+ 1 for only mild use of mansplaining when there is plenty of opportunity to use it more
+10 for OP’s proving beyond doubt that we do in fact live in a rape culture
+ 7 for all those posters who declare that a drunk woman is partially, if not fully responsible for any subsequent rape that occurs while she is intoxicated (curiously no mention of any men having their dicks cut off while passed out drunk being entirely responsible for the loss of their manly member)
+2 for the poster who declares that, “you will get more credibility here if you post under your ‘usual’ name”. It’s only plus two because frankly it’s getting old and isn’t even intellectually offensive anymore because it’s not like anyone is actually going to use their real names because OP implied they needed more credibility in the first place. An intelligent argument should do just fine actually.
And +20 for this little gem from ratherbefishin, otherwise known as Greg from Waitakere City.
Occupation: Getting well from a serious car accident.
Hmmmm. Probably run down by a pissed off feminist.
Sure, there are predators out there, but your dauhgters [sic] are presenting themselves as bait. Look most rapes, not all, the girls are drunk or on drugs, dressed over provocatively, act like fools, put themselves in situations that is condusive to making the situation worse. It’s the parents fault for not naking them safe and teaching them the right values about mixing in the ‘right’ cirlces….you can’t get rabbits from rats.
“Sure, there are predators out there, but your dauhgters [sic] are presenting themselves as bait.”
There are predators out there, no doubting that, but whatever conduct or dress (lack of) sense, the ‘bait’ argument can only comes from those excusing or mitigating the ‘hunter’.
“Look most rapes, not all, the girls are drunk or on drugs, dressed over provocatively, act like fools, put themselves in situations that is condusive to making the situation worse.”
Doesn’t matter if women are drunk, drugged, in short skirts, boob tubes and give a guy the come on. The self control still remains with the male of the species. Always has, always will… Unless you’re a chimp.
“It’s the parents fault for not naking them safe and teaching them the right values about mixing in the ‘right’ cirlces”
Blame the parents of the victim of sex crimes. Nice work, idiot.
Yeah, I adopted a rating system from http://www.annalsofonlinedating.com/ where either the profiles of daters or their attempts at snagging someone via messaging are rated according to how bad they are.
But the handle ratherbefishin explains volumes about this guy. Some thickheaded kiwi bloke douchebag who wants to string gays up with piano wire and sees women as sub human.
Greg. I promise you, come the revolution, you will be sorry.
Anyone that can write that about rape must have a real struggle stopping themselves from attacking young women. I suggest preventative custody to safeguard society. If the guy hasn’t raped already, I bet he will.
It’s interesting that the commenting gets worse over time, and watching rape culture proponents work hard to prevail. I didn’t read the comments to the end because the thread was becoming ever-more demoralising to read. I assume the pro-rape-culture team continued to dominate the discussion through aggression and insults, seldom making any genuine effort to address the arguments of the protestors.
Still, I believe there has been real progress made in the public consciousness, since I was helped to join the dots to an understanding of rape culture, a few years ago.
The LGBT rights movement is always an inspiration in what can be achieved, but I’m only too aware of the personal brunt of public contempt and derision, and other kinds of psychological and physical violence borne hardest and most continuously by those at the forefront of the movement from the beginning. It was hard and dangerous work, and the fight continues today, but from a position of relative strength. But progress can happen in the teeth of seemingly overwhelming resistance.
The trademe boards are up their with major gaming forums for the level of burning stupid and outright sexist, echo-room bullshit. Nothing that a little “gentle” moderating couldn’t fix, but trademe lacks teh spine to do so, afraid that they’ll loose customers.
To this day I get pageviews from the Trademe forums to a post I wrote about Pippa Wetzell/Paul Henry/Breakfast, apparently from people who can’t spot the fact that my blog isn’t a news site and that the post in question is satire.
A couple of learnings for NZ; Labour is underacheiving (the Cameron Government is nowhere near as hopeless as Key’s lot) and if NZ First go into coalition with the tories after the next election, they can look forward to ceasing to exist 3 years later.
Sort of makes me glad the lib dems failed to get rid of first past the post.
One can only imagine how shockingly poor the conservative party would be if backed by the loonies and racists of the right to hold on to power.
Yep, Al1en, that’s exactly what Ashcroft wants. However, the results don’t help him turn them in that direction. If the poll had shown losses at, say, 20 seats, he could have got traction to move policy to the right; to strengthen the appeal to vavering traditional tory voters who have shifted to the anti-european UKIP. However, what this poll shows is that the electorate wants middle of the road or even left policies. So Cameron has to move to the centre to shore up the tory vote. That’s got to piss off Ashcroft more than just a bit.
Calamity and complacency aside, Labour, as unpopular as can be in government, will be back after only one term out, and whilst not the Labour party many here would prefer it to be, it’s got a well spoken leader that holds to core left principles. The people respond.
Camp mallard should have looked further afield for a game plan than the blinding light of our pm that so clearly bedazzles them and sets their agenda.
A month ago you were saying everything is fine and Shearer will lead Labour to victory and now you are saying that Labour is underachieving. What is happening?
Nothing gives, MS. I was making the comparison with UK Labour, who also started from a poor election result and are lead by someone who is still working to convince his own party of his merits, yet have gone on to gain enough support to govern alone. The NZLP caucus are underacheiving in comparison.
It comes down to attitude mickysavage. At present the caucus catechism is:
our (read ABC club) side is good.
the other side is bad.
We will only take notice of our side.
We will ignore everything the other side says and does.
Today I received my electorate’s first newsletter for the year. It contained a letter (no indication where it came from) from an unnamed new, young member who attended his/her first conference last November.. It was essentially a eulogy to David Shearer and contained such language as…working for a brighter future (now where have I heard that before), more progressive and more inclusive society… this is the Labour way and all of it was achieved at the Conference.
Why am I suspicious of this letter? Well, it has an [insert name here] quality about it.
“Drought gripping the North Island is the most severe in history, with the crisis far from over both for now and in years to come, scientists say.
“Long, dry spells are forecast to double by 2040 as temperatures continue to rise and New Zealand heads towards a more Mediterranean climate.
“Experts warn it could spell the end for farming as we know it and may cost the country billions of dollars in drought relief each year before practices are adjusted.”
“Experts warn it could spell the end for farming as we know it and may cost the country billions of dollars in drought relief each year before practices are adjusted.”
Actually, the best thing we could do would be to have the government buy enough farms to feed everybody and put in place practices (Heaps of R&D at the universities) to farm in the new environment. Then you let all the rest continue or fall upon their own – just as capitalism calls for.
I agree, the best research is being done outside of universities. The unis could get in behind though.
I’ll reiterate what others have said here recently – drought is being created by conventional farming as much as (if not more so) than by climate change.
This TED talk (20 mins) shows how to graze animals so you don’t end up in a drought (both locally and from climate change). Alan Savory has been doing this on the ground research for over 50 years, and developed systems of mob grazing that reverse desertification and sequester carbon and restore local microclimates on such a large scale that they probably would effect macro climate if adopted en masse.
At the end the TED host calls the presentation truly astonishing, but these farm technologies, based on mimicking natural cycles, are well known in sustainably land management circles and are even being used successfully in NZ.
John Liu’s work is worthy too, here he looks at the restoration of the severely damaged huge Loess Plateau in China back into a food producing oasis, as well as restoration in other parts of the world (50mins)
And a quick look (5mins) at the Greening the Desert project in Jordan (one of the driest places on earth supporting humans). Geoff Lawton took 10 acres of salinated man-made desert and had it starting to produce food from trees within four months.
Exactly. For instance, modern farming has destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of tussock land, which were crucial for feeding atmospheric moisture into the land.
At the end the TED host calls the presentation truly astonishing, but these farm technologies, based on mimicking natural cycles, are well known in sustainably land management circles and are even being used successfully in NZ.
That’s one thing that’s been bugging me for years. Academia in NZ is unwilling to accept knowledge gained outside of academia in NZ and that needs to change.
Maybe that happens in some specific branches of academia, DTB, but it couldn’t be applied in Physics, for example. I’m part of academia whether I like the label or not, and apart from Hitler’s attempt at introducing Aryan Physics, I’ve never seen evidence of what you suggest.
Which areas would you say this unwillingness applies to?
You need research working with real farmers on their own land.
Well, if the universities are doing their job, then they are. The simple fact of the matter is that the farmer is unlikely to be able to do the research but once the research has been done can help come up with better methods of implementation and the university owned farms would probably have farm managers on them as well.
“The simple fact of the matter is that the farmer is unlikely to be able to do the research”
Why do you say that? Many farmers practice empirical science anyway, and any farmer with either a good working knowledge of the scientific method, or support with that, can do research on their own property. It’s not rocket science 😉
Universities in NZ aren’t leading the way on developing sustainable practice, they’re following. And the way that universities are structured and operate, the hard sciences in particular, is inherently reductionist, making studying whole systems harder and less likely. This is why we are in the ridiculous situation of trying to solve river/waterway pollution from industrial dairying by chemically treating paddocks to prevent increases in nitrogen, instead of changing farming practices to prevent excess nitrogen in the first place. The inability to see natural cycles in their whole and to work with them is the big stumbling block, that and greed economics/capitalism. Universities are going to research conventional farming, because that’s what we do. They’re not focusing (enough*) on the kind that is making a difference.
Crown research is just as bad. Restructuring that happened in the 80s and 90s prevented the early adoption of sustainable practices, and many of the field researchers lost their jobs. From what I can tell focus was on economics and practices that created financial wealth.
*there are some notable exceptions eg the long-standing Biological Husbandry Unit at Lincoln has been pioneering organics for over 3 decades.
Seriously DTB, watch some of those videos and then compare what they are talking about with what is being done in universities, then you will get what I mean.
Because the farmers are more likely to be using land to make a profit with what they know. If they were doing anything else our waterways wouldn’t be as polluted as they are.
It’s not rocket science
No, it’s a hell of a lot more complex.
The inability to see natural cycles in their whole and to work with them is the big stumbling block, that and greed economics/capitalism.
That I can agree with but i also think that they’re changing. As I said, a number of them now have their own farms to work with and when you’ve got that then you must start to see the entire system rather than just the pieces.
This is why we are in the ridiculous situation of trying to solve river/waterway pollution from industrial dairying by chemically treating paddocks to prevent increases in nitrogen, instead of changing farming practices to prevent excess nitrogen in the first place.
“Because the farmers are more likely to be using land to make a profit with what they know. If they were doing anything else our waterways wouldn’t be as polluted as they are.”
We’re talking at cross purposes. I’m talking about farmers who are doing the cutting edge work on sustainable land management. They’re doing their own research, and being successful at creating new models of farming that don’t wreck the land (or quite as fast). Universities are lagging behind this.
” ” It’s not rocket science”
No, it’s a hell of a lot more complex.”
No, it’s not. Working with biological systems that mimic nature to grow food requires expertise, but you do not need an advanced science degree to understand it, not implement it. Nor study it.
“That I can agree with but i also think that they’re changing. As I said, a number of them now have their own farms to work with and when you’ve got that then you must start to see the entire system rather than just the pieces.”
Why? If you’ve been trained all your working life to look at the isolated detail and not the systems, and if your work situation demands that that is how you do research, and that kind of research is what gets the funding, why would you get to see it differently. Having one’s own farm doesn’t make one see differently – to use your example, if it did then farmers wouldn’t be polluting the environment.
“Or they could be doing both.”
Treating excess nitrogen by applying chemicals to a paddock is equivalent to the old lady that swallowed the fly. It’s just daft. If you manage land holistically in the first place, you don’t need to do that kind of disruptive intervention (or very rarely). I’m guessing you’re not that familiar with the kinds of technologies I’m talking about and don’t really understand the paradigm differences and why they matter. Maybe someone else can explain it?
“The new rules impose “compulsory competitive markets” on the entire health service.
The changes are planned under the overhaul launched by Tory former Health Secretary Andrew Lansley. He claimed there was nothing in it to “promote or permit the transfer of NHS activities to the private sector”.
But now all services are to be offered to the highest bidder from April 1.
The move would allow “any qualified provider” including giants such as Virgin Care to outbid local hospitals.
