Grant Hobbs seems to see the tragedy here as being in the loss of a potentially good rugby player, not in Pora’s loss of his life and liberty. Even when they try to say something worthwhile, these sort of people just make me shake my head.
Why is Hurley a jonolist ? Because Collins did NOT add her name to the list of people calling into question the convictions which have had this boy a murderer and a rapist for the past 20 years.
One comment that he “could be innocent…..” does not qualify Bevan. You misrepresent Collins’ demeanour. At the very best her position has softened to “Oh well we’ll see……..not boverred really.”
The comments of Peter Williams QC are more to the point – Teina Pora could be out of prison now were our justice system not the fiefdom of Justice Sow who doesn’t actually give a stuff.
She might be seen to give a stuff in time but that will be according to how she will do out of the issue – forget about Teina the boy now the man.
Where does one get the “Free Teina Pora” teeshirts ?
http://www.illicit.co.nz is where TDB says you can get a “Free Teina” T-shirt. I’d get one myself except it’s rare that I have a spare $28, though at least $8 of that goes into a trust for the Pora family.
“…Mr Key’s superstitious habit of repeating “white rabbits, white rabbits, white rabbits”, on the first of each month. The early morning ritual is believed to bring luck, he said yesterday. Mr Key admits he has visibly aged over the past five years as prime minister. It “comes with the job”. ”
I commented on this yesterday (in the; “What a Dick”, post), it doesn’t seem to be satire; just very peculiar coming, as it does, from Fearfacts. Also, I tried to link this particular compulsion with ShonKey’s compulsive; lying & gambling, by way of OCD, but in retrospect that didn’t really work.
“If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear”
The above statement first attributed to Joseph Goebbels and recently resurrected by those calling for more powers for the GCSB and the NSA is a lie.
You may have nothing to hide, but what about your neighbors and your friends?
What about your work colleagues?
At least one of them, will have something that they don’t want you, or others to know about. This makes them vulnerable to those who seek to know everyone’s secrets. This is how the surveillance state of East Germany worked. The Stasi exploited the foibles of the vulnerable. The Stasi were able to get friend to spy on friend. They were able to get neighbor to smear and spread gossip against neighbor. At work they were able to block your promotion and the progress of your career if they didn’t like your political views.
How? The Stasi knew all the secrets of your managers and indeed of the company itself.
Do we really want to give our secret security forces these powers?
Do we really trust them that much?
Are the anonymous and secretive men and women who run our own secret agencies of such high moral standing and trustworthiness to have access to the secrets of a whole population that metadata spying will give them? Do we really trust them to hold that much power over us?
The East German secret police, the Stasi were able to spread fear and paranoia and suspicion and keep under subjection a whole population for 40 years.
Through mass surveillance the Stasi were able to intimidate everybody. How?
They knew everybody’s secrets.
Do we really want to give our secret agencies this power?
Are we really sure that they won’t abuse them?
Recent events seem to say no.
“If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear”
You may have nothing to hide. But you have everything to fear from those who do.
Apart from your friends, neighbors and colleagues who may have secrets….
At the top of the list are the most fearsome of those with something to hide.
Who guard their own secrets most obsessively.
Who are prepared to go to extreme lengths to protect their secrets from any who dare threaten to expose theim.
These people are the secret security services themselves.
If the supporters of the NSA and GCSB truly believed, “If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear”. Then they would release Bradly Manning. They should drop their persecution of Julien Assange and abandon their international manhunt against Edward Snowden.
First Lavabit, now a second US-based encryption-based secure email company founder ethically chooses to close rather than offer up all its customers to surveillance … his comments are a must read ..
RSA cryptography, based on the products of huge prime numbers, is practically uncrackable. There are two routes that are being followed by the US and allied governments to get around this. One is that they will persecute anyone offering it, and perhaps even make it illegal. The other is research into quantum computing. Using Shor’s algorithm, quantum computers, which don’t really exist yet, can factorise the products and break the codes. The US and Australian governments spend hundreds of millions (at least) on the research, which as far as I can see is directly designed to let them spy on us. I do not work on it, but have colleagues who do. Some of them even consider themselves to be socialist warriors in the struggle for a better world. My opinion of them is not quite so high.
Quantum cryptography, on the other hand, is completely unbreakable. In fact, you can tell if someone has even had a look. It is used commercially by some Swiss financial institutions. It would be difficult, but not impossible, to set it up for normal use. I suspect it would be made illegal as soon as someone looked like doing that, so it’s likely to remain the preserve of governments and corrupt financial institutions for a while yet.
I’d like to add that Stasi was continuing the great tradition of German governments spying on its own people and German citizens – neigbours, friends, family members spying on each other, starting with the Nazi Germany where any dissenters and critics of the regime were disposed of promptly and permanently.
Are the anonymous and secretive men and women who run our own secret agencies of such high moral standing and trustworthiness to have access to the secrets of a whole population that metadata spying will give them?
Nope.
The content of the communications is secondary. The primary is peoples social and business networks. The collection of metadata will expose those networks and once exposed they can be broken. This is, IMO, why the government wants to collect the metadata and so it should not be allowed.
No protection from self incrimination under duress.
A few slaps, a couple of kicks.
From there but a small step to the almost 100% police conviction rate in Communist China’s Orwellian court system.
All it needs to complete the picture is a compliant media automatically and covertly monitored 24/7 by the state, too intimidated to speak up, all their phone calls and movements traced and recorded for later reference.
Peter Dunne, said inquiry head David Henry had detailed to him the movements of Fairfax journalist Andrea Vance in and out of the parliamentary precinct.
The conversation related to Vance’s movements the day before the leaked report was published.
It appeared to be based on Henry having access to records of when she entered and left the building using her security swipe card.
The New Zealand military received help from US spy agencies to monitor the phone calls of Kiwi journalist Jon Stephenson and his associates while he was in Afghanistan reporting on the war.
Stephenson has described the revelation as a serious violation of his privacy, and the intrusion into New Zealand media freedom has been slammed as an abuse of human rights.
Is this why most of our MSM journalists give this overbearing and intrusive right wing administration such a free ride when in comparison the same journalists publicly and unrelentedly caned the Clark administration for weeks for trying to regulate energy efficient lightbulbs over incandescent lamps. Until they forced Labour to drop it?
Hey how’s the Arab Spring going in Libya? I heard the country is disintegrating into armed tribal factions, the western corporations are looting Libya’s gold, oil and other natural resources, while the advanced healthcare and education systems Gadaffi set up for his people are being run down.
With such gems as the following…
“But as ministers turned the lights out on a week of endless Beehive crisis meetings and headed for Nelson and the party’s annual conference, there was a sense the situation was at least under control.”
Then quoting Judith Collins and not questioning in any way this outrageous statement.
“We’ve learnt to be very upfront and straight out fronting issues.”
This government ..upfront about issues?
Actually, a lapdog media is one of the biggest reasons why this government continually escapes crisis after crisis. ‘Jonolists’ like Tracy Watkins do the 4th estate a disservice. They do the work of big corporates very well.
yes, its interesting how the media are treating The National Party Conference versus how they treated The Labour Party Conference in November.
Peter Goodfellow (President of National) and family own a huge slice of Sanford fishing (via Amalgamated Dairies Ltd), perhaps the media should be digging to see whether the recreational snapper limit cuts have something to do with him and more National cronyism. I would think so.
its interesting how the media are treating The National Party Conference versus how they treated The Labour Party Conference in November.
Has any accredited journo sighted any media harassment and intimidation of a Nat. MP with a view to forcing them to say something that could be misconstrued by others as a challenge to the leader? You know… walking backwards around the conference venue with a camera lens permanently shoved in their face and asking the same question over and over again until they got something… then behaving like school yard pimps by running off to the leadership telling petty tales out of school?
Joyce wasn’t the only senior Nat indulging their naughty side at this weekend’s Nelson event. The simmering unofficial leadership struggle between Joyce and justice minister Judith Collins will take a new turn this morning as the matriarch appears on TVNZ alongside Key.
While outward appearances were of a rigorously choreographed agenda, delegates were furiously whispering about her decision yesterday.
The party and her senior minister colleagues were spitting tacks about the brazen move. Given the policy announcements carefully lined-up by party strategists, it should have been a moment for Joyce to shine, alongside housing minister Nick Smith and environment minister Amy Adams.
For whatever the talk show topic, the appearance raises the spectre of Collins’ ambitions to take charge of the party.
National don’t have the same leadership woes currently plaguing Labour. The question of who will succeed John Key is a perennial curiosity.
But it’s largely academic, for now. …
G.. help us all if Collins gets the leadership. OTH, I cannot see her having the blind faith followers that Key has had.
In reference to Nationals RMA tampering, especially with relevance to Auckland, speeding up the building consents process, looks very problematic. There are a lot of powerful people opposed to moves of allowing multi level dwellings being built in urban areas of the City. All worried their swanky suburbs are going to be down valued with affordable apartments popping up everywhere.
Concerns of views being blocked and commoner tenants inhabited their posh streets. Interesting to see how many switch to ACT?
I don’t think the New Zealand public will view the rise of ACT in the polls positively if that’s the case. National would not like the bad perception that brings. Which of course we on the Left, promote as a third term Nact Government is going to reveal their true nasty right-wing ideological master plans.
Collins will have her followers. The sort of troglodytes who write in the sewer blogs worship her with a sexual passion. On the positive side, I think she’d take NAct back to its core voters, with the same percentages that Brash got, those who like their racism and bigotry strident rather than casual. I don’t think even Crosby Textor could sell her to a much wider audience.
Yep, she’ll only ever be a hit with the extremists. She’ll never make it with the ordinary apolitical bbq dickheads that have won the last two elections for Key.
Ideologically and morally I don’t think the two of them are far apart, one just seems to be better at hiding it.
And that’s the nub. To quote Chris Trotter, Key is the greatest political salesman this country has ever seen. With Key gone, the current National Party ideology has much the same shelf-life as NZ1 without Winston.
Beardy, last night on 3 news it looked like he had fallen asleep at the speakers table and then blearily woke up and had that “What?! Where I am I? What am I doing?!” look about him.
My view on Nationals next leader, once Key decides to call it a day.
Collins – next National Leader, has the drive and ambition and presence
natural leader.
Joyce – not interested can achieve more as number 2
Paula Bennett – maybe in another 10 years, if still around
Brownlee – been around long enough, knows his strengths and weakness,realizes he doesn’t have the drive or enthusiasm to be leader.
Much better being in the top echelon rather than running the show.
Must admit there was a hint of sarcasm in the outfits I [claim] he was texting, but take your point RedLogix. I saw Helen Clark last Sunday at a function and she looked stunning – 20 years younger.
