“Oil, money, politics and evil: Our leading Middle East ally is the worst country imaginable
America’s BFF relationship with the corrupt, vicious and oil-rich Saudi despots might be our worst mistake of all”
“Trump was asked on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” this week how he would play the worsening standoff between Iran and Saudi Arabia. “I would back Saudi Arabia, but you know what? We’re a debtor nation. They’ve got nothing but money,” the Donald told Mika Brzezinski and her co-host, noted Saudi shill Joe Scarborough. “I wouldn’t back them for nothing. I would say: You’ve got to pay. We’re going to help you. You gotta pay. You gotta pay.”
and NZ is paying a bribe which the Gov’t euphemistically calls a “facilitation payment” so that we can be more closely associated with the Saudis in a “Free Trade Agreement”!!!
The human race needs people with DECENT PRINCIPLES in power!
The human race needs people with DECENT PRINCIPLES in power!
Which is why we got rid of dictatorships but now it’s obviously time to go to full participatory democracy as history has shown that our present elected dictatorship is no better than the previous ones.
USA waking up to how Charter schools are destroying their kids education…. pity the memo never got sent to our government, but I guess we are ‘an emerging market’ for the frauds, including privatising the school land and having the tax payer pay for it twice while transferring public land into private hands…
The article is a great read all around but one key paragraph that sets up my (second) largest objection to charter schools is this…
“More recently, Florida press outlets reported the state has given about $70 million to charter schools that later closed and returned virtually none of the money to taxpayers. While the state is able to recover computers and other equipment these schools purchased with taxpayer money, the far more substantial costs for purchasing and improving property and making lease payments stays in private pockets after the schools close.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This was well known problem way before charter schools opened in NZ and yet the exact same thing happened here with that school up north – the Dept of Ed is finding it impossible to get the money back that the school spent on farm land.
My largest objection is that these schools close willy-nilly leaving kids in the lurch, often during the school year. Then, because of the effect it was having on kids to close schools underneath them the powers that be stop looking for signs that charter schools are performing badly.
Yeah well only the blind and stupid cant see or know what a cash cow looks like
Sadly education isn’t what it used to be thanks to the odious faculty of economics what a crock of shit
The blogging world will be going crazy as the charter school PR machine via David Farrar and Whale Oil are into this story boots and all.
Then again, maybe not. Some kid somewhere will walk out of a charter school with a smile on her face happy the school day is over and the ideologues will be scrambling over themselves for the best headline – “Astonishing achievement at school,” “Charter school scores sensationally” or whatever.
David Farrar and Mrs Whale Oil will be too busy fervently reporting on that to worry about reality.
I especially like this part 🙂 – Luckily as we are assured by our Resident National Government supporters this can;t happen here cause it ain’t Nafta we are signing, its the TPPA that the National Government will sign on our ‘behalf’.
Quote: AMYGOODMAN: Lori, can you explain why they’re asking $15 billion?
LORI WALLACH:: So, this is a question a lot of folks asked me yesterday: “Well, wait a minute, this is supposed to”—everyone who’s read the newspaper. “This is a $3 billion pipeline. How the heck can they be asking for $15 billion from us taxpayers?” And the answer is, under the outrageous investor-state system, not only can a foreign corporation get all these special rights—go around our courts, go around our laws and demand compensation—but they don’t just get money for what they’ve spent on a project, they get to get compensated for expected future profits. Yep, they are calculating—and the brief goes through this—what they think they would have made in the future for the lifetime of the pipeline had it been allowed. And that’s what we taxpayers are supposed to give them, because we had a democratic decision of our government that their commercial project wasn’t in the national interest. That’s the $15 billion. Quote End.
But then the question is, could this happen to us? Veolia (which is working in NZ) has started procedings against the Egypt Government last year when the Eqypt Government dared to raise the minimum wage. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/veolia-vs-egypt-workers-2014
Quote: “The company is using the ISDS provisions in an investment treaty between France and Egypt.
The case is still in progress, but is yet another example of the dangers of including investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)”. Quote End
I am sure we will again be told that this can;t be happen here, cause we are special, and oh look over there an All Black and a flag and a US Preznit n stuff.
+1 Sabine – France apparently refused to sign their TPPA equivalent with investor state dispute resolutions in it.
Pity our zombie PM can’t be bothered to stand up for NZ.
Key’s bending over and picking up the soap is a metaphor for his entire conduct with the US and Far right think tanks and TPPA. Just wants to be the ‘fun joker’ of the party and play golf and ‘goof’ off with other PM’s – leave the scary work and fine print to others.
I made a comment before and how we are and are not like insects. Bee colonies have a leader that grows more bees and is central to the colony. We however accept a shapeshifter that looks and sounds like a NZ (after useful PR treatment and coaching) but his heart is in San Fransisco, or New York, or Hawaii (where the USA Pres. holidays. Get it!
“Within the first 100 days of my administration, I will require the secretary of the Treasury Department to establish a ‘Too-Big-to Fail’ list of commercial banks, shadow banks and insurance companies whose failure would pose a catastrophic risk to the United States economy without a taxpayer bailout,” says Sanders.
“Within one year, my administration will break these institutions up so that they no longer pose a grave threat to the economy as authorized under Section 121 of the Dodd-Frank Act.”
“Greed is not good,” proclaimed Sanders, riffing on Gordon Gekko’s famous pronouncement in the movie “Wall Street,” just miles from that financial center.
“In fact, the greed of Wall Street and corporate America is destroying the fabric of our nation. And here is a New Year’s Resolution that I will keep if elected president. If you do not end your greed, we will end it for you.”
The bold speech addressed a topic that should be the main focus of debate, particularly during the race for the presidency.
The 2008 financial crash caused a recession which is wiping out $6 to $36 trillion from America’s economy.
Yet the talk received scant media coverage. It’s hard to attribute this to recent high-visibility events. Bernie is routinely blacked out of the media.
Yet since colleges, Congress, liberal think tanks, the mainstream media, and both parties embrace financial donors, even while failing to investigate causes of the crash or working to prevent the next one, his message is all the more potent.
John Key is using his acquaintance with Obama to endnote his term in office with a view to a global role.
Geopolitically, it makes some sense. We are in the Asia-Pacific and during WWII US Marines camped around Wellington and the Kapiti Coast after Pearl Harbour to defend against potential invasion because the NZ army was in the Middle East and Japanese intentions were unknown.
We are still in the Pacific and our cognitive structures are still largely in the northern hemisphere. But this is not WWII, and Obama has competing priorities,
As a Hawai’ian he probably has some interest in Aotearoa, but as US president his horizons are broader- Key has more to gain from a visit by his golfing buddie than does Obama. It is a long way to go .. for what ? I can’t see it. This is more about Obama playing Key than the other way around.
As a school kid I stood on the street as LBJ walked past to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph. He had been one of the marines camped around Wellington during WWII and flew in after a trip to Vietnam. Obama does not have that motivation.
Stranger things have happened. It would be interesting to see a powerful Black American confront Maoritanga in a challenge during a welcoming ceremony. TV networks would love it – but how many people watch TV these days ?
John Key would inevitably make something of it – possibly call a snap election. Can you see the eyes light up among the ‘National’ party ?
How the “sharing economy” has turned San Francisco into a dystopia for the working class
[…]
Oh, Canada! I’m writing you from Berkeley, California to warn you about this thing called “the sharing economy.” Since no one is really sharing anything, many of us prefer the term “the exploitation economy,” but due to its prevalence many in the Bay Area simply think of it as “the economy.” Whatever you want to call it, the basic idea is that customers can outsource all the work or chores they don’t want to do to somebody else in their area.
You can be chauffeured around the city while somebody picks up and launders your dirty underwear. You can have groceries delivered to your door and your bathroom given that deep clean that you don’t have time to do yourself. The best part is you can do it all on your phone! Sharing economy companies promise their customers all the luxuries of the rich and famous—and they can do that by taking advantage of the system and, in some cases, bending or simply avoiding labour laws.
A thought for the future. It could be that comments could be limited to 6 in the morning and 6 in afternoon/evening. There would be a counter – it would limit the promiscuous wasps that feed on the honey dew here (poetic and green as well!) and their mad desire to swamp the blog with their futile, malign comments. More than a dozen a day and they could keep good commenters away, and they bring a pall of bitchines and nonsense with them. It would limit the exponential growth of the site that doesn’t need numbers as it has proved itself as valued and a great success.
edited
To troll or not to troll that is the question.
One mans troll is another mans soothsayer.
How do you choose who goes on this restricted counter,as the standard is at its best when the truly clever ones here get going.??
Well this way the individual would be working to put out their best points. It wouldn’t do to waste too many of the six for a half day on trading insults with trolls.
The trolls could do what they always do and then they would be cut off after the sixth, They might manage to restrain themselves as well. The whole tone of the blog would rise a notch, and no-one would be stopped, though some might save some points and put them into one longer one. Now and then there is a really meaty thread. I don’t know about that. It could be that someone might appeal to the moderator of the day to start a post so that they could go off Open Mike and argue on another thread which would be under moderation.
It would probably make people think a little bit more before putting in a comment, but would it apply universally?
For example a commenter whose pseudonym happens to start with “grey” had 11 yesterday afternoon, following on from 5 in the morning. Would they be chopped of in their prime? The later ones were the most interesting.
The only real problem I can see would be if someone’s comment drew a lot of reactions, or questions. It would prevent replies and rejoinder’s being possible in a timely manner. After 6 you would have to come back tomorrow.
On the other hand there are commenters whose only contribution seems to be expressions such as “lies” or “you are a liar” who wouldn’t be missed.
Humourous idea grey. I can’t imagine it ever being implemented, but it would be a very interesting experiment.
Something we could do though, is to get a handful or two of us together who commit to not engaging in the macho/bitchy shit, and not feeding the trolls, and instead talk to each other with a focus on good communication, respect and constructive politics.
Lately I’ve been feeling like the place is just a bitchfest between regulars, and I get sucked into that too easily. But I suspect the readership reflects something quite different (would love to see the stats on the Helen Kelly’s post from the other day).
weka
Good ideas. I already give little attention to trolls and even the regulars I pick and choose who I read. There are some who never fail to write something that adds to my internal library, and some are humorous too. I do weaken sometimes and make disparaging remarks. Utterly futile of course. They have no shame, or objectivity. But I don’t see my idea as humorous, rather it would be practical. I have heard that some blogs do have a limit on individual comments.