Critics fear the rules will let companies asset-strip NHS facilities. Labour have warned firms could cherry-pick the easiest, most profitable, procedures, leaving the NHS to pick up the tab for tricky and expensive surgery.”
“This intended ‘privatisation’ will mean a short term of financial gain for
the Tory Party followed by higher costs as shareholders have their hands out for their profit. Charing X Hospital is stuffed with new equipment, but understaffed – I wonder why! This government from what I deduce are thieves and profiteers. How much do they expect to make from our Schools and ‘Academies'”
Rodney Hide explains that since most business owners make less than the minimum wage (why the hell else would anyone run a business!) the pinkos shouldn’t expect a living wage. So there.
Rodney discretely omits any mention of the ability of business owners to sell their business and pay no capital gains tax, assuming that stupid lefties ” think running a business is easy. That’s because they have never done it.”
Good luck trying to sell a business not making money.
You’ll also find, unless a business has locked in contracts apart from stock and plant the business really has no value at all.
Mighty river power is a great investment, hopefully it will stimulate more interest in stocks and away from property
.Apart from property there’s no where else for people to invest there money and get any form of return.
Bait-and-switch is a form of fraud used in retail sales but also practised in other contexts. First, customers are “baited” by merchants’ advertising products or services at a low price; then customers discover the advertised goods are not available. Other products are “switched” for them; however, these items are often costlier. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait-and-switch
I don’t see the link with encouraging people to invest in the share market?
If there were already a lot of good share ‘products’ on the NZX …. then we would hardly need the government to be ‘baiting’ interest in the sharemarket with the float of MRP. Would we?
Given that the float is going to be well over-subscribed, or that there will be lots of people making a quick profit on the deal, the expectation you’ve raised is that there will be plenty of euphoric cash sloshing about looking for another deal. Hence the ‘switch’.
That’s pretty much the scenario you’ve raised is it not?
How about instead of spending your days posting on the interwebs, you get out there and show them how to do it.
With your abilities and ideas you’d be worth billions within the year.
How about instead of buying shares in a state controlled company so that the state can spend that money on state stuff, you invest in a private company?
Or do you think the state has better ideas about what to do with your capital than you do?
Sure will do, but this is not about me. It’s about how shitty private sector and corporate leadership has been in NZ that they’ve barely created any new worthwhile assets to invest in and so have to go poaching public ones.
Then stop talking about it and get out there and show them how it’s done.
Throwing shit from the bleachers isn’t really that helpful, especially some one with your business acumen and total awesomeness.
NZ need you to get out there and for you to lead the way.
It’s about the $100B in savings deposits in this country where people haven’t bothered to invest that money in jobs, busineses or industry, and have instead just sat that money on the sidelines.
That’s anti-business and anti-growth.
No wonder they have to poach public assets; there’s no imagination there.
” they’ve barely created any new worthwhile assets to invest in”
Well they have… but the worthwhile ones all get bought up by overseas interests. If they were on the stock market they then get de-listed. Just like the State assets will be.
Well yes they have, some small and medium businesses worth say $20M or $100M. Sam Morgan’s Trademe being about the only exception with a value much higher than that.
But on the industrial scale of an MRP? Nothing; absolutely nothing.
Apart from property there’s no where else for people to invest there money and get any form of return.
The whole point of capitalism is that there are massive amounts of ideas around just begging for capital investment and that such capital investment is done in a very highly efficient manner through the stock exchange. If that’s not happening then I’d say that the capitalist ideal just doesn’t work.
Basically, I figure that the ideas are out there but that the rich (who are the only ones with enough accumulated wealth) aren’t investing in them because they want guaranteed returns and not to actually take any risk. This is proven by the way that they’re lining up to buy power shares which they know they can’t lose on as the government can’t let power crash and burn. Basically, the people lining up to buy power company shares are just looking to bludge for the rest of their lives off of the hard work of the rest of NZ.
Monopoly and dictatorship is the natural end point of capitalism and that is what we’re seeing. The accumulation into fewer hands and the governments then passing policies, such as selling state assets, that benefit only those few.
Im over people like Rodney who think that workers should, pretty much, have their wages and conditions slashed.
If he came round to my house telling me that I shouldnt be getting the money that I get from my job, he would be on the floor getting the shit kicked out of him.
“If he came round to my house telling me that I shouldnt be getting the money that I get from my job, he would be on the floor getting the shit kicked out of him.”
He ran away from me when I challenged him in the Environment Waikato building in Hamilton a few weeks after his holiday rort was exposed.
Yellow by party, yellow by nature.
Think of the floor, Millsy. Do it outside. Really, I share your sentiments. How the hell did such naked greed and loathsome thinking ever get taken seriously outside of textbooks on forensic psychiatry?
Maybe we should be happy with a minimum wage that allows us to fly around the world for holidays, have a couple of cars, a few houses, and constantly rising capital value. To come up with this rubbish, Hide really is contemptuous of his readers. One more corrupt self-serving orc who should do us all a favour and just disappear.
Why Israeli Apartheid is Worse Than South Africa’s Version
Is Palestinian Solidarity an Occupied Zone?
by GILAD ATZMON March 09, 2013
Once involved with Palestinian Solidarity you have to accept that Jews are special and so is their suffering; Jews are like no other people, their Holocaust is like no other genocide and anti Semitism is the most vile form of racism the world has ever known and so on and so forth.
But when it comes to the Palestinians, the exact opposite is the case. For some reason we are expected to believe that the Palestinians are not special at all – they are just like everyone else. Palestinians have not been subject to a unique, racist, nationalist and expansionist Jewish nationalist movement, instead, we must all agree that, just like the Indians and the Africans, the Palestinian ordeal results from run-of-the-mill 19th century colonialism – just more of the same old boring Apartheid.
So, Jews, Zionists and Israelis are exceptional, like no one else, while Palestinians are always somehow ordinary, always part of some greater political narrative, always just like everyone else. Their suffering is never due to the particularity of Jewish nationalism, or Jewish racism, or even AIPAC dominating USA foreign policy no, the Palestinian is always a victim of a dull, banal dynamic – general, abstract and totally lacking in particularity.
This raises some serious questions.
Can you think of any other liberation or solidarity movement that prides itself in being boring, ordinary and dull? Can you think of any other solidarity movement that downgrades its subject into just one more meaningless exhibit in a museum of materialist historical happenings? I don’t think so! Did the black South Africans see themselves as being like everyone else? Did Martin Luther King believe his brothers and sisters to be inherently undistinguishable?
I don’t think so. So how come Palestinian solidarity has managed to sink so low that their spokespersons and supporters compete against each other to see who can best eliminate the uniqueness of the Palestinian struggle into just part of a general historical trend such as colonialism or Apartheid?
The answer is simple. Palestinian Solidarity is an occupied zone and, like all such occupied zones must dedicate itself to the fight against ‘anti Semitism’. Dutifully united against racism, fully engaged with LGBT issues in Palestine and in the movement itself, but for one reason or another, the movement is almost indifferent towards the fate of millions of Palestinians living in refugee camps and their Right of Return to their homeland.
But all this can change. Palestinians and their supporters could begin to see their cause for what it is, unique and distinctive. Nor need this be all that difficult. After all, if Jewish nationalism is inherently exceptional as Zionists proclaim, is it not only natural that the victims of such a distinctive racist endeavor are at least, themselves, just as distinctive.
So far, Palestine solidarity has failed to liberate Palestine, but it has succeeded beyond its wildest dreams in creating a Palestine Solidarity Industry, and one largely funded by liberal Zionists. We have been very productive in schlepping activists around the world promoting ‘boycotts’ and ‘sanctions’ meanwhile Israel trade with Britain is booming and Hummus Tzabar is clearly apparent in every British grocery store.
All those attempts to reduce Palestinian ordeal into a dated, dull, generalised materialist narrative should be exposed for what they are – an attempt to appease liberal Zionists. Palestinian suffering is actually unique in history at least as unique as the Zionist project.
Yesterday I came across this from South African minister Ronnie Kasrils. In a comment on Israeli Apartheid he said : “This is much worse than Apartheid…Israeli measures, the brutality, make apartheid look like a picnic. We never had jets attacking our townships; we never had sieges that lasted month after month. We never had tanks destroying houses.”
Kasrils is dead right. It is much worse than Apartheid and far more sophisticated than colonialism. And why? Because what the Zionists did and are doing is neither Apartheid nor is it colonialism. Apartheid wanted to exploit the African, Israel wants the Palestinian gone. Colonialism is an exchange between a mother and a settler state. Israel never had a mother State, though it may well have had a few ‘surrogate mothers’.
Now is the time to look at the unique ordeal of the Palestinian people. Similarly, now is the time to look at the Zionist crime in the light of Jewish culture and identity politics.
Can the solidarity movement meet this challenge? Probably, but like Palestine, it must first, itself, be liberated.
Gilad Atzmon’s latest book is The Wandering Who? A Study of Jewish Identity Politics
Israel has constitutional democracy and a free press. Those are the important things for Pop. He’s a caricature.
Meanwhile, what worries me most about Israel and the hardcore Zionists is how they have managed to refine anti-semitism as being anything they don’t like. Their efforts to rewrite the history of Palestine are heroic in their magnitude. They are writing the Palestinians out of existence.
The one and only thing that Goff ever did that I liked was to tell Tel Aviv that they didn’t decide who he could visit and go ahead with a visit to Arafat. I can’t see either Shearer or Key doing anything comparable.
The one and only thing that Goff ever did that I liked was to tell Tel Aviv that they didn’t decide who he could visit and go ahead with a visit to Arafat.
Fair comment, Murray, but even then, Goff did not have the integrity or the courage to meet with the Hamas leadership.
I can’t see either Shearer or Key doing anything comparable.
Neither can I. I don’t believe any of the talk about how Shearer used to “stare down warlords” in Iraq.
“I don’t believe any of the talk about how Shearer used to “stare down warlords” in Iraq.”
Me neither. Mainly because the country concerned is Somalia. If you have any evidence that Shearer lied about his work and experiances in Lebanon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Serbia and Somalia, and, latterly, Iraq, then by all means front up with it. Or just admit you’re just making shit up, as usual.
I made nothing up. I simply quoted one of the most common factoids (or, more accurately, falsoids) put into the media at the time Shearer was making his run for the leadership.
Based on his inability to say anything coherently, even when faced with a friendly interviewer, I doubt that he “stared down warlords in Iraq”, as his spin-doctors claimed repeatedly.
You seem to have an emotional investment in Shearer; I wonder if you were one of the ones involved in the spinning of this patently absurd legend.
So, no proof then, Mozza? Why am I not surprised? If you have any reason to doubt Shearer’s work history, now would be a good time to pony up. Otherwise, you tend to look like a bit of a sad sack. BTW, what was it like for you when you did your humanitarian work? Y’know, when you put your life at risk to help others? Do, tell, mate, I’m sure your backstory will be fascinating.
Were you there with Shearer when he did his *humanitarian work*, or when he *stared down warlords*…
If you were not there with him, then your support, like the fantastical words of the PR spin behind Shearer, and Key etc, are simply endorsing the puppets of those who simply, made shit up!
Sad diversion BTW Voice, Mozza is not Trojan horse leader of the LP selling himself as giving a toss about NZ, or its people (include the Africans in that), using a fantastical back story, the rival of the *great self made businessman*, John Key!
Obama got a Nobel prize for peace, yeah, shit gets manufactured to suit a purpose!
Any proof the stories aren’t true, Muz? No? Then bollox to you too. Just another keyboard warrior, sans the balls to actually face reality as it is lives. Y’know, the real difference between you and Moz and David Shearer is that he can’t talk the talk and you two phonies can’t walk the walk.
Voice – So you were not with Shearer on his UN adventures then, we have established that!
Talk of reality, and walk or talk, is foolish, you have no idea about my situations/contributions, than you do of Shearers, thats the reality sport!
As I’ve said on here a long time back, your personal efforts to the LP etc, will not be any less meaningful, in reality, at the time it becomes even more obvious than it already is, David Shearer exposed as yet another parachuted sham traitor pretending to be a Kiwi!
Shearer’s humanitarian work (and personal courage) is well documented and recognised. It long predates his decision to run for Labour leader, or even stand in Mt Albert. (for example, his office was bombed in Baghdad, and yes, he had to deal with warlords in Somalia).