These sociopaths in power are undeniably deviously tricky, every now and then I refer back to chapters of the book Hollow Men, just to refresh my memory. The smoke & mirrors game playing really is shocking.
Government in control over milk powder crisis, mooted reduction in recreational fishers quota, squashed. Sense distraction over GCSB bill, smelter subsidy to prop up power shares/float, Housing crisis ( major spin announced later today). And that Stuff article highlights the start of an attack to wipe Winston Peters out for good in 2014.
How? John Key has started publicly stalking Winston Peters (Key’s principles when it comes to Peters remain-don’t be fooled).
Last elections late supporters, (& the way Key is flaunting a welcome mat) some loyal supporters are not willing to gamble Peters will join a coalition with Labour/Green, they want certainty. All this is increasing the negative effect on NZF’s support.
Key the smiling assassin will be grinning at NZF currently polling down on 3%. But it will be a ‘nervous’ smile. Winston earlier in the week rubbed Key’s nose in it, with fresh allegations of illegal spying of him during the cup of tea saga, which got NZF back into parliament.
Wonder if Key has nightmares of Peters speech opposing the GCSB bill the other day, which was classic “spy’s lies and alibis.”
Tracy Watkins has consistently shown herself to be a cheerleader and apologist for the National Government. In particular, in the past she has written articles about Key, and barely been able to contain her gushing admiration for the slime ball. Maybe in years to come she will look back on them with deep embarrassment and see that she sounded like a 15 year school girl with her first big crush. I kind of feel sorry for her. She needs an aunty in her life to tell her about bad men.
“In order to currently qualify for Government assistance of a $5000 deposit, the most a couple may jointly earn is $100,000. That threshold will be increased to $120,000.”
“The house price caps will be adjusted upwards as well, with the Auckland cap of $400,000 rising to $485,000.”
So under the heading “Government Tackles Affordability”, the government has merely provided assistance to slightly wealthier people…is this for real? How the hell does this tackle affordability…come on Audrey Young, do some analysis. Couldnt she just pick up the phone and call Twyford to see what his view was…or would that wreck it for her? (I think her father was a National Party MP?)
Brilliant, a boost to the first home vendors scheme. Now every property flipper can boost their asking price up another $5K of tax payer funded largesse.
Yes, Venn Young, the author of the first homosexual law reform measure to come before Parliament – late 70s early 80s (?). MP for one of the Taranaki electorates (?).
Can’t remember how far it went before it foundered. Seem to recall that his bubbling, vivacious wife was particularly energised about it, more than him. Wasn’t a bad fulla for a Tory which was true akshully of a number of them in the day. Peter Gordon for example, Minister of Transport at some point. Even old Talboys, whose alleged affair he with “yards and yards of anonymous cloth hanging between his legs….” as characterised by Chris Wheeler, the hilariously subversive stirrer behind the sinful libel sheet “Cock”.
Quite unlike the digusting crooks, Tea Party-ish backwoodmen and scabs comprising today’s National /Act obscenity.
Young’s Bill legalising homosexuality was defeated on 4 July 1975, 34 – 29 with an abstention of 23.
Had the bill gone through there would have been no inquiry into an alleged breach of confidentiality of the police file on the Honourable Colin James Moyle, MP.
The full police evidence has not seen the light of day and I would like to see it in my life time for many reasons.
Employment lawyers and unions should start asking for bosses and managers facebook records if they are going to regularly sink as low as Air NZ has in this case. One of the times it is good to be a freelancer–I only have myself to sack.
The key quote from the article.
“”Because while this is best evidence . . . doesn’t it creep you out a bit? It feels intrusive and just, frankly, wrong.”
That’s a peculiar demand from the ERA, because they are usually called on to determine whether the decision made at the conclusion of the disciplinary process was correct. And that decision is made with the facts known at that time. ie, knowing what they knew, did the boss make a reasonable decision?
It looks like the ERA is saying it’s ok to dismiss based on suspicion alone, if there’s a vague possibility of proving it correct if other information comes to hand later on.
Yes it is a worry TRP, fair and discernible process in such settings has always bugged the torys so any chance to deal with such cases by applying fear and loathing will be taken if their record such as 90 day “fire at will” is any indication. The ERA was not originally set up to operate on that basis so would be interesting to get a practitioners view.
….and then Stuff whacks up an ancient Tory Standards piece complete with comments from 323 days ago! The Shonkey Python show continues for the masses while the cream attend their annual orgy.
I’m against Tasers anyway; but if our overlords really need their goons to carry electric whips, then surely they should be trained to use them properly. Of those UK police forces that could be arsed replying to a freedom of information request (18 out of 45), 57% shot tasers at the chests of suspects.
“There is evidence to suggest that shots to the chest are more dangerous because they can result in cardiac arrest. The manufacturer’s own training guidance states: “When possible, avoid targeting the frontal chest area near the heart to reduce the risk of potential serious injury or death.”.”
The NZ coppers have used tasers as a compliance device since introduction rather than the touted “substitute for lethal force” and if aimed at the chest could (and have internationally) constitute lethal force anyway.
Why negotiate with citizens annoying as some of them can be, or use other methods, when you can just zap ’em.
Thrust of the article is that the powder is being removed under precautionary measures (after being requested to by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health).
However, the paragraphs that caught my eye are below:
Earlier this year, Fonterra hit headlines in Sri Lanka after the country’s Atomic Energy Authority claimed in Colombo’s Sunday Times it had been put under pressure from New Zealand officials to suspend testing of New Zealand milk powder samples.
At the time, the Ministry for Primary Industries took over damage control reassuring all overseas consumers milk powder from New Zealand was safe.
If true, why would we be putting pressure on another government to suspend testing? And who was/were these overseas officials?
As far as I can ascertain, two New Zealand government officials from the Ministry of Primary Industries travelled to Sri Lanka in May this year to pressure their Atomic Energy Authority to stop testing New Zealand milk powder samples for radiation.
The only reason they would do this is because the government knew that Fonterra’s milk powder was contaminated with radioactive chemicals. Why else would they suddenly demand Sri Lanka stop testing?
Was it all Fonterra NZ sourced milk powder or also Fonterra Chinese sourced milk powder?
I ask because it appears that TEPCO has been lying through the teeth about contaminated water from Fukushima, and hundreds of tons a day of radioactive water have been leaking into the Pacific.
Sri Lanka has halted all Fonterra milk powder imports from New Zealand. I’ve seen no reports saying that they’ve halted imports from China as well?
It’s unlikely that radiation from Fukushima that is leaking into the Pacific Ocean would get into the dairy process in China. It is however likely that it is getting into fish stocks around Japan.
The radiation contamination in Fonterra’s milk products has likely come from landfarming in Taranaki, of which there are around a dozen sites. Six of these landfarming operations supply milk to Fonterra, the other six to other dairy companies. Fonterra is probably not the only supplier affected.
Did anybody just hear “The New Entrepreneurism” on RNZ forming today’s “ideas” segment?
I’d be interested in hearing/seeing Standard contributors thoughts.
I’m in two minds :p
In some ways I’m thinking more of a new buzz, an exercise in commodification of “social enterprise”, yet there are one or two good aspects to it.
Social enterprise – the brits have got into it for about two years I think and have been closing down welfare for about the same time.
If that was the one referring to social enterprises they seem to have been going on this for about two years I think. That would fit with their observable timetable of cutting welfare wouldn’t it?
If so they are taking a dump people in the water to see if they can swim. It could be better than old hate filled government approach time will tell, the program is on the roll – could be as much of a failure as when brit withdrew supplies after the first irish food crop failure.
yea well – at the risk of outing myself to RNZ staff, I offered the following hastily written:
The New Entrpreneuism
Chris,
I was interested in today’s “Ideas” segment, and I’m left wondering whether I must be part of “The New Curmudgeon” sector.
I’m not knocking it at all, it’s just that it occurred to me that many of these admirable initiatives once evolved naturally, as a result of a fully functioning, well (or at least, adequately) educated, egalitarian society – one where its citizens (both public and corporate) got involved and participated.
It concerns me that we must now market it all and turn it into a business in order for it to be part of our consciousness.
… etc
and then a PS later, when Wayne Brittendon and guests did a piece on NeoLiberalism:
PS!!!! ‘The NEW ENTREPRENEUISM” I should have waited
My concerns are being answered as I type: NEOLIBERALISM
…. etc.
in response to this:
11:40 Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint
The Guardian reports that in 2012, the world’s 100 richest people became $241 billion richer, and the rich-poor gap continues to spiral. Wayne takes a critical look at the prevailing global economic orthodoxy of neo-liberalism and Chris follows up with Professor Michael Peters, from Waikato University. http://www.radionz.co.nz/sunday
Btw …. it’s also why I’ll never vote Labour again UNTIL they clearly and unambiguously give one of the most insidious ideologies the flik!! So far they’ve only ever half-heartedly apologised for Roger and his ilk.
Another Conspiracy theory bites the dust as it becomes reality.
When the Tsunami hit Japan and Fukushima I was called an alarmist and conspiracy nut when I stated that Fukushima was an ongoing disaster with global implications. Today I can say: “I told you so”.
While it is understandable given the amount of fear/ego based abuse issues in certain directions, that as more conspiracies become realities, there is a natural tendency to feel relief, when shown to not be nut jobs, or similar!
Unfortunately, the seriousness of the majority of the former, conspiracies, is such that the I told you so call, can be seen as a bit of an own goal, for mine.
Oh don’t worry, I’m saying the I told you so really angry and not a gloat in my mind. This is I told you so as in: wake the fuck up and smell the plutonium! (Third reactor has a couple of tons of MOX fuel in a “cooling” pool with steam coming out of the building around about the spot where it should be cool)
I remember one gentleman in particular, Lanthanide I think he calls himself who couldn’t ridicule my assertions enough at the time!
not really.
All that’s happened is that if you predict the worst outcome for every event that happens in the world, sooner or later you’ll be right – especially if one ignores whether the timing is wildly off.
Not necessarily. If I said “Mandela is dead” every day for the next five years, sooner or later I will probably be correct. That does not mean I was correct when I first said it.
Might pay to be a little more circumspect with the insults, because those timelines have been very short, and will grow increasingly shorter between the revelations!
An as for choosing the worst possible outcome, don’t fool yourself laddy, that’s simply another insult for those who have bothered to take time to understand and learn enough, to get a little closer to reality, while others sit back in the largess lobbing insults.
That’s nice.
At least when I hit the pearly gates I’ll be able to say that I gave joy to simple-minded fools. Might offset some of my misdeeds a touch. And just to make it obvious enough for even you to understand, yes, you are indeed one of those simpleminded fools.
might be like that poor raccoon from Ice Age : The Meltdown; reach all those acorns, then the really big Acorn, only to receive resusc. from a sloth.