I have heard that some blogs do have a limit on individual comments.
I keep thinking about doing a rationing system. However I think that the current way that we limit meaningless waffling is so much more effective, and usually a pleasure to do as well.
But I suspect the readership reflects something quite different (would love to see the stats on the Helen Kelly’s post from the other day).
I hope you like numbers…
Quite different audiences to the comments. It is pretty easy to read, especially in a low month like over xmas (makes for an abnormal pattern, but one that highlights what happens).
Click for a large display
Compare the percentages / times against the averages at the top and against each other. You’ll notice the topics in the top ten have a particular type of focus.
The main things to note are:
* Unique page views are “Unique Pageviews is the number of sessions during which the specified page was viewed at least once. A unique pageview is counted for each page URL + page Title combination.”
* Page views vs Unique Page views – which gives you an idea of how much thrashing there is by the same people on a page – mostly thrashing is caused by commenters.
* Avg Time – are people actually reading the comments? Again, commenters tend to raise that
* Entrances/exits direct to the page is a pretty good indicator about social media effects. High entrances/exits indicates a strong social media content, low commenters
It is pretty easy to see the pages that the commenters are dominant on, and which pages have social media reading them.
But it becomes clearer when I split into new vs returning
(I thought I had pushed the reply button to fisiani’s comment, but was so concentrating on posting a link for the first time on
this irritating little machine that I realised I was way of course and could not get back.)
Paul this is the first time I have been able to offer this link showing key lying to fisiani, and I really want fisiani to watch it and hopefully tell me what she/he thinks. So please don’t derail this thread and look at the clip yourself if poss.
First time I tend to agree with you Puckish Rogue @1.01pm. And I still haven’t heard fisiani’s response to the link I posted @ commemt 8. Perhaps you and alwyn could view the link and tell me if it backs up fisiani’s ‘honest john’ claim.
I have given up on Paul on this thread, as I am sure he has missed the point.
Its trite but every three years we get to hold them to account, maybe not as well as some would like, and judge them for their sins (perceived and real)
Its trite but every three years we get to hold them to account
No we don’t. We have a limited ability to not vote for them. I’d rather have a law that say, unequivocally, that an MP lying results in them going to jail. Same with fraud, rorting (Blinglish’s actions with his house), and corruption.
John Key should have been in jail before 2008 because of his actions regarding his Transrail shares.
Would be amazing, but given who makes our laws it seems vanishingly unlikely to ever happen. We need to somehow make character a strong part of how people decide on who represents us.
@PuckishR@1.28pm
Thanks for having ‘a go’ . But of ‘all politicians” key is the worst or is it the best? But then who would want to be the best at lying, unless they couldn’t care a less, and I’m afraid john key is exactly this type of person ,as I tried to show in that clip.
I tend to aim for the politicians who I think have the greatest integrity and substance when I vote regardless of which party. All National mps (and I have thought about them and observed them often in parliament) are sadly lacking in truth and most appear to be disingenuous poseurs and are all too often try to emulate their mendacious leader, in my opinion.
They let you out?
I’d settle for key here till 2017 then a left government. It would be better than one of collins or bennet getting a stint in charge.
Well that’s a big call, we’ll see how that plays out but he better win an electorate seat at some point because if you can’t convince an electorate to vote for you how can you expect a country?
I presume, given what you are saying about the three parties, you are talking about the percentage of the party MPs who are on the list.
In fact you should select out National, rather than Labour as being unable to win electorate seats.
15.6% of the Labour MPs are from the list.
A much higher 32.2% of the National ones are.
On second reading I may not have written it as well as I could have, what I meant to say was if you want to lead the country and convince the country to vote for you then you should be able to win an electorate seat, by all means take a list seat later but wait until you’ve won a seat first
So the Greens aren’t capable of the running the country and Andrew Little won’t lead Labour to victory in 2017
I think the state of the global economy this year and how it impacts on NZ (and it will), will be the determiner of what John Key does. He’s a fair-weather politician and if the global economy plays out like I suspect it will over the next 12 months, there is a chance John Key will bail and leave the next election to someone else.
With honesty like yours, you could run for act or the nats. But most of the left wing parties demand that what their representatives say has at least some positive relationship with the truth.
But arguing that every politician is a lying scumbag like dunnokeyo is part of the way you bastards get into government with the support of only a third of registered voters – if you convince a million opponents that the opposition are just as untrustworthy as the government , you alienate opposing voters from the entire system.
It’s cynical, corrupt and morally bankrupt, but then that’s typical tory behaviour.
“But most of the left wing parties demand that what their representatives say has at least some positive relationship with the truth.”
Yeah naah
If I recall correctly it was the left pushing MMP yet its the right that’s won more
If Labour keep putting up leaders like Goff, Shearer, Cunliffe and Little instead of leaders like Clark and Lange then of course the right are going to keep on winning
Sorry Lanthanide but you are forgetting the first MMP election in 1996.
It is currently Nat-led 4 (96, 08, 11 and 14) to Lab-led 3 (99, 02 and 05)
Of course in reality New Zealand lost in 96 and 05. Anyone who lets Winston anywhere near power isn’t fit to be in office.
I don’t plan to try and compile a complete list of Helen Clarke’s misleading statements.
In terms of whether a statement is a “lie” I tend to use the Chambers Dictionary definition which is “a false statement made with the intention of deceiving”. I think the three examples I have given for Helen Clark fall into that definition.
I had a look at Blip’s magnum opus. I have chosen a couple at random to see what he was about. I don’t think the ones I looked at fall into the category of lies.
The first was, number 17, that “New Zealand was one of the very few countries in the world that was settled peacefully”
What Key said was that ” In my view New Zealand was one of the very few countries in the world that were settled peacefully.” The words “In my view” make it clear that was only his opinion.
Even this blog distinguishes between saying something is your opinion, when no source is required and saying something is a fact when you must justify the claim.
Was that a lie? His view is arguably wrong but (in my view) you can’t say it was a lie.
The second was number 24 where Blip says Key was lying and he says the lie was “The Greens are responsible for the rise in income inequality within New Zealand”
This gives as justification a statement by Brent Edwards that the Greens were not in Government. That is, in fact, something I have pointed out on another post and have been roundly abused for saying so. Both te reo uptake and swordfish seemed to think, in the TPPA agreement post, that they should be considered as part of the 2002 Government.
However back to the point. What Key actually said was
“In the period between 1999 and 2005, if my memory serves me correctly, the then Labour Government did that with the support in various forms of the Green Party, and so I say to Russel Norman ‘yes, he should apologise to New Zealand for his failure in that time’.””
That doesn’t make any claim that the Green Party were part of the Government. It says they supported the Government which is clearly true. Again I can’t agree that his statement is a lie.
That is a very selective list. I really can’t be bothered looking at them all
I really don’t want to argue that Key never lies. He is a politician and nearly all politicians lie if the feel the need. They aren’t successful if they don’t. However Key is very smart and he may leave you THINKING he said something that he didn’t.
If one is going to attack him you have to be realistic and limit the use of the word “lie” to things that really qualify. Using it only as an abusive term for an opinion you disagree with is silly.
ps. Sorry for the length of this. I couldn’t see how to get my point across in less words.
Damn. I must have picked the wrong “reply” tag.
You didn’t say that about the 2002 Government did you Swordfish? You really only said it about 1999-2002 (when it can be considered true) and 2005-2008 (not the case), when you said it was the situation although Jeanette denied it.
As for “Clarke” Gosh, everybody! Swordfish has noted that I put Clark in one place and Clarke in another.
He (she) can get a new job as a proof reader. Might do better than as a political commentator.
No doubt she (he) has never made a typing error in his (her) life.
Now do you have anything significant about what I did have to say?
Should I assume that if you can only point out a typo you can’t actually find anything wrong with the comments I have made?
Alwyn, the issue is not that key never lies or that clark never lies.
The issue is that Key lies more often and worse than any other politician you care to mention.
You cherry-picked a couple of blip’s list items that might be debatable as to intent to mislead.
Well, what about blaming Labour for the limo trade-ups when it was his signature on the contract to upgrade? What about the tranzrail shares he forgot he owned? Giving away bottles of wine he pretends he doesn’t know he owns? Claiming to not remember how an old school friend became the only person interviewed for the GCSB job? The changing stories on how often he was in contact with slater? His reporting of his apology to the waitress being accepted with no problem, vs her account of his “apology”?
And that’s beyond his tendency to leave grieving people with the impression he made strong assurances to do “whatever it takes” or get their sons and husbands back, assurances he never follows through on. He says whatever is convenient at the time, and never has any intention to either follow through on commitments or ensure that his reporting of events bears any relationship to the truth.
Clark had the painting (didn’t key do that too?), the car trip, and Doone. You’re welcome to mention any others.
Your comment says nothing to compare the well-documented lies of Key with any comments by any Labour party leaders past or present.
The worst one about Clark was a fecking charity painting. Key lied about how an old school tie got a phone call to be offered a job as head of a government department, and recent loser-actoid whyte plagiarised himself only the other day.
That was a pretty trivial example by Helen.
The worst was the false stories she was passing on to the Herald about the then Police Commissioner Peter Doone. Quite why she wanted to get him out was never clear but she certainly set out to destroy him. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10122718
Other things that seemed odd about her actions were denying that she even realised that he motorcade was speeding when travelling to Christchurch, and trying to claim that it was Henare who attacked her mate Mallard instead of the real way round.
Incidentally you do seem to have a strange view of what is plagiarism. By your definition every single politician is guilty of it during a campaign when they give their standard speech.
If you think Labour leaders haven’t lied (or misspoke or not told the whole story) then more fool you but my main point was that the leaders Labour have been putting up recently are unelectable and it must be especially galling when compared to former leaders of a not-too-distant past
pr – I’ve not said Labour leaders are perfect. Simply that key is on a completely new level of lying compared to anyone Labour’s had as leader.
