The Tide is Turning: The Official Story Is Now The Conspiracy Theory
Paul Craig Roberts
In America today “conspiracy kooks” outnumber those who believe the official lies.
In a few days it will be the 15th anniversary of 9/11, and this November 13 will be the 53rd anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. These two state crimes against democracy destroyed American democracy, accountable government, and the Constitution’s protections of civil liberty.
Years after the damage done by these events the American people no longer believe the official stories. Neither does the government, but the government will never validate the distrust that Americans now share of the oligarchs’ government by acknowledging the truth.
The official explanation of the assassination of President Kennedy never made any sense. Videos of the assassination contradicted the official story, as did witnesses, and many credible people challenged the government’s story. The CIA was faced with the official explanation becoming unglued and launched its media program stigmatizing doubters as “conspiracy theorists.”
The CIA’s psych warfare against the public succeeded at the time and for a number of years during which witnesses had mysterious deaths and the trail grew cold. But by the late 1970s there was so much public skepticism of the official story that the US Congress took the risk of being labeled “conspiracy kooks.” The House Select Committee on Assassinations reopened the inquiry into JFK’s murder. The House Committee concluded that the Warren Commission’s investigation was seriously flawed, that there was more than one person firing at President Kennedy and that there was a conspiracy to assassinate JFK.
The corrupt US Department of Justice (sic) contradicted the House Select Committee’s report. However, the American people believed the Select Committee and not the corrupt Justice (sic) Department, which never tells the truth about anything.
By 2013 polls showed that most Americans are “conspiracy kooks” who do not believe the official government line on JFK’s assassination. So with regard to JFK’s assassination, the “conspiracy theorists” are in the majority. The minority are the Americans who cannot escape their brainwashing.
In a few days it will be the 15th anniversary of the alleged al Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and we are witnessing the fading protection that the charge of “conspiracy theorist” provides for the official government story. Indeed, the official 9/11 story is collapsing before our eyes.
Europhysics, the respected publication of the European physics community has published an article by scientists who conclude that “the evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that all three [World Trade Center] buildings were destroyed by controlled demolition.” Few American scientists can admit this, because their careers depend on US government and military/security complex research contracts. Independent scientists in the US are a vanishing breed, an endangered species.
The scientists say that in view of their findings, “it is morally imperative” that 9/11 “be the subject of a truly scientific and impartial investigation by responsible authorities.”
So now we are faced with a peculiar situation. The scientifically ignorant two-bit punk American presstitutes claim to know more than the editors of the journal of the European physics community and the scientists who did the investigation. Don’t you think it farfetched that ignorant, corrupt, and cowardly American journalists who lie for money know more than physicists, chemists, 2,700 high-rise architects and structural engineers who have called on the US Congress to launch a real investigation of 9/11, firefighters and first responders who were on the WTC scene, military and civilian pilots and former high government officials, all of whom are on record challenging the unbelievable and physically impossible official story of 9/11? What kind of a dumbshit moron does a person have to be to believe that the United States government and its media whores know better than the laws of physics?
Since September 11, 2001, a growing number of people from around the world have publicly questioned the official story of the 9/11 terror attacks. For 15 years architects, engineers, actors, scientists, pilots, firefighters, activists, and family members of the victims have raised a wide range of questions related to the funding of the attacks, the physics of the building’s collapse, the possibility of controlled demolition or other exotic weapon use to bring the buildings down, and much, much more.
For the 15th anniversary, the collective “9/11 Truth” movement will descend on New York City to protest and rally in the streets. The activists will rally at Ground Zero and other important sites throughout the city. There will also be a conference hosted by Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth and NYC activists. The conference will feature prominent figures who have questioned the government’s version of events over the last 15 years.
How does a beginner pilot terrorist whose flight instructor said could barely handle a single engine Cessna successfully manage a Boeing 757 for miles at an altitude of under 10m, finally executing a complex high speed turn just before striking the side of the Pentagon.
And how was such a plane even allowed within 20 miles of the Pentagon which is surrounded by a military enforced no fly zone and ground to air defensive missiles.
Personally, after fifteen years I’m a wee bit bored with delusional paranoiacs using internet echochambers (born of the exhaustion of people with lives who can’t be bothered re-teaching them basic physics for the millionth time) to impotently build massive conspiracies based on nothing more than supposition and their bizarre fantasies, thus perverting the deaths of several thousand people and the subsequent geopolitical ramifications (including the deaths of hundreds of thousands more) into their boring little Sunday afternoon hobby and wankfest.
Each to their own, I guess. Wipe the keyboard clean afterwards.
Geeezus mate how many people are you speaking for now?
Oval Office avoided receiving detailed briefings on Osama Bin Laden/Saudi terrorist threat in 2011 so that it could continue to truthfully claim that they had no specific terrorism information to consider and act on pre-9/11
@one two:
Are the meandering ways you use to call me “dumber than you” a way of pretending that you’re less arrogant than everyone else, or did you just take so much acid that your brain popped and you believe your own bullshit ?
Insight: Cleaning Franchises – Business Opportunity or Dirty Business?
‘Franchises are often promoted as a great way to get into business with lots of back-up from a bigger company, but some argue that, in the cleaning industry, both workers and some owner-operators are losing out.
Workers say they are being pushed out of their jobs by the aggressive tactics of commercial cleaning companies and the law that should be protecting them isn’t working.
At the same time, some smaller owner-operators further down the food chain complain the business model is putting such a squeeze on their earnings they are paying themselves less than the minimum wage.’
+100..yes heard this …this jonkey Nactional government is responsible for making laws enabling multinational cleaning companies through their franchise companies taking New Zealand workers to the cleaners and making them redundant
…in the interests of profit for the big boys
…and undermining the unions
…and undermining paying the minimum wage to New Zealand workers
( no doubt they will be replaced by foreign workers)
( I wonder if any Nact politicians have shares in the big cleaning companies?)
most of these workers are New Zealand women on the lowest possible wages…it is a disgrace…and a crime against New Zealand women and their families
I am aware of cleaners whose pay and conditions have significantly declined while a dodgy manager drives in flash cars.