Oh to be Hindu, but then, all those gods to contend with. Interestingly, maybe the Aryan invaders implemented / codified the caste system, in India anyway.
Neither process had an inevitable conclusion when it first started, however. To state that a catastrophic conclusion is occurring before it is even inevitable can merely have a purely coincidental relationship with reality, even at the best of times.
I wonder if there was a person who claimed the Titanic was sinking even before it hit an iceberg? What if they claimed it after the iceberg were hit, but it they had no idea that it had in fact hit an iceberg, because they were in Birmingham at the time? To then argue “see, I was right, not a nutbar” seems to lack a certain epistemological robustness.
meh.
Fully encouraged by their recent close brush with reality, apparently the tinfoilhat claims have been escalated to Fukushima being an extinction event. So apparently we are all doomed (again).
Have missed your wit, (although, ev makes for interesting reading in ‘my newsfeed’), but then, there is always reality of all flavours to contend with. Like, improving income 😀 … maybe a pedal powered ice-cream cart with (not) 88 flavours of sugar to choose from. Shouldn’t you be working? Ahhh, late lunch. Cheese and home-made pickled onions this (and the other) end. Did you know that even authors with multiple published titles may only achieve the minimum wage if all the hours involved are accounted for. Seems so pointless 😉
I wonder if there was a person who claimed the Titanic was sinking even before it hit an iceberg?
The correct parallel to be drawn are to the officers and passengers who believed that the Titanic was fine after 5 compartments were holed, especially as the ship was still sitting perfectly quietly and drinks and food were still being served.
Neither process had an inevitable conclusion when it first started, however.
Same with being shot in the head or falling off a six story building. Doesn’t mean that you can’t pick what’s (most likely) going to happen next.
The correct parallel to be drawn are to the officers and passengers who believed that the Titanic was fine after 5 compartments were holed, especially as the ship was still sitting perfectly quietly and drinks and food were still being served.
Flipside of the same coin, but at least you get the idea that without accurate information causally and obviously related to the observed outcome, any connection between belief and reality is purely coincidental. Me, I’m off to sit in my lead-lined fridge for the duration of the radioactive apocalypse.
Neither process had an inevitable conclusion when it first started, however.
Same with being shot in the head or falling off a six story building. Doesn’t mean that you can’t pick what’s (most likely) going to happen next.
Well, the laws of physics tend to be a bit more reliable than chemtrail/worldgovt/nanothermite idiots on the internet. But even, then pistol-calibre gunshots to the head tend to have (ISTR) something like a 10% survival rate, and the survival rate for falling six storeys is even better as I recall. So really, without more precise information I’d still not be collecting on their life insurance.
Fukushima was never a conspiracy travellerev. It happened and was/is real. The only conspiracy is the one of governmental silence and mis-information surrounding the causes, the gravity of the immediate effects and the potential long term consequences.
And yes, there were plenty of people who chimed in, downplaying the seriousness of the situation and poo-pooing potential long term consequences. Adherents to authoritarianism tend to back centers of authority though. So, the fact of a ‘she’ll be right’ brigade is hardly surprising.
As time goes by I’m struck by how pervasive the “authoritarian” personality is. Quite remarkably they’ll moan and grizzle about how badly they’re been treated .. but when you point out that it’s the hierarchy and the misuse of power that fundamentally which is screwing them over … they leap to it’s defence.
I think its the “subservient/follower mentality”…the beaten slave (battered woman?) who nevertheless leaps to their master’s (husbands?) defence because that is all the options their identity and world view gives them.
The danger is when servants and followers of charismatic authoritarian figures energise en masse to enable real historical ugliness.
Look at the USA – Democrats under George Bush who hated the patriot act, hated state surveillance, hated drone strikes…are all supportive of exactly the same things under Obama. Bad news.
Authoritarianism marks and thrives in the absense of personal responsibility. And to save any grief … this is completely different to the supposed ‘lack of personal responsibility’ we hear touted as a mere distraction from systemic/cultural disadvantages/abuses that themselves have arisen and hold sway precisely because too many people have authoritarian traits…and that’s the very self same people who then tend to bang on about various victim’s ‘lack of personal responsibilty’.
Hope that makes sense….was a kind of long sentence 😉
No. Not necessarily ‘tooled up’ agents of state or corporate oppression. Just the people next door and down the road and next to you at work who defer without question to authority – they’re the authoritarians as much as the ‘tooled up’ monkeys of oppression, the pollies, CEOs and managers.
Travellerev, you are an alarmist and conspiracy nut and long before you had said jack shit about “ongoing”, commenters on online Physics forums were detailing exactly how and why, based on nothing more than the photos of the damage and their knowledge of reactor design.
Like a stopped clock, you are right twice a day. Congratulations.
And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music -Nietzsche
Let me give you the sheet music. You still won’t hear it but hey, you’ve got to start somewhere!
For the last two years 300 tons of water has been leaking (I would call that gushing but I’m sure you’d think that alarmist) into the Pacific ocean and TEPCO has finally admitted lying about it. Not only that they are now pumping water into the ocean while the pretense of containment is dropped as the true size of the meltdowns can no longer be denied. THERE SIMPLY IS NO CONTAINMENT!
Here is a nice animation of the predicted dispersion of radioactive Cs-137 over the next 10 years.
And if you think this is going to help mitigate the unfolding disaster ( I would go as far as calling it a slowly unfolding extinction event, particularly if the 3 reactor cooling bath no longer cools the MOX fuel rods) there really is no hope you’ll ever hear the music
Pointing out that you’ve got your central claim 100% wrong isn’t nitpicking, Ev. Fukushima is a disaster on many levels, but your apocolyptical shouting (a slowly unfolding extiction event!) adds nothing to our understanding of the actual damage done to the environment.
Agree with you about the tuna though. Meat is murder.
Reactor No 3 was using MOX fuel. That is around 2 million times more toxic than Uranium. Here is what happened in 2011. If you believe that those rods are safe and all is well in Fukushima you are one sad puppy and yes, a MOX fuel rd meltdown is an extinction event
I’m sure a standard meltdown is pretty FUBAR to but MOX fuel is a mix between Uranium and Pluto and the US feels it’s Japan’s job to burn that shit. I think the telling detail is that MOX is 2 million times more toxic than Uranium.
Good idea No. 2001.5. Bottle John Key’s personal fragrance and sell as a medicinal aid and performance enhancer – the John Key Super Relaxant. It releases all taut muscles, especially round the jaw and sphincter, relieves stress trauma and headaches, and in addition is a social aid as it prevents any disagreeable response caused by faux pas or unfortunate rudeness, all the time exuding a subtle aroma around the person which draws all into his ambit so ensuring the most favourable effect at every appearance.
A parcel or packet sent to you from overseas has been screened and assessed by NZ Customs, and is how being held (for ransom) by NZ Post pending customs release…
Revenue Type:
GST
Import Transaction Fee
GST on Import Transaction Fee
Bio-Security Levy
GST on Bio-security Levy
TOTAL
So having already purchased, what is not available for sale in NZ, and paid the shipping costs, I now have the pleasure of paying tax on a sale that would not have happened otherwise, as well as the import transaction fee + GST (WTF is that about) – How are import transaction fees, and levy’s classified such that they attract GST, anyone ?
Who at coloseum did their homework on premier league rights. Having secured live coverage for a pay per view style service with our dodgy broadband capacity and now sky has 4 of the top teams separately via a premier league rule that allows it.
Top teams get the bulk of viewers so looks like coloseum just had their wings clipped before takeoff.
Yes aware of that but as few people watch it live IMO this will erode the value of coluseum when you can watch the big teams with an existing sky connection and the highlights show is on tv1
“Make no mistake, our opposition comes from the far left of politics. The Greens are leading Labour by the nose. It’s important that New Zealanders understand what a Green-dominated government would look like. They want to tax you more, rack up more debt and make you work two more years before you can retire. They want a government department to run the entire electricity system, just like it did in the old days when we had blackouts. They want to stop oil, gas and mineral exploration that would create jobs and growth. They blame foreigners for all the ills of the country when our future prosperity lies in being open and connected to the rest of the world.
They even characterize businesses relocating jobs from Australia to New Zealand as ‘deeply worrying’. And they take petty, opportunistic political positions on national security in the face of the obvious need to clarify the GCSB law – a law they passed in the first place!
Well, I can tell you that as Prime Minister, I take the role of our agencies and my responsibilities in terms of national security, very, very seriously. And I always will. For our part, the National Party has a track record of sensible economic management and policies that actually make a difference to peoples’ lives. We are guided by the enduring values and principles of the National Party.
and more yadda yadda yadda in the same tone. *big fucking yawn* http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10911082
LolNats @Lol_Nats 2m
John Key said today his plan to help low income people into homes by giving wealthier people support to buy more expensive ones cant fail.
“Make no mistake, our opposition comes from the far left of politics.
Ah, the spin-meister. He’s so far out on a neoliberal, right wing, anti-democratic, govern for the corporates plutocracy – he thinks centre left is far left.
They want a government department to run the entire electricity system, just like it did in the old days when we had blackouts.
The bit he fails to mention is that we had brown outs due to low rainfall and that this was corrected by building more dams – before the market model took over.
National’s election campaign is already pretty clear. They are going to use the “centre vs hard left” meme for all it’s worth to try and frighten the horses. but that fact that you, me and uncle Tom Cobley can see what they are going to do doesn’t mean the museum exhibits that inhabit the upper reaches of the parliamentary labour party caucus will twig onto it in time to come up with a clever counter plan.
Yip given another term they will sell the lot. State (us) will own nothing. Private sector will be rubbing their hands with glee. Only way to stop them is getting people out to vote.
Just collected another 60 signatures (within the Auckland Central electorate) for the following petition:
“To National Party Member of Parliament for Auckland Central, Nikki Kaye :
“The will of the people is the basis of the authority of Government.”
We, the undersigned, call upon YOU, as an MP, to defend the lawful human rights of New Zealanders to privacy, freedom of association and freedom of expression – that is – to oppose arbitrary search and surveillance by the State over citizens.
If YOU, as an MP, vote for this GCSB Bill, which will allow widespread spying on New Zealanders, we, the undersigned hereby PLEDGE to campaign against your re-election in 2014, and to encourage our families, neighbours and workmates to do the same.”
______________________________________________________________________________
45 signatures to go and that will make ONE THOUSAND (1000) people who have PLEDGED to vote against Nikki Kaye if she votes for the GCSB Bill.
(Remember – Nikki Kaye has only a 717 vote majority in Auckland Central over Labour’s Jacinda Adern. )
Not a bad effort for basically TWO people?