The fact that Shearer is poor at his current job doesn’t mean we have to belittle his previous one(s).
Fair enough. So is it to much to ask for this. I want to see that personal courage on display right up front and centre as Labour Leader standing explicitly for Labour values.
Somalia, knee capping your own colleagues, promising private house building corporates windfall profits, whatever doesn’t count. In this game, you’re only as good as your last sales pitch, not the one you successfully made 10 years ago.
You would think after the Pike River disaster this kind of thing couldn’t happen? What Kiwi Rail’s General Manager Rick Vanerveld has to say is a bloody disgrace & he should be sacked!
If I recall correct this bloke was in the papers axing nearly 200 Track jobs about this time & then I heard he got in contractors. Yip that sounds right as they were contractors in that tunnel, untrained in gas emergency evacuation etc. This mug is backing one of his Managers, who rather then
take the gassed workers for immediate medical treatment, instead takes them for a feed like they had too much to drink…”that’s shocking he should have been fired for that ¬ seeing they were trained.”
It will never happen the bosses always back their own & fudge things over after the pricks!
I wonder if the media are following this story up? I smell a cover up & bet there is a lot more to this story!
Our industrial landscape is starting to resemble third world environments with a govt willingly undermining health, safety and backing management all the way.
Kiwi rail is a classic example as its got slipperys henchmen kicking it at every turn and a puppet CEO natty boy.
OSH and ACC should be claiming a few scalps over this. And this is business as usual when companies axe staff and hire external contractors and sub-contractors, as currently all the health and safety risk is moved onto the external contractors, who usually try and cut corners to save money…
(I’ve done temping, and all we got was a very basic H&S video, while working directly for a company I’ve been given pretty decent H&S)
As I’ve said before, I know two senior H&S people who’ve both confirmed to me that ‘contracting out the risk’ is the major motivation.
The entire trend towards contracting, temping and casualisation is exceedingly bad. It’s damaging at every level. Contracting has a place, but only in certain specific scenarios. Where it is plainly being used to replace full-time employment, this practise must be stamped out.
Looking forward to hearing David Shearer announce strong policy aimed squarely towards at fixing this.
notes not handy, but, the article on TV ONE on cannabis use and opiate use in the NZ workplace blew my mind (but didn’t surprise me). When I dug ditches / drove a dump-truck, a quarter to a third of the crew were stoned or fried. 🙂
Another comment my acquaintances have made is that it’s been more than 20 yrs since the passing of the 1992 H&S Act ….but serious harm injuries have scarcely declined at all. Still hovering around the 5000-7000 pa mark.
Some employers (like my one) do take their H&S responsibilities very seriously; far too many others simply parasite off the system doing the least they can possibly get away with doing. Or less. And their employees (or contractors) simply pick up on the lack of leadership.
It’s not hard. If everyone knows that certain H&S breaches are automatic dismissal offences … then everyone very quickly plays the game.
personally, and objectively Red, I agree with the comment made earlier this week re: we just don’t have the political class (the liquidity or investment) to reverse up the decline; I talk to a wide range of people, from the giftedly “insane” to the lucidly “sane” on these sociological / geographical matters and the outlook seems to be “Gimme Shelter”
(+ thanks to TS and wider directed reading, there is plenty of confirmation on the ‘net if one is not a caught up playing “games” or looking for things to buy) btw, thanks for your endorsement of the influence of “faiths” in all this calamity in your postings.
yet, we could always Welcome China, but then, there is always that great wall, (i don’t think the Chinese will ever forget the Nanking Massacre / RAPE of Nanking either).People are people (for example, all these pissed diplomat / negotiators at UN conferences) and what was sown by the majority of the West (grass for example) will be mown down in time. There is an “eclectic” prophecy for ya; it has all gone too far, in my humble opinion.
Yeap, and the the business hiring temp’s know also they’re getting a shit deal, as usually the workers aren’t that capable due or even interested and so poor work results. As I’ve heard oft from commercial businesses I’ve worked for via student job search.
[insert shoddy contracting via lowest-bidder stories here]
Looking forward to hearing David Shearer announce strong policy aimed squarely towards at fixing this.
O_o
From Captain Mubblefuck?…
We’re more likely to get a complete reversal on asset sales by Key than such a piece of policy from Labour at present /cough
There sure is a lot more to it. http://i.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/7290292/Union-fears-KiwiRail-cuts-threaten-workers-safety This rank and file Union guy blew the whistle on serious Health & Safety issues at Kiwi Rail, including the Kaimai tunnel incident. Those bastards running the railways tried to use the job cuts to get get rid of him. Last I heard he got forced to move up to the far North or be made redundant. In other words ‘sacked’.
I would have thought whistle blowers were protected by law and the Employer would be skating on thin ice if he took a personal grievance?
The following link is to Rod Oram’s comments on Govt proposals to change the RMA. Govt is holding public meetings over next couple of weeks to “explain” their discussion paper. Oram suggests Govt is leaving out vital facts, and just using surveys as factual reasons to change the RMA.
Oram suggests Govt is leaving out vital facts, and just using surveys as factual reasons to change the RMA.
That would be normal for this government. Paint a pretty picture but leave out the facts so that people don’t realise the truth and thus can’t make informed decisions. It’s all part of the We know best syndrome of National and the ideological ignoring of reality.
Granting considerable new powers to central Government such as the ability to take individual consent decisions out of local councils and place them in a new national body; and inserting provisions in local council plans without any consultation.
Yep, more dictatorial control from this government.
Fingers crossed it bloody well works as this would allow us to kick our coal habit within a couple of decades at least. Mainly as you need the infrastructure for harvesting and delivering deuterium on very large scales + manufacture the reactors.
There’s actually a lot of research going on in fusion power sources. The “always 50 years away” really refers to the big tokamak reactors that will eventually get there, but obviously not for a long time and at such a cost that they’re not truly feasible as a source of power.
In the mean time, we may see one of these ‘alternative’ methods take off.
Tokamak’s are problematic mainly due to the fluid physics of the plasma, lots of eddies that reduce fusion output and require large amounts of computing power to model and iron out. ITER will probably provide better data on whether or not Tok’s can ever produce enough power for commercial viability.
And yeah, tok’s and laser-based interial confinement fusion systems have pretty much taken the lion’s share of available funding. ICF particularly as it provides useful data for nuclear weapons, but mainly it’s been international treaties and science politics that’s kept these two methods in the forefront in my opinion*.
The other main alternative runner is the Polywell, which has achieved fusion, but they’ve lost US Naval funding as of 2012 so are trying to get private funding.
As for cold fusion – load of crap at present, too little non-problematic data, in particular Bubble Fusion is another shining example of how science can go wrongzors.
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*Could make for a fun history of science area actually… Generally you see a pattern of older, established scientists holding sway over an area and so it becomes difficult to bring in new ideas unless they have a lot of empirical evidence behind them. Seems to affect physics more.
I’ve been following pollywell for 5 or so years now, didn’t know they lost their navel funding though, that sucks. Alternatively, it seemed like the government wasn’t really giving it the funding it deserved and kept everything Top Secret, so this could be an improvement.
Mind you, the basics of the polywell are actually pretty cheap to build and test, though more research is needed to test it’s viability as there’s still some issues with the physics of the plasma confinement and pressure going off the details available.
Anyhow, it’s good to see that Lockheed-Martin’s actually putting the funds from it’s horribly overpriced military hardware to a much more useful technology and letting Skunk Works go nuts :3
I reckon that these developments are about 25 years too late to have a big impact on the energy future of the world, and I’m thinking about India and China here, two massive coal users. The best case I see is for a relatively small number of fusion generators to be built in time for VIP and high priority uses.
Unless of course the dream of having a suitcased size generator putting out a MW of energy comes true, but that’s the stuff of Star Trek.
But remember the circumstances under which the Enterprise crew first met “Q”…it was a desolate picture of earth in the 21st century after the next global war.
furthermore, Wonders of Wonders for you LGBT folk out there 😉 ; at S.A service this morning an extended testimony by a Gay man, artist, novelist, trained pianist, tertiary teacher, about his journey and acceptance. Very moving (although a few Trads. seemed a little bemused, still, that’s progress for you.kinda like how being tr*lld makes ya stronger, iron sharpening Iron and all that stainless. 🙂
I don’t think so, China at least accepts climate change is a very serious issue, and if this reactor is viable, they’ll probably cancel the coal plants waiting to be built and redirect funding towards building these reactors. Heck, depending on how the energy from the reactor is being turned into electricity, you could retrofit current coal burning plant’s with them and drive the in place steam turbine power generators. Saving a lot of infrastructure costs in the process.
And your forgetting just how much shear industrial capacity is present, given the drive, it can easily be redeployed towards producing just about anything, and the FRC reactor Skunk Work’s is proposing is far less complex that a tokamak. Mainly due to the confinement of the plasma via a magnetic bottle which doesn’t need a huge array of powerful electromagnets to run, and so doesn’t need entirely special lining as there’s no plasma eroding it.
It will obviously take time to build and set up using current carbon-based energy sources, but if Skunk Works can get it to produce a large net energy from a self-sustaining fusion reaction, the possibilities are literally mind-boggling. For one, human civilisation might just have enough energy to start mining the air for carbon at an industrial scale and reduce atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Along with no longer needing to dam so many rivers for energy production, allowing for the rehabilitation of certain river systems and removal of dams in very tectonically active areas.
Then there’s the obvious advantages in terms of electrification in the developing world for food and medicine preservation and storage. All from a reactor that is highly portable compared to the nuclear* and carbon-based alternatives.
Are we still stuffed climate and resource wise? Yeap, but this is the sort of technology that when combined with other green-methods would allow us to adapt, survive and even reduce global temperatures. Albeit, a rather problematic set of “if” statements are still involved, mainly as democratic governments can be bloody stupid and some powerful non-state actors (i.e. corporations) have their heads firmly stuck in the short-term, despite the looming crises…
Oh, and it makes SPAAAAAAACE a lot easier to move around in, as this reactor can be used to generate thrust directly, or used to run an ion-based drive array :3
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*well, pebble-bed reactors show some promise for portability and safety, but there’s a whole range of issues, including all the usual ones…
This is the absolute tech-solution best case, not saying it won’t happen but I wouldn’t rate it at a higher than 10% chance right now.
The Skunk Works is not going to release this tech to the world (or to China) for a very long time. It would be too much of a strategic advantage for the USA.
Once the technology has a pilot which can produce say 100MW sustained, I’ll believe that it is on the way.
Right now, I’m tempted to put it in the category of civilisation saving solutions requiring “Unobtanium” to work.
Yeap, but this is the sort of technology that when combined with other green-methods would allow us to adapt, survive and even reduce global temperatures
😛
As for this not being available to China, lets just say this tech isn’t exactly hard to replicate (based off currently published research on FRC and other reactors) and Lockhead-Martin might suck deeply and greedily on the teat of US Defence contracts. But this is a major money spinner that would give them a far more secure line of funding than the US DoD contracts. Which is going to get cut to the bone as American politicians are now beginning to stop holding it’s budget as sacrosanct.
Although the moronic right are a significant issue that may cause problems.
Worth bearing in mind that Lockheed Martin could also make a tonne of money exporting the F-22 Raptor, but it’s banned from doing so through national security legislation and technology export restrictions.
True, but that’s mainly because they’re getting government funding to develop and build the F22 airframe, internals and computer systems.
And while certain political douchebags might push for Skunk Works’ FRC reactor tech to not be exported to China and Russia, the shear need for this technology will hopefully hammer those idiots out of sight. Otherwise China’s gotten very good at industrial espionage 😉
Sometimes humanity prevails against it’s more stupid, short-sighted impulses.
They’re still trying the tokamak route, though the stuff being trailed is very interesting. Main issue with the tokamaks is that so far, they appear to need to be rather large to provide significant power (scalability being teh term). Along with the turbulence issues with eddies in the plasma that can cause power spikes/drops. Also China’s part of the ITER project.
But I suspect the Chinese aren’t standing still on other alternatives and their fusion research will be keeping an eye on anything out of Skunk Works.