Bad behaviour is rewarded by neoliberalism.
+1 to everyone about the cleaning routs. Why the hell do we need multinational cleaning companies in NZ?????
Where ever these multinational cleaning companies are linked there are price routs and employment scandals. Since they probably pay no local taxes – what is the point?
P.s A few years ago went to OZ and ate something a zoo that had the cafe run by Spotless. Do not recommend. Am not sure it could even be considered food and if food is run by 1 staff member who looks about 12 years old and consists of microwaving fried rice that is chemically enhanced to last more than 100 years of shelf life.
And apparently Spotless has the cleaning contract at Princess Wharf – many scandals about the BC and levy apartment fees, with freeloader Ports of Auckland in the mix of course.
Spotless is an Australian company. Under CER all Australian companies have virtually the same rights as NZ companies.
And I presume no-one is arguing that NZ pulls out of CER. Well, at least no serious political party would propose this, and I include the Greens in the category of serious. Actually even MANA presumably accepts the reality of CER.
“multi-national Jani-King” is what they are talking about here …and overseas companies should abide by New Zealand worker rights
…””I worked at Avalon Primary for 17 years, but then I was made redundant; it was a very very sad day because we were told we were no longer wanted, but just had to carry on with our work.”
Ms Lawer worked at the school site in the Lower Hutt suburb not far from her home until the end of 2015, when the New Zealand arm of the multi-national Jani-King took over the cleaning contract from another company.
It gave the contract to its franchisee, Phagura Limited. Ms Lawer was later sacked.
“She said [Phagura’s director] she no longer can keep us because she can’t afford it, and her and her husband had to take the job over.”…
The Employment Relations Act has a special section often called the “vulnerable workers’ clause”.
It was designed to protect workers in industries like cleaning and food catering where contracts for service frequently change hands. It gives those vulnerable workers the right to transfer to the new owner-operator of the business on the same terms and conditions when their employer loses a contract to another company.
Ms Lawer acknowledged that under the law the small family-owned business had a right to make her redundant.
But an agreement for a redundancy payment was in her original contract, and Ms Lawer said that should have been passed along as contracts changed hands. She has never received one.
She wants either Jani-King or Phagura Limited to pay her out $6804, or the equivalent of 30 weeks’ wages.
As is often the case, several companies are involved and following the trail of who is responsible for what becomes increasingly complicated, adding to the difficulties workers can face.
In this example, Jani-King was bought by JK Limited several months ago…
As contractors, drivers had few of the benefits of employees, yet they were still obliged to wear a corporate uniform, work certain hours, apply for annual leave, and work exclusively for one company – as well as providing their own vehicles.
As I post regularly on this topic, here is Media Watch’s take on clickbait and Journalism.
Stuff of substance in a clickbait climate
Is serious journalism being swamped by ‘clickbait’ in the online age? Is the anguished debate about the future of it helping? Mediawatch asks an award-winning investigative reporter who’s just addressed trans-Tasman media top brass about the way forward.
As if to prove my point, here are some of New Zealand Herald’s stories today.
Craig Busch: ‘You cannot abuse a lion’
Shortland Street star beats a bully
Pascoe’s pre-Rio heartbreak
Elle Macpherson returning to NZ
Kiwi blokes line up for date with Marcella
Medical mishap: Family demands car
The Stacey Kirk one about unsubstantiated untruths is especially good reading.
When someone told lies in our group we used to sing to the tune of a chorus of ‘My Bonnie lies over the ocean’ (Bring back my Bonnie to me..etc)
but with the words
‘”Bullshit..Bull shit.. It all sounds like bullshit to me..to me”
Perhaps we could sing this whenever politicians lie…or maybe everyone, media included could simply start humming the tune?
In a real democracy all candidates would be invited to participate in the debate.
She further questioned the role of the polls in selecting only the highest-polling candidates for public debates.
Her comment so far has attracted only two quite disparaging comments, which I won’t bother linking to.
I fully agree with Brigid and I think her comment touches on something quite important that deserves (more) attention.
Some of the essential principles underpinning democracy are: freedom, fairness, and equality. Thus, regardless of some metric (i.e. polls) – or merit – all standing candidates ought to have fair and equal access to debates and the electorate at large. In the US this was recognised and applied through the Equal Time Rule. (NB how this works in practice, e.g. in the current US Presidential Elections is beside the point here)
The point of (public) debates is to give the candidates exposure and a chance to interact with each other and the public. It is an opportunity to see them in action, on how they perform under pressure, for example. In short, it is an ever-so-brief chance to get to know them a little (better).
Such information cannot be obtained by using Google or visiting Wikipedia although these may be useful for policy documents and the likes. To even suggest that going online can replace public debate is so not COOL.
The other counter-argument made to Brigid’s comment was that one might end up having to listen to “nutjobs” or “nutters of all sorts with no hope at all of winning” [my bold] instead of “the three serious contenders” speaking for an hour each.
This displays a prejudice that is intrinsically and fundamentally anti-democratic. A candidate might be a “nutter” to one person but at the same time he/she might be a strong advocate of neglected and ignored people who almost without excpetion find themselves at the political and social margins – people who need a voice and representation more than the ‘median’ person who will have the attention of the “serious contenders” and who are generally very well- if not over-represented in local and national politics.
I’d like to recommend to people with such prejudice the excellent and illuminating post by STARGAZER on intersections.
In brief, it’s also possible that if you turn up to the debates, you’ll get even less support after your views are aired.
That’s particularly possible for the nutjobs.