Alwyn – if you posted a full list of clark’s lies, I doubt it would be even a quarter the length of blip’s list, and a tenth as serious. I’d be interested in a genuine comparison. Many of key’s lies involve outright corruption, in my opinion.
I love that you can’t tell the difference between a political stump speech and offering cut&paste material to a publisher as a new work. Besides, even when they recycle “ad libs” they risk getting called out on it (e.g. McCain using the same joke about not being recognised at [insert local airport here] having at least a half dozen televised examples over the years being put into a montage by the Daily Show). The prepared speeches are understood to be taling points strung together, these days. If you say to a publication “I have written this opinion piece you can sell for money”, it should be original or at least acknowledged that it was published elsewhere. Interestingly, if it was published in the UK, does that mean that Whyte violated the copyright of the original publisher? Might do…
McFlock – I suspect that part of the reason Keys lies are more well known then Clarks lies is that general internet use and blogging was certainly less widespread in Clarks time then it is today (I might be wrong about this of course)
So at the time Clark said a howler it was harder to look up and view it and then post about it whereas today its so much easier (which is a good thing I might add)
Sort of like how a politician used to be able to say one thing at an old persons home then another at uni then another at a business meeting
well, that’s bollocks because a) people remembered what they had been promised; b) many people were part of multiple groups; and c)we had actual journalosts who went to all the events and compared barefaced lies.
Oh, and d) the internet existed before John key, kiwiblog has been going since 2003, well enough to cover Clark.
and e) what about all the labour leaders since clark, well into the internet era?
hey, journos have always had bias, but there used to be more of them to do their job. And “changing the political landscape” is one thing, but I would have expected kiwiblog to obsessively track the litany of fibs that you think clark told – or at the very least, just made some up.
So according to you, all politicians tell outright lies, but people are too stupid or their memory is too mercurial for them to care. And nobody cares about second place. You really do have a shitty opinion of human beings – maybe if you stopped looking in the mirror your morale would improve.
hey, journos have always had bias, but there used to be more of them to do their job. And “changing the political landscape” is one thing, but I would have expected kiwiblog to obsessively track the litany of fibs that you think clark told – or at the very least, just made some up.
– He hasn’t collated them so I can’t be arsed going through all of his old posts
So according to you, all politicians tell outright lies, but people are too stupid or their memory is too mercurial for them to care. And nobody cares about second place.
– Think how many times a party (National or Labour) has mentioned bottom lines yet somehow there always seems to be a back track or a flip flop or even just making promises they know they’ll never have to keep and yet we, the public, keep on electing them
You really do have a shitty opinion of human beings – maybe if you stopped looking in the mirror your morale would improve.
– Looking in the mirror with my shirt off always improves my morale
Again, I’m not arguing that all politicians are perfect.
I’m saying that the quality and quantity of dunnokeyo’s lies are a new low. This isn’t just “flip-flop” accusations, but an organised and concerted abuse of process, from the OIA to the Speaker to the appointment of state services staff to outright lying to parliament to employing people like Ede in his office to slandering detained people and the opposition in one fell swoop.
A Herald poll only showed about 10% of respondents believed what John key said….
He’s popular among people who believe owning a house should earn you more money than working ………….. They will excuse any lies he tells.
its called Bent key Syndrome
[lprent: You should see what we call Flamers. Flamewar starters aren’t appreciated around here – read our policy.
If you want to assert a fact like a Herald poll, then you should link to supporting article(s) or say exactly where to find it. To do otherwise means that everyone will assume that you just made it up. That includes moderators. If we think that you’re starting a flamewar deliberately or even inadvertently using unsubstantiated assertions of fact, then we’re liable to revoke your ability to comment here.
@reason@1.15pm
Please view the link I posted on commemt 8. It is the only clip I know where Key lies and is caught out by the reporters (not that they do much about it.)
It backs everything you say and I wanted people like fisiani etc who state that key is honest to see the evidence that he is not honest for themselves.
My apologies for not backing up with a link and I did do a quick search for the poll in question…. but after not finding it quickly I just posted up my memories of it which were …………
The poll was a dodgy Herald readers one and it was in relation to the revelation that our GCSB was spying on our pacific Island neighbors.
The skewered Herald poll gave readers three options to vote on regarding this spying on the pacific islands ……
A) This is what spy agencies do and its ok
B) I do not believe it
C) Its outrageous
The poll was skewered in relation to the options supporting or opposing the spying and even with the design bias that vote was fairly evenly split from memory.
But with the ” I do not believe it” option ……………..
John Key has consistently smeared Nicky Hager dating back from the Hollow Men National/Exclusive Brethren illegal electioneering that Key was involved with.
So the “I do not believe it” option was for those who believed what John Key was saying at the time ………….. and they were about 10% from memory.
I found it interesting at the time because even the people who approved the spying and who probably supported National clearly did not believe what Key was saying.
The poll seems to have been taken down but I found a reference to it in the Herald: …..
“An online unscientific Herald poll of up to 11,600 people showed more than 50 per cent of people said they were “fine with it”. Some 42 per cent replied to say they were “incensed – this is unacceptable”. Six per cent did not believe the claims were true.” http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11412551
My memory was a little faulty and only 6% believed John Keys statements and position that Hagars claims were wrong and not to believe him.
My false equivalence example showing the Heralds pro National bias in the poll questions was not exact either ……………. The two options the Herald gave readers to vote on if they believed Hagars information were: “fine with it” or”incensed – this is unacceptable”.
An honest poll would have asked “it’s alright to do this” versus “its wrong to do this”, or “we should spy on them” versus ” we should not spy on them”.
My conclusion is the only thing believable from that Herald Poll was that 6% believed John Key versus 96% believed Hager.
If the opposition got it together they would wipe out National at election time …..just like they did in Northland.
Also If Northland knowledge spreads nationally I can only see Keys popularity decline accelerating ……. Keys support and promotion of sabin in the months prior to his resignation from parliament seems quite extraordinary.
(Note: I don’t have any post-2013 stats, but after the Dirty Politics scandal, I’d assume Key’s honesty ratings are relatively unlikely to have risen).
Fairfax-Ipsos August 2013
Leader Trust
Fully believe John Key ? Yes 24%, No 59%
3 News Reid Research July 2013
52% believe Dotcom
34% believe Key’s denials
We have a choice.
We can allow these rwnj trolls to derail these threads or we can ignore them.
[lprent: OpenMike was added into the posts because then moderators don’t have to monitor it for derailing and diversion. It also removed the necessity excuse for derailing and diversion in author written posts. ]
Given that this is Open Mike and the purpose is given at the top as being
“For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.”,
it is difficult to see how anything can be classed as “derailing” the thread.
You’ll just have to ignore it. That is also better for your blood pressure.
Open Mike … it is difficult to see how anything can be classed as “derailing” the thread.
You’ll just have to ignore it. That is also better for your blood pressure.
Paul you have got the wrong end of the stick in this case and I think you may have wasted my huge effort to post visual evidence that what fisiami keeps saying about ‘john’s honesty’ is untrue. I had hoped to silence fisiani with the truth, backed by actual visual evidence, thus making it unnecessary to have to feed fisiani and like minded people again.
Please have a look at the clip on comment 8… it’s a cracker.
@fisiani@1.21pm
Thanks for watching the clip. Can’t believe you did not notice him saying first one thing then another then the other again. All said in a similar ‘thiis is the truth ‘ voice, even though he’d contradicted himself twice . Even he got lost and didn’t appear to know what ‘truth’ he was telling. I think, unless one is a little deluded, that this clip shows a man telling untruths, which leaves me not knowing which of his assertions were either true or untrue. I do not listen to him anymore like you, apparently.
In my case it’s because I can’t bear to listen to lies, whereas in your case you can’t bear to see or hear the truth it seems.
Ah I get it now. If Honest John says it might rain tomorrow and it turns out fine then thats what s called a lie. If he works all day long for NZ then some would call him liar for not putting in a 16 hour day or claiming bizarrely that he works for another country. How desperate and despairing.
Looking at geonet and there seems to be a swarm (think thats the term) of quakes in the eastern and southern North Is. I counted 27 at about level 2 registered as unnoticeable, since midnight last night – Sunday. The last two are bigger registering light at 4.3 at 59km near Murupara, and 3.5 at 21km near Dannevirke, both in last half hour.
Well it doesn’t pay to quote geonet till the figures settle down. The Dannevirke shake is registered now as 1.8 not 3.5 – unnoticeable not light, and the one at Murupara is now noted as east of Rotorua at 4.6 at 142 km not 59 km, and is described weak.
Since then there have been another three tiny quakes around middle NZ.
Those seeking closer economic integration have a special responsibility to be strong advocates of global governance reforms: if authority over domestic policies is ceded to supranational bodies, then the drafting, implementation, and enforcement of the rules and regulations has to be particularly sensitive to democratic concerns.
As casus belli go it’s pretty original but at least the Kyrgyz have some pride, whereas in NZ we have been on the receiving end of a dick for s-e-v-e-n years and there are those who still haven’t had enough.
heh, not terrorists cosplaying fantasists act out.
The president in the story is never named, though it does mention people wanting to “cling to their God and guns” — a reference to a comment Obama made in 2008.
Eventually in the book, a rogue Department of Homeland Security agent forces people at gunpoint to give up their firearms. When one man resists, an agent shoots him in the head.
The heroes of the story refuse to surrender their guns, and consequently are able to kill the neighbors and government agents who come to take their supplies by force. The book goes into great detail about the protagonists’ arsenal, which includes an array of pistols, AR-15 rifles, and other guns — all of which are pivotal to their triumph.
We have enough problems with crime (especially sexual violence) that we don’t need to import more but as long as we stick to strict screening processes, keep it to 750 per year and provide on going support we should be able to avoid the mistakes of Europe
I’m sorry but by the reports coming through from Germany is that you have hundreds (in which case it might even be thousands if you believe most attacks aren’t reported) of women attacked and there are suggestions its coordinated (which I’d have thought is even more chilling) between different cities
That is a completely different kettle of fish then what happens in NZ and if we can stop it from happening here by limiting the people doing it actually coming here then that is a good thing
Your definitely right about it being a different Kettle of fish ….. When it comes to our sexual and violence crimes the Government is complicit in our high rates……. and our world famous ‘Roastbusters’ did not even get prosecuted.