As for this not being available to China, lets just say this tech isn’t exactly hard to replicate (based off currently published research on FRC and other reactors)
Yep, and other governments, except ours, probably have their research already looking in to it – especially after the release of that video.
Yeap, but this is the sort of technology that when combined with other green-methods would allow us to adapt, survive and even reduce global temperatures
😛
As for this not being available to China, lets just say this tech isn’t exactly hard to replicate (based off currently published research on FRC and other reactors) and Lockhead-Martin might suck deeply and greedily on the teat of US Defence contracts. But this is a major money spinner that would give them a far more secure line of funding than the US DoD contracts. Which is going to get cut to the bone as American politicians are now beginning to stop holding it’s budget as sacrosanct.
Although the moronic right are a significant issue that may cause problems.
Yeap, but this is the sort of technology that when combined with other green-methods would allow us to adapt, survive and even reduce global temperatures
😛
As for this not being available to China, lets just say this tech isn’t exactly hard to replicate (based off currently published research on FRC and other reactors) and Lockhead-Martin might suck deeply and greedily on the teat of US Defence contracts. But this is a major money spinner that would give them a far more secure line of funding than the US DoD contracts. Which is going to get cut to the bone as American politicians are now beginning to stop holding it’s budget as sacrosanct.
Although the moronic right are a significant issue that may cause problems.
When you get a 500 error on a comment just go to the front page and then reload the page that you were on. Your comment is usually there. I also suggest, if you’re really paranoid, a ctrl-a, ctrl-c before hitting submit.
In theory (as in I will believe it when I don’t see it), I should have largely eliminated the main cause of those this afternoon just before 1700 hours. There was a SEO plugin with a bad habit of locking the whole post table when it pulled all 11777 public posts for an analysis. It particularly caused a problem when a re-edit tried to start it a second time while the first was still running (for some obscure reason). Eliminated it, changed it for a less clueless plugin doing the same thing, and couldn’t see the reproducible effect afterwards.
I won’t know for sure until I see some new posts going up when the system is loaded. Ditto for finding out how well the new plugin keeps the search engines updated on comments. This one has less visible controls.
The log hasn’t shown any 500 responses since I restarted the apache server to start analysing the lag at about 2000 (been out)
The tech isn’t coming out of the “Skunk Works” – it’s mostly private sector, or possible government funded projects in France and Japan. The Polywell is pretty well understood, and I think you seriously underestimate China’s tech state of the art.
CV
While thinking about India there was a good update on Radionz this morning on how it is thinking and acting which might put recent vicious attacks on women in the picture among other matters.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday
11:44 Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint
Wayne Brittenden has been Radio New Zealand’s correspondent in several capital cities over the years. Each week he gives fresh insights into a wide variety of topics of national and international concern, followed by Chris Laidlaw’s discussion of the issue with guests. Today, while India is now seen as belonging to the middle economic bracket countries, new Oxford University research reveals what critics within India have known all along — that the last 20 years of unfettered market forces haven’t reduced the vast number of those living in dire poverty. Wayne looks at today’s neo-liberal consumerist India, and Chris follows up with Dharmendra Kumar, the Director of the Indian Campaign Group, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Watch. (14′49″)
Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3 | Embed
A less polluting and more efficient power source certainly opens up a lot of opportunities. If it’s used by the public sector to provide cheap power and save natural resources, it could be a great advance. If it ends up in the hands of the same greedy corporates, the price of power probably wouldn’t even go down. The technological solutions are always possible, but we need the social organisation which allows them to be used for more than the benefit of a small minority.
Turning Japanese http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10870285
so in Christchurch.
tail-end of an RNZ article on cancer treatment, along with Stress, Resentment is a significant etiological factor. (best to unload the sack on our back as we tramp through life; His yoke is Light
😉 )
And this is what National’s possibly looking at going into a coalition with? Ye gads, it’s almost enough to make me want to keep ACT’s undead corpse around. Notice too, how he conveniently doesn’t cite any polling evidence.
Well, he has a point. If you take “public support is shifting towards a traditional view of marriage” to mean “by lying to people about the current law and scaremongering about issues that don’t exist and also lying about the process being followed, we’ve created a lot of confusion and then carefully worded our polling questions so they almost get the answers we want”. Craig’s just being more concise, is all.
TV One News has just announced Joyce has committed to fixing Novopay within three months. An education sector person was hailing it on the news on tele as great to hear and that it was about time. But that’s not what Joyce said. He did say that he wanted as much done as possible to fix things within three months. That’s very different. In fact, does this mean that Joyce accepts not as much as possible was done over the past few months? Probably, but people need to listen to these slippery characters. When the three months is up and nothing’s been done Joyce will simply say that he did not give a commitment to fix Novopay within three months, and he’ll be right.
Of course it buys Joyce time and by that time the heat will have gone out and maybe the population will be bored by the story. Trust Mr Joyce? Sure can.
Native Affairs was on tonight (Maori TV) and featured an interview with David Shearer. I didn’t see it, because – not for the first time – it was poorly publicised. Some reaction here …
I never know whether Labour’s media reticence is deliberate strategy or just incompetence. Is it so hard to use social media and other outlets to say: “Today the leader will be on bFM, Maori TV, etc (as happened today). Why not issue a bulletin every day, announcing the day ahead? Too simple?
I learn far more from Google and Twitter than I ever do from the people who are PAID to publicise their party, their polcies, and their people. What on earth do they do all day?
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
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The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist A Pacific regionalism academic has called out New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS and says the security deal “raises serious questions for the Pacific region”. Auckland University of Technology academic Dr Marco de Jong ...
How worried should we be about the cloud? This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. I currently have a few thousand unread emails languishing in my inbox, mostly old marketing newsletters and piles of unread science journal press releases. I have a similar number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies College of Arts and Sciences Department of Languages, Literature, and Communication Studies, Northern State University Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Asian governments not only have to deal with the virus but also with the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Murakami Wood, Professor of Critical Surveillance and Securities Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa The skyline of Riyadh, the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.(Shutterstock) There is a long history of planned city building by both governments ...
The LIVE Recording of A View from Afar podcast will begin today at 12:45pm May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment of ...
The Boil Up’s Lucinda Bennett considers the oyster – from freshness to pearls to the joy of shucking your own. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. In Carmen Maria Machado’s short story ‘Eight Bites’, a woman begins her last supper before bariatric surgery with “a cavalcade ...
Asia Pacific Report A group of 65 Auckland University academics have written an open letter to vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater criticising the institution’s stance over students protesting in solidarity with Palestine. They have called on her administration to “support” the students who were denied permission to establish an “overnight encampment” by ...
The Student Volunteer Army is on the march, generating approximately 1.6 million hours of volunteering from roughly 35,000 secondary school students in just five years. For Rebekah Brown, the pathway to volunteering started with her singing coach. With a passion for the arts, the suggestion to volunteer at Acting Antics, ...
Keeping up with online communication can be exhausting, so Fran Barclay enlisted the help of Meta’s new ‘intelligent assistant’ to respond to all her messages. Could her mates tell the difference? For centuries, technology has ruled the ways in which we communicate. From the dawn of written language, to the ...
Jamie Arbuckle, a councillor who has become an member of parliament, says he has settled into having two roles so comfortably he's going to keep both pay cheques. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luis Gómez Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, University of Wollongong Fifty years ago, Australian feminist Anne Summers denounced “the ideology of sexism” governing over so many women’s lives. Unfortunately, sexism is as lethal today as it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Senior Researcher in Architecture, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic and the hybrid work patterns it fostered have changed the way we think about office space, and central business districts in general. While fears ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dale Boccabella, Associate Professor of Taxation Law, UNSW Sydney There’s a good reason your local volunteer-run netball club doesn’t pay tax. In Australia, various nonprofit organisations are exempt from paying income tax, including those that do charitable work, such as churches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marina Deller, Casual Academic, Creative Writing and English Literature, Flinders University NetflixComedy is opening up spaces for silences to be broken and trauma stories to be told. In 2018, Hannah Gadsby started a revolution with Nanette, asking audiences to rethink ...
The workplace can be a minefield of bad comms and passive aggression. Kinksters can help you navigate it. A friend and colleague recently gave me a compliment I loved. They told me I’d always been good at emotional communication and making people feel comfortable. “But I feel like it’s really ...
Even if some students are now just texting on their laptops. Stewart Sowman-Lund writes in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Councils from Horowhenua, Kāpiti, Wairarapa, the Hutt Valley, Porirua and Wellington City will meet this Friday to work together on a plan for a Greater Wellington region water deal. ...
Renowned musician, advocate, and proud born and raised daughter of Tauranga, Ria Hall, is announcing her candidacy for Mayor of Tauranga and Pāpāmoa Ward for the upcoming election on July 20th. ...
The new Aotearoa histories curriculum is rich with potential. There’s still work to be done, but the education minister’s criticisms about ‘balance’ miss the mark, argues primary school teacher Jessie Moss. In 2015, Ōtorohanga College students presented to parliament a petition signed by more than 10,000 people calling for a ...
For too long our so-called national bird has maintained its stranglehold on the economy of regional New Zealand. Thanks to the fast track legislation, we will have our revenge. Theories abound on what ails New Zealand’s economy. National leader Chris Luxon has posited that we’re negative, wet, whiny, and inward-looking; ...
For the past 12 years, Georgia-Rose Brown has balanced on the brink of making an Olympic Games – but always landed gracefully on the wrong side. Reaching the Olympics is a dream the gymnast has harboured since she was a six-year-old; a dream that would dwindle every four years, yet ...
Late one afternoon in March 1860 a man in a thin green velveteen jacket and a wide-awake hat arrived on foot at a sheep station named Glenmark, about 65 kilometres north of Christchurch. The man was in his mid-fifties but he looked older. Several people who met him that day ...
If building one of Auckland’s possible waterfront stadiums was funded privately, it would need to hold a sold-out Ed Sherran concert every weekday for 25 years. That’s Rob Hamlin’s finding – he’s a senior marketing lecturer at the University of Otago. “It’s not going to happen; forget about it,” he ...
Comment: The debate over the future relationship between news and social media is bringing us closer to a long-overdue reckoning. Social media isn’t trying to kill journalism, because social media has never really cared about journalism. Social media is resolutely in the attention business. News propels some attention — perhaps ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A new Commonwealth Prac Payment will provide students with $319.50 a week when they are on clinical and professional placements. The payment will be means tested and start from July 1 next year, which ...
Asia Pacific Report About 500 people honoured Palestinian journalists in the heart of the New Zealand city of Auckland today for their brave coverage of Israel’s War on Gaza, now in its seventh month with almost 35,000 people killed, mostly women and children. Marking the annual May 3 World Press ...
The Government Communications Security Bureau denies hosting a foreign spying capability flagged by the watchdog, differentiating it from the system recently criticised. ...
RNZ News A group of academic staff at New Zealand’s largest university have expressed concern at the administration’s move to block a protest encampment that was planned to take place on campus calling for support for the rights of Palestinians. This week, the University of Auckland warned that while it ...
Genterwocky After a hard days marching, Sir Doocey calls in at the Village Tavern For a pint of ale and a pork pie. The grim villagers stare at him. “Do not be travelling on the forest road,” warns a crusty old beak. “And why is that, antique peasant?” Grins Sir ...
Political conferences after a party returns to power are usually a chance for some healthy, even unhealthy backslapping. Yet National Party president Sylvia Wood’s address to its mainland representatives on Saturday hardly contained the unalloyed delight that one might have expected following National’s escape from the wilderness of opposition. Yes, ...
Comment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...
Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
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+ 1 for only mild use of mansplaining when there is plenty of opportunity to use it more
+10 for OP’s proving beyond doubt that we do in fact live in a rape culture
+ 7 for all those posters who declare that a drunk woman is partially, if not fully responsible for any subsequent rape that occurs while she is intoxicated (curiously no mention of any men having their dicks cut off while passed out drunk being entirely responsible for the loss of their manly member)
+2 for the poster who declares that, “you will get more credibility here if you post under your ‘usual’ name”. It’s only plus two because frankly it’s getting old and isn’t even intellectually offensive anymore because it’s not like anyone is actually going to use their real names because OP implied they needed more credibility in the first place. An intelligent argument should do just fine actually.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Community/MessageBoard/Messages.aspx?id=1222972&topic=5
And +20 for this little gem from ratherbefishin, otherwise known as Greg from Waitakere City.