I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to take the small amount of time that is allocated to these debates, and give equal-footing to people who simply have no chance of winning. It takes away time from the contenders who have a real chance of winning, to get their particular message out.
Yes, if more time were allowed for debates, then this argument is mostly neutered. On the flip-side however, if we were to have 100 hours of debates, no-one would watch all of them either.
A line *has* to be drawn somewhere. For example if there were over 100 people running for mayor, your “everyone is entitled to debate” would mean all of those people would need to be invited to every debate, which isn’t tenable.
So instead of dogmatically saying “everyone must be admitted to every debate”, I think you should be more realistic and discuss how and where the line should be drawn.
Democracy is not about winning FFS! It is about fair and equal representation. That said, the current neo-liberal version of democracy is more about winners & losers.
There’s no “100 hours of debates” but if there was then we would have the choice of watching or attending some (or all) of them.
Similarly, there are no 100 candidates! Indeed, all the standing & confirmed candidates should be invited. They won’t all show up anyway and Vic Crone is a case in point: Auckland mayoral candidate Vic Crone missing from debates.
In a truly-representative democracy no line gets drawn; that was my point.
The irony seems to be lost on you when you labelled me “dogmatic”; using lazy labels and bogus examples are the tell-tale sign of someone who’s avoiding honest debate or has already lost the argument …
“There’s not one single “nutjob” among the 18 or so candidates for the Auckland Mayoralty”
Maybe, maybe not. There is however a nutjob who runs for Christchurch mayor every time, and always comes last.
“You’re simply parroting the same meme.”
No, I’m making an argument with reasoned points. Parroting means repeating something unthinkingly.
“There’s no “100 hours of debates” but if there was then we would have the choice of watching or attending some (or all) of them.”
Except the candidates themselves don’t have time to spend doing 100 hours of debates. Similarly if you want to have all 18 candidates, in a 1 hour debate it means they would each get to speak for 3 1/3 minutes, assuming 0 ad breaks, 0 down-time between speakers and no moderation at all. That’s not a debate.
Unless you want to have a 2-3 hour debate for that many participants, and still they won’t have enough time to get their points across. And many people won’t bother to watch it precisely for that reason.
“Similarly, there are no 100 candidates!”
It’s called an example. You HAVE to draw a line somewhere. It’s the same thing as people who say “why don’t you just put the minimum wage up to $100/hour?”, of course $100/hour is a silly minimum wage to have, but the level has to be set SOMEWHERE. So, pick a point and argue why that is appropriate.
“In a truly-representative democracy no line gets drawn; that was my point.”
Correct, every candidate is able to campaign as much as they like. Some select portion of those candidates, who have widespread support, will be selected to appear in debates.
If you want to get into the debates, then you need to do a good job of getting widespread support first.
This, like many other things, is simply rationing and distributing of resources, which is exactly what politics is about – how best we should manage our resources for the good of all. In this case, the resources are 1. TV/radio time, and 2. public attention. There is not unlimited TV/radio time, there is not unlimited public attention. We need to spend those resources in the best way we can to support democracy – that means NOT inviting EVERY SINGLE candidate to the debates, because most of those people have NO CHANCE of winning, and by inviting them you take away the opportunity of the viable candidates to get their message out to the public (see also, limited resource #2).
“The irony seems to be lost on you when you labelled me “dogmatic”; using lazy labels and bogus examples are the tell-tale sign of someone who’s avoiding honest debate or has already lost the argument …”
It’s not a lazy label nor are my examples bogus, they’re there to illustrate my point in stark relief. I’m sorry you don’t understand that.
I was the only Auckland Mayoral candidate who attended the Rally for Democracy yesterday at Victoria Park Auckland.
That is because there is no other Auckland Mayoral candidate who is actively opposed to corrupt control, locally, nationally or internationally, by
the corporate 1%, and those who serve their interests.
Yesterday, that’s where I launched my Auckland Mayoral campaign, with my very simple message:
“ONE tick to help make history!”
MAYOR (tick) BRIGHT!
And STICK IT to the corrupt crony corporate 1%!
It’s not how you start the race – it’s how you finish …..
And, as a political animal, of the feral ‘honey badger’ variety, I know a week is a LONG time in politics 🙂
Colourful Auckland activist Penny Bright has formally launched her bid for the mayoralty, running on her long-established anti-corruption platform.
Penny Bright (left) and a supporter at her campaign launch.Penny Bright (left) and a supporter at her campaign launch. Photo: RNZ / Todd Niall
Ms Bright who has given herself the nickname of “Her Warship” is pledging to take public transport out of the hands of private operators and force vacant homes to be made available.
She launched her low-budget campaign as part of the Rally for Democracy in Auckland’s Victoria Park.
Penny Bright finished a distant fourth in the mayoral race in 2013, and is one of 19 candidates.
She is locked in a legal battle with the Auckland Council, having refused to pay rates for eight years, until the council publishes all details of contracts let to the private sector. ”
and how the ‘system’ seems to be in favour of keeping it that way.
“Someone invented a $50 EpiPen — when will it arrive? A conversation with the doctor who invented it
Douglas McMahon, an MD with a food allergy, made an EpiPen alternative that he wants to sell for $50. Why can’t he?”
Particularly interesting point about free-trade undermining productivity (where NZ has been weak since about the 1980’s), essentially if production is done domestically then there is a common interest between managers and workers in maintaining and increasing domestic productivity. If production is outsourced (the free-trade model) then there is no common interest and no reason for management to support domestic productivity.
This applies to any kind of free-trade policy, going far beyond the investor right deals like the TPPA which barely have any implications for liberalizing trade.
Today is the anniversary of when the U.sa and the military in Chile overthrew a democratically elected government …. “On September 11, 1973, the Chilean military, aided by the United States and its Central Intelligence Agency CIA, staged a coup against Allende.”
“The military junta that took over dissolved the Congress of Chile and began a persecution of alleged dissidents, in which thousands of Allende’s supporters were kidnapped, tortured, and murdered.”