National might get the world thinking that we are like …….Muslims!!!, gasp, shock, horror.
I’m sure the German police will be looking to prosecute the criminals involved ………. also the fact that some of the woman victims involved may have been drinking or even using other drugs will not be held or used against them…… unlike here.
The number of family violence, child abuse , sexual violence and street attacks involving Alcohol would dwarf any scary Refugee/Muslim threat for New Zealand by a magnitude of thousands …….
Demonizing whole races or in this case refugees as rapists or criminals is usually done for political reasons.
Treat the offenders as criminals………… not the race.
It might have been just sexually frustrated man letting go of a bit of steam, being boys n all that, and luckily no one had to bend over for a bit of soap.
And yes, the Mayor of Koeln had only this to say after the assaults; Women need to learn how to protect themselves by keeping strangers at arms lenght.
I think this attitude is mainly the problem the world.
Fortunately it doesn’t appear to be in the same league (not that it excuses what happened of course) as what happened in Europe but in this instance we need to make sure that it doesn’t happen here
“Women need to learn how to protect themselves by keeping strangers at arms length”
– Men need to be taught to not assault, harass or rape women but…I can’t even comprehend the thought process that goes through a guys mind when they do that
Men need to be taught to not assault, harass or rape women but..
A little difficult when our so called male “heroes” in our culture treat women like objects/things. Case in point John Key and the harassment of a waitress, Chris Gayle treating a female interviewer like shit, and Roger Sutton. On the whole our culture has been relaxed about these incidents, even endorsing the behaviour and blaming the victim.
Or alternatively Lifeline. It always helps to talk. At Lifeline, we’re here to listen. Auckland 09 5222 999 or NZ 0800 543 354. Psychological and emotional distress caused by thread jackers – it’s not your fault. Don’t suffer – reach out for support now.
JE SUIS ROSE HAMID!
Good on her.
“Hamid, and a few other protesters with her, also wore yellow Jewish stars of David marked “Muslim” to recall the forced identification markers under Nazi Germany.”
_______________________________________________________
Muslim woman thrown out of Trump rally (Al Jazeera)
Rose Hamid says she went to the rally in silent protest to show Trump supporters what a Muslim looks like.
09 Jan 2016 11:46 GMT | Politics, US & Canada, United States
Trump has come under fire from the public and politicians for repeated comments made that allegedly stoke fear of Muslims [Reuters]
A 56-year-old Muslim American woman was thrown out of a rally in support of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump following a silent protest.
Rose Hamid was forcibly removed by security guards from the hall in South Carolina on Friday, after standing up in the crowd while wearing a shirt saying: “Salam. I come in peace.”
Hamid, and a few other protesters with her, also wore yellow Jewish stars of David marked “Muslim” to recall the forced identification markers under Nazi Germany.
Video footage aired on CNN of the moment when Hamid was being escorted out, shows many Trump supporters shouting at her.
Hamid, who works as a flight attendant, told CNN that some shouted questions at her such as “Do you have a bomb? Do you have a bomb?”
But according to Hamid, her silent protest of the “hateful rhetoric” found in Trump’s camp is mainly an element existing within the “crowd mentality”, as opposed to personal beliefs held by most Republicans.
“This demonstrates how when you start dehumanising the other it can turn people into very hateful, ugly people,” Hamid told CNN.
“I have the sincere belief that if people get to know each other one-on-one, that they’ll stop being afraid of each other.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has issued a press statement calling on Trump to offer a public apology for the action.
“The image of a Muslim woman being abused and ejected from a political rally sends a chilling message to American Muslims and to all those who value our nation’s traditions of religious diversity and civic participation,” Nihad Awad, CAIR national executive director, said.
Following the ejection of Hamid, Trump reportedly told the crowd of supporters at the campaign rally: “There is hatred against us that is unbelievable. It’s their hatred, it’s not our hatred.”
Trump has come under fire from the public and politicians for repeated comments seen as planting fear of Muslims, including that they should carry specific identification cards and that mosques should be closed.
________________________________________________________
hmmm so if i am an aspiring footy star i get to punch people in the had and its all good.
sweet as bro. But hey, its ‘disapointing’ but as long as he wins games and the boys drink beer and cheer, its all good. 🙂
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
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Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
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TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
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About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
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You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
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Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
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TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
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Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
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The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
http://www.salon.com/2016/01/09/oil_money_politics_and_evil_our_leading_middle_east_ally_is_the_worst_country_imaginable/
“Oil, money, politics and evil: Our leading Middle East ally is the worst country imaginable
America’s BFF relationship with the corrupt, vicious and oil-rich Saudi despots might be our worst mistake of all”
“Trump was asked on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” this week how he would play the worsening standoff between Iran and Saudi Arabia. “I would back Saudi Arabia, but you know what? We’re a debtor nation. They’ve got nothing but money,” the Donald told Mika Brzezinski and her co-host, noted Saudi shill Joe Scarborough. “I wouldn’t back them for nothing. I would say: You’ve got to pay. We’re going to help you. You gotta pay. You gotta pay.”
“Saudi arms sales are in breach of international law, Britain is told”
“Government accused over refusal to suspend export licences in wake of strikes on Yemen”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/09/saudi-arms-sales-lawyers-warn-break-international-law-yemen
“Deaths Reported as MSF-Linked Hospital Bombed in Yemen
The medical charity said it ‘cannot confirm’ attacker but noted the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for the two other air strikes in last three months”
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/10/deaths-reported-msf-linked-hospital-bombed-yemen
and NZ is paying a bribe which the Gov’t euphemistically calls a “facilitation payment” so that we can be more closely associated with the Saudis in a “Free Trade Agreement”!!!
The human race needs people with DECENT PRINCIPLES in power!
+1 TMM The human race needs people with DECENT PRINCIPLES in power!
Which is why we got rid of dictatorships but now it’s obviously time to go to full participatory democracy as history has shown that our present elected dictatorship is no better than the previous ones.
USA waking up to how Charter schools are destroying their kids education…. pity the memo never got sent to our government, but I guess we are ‘an emerging market’ for the frauds, including privatising the school land and having the tax payer pay for it twice while transferring public land into private hands…
http://www.salon.com/2016/01/09/were_onto_the_phony_education_reformers_charter_school_charlatans_and_faux_reformers_take_it_on_the_chin/
The article is a great read all around but one key paragraph that sets up my (second) largest objection to charter schools is this…
“More recently, Florida press outlets reported the state has given about $70 million to charter schools that later closed and returned virtually none of the money to taxpayers. While the state is able to recover computers and other equipment these schools purchased with taxpayer money, the far more substantial costs for purchasing and improving property and making lease payments stays in private pockets after the schools close.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This was well known problem way before charter schools opened in NZ and yet the exact same thing happened here with that school up north – the Dept of Ed is finding it impossible to get the money back that the school spent on farm land.
My largest objection is that these schools close willy-nilly leaving kids in the lurch, often during the school year. Then, because of the effect it was having on kids to close schools underneath them the powers that be stop looking for signs that charter schools are performing badly.
+1 mpledger
Yeah well only the blind and stupid cant see or know what a cash cow looks like
Sadly education isn’t what it used to be thanks to the odious faculty of economics what a crock of shit
The blogging world will be going crazy as the charter school PR machine via David Farrar and Whale Oil are into this story boots and all.
Then again, maybe not. Some kid somewhere will walk out of a charter school with a smile on her face happy the school day is over and the ideologues will be scrambling over themselves for the best headline – “Astonishing achievement at school,” “Charter school scores sensationally” or whatever.
David Farrar and Mrs Whale Oil will be too busy fervently reporting on that to worry about reality.
+1
What has that article to do with the excellent partnership schools in NZ?
Any data? No Thought not.
an interesting post from Digby about TransCanada suing the United States under NAFTA for $15 billion and why for 15$ billion and not 3$ billion
http://digbysblog.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/oh-but-poor-people-by-bloggersrus.html
I especially like this part 🙂 – Luckily as we are assured by our Resident National Government supporters this can;t happen here cause it ain’t Nafta we are signing, its the TPPA that the National Government will sign on our ‘behalf’.
Quote: AMYGOODMAN: Lori, can you explain why they’re asking $15 billion?
LORI WALLACH:: So, this is a question a lot of folks asked me yesterday: “Well, wait a minute, this is supposed to”—everyone who’s read the newspaper. “This is a $3 billion pipeline. How the heck can they be asking for $15 billion from us taxpayers?” And the answer is, under the outrageous investor-state system, not only can a foreign corporation get all these special rights—go around our courts, go around our laws and demand compensation—but they don’t just get money for what they’ve spent on a project, they get to get compensated for expected future profits. Yep, they are calculating—and the brief goes through this—what they think they would have made in the future for the lifetime of the pipeline had it been allowed. And that’s what we taxpayers are supposed to give them, because we had a democratic decision of our government that their commercial project wasn’t in the national interest. That’s the $15 billion. Quote End.
But then the question is, could this happen to us? Veolia (which is working in NZ) has started procedings against the Egypt Government last year when the Eqypt Government dared to raise the minimum wage.
http://aftinet.org.au/cms/veolia-vs-egypt-workers-2014
Quote: “The company is using the ISDS provisions in an investment treaty between France and Egypt.
The case is still in progress, but is yet another example of the dangers of including investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)”. Quote End
I am sure we will again be told that this can;t be happen here, cause we are special, and oh look over there an All Black and a flag and a US Preznit n stuff.
and last a good read as to why a special court for foreign investors may have no place in trade agreements. I am sure our resident National Government Supporters have wisdom to share as to why foreign investors should be able to sue our Government be they National led or otherwise.
http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2013/11/special-courts-for-foreign-investors-have-no-place-in-trade-deals/
and then this https://www.iisd.org/itn/2015/02/17/political-change-vs-legal-stability-problems-arising-from-the-application-of-investment-treaties-in-transitions-from-authoritarian-rule/
and this is also a nice read for those that read 🙂 https://www.iisd.org/itn/2015/02/17/political-change-vs-legal-stability-problems-arising-from-the-application-of-investment-treaties-in-transitions-from-authoritarian-rule/
other then that, its a lovely day so enjoy it 🙂
+1 Sabine – France apparently refused to sign their TPPA equivalent with investor state dispute resolutions in it.