Occupation: Getting well from a serious car accident.
Hmmmm. Probably run down by a pissed off feminist.
Sure, there are predators out there, but your dauhgters [sic] are presenting themselves as bait. Look most rapes, not all, the girls are drunk or on drugs, dressed over provocatively, act like fools, put themselves in situations that is condusive to making the situation worse. It’s the parents fault for not naking them safe and teaching them the right values about mixing in the ‘right’ cirlces….you can’t get rabbits from rats.
You +20 that?
“Sure, there are predators out there, but your dauhgters [sic] are presenting themselves as bait.”
There are predators out there, no doubting that, but whatever conduct or dress (lack of) sense, the ‘bait’ argument can only comes from those excusing or mitigating the ‘hunter’.
“Look most rapes, not all, the girls are drunk or on drugs, dressed over provocatively, act like fools, put themselves in situations that is condusive to making the situation worse.”
Doesn’t matter if women are drunk, drugged, in short skirts, boob tubes and give a guy the come on. The self control still remains with the male of the species. Always has, always will… Unless you’re a chimp.
“It’s the parents fault for not naking them safe and teaching them the right values about mixing in the ‘right’ cirlces”
Blame the parents of the victim of sex crimes. Nice work, idiot.
“you can’t get rabbits from rats.”
Or reasoned debate from trade me.
Yeah, I adopted a rating system from http://www.annalsofonlinedating.com/ where either the profiles of daters or their attempts at snagging someone via messaging are rated according to how bad they are.
I didn’t understand the +
Now I do 😉
+ Tard
🙂
Absolutely disgusting.
But the handle ratherbefishin explains volumes about this guy. Some thickheaded kiwi bloke douchebag who wants to string gays up with piano wire and sees women as sub human.
Greg. I promise you, come the revolution, you will be sorry.
Thats not a very nice way to talk about your mother
Anyone that can write that about rape must have a real struggle stopping themselves from attacking young women. I suggest preventative custody to safeguard society. If the guy hasn’t raped already, I bet he will.
It’s interesting that the commenting gets worse over time, and watching rape culture proponents work hard to prevail. I didn’t read the comments to the end because the thread was becoming ever-more demoralising to read. I assume the pro-rape-culture team continued to dominate the discussion through aggression and insults, seldom making any genuine effort to address the arguments of the protestors.
Still, I believe there has been real progress made in the public consciousness, since I was helped to join the dots to an understanding of rape culture, a few years ago.
The LGBT rights movement is always an inspiration in what can be achieved, but I’m only too aware of the personal brunt of public contempt and derision, and other kinds of psychological and physical violence borne hardest and most continuously by those at the forefront of the movement from the beginning. It was hard and dangerous work, and the fight continues today, but from a position of relative strength. But progress can happen in the teeth of seemingly overwhelming resistance.
And there are some hopeful signs:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10870210
” rape culture proponents”
Who are they? Can you cite anyone who says rape culture is great and needs to be maintained?
“rape culture” is a concept which only belongs to feminist ideology, it is not generally accepted.
You are trying to smear anyone who doesn’t pedal feminist doctrine as rape supporters.
You are like those rightwing yanks who accuse anyone who opposes them as being terrorists supporters or sympathisers.
People like you who claim that rape culture doesn’t exist despite all the evidence that it does.
Ask the NZ Police force, they wrote the book on it!
194 million results for “rape culture” on Google. Only 6.5 mil for “deconstructionist Marxist feminist”.
js, thanks for the tautoko yesterday 🙂
Urge to summon Cthulhu rising….
The trademe boards are up their with major gaming forums for the level of burning stupid and outright sexist, echo-room bullshit. Nothing that a little “gentle” moderating couldn’t fix, but trademe lacks teh spine to do so, afraid that they’ll loose customers.
To this day I get pageviews from the Trademe forums to a post I wrote about Pippa Wetzell/Paul Henry/Breakfast, apparently from people who can’t spot the fact that my blog isn’t a news site and that the post in question is satire.
O_o
Well, trademe board users aren’t the brightest bunch at times…
(May the elder things grant me the mighty banhammer of troll-halla to smack the unworthy back unto the wretched lands of talkback, ramen)
Lord Ashcroft spends some more money, doesn’t get the result he hoped for:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/mar/09/labour-election-win-tory-poll
A couple of learnings for NZ; Labour is underacheiving (the Cameron Government is nowhere near as hopeless as Key’s lot) and if NZ First go into coalition with the tories after the next election, they can look forward to ceasing to exist 3 years later.
Sort of makes me glad the lib dems failed to get rid of first past the post.
One can only imagine how shockingly poor the conservative party would be if backed by the loonies and racists of the right to hold on to power.
I wonder if the Lord was using the “research” as a cunning way to direct the Tories in the direction that he wanted. Scare tactics?
Lurch to the right, play to baser instinct. What could go wrong?
Worked so well for JK, even NZ Labour are at it.
Yep, Al1en, that’s exactly what Ashcroft wants. However, the results don’t help him turn them in that direction. If the poll had shown losses at, say, 20 seats, he could have got traction to move policy to the right; to strengthen the appeal to vavering traditional tory voters who have shifted to the anti-european UKIP. However, what this poll shows is that the electorate wants middle of the road or even left policies. So Cameron has to move to the centre to shore up the tory vote. That’s got to piss off Ashcroft more than just a bit.
Calamity and complacency aside, Labour, as unpopular as can be in government, will be back after only one term out, and whilst not the Labour party many here would prefer it to be, it’s got a well spoken leader that holds to core left principles. The people respond.
Camp mallard should have looked further afield for a game plan than the blinding light of our pm that so clearly bedazzles them and sets their agenda.
NZ First will not go into coalition with National. The 1990s are over, everyone out of the pool.
Never predict winston 🙂
What gives TRP?
A month ago you were saying everything is fine and Shearer will lead Labour to victory and now you are saying that Labour is underachieving. What is happening?
Nothing gives, MS. I was making the comparison with UK Labour, who also started from a poor election result and are lead by someone who is still working to convince his own party of his merits, yet have gone on to gain enough support to govern alone. The NZLP caucus are underacheiving in comparison.
So what changes need to be made to Caucus, asked in the most neutral way possible …
It comes down to attitude mickysavage. At present the caucus catechism is:
our (read ABC club) side is good.
the other side is bad.
We will only take notice of our side.
We will ignore everything the other side says and does.
Today I received my electorate’s first newsletter for the year. It contained a letter (no indication where it came from) from an unnamed new, young member who attended his/her first conference last November.. It was essentially a eulogy to David Shearer and contained such language as…working for a brighter future (now where have I heard that before), more progressive and more inclusive society… this is the Labour way and all of it was achieved at the Conference.
Why am I suspicious of this letter? Well, it has an [insert name here] quality about it.
I sincerely hope I’m wrong.
“Drought gripping the North Island is the most severe in history, with the crisis far from over both for now and in years to come, scientists say.
“Long, dry spells are forecast to double by 2040 as temperatures continue to rise and New Zealand heads towards a more Mediterranean climate.
“Experts warn it could spell the end for farming as we know it and may cost the country billions of dollars in drought relief each year before practices are adjusted.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/8405004/North-Island-drought-worst-in-history
Actually, the best thing we could do would be to have the government buy enough farms to feed everybody and put in place practices (Heaps of R&D at the universities) to farm in the new environment. Then you let all the rest continue or fall upon their own – just as capitalism calls for.
University R&D can’t help in this situation. It’s the wrong approach to modifying and applying existing knowledge.
I agree, the best research is being done outside of universities. The unis could get in behind though.
I’ll reiterate what others have said here recently – drought is being created by conventional farming as much as (if not more so) than by climate change.
This TED talk (20 mins) shows how to graze animals so you don’t end up in a drought (both locally and from climate change). Alan Savory has been doing this on the ground research for over 50 years, and developed systems of mob grazing that reverse desertification and sequester carbon and restore local microclimates on such a large scale that they probably would effect macro climate if adopted en masse.
At the end the TED host calls the presentation truly astonishing, but these farm technologies, based on mimicking natural cycles, are well known in sustainably land management circles and are even being used successfully in NZ.
http://www.ted.com/speakers/allan_savory.html
John Liu’s work is worthy too, here he looks at the restoration of the severely damaged huge Loess Plateau in China back into a food producing oasis, as well as restoration in other parts of the world (50mins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=J3WisjXYik4
And a quick look (5mins) at the Greening the Desert project in Jordan (one of the driest places on earth supporting humans). Geoff Lawton took 10 acres of salinated man-made desert and had it starting to produce food from trees within four months.
Exactly. For instance, modern farming has destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of tussock land, which were crucial for feeding atmospheric moisture into the land.
That’s one thing that’s been bugging me for years. Academia in NZ is unwilling to accept knowledge gained outside of academia in NZ and that needs to change.
Maybe that happens in some specific branches of academia, DTB, but it couldn’t be applied in Physics, for example. I’m part of academia whether I like the label or not, and apart from Hitler’s attempt at introducing Aryan Physics, I’ve never seen evidence of what you suggest.
Which areas would you say this unwillingness applies to?
The horticultural arms of universities tend to have farms where they research better methods of farming.
Too much of it is the wrong kind of research. You need research working with real farmers on their own land.
Well, if the universities are doing their job, then they are. The simple fact of the matter is that the farmer is unlikely to be able to do the research but once the research has been done can help come up with better methods of implementation and the university owned farms would probably have farm managers on them as well.
“The simple fact of the matter is that the farmer is unlikely to be able to do the research”
Why do you say that? Many farmers practice empirical science anyway, and any farmer with either a good working knowledge of the scientific method, or support with that, can do research on their own property. It’s not rocket science 😉
Universities in NZ aren’t leading the way on developing sustainable practice, they’re following. And the way that universities are structured and operate, the hard sciences in particular, is inherently reductionist, making studying whole systems harder and less likely. This is why we are in the ridiculous situation of trying to solve river/waterway pollution from industrial dairying by chemically treating paddocks to prevent increases in nitrogen, instead of changing farming practices to prevent excess nitrogen in the first place. The inability to see natural cycles in their whole and to work with them is the big stumbling block, that and greed economics/capitalism. Universities are going to research conventional farming, because that’s what we do. They’re not focusing (enough*) on the kind that is making a difference.
Crown research is just as bad. Restructuring that happened in the 80s and 90s prevented the early adoption of sustainable practices, and many of the field researchers lost their jobs. From what I can tell focus was on economics and practices that created financial wealth.
*there are some notable exceptions eg the long-standing Biological Husbandry Unit at Lincoln has been pioneering organics for over 3 decades.
Seriously DTB, watch some of those videos and then compare what they are talking about with what is being done in universities, then you will get what I mean.
Because the farmers are more likely to be using land to make a profit with what they know. If they were doing anything else our waterways wouldn’t be as polluted as they are.
No, it’s a hell of a lot more complex.
That I can agree with but i also think that they’re changing. As I said, a number of them now have their own farms to work with and when you’ve got that then you must start to see the entire system rather than just the pieces.
Or they could be doing both.
“Because the farmers are more likely to be using land to make a profit with what they know. If they were doing anything else our waterways wouldn’t be as polluted as they are.”
We’re talking at cross purposes. I’m talking about farmers who are doing the cutting edge work on sustainable land management. They’re doing their own research, and being successful at creating new models of farming that don’t wreck the land (or quite as fast). Universities are lagging behind this.
” ” It’s not rocket science”
No, it’s a hell of a lot more complex.”
No, it’s not. Working with biological systems that mimic nature to grow food requires expertise, but you do not need an advanced science degree to understand it, not implement it. Nor study it.
“That I can agree with but i also think that they’re changing. As I said, a number of them now have their own farms to work with and when you’ve got that then you must start to see the entire system rather than just the pieces.”
Why? If you’ve been trained all your working life to look at the isolated detail and not the systems, and if your work situation demands that that is how you do research, and that kind of research is what gets the funding, why would you get to see it differently. Having one’s own farm doesn’t make one see differently – to use your example, if it did then farmers wouldn’t be polluting the environment.