” the military and police torturers were ready with their electrodes, thumbscrews and waterboarding equipment to defend “western Christian civilisation”. Many had been brought to a peak of perfection in their trade in the US itself or in its bases in the Panama canal zone by US instructors.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/08/pinochet-victim-widow-fights-for-justice
And Kissinger’s response was to mock the US state department analysts who criticised it, saying that they only went to State because they couldn’t get into the priesthood.
Sophie & Co speaks to Ron S. Katz, sports lawyer, Chair Emeritus of the Institute of Sports Law and Ethics at Stanford University about the collective banning of Russian para-Olympic athletes from Rio.
Some basic points:
– Collective punishment of athletes is incompatible with western legal norms as there is a high likelihood that you will be punishing innocent athletes.
– Making individual athletes responsible for proving their own innocence is likewise incompatible with western legal norms as the burden of proof must always fall with the authorities.
– It seems clear that western media and western political pressure influenced judgements made against the Russian team.
– The McLaren report shows prejudgement against Russian athletes, and the use of anonymous/undisclosed evidence inappropriate and not credible, failing the standard of any real court
– Richard McLaren himself admits that he only “skimmed” the evidence available before writing his report, and did not even try to speak to any individuals or officials on the Russian team.
– WADA is a broken, incompetent organisation and made a very poor choice in picking McLaren to write the report as he had taken long standing positions against Russia previously.
– International Court of Arbitration clearly did not read the McLaren report properly before coming to their own decisions against the Russian team, as the McLaren report clearly fails on its own terms.
– Believes that Russia has a very strong case for additional appeals/hearings.
Newsflash: RT upset sanctions taken against terminally flawed anti-doping farce.
If an athlete wishes to compete, they need to be demonstrably drug free. By allowing Russia’s anti-doping body to become a farce, Putin’s regime effectively denied many Russian athletes the ability to demonstrate that they met this qualification to compete.
Yes, that’s the parroted MSM narrative, but it is not the conclusion of Ron S Katz, sports lawyer and Chair Emeritus at Princeton in the interview.
Who views the western legal norms against collective punishment, use of anonymous/secret evidence and correct burden of proof as being important principles which were not upheld in the decisions against Russian athletes.
+100 CV…most people regard what happened to the Russian para-Olympic athletes as unfair and were disgusted by the bullying…they were not proved to be drug takers
…most people regard what happened to the Russian para-Olympic athletes as unfair…
Well, yes – the clusterfuck their government brought down on their heads was very unfair. But at the international level, them’s the breaks.
…they were not proved to be drug takers
That’s exactly the problem – there’s no basis for assessing whether they were being given performance-enhancing drugs or not, which is why the various international bodies are blocking them. Do try to keep up.
most people I know thought it was distasteful and disgustingly unfair
re…”there’s no basis for assessing whether they were being given performance-enhancing drugs or not”…condemned by your own words?…that is exactly why it wasn’t fair! ( are you an amoral moron?)
‘Horrendous & terribly unfair ban of Russian Paralympians based on politicized report’
“The International Paralympic Committee’s move to ban all Russian athletes from participating in the Rio Games is an unfair and unjust decision based on a completely biased and politically motivated McLaren report, independent writer Rick Sterling told RT….
‘In what world does this make sense?’: Russian Paralympic ban met with confusion online’
Sure. Their own government shafted them by running a thoroughly corrupt drug-testing programme, such that international sporting bodies now can’t trust the Russian athletes’ drug test results and therefore don’t want them competing. It’s unfair, but living in a Mafia state is unfair in many and varied ways.
The Olympics have been used by the western powers as a political weapon against Russia, whom they have decided is a geopolitical enemy.
In doing so, western authorities completely undermined the very principles they said they believed in – the rule of law, individual responsibility and due process.
You shouldn’t excuse them so easily for this collapse of their ethics.
The way I see it is that it was the Russia that ought to have been punished, via the complete ban, for the state organisation of the cheating. That it no doubt harsh on the sportspeople that were not involved, but they can take that up with the ones ended up handing out BMWs
Do you believe everything RT tells you? What have they ever reported that you outright disagree with? I find them as laughable on some issues as say CNN, but not as bad as Fox.
Pretty much. Propaganda melds bullshit with chunks of truth. So even RT says some true things, as long as they lend validity to their larger position. So the problem becomes one of identifying the larger position and adding scepticism to the reports that intersect with it.
A bit like what we do around the smoko room every day, if people start gossiping.
And Breitbart chief Stephen Bannon is now running Trump’s campaign.
I’m not exaggerating. One site directly linked to Breitbart, called Red Ice, was full of “documentaries” praising Hitler and its view on the Holocaust was split between it never happened and it was cool.
National Socialism is not an ideology I would be eager to see given a hearing in the White House, yet is already upfront on the campaign.
I find it incredible that people with ostensibly left-wing principles are so consumed by their hatred of Clinton that they are cheerleading for this evil.
Maybe you’re too young to remember any victims, but I have family connections with the Holocaust through my stepfather, whose cousins shared an annexe with a young girl who kept a diary.
You can guess what happened to them.
The fact that you respond to N—sm with a contemptuous ‘shrug’ indicates that you have completely lost touch with reality or you are a truly horrible human being.
Clinton was instrumental in destroying Libya the richest country in Africa, causing a death toll which possibly runs into the hundreds of thousands, and turning it into a failed state controlled by Islamists who execute their own genocidal ideology in real life in modern times.
BTW the Clinton’s US neocon set has been instrumental in supporting and arming actual neo-N’s in power in Kiev, people who have done things like burn dozens of people alive in the Trade Union building in Odessa, and who have their own paramilitary units. Not just a few website crazies.
Perhaps someone better informed than me can help me.