Pity our zombie PM can’t be bothered to stand up for NZ.
Key’s bending over and picking up the soap is a metaphor for his entire conduct with the US and Far right think tanks and TPPA. Just wants to be the ‘fun joker’ of the party and play golf and ‘goof’ off with other PM’s – leave the scary work and fine print to others.
I made a comment before and how we are and are not like insects. Bee colonies have a leader that grows more bees and is central to the colony. We however accept a shapeshifter that looks and sounds like a NZ (after useful PR treatment and coaching) but his heart is in San Fransisco, or New York, or Hawaii (where the USA Pres. holidays. Get it!
Songs to listen to in the hols.
San F. – (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1x8W29pDRw Frank S.
New York – (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1x8W29pDRw Billy Joel recent
NY- (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8hVOMAmY-s Luciano Pavarotti & Liza Minnelli
Hawaii – (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_17vGYa81s Aloha Hawaii – ‘Iz’
Hawaii – (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_jIhI0QYJo Hawaiian wedding song
USA influence –
Hawaii – (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcvo4U33_L4 Hawaii-5-0
Have a big heaping helping of our folk culture!
NZ – (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDMgyeFU74k Taumarunui on the Main Trunk Line – The Cats Been Spayed!
NZ – (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRjvnDPmPd4 Down the Hall Saturday Night
NZ – (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuaoElWqleo I’ve Been Everywhere Man
NZ- (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lswLTVtqzW8 Farewell to the Gold Paul Metsers
NZ – (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU7wF8ilIbE The Gin & Raspberry Bok Muir & Trickett
NZ – (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS0aqdbIQz8 The Plainsmen Waitaki River
NZ – (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQLUygS0IAQ Poe E Patea Maori Club
Exotic places call Key. Trains in Taumarunui don’t cut it with him – too plebeian.
FJK stands up for the USA and planks for NZ.
Seen this?
How effectively ‘censored’ has been THIS speech by US Presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Saunders?
http://www.nationofchange.org/news/2016/01/08/the-most-important-campaign-speech-bernie-on-the-banks/
“Within the first 100 days of my administration, I will require the secretary of the Treasury Department to establish a ‘Too-Big-to Fail’ list of commercial banks, shadow banks and insurance companies whose failure would pose a catastrophic risk to the United States economy without a taxpayer bailout,” says Sanders.
“Within one year, my administration will break these institutions up so that they no longer pose a grave threat to the economy as authorized under Section 121 of the Dodd-Frank Act.”
“Greed is not good,” proclaimed Sanders, riffing on Gordon Gekko’s famous pronouncement in the movie “Wall Street,” just miles from that financial center.
“In fact, the greed of Wall Street and corporate America is destroying the fabric of our nation. And here is a New Year’s Resolution that I will keep if elected president. If you do not end your greed, we will end it for you.”
The bold speech addressed a topic that should be the main focus of debate, particularly during the race for the presidency.
The 2008 financial crash caused a recession which is wiping out $6 to $36 trillion from America’s economy.
Yet the talk received scant media coverage. It’s hard to attribute this to recent high-visibility events. Bernie is routinely blacked out of the media.
Yet since colleges, Congress, liberal think tanks, the mainstream media, and both parties embrace financial donors, even while failing to investigate causes of the crash or working to prevent the next one, his message is all the more potent.
…..”
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
+1 Penny
Thank you for including the link. Worth sharing.
John Key is using his acquaintance with Obama to endnote his term in office with a view to a global role.
Geopolitically, it makes some sense. We are in the Asia-Pacific and during WWII US Marines camped around Wellington and the Kapiti Coast after Pearl Harbour to defend against potential invasion because the NZ army was in the Middle East and Japanese intentions were unknown.
We are still in the Pacific and our cognitive structures are still largely in the northern hemisphere. But this is not WWII, and Obama has competing priorities,
As a Hawai’ian he probably has some interest in Aotearoa, but as US president his horizons are broader- Key has more to gain from a visit by his golfing buddie than does Obama. It is a long way to go .. for what ? I can’t see it. This is more about Obama playing Key than the other way around.
As a school kid I stood on the street as LBJ walked past to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph. He had been one of the marines camped around Wellington during WWII and flew in after a trip to Vietnam. Obama does not have that motivation.
Stranger things have happened. It would be interesting to see a powerful Black American confront Maoritanga in a challenge during a welcoming ceremony. TV networks would love it – but how many people watch TV these days ?
John Key would inevitably make something of it – possibly call a snap election. Can you see the eyes light up among the ‘National’ party ?
John Key is using his acquaintance with Obama to endnote his term in office with a view to a global role.
I had to laugh when you wrote that.
Honest John Key I can reassure you is happy to stay on in 2017,2020,2023 and possibly even 2026.
I suggest you read the comment again.
We know you are an ignoramus – but there is no need to constantly reaffirm it.
So fisiani, you’d like NZ to become a dictatorship?
Oh wait…It already is
Poor Fizzy. Munching on his own shit again. Thinking it’s us getting the foul taste. What ???
http://zidbits.com/2011/06/why-do-animals-eat-their-own-poop/
German has a made up word that suits – scheinselbständigkeit.
Apploitation in a city of instaserfs
How the “sharing economy” has turned San Francisco into a dystopia for the working class
[…]
Oh, Canada! I’m writing you from Berkeley, California to warn you about this thing called “the sharing economy.” Since no one is really sharing anything, many of us prefer the term “the exploitation economy,” but due to its prevalence many in the Bay Area simply think of it as “the economy.” Whatever you want to call it, the basic idea is that customers can outsource all the work or chores they don’t want to do to somebody else in their area.
You can be chauffeured around the city while somebody picks up and launders your dirty underwear. You can have groceries delivered to your door and your bathroom given that deep clean that you don’t have time to do yourself. The best part is you can do it all on your phone! Sharing economy companies promise their customers all the luxuries of the rich and famous—and they can do that by taking advantage of the system and, in some cases, bending or simply avoiding labour laws.
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/monitor/apploitation-city-instaserfs
previously on TS – the sharing economy
Apps that facilitate unlawful behaviour – breaking labour laws, untaxed cash jobs, unqualified taxi services – should simply be outlawed.
But “we would like to see wages drop” says the moneyed elite.
Now SFO is completely unaffordable for everyone else.
A thought for the future. It could be that comments could be limited to 6 in the morning and 6 in afternoon/evening. There would be a counter – it would limit the promiscuous wasps that feed on the honey dew here (poetic and green as well!) and their mad desire to swamp the blog with their futile, malign comments. More than a dozen a day and they could keep good commenters away, and they bring a pall of bitchines and nonsense with them. It would limit the exponential growth of the site that doesn’t need numbers as it has proved itself as valued and a great success.
edited
To troll or not to troll that is the question.
One mans troll is another mans soothsayer.
How do you choose who goes on this restricted counter,as the standard is at its best when the truly clever ones here get going.??
Well this way the individual would be working to put out their best points. It wouldn’t do to waste too many of the six for a half day on trading insults with trolls.
The trolls could do what they always do and then they would be cut off after the sixth, They might manage to restrain themselves as well. The whole tone of the blog would rise a notch, and no-one would be stopped, though some might save some points and put them into one longer one. Now and then there is a really meaty thread. I don’t know about that. It could be that someone might appeal to the moderator of the day to start a post so that they could go off Open Mike and argue on another thread which would be under moderation.
It would probably make people think a little bit more before putting in a comment, but would it apply universally?
For example a commenter whose pseudonym happens to start with “grey” had 11 yesterday afternoon, following on from 5 in the morning. Would they be chopped of in their prime? The later ones were the most interesting.
The only real problem I can see would be if someone’s comment drew a lot of reactions, or questions. It would prevent replies and rejoinder’s being possible in a timely manner. After 6 you would have to come back tomorrow.
On the other hand there are commenters whose only contribution seems to be expressions such as “lies” or “you are a liar” who wouldn’t be missed.
Humourous idea grey. I can’t imagine it ever being implemented, but it would be a very interesting experiment.
Something we could do though, is to get a handful or two of us together who commit to not engaging in the macho/bitchy shit, and not feeding the trolls, and instead talk to each other with a focus on good communication, respect and constructive politics.
Lately I’ve been feeling like the place is just a bitchfest between regulars, and I get sucked into that too easily. But I suspect the readership reflects something quite different (would love to see the stats on the Helen Kelly’s post from the other day).
weka
Good ideas. I already give little attention to trolls and even the regulars I pick and choose who I read. There are some who never fail to write something that adds to my internal library, and some are humorous too. I do weaken sometimes and make disparaging remarks. Utterly futile of course. They have no shame, or objectivity. But I don’t see my idea as humorous, rather it would be practical. I have heard that some blogs do have a limit on individual comments.
I keep thinking about doing a rationing system. However I think that the current way that we limit meaningless waffling is so much more effective, and usually a pleasure to do as well.
I hope you like numbers…
Quite different audiences to the comments. It is pretty easy to read, especially in a low month like over xmas (makes for an abnormal pattern, but one that highlights what happens).
Click for a large display
Compare the percentages / times against the averages at the top and against each other. You’ll notice the topics in the top ten have a particular type of focus.
The main things to note are:
* Unique page views are “Unique Pageviews is the number of sessions during which the specified page was viewed at least once. A unique pageview is counted for each page URL + page Title combination.”
* Page views vs Unique Page views – which gives you an idea of how much thrashing there is by the same people on a page – mostly thrashing is caused by commenters.
* Avg Time – are people actually reading the comments? Again, commenters tend to raise that
* Entrances/exits direct to the page is a pretty good indicator about social media effects. High entrances/exits indicates a strong social media content, low commenters
It is pretty easy to see the pages that the commenters are dominant on, and which pages have social media reading them.