Come on folks!
Give those MPs who are currently supporting the GCSB the one message they CAN’T ignore!
Signatures of angry voters PLEDGING to CAMPAIGN against them.
(Politicians understand ONE thing – VOTES…….. 🙂
Sample/ template petitions that can be used/ adapted/ whatever/ are available HERE!
Particularly would LOVE to see 1500 signatures delivered to Peter Dunne on Monday 19 August 2013 for the following:
“PETITION
To Independent MP for Ohariu Peter Dunne
“The will of the people is the basis of the authority of Government.”
We, the undersigned, call upon YOU, to defend the lawful human rights of New Zealanders to privacy, freedom of association and freedom of expression – that is – to oppose arbitrary search and surveillance by ‘BIG BROTHER’ State over citizens.
We note your public objections to the recent violations of your lawful rights to privacy, and look forward to consistency in your support for New Zealanders equal lawful rights to privacy.
If YOU, as an MP, vote for this GCSB Bill, which will allow widespread spying on New Zealanders, we, the undersigned hereby PLEDGE to campaign against your re-election in 2014, and to encourage our families, neighbours and workmates to do the same.
NAME ADDRESS SIGNED ”
___________________________________________________________________________
Remember!
It’s the masses who get off their asses that ‘make history’!
And – it’s REALLY easy to get signatures for these petitions………
‘So what do you teach?’ she asked as I worked on her presentation.
‘Computing’ I replied.
‘Oh… I guess these days you must find that the kids know more about computers than the teachers…’
Normally when someone spouts this rubbish I just nod and smile. This time I simply couldn’t let it pass. ‘Not really, most kids can’t use computers.’
I’ve found this to be true as well. His suggestion that kids fix the computer after they break them is similar to what I said in a seminar once that had people looking at me in horror. My suggestion to the person who had just said that he played games but couldn’t use a computer was to pull the PC apart and then put it back together. And then do it again and again.
There’s some unbelievable stories of computer incompetence at that link.
Having taught a range of people young and old, in my time, I have found that, contrary to popular belief, there are quite a few young people who are not very savvy at using computers.
Yet, still these days I come across people who automatically expect any young guy present to be better with computers than others.
Ask lprent how he thinks the young versus the ahem, not so young, do on computer systems.
Another thing to think about is how a lot of computer systems nowadays…eg Apple iOS and Android, have been designed to make computers into consumer appliances. Completely unlike the young nerds at school who used to edit batch files and autoexecs for DOS and under the hood of Windows 3.0…
Agree totally. These days relatively few people can give a coherent explanation of how computers really work … from the quantum mechanical explanation of how semiconductors function, through to how electronic circuits, logic and programmable arrays are built up, through to the structures of CPU’s, memory devices, graphics and various I/O channels, firmware, BIOS, OS’s and finally to networking, and the application layers.
When you step back and look at the entire intellectual and technical edifice it’s astonishing that it all works as well and as reliably as it does. Yet relatively few people have a decent grasp even of the broad picture, much less the specific details. (And I’m not claiming to be any kind of expert on any or all of it … just sufficiently educated and experienced to have dabbled with all the various bits of computing technology.)
The idea that some 14yr old is inherently smarter or more capable than an experienced professional or technical expert is just a risible nonsense.
The best comparison is how we used to laugh at our grandparents for whom the first telephones were an astonishing novelty … and how some of them never quite got past their tendency to speak very loudly and formally into the machine. It was easy to forget that they had lived in a time when communication was snailmail or telegrams at best.
I grew up at a time when the modern cell phone could not have been built in anything less than a large room full of hardware and I still have respect for the achievement they represent… yet today’s kids treat them with utter nonchalance. It is easy however to mistake this almost contemptuous familiarity with expertise. Not the same thing at all.
It fascinates me how quickly people adapt to technological changes. My first experience of a phone when I was very young, was the party line in our home. I would get told off if I picked up the handset when people somewhere else were having a conversation. Our only other electrical communications at home was a little radio.
TV, computers, mobile phones, etc, etc…. now all a very mundane part of my home & work world. I only have a very basic understanding of the way each of these technologies work. Though I have taken the lid off desk top pcs to do small mechanical maintenance – not really recommended with laptops.
I have been reading recently about the development of the telegraph, and the laying of undersea cables. It was partly trial and error getting the undersea cables to work – the right components and layers in the cables, correct weights etc. And that made a big difference to life, even though it was quite expensive first off to use.
It made a big difference for life in NZ – communicating throughout the country, and creating a sense of being part of the same nation – and much quicker information coming from overseas.
“It is easy however to mistake this almost contemptuous familiarity with expertise. Not the same thing at all.”
Yes that sums it up well.
It’s not just computers and phones either, people increasingly don’t know how anything works. Which both follows from and leads to not being able to make or fix anything.
Can’t disagree with your post AT ALL and the various responses having had (past tense) 25 yrs plus in the trade.
What amazes me is that I’m aware of a few people such as yourself (and even myself – now in the 50 plus age group) that are unemployed, or at least no longer employed in the IT sector. YET we constantly hear about various skill shortages. When one is registered with just about every agency in town, like various folk I know, the silence from those agencies is deafening.
Thankfully I’ve been able to de-programme, de-hex, de-assemble and have a bloody good lay down.
Ageism is absolutely rife in the industry. Last year I applied for a job for which I ticked every single box… at expert level. Zero response. Put in several unanswered calls and emails.
Advert still live a fortnight later. So I put the same CV in with a different name but edited to look 20yrs younger. Got a mad keen phone call within hours.
Had very similar experience(s), AND told them to shove it too.
Those agencies btw also have a habit of advertising non-existent, or already filled vacancies in order to get people ‘on their books’.
The other thing I find amusing is all that noise about the number of jobs advertised, based on the number of job adverts. You delve into it a bit and there are half a dozen different agencies advertising the same job (not limited to IT of course) – all clamouring to clip the ticket.
Phew.
I’m like almost everyone in regard to these machines.
One little thing though, why shouldn’t we leave the room, (or the house or the district,) while logged in somewhere? I do this all the time – the machine shuts down to power saving until I bring it back to life, often many hours later.
Apart from wasting power, what’s the problem?
It’s not a problem if there is no-one else who’s likely to use the machine in your absence.
But in a school or work environment where accountability of use and confidentiality of information is important … then you really don’t want someone else simply using the machine under your own user account.
And here is where the contemporary economics profession seems to be failing the most. The professional academic economist seems to take the tools of control and exploitation for granted. They are unquestionable facts of life that lie outside the economists’ proper field, at least as they now conceive that field. Economic education seems dedicated to the practice of status quo stabilization. The contemporary academic economist doesn’t seem particularly concerned with the various ways alternative ways an economy could be run; about the history of ways in which economic systems have been run; about how one such system evolves into another such system; or about the ways in which social mores, values and tastes evolve in conjunction with the evolution in economic systems. The economist seems to live in a fixed, abstract and peopleless landscape of the mind describing a fixed and providentially arranged world of interacting forces. For them, economics consists of a fundamentally good system running perpetually in natural equilibrium unless something very unusual, something perverse and weird and inexplicable, something called a “shock”, hits the system like an asteroid from outer space. When that happens, the economist is concerned above all to restore the system to its previous, psychologically comforting pattern of approved existence.
Are you out there Gower?
Did not see you stuffing a microphone up the nose of Collins or Joyce at the National Party Circus every ten seconds repeatedly asking if they were planning a coup against Key like you did to Cunliffe at the Labour party conference. No badgering like you did to Cunliffe until you got the perceived answer you wanted. Why not , please tell us, were you shit scared that you would have been told to fuck off or, is it that your masters and controllers instructed you not to rock the cosy right wing dream world boat.
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
Opinion: New Health NZ commissioner Lester Levy is authorised to assume operational leadership – chief executive Margie Apa is effectively relegated to his operational deputy The post All-powerful Levy is feudal baron of a $28b fiefdom appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Re the Teina Pora travesty:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10911006
Who the hell is Bevan Hurley ? Clearly a jonolist
Grant Hobbs seems to see the tragedy here as being in the loss of a potentially good rugby player, not in Pora’s loss of his life and liberty. Even when they try to say something worthwhile, these sort of people just make me shake my head.
Why is Hurley a jonolist ? Because Collins did NOT add her name to the list of people calling into question the convictions which have had this boy a murderer and a rapist for the past 20 years.
One comment that he “could be innocent…..” does not qualify Bevan. You misrepresent Collins’ demeanour. At the very best her position has softened to “Oh well we’ll see……..not boverred really.”
The comments of Peter Williams QC are more to the point – Teina Pora could be out of prison now were our justice system not the fiefdom of Justice Sow who doesn’t actually give a stuff.
She might be seen to give a stuff in time but that will be according to how she will do out of the issue – forget about Teina the boy now the man.
Where does one get the “Free Teina Pora” teeshirts ?
@ North
http://www.illicit.co.nz is where TDB says you can get a “Free Teina” T-shirt. I’d get one myself except it’s rare that I have a spare $28, though at least $8 of that goes into a trust for the Pora family.
Link (to TDB): http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/08/08/its-time-free-teina-pora/
Thanks P.
Down the Rabbit Hole:
“…Mr Key’s superstitious habit of repeating “white rabbits, white rabbits, white rabbits”, on the first of each month. The early morning ritual is believed to bring luck, he said yesterday. Mr Key admits he has visibly aged over the past five years as prime minister. It “comes with the job”. ”
Link (hat-tip to Eddie): http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9025151/Today-in-politics-Saturday-August-10
I commented on this yesterday (in the; “What a Dick”, post), it doesn’t seem to be satire; just very peculiar coming, as it does, from Fearfacts. Also, I tried to link this particular compulsion with ShonKey’s compulsive; lying & gambling, by way of OCD, but in retrospect that didn’t really work.
The above statement first attributed to Joseph Goebbels and recently resurrected by those calling for more powers for the GCSB and the NSA is a lie.
You may have nothing to hide, but what about your neighbors and your friends?
What about your work colleagues?
At least one of them, will have something that they don’t want you, or others to know about. This makes them vulnerable to those who seek to know everyone’s secrets. This is how the surveillance state of East Germany worked. The Stasi exploited the foibles of the vulnerable. The Stasi were able to get friend to spy on friend. They were able to get neighbor to smear and spread gossip against neighbor. At work they were able to block your promotion and the progress of your career if they didn’t like your political views.
How? The Stasi knew all the secrets of your managers and indeed of the company itself.
Do we really want to give our secret security forces these powers?
Do we really trust them that much?
Are the anonymous and secretive men and women who run our own secret agencies of such high moral standing and trustworthiness to have access to the secrets of a whole population that metadata spying will give them? Do we really trust them to hold that much power over us?