“Or they could be doing both.”
Treating excess nitrogen by applying chemicals to a paddock is equivalent to the old lady that swallowed the fly. It’s just daft. If you manage land holistically in the first place, you don’t need to do that kind of disruptive intervention (or very rarely). I’m guessing you’re not that familiar with the kinds of technologies I’m talking about and don’t really understand the paradigm differences and why they matter. Maybe someone else can explain it?
Golly. Yep. Jim
“David Cameron a liar a cheat a criminal in public office”
The artist taxi driver
Don’t forget Cameron and John Yankee are chums.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hEU9uN-bo0&list=UUGThM-ZZBba1Zl9rU-XeR-A&index=1
This government looks to the U$K for ideas to apply here. 🙁
Tories’ hidden privatisation plan revealed
25 Feb 2013 00:00
The massive step towards full privatisation of the NHS is being made in regulations sneaked out earlier this month – exposed by the Daily Mirror
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-tories-hidden-privatisation-plan-1729681
“The new rules impose “compulsory competitive markets” on the entire health service.
The changes are planned under the overhaul launched by Tory former Health Secretary Andrew Lansley. He claimed there was nothing in it to “promote or permit the transfer of NHS activities to the private sector”.
But now all services are to be offered to the highest bidder from April 1.
The move would allow “any qualified provider” including giants such as Virgin Care to outbid local hospitals.
Critics fear the rules will let companies asset-strip NHS facilities. Labour have warned firms could cherry-pick the easiest, most profitable, procedures, leaving the NHS to pick up the tab for tricky and expensive surgery.”
“This intended ‘privatisation’ will mean a short term of financial gain for
the Tory Party followed by higher costs as shareholders have their hands out for their profit. Charing X Hospital is stuffed with new equipment, but understaffed – I wonder why! This government from what I deduce are thieves and profiteers. How much do they expect to make from our Schools and ‘Academies'”
Heh the Daily Mirror proving that it’s (a little) more than just T&A.
Rodney Hide explains that since most business owners make less than the minimum wage (why the hell else would anyone run a business!) the pinkos shouldn’t expect a living wage. So there.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10870282
Rodney discretely omits any mention of the ability of business owners to sell their business and pay no capital gains tax, assuming that stupid lefties ” think running a business is easy. That’s because they have never done it.”
Or extract living and other expenses from the business’s effectively living directly from its funds.
A rort that rortney would be all too familiar with
He probably also counts poorly paid contractors as sole trader businesses.
Good luck trying to sell a business not making money.
You’ll also find, unless a business has locked in contracts apart from stock and plant the business really has no value at all.
That must be why Rortney and co. are so keen to buy our power generators.
Mighty river power is a great investment, hopefully it will stimulate more interest in stocks and away from property
.Apart from property there’s no where else for people to invest there money and get any form of return.
hopefully it will stimulate more interest in stocks
So it’s a bait and switch then?
Not sure how you get bait and switch?
Not sure how you miss it…
Bait-and-switch is a form of fraud used in retail sales but also practised in other contexts. First, customers are “baited” by merchants’ advertising products or services at a low price; then customers discover the advertised goods are not available. Other products are “switched” for them; however, these items are often costlier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait-and-switch
I don’t see the link with encouraging people to invest in the share market?
If there were already a lot of good share ‘products’ on the NZX …. then we would hardly need the government to be ‘baiting’ interest in the sharemarket with the float of MRP. Would we?
Given that the float is going to be well over-subscribed, or that there will be lots of people making a quick profit on the deal, the expectation you’ve raised is that there will be plenty of euphoric cash sloshing about looking for another deal. Hence the ‘switch’.
That’s pretty much the scenario you’ve raised is it not?
That’s because private sector money has proven shitty, unimaginative and non-entrpreneurial.
Because they have created fuck all worth while new ones, they have to invest in assets which are 40 or more years old.
How about instead of spending your days posting on the interwebs, you get out there and show them how to do it.
With your abilities and ideas you’d be worth billions within the year.
“With your abilities and ideas you’d be worth billions within the year.”
You’d be in need of a bailout within minutes 😉
How about instead of buying shares in a state controlled company so that the state can spend that money on state stuff, you invest in a private company?
Or do you think the state has better ideas about what to do with your capital than you do?
Sure will do, but this is not about me. It’s about how shitty private sector and corporate leadership has been in NZ that they’ve barely created any new worthwhile assets to invest in and so have to go poaching public ones.
Then stop talking about it and get out there and show them how it’s done.
Throwing shit from the bleachers isn’t really that helpful, especially some one with your business acumen and total awesomeness.
NZ need you to get out there and for you to lead the way.
But it’s not about me and it’s not about you.
It’s about the $100B in savings deposits in this country where people haven’t bothered to invest that money in jobs, busineses or industry, and have instead just sat that money on the sidelines.
That’s anti-business and anti-growth.
No wonder they have to poach public assets; there’s no imagination there.
” they’ve barely created any new worthwhile assets to invest in”
Well they have… but the worthwhile ones all get bought up by overseas interests. If they were on the stock market they then get de-listed. Just like the State assets will be.
Well yes they have, some small and medium businesses worth say $20M or $100M. Sam Morgan’s Trademe being about the only exception with a value much higher than that.
But on the industrial scale of an MRP? Nothing; absolutely nothing.
Why not put their money in a bank, instead of getting rich from sky rocketing power prices that hurt the poor?
Those who are going to buy shares in MRP are no different than those who own rental property in Christchurch. Both will feed on human misery.
Middle class types will demand higher and higher dividends, and power prices will go higher and higher.
The whole point of capitalism is that there are massive amounts of ideas around just begging for capital investment and that such capital investment is done in a very highly efficient manner through the stock exchange. If that’s not happening then I’d say that the capitalist ideal just doesn’t work.
Basically, I figure that the ideas are out there but that the rich (who are the only ones with enough accumulated wealth) aren’t investing in them because they want guaranteed returns and not to actually take any risk. This is proven by the way that they’re lining up to buy power shares which they know they can’t lose on as the government can’t let power crash and burn. Basically, the people lining up to buy power company shares are just looking to bludge for the rest of their lives off of the hard work of the rest of NZ.
What’s happening now is more and more resembling the later stages of every game of Monopoly that has ever been played.
Nothing to do with investing or creating, all about the consolidation of existing wealth and resources into fewer and fewer hands.
+1
Monopoly and dictatorship is the natural end point of capitalism and that is what we’re seeing. The accumulation into fewer hands and the governments then passing policies, such as selling state assets, that benefit only those few.
Old Kent Road, do not pass Go…
Im over people like Rodney who think that workers should, pretty much, have their wages and conditions slashed.
If he came round to my house telling me that I shouldnt be getting the money that I get from my job, he would be on the floor getting the shit kicked out of him.
“If he came round to my house telling me that I shouldnt be getting the money that I get from my job, he would be on the floor getting the shit kicked out of him.”
He ran away from me when I challenged him in the Environment Waikato building in Hamilton a few weeks after his holiday rort was exposed.
Yellow by party, yellow by nature.
Like so many paid shills, all tough and righteous behind a media article.
lacking any intelligence to argue the issue in public, Banks being especially thick. It’s almost as if they never wrote it themselves……
I wonder what sort of thrill Rodney gets from taking the food out of the mouths of the children of poor workers.
Probably as good as the one he got buying a trophy wife on a ministerial salary.
You mean man The Allen !
If I were truly mean I would have mentioned how Rodney must’ve earned more than Murray.
He could only afford an April.
Think of the floor, Millsy. Do it outside. Really, I share your sentiments. How the hell did such naked greed and loathsome thinking ever get taken seriously outside of textbooks on forensic psychiatry?
Maybe we should be happy with a minimum wage that allows us to fly around the world for holidays, have a couple of cars, a few houses, and constantly rising capital value. To come up with this rubbish, Hide really is contemptuous of his readers. One more corrupt self-serving orc who should do us all a favour and just disappear.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34224.htm
Why Israeli Apartheid is Worse Than South Africa’s Version
Is Palestinian Solidarity an Occupied Zone?
by GILAD ATZMON March 09, 2013
Once involved with Palestinian Solidarity you have to accept that Jews are special and so is their suffering; Jews are like no other people, their Holocaust is like no other genocide and anti Semitism is the most vile form of racism the world has ever known and so on and so forth.
But when it comes to the Palestinians, the exact opposite is the case. For some reason we are expected to believe that the Palestinians are not special at all – they are just like everyone else. Palestinians have not been subject to a unique, racist, nationalist and expansionist Jewish nationalist movement, instead, we must all agree that, just like the Indians and the Africans, the Palestinian ordeal results from run-of-the-mill 19th century colonialism – just more of the same old boring Apartheid.
So, Jews, Zionists and Israelis are exceptional, like no one else, while Palestinians are always somehow ordinary, always part of some greater political narrative, always just like everyone else. Their suffering is never due to the particularity of Jewish nationalism, or Jewish racism, or even AIPAC dominating USA foreign policy no, the Palestinian is always a victim of a dull, banal dynamic – general, abstract and totally lacking in particularity.
This raises some serious questions.
Can you think of any other liberation or solidarity movement that prides itself in being boring, ordinary and dull? Can you think of any other solidarity movement that downgrades its subject into just one more meaningless exhibit in a museum of materialist historical happenings? I don’t think so! Did the black South Africans see themselves as being like everyone else? Did Martin Luther King believe his brothers and sisters to be inherently undistinguishable?
I don’t think so. So how come Palestinian solidarity has managed to sink so low that their spokespersons and supporters compete against each other to see who can best eliminate the uniqueness of the Palestinian struggle into just part of a general historical trend such as colonialism or Apartheid?
The answer is simple. Palestinian Solidarity is an occupied zone and, like all such occupied zones must dedicate itself to the fight against ‘anti Semitism’. Dutifully united against racism, fully engaged with LGBT issues in Palestine and in the movement itself, but for one reason or another, the movement is almost indifferent towards the fate of millions of Palestinians living in refugee camps and their Right of Return to their homeland.
But all this can change. Palestinians and their supporters could begin to see their cause for what it is, unique and distinctive. Nor need this be all that difficult. After all, if Jewish nationalism is inherently exceptional as Zionists proclaim, is it not only natural that the victims of such a distinctive racist endeavor are at least, themselves, just as distinctive.
So far, Palestine solidarity has failed to liberate Palestine, but it has succeeded beyond its wildest dreams in creating a Palestine Solidarity Industry, and one largely funded by liberal Zionists. We have been very productive in schlepping activists around the world promoting ‘boycotts’ and ‘sanctions’ meanwhile Israel trade with Britain is booming and Hummus Tzabar is clearly apparent in every British grocery store.
All those attempts to reduce Palestinian ordeal into a dated, dull, generalised materialist narrative should be exposed for what they are – an attempt to appease liberal Zionists. Palestinian suffering is actually unique in history at least as unique as the Zionist project.
Yesterday I came across this from South African minister Ronnie Kasrils. In a comment on Israeli Apartheid he said : “This is much worse than Apartheid…Israeli measures, the brutality, make apartheid look like a picnic. We never had jets attacking our townships; we never had sieges that lasted month after month. We never had tanks destroying houses.”
Kasrils is dead right. It is much worse than Apartheid and far more sophisticated than colonialism. And why? Because what the Zionists did and are doing is neither Apartheid nor is it colonialism. Apartheid wanted to exploit the African, Israel wants the Palestinian gone. Colonialism is an exchange between a mother and a settler state. Israel never had a mother State, though it may well have had a few ‘surrogate mothers’.
Now is the time to look at the unique ordeal of the Palestinian people. Similarly, now is the time to look at the Zionist crime in the light of Jewish culture and identity politics.
Can the solidarity movement meet this challenge? Probably, but like Palestine, it must first, itself, be liberated.
Gilad Atzmon’s latest book is The Wandering Who? A Study of Jewish Identity Politics
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34224.htm
It’s that bloody Borat again, isn’t it.
Lol
Gosh you’re a funny guy. And you’re serious.
And you’re not right wing. Oh no.
Israel has constitutional democracy and a free press. Those are the important things for Pop. He’s a caricature.