Why is it common to hear of RNZAF aircraft – Hercules & 757s – being grounded while on official duties (e.g. PM’s trip to Pac forum) or on exercise being grounded for one reason or another?
Why can the airforce not maintain them to a state of continuing readiness?
I’ve watched that clip twice , it seems to me that the bagrie chap completely contradicts himself, his first chat is all ra ra rock star, and his second chat is more closer to what is going on, it’s odd
“Of course, regenerative farming doesn’t offer a permanent solution to the climate crisis; soils can only hold a finite amount of carbon. We still need to get off fossil fuels, and – most importantly – we have to kick our obsession with endless exponential growth and downsize our material economy to bring it back in tune with ecological cycles. But it might buy us some time to get our act together”
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
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New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
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This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
“It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April to meet the Prime Minister’s ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
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Worth watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gETF0_SOXcg
An article describing evidence, reports and reporting that the US Gov destroyed evidence around 9/11, and blocked/impeded investigations into it.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-09/government-hid-and-destroyed-911-evidence
I think you and I agree on this issue.
However, there are many on the left who are too scared/incurious to question the official narrative of 9/11.
The official narrative cannot explain building 7.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWorDrTC0Qg
The Tide is Turning: The Official Story Is Now The Conspiracy Theory
Paul Craig Roberts
http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2016/09/09/the-tide-is-turning-the-official-story-is-now-the-conspiracy-theory/
15 Years of Fighting for 9/11 Truth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeH5gA5eSEs
+100 Paul.
9/11 was obviously set up as an excuse for Amerikkka to invade Iraq and get their oil. Bush should be in jail!
How does a beginner pilot terrorist whose flight instructor said could barely handle a single engine Cessna successfully manage a Boeing 757 for miles at an altitude of under 10m, finally executing a complex high speed turn just before striking the side of the Pentagon.
And how was such a plane even allowed within 20 miles of the Pentagon which is surrounded by a military enforced no fly zone and ground to air defensive missiles.
None of it makes sense.
The military/ industrial/political complex covering up the truth makes sense.
I also find it interesting that a large number of people still seem dedicated to hew closely to the Official Story as being largely correct.
Personally, after fifteen years I’m a wee bit bored with delusional paranoiacs using internet echochambers (born of the exhaustion of people with lives who can’t be bothered re-teaching them basic physics for the millionth time) to impotently build massive conspiracies based on nothing more than supposition and their bizarre fantasies, thus perverting the deaths of several thousand people and the subsequent geopolitical ramifications (including the deaths of hundreds of thousands more) into their boring little Sunday afternoon hobby and wankfest.
Each to their own, I guess. Wipe the keyboard clean afterwards.
case in point
ditto
Thanks for saying what we were all thinking, McFlock.
Geeezus mate how many people are you speaking for now?
Oval Office avoided receiving detailed briefings on Osama Bin Laden/Saudi terrorist threat in 2011 so that it could continue to truthfully claim that they had no specific terrorism information to consider and act on pre-9/11
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/11/cia-directors-documentary-911-bush-213353
cheers Tim.
No idea CV, I only speak for myself. People can agree, or disagree.
But then I have no special channel to receive personal messages from the intrinsic intelligence of the universe. I’m just me.
Of course you too can receive messages from the intrinsic intelligent characteristic of the universe, McFlock, anyone can.
Go tell your doctor that, godboy.
Strange comment, McFlock
You appear to be limited to a temporal world view on many subjects by your comments
Expansion of thought involves listening to any and all possible options so as to have the broadest paremeters for discussion and assessment
Confining ones self to a view or set of views is to deny ones self the opportunity to grow from within
911 is most certainly a conspiracy, regardless of the view on who or why…
“Personally, after fifteen years I’m a wee bit bored’…others find you to be so also…ie “boring”
As I said, each to their own.
@one two:
Are the meandering ways you use to call me “dumber than you” a way of pretending that you’re less arrogant than everyone else, or did you just take so much acid that your brain popped and you believe your own bullshit ?
Which is why they US planted Iraqi terrorists to pull it off….
Oh wait….
Worth listening to.
Insight: Cleaning Franchises – Business Opportunity or Dirty Business?
‘Franchises are often promoted as a great way to get into business with lots of back-up from a bigger company, but some argue that, in the cleaning industry, both workers and some owner-operators are losing out.
Workers say they are being pushed out of their jobs by the aggressive tactics of commercial cleaning companies and the law that should be protecting them isn’t working.
At the same time, some smaller owner-operators further down the food chain complain the business model is putting such a squeeze on their earnings they are paying themselves less than the minimum wage.’
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/201815332/cleaning-franchises-business-opportunity-or-dirty-business
+100..yes heard this …this jonkey Nactional government is responsible for making laws enabling multinational cleaning companies through their franchise companies taking New Zealand workers to the cleaners and making them redundant
…in the interests of profit for the big boys
…and undermining the unions
…and undermining paying the minimum wage to New Zealand workers
( no doubt they will be replaced by foreign workers)
( I wonder if any Nact politicians have shares in the big cleaning companies?)
most of these workers are New Zealand women on the lowest possible wages…it is a disgrace…and a crime against New Zealand women and their families
i expect nursing will be next
this government is absolutely despicable
I am aware of cleaners whose pay and conditions have significantly declined while a dodgy manager drives in flash cars.
Bad behaviour is rewarded by neoliberalism.
+1 to everyone about the cleaning routs. Why the hell do we need multinational cleaning companies in NZ?????
Where ever these multinational cleaning companies are linked there are price routs and employment scandals. Since they probably pay no local taxes – what is the point?
P.s A few years ago went to OZ and ate something a zoo that had the cafe run by Spotless. Do not recommend. Am not sure it could even be considered food and if food is run by 1 staff member who looks about 12 years old and consists of microwaving fried rice that is chemically enhanced to last more than 100 years of shelf life.
