“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. 🙂
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
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