But it becomes clearer when I split into new vs returning
@fisiani11.41am comment 5.1
Honest John Fisiani????? Watch this 2013 3 min link and tell me you can still call key honest:
PM John Key grilled on Fletcher’s GCSB appointment.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/national/news/video.cfm?c_id=1503075&gal_cid=1503075&gallery_id=131968
(I thought I had pushed the reply button to fisiani’s comment, but was so concentrating on posting a link for the first time on
this irritating little machine that I realised I was way of course and could not get back.)
I agree, he’ll only stay on until the 2017 election but unfortunately for the left in NZ he’ll stay on until the 2017 election 🙂
We have a choice.
We can allow these rwnj trolls to derail these threads or we can ignore them.
Paul this is the first time I have been able to offer this link showing key lying to fisiani, and I really want fisiani to watch it and hopefully tell me what she/he thinks. So please don’t derail this thread and look at the clip yourself if poss.
Reading the comments on this particular thread Paul you are the troll
First time I tend to agree with you Puckish Rogue @1.01pm. And I still haven’t heard fisiani’s response to the link I posted @ commemt 8. Perhaps you and alwyn could view the link and tell me if it backs up fisiani’s ‘honest john’ claim.
I have given up on Paul on this thread, as I am sure he has missed the point.
Ok so here goes.
I think all politicians lie or they “misspeak” whatever you want to call it so in comparison to you or I yes John Key is a liar
But that’s not comparing apples with apples so the question needs to be is how honest John Key is in comparison to the other leaders of NZ
Ah, but should politicians be allowed to lie or should they be held accountable and jailed when they do?
And John Key isn’t ‘misspeaking’ but is outright lying as you well know.
Its trite but every three years we get to hold them to account, maybe not as well as some would like, and judge them for their sins (perceived and real)
No we don’t. We have a limited ability to not vote for them. I’d rather have a law that say, unequivocally, that an MP lying results in them going to jail. Same with fraud, rorting (Blinglish’s actions with his house), and corruption.
John Key should have been in jail before 2008 because of his actions regarding his Transrail shares.
lol, I’d forgotten about hm “forgetting” about his tranzrail shares.
Then there’s his “blind” trust and the bottles of wine…
“that an MP lying results in them going to jail”
Would be amazing, but given who makes our laws it seems vanishingly unlikely to ever happen. We need to somehow make character a strong part of how people decide on who represents us.
@PuckishR@1.28pm
Thanks for having ‘a go’ . But of ‘all politicians” key is the worst or is it the best? But then who would want to be the best at lying, unless they couldn’t care a less, and I’m afraid john key is exactly this type of person ,as I tried to show in that clip.
I tend to aim for the politicians who I think have the greatest integrity and substance when I vote regardless of which party. All National mps (and I have thought about them and observed them often in parliament) are sadly lacking in truth and most appear to be disingenuous poseurs and are all too often try to emulate their mendacious leader, in my opinion.
They let you out?
I’d settle for key here till 2017 then a left government. It would be better than one of collins or bennet getting a stint in charge.
Time off for good behaviour, I think Key will retire 4 elections not out and not bother going for a fifth
I’m at a loss to think who’ll take over, I thought it might have been Collins but now I’m leaning towards Bennet
I’ll give you an inside tip. The next leader and PM in 2026 will be Chris Bishop, the MP who has made Trevor Mallard a lame duck in the Hutt.
Well that’s a big call, we’ll see how that plays out but he better win an electorate seat at some point because if you can’t convince an electorate to vote for you how can you expect a country?
Bit of an own goal there.
* Most of Labour
* All of Greens
* Most of NZFirst
I presume, given what you are saying about the three parties, you are talking about the percentage of the party MPs who are on the list.
In fact you should select out National, rather than Labour as being unable to win electorate seats.
15.6% of the Labour MPs are from the list.
A much higher 32.2% of the National ones are.
How is that an own goal?
On second reading I may not have written it as well as I could have, what I meant to say was if you want to lead the country and convince the country to vote for you then you should be able to win an electorate seat, by all means take a list seat later but wait until you’ve won a seat first
So the Greens aren’t capable of the running the country and Andrew Little won’t lead Labour to victory in 2017
I actually think the pm shouldn’t have or relinquish their seat on winning power. I can’t imagine a pm having much time for electorate issues.
I think the state of the global economy this year and how it impacts on NZ (and it will), will be the determiner of what John Key does. He’s a fair-weather politician and if the global economy plays out like I suspect it will over the next 12 months, there is a chance John Key will bail and leave the next election to someone else.
Of course he is honest. He is the most trusted pm in our history.
dnftt
fisiani did you not see ‘honest john’ lying on the link I gave you on comment 8 @12.07pm.
Honestly!
Care to point out any lie by Honest John. I watched the clip. Never heard a lie. Do you actually understand what the word ‘lie’ means?
So you watched it with the sound off. Very clever.
Lanthanide
LOL. Ergo.
Obviously the only way for fisiani lathanide. Great comment , caused much laughter, tho’ at the same time a bit sad, about fisiani i mean, tbanks.
That’s a big call I hope you’ve got some links coming to prove it !
I’d say John Key is as honest as any other political leader 🙂
You would say that, because you’re only as honest as John Key.
Which is not honest in the slightest.
I’ll have you know I’m quite honest, probably why I couldn’t run for any for of political office 🙂
With honesty like yours, you could run for act or the nats. But most of the left wing parties demand that what their representatives say has at least some positive relationship with the truth.
But arguing that every politician is a lying scumbag like dunnokeyo is part of the way you bastards get into government with the support of only a third of registered voters – if you convince a million opponents that the opposition are just as untrustworthy as the government , you alienate opposing voters from the entire system.
It’s cynical, corrupt and morally bankrupt, but then that’s typical tory behaviour.
“But most of the left wing parties demand that what their representatives say has at least some positive relationship with the truth.”
Yeah naah
If I recall correctly it was the left pushing MMP yet its the right that’s won more
If Labour keep putting up leaders like Goff, Shearer, Cunliffe and Little instead of leaders like Clark and Lange then of course the right are going to keep on winning
“If I recall correctly it was the left pushing MMP yet its the right that’s won more”
It is currently tied 3 to Labour, 3 to National.
96, 2008, 2011, 2014 to the nats
99, 2002, 2005 to the leftish.
Sorry Lanthanide but you are forgetting the first MMP election in 1996.
It is currently Nat-led 4 (96, 08, 11 and 14) to Lab-led 3 (99, 02 and 05)
Of course in reality New Zealand lost in 96 and 05. Anyone who lets Winston anywhere near power isn’t fit to be in office.
Ah, I missed ’96.
This is a reply to McFlock’s 2.35 post
I don’t plan to try and compile a complete list of Helen Clarke’s misleading statements.
In terms of whether a statement is a “lie” I tend to use the Chambers Dictionary definition which is “a false statement made with the intention of deceiving”. I think the three examples I have given for Helen Clark fall into that definition.
I had a look at Blip’s magnum opus. I have chosen a couple at random to see what he was about. I don’t think the ones I looked at fall into the category of lies.
The first was, number 17, that “New Zealand was one of the very few countries in the world that was settled peacefully”
What Key said was that ” In my view New Zealand was one of the very few countries in the world that were settled peacefully.” The words “In my view” make it clear that was only his opinion.
Even this blog distinguishes between saying something is your opinion, when no source is required and saying something is a fact when you must justify the claim.
Was that a lie? His view is arguably wrong but (in my view) you can’t say it was a lie.
The second was number 24 where Blip says Key was lying and he says the lie was “The Greens are responsible for the rise in income inequality within New Zealand”
This gives as justification a statement by Brent Edwards that the Greens were not in Government. That is, in fact, something I have pointed out on another post and have been roundly abused for saying so. Both te reo uptake and swordfish seemed to think, in the TPPA agreement post, that they should be considered as part of the 2002 Government.
However back to the point. What Key actually said was
“In the period between 1999 and 2005, if my memory serves me correctly, the then Labour Government did that with the support in various forms of the Green Party, and so I say to Russel Norman ‘yes, he should apologise to New Zealand for his failure in that time’.””
That doesn’t make any claim that the Green Party were part of the Government. It says they supported the Government which is clearly true. Again I can’t agree that his statement is a lie.
That is a very selective list. I really can’t be bothered looking at them all
I really don’t want to argue that Key never lies. He is a politician and nearly all politicians lie if the feel the need. They aren’t successful if they don’t. However Key is very smart and he may leave you THINKING he said something that he didn’t.
If one is going to attack him you have to be realistic and limit the use of the word “lie” to things that really qualify. Using it only as an abusive term for an opinion you disagree with is silly.
ps. Sorry for the length of this. I couldn’t see how to get my point across in less words.
Damn. I must have picked the wrong “reply” tag.
@ alwyn
Your memory’s failing you a little, alwyn.
Could you link to where I’ve ever suggested the Greens were part of the 2002-05 Clark Govt ?
Also … Helen Clark, not Clarke
You didn’t say that about the 2002 Government did you Swordfish? You really only said it about 1999-2002 (when it can be considered true) and 2005-2008 (not the case), when you said it was the situation although Jeanette denied it.
As for “Clarke” Gosh, everybody! Swordfish has noted that I put Clark in one place and Clarke in another.
He (she) can get a new job as a proof reader. Might do better than as a political commentator.
No doubt she (he) has never made a typing error in his (her) life.
Now do you have anything significant about what I did have to say?
Should I assume that if you can only point out a typo you can’t actually find anything wrong with the comments I have made?
Alwyn, the issue is not that key never lies or that clark never lies.
The issue is that Key lies more often and worse than any other politician you care to mention.
You cherry-picked a couple of blip’s list items that might be debatable as to intent to mislead.
Well, what about blaming Labour for the limo trade-ups when it was his signature on the contract to upgrade? What about the tranzrail shares he forgot he owned? Giving away bottles of wine he pretends he doesn’t know he owns? Claiming to not remember how an old school friend became the only person interviewed for the GCSB job? The changing stories on how often he was in contact with slater? His reporting of his apology to the waitress being accepted with no problem, vs her account of his “apology”?
And that’s beyond his tendency to leave grieving people with the impression he made strong assurances to do “whatever it takes” or get their sons and husbands back, assurances he never follows through on. He says whatever is convenient at the time, and never has any intention to either follow through on commitments or ensure that his reporting of events bears any relationship to the truth.