And apparently Spotless has the cleaning contract at Princess Wharf – many scandals about the BC and levy apartment fees, with freeloader Ports of Auckland in the mix of course.
Spotless is an Australian company. Under CER all Australian companies have virtually the same rights as NZ companies.
And I presume no-one is arguing that NZ pulls out of CER. Well, at least no serious political party would propose this, and I include the Greens in the category of serious. Actually even MANA presumably accepts the reality of CER.
“multi-national Jani-King” is what they are talking about here …and overseas companies should abide by New Zealand worker rights
…””I worked at Avalon Primary for 17 years, but then I was made redundant; it was a very very sad day because we were told we were no longer wanted, but just had to carry on with our work.”
Ms Lawer worked at the school site in the Lower Hutt suburb not far from her home until the end of 2015, when the New Zealand arm of the multi-national Jani-King took over the cleaning contract from another company.
It gave the contract to its franchisee, Phagura Limited. Ms Lawer was later sacked.
“She said [Phagura’s director] she no longer can keep us because she can’t afford it, and her and her husband had to take the job over.”…
The Employment Relations Act has a special section often called the “vulnerable workers’ clause”.
It was designed to protect workers in industries like cleaning and food catering where contracts for service frequently change hands. It gives those vulnerable workers the right to transfer to the new owner-operator of the business on the same terms and conditions when their employer loses a contract to another company.
Ms Lawer acknowledged that under the law the small family-owned business had a right to make her redundant.
But an agreement for a redundancy payment was in her original contract, and Ms Lawer said that should have been passed along as contracts changed hands. She has never received one.
She wants either Jani-King or Phagura Limited to pay her out $6804, or the equivalent of 30 weeks’ wages.
As is often the case, several companies are involved and following the trail of who is responsible for what becomes increasingly complicated, adding to the difficulties workers can face.
In this example, Jani-King was bought by JK Limited several months ago…
Cleaning franchises aren’t the only ones.
Courier drivers ‘virtually slaves’
As contractors, drivers had few of the benefits of employees, yet they were still obliged to wear a corporate uniform, work certain hours, apply for annual leave, and work exclusively for one company – as well as providing their own vehicles.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/small-business/5754207/Courier-drivers-virtually-slaves
Unfortunately, The Minimum Wage (Contractor Remuneration) Amendment Bill failed to pass the committee stage.
As I post regularly on this topic, here is Media Watch’s take on clickbait and Journalism.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/201815259/stuff-of-substance-in-a-clickbait-climate
As if to prove my point, here are some of New Zealand Herald’s stories today.
Craig Busch: ‘You cannot abuse a lion’
Shortland Street star beats a bully
Pascoe’s pre-Rio heartbreak
Elle Macpherson returning to NZ
Kiwi blokes line up for date with Marcella
Medical mishap: Family demands car
Click.
Bait.
There are a couple of good pieces up on Stuff today.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/84102751/jonathan-milne-our-leaders-need-some-steel-in-the-backbone-not-just-in-their-roads-and-building-projects
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/84081503/stacey-kirk-personal-prejudices-the-fuel-of-a-political-posttruth-era
Thank you.
Maybe we need a daily feature on the Standard.
‘Behind the clickbait.”
That’s not a bad idea, Paul.
I was surprised (pleasantly) by Stacey Kirk’s piece, did I miss something or is she actually naming the behaviour of government???
The Stacey Kirk one about unsubstantiated untruths is especially good reading.
When someone told lies in our group we used to sing to the tune of a chorus of ‘My Bonnie lies over the ocean’ (Bring back my Bonnie to me..etc)
but with the words
‘”Bullshit..Bull shit.. It all sounds like bullshit to me..to me”
Perhaps we could sing this whenever politicians lie…or maybe everyone, media included could simply start humming the tune?
A few days ago Brigid commented in the post RNZ Auckland Mayoral Debate. She rightly said:
She further questioned the role of the polls in selecting only the highest-polling candidates for public debates.
Her comment so far has attracted only two quite disparaging comments, which I won’t bother linking to.
I fully agree with Brigid and I think her comment touches on something quite important that deserves (more) attention.
Some of the essential principles underpinning democracy are: freedom, fairness, and equality. Thus, regardless of some metric (i.e. polls) – or merit – all standing candidates ought to have fair and equal access to debates and the electorate at large. In the US this was recognised and applied through the Equal Time Rule. (NB how this works in practice, e.g. in the current US Presidential Elections is beside the point here)
The point of (public) debates is to give the candidates exposure and a chance to interact with each other and the public. It is an opportunity to see them in action, on how they perform under pressure, for example. In short, it is an ever-so-brief chance to get to know them a little (better).
Such information cannot be obtained by using Google or visiting Wikipedia although these may be useful for policy documents and the likes. To even suggest that going online can replace public debate is so not COOL.
The other counter-argument made to Brigid’s comment was that one might end up having to listen to “nutjobs” or “nutters of all sorts with no hope at all of winning” [my bold] instead of “the three serious contenders” speaking for an hour each.
This displays a prejudice that is intrinsically and fundamentally anti-democratic. A candidate might be a “nutter” to one person but at the same time he/she might be a strong advocate of neglected and ignored people who almost without excpetion find themselves at the political and social margins – people who need a voice and representation more than the ‘median’ person who will have the attention of the “serious contenders” and who are generally very well- if not over-represented in local and national politics.
I’d like to recommend to people with such prejudice the excellent and illuminating post by STARGAZER on intersections.
+1
In brief, it’s also possible that if you turn up to the debates, you’ll get even less support after your views are aired.
That’s particularly possible for the nutjobs.
I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to take the small amount of time that is allocated to these debates, and give equal-footing to people who simply have no chance of winning. It takes away time from the contenders who have a real chance of winning, to get their particular message out.