The East German secret police, the Stasi were able to spread fear and paranoia and suspicion and keep under subjection a whole population for 40 years.
Through mass surveillance the Stasi were able to intimidate everybody. How?
They knew everybody’s secrets.
Do we really want to give our secret agencies this power?
Are we really sure that they won’t abuse them?
Recent events seem to say no.
You may have nothing to hide. But you have everything to fear from those who do.
Apart from your friends, neighbors and colleagues who may have secrets….
At the top of the list are the most fearsome of those with something to hide.
Who guard their own secrets most obsessively.
Who are prepared to go to extreme lengths to protect their secrets from any who dare threaten to expose theim.
These people are the secret security services themselves.
If the supporters of the NSA and GCSB truly believed, “If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear”. Then they would release Bradly Manning. They should drop their persecution of Julien Assange and abandon their international manhunt against Edward Snowden.
Nothing to fear nothing to hide. Yeah right.
The easiest way to cut through this bs is to ask anyone spouting it to allow you access to their computer history. Men especially will baulk.
First Lavabit, now a second US-based encryption-based secure email company founder ethically chooses to close rather than offer up all its customers to surveillance … his comments are a must read ..
http://gigaom.com/2013/08/09/another-u-s-secure-email-service-shuts-down-to-protect-customers-from-authorities/
RSA cryptography, based on the products of huge prime numbers, is practically uncrackable. There are two routes that are being followed by the US and allied governments to get around this. One is that they will persecute anyone offering it, and perhaps even make it illegal. The other is research into quantum computing. Using Shor’s algorithm, quantum computers, which don’t really exist yet, can factorise the products and break the codes. The US and Australian governments spend hundreds of millions (at least) on the research, which as far as I can see is directly designed to let them spy on us. I do not work on it, but have colleagues who do. Some of them even consider themselves to be socialist warriors in the struggle for a better world. My opinion of them is not quite so high.
Quantum cryptography, on the other hand, is completely unbreakable. In fact, you can tell if someone has even had a look. It is used commercially by some Swiss financial institutions. It would be difficult, but not impossible, to set it up for normal use. I suspect it would be made illegal as soon as someone looked like doing that, so it’s likely to remain the preserve of governments and corrupt financial institutions for a while yet.
I’d like to add that Stasi was continuing the great tradition of German governments spying on its own people and German citizens – neigbours, friends, family members spying on each other, starting with the Nazi Germany where any dissenters and critics of the regime were disposed of promptly and permanently.
Nope.
The content of the communications is secondary. The primary is peoples social and business networks. The collection of metadata will expose those networks and once exposed they can be broken. This is, IMO, why the government wants to collect the metadata and so it should not be allowed.
In other words, “If you play by our rules then you can trust us to leave you alone.”
Can’t recall who said it but this sums it up perfectly……..
“Nothing to hide nothing to fear !”
“Well…….you don’t need ANY rights then, do you ?”
Indeed. North. Indeed. Isn’t this the same government that has been weakening the right to silence by those charged by the police?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10685442
No right to privacy.
No right to silence
No protection from self incrimination under duress.
A few slaps, a couple of kicks.
From there but a small step to the almost 100% police conviction rate in Communist China’s Orwellian court system.
All it needs to complete the picture is a compliant media automatically and covertly monitored 24/7 by the state, too intimidated to speak up, all their phone calls and movements traced and recorded for later reference.
Oh that’s right. They already do.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8853155/Journalists-movements-tracked-by-leak-inquiry
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8972743/US-spy-agencies-eavesdrop-on-Kiwi
Is this why most of our MSM journalists give this overbearing and intrusive right wing administration such a free ride when in comparison the same journalists publicly and unrelentedly caned the Clark administration for weeks for trying to regulate energy efficient lightbulbs over incandescent lamps. Until they forced Labour to drop it?
Will they ever run out of wet bus tickets?
Hey how’s the Arab Spring going in Libya? I heard the country is disintegrating into armed tribal factions, the western corporations are looting Libya’s gold, oil and other natural resources, while the advanced healthcare and education systems Gadaffi set up for his people are being run down.
Nomination for ‘jonolism’ today
Tracy Watkins for this article. “Nats take hurdles in stride”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9027528/Nats-take-hurdles-in-stride
With such gems as the following…
“But as ministers turned the lights out on a week of endless Beehive crisis meetings and headed for Nelson and the party’s annual conference, there was a sense the situation was at least under control.”
Then quoting Judith Collins and not questioning in any way this outrageous statement.
“We’ve learnt to be very upfront and straight out fronting issues.”
This government ..upfront about issues?
Actually, a lapdog media is one of the biggest reasons why this government continually escapes crisis after crisis. ‘Jonolists’ like Tracy Watkins do the 4th estate a disservice. They do the work of big corporates very well.
The media in this country sucks.
yes, its interesting how the media are treating The National Party Conference versus how they treated The Labour Party Conference in November.
Peter Goodfellow (President of National) and family own a huge slice of Sanford fishing (via Amalgamated Dairies Ltd), perhaps the media should be digging to see whether the recreational snapper limit cuts have something to do with him and more National cronyism. I would think so.
Has any accredited journo sighted any media harassment and intimidation of a Nat. MP with a view to forcing them to say something that could be misconstrued by others as a challenge to the leader? You know… walking backwards around the conference venue with a camera lens permanently shoved in their face and asking the same question over and over again until they got something… then behaving like school yard pimps by running off to the leadership telling petty tales out of school?
No, to all of your questions Anne!
However, this has just popped up on Stuff from Andrea Vance from the Nat conference
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/9028228/Nats-goodie-bag-shows-battles-lines-drawn
Hidden quite a way down is this
Joyce wasn’t the only senior Nat indulging their naughty side at this weekend’s Nelson event. The simmering unofficial leadership struggle between Joyce and justice minister Judith Collins will take a new turn this morning as the matriarch appears on TVNZ alongside Key.
While outward appearances were of a rigorously choreographed agenda, delegates were furiously whispering about her decision yesterday.
The party and her senior minister colleagues were spitting tacks about the brazen move. Given the policy announcements carefully lined-up by party strategists, it should have been a moment for Joyce to shine, alongside housing minister Nick Smith and environment minister Amy Adams.
For whatever the talk show topic, the appearance raises the spectre of Collins’ ambitions to take charge of the party.
National don’t have the same leadership woes currently plaguing Labour. The question of who will succeed John Key is a perennial curiosity.
But it’s largely academic, for now. …
G.. help us all if Collins gets the leadership. OTH, I cannot see her having the blind faith followers that Key has had.
In reference to Nationals RMA tampering, especially with relevance to Auckland, speeding up the building consents process, looks very problematic. There are a lot of powerful people opposed to moves of allowing multi level dwellings being built in urban areas of the City. All worried their swanky suburbs are going to be down valued with affordable apartments popping up everywhere.
Concerns of views being blocked and commoner tenants inhabited their posh streets. Interesting to see how many switch to ACT?
I don’t think the New Zealand public will view the rise of ACT in the polls positively if that’s the case. National would not like the bad perception that brings. Which of course we on the Left, promote as a third term Nact Government is going to reveal their true nasty right-wing ideological master plans.
What do you think?
Collins will have her followers. The sort of troglodytes who write in the sewer blogs worship her with a sexual passion. On the positive side, I think she’d take NAct back to its core voters, with the same percentages that Brash got, those who like their racism and bigotry strident rather than casual. I don’t think even Crosby Textor could sell her to a much wider audience.
Yep, she’ll only ever be a hit with the extremists. She’ll never make it with the ordinary apolitical bbq dickheads that have won the last two elections for Key.
Ideologically and morally I don’t think the two of them are far apart, one just seems to be better at hiding it.
And that’s the nub. To quote Chris Trotter, Key is the greatest political salesman this country has ever seen. With Key gone, the current National Party ideology has much the same shelf-life as NZ1 without Winston.
Thank goodness that Labour has a clear political ideology set and ready to walk all over them, then.
ooops…. yes.
We have a problem Houston. (And I’m old enough to remember hearing that live…)
Does anyone else out there think that Key is sounding like an automaton at this conference. Just reading the words, going through the motions?
Beardy, last night on 3 news it looked like he had fallen asleep at the speakers table and then blearily woke up and had that “What?! Where I am I? What am I doing?!” look about him.
He must be all like “I’m soooo over this job”
Waiting for his exile to Hawaii
I saw that-he looked completely knackered/bored.
All these late night texting sessions with Fonterra, GCSB, NSA, Warner Bros. and the FBI must be wearing him out.
Ha! 3 News on who has Nat leadership ambitions tonight:
Collins is obviously interest – no denials, just that she will be one among many:
Joyce said what Key said a couple of months before rolling Brash – “there is no vacancy right now”.
Paula Benefit outs herself over her crush on Key.
Brownlee looks so overcome by the wonderfulness of imagining himself as PM, he’s a stuttering school boy.
Simon Bridges tries to sound coy about his ambitions.
My view on Nationals next leader, once Key decides to call it a day.
Collins – next National Leader, has the drive and ambition and presence
natural leader.
Joyce – not interested can achieve more as number 2
Paula Bennett – maybe in another 10 years, if still around
Brownlee – been around long enough, knows his strengths and weakness,realizes he doesn’t have the drive or enthusiasm to be leader.
Much better being in the top echelon rather than running the show.
Simon Bridges -see Bennett
BAAAARRRRFFFFF…BAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRFFFFFFFF…..sorry BM, just throwing-up over the thought of your choices.
“Collins – next National Leader, has the drive and ambition and presence
natural leader.”
lolz. The way to spot a natural leader is that they have natural followers (and no, paying someone to campaign for you doesn’t count as natural)
Collins seems to inspire the black leather steel buckled boot heel licking amongst right wing followers
She’s one sexy woman, check her out taking a swim.
http://500px.com/photo/2854399
She is the fish in that photo.
All these late night texting sessions with Fonterra, GCSB, NSA, Warner Bros. and the FBI must be wearing him out.
I agree Anne. The way we run politics in this country places an insane burden on the PM.
No matter who has the job, or what I think of their politics … you have to have some respect for the sheer brain-crushing workload they have taken on.
Must admit there was a hint of sarcasm in the outfits I [claim] he was texting, but take your point RedLogix. I saw Helen Clark last Sunday at a function and she looked stunning – 20 years younger.
I can’t help but feel a bit sorry for him. Many of the problems that he is facing now are not his doing.
Poor guy, its sad to hear that those years of fun photo ops didn’t help in governing the country.
Someone should have said something.
They didn’t like to felix. Bursting the happy bubble would’ve hurt him.