Clark had the painting (didn’t key do that too?), the car trip, and Doone. You’re welcome to mention any others.
Your comment says nothing to compare the well-documented lies of Key with any comments by any Labour party leaders past or present.
The worst one about Clark was a fecking charity painting. Key lied about how an old school tie got a phone call to be offered a job as head of a government department, and recent loser-actoid whyte plagiarised himself only the other day.
That was a pretty trivial example by Helen.
The worst was the false stories she was passing on to the Herald about the then Police Commissioner Peter Doone. Quite why she wanted to get him out was never clear but she certainly set out to destroy him.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10122718
Other things that seemed odd about her actions were denying that she even realised that he motorcade was speeding when travelling to Christchurch, and trying to claim that it was Henare who attacked her mate Mallard instead of the real way round.
Incidentally you do seem to have a strange view of what is plagiarism. By your definition every single politician is guilty of it during a campaign when they give their standard speech.
If you think Labour leaders haven’t lied (or misspoke or not told the whole story) then more fool you but my main point was that the leaders Labour have been putting up recently are unelectable and it must be especially galling when compared to former leaders of a not-too-distant past
pr – I’ve not said Labour leaders are perfect. Simply that key is on a completely new level of lying compared to anyone Labour’s had as leader.
Alwyn – if you posted a full list of clark’s lies, I doubt it would be even a quarter the length of blip’s list, and a tenth as serious. I’d be interested in a genuine comparison. Many of key’s lies involve outright corruption, in my opinion.
I love that you can’t tell the difference between a political stump speech and offering cut&paste material to a publisher as a new work. Besides, even when they recycle “ad libs” they risk getting called out on it (e.g. McCain using the same joke about not being recognised at [insert local airport here] having at least a half dozen televised examples over the years being put into a montage by the Daily Show). The prepared speeches are understood to be taling points strung together, these days. If you say to a publication “I have written this opinion piece you can sell for money”, it should be original or at least acknowledged that it was published elsewhere. Interestingly, if it was published in the UK, does that mean that Whyte violated the copyright of the original publisher? Might do…
McFlock – I suspect that part of the reason Keys lies are more well known then Clarks lies is that general internet use and blogging was certainly less widespread in Clarks time then it is today (I might be wrong about this of course)
So at the time Clark said a howler it was harder to look up and view it and then post about it whereas today its so much easier (which is a good thing I might add)
Sort of like how a politician used to be able to say one thing at an old persons home then another at uni then another at a business meeting
well, that’s bollocks because a) people remembered what they had been promised; b) many people were part of multiple groups; and c)we had actual journalosts who went to all the events and compared barefaced lies.
Oh, and d) the internet existed before John key, kiwiblog has been going since 2003, well enough to cover Clark.
and e) what about all the labour leaders since clark, well into the internet era?
well, that’s bollocks because a) people remembered what they had been promised;
– Sometimes but people also have sort memories at times
b) many people were part of multiple groups; and c)we had actual journalists who went to all the events and compared barefaced lies.
– I’m not convinced of journalists neutrality now or then, far too many family links or marriages
Oh, and d) the internet existed before John key, kiwiblog has been going since 2003, well enough to cover Clark.
– Yeah but I’m talking general public and before blogs started shaping the political landscape
and e) what about all the labour leaders since clark, well into the internet era?
– No one cares about them because they didn’t become the leader of the country
hey, journos have always had bias, but there used to be more of them to do their job. And “changing the political landscape” is one thing, but I would have expected kiwiblog to obsessively track the litany of fibs that you think clark told – or at the very least, just made some up.
So according to you, all politicians tell outright lies, but people are too stupid or their memory is too mercurial for them to care. And nobody cares about second place. You really do have a shitty opinion of human beings – maybe if you stopped looking in the mirror your morale would improve.
hey, journos have always had bias, but there used to be more of them to do their job. And “changing the political landscape” is one thing, but I would have expected kiwiblog to obsessively track the litany of fibs that you think clark told – or at the very least, just made some up.
– He hasn’t collated them so I can’t be arsed going through all of his old posts
So according to you, all politicians tell outright lies, but people are too stupid or their memory is too mercurial for them to care. And nobody cares about second place.
– Think how many times a party (National or Labour) has mentioned bottom lines yet somehow there always seems to be a back track or a flip flop or even just making promises they know they’ll never have to keep and yet we, the public, keep on electing them
You really do have a shitty opinion of human beings – maybe if you stopped looking in the mirror your morale would improve.
– Looking in the mirror with my shirt off always improves my morale
Again, I’m not arguing that all politicians are perfect.
I’m saying that the quality and quantity of dunnokeyo’s lies are a new low. This isn’t just “flip-flop” accusations, but an organised and concerted abuse of process, from the OIA to the Speaker to the appointment of state services staff to outright lying to parliament to employing people like Ede in his office to slandering detained people and the opposition in one fell swoop.
McFlock
+1
Every time he opens his mouth(JK), there’s a lot of people who cringe, I personally find he insults peoples intelligence.
QFT
A Herald poll only showed about 10% of respondents believed what John key said….
He’s popular among people who believe owning a house should earn you more money than working ………….. They will excuse any lies he tells.
its called Bent key Syndrome
[lprent: You should see what we call Flamers. Flamewar starters aren’t appreciated around here – read our policy.
If you want to assert a fact like a Herald poll, then you should link to supporting article(s) or say exactly where to find it. To do otherwise means that everyone will assume that you just made it up. That includes moderators. If we think that you’re starting a flamewar deliberately or even inadvertently using unsubstantiated assertions of fact, then we’re liable to revoke your ability to comment here.
This is your warning. ]
care to link to that shonky poll……
At least you’ve finally used a more appropriate name for FJK.
@reason@1.15pm
Please view the link I posted on commemt 8. It is the only clip I know where Key lies and is caught out by the reporters (not that they do much about it.)
It backs everything you say and I wanted people like fisiani etc who state that key is honest to see the evidence that he is not honest for themselves.
My apologies for not backing up with a link and I did do a quick search for the poll in question…. but after not finding it quickly I just posted up my memories of it which were …………
The poll was a dodgy Herald readers one and it was in relation to the revelation that our GCSB was spying on our pacific Island neighbors.
The skewered Herald poll gave readers three options to vote on regarding this spying on the pacific islands ……
A) This is what spy agencies do and its ok
B) I do not believe it
C) Its outrageous
The poll was skewered in relation to the options supporting or opposing the spying and even with the design bias that vote was fairly evenly split from memory.
But with the ” I do not believe it” option ……………..
John Key has consistently smeared Nicky Hager dating back from the Hollow Men National/Exclusive Brethren illegal electioneering that Key was involved with.
Regarding the GCSB pacific Island spying revelation John Key said: …. ” Earlier, Prime Minister John Key urged New Zealanders to dismiss claims about spying on foreign allies, saying he can “guarantee” they will be wrong.” http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/66944644/Nicky-Hager-Kiwis-will-be-shocked-by-spy-claims
“I’m not going to critique your stolen emails and misinformation,” he told reporters.
“There’s a history of fizzers when it comes to Nicky Hager, Greenwald and Snowden. I’m sorry these guys get it wrong.” http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/66944644/Nicky-Hager-Kiwis-will-be-shocked-by-spy-claims
So the “I do not believe it” option was for those who believed what John Key was saying at the time ………….. and they were about 10% from memory.
I found it interesting at the time because even the people who approved the spying and who probably supported National clearly did not believe what Key was saying.
The poll seems to have been taken down but I found a reference to it in the Herald: …..
“An online unscientific Herald poll of up to 11,600 people showed more than 50 per cent of people said they were “fine with it”. Some 42 per cent replied to say they were “incensed – this is unacceptable”. Six per cent did not believe the claims were true.” http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11412551
My memory was a little faulty and only 6% believed John Keys statements and position that Hagars claims were wrong and not to believe him.
My false equivalence example showing the Heralds pro National bias in the poll questions was not exact either ……………. The two options the Herald gave readers to vote on if they believed Hagars information were: “fine with it” or”incensed – this is unacceptable”.
An honest poll would have asked “it’s alright to do this” versus “its wrong to do this”, or “we should spy on them” versus ” we should not spy on them”.
My conclusion is the only thing believable from that Herald Poll was that 6% believed John Key versus 96% believed Hager.
If the opposition got it together they would wipe out National at election time …..just like they did in Northland.
Also If Northland knowledge spreads nationally I can only see Keys popularity decline accelerating ……. Keys support and promotion of sabin in the months prior to his resignation from parliament seems quite extraordinary.
@ fisi “Of course he (Key) is honest. He is the most trusted PM in our history.”
3 News Reid Research/TNS Polls
Honesty Ratings
Key 41% (late 2013)
Clark 61% (early 2003)
(Note: I don’t have any post-2013 stats, but after the Dirty Politics scandal, I’d assume Key’s honesty ratings are relatively unlikely to have risen).
Fairfax-Ipsos August 2013
Leader Trust
Fully believe John Key ? Yes 24%, No 59%
3 News Reid Research July 2013
52% believe Dotcom
34% believe Key’s denials
You were saying ???
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-10012016/#comment-1117021
+1 ouch!
We have a choice.
We can allow these rwnj trolls to derail these threads or we can ignore them.
[lprent: OpenMike was added into the posts because then moderators don’t have to monitor it for derailing and diversion. It also removed the necessity excuse for derailing and diversion in author written posts. ]
Given that this is Open Mike and the purpose is given at the top as being
“For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.”,
it is difficult to see how anything can be classed as “derailing” the thread.
You’ll just have to ignore it. That is also better for your blood pressure.
Sound advice.
Paul you have got the wrong end of the stick in this case and I think you may have wasted my huge effort to post visual evidence that what fisiami keeps saying about ‘john’s honesty’ is untrue. I had hoped to silence fisiani with the truth, backed by actual visual evidence, thus making it unnecessary to have to feed fisiani and like minded people again.
Please have a look at the clip on comment 8… it’s a cracker.