Meanwhile, what worries me most about Israel and the hardcore Zionists is how they have managed to refine anti-semitism as being anything they don’t like. Their efforts to rewrite the history of Palestine are heroic in their magnitude. They are writing the Palestinians out of existence.
The one and only thing that Goff ever did that I liked was to tell Tel Aviv that they didn’t decide who he could visit and go ahead with a visit to Arafat. I can’t see either Shearer or Key doing anything comparable.
The one and only thing that Goff ever did that I liked was to tell Tel Aviv that they didn’t decide who he could visit and go ahead with a visit to Arafat.
Fair comment, Murray, but even then, Goff did not have the integrity or the courage to meet with the Hamas leadership.
I can’t see either Shearer or Key doing anything comparable.
Neither can I. I don’t believe any of the talk about how Shearer used to “stare down warlords” in Iraq.
“I don’t believe any of the talk about how Shearer used to “stare down warlords” in Iraq.”
Me neither. Mainly because the country concerned is Somalia. If you have any evidence that Shearer lied about his work and experiances in Lebanon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Serbia and Somalia, and, latterly, Iraq, then by all means front up with it. Or just admit you’re just making shit up, as usual.
How about Keys back story, comfortable with that, and his career timeline, and claiming to have not been involved in the attcck on the NZ$ etc?
Such a nice man, from a state home , you know, self made *business man*, he just wants to do whats best and right for his own country….etc, blah!
Yeah, stories, they get made up, then molded to what suits the agenda.
What will it mean for your self worth once you realise you have been taken for yet another ride by the team with the *gay coloured* shirts on!
I made nothing up. I simply quoted one of the most common factoids (or, more accurately, falsoids) put into the media at the time Shearer was making his run for the leadership.
Based on his inability to say anything coherently, even when faced with a friendly interviewer, I doubt that he “stared down warlords in Iraq”, as his spin-doctors claimed repeatedly.
You seem to have an emotional investment in Shearer; I wonder if you were one of the ones involved in the spinning of this patently absurd legend.
So, no proof then, Mozza? Why am I not surprised? If you have any reason to doubt Shearer’s work history, now would be a good time to pony up. Otherwise, you tend to look like a bit of a sad sack. BTW, what was it like for you when you did your humanitarian work? Y’know, when you put your life at risk to help others? Do, tell, mate, I’m sure your backstory will be fascinating.
Were you there with Shearer when he did his *humanitarian work*, or when he *stared down warlords*…
If you were not there with him, then your support, like the fantastical words of the PR spin behind Shearer, and Key etc, are simply endorsing the puppets of those who simply, made shit up!
Sad diversion BTW Voice, Mozza is not Trojan horse leader of the LP selling himself as giving a toss about NZ, or its people (include the Africans in that), using a fantastical back story, the rival of the *great self made businessman*, John Key!
Obama got a Nobel prize for peace, yeah, shit gets manufactured to suit a purpose!
Any proof the stories aren’t true, Muz? No? Then bollox to you too. Just another keyboard warrior, sans the balls to actually face reality as it is lives. Y’know, the real difference between you and Moz and David Shearer is that he can’t talk the talk and you two phonies can’t walk the walk.
Voice – So you were not with Shearer on his UN adventures then, we have established that!
Talk of reality, and walk or talk, is foolish, you have no idea about my situations/contributions, than you do of Shearers, thats the reality sport!
As I’ve said on here a long time back, your personal efforts to the LP etc, will not be any less meaningful, in reality, at the time it becomes even more obvious than it already is, David Shearer exposed as yet another parachuted sham traitor pretending to be a Kiwi!
You’ve established nothing but your own self deluded twatitude, muzza. What a gutless wonder.
Shearer’s humanitarian work (and personal courage) is well documented and recognised. It long predates his decision to run for Labour leader, or even stand in Mt Albert. (for example, his office was bombed in Baghdad, and yes, he had to deal with warlords in Somalia).
The fact that Shearer is poor at his current job doesn’t mean we have to belittle his previous one(s).
Fair enough. So is it to much to ask for this. I want to see that personal courage on display right up front and centre as Labour Leader standing explicitly for Labour values.
Somalia, knee capping your own colleagues, promising private house building corporates windfall profits, whatever doesn’t count. In this game, you’re only as good as your last sales pitch, not the one you successfully made 10 years ago.
Tuning into RNZ this morning I caught the tail end of a news item about a near gassing of workers in the Kaimai tunnel link here; http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/130074/kiwirail-revises-training-after-workers-exposed-to-gas
You would think after the Pike River disaster this kind of thing couldn’t happen? What Kiwi Rail’s General Manager Rick Vanerveld has to say is a bloody disgrace & he should be sacked!
If I recall correct this bloke was in the papers axing nearly 200 Track jobs about this time & then I heard he got in contractors. Yip that sounds right as they were contractors in that tunnel, untrained in gas emergency evacuation etc. This mug is backing one of his Managers, who rather then
take the gassed workers for immediate medical treatment, instead takes them for a feed like they had too much to drink…”that’s shocking he should have been fired for that ¬ seeing they were trained.”
It will never happen the bosses always back their own & fudge things over after the pricks!
I wonder if the media are following this story up? I smell a cover up & bet there is a lot more to this story!
Our industrial landscape is starting to resemble third world environments with a govt willingly undermining health, safety and backing management all the way.
Kiwi rail is a classic example as its got slipperys henchmen kicking it at every turn and a puppet CEO natty boy.
T_T
OSH and ACC should be claiming a few scalps over this. And this is business as usual when companies axe staff and hire external contractors and sub-contractors, as currently all the health and safety risk is moved onto the external contractors, who usually try and cut corners to save money…
(I’ve done temping, and all we got was a very basic H&S video, while working directly for a company I’ve been given pretty decent H&S)
As I’ve said before, I know two senior H&S people who’ve both confirmed to me that ‘contracting out the risk’ is the major motivation.
The entire trend towards contracting, temping and casualisation is exceedingly bad. It’s damaging at every level. Contracting has a place, but only in certain specific scenarios. Where it is plainly being used to replace full-time employment, this practise must be stamped out.
Looking forward to hearing David Shearer announce strong policy aimed squarely towards at fixing this.
notes not handy, but, the article on TV ONE on cannabis use and opiate use in the NZ workplace blew my mind (but didn’t surprise me). When I dug ditches / drove a dump-truck, a quarter to a third of the crew were stoned or fried. 🙂
Another comment my acquaintances have made is that it’s been more than 20 yrs since the passing of the 1992 H&S Act ….but serious harm injuries have scarcely declined at all. Still hovering around the 5000-7000 pa mark.
Some employers (like my one) do take their H&S responsibilities very seriously; far too many others simply parasite off the system doing the least they can possibly get away with doing. Or less. And their employees (or contractors) simply pick up on the lack of leadership.
It’s not hard. If everyone knows that certain H&S breaches are automatic dismissal offences … then everyone very quickly plays the game.
And big fines for directors…and jail time for them if someone actually dies due to management negligence.
personally, and objectively Red, I agree with the comment made earlier this week re: we just don’t have the political class (the liquidity or investment) to reverse up the decline; I talk to a wide range of people, from the giftedly “insane” to the lucidly “sane” on these sociological / geographical matters and the outlook seems to be “Gimme Shelter”
(+ thanks to TS and wider directed reading, there is plenty of confirmation on the ‘net if one is not a caught up playing “games” or looking for things to buy) btw, thanks for your endorsement of the influence of “faiths” in all this calamity in your postings.
yet, we could always Welcome China, but then, there is always that great wall, (i don’t think the Chinese will ever forget the Nanking Massacre / RAPE of Nanking either).People are people (for example, all these pissed diplomat / negotiators at UN conferences) and what was sown by the majority of the West (grass for example) will be mown down in time. There is an “eclectic” prophecy for ya; it has all gone too far, in my humble opinion.
/nod
Yeap, and the the business hiring temp’s know also they’re getting a shit deal, as usually the workers aren’t that capable due or even interested and so poor work results. As I’ve heard oft from commercial businesses I’ve worked for via student job search.
[insert shoddy contracting via lowest-bidder stories here]
O_o
From Captain Mubblefuck?…
We’re more likely to get a complete reversal on asset sales by Key than such a piece of policy from Labour at present /cough
“Looking forward to hearing David Shearer announce strong policy aimed squarely towards at fixing this.”
I’m in danger of toppling over from all this looking forward to things David Shearer should’ve already done.
There sure is a lot more to it. http://i.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/7290292/Union-fears-KiwiRail-cuts-threaten-workers-safety This rank and file Union guy blew the whistle on serious Health & Safety issues at Kiwi Rail, including the Kaimai tunnel incident. Those bastards running the railways tried to use the job cuts to get get rid of him. Last I heard he got forced to move up to the far North or be made redundant. In other words ‘sacked’.
I would have thought whistle blowers were protected by law and the Employer would be skating on thin ice if he took a personal grievance?
Another, more relevant link: http://i.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/business/7530534/Contractors-forced-to-work-long-hours
The following link is to Rod Oram’s comments on Govt proposals to change the RMA. Govt is holding public meetings over next couple of weeks to “explain” their discussion paper. Oram suggests Govt is leaving out vital facts, and just using surveys as factual reasons to change the RMA.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/8400307/Oram-A-naked-power-grab
Yes an excellent read.
That would be normal for this government. Paint a pretty picture but leave out the facts so that people don’t realise the truth and thus can’t make informed decisions. It’s all part of the We know best syndrome of National and the ideological ignoring of reality.
This is a great article by Oram & really exposes National for scare mongering!
And then there’s this bit:
Yep, more dictatorial control from this government.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122573-Clean-Fusion-Power-Could-Be-Feasible-by-2017
Basically this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field-reversed_configuration For more detailed info, check this: http://www.frascati.enea.it/ProtoSphera/ProtoSphera%202001/1.%20General%20framework.htm
Fingers crossed it bloody well works as this would allow us to kick our coal habit within a couple of decades at least. Mainly as you need the infrastructure for harvesting and delivering deuterium on very large scales + manufacture the reactors.
There’s actually a lot of research going on in fusion power sources. The “always 50 years away” really refers to the big tokamak reactors that will eventually get there, but obviously not for a long time and at such a cost that they’re not truly feasible as a source of power.
In the mean time, we may see one of these ‘alternative’ methods take off.
Tokamak’s are problematic mainly due to the fluid physics of the plasma, lots of eddies that reduce fusion output and require large amounts of computing power to model and iron out. ITER will probably provide better data on whether or not Tok’s can ever produce enough power for commercial viability.
And yeah, tok’s and laser-based interial confinement fusion systems have pretty much taken the lion’s share of available funding. ICF particularly as it provides useful data for nuclear weapons, but mainly it’s been international treaties and science politics that’s kept these two methods in the forefront in my opinion*.
The other main alternative runner is the Polywell, which has achieved fusion, but they’ve lost US Naval funding as of 2012 so are trying to get private funding.
As for cold fusion – load of crap at present, too little non-problematic data, in particular Bubble Fusion is another shining example of how science can go wrongzors.
________________________________________
*Could make for a fun history of science area actually… Generally you see a pattern of older, established scientists holding sway over an area and so it becomes difficult to bring in new ideas unless they have a lot of empirical evidence behind them. Seems to affect physics more.
I’ve been following pollywell for 5 or so years now, didn’t know they lost their navel funding though, that sucks. Alternatively, it seemed like the government wasn’t really giving it the funding it deserved and kept everything Top Secret, so this could be an improvement.
That’s typical behaviour from the US Navy, but yeah, without a decent funding line and most investors seemingly rallying around what google likes and now with Lockheed-Martin’s Skunk Works out with an FRC reactor that seems very likely will work, Polywell’s sadly going to struggle :/
Mind you, the basics of the polywell are actually pretty cheap to build and test, though more research is needed to test it’s viability as there’s still some issues with the physics of the plasma confinement and pressure going off the details available.
Anyhow, it’s good to see that Lockheed-Martin’s actually putting the funds from it’s horribly overpriced military hardware to a much more useful technology and letting Skunk Works go nuts :3
derp, forgot the tag /facepalm
I reckon that these developments are about 25 years too late to have a big impact on the energy future of the world, and I’m thinking about India and China here, two massive coal users. The best case I see is for a relatively small number of fusion generators to be built in time for VIP and high priority uses.
