be that my crankshaft is flat. (Toad Wind in Willows.)
‘Schizophrenic’ US Foreign Policy Herds Arab States Towards Russia
Just up the desert road
Ok I have shifted the server back to two with a longer stickiness per server (you tend to stay on the same one).
But it looks like the basic problem is in the database server getting sluggish. That hasn’t had a restart for a while. Now it gets one…
Ah monday mornings…
I stand corrected. Just turned off the database caching at the web server side. Now I’m not getting the comment timeout.
Testing again.
Nope.. that just died then. Rebooting database.
Testing comment update again post database reboot.
Single larger server
That appears to be the issue. Simple speed when the servers are a bit underpowered.
I’ll run with that for a few hours and see if the problem reappears..
Try another boot, with a steel-cap this time? Amazing how often brute force and ignorance can solve technical probs.
Thank god you’re not the sysop
Ok. Thanks for not making me the sysop, god. I owe you one.
😀
test
Edit: faster
much obliged Hombre, now for some merriment 😎
China- Authorities and Dissidents -Respond to the passing of Mandela
http://www.ibtimes.com/china-reacts-nelson-mandela-death-remembered-authorities-dissidents-alike-1498858
meanwhile, China’s November exports rose 12.7% from a year ago, imports only 5.3% : Trade Surplus for the month $33.8B.
LABOUR SUCKERED AGAIN .
Have a look at this from w/oil.
Topic greenpease and the greens tactics.
” The main reason the Greens spent tens of thousands of (taxpayers) dollars paying people to collect petition signatures wasn’t to actually have a referendum”
It seems those of you who signed the petition opposing asset sales can expect to be hounded by the greens now that many of you gave them your e mail address when signing the petition, that’s all they really wanted .
The greens must be having a good laugh at labour, what labour has done is assist the greens to build their political base.
Brilliant own GOAL labour.
National could have initiated the petition to stop the asset sales and I would have been happy to provide my email address.
ghostrider@critique.com (no spam please, only hole-foods).
Ummm I see that you are kind of stupid. Why do you assume that it is just the greens and greenpeace who collect information?
Incidentally you should really read the actual privacy legislation before acting like a illiterate wanker from whaleoil. I realise this will be hard for you as you don’t seem too capable at the comprehension parts of life. But in particular you should note that the political parties have certain privacy exemptions.
The most notable use by a political party of collecting names and addresses can be seen in the raffle sized cost and long duration of the National party membership. So many people have regretted the stigmata of receiving mail in their new status as National party members after buying a raffle ticket.
So much for surgery waiting lists under this National administration eh?
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/20225989/research-shows-280-000-need-surgery/
from the link;
of the 280,000 awaiting elective surgery (only 110,000 on lists)
25% have had time of work as a result
50% have a poorer QOL than five years ago; for 25% their QOL is ” a lot worse”.
so, 265,000 children overlooked, 280,000 awaiting surgery… at least we do not have a trade in human body parts, yet.
Jeepers that is a lot of pending surgery and as you note RT – the longer the wait the often worse life gets for people. I hope we don’t have a trade in body parts but if there’s money in it the scum will will set up a business. Meanwhile we also have this – De-racialisation – bloody hell – they say if you live long enough you see most things – I’m starting to see shit I never ever thought I’d see and it ain’t pretty.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/beauty/beauty-news/9494299/On-de-racialisation-surgery
No, Face Off gets ugly in later scenes.
I’ll just put this here while my liver . regenerates naturally. Watched a documentary once on a similar theme; The billion-dollar market for hair-straightening targeting African-Americans- Good Hair with Chris Rock.
Although true that article is an advertisement for private health insurance.
Bohemian Rhapsody:
an Epic Tribute
Nice to see the old double standard at work again. Son of a well known N.Z.er gets name suppression. Guess another wealthy white middle class kid gets to cover up his misdemeanors. Or course, if he was from a lower socio-economic group, he’d probably be incarcerated by now.
I have no idea who he is, but I did notice the term “prominent leader” for his father. I might be wrong, but isn’t a term like this more normally used for Maori than for whites, who are usually described as prominent sportsmen, politicians, businessmen, etc. I wouldn’t be surprised if he were the son of some prominent Maori Tory.
was up Gizzy way from memory, yet, maybe not.
[deleted]
[lprent: Already banned. Another IP for autospam. ]
In Dunedin the ‘crisis’ has cost hundreds of real, well paid manufacturing jobs over the last 5 years. Your point? Are you trying to say that this is the start of years of sustained manufacturing growth and the drought is now over?
you might want to play with the statsnz tools and compare the 10-year performance of manufacturing with other industries and activities.
there’s your crisis.