The Fourth Estate has self-corrupted into the Fart Estate.
These sociopaths in power are undeniably deviously tricky, every now and then I refer back to chapters of the book Hollow Men, just to refresh my memory. The smoke & mirrors game playing really is shocking.
Government in control over milk powder crisis, mooted reduction in recreational fishers quota, squashed. Sense distraction over GCSB bill, smelter subsidy to prop up power shares/float, Housing crisis ( major spin announced later today). And that Stuff article highlights the start of an attack to wipe Winston Peters out for good in 2014.
How? John Key has started publicly stalking Winston Peters (Key’s principles when it comes to Peters remain-don’t be fooled).
Last elections late supporters, (& the way Key is flaunting a welcome mat) some loyal supporters are not willing to gamble Peters will join a coalition with Labour/Green, they want certainty. All this is increasing the negative effect on NZF’s support.
Key the smiling assassin will be grinning at NZF currently polling down on 3%. But it will be a ‘nervous’ smile. Winston earlier in the week rubbed Key’s nose in it, with fresh allegations of illegal spying of him during the cup of tea saga, which got NZF back into parliament.
Wonder if Key has nightmares of Peters speech opposing the GCSB bill the other day, which was classic “spy’s lies and alibis.”
Tracy Watkins has consistently shown herself to be a cheerleader and apologist for the National Government. In particular, in the past she has written articles about Key, and barely been able to contain her gushing admiration for the slime ball. Maybe in years to come she will look back on them with deep embarrassment and see that she sounded like a 15 year school girl with her first big crush. I kind of feel sorry for her. She needs an aunty in her life to tell her about bad men.
“She needs an aunty in her life to tell her about bad men.”
True. As long as the Aunty is not Paula Bennett, did you see her crush giggle on 3News when she was pretending she wasn’t looking at the top job?
It gets worse, this just published in the herald on line.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10911079
Government Tackles Affordability by Audrey young
“In order to currently qualify for Government assistance of a $5000 deposit, the most a couple may jointly earn is $100,000. That threshold will be increased to $120,000.”
“The house price caps will be adjusted upwards as well, with the Auckland cap of $400,000 rising to $485,000.”
So under the heading “Government Tackles Affordability”, the government has merely provided assistance to slightly wealthier people…is this for real? How the hell does this tackle affordability…come on Audrey Young, do some analysis. Couldnt she just pick up the phone and call Twyford to see what his view was…or would that wreck it for her? (I think her father was a National Party MP?)
Her brother is a National MP. Jonothan Young in New Plymouth… or is it Palmerston North? Its one of them.
Brilliant, a boost to the first home vendors scheme. Now every property flipper can boost their asking price up another $5K of tax payer funded largesse.
$5,000 towards a deposit of $97,000. Whoopedydoodah!
Yes, her father was a Nat MP, Venn Young. Served in Muldoon’s cabinet from memory – not 100% sure about that.
Yes, Venn Young, the author of the first homosexual law reform measure to come before Parliament – late 70s early 80s (?). MP for one of the Taranaki electorates (?).
Can’t remember how far it went before it foundered. Seem to recall that his bubbling, vivacious wife was particularly energised about it, more than him. Wasn’t a bad fulla for a Tory which was true akshully of a number of them in the day. Peter Gordon for example, Minister of Transport at some point. Even old Talboys, whose alleged affair he with “yards and yards of anonymous cloth hanging between his legs….” as characterised by Chris Wheeler, the hilariously subversive stirrer behind the sinful libel sheet “Cock”.
Quite unlike the digusting crooks, Tea Party-ish backwoodmen and scabs comprising today’s National /Act obscenity.
Young’s Bill legalising homosexuality was defeated on 4 July 1975, 34 – 29 with an abstention of 23.
Had the bill gone through there would have been no inquiry into an alleged breach of confidentiality of the police file on the Honourable Colin James Moyle, MP.
The full police evidence has not seen the light of day and I would like to see it in my life time for many reasons.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/9027510/Facebook-used-in-worker-dismissal
Employment lawyers and unions should start asking for bosses and managers facebook records if they are going to regularly sink as low as Air NZ has in this case. One of the times it is good to be a freelancer–I only have myself to sack.
The key quote from the article.
“”Because while this is best evidence . . . doesn’t it creep you out a bit? It feels intrusive and just, frankly, wrong.”
That’s a peculiar demand from the ERA, because they are usually called on to determine whether the decision made at the conclusion of the disciplinary process was correct. And that decision is made with the facts known at that time. ie, knowing what they knew, did the boss make a reasonable decision?
It looks like the ERA is saying it’s ok to dismiss based on suspicion alone, if there’s a vague possibility of proving it correct if other information comes to hand later on.
Yes it is a worry TRP, fair and discernible process in such settings has always bugged the torys so any chance to deal with such cases by applying fear and loathing will be taken if their record such as 90 day “fire at will” is any indication. The ERA was not originally set up to operate on that basis so would be interesting to get a practitioners view.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/7715044/How-New-Zealand-schools-rate
….and then Stuff whacks up an ancient Tory Standards piece complete with comments from 323 days ago! The Shonkey Python show continues for the masses while the cream attend their annual orgy.
Lovely stuff from Rod Oram this morning on the economic value of brands to countries and our stark options at this point:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/9023041/Rod-Oram-NZ-Inc-must-start-delivering-on-its-promises
I’m against Tasers anyway; but if our overlords really need their goons to carry electric whips, then surely they should be trained to use them properly. Of those UK police forces that could be arsed replying to a freedom of information request (18 out of 45), 57% shot tasers at the chests of suspects.
“There is evidence to suggest that shots to the chest are more dangerous because they can result in cardiac arrest. The manufacturer’s own training guidance states: “When possible, avoid targeting the frontal chest area near the heart to reduce the risk of potential serious injury or death.”.”
Link: http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/jul/14/taser-use-police-forces-uk-data
The NZ coppers have used tasers as a compliance device since introduction rather than the touted “substitute for lethal force” and if aimed at the chest could (and have internationally) constitute lethal force anyway.
Why negotiate with citizens annoying as some of them can be, or use other methods, when you can just zap ’em.
NZ Herald has another piece on Fonterra this morning Fonterra powder recalled in Sri Lanka.
Thrust of the article is that the powder is being removed under precautionary measures (after being requested to by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health).
However, the paragraphs that caught my eye are below:
Earlier this year, Fonterra hit headlines in Sri Lanka after the country’s Atomic Energy Authority claimed in Colombo’s Sunday Times it had been put under pressure from New Zealand officials to suspend testing of New Zealand milk powder samples.
At the time, the Ministry for Primary Industries took over damage control reassuring all overseas consumers milk powder from New Zealand was safe.
If true, why would we be putting pressure on another government to suspend testing? And who was/were these overseas officials?
As far as I can ascertain, two New Zealand government officials from the Ministry of Primary Industries travelled to Sri Lanka in May this year to pressure their Atomic Energy Authority to stop testing New Zealand milk powder samples for radiation.
The only reason they would do this is because the government knew that Fonterra’s milk powder was contaminated with radioactive chemicals. Why else would they suddenly demand Sri Lanka stop testing?
Was it all Fonterra NZ sourced milk powder or also Fonterra Chinese sourced milk powder?
I ask because it appears that TEPCO has been lying through the teeth about contaminated water from Fukushima, and hundreds of tons a day of radioactive water have been leaking into the Pacific.
Sri Lanka has halted all Fonterra milk powder imports from New Zealand. I’ve seen no reports saying that they’ve halted imports from China as well?
It’s unlikely that radiation from Fukushima that is leaking into the Pacific Ocean would get into the dairy process in China. It is however likely that it is getting into fish stocks around Japan.
The radiation contamination in Fonterra’s milk products has likely come from landfarming in Taranaki, of which there are around a dozen sites. Six of these landfarming operations supply milk to Fonterra, the other six to other dairy companies. Fonterra is probably not the only supplier affected.
Did anybody just hear “The New Entrepreneurism” on RNZ forming today’s “ideas” segment?
I’d be interested in hearing/seeing Standard contributors thoughts.
I’m in two minds :p
In some ways I’m thinking more of a new buzz, an exercise in commodification of “social enterprise”, yet there are one or two good aspects to it.
Check out http://www.socialenterprise.co.nz/#top
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ideas
Social enterprise – the brits have got into it for about two years I think and have been closing down welfare for about the same time.
If that was the one referring to social enterprises they seem to have been going on this for about two years I think. That would fit with their observable timetable of cutting welfare wouldn’t it?
If so they are taking a dump people in the water to see if they can swim. It could be better than old hate filled government approach time will tell, the program is on the roll – could be as much of a failure as when brit withdrew supplies after the first irish food crop failure.
yea well – at the risk of outing myself to RNZ staff, I offered the following hastily written:
The New Entrpreneuism
Chris,
I was interested in today’s “Ideas” segment, and I’m left wondering whether I must be part of “The New Curmudgeon” sector.
I’m not knocking it at all, it’s just that it occurred to me that many of these admirable initiatives once evolved naturally, as a result of a fully functioning, well (or at least, adequately) educated, egalitarian society – one where its citizens (both public and corporate) got involved and participated.
It concerns me that we must now market it all and turn it into a business in order for it to be part of our consciousness.
… etc
and then a PS later, when Wayne Brittendon and guests did a piece on NeoLiberalism:
PS!!!! ‘The NEW ENTREPRENEUISM” I should have waited
My concerns are being answered as I type: NEOLIBERALISM
…. etc.
in response to this:
11:40 Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint
The Guardian reports that in 2012, the world’s 100 richest people became $241 billion richer, and the rich-poor gap continues to spiral. Wayne takes a critical look at the prevailing global economic orthodoxy of neo-liberalism and Chris follows up with Professor Michael Peters, from Waikato University.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/sunday
Btw …. it’s also why I’ll never vote Labour again UNTIL they clearly and unambiguously give one of the most insidious ideologies the flik!! So far they’ve only ever half-heartedly apologised for Roger and his ilk.
Another Conspiracy theory bites the dust as it becomes reality.
When the Tsunami hit Japan and Fukushima I was called an alarmist and conspiracy nut when I stated that Fukushima was an ongoing disaster with global implications. Today I can say: “I told you so”.
?
While it is understandable given the amount of fear/ego based abuse issues in certain directions, that as more conspiracies become realities, there is a natural tendency to feel relief, when shown to not be nut jobs, or similar!
Unfortunately, the seriousness of the majority of the former, conspiracies, is such that the I told you so call, can be seen as a bit of an own goal, for mine.
?