@fisiani@1.21pm
Thanks for watching the clip. Can’t believe you did not notice him saying first one thing then another then the other again. All said in a similar ‘thiis is the truth ‘ voice, even though he’d contradicted himself twice . Even he got lost and didn’t appear to know what ‘truth’ he was telling. I think, unless one is a little deluded, that this clip shows a man telling untruths, which leaves me not knowing which of his assertions were either true or untrue. I do not listen to him anymore like you, apparently.
In my case it’s because I can’t bear to listen to lies, whereas in your case you can’t bear to see or hear the truth it seems.
Ah I get it now. If Honest John says it might rain tomorrow and it turns out fine then thats what s called a lie. If he works all day long for NZ then some would call him liar for not putting in a 16 hour day or claiming bizarrely that he works for another country. How desperate and despairing.
“None so deaf as those that will not hear. None so blind as those that will not see.” Matthew Henry 1662-1714.
‘those that will not see’ even if it is stuck under their nose on a walking, talking video clip in 2016
Looking at geonet and there seems to be a swarm (think thats the term) of quakes in the eastern and southern North Is. I counted 27 at about level 2 registered as unnoticeable, since midnight last night – Sunday. The last two are bigger registering light at 4.3 at 59km near Murupara, and 3.5 at 21km near Dannevirke, both in last half hour.
Well it doesn’t pay to quote geonet till the figures settle down. The Dannevirke shake is registered now as 1.8 not 3.5 – unnoticeable not light, and the one at Murupara is now noted as east of Rotorua at 4.6 at 142 km not 59 km, and is described weak.
Since then there have been another three tiny quakes around middle NZ.
Joseph Stilglitz on the TPP:
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/10/in-2016-better-trade-agreements-trans-pacific-partnership
Loved this story in The Guardian:
“Briton told horse penis remark ‘could have led to war’ between Kyrgyzstan and UK
Michael McFeat, now deported from Kyrgyzstan, says police told him sausage comparison could have sparked conflict”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/10/britons-horse-penis-remark-could-have-led-to-war-between-kyrgyzstan-and-uk
As casus belli go it’s pretty original but at least the Kyrgyz have some pride, whereas in NZ we have been on the receiving end of a dick for s-e-v-e-n years and there are those who still haven’t had enough.
Lol. I can’t help but think there is more to the story than the Guardian reports.
heh,
not terroristscosplaying fantasists act out.The president in the story is never named, though it does mention people wanting to “cling to their God and guns” — a reference to a comment Obama made in 2008.
Eventually in the book, a rogue Department of Homeland Security agent forces people at gunpoint to give up their firearms. When one man resists, an agent shoots him in the head.
The heroes of the story refuse to surrender their guns, and consequently are able to kill the neighbors and government agents who come to take their supplies by force. The book goes into great detail about the protagonists’ arsenal, which includes an array of pistols, AR-15 rifles, and other guns — all of which are pivotal to their triumph.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jimdalrympleii/oregon-militia-members-post-apocalyptic-book-bears-striking#.diG7MdxlgP
That dude LaVoy Finicum was a lot better-looking hiding under the blue tarp…
http://www.salon.com/2016/01/07/theres_a_dude_under_a_tarp_sitting_in_a_rocking_chair_holding_a_rifle_seth_meyers_on_the_weirdest_part_of_the_oregon_standoff/
So how long before WinstonFirst starts about this:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/01/german-minister-cologne-attacks-coordinated-160110152044811.html
Also in The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/10/germany-heiko-maas-new-years-eve-assaults-nationwide
We should not be naïve.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/06/cologne-attacks-mayor-women-keep-men-arms-length-germany
If what the media are saying is true (that’s a big if) then Germany (and other European countries) have some major issues to sort out
I’m inclined to keep the total of asylum seekers to 750 per year
There are so many issues here, involving both asylum seekers and other migrants. Better safe than sorry would be my line.
We have enough problems with crime (especially sexual violence) that we don’t need to import more but as long as we stick to strict screening processes, keep it to 750 per year and provide on going support we should be able to avoid the mistakes of Europe
We have disgraceful levels of violence and sexual crimes in New Zealand …… and a LARGE proportion is the result of Alcohol abuse …………
No doubt this govt will dog whistle about potential refugee criminals.
While roastbusters walk free ……… and it remains open slather for the booze pushers.
It would be very very easy to lower New Zealand rates of sexual offending and violence ………………
National chose not to do so…… and built a big expensive private prison instead ……
I’m sorry but by the reports coming through from Germany is that you have hundreds (in which case it might even be thousands if you believe most attacks aren’t reported) of women attacked and there are suggestions its coordinated (which I’d have thought is even more chilling) between different cities
That is a completely different kettle of fish then what happens in NZ and if we can stop it from happening here by limiting the people doing it actually coming here then that is a good thing
Your definitely right about it being a different Kettle of fish ….. When it comes to our sexual and violence crimes the Government is complicit in our high rates……. and our world famous ‘Roastbusters’ did not even get prosecuted.
National might get the world thinking that we are like …….Muslims!!!, gasp, shock, horror.
I’m sure the German police will be looking to prosecute the criminals involved ………. also the fact that some of the woman victims involved may have been drinking or even using other drugs will not be held or used against them…… unlike here.
The number of family violence, child abuse , sexual violence and street attacks involving Alcohol would dwarf any scary Refugee/Muslim threat for New Zealand by a magnitude of thousands …….
Demonizing whole races or in this case refugees as rapists or criminals is usually done for political reasons.
Treat the offenders as criminals………… not the race.
funny, it appears that on new years eve in NZ at a location near the or around “the Mount” a bunch of several hundreds drunk young man of various back grounds and religions attacked and harrased young females. I think there even was a bit of a brouhahah on FB and it made it into the news.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/75607653/police-condemn-facebook-comments-on-mount-maunganui-new-years-eve-page
You think that NZ may have a problem at hand?
it also seems that these attacks have also happened in Austria, Switzerland and Helisnki.
so maybe the world has an issue with people that think its ok to assault women.
http://www.novinite.com/articles/172556/After+Germany+and+Austria,+Finland+Also+Reports+Assaults+on+Women+on+New+Year%E2%80%99s+Eve
It might have been just sexually frustrated man letting go of a bit of steam, being boys n all that, and luckily no one had to bend over for a bit of soap.
And yes, the Mayor of Koeln had only this to say after the assaults; Women need to learn how to protect themselves by keeping strangers at arms lenght.
I think this attitude is mainly the problem the world.
Fortunately it doesn’t appear to be in the same league (not that it excuses what happened of course) as what happened in Europe but in this instance we need to make sure that it doesn’t happen here
“Women need to learn how to protect themselves by keeping strangers at arms length”
– Men need to be taught to not assault, harass or rape women but…I can’t even comprehend the thought process that goes through a guys mind when they do that
if it makes you feel better, it was said by a women.
Bigotry is gender neutral.
It doesn’t really
A little difficult when our so called male “heroes” in our culture treat women like objects/things. Case in point John Key and the harassment of a waitress, Chris Gayle treating a female interviewer like shit, and Roger Sutton. On the whole our culture has been relaxed about these incidents, even endorsing the behaviour and blaming the victim.
Or alternatively Lifeline. It always helps to talk. At Lifeline, we’re here to listen. Auckland 09 5222 999 or NZ 0800 543 354. Psychological and emotional distress caused by thread jackers – it’s not your fault. Don’t suffer – reach out for support now.
JE SUIS ROSE HAMID!
Good on her.
“Hamid, and a few other protesters with her, also wore yellow Jewish stars of David marked “Muslim” to recall the forced identification markers under Nazi Germany.”
_______________________________________________________
Muslim woman thrown out of Trump rally (Al Jazeera)
Rose Hamid says she went to the rally in silent protest to show Trump supporters what a Muslim looks like.
09 Jan 2016 11:46 GMT | Politics, US & Canada, United States
Trump has come under fire from the public and politicians for repeated comments made that allegedly stoke fear of Muslims [Reuters]
A 56-year-old Muslim American woman was thrown out of a rally in support of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump following a silent protest.
Rose Hamid was forcibly removed by security guards from the hall in South Carolina on Friday, after standing up in the crowd while wearing a shirt saying: “Salam. I come in peace.”
Hamid, and a few other protesters with her, also wore yellow Jewish stars of David marked “Muslim” to recall the forced identification markers under Nazi Germany.
Video footage aired on CNN of the moment when Hamid was being escorted out, shows many Trump supporters shouting at her.
Hamid, who works as a flight attendant, told CNN that some shouted questions at her such as “Do you have a bomb? Do you have a bomb?”
But according to Hamid, her silent protest of the “hateful rhetoric” found in Trump’s camp is mainly an element existing within the “crowd mentality”, as opposed to personal beliefs held by most Republicans.
“This demonstrates how when you start dehumanising the other it can turn people into very hateful, ugly people,” Hamid told CNN.
“I have the sincere belief that if people get to know each other one-on-one, that they’ll stop being afraid of each other.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has issued a press statement calling on Trump to offer a public apology for the action.
“The image of a Muslim woman being abused and ejected from a political rally sends a chilling message to American Muslims and to all those who value our nation’s traditions of religious diversity and civic participation,” Nihad Awad, CAIR national executive director, said.
Following the ejection of Hamid, Trump reportedly told the crowd of supporters at the campaign rally: “There is hatred against us that is unbelievable. It’s their hatred, it’s not our hatred.”
Trump has come under fire from the public and politicians for repeated comments seen as planting fear of Muslims, including that they should carry specific identification cards and that mosques should be closed.
________________________________________________________
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/75678920/guy-williams-lets-become-a-republic-before-we-change-the-flag
he has got a point or two in his dribble err satire thingy
hmmm so if i am an aspiring footy star i get to punch people in the had and its all good.
sweet as bro. But hey, its ‘disapointing’ but as long as he wins games and the boys drink beer and cheer, its all good. 🙂
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/75763198/Hurricanes-boss-says-young-rugby-player-Teariki-Ben-Nicholas-assault-disappointing
http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/75747087/Helen-Kelly-wants-referendum-on-legalising-cannabis-at-the-next-election
They have a pop poll running on this story. One of the options is winning by a country mile.!
David Bowie gone…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/75798182/david-bowie-has-died-at-the-age-of-69.html
King of cool