I saw that nutter from the business org on teevee in the weekend going on about taxes and compliance costs.
Well the question must be asked if someone is not capable of filling in a form then are they capable of running a business.
Its just an excuse for not paying tax.
Some of these people want everything but dont want to pay their way at all.
Castigating the poor for being poor;
Jock Anderson rampant on the Panel today
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Monday 9 December 2013
Jim Mora, Jock Anderson, Mark Inglis
First of all, perky girl Noelle McCarthy made a statement of blithering hypocrisy, which for its humbug level is right up there—or down there—with Barack Obama’s eulogy for Nelson Mandela….
JIM MORA: It’s Noelle McCarthy with what the WOOOOOOOOORLD’s talking about.
NOELLE McCARTHY: [light-hearted tone] Well there’s an interesting one first up. If you can swallow your ideological scruples and are going to the Winter Olympics, there’s a list of things you are not allowed to take with you!
JIM MORA: Oh? Ha ha ha ha ha!
MARK INGLIS: Ha ha ha ha ha!
JOCK ANDERSON: Haw haw haw haw haw!
Later, Jock Anderson launched into one of his ideologically charged discourses, claiming, without being challenged by either Mora or Inglis, that John Minto* was responsible for a great deal of disruption in this country in 1981, and then expressed his “skepticism” about the levels of poverty in this country, before blaming the poor for making “poor choices”. (Interestingly, he has never castigated the rich for making poor choices—at least not on this programme.) He also sneered at “the likes of Charles Waldegrave and company who make more of this than there really is.”
Far from making him defend these extreme ideological statements, Inglis and Mora chimed in with more of the same….
MORA: Why would Charles Waldegrave do this? Is this the poverty industry that Rodney Hide speaks of?
MARK INGLIS: Hmmmm, I struggle with this idea of poverty. You know, I’ve been to India, where I can show you real poverty.
MORA: [Deep sigh to indicate moral seriousness] All right, now, let’s talk to Dr Elizabeth Craig of the NZ Child and Youth Epidemiology Service at the University of Otago. Ahhhh, Elizabeth, I remember Helen Clark denying we had the really poor and we’ve just had Mark Inglis talking about India….
Dr Craig spoke clearly and patiently, in spite of an initial barrage of faux-naïve and contrarian statements from Mora. Almost in spite of his antics, this ended up as an interesting and informative discussion. By the end of her appearance he was talking intelligently and not making dishonest and provocative statements. He is actually very good when he concentrates; it shows what he is capable of if he did not spend so much of his time trying to formulate complex sentences and pandering to his right wing guests.
* Designated target for abuse by selected Labour Party apparatchiks.
Jock Anderson on the Panel (RNZ) suggesting, in the spirit of reconciliation, the nation forgives John Minto and sends him.
FFS!!! John Minto was an anti-apartheid hero.
He might forgive the NZRU and the National Party but hell will freeze over before that lot say sorry to Black Africa.
Jock Anderson, wasn’t it? I only got to hear part of what he said, but he started by saying he’s rethought his opposition to Minto going while driving to the studio and now accepted that someone from the anti-tour movement should go. I thought that sounded rather considered, but if, as you say, he was just being snide, I’m disappointed.
TRP Anderson was conceding that John Minto should go. But only in the spirit of forgiveness. My point is that the likes of Anderson, the RFU, The majority of the National Party, despised John Minto and will never say that they were sorry for the sporting contacts.
John Minto does not need any forgiveness.
I agree logie – for me John Minto is at the top of heroes of this country – well above Ed for instance and he needs zero forgiveness from anyone. The best thing is that he is still with us and you can befriend him on facebook for instance – being a friend of your hero – wow it doesn’t get better than that!!!!!
That Facebook thing Marty…….yeah must admit how good it feels to be in a place small enough and special enough (excuse a whiff of hand-over-heart there) when your heroes often live just around the corner, figuratively if not literally.
Remember a bit of a flame war happening on FB with this person whose profile picture quite ludicrously had a wallpaper of a trillion peace symbols behind her. While she performed like a right little Zionist Nazi. Until then an FB friend of Minto’s she lavishly “de-friended” him online in real time. Was hilarious !
Admit it was good to get a thumbs up from John Minto to some comment I made. Reassured that my moral compass was working sorta thing.
Anyway John…………you go to the funeral or you don’t…………..what really matters is Mandela knows !
Listen to what the South African High Commissioner had to say this morning on
Morning Report regarding the “protest movement” – HART et al
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/2579182
Talking about Noelle McCarthy does anyone know why RNZ have such a love affair with her. When she was resident in NZ they were always using her on air. She left NZ and returned to Ireland and now every year we find her coming out to NZ for her summer holidays and find work on Radio NZ. It has been suggested that RNZ pay for her to come out here. Does anyone know if this is correct and if so why?