Unless of course the dream of having a suitcased size generator putting out a MW of energy comes true, but that’s the stuff of Star Trek.
Howdy Hombre’, “Q” could (he could do just about anything)
haha!
But remember the circumstances under which the Enterprise crew first met “Q”…it was a desolate picture of earth in the 21st century after the next global war.
when you wiki him he’s “omnipotently in white”.
btw, ya don’t say Steven
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10870341
I hear they’re doing a Boy called Sue to the Education Ministry
an important demographic
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10869880
furthermore, Wonders of Wonders for you LGBT folk out there 😉 ; at S.A service this morning an extended testimony by a Gay man, artist, novelist, trained pianist, tertiary teacher, about his journey and acceptance. Very moving (although a few Trads. seemed a little bemused, still, that’s progress for you.kinda like how being tr*lld makes ya stronger, iron sharpening Iron and all that stainless. 🙂
I don’t think so, China at least accepts climate change is a very serious issue, and if this reactor is viable, they’ll probably cancel the coal plants waiting to be built and redirect funding towards building these reactors. Heck, depending on how the energy from the reactor is being turned into electricity, you could retrofit current coal burning plant’s with them and drive the in place steam turbine power generators. Saving a lot of infrastructure costs in the process.
And your forgetting just how much shear industrial capacity is present, given the drive, it can easily be redeployed towards producing just about anything, and the FRC reactor Skunk Work’s is proposing is far less complex that a tokamak. Mainly due to the confinement of the plasma via a magnetic bottle which doesn’t need a huge array of powerful electromagnets to run, and so doesn’t need entirely special lining as there’s no plasma eroding it.
It will obviously take time to build and set up using current carbon-based energy sources, but if Skunk Works can get it to produce a large net energy from a self-sustaining fusion reaction, the possibilities are literally mind-boggling. For one, human civilisation might just have enough energy to start mining the air for carbon at an industrial scale and reduce atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Along with no longer needing to dam so many rivers for energy production, allowing for the rehabilitation of certain river systems and removal of dams in very tectonically active areas.
Then there’s the obvious advantages in terms of electrification in the developing world for food and medicine preservation and storage. All from a reactor that is highly portable compared to the nuclear* and carbon-based alternatives.
Are we still stuffed climate and resource wise? Yeap, but this is the sort of technology that when combined with other green-methods would allow us to adapt, survive and even reduce global temperatures. Albeit, a rather problematic set of “if” statements are still involved, mainly as democratic governments can be bloody stupid and some powerful non-state actors (i.e. corporations) have their heads firmly stuck in the short-term, despite the looming crises…
Oh, and it makes SPAAAAAAACE a lot easier to move around in, as this reactor can be used to generate thrust directly, or used to run an ion-based drive array :3
________________________________________
*well, pebble-bed reactors show some promise for portability and safety, but there’s a whole range of issues, including all the usual ones…
This is the absolute tech-solution best case, not saying it won’t happen but I wouldn’t rate it at a higher than 10% chance right now.
The Skunk Works is not going to release this tech to the world (or to China) for a very long time. It would be too much of a strategic advantage for the USA.
Once the technology has a pilot which can produce say 100MW sustained, I’ll believe that it is on the way.
Right now, I’m tempted to put it in the category of civilisation saving solutions requiring “Unobtanium” to work.
😛
As for this not being available to China, lets just say this tech isn’t exactly hard to replicate (based off currently published research on FRC and other reactors) and Lockhead-Martin might suck deeply and greedily on the teat of US Defence contracts. But this is a major money spinner that would give them a far more secure line of funding than the US DoD contracts. Which is going to get cut to the bone as American politicians are now beginning to stop holding it’s budget as sacrosanct.
Although the moronic right are a significant issue that may cause problems.
Worth bearing in mind that Lockheed Martin could also make a tonne of money exporting the F-22 Raptor, but it’s banned from doing so through national security legislation and technology export restrictions.
True, but that’s mainly because they’re getting government funding to develop and build the F22 airframe, internals and computer systems.
And while certain political douchebags might push for Skunk Works’ FRC reactor tech to not be exported to China and Russia, the shear need for this technology will hopefully hammer those idiots out of sight. Otherwise China’s gotten very good at industrial espionage 😉
Sometimes humanity prevails against it’s more stupid, short-sighted impulses.
Heh.
And it’s not like China is standing still in the field either
http://npre.illinois.edu/news/fusion-reactors-innovation-be-tested-china
They’re still trying the tokamak route, though the stuff being trailed is very interesting. Main issue with the tokamaks is that so far, they appear to need to be rather large to provide significant power (scalability being teh term). Along with the turbulence issues with eddies in the plasma that can cause power spikes/drops. Also China’s part of the ITER project.
But I suspect the Chinese aren’t standing still on other alternatives and their fusion research will be keeping an eye on anything out of Skunk Works.
Yep, and other governments, except ours, probably have their research already looking in to it – especially after the release of that video.
😛
As for this not being available to China, lets just say this tech isn’t exactly hard to replicate (based off currently published research on FRC and other reactors) and Lockhead-Martin might suck deeply and greedily on the teat of US Defence contracts. But this is a major money spinner that would give them a far more secure line of funding than the US DoD contracts. Which is going to get cut to the bone as American politicians are now beginning to stop holding it’s budget as sacrosanct.
Although the moronic right are a significant issue that may cause problems.
😛
As for this not being available to China, lets just say this tech isn’t exactly hard to replicate (based off currently published research on FRC and other reactors) and Lockhead-Martin might suck deeply and greedily on the teat of US Defence contracts. But this is a major money spinner that would give them a far more secure line of funding than the US DoD contracts. Which is going to get cut to the bone as American politicians are now beginning to stop holding it’s budget as sacrosanct.
Although the moronic right are a significant issue that may cause problems.
/facepalm – damn 500 error… Clean up please?
When you get a 500 error on a comment just go to the front page and then reload the page that you were on. Your comment is usually there. I also suggest, if you’re really paranoid, a ctrl-a, ctrl-c before hitting submit.
In theory (as in I will believe it when I don’t see it), I should have largely eliminated the main cause of those this afternoon just before 1700 hours. There was a SEO plugin with a bad habit of locking the whole post table when it pulled all 11777 public posts for an analysis. It particularly caused a problem when a re-edit tried to start it a second time while the first was still running (for some obscure reason). Eliminated it, changed it for a less clueless plugin doing the same thing, and couldn’t see the reproducible effect afterwards.
I won’t know for sure until I see some new posts going up when the system is loaded. Ditto for finding out how well the new plugin keeps the search engines updated on comments. This one has less visible controls.
The log hasn’t shown any 500 responses since I restarted the apache server to start analysing the lag at about 2000 (been out)
The tech isn’t coming out of the “Skunk Works” – it’s mostly private sector, or possible government funded projects in France and Japan. The Polywell is pretty well understood, and I think you seriously underestimate China’s tech state of the art.
Skunk Works is LM’s R&D department 😉
CV
While thinking about India there was a good update on Radionz this morning on how it is thinking and acting which might put recent vicious attacks on women in the picture among other matters.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday
11:44 Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint
Wayne Brittenden has been Radio New Zealand’s correspondent in several capital cities over the years. Each week he gives fresh insights into a wide variety of topics of national and international concern, followed by Chris Laidlaw’s discussion of the issue with guests. Today, while India is now seen as belonging to the middle economic bracket countries, new Oxford University research reveals what critics within India have known all along — that the last 20 years of unfettered market forces haven’t reduced the vast number of those living in dire poverty. Wayne looks at today’s neo-liberal consumerist India, and Chris follows up with Dharmendra Kumar, the Director of the Indian Campaign Group, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Watch. (14′49″)
Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3 | Embed
A less polluting and more efficient power source certainly opens up a lot of opportunities. If it’s used by the public sector to provide cheap power and save natural resources, it could be a great advance. If it ends up in the hands of the same greedy corporates, the price of power probably wouldn’t even go down. The technological solutions are always possible, but we need the social organisation which allows them to be used for more than the benefit of a small minority.
A test run with a view to having our very own twelve golden men?.
A lot of posters on here have indicated their displeasure at the Clifford Bay ferry terminal/port.
Youll probably even be less pleasured by the fact the Dictator of Christchurch has said that the govenment does not want to own it.
So it will be privately owned, because the government doesnt belive in public ownership of things like ports, etc.
Cool.
*digs through wikipedia’s fusion power articles*
*finds part of the US Strategic Defence Initiative, aka “Star Wars”*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MARAUDER
I can haz ion cannon?
Pretty Please?
Excellent. Our first catch of the day…
Go to 6.50 into video. Max suggests tying minimum wage to money supply (that’s how bankers are paid!)
http://maxkeiser.com/2013/03/07/breakingtheset-max-keiser-on-bitcoin-hugo-chavez-myths-latin-american-socialism/
Yoink:
http://www.vice.com/read/the-history-of-scabby-the-rat
Yes, that Rat 😉
Turning Japanese
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10870285
so in Christchurch.
tail-end of an RNZ article on cancer treatment, along with Stress, Resentment is a significant etiological factor. (best to unload the sack on our back as we tramp through life; His yoke is Light
😉 )
Another one from Molly Crabapple:
http://www.vice.com/read/new-york-cops-will-arrest-you-for-carrying-condoms
/sigh
The US is on a slow slide back to absolutism.
Still Allies
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/world/asia/china-says-it-will-not-abandon-north-korea.html?_r=0
Interesting.
Not especially. If China doesn’t continue to prop it up, it will have to deal with the hot mess that result. Sounds like realpolitik to me.
Yep. And after all is said and done, North Korea is still a piece (albeit a rather risky, unreliable one) on China’s side of the playing board.
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/marriage-equality-bill-loses-public-support-says-colin-craig-5364683
And this is what National’s possibly looking at going into a coalition with? Ye gads, it’s almost enough to make me want to keep ACT’s undead corpse around. Notice too, how he conveniently doesn’t cite any polling evidence.
Well, he has a point. If you take “public support is shifting towards a traditional view of marriage” to mean “by lying to people about the current law and scaremongering about issues that don’t exist and also lying about the process being followed, we’ve created a lot of confusion and then carefully worded our polling questions so they almost get the answers we want”. Craig’s just being more concise, is all.
Oh yeah, forgot about this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/06/el-salvador-iraq-police-squads-washington
/shudder
TV One News has just announced Joyce has committed to fixing Novopay within three months. An education sector person was hailing it on the news on tele as great to hear and that it was about time. But that’s not what Joyce said. He did say that he wanted as much done as possible to fix things within three months. That’s very different. In fact, does this mean that Joyce accepts not as much as possible was done over the past few months? Probably, but people need to listen to these slippery characters. When the three months is up and nothing’s been done Joyce will simply say that he did not give a commitment to fix Novopay within three months, and he’ll be right.
Joyce can’t promise anything except behind the scenes bullying.
A guaranteed fix is returning to the working Datacom system these clowns know SFA about the actual detailed technical and process issues.
Of course it buys Joyce time and by that time the heat will have gone out and maybe the population will be bored by the story. Trust Mr Joyce? Sure can.
Sure, but hope the teachers see how disingenuous his remarks are.
Ok not seeing any 500 errors for valid pages apart from at the wp-admin side looking at edit-comment pages. That looks like a simple timeout issue.
Should have fixed the time limit.
Native Affairs was on tonight (Maori TV) and featured an interview with David Shearer. I didn’t see it, because – not for the first time – it was poorly publicised. Some reaction here …
https://twitter.com/search/realtime?q=%23NativeAffairs&src=hash
I never know whether Labour’s media reticence is deliberate strategy or just incompetence. Is it so hard to use social media and other outlets to say: “Today the leader will be on bFM, Maori TV, etc (as happened today). Why not issue a bulletin every day, announcing the day ahead? Too simple?
I learn far more from Google and Twitter than I ever do from the people who are PAID to publicise their party, their polcies, and their people. What on earth do they do all day?
Note to self … it helps if you can read the date on the thread. Sorry.
(insert “embarrassed” smiley here)