Oh don’t worry, I’m saying the I told you so really angry and not a gloat in my mind. This is I told you so as in: wake the fuck up and smell the plutonium! (Third reactor has a couple of tons of MOX fuel in a “cooling” pool with steam coming out of the building around about the spot where it should be cool)
I remember one gentleman in particular, Lanthanide I think he calls himself who couldn’t ridicule my assertions enough at the time!
Yep. You know that truism about how real life is stranger than fiction? That’s what all the intellectual rationalists around here keep forgetting.
2013: the year the Tin Foil Hat Brigade pwned reality. Over and over and over and over again.
not really.
All that’s happened is that if you predict the worst outcome for every event that happens in the world, sooner or later you’ll be right – especially if one ignores whether the timing is wildly off.
was always right but previously heckled, just got confirmed now that’s all
Not necessarily. If I said “Mandela is dead” every day for the next five years, sooner or later I will probably be correct. That does not mean I was correct when I first said it.
Is that your version of a climbdown , McFlock!
Might pay to be a little more circumspect with the insults, because those timelines have been very short, and will grow increasingly shorter between the revelations!
An as for choosing the worst possible outcome, don’t fool yourself laddy, that’s simply another insult for those who have bothered to take time to understand and learn enough, to get a little closer to reality, while others sit back in the largess lobbing insults.
Correlation does not equal causation, especially when the frequency is that low.
Keep at it, I enjoy watching denial in real time!
Get the digger out, McFlock.
Brooom, Broooom, honk honk!
That’s nice.
At least when I hit the pearly gates I’ll be able to say that I gave joy to simple-minded fools. Might offset some of my misdeeds a touch. And just to make it obvious enough for even you to understand, yes, you are indeed one of those simpleminded fools.
Toot toot!
might be like that poor raccoon from Ice Age : The Meltdown; reach all those acorns, then the really big Acorn, only to receive resusc. from a sloth.
Oh to be Hindu, but then, all those gods to contend with. Interestingly, maybe the Aryan invaders implemented / codified the caste system, in India anyway.
I didn’t predict. I said this was happening from day one. TEPCO can’t deny it anymore ‘s all.
Indeed you did. But it wasn’t happening from day one, was it.
Don’t confuse the process with the event. It’s like fossil fuel related climate change. Started with the very first tonne of coal burnt.
Neither process had an inevitable conclusion when it first started, however. To state that a catastrophic conclusion is occurring before it is even inevitable can merely have a purely coincidental relationship with reality, even at the best of times.
I wonder if there was a person who claimed the Titanic was sinking even before it hit an iceberg? What if they claimed it after the iceberg were hit, but it they had no idea that it had in fact hit an iceberg, because they were in Birmingham at the time? To then argue “see, I was right, not a nutbar” seems to lack a certain epistemological robustness.
some clever resilience there McDock!
meh.
Fully encouraged by their recent close brush with reality, apparently the tinfoilhat claims have been escalated to Fukushima being an extinction event. So apparently we are all doomed (again).
Have missed your wit, (although, ev makes for interesting reading in ‘my newsfeed’), but then, there is always reality of all flavours to contend with. Like, improving income 😀 … maybe a pedal powered ice-cream cart with (not) 88 flavours of sugar to choose from. Shouldn’t you be working? Ahhh, late lunch. Cheese and home-made pickled onions this (and the other) end. Did you know that even authors with multiple published titles may only achieve the minimum wage if all the hours involved are accounted for. Seems so pointless 😉
The correct parallel to be drawn are to the officers and passengers who believed that the Titanic was fine after 5 compartments were holed, especially as the ship was still sitting perfectly quietly and drinks and food were still being served.
Same with being shot in the head or falling off a six story building. Doesn’t mean that you can’t pick what’s (most likely) going to happen next.
The correct parallel to be drawn are to the officers and passengers who believed that the Titanic was fine after 5 compartments were holed, especially as the ship was still sitting perfectly quietly and drinks and food were still being served.
Flipside of the same coin, but at least you get the idea that without accurate information causally and obviously related to the observed outcome, any connection between belief and reality is purely coincidental. Me, I’m off to sit in my lead-lined fridge for the duration of the radioactive apocalypse.
Well, the laws of physics tend to be a bit more reliable than chemtrail/worldgovt/nanothermite idiots on the internet. But even, then pistol-calibre gunshots to the head tend to have (ISTR) something like a 10% survival rate, and the survival rate for falling six storeys is even better as I recall. So really, without more precise information I’d still not be collecting on their life insurance.
Fukushima was never a conspiracy travellerev. It happened and was/is real. The only conspiracy is the one of governmental silence and mis-information surrounding the causes, the gravity of the immediate effects and the potential long term consequences.
And yes, there were plenty of people who chimed in, downplaying the seriousness of the situation and poo-pooing potential long term consequences. Adherents to authoritarianism tend to back centers of authority though. So, the fact of a ‘she’ll be right’ brigade is hardly surprising.
Bill …
As time goes by I’m struck by how pervasive the “authoritarian” personality is. Quite remarkably they’ll moan and grizzle about how badly they’re been treated .. but when you point out that it’s the hierarchy and the misuse of power that fundamentally which is screwing them over … they leap to it’s defence.
I think its the “subservient/follower mentality”…the beaten slave (battered woman?) who nevertheless leaps to their master’s (husbands?) defence because that is all the options their identity and world view gives them.
The danger is when servants and followers of charismatic authoritarian figures energise en masse to enable real historical ugliness.
Look at the USA – Democrats under George Bush who hated the patriot act, hated state surveillance, hated drone strikes…are all supportive of exactly the same things under Obama. Bad news.
Ah fuck it, I’ll say it.
Authoritarianism marks and thrives in the absense of personal responsibility. And to save any grief … this is completely different to the supposed ‘lack of personal responsibility’ we hear touted as a mere distraction from systemic/cultural disadvantages/abuses that themselves have arisen and hold sway precisely because too many people have authoritarian traits…and that’s the very self same people who then tend to bang on about various victim’s ‘lack of personal responsibilty’.
Hope that makes sense….was a kind of long sentence 😉
Good ol’ SWAT/SAS/riot police teams with the full face balaclavas or masks.
No. Not necessarily ‘tooled up’ agents of state or corporate oppression. Just the people next door and down the road and next to you at work who defer without question to authority – they’re the authoritarians as much as the ‘tooled up’ monkeys of oppression, the pollies, CEOs and managers.
Travellerev, you are an alarmist and conspiracy nut and long before you had said jack shit about “ongoing”, commenters on online Physics forums were detailing exactly how and why, based on nothing more than the photos of the damage and their knowledge of reactor design.
Like a stopped clock, you are right twice a day. Congratulations.
And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music -Nietzsche
Let me give you the sheet music. You still won’t hear it but hey, you’ve got to start somewhere!
For the last two years 300 tons of water has been leaking (I would call that gushing but I’m sure you’d think that alarmist) into the Pacific ocean and TEPCO has finally admitted lying about it. Not only that they are now pumping water into the ocean while the pretense of containment is dropped as the true size of the meltdowns can no longer be denied. THERE SIMPLY IS NO CONTAINMENT!
Here is a nice animation of the predicted dispersion of radioactive Cs-137 over the next 10 years.
And if you think this is going to help mitigate the unfolding disaster ( I would go as far as calling it a slowly unfolding extinction event, particularly if the 3 reactor cooling bath no longer cools the MOX fuel rods) there really is no hope you’ll ever hear the music
Oh dear, To REDUCE leakage TEPCO is now PUMPING the groundwater directly into the ocean. GREAT PLAN!!! (Sorry for the yelling but how FUBAR is this?)
Er, no they’re not pumping it directly into the ocean. The actual facts are in the link you provided.
Erm, it’s actually more like 600 tons daily straight into the ocean and that is just the “leakage” Tritium jumped a 150% in 2 days, I wouldn’t touch Tuna if my life depended on it but go ahead and continue to nitpick and have some more of those sushi with Nori seaweed from Japan while you’re at it.
You’ve got about five years before all this shit reaches the US coast and about 10 until it reaches New Zealand.
Pointing out that you’ve got your central claim 100% wrong isn’t nitpicking, Ev. Fukushima is a disaster on many levels, but your apocolyptical shouting (a slowly unfolding extiction event!) adds nothing to our understanding of the actual damage done to the environment.
Agree with you about the tuna though. Meat is murder.
Reactor No 3 was using MOX fuel. That is around 2 million times more toxic than Uranium. Here is what happened in 2011. If you believe that those rods are safe and all is well in Fukushima you are one sad puppy and yes, a MOX fuel rd meltdown is an extinction event
How is it an ELE compared to a standard uranium fuel rod meltdown?
I’m sure a standard meltdown is pretty FUBAR to but MOX fuel is a mix between Uranium and Pluto and the US feels it’s Japan’s job to burn that shit. I think the telling detail is that MOX is 2 million times more toxic than Uranium.
Huh? Which part of my saying it’s a disaster did you mistake for my denying it’s a disaster?
And, no, Fukushima is not an extinction event. Do try and get a grip.
Oh dear, https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VZvi8N9SZ2k#at=37
So what?
Good idea No. 2001.5. Bottle John Key’s personal fragrance and sell as a medicinal aid and performance enhancer – the John Key Super Relaxant. It releases all taut muscles, especially round the jaw and sphincter, relieves stress trauma and headaches, and in addition is a social aid as it prevents any disagreeable response caused by faux pas or unfortunate rudeness, all the time exuding a subtle aroma around the person which draws all into his ambit so ensuring the most favourable effect at every appearance.
You might need to attend the “Social Enterprise” conference this week Grey. Could be money to be made!
Tim
I’m working on it!! When I work out how to extract it that is. Without killing the golden goose!
I add to the above this clip from Brett – Conchords just for fun.
National’s policy to help first-time buyers get into houses is pretty weak:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9028322/Sting-in-tail-of-Nats-new-housing-policy
Subsidising home sellers…
So having already purchased, what is not available for sale in NZ, and paid the shipping costs, I now have the pleasure of paying tax on a sale that would not have happened otherwise, as well as the import transaction fee + GST (WTF is that about) – How are import transaction fees, and levy’s classified such that they attract GST, anyone ?
Her Majesty’s agents, hard at work!
GST is also applied on top of the various petrol taxes. Seems to be the way that the government likes it.
Who at coloseum did their homework on premier league rights. Having secured live coverage for a pay per view style service with our dodgy broadband capacity and now sky has 4 of the top teams separately via a premier league rule that allows it.
Top teams get the bulk of viewers so looks like coloseum just had their wings clipped before takeoff.
I think you will find that Sky,s broadcasts are delayed and not live.