Yes, if more time were allowed for debates, then this argument is mostly neutered. On the flip-side however, if we were to have 100 hours of debates, no-one would watch all of them either.
A line *has* to be drawn somewhere. For example if there were over 100 people running for mayor, your “everyone is entitled to debate” would mean all of those people would need to be invited to every debate, which isn’t tenable.
So instead of dogmatically saying “everyone must be admitted to every debate”, I think you should be more realistic and discuss how and where the line should be drawn.
My short response: whoosh!
The slightly longer one:
There’s not one single “nutjob” among the 18 or so candidates for the Auckland Mayoralty: Mayoral candidates: Meet the 18 trying to win the Auckland mayoralty. You’re simply parroting the same meme.
Democracy is not about winning FFS! It is about fair and equal representation. That said, the current neo-liberal version of democracy is more about winners & losers.
There’s no “100 hours of debates” but if there was then we would have the choice of watching or attending some (or all) of them.
Similarly, there are no 100 candidates! Indeed, all the standing & confirmed candidates should be invited. They won’t all show up anyway and Vic Crone is a case in point: Auckland mayoral candidate Vic Crone missing from debates.
In a truly-representative democracy no line gets drawn; that was my point.
The irony seems to be lost on you when you labelled me “dogmatic”; using lazy labels and bogus examples are the tell-tale sign of someone who’s avoiding honest debate or has already lost the argument …
“There’s not one single “nutjob” among the 18 or so candidates for the Auckland Mayoralty”
Maybe, maybe not. There is however a nutjob who runs for Christchurch mayor every time, and always comes last.
“You’re simply parroting the same meme.”
No, I’m making an argument with reasoned points. Parroting means repeating something unthinkingly.
“There’s no “100 hours of debates” but if there was then we would have the choice of watching or attending some (or all) of them.”
Except the candidates themselves don’t have time to spend doing 100 hours of debates. Similarly if you want to have all 18 candidates, in a 1 hour debate it means they would each get to speak for 3 1/3 minutes, assuming 0 ad breaks, 0 down-time between speakers and no moderation at all. That’s not a debate.
Unless you want to have a 2-3 hour debate for that many participants, and still they won’t have enough time to get their points across. And many people won’t bother to watch it precisely for that reason.
“Similarly, there are no 100 candidates!”
It’s called an example. You HAVE to draw a line somewhere. It’s the same thing as people who say “why don’t you just put the minimum wage up to $100/hour?”, of course $100/hour is a silly minimum wage to have, but the level has to be set SOMEWHERE. So, pick a point and argue why that is appropriate.
“In a truly-representative democracy no line gets drawn; that was my point.”
Correct, every candidate is able to campaign as much as they like. Some select portion of those candidates, who have widespread support, will be selected to appear in debates.
If you want to get into the debates, then you need to do a good job of getting widespread support first.
This, like many other things, is simply rationing and distributing of resources, which is exactly what politics is about – how best we should manage our resources for the good of all. In this case, the resources are 1. TV/radio time, and 2. public attention. There is not unlimited TV/radio time, there is not unlimited public attention. We need to spend those resources in the best way we can to support democracy – that means NOT inviting EVERY SINGLE candidate to the debates, because most of those people have NO CHANCE of winning, and by inviting them you take away the opportunity of the viable candidates to get their message out to the public (see also, limited resource #2).
“The irony seems to be lost on you when you labelled me “dogmatic”; using lazy labels and bogus examples are the tell-tale sign of someone who’s avoiding honest debate or has already lost the argument …”
It’s not a lazy label nor are my examples bogus, they’re there to illustrate my point in stark relief. I’m sorry you don’t understand that.
I was the only Auckland Mayoral candidate who attended the Rally for Democracy yesterday at Victoria Park Auckland.
That is because there is no other Auckland Mayoral candidate who is actively opposed to corrupt control, locally, nationally or internationally, by
the corporate 1%, and those who serve their interests.
Yesterday, that’s where I launched my Auckland Mayoral campaign, with my very simple message:
“ONE tick to help make history!”
MAYOR (tick) BRIGHT!
And STICK IT to the corrupt crony corporate 1%!
It’s not how you start the race – it’s how you finish …..
And, as a political animal, of the feral ‘honey badger’ variety, I know a week is a LONG time in politics 🙂
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/313003/penny-bright-launches-auckland-mayoralty-bid
Colourful Auckland activist Penny Bright has formally launched her bid for the mayoralty, running on her long-established anti-corruption platform.
Penny Bright (left) and a supporter at her campaign launch.Penny Bright (left) and a supporter at her campaign launch. Photo: RNZ / Todd Niall
Ms Bright who has given herself the nickname of “Her Warship” is pledging to take public transport out of the hands of private operators and force vacant homes to be made available.
She launched her low-budget campaign as part of the Rally for Democracy in Auckland’s Victoria Park.
Penny Bright finished a distant fourth in the mayoral race in 2013, and is one of 19 candidates.
She is locked in a legal battle with the Auckland Council, having refused to pay rates for eight years, until the council publishes all details of contracts let to the private sector. ”
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
‘Activists – get things done’.
+1 Penny for attending!
+100 Penny!
GO Penny !
US Pay excess
“Robert Reich: There’s one big unfinished promise by Bill Clinton that Hillary should put to bed”
http://www.salon.com/2016/09/10/robert-reich-theres-one-big-unfinished-promise-by-bill-clinton-that-hillary-should-put-to-bed_partner/
and how the ‘system’ seems to be in favour of keeping it that way.