What political hue were the prime ministers of
Britain, New Zealand, Australia in 1981. and what was their attitude to sporting contact with SA?
Margaret Thatcher, Robert Muldoon, and Malcolm Fraser.
One of them was vehemently opposed to sporting contacts. (- it wasn’t Thatcher or Muldoon).
And what political hue are the prime ministers of those countries who are attending the funeral.
Cameron, Key, Abbott.
Nothing changes does it ? (Except, were apartheid to be in existence still, you can bet all these three would still be branding the protesters as wreckers and criminals.)
Jesus, Morrissey, why do you put yourself through this? I suppose that I should be grateful that you do it so that I don’t have to, but think of your own health!
must have a robust constitution 😀 and a tough Hide
ah yes “real poverty”. yes, Mark, let’s wait until we have people like India, it will be easier to deal with it then, won’t it.
Mr Inglis who put quite the burden on the taxpayer and rescue services with his sometimes reckless climbing excursions. I wonder, since he’s been on the speaking circuit etc, how much has he paid back? I mean, if we use India as a template, as he wishes, an amputee such as he would be sitting on a street with a bowl begging for money.
Well said, Tracey!
Meanwhile, over the Tassie, the net tightens on ex PM Gillard.
http://michaelsmithnews.com
oooh, still, “Mars needs women, Angry red women”. (cool photo).
Is it just me or is this place a bit more like a bar-room brawl than usual today?
peaceful where I’m sitting, ‘ang on a mo’…nope, there’s an evening lawn-mowing occurring next door!
I think a bottle just whizzed past your head…
you jest, yet I still bear a scar on my cheek from such a missile; Vandal, may God rest his soul, died a violent death not too many years after. And still, Punks Not Dead. 😀
Perceptive though Arfamo; had a sh*t, time for a shower, no necessity to shave, and we’re off, Into The Great Wide Open.
gets HOT in the kitchen come December. 😎
Progressive Voting on the Referendum seems to have stalled on Friday 6 score. I wonder why?
lprent
Is there a way of getting personal archives back? Mine have gone between 3/12 and 8/12 I think.
Odd. I see what you mean
http://thestandard.org.nz/?s=%40author+greywarbler&isopen=block&search_comments=true&search_sortby=date
I’ll have a look at in the morning. Looks like the sphinx database has a issue.
l prent Thanks I like the name Sphinx for the database. To me it is as enigmatic as the sphinx.
Incidentally I have been having trouble with the set up of another site, the page has gone haywire. The opinions received are that it could be that my set up is too slow and so distortion occurring. So will have to look at updating my system which is more than a few years old.
Sphinx search. It is a hell of a tool.
http://sphinxsearch.com/
Fixed that up last night. Since web servers get chopped in and out according to load and they start from a old copy of the search db AND the search db only does a single full update once per day – the web server versions got out of sync. Actually the wind up with ruddy great hole from when the image was created to when a web server was started with that image.
The files server is now the only server indexing the search database. The web servers talk to it and don’t try to each maintain a search database.
Sorry folks probably commented a bit much on this matter. This is my last go. Promise.
Watching John Key about to set off to Nelson Mandela’s funeral.
Farce….Fucking Pavlovian Farce ! And he does it as easy as havin’ a shit. With matching facial expression on occasion.
Fucking Pavlovian Farce !
the populace permit it. PM, close to a belated figurehead. Other than the periodic ground-breaking political lead, NZ has historically dragged the chain. ANYONE REMEMBER THE SEVENTIES?
Agreeable climate though, for now.
Never mind. Mandela knows and he’ll be chuckling.
snap North,
Chucking, more likely.
That’s it for me. This site’s been running as slow as a wet weekend all day where I am.
go on, nothing new under the crescent moon; treat refreshing as an exercise in patience. 😀
There is sure as hell something sucking bandwidth or CPU. Has been sluggish. I suspect something odd at the server farm.
Wonder what it could be. Nite mate.
“I suspect something odd at the server farm.”
Too many GCSB and NSA operatives logging in and reading The Standard?
Excellent.
They might learn a thing or three… 😀
Just something strange with the internal VPN routing. Testing this morning it appears to be be working correctly again. But on the other hand there is no particular reason to do it one way or another. Just irritating detecting the bug the hard way.
It is unfortunate when this vehicle is struggling. Still, perseverance , onwards and upwards.
Have not e-mailed you for yonks. Must be something Panning out 😀