Yes aware of that but as few people watch it live IMO this will erode the value of coluseum when you can watch the big teams with an existing sky connection and the highlights show is on tv1
Key’s scaremongering:
“Make no mistake, our opposition comes from the far left of politics. The Greens are leading Labour by the nose. It’s important that New Zealanders understand what a Green-dominated government would look like. They want to tax you more, rack up more debt and make you work two more years before you can retire. They want a government department to run the entire electricity system, just like it did in the old days when we had blackouts. They want to stop oil, gas and mineral exploration that would create jobs and growth. They blame foreigners for all the ills of the country when our future prosperity lies in being open and connected to the rest of the world.
They even characterize businesses relocating jobs from Australia to New Zealand as ‘deeply worrying’. And they take petty, opportunistic political positions on national security in the face of the obvious need to clarify the GCSB law – a law they passed in the first place!
Well, I can tell you that as Prime Minister, I take the role of our agencies and my responsibilities in terms of national security, very, very seriously. And I always will. For our part, the National Party has a track record of sensible economic management and policies that actually make a difference to peoples’ lives. We are guided by the enduring values and principles of the National Party.
and more yadda yadda yadda in the same tone. *big fucking yawn*
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10911082
LolNats @Lol_Nats 2m
John Key said today his plan to help low income people into homes by giving wealthier people support to buy more expensive ones cant fail.
National Party confernces are, as usual and always will be, just bullshit for the masses.
Can’t really argue with that…
Nope, I can’t either. The question is if the differences were a net gain or loss and I’m betting on the latter.
“Make no mistake, our opposition comes from the far left of politics.
Ah, the spin-meister. He’s so far out on a neoliberal, right wing, anti-democratic, govern for the corporates plutocracy – he thinks centre left is far left.
He thinks centre-right is far left.
The bit he fails to mention is that we had brown outs due to low rainfall and that this was corrected by building more dams – before the market model took over.
National’s election campaign is already pretty clear. They are going to use the “centre vs hard left” meme for all it’s worth to try and frighten the horses. but that fact that you, me and uncle Tom Cobley can see what they are going to do doesn’t mean the museum exhibits that inhabit the upper reaches of the parliamentary labour party caucus will twig onto it in time to come up with a clever counter plan.
Well, the obvious counter plan is obvious: a good swerve to the right wing “middle” will prove that National is full of shit.
“They want to tax you more, rack up more debt ”
To pay for things like schools, hospitals and state housing. I will defend state housing, schools and hospitals TO THE DEATH.
“They want a government department to run the entire electricity system”
And what. Government should own the power, otherwise people wont be able to afford to heat their homes.
Key must go ASAP.
Yip given another term they will sell the lot. State (us) will own nothing. Private sector will be rubbing their hands with glee. Only way to stop them is getting people out to vote.
Just collected another 60 signatures (within the Auckland Central electorate) for the following petition:
“To National Party Member of Parliament for Auckland Central, Nikki Kaye :
“The will of the people is the basis of the authority of Government.”
We, the undersigned, call upon YOU, as an MP, to defend the lawful human rights of New Zealanders to privacy, freedom of association and freedom of expression – that is – to oppose arbitrary search and surveillance by the State over citizens.
If YOU, as an MP, vote for this GCSB Bill, which will allow widespread spying on New Zealanders, we, the undersigned hereby PLEDGE to campaign against your re-election in 2014, and to encourage our families, neighbours and workmates to do the same.”
______________________________________________________________________________
45 signatures to go and that will make ONE THOUSAND (1000) people who have PLEDGED to vote against Nikki Kaye if she votes for the GCSB Bill.
(Remember – Nikki Kaye has only a 717 vote majority in Auckland Central over Labour’s Jacinda Adern. )
Not a bad effort for basically TWO people?
Come on folks!
Give those MPs who are currently supporting the GCSB the one message they CAN’T ignore!
Signatures of angry voters PLEDGING to CAMPAIGN against them.
(Politicians understand ONE thing – VOTES…….. 🙂
Sample/ template petitions that can be used/ adapted/ whatever/ are available HERE!
http://www.occupyaucklandvsaucklandcouncilappeal.org.nz/
Particularly would LOVE to see 1500 signatures delivered to Peter Dunne on Monday 19 August 2013 for the following:
“PETITION
To Independent MP for Ohariu Peter Dunne
“The will of the people is the basis of the authority of Government.”
We, the undersigned, call upon YOU, to defend the lawful human rights of New Zealanders to privacy, freedom of association and freedom of expression – that is – to oppose arbitrary search and surveillance by ‘BIG BROTHER’ State over citizens.
We note your public objections to the recent violations of your lawful rights to privacy, and look forward to consistency in your support for New Zealanders equal lawful rights to privacy.
If YOU, as an MP, vote for this GCSB Bill, which will allow widespread spying on New Zealanders, we, the undersigned hereby PLEDGE to campaign against your re-election in 2014, and to encourage our families, neighbours and workmates to do the same.
NAME ADDRESS SIGNED ”
___________________________________________________________________________
Remember!
It’s the masses who get off their asses that ‘make history’!
And – it’s REALLY easy to get signatures for these petitions………
Cheers 🙂
Penny Bright
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate
Kids Can’t Use Computers…
I’ve found this to be true as well. His suggestion that kids fix the computer after they break them is similar to what I said in a seminar once that had people looking at me in horror. My suggestion to the person who had just said that he played games but couldn’t use a computer was to pull the PC apart and then put it back together. And then do it again and again.
There’s some unbelievable stories of computer incompetence at that link.
Having taught a range of people young and old, in my time, I have found that, contrary to popular belief, there are quite a few young people who are not very savvy at using computers.
Yet, still these days I come across people who automatically expect any young guy present to be better with computers than others.
Ask lprent how he thinks the young versus the ahem, not so young, do on computer systems.
Another thing to think about is how a lot of computer systems nowadays…eg Apple iOS and Android, have been designed to make computers into consumer appliances. Completely unlike the young nerds at school who used to edit batch files and autoexecs for DOS and under the hood of Windows 3.0…
Cripes… my first programs were hand assembled hex code for Motorola 6809C’s.
Wow. Hexadecimal. A 1MHz processor. Hot stuff. (For the non-technical, a budget basic smart phone today runs at 600MHz…)
I once did a bit of work on an IBM AT (80286), nothing too serious.
Agree totally. These days relatively few people can give a coherent explanation of how computers really work … from the quantum mechanical explanation of how semiconductors function, through to how electronic circuits, logic and programmable arrays are built up, through to the structures of CPU’s, memory devices, graphics and various I/O channels, firmware, BIOS, OS’s and finally to networking, and the application layers.
When you step back and look at the entire intellectual and technical edifice it’s astonishing that it all works as well and as reliably as it does. Yet relatively few people have a decent grasp even of the broad picture, much less the specific details. (And I’m not claiming to be any kind of expert on any or all of it … just sufficiently educated and experienced to have dabbled with all the various bits of computing technology.)
The idea that some 14yr old is inherently smarter or more capable than an experienced professional or technical expert is just a risible nonsense.
The best comparison is how we used to laugh at our grandparents for whom the first telephones were an astonishing novelty … and how some of them never quite got past their tendency to speak very loudly and formally into the machine. It was easy to forget that they had lived in a time when communication was snailmail or telegrams at best.
I grew up at a time when the modern cell phone could not have been built in anything less than a large room full of hardware and I still have respect for the achievement they represent… yet today’s kids treat them with utter nonchalance. It is easy however to mistake this almost contemptuous familiarity with expertise. Not the same thing at all.
It fascinates me how quickly people adapt to technological changes. My first experience of a phone when I was very young, was the party line in our home. I would get told off if I picked up the handset when people somewhere else were having a conversation. Our only other electrical communications at home was a little radio.
TV, computers, mobile phones, etc, etc…. now all a very mundane part of my home & work world. I only have a very basic understanding of the way each of these technologies work. Though I have taken the lid off desk top pcs to do small mechanical maintenance – not really recommended with laptops.
I have been reading recently about the development of the telegraph, and the laying of undersea cables. It was partly trial and error getting the undersea cables to work – the right components and layers in the cables, correct weights etc. And that made a big difference to life, even though it was quite expensive first off to use.
It made a big difference for life in NZ – communicating throughout the country, and creating a sense of being part of the same nation – and much quicker information coming from overseas.
“It is easy however to mistake this almost contemptuous familiarity with expertise. Not the same thing at all.”
Yes that sums it up well.
It’s not just computers and phones either, people increasingly don’t know how anything works. Which both follows from and leads to not being able to make or fix anything.
Can’t disagree with your post AT ALL and the various responses having had (past tense) 25 yrs plus in the trade.
What amazes me is that I’m aware of a few people such as yourself (and even myself – now in the 50 plus age group) that are unemployed, or at least no longer employed in the IT sector. YET we constantly hear about various skill shortages. When one is registered with just about every agency in town, like various folk I know, the silence from those agencies is deafening.
Thankfully I’ve been able to de-programme, de-hex, de-assemble and have a bloody good lay down.
Ageism is absolutely rife in the industry. Last year I applied for a job for which I ticked every single box… at expert level. Zero response. Put in several unanswered calls and emails.
Advert still live a fortnight later. So I put the same CV in with a different name but edited to look 20yrs younger. Got a mad keen phone call within hours.
Told them exactly where to shove it.
You tricky old bastard. In the very best way heh.
Had very similar experience(s), AND told them to shove it too.
Those agencies btw also have a habit of advertising non-existent, or already filled vacancies in order to get people ‘on their books’.
The other thing I find amusing is all that noise about the number of jobs advertised, based on the number of job adverts. You delve into it a bit and there are half a dozen different agencies advertising the same job (not limited to IT of course) – all clamouring to clip the ticket.
😆
“…These days relatively few people can give a coherent explanation of how computers really work…”
Really? the speed of light is constant. I thought everyone knew that!
Phew.
I’m like almost everyone in regard to these machines.
One little thing though, why shouldn’t we leave the room, (or the house or the district,) while logged in somewhere? I do this all the time – the machine shuts down to power saving until I bring it back to life, often many hours later.
Apart from wasting power, what’s the problem?
It’s not a problem if there is no-one else who’s likely to use the machine in your absence.
But in a school or work environment where accountability of use and confidentiality of information is important … then you really don’t want someone else simply using the machine under your own user account.
Aaaah.
Ta
Getting to the Bottom of Things
Bold mine.
Are you out there Gower?
Did not see you stuffing a microphone up the nose of Collins or Joyce at the National Party Circus every ten seconds repeatedly asking if they were planning a coup against Key like you did to Cunliffe at the Labour party conference. No badgering like you did to Cunliffe until you got the perceived answer you wanted. Why not , please tell us, were you shit scared that you would have been told to fuck off or, is it that your masters and controllers instructed you not to rock the cosy right wing dream world boat.