“Someone invented a $50 EpiPen — when will it arrive? A conversation with the doctor who invented it
Douglas McMahon, an MD with a food allergy, made an EpiPen alternative that he wants to sell for $50. Why can’t he?”
http://www.salon.com/2016/09/10/someone-invented-a-50-epipen-when-will-it-arrive-a-conversation-with-the-doctor-who-invented-it/
Economist Ian Fletcher on free-trade
http://socialdemocracy21stcentury.blogspot.co.nz/2016/09/ian-fletcher-on-free-trade.html
Particularly interesting point about free-trade undermining productivity (where NZ has been weak since about the 1980’s), essentially if production is done domestically then there is a common interest between managers and workers in maintaining and increasing domestic productivity. If production is outsourced (the free-trade model) then there is no common interest and no reason for management to support domestic productivity.
This applies to any kind of free-trade policy, going far beyond the investor right deals like the TPPA which barely have any implications for liberalizing trade.
Max Keiser and Stacey Herbert cover how the Irish tax authorities co-operated with Apple to hide billions in taxes
Ireland had a massive 26% increase in GDP…by suddenly allowing Apple to stash all it’s operations on to the Irish books.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4isDdSw0N8A
thanx must watch that!
Today is the anniversary of when the U.sa and the military in Chile overthrew a democratically elected government …. “On September 11, 1973, the Chilean military, aided by the United States and its Central Intelligence Agency CIA, staged a coup against Allende.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/07/chile-coup-pinochet-allende
“The military junta that took over dissolved the Congress of Chile and began a persecution of alleged dissidents, in which thousands of Allende’s supporters were kidnapped, tortured, and murdered.”
” the military and police torturers were ready with their electrodes, thumbscrews and waterboarding equipment to defend “western Christian civilisation”. Many had been brought to a peak of perfection in their trade in the US itself or in its bases in the Panama canal zone by US instructors.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/08/pinochet-victim-widow-fights-for-justice
And Kissinger’s response was to mock the US state department analysts who criticised it, saying that they only went to State because they couldn’t get into the priesthood.
Well the cia has been spying on the senate in relationship to its torture enquiry,a new twist on a no surprises policy.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/10/cia-senate-investigation-constitutional-crisis-daniel-jones
Sophie & Co speaks to Ron S. Katz, sports lawyer, Chair Emeritus of the Institute of Sports Law and Ethics at Stanford University about the collective banning of Russian para-Olympic athletes from Rio.
Some basic points:
– Collective punishment of athletes is incompatible with western legal norms as there is a high likelihood that you will be punishing innocent athletes.
– Making individual athletes responsible for proving their own innocence is likewise incompatible with western legal norms as the burden of proof must always fall with the authorities.
– It seems clear that western media and western political pressure influenced judgements made against the Russian team.
– The McLaren report shows prejudgement against Russian athletes, and the use of anonymous/undisclosed evidence inappropriate and not credible, failing the standard of any real court
– Richard McLaren himself admits that he only “skimmed” the evidence available before writing his report, and did not even try to speak to any individuals or officials on the Russian team.
– WADA is a broken, incompetent organisation and made a very poor choice in picking McLaren to write the report as he had taken long standing positions against Russia previously.
– International Court of Arbitration clearly did not read the McLaren report properly before coming to their own decisions against the Russian team, as the McLaren report clearly fails on its own terms.
– Believes that Russia has a very strong case for additional appeals/hearings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag6kKs_CBAw
Newsflash: RT upset sanctions taken against terminally flawed anti-doping farce.
If an athlete wishes to compete, they need to be demonstrably drug free. By allowing Russia’s anti-doping body to become a farce, Putin’s regime effectively denied many Russian athletes the ability to demonstrate that they met this qualification to compete.
Yes, that’s the parroted MSM narrative, but it is not the conclusion of Ron S Katz, sports lawyer and Chair Emeritus at Princeton in the interview.
Who views the western legal norms against collective punishment, use of anonymous/secret evidence and correct burden of proof as being important principles which were not upheld in the decisions against Russian athletes.
lawyers are like water quality scientists, you know…
+100 CV…most people regard what happened to the Russian para-Olympic athletes as unfair and were disgusted by the bullying…they were not proved to be drug takers
…most people regard what happened to the Russian para-Olympic athletes as unfair…
Well, yes – the clusterfuck their government brought down on their heads was very unfair. But at the international level, them’s the breaks.
…they were not proved to be drug takers
That’s exactly the problem – there’s no basis for assessing whether they were being given performance-enhancing drugs or not, which is why the various international bodies are blocking them. Do try to keep up.
most people I know thought it was distasteful and disgustingly unfair
re…”there’s no basis for assessing whether they were being given performance-enhancing drugs or not”…condemned by your own words?…that is exactly why it wasn’t fair! ( are you an amoral moron?)
‘Horrendous & terribly unfair ban of Russian Paralympians based on politicized report’
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/355019-russia-paralympics-ban-horrendous/
“The International Paralympic Committee’s move to ban all Russian athletes from participating in the Rio Games is an unfair and unjust decision based on a completely biased and politically motivated McLaren report, independent writer Rick Sterling told RT….
‘In what world does this make sense?’: Russian Paralympic ban met with confusion online’
https://www.rt.com/viral/354960-paralympic-ban-russia-reaction/
…that is exactly why it wasn’t fair!
Sure. Their own government shafted them by running a thoroughly corrupt drug-testing programme, such that international sporting bodies now can’t trust the Russian athletes’ drug test results and therefore don’t want them competing. It’s unfair, but living in a Mafia state is unfair in many and varied ways.
The Olympics have been used by the western powers as a political weapon against Russia, whom they have decided is a geopolitical enemy.
In doing so, western authorities completely undermined the very principles they said they believed in – the rule of law, individual responsibility and due process.
You shouldn’t excuse them so easily for this collapse of their ethics.
“The Olympics have been used by the western powers as a political weapon against Russia”
Bahahahahahahahahahha
The way I see it is that it was the Russia that ought to have been punished, via the complete ban, for the state organisation of the cheating. That it no doubt harsh on the sportspeople that were not involved, but they can take that up with the ones ended up handing out BMWs
Do you believe everything the msm tells you?
Nope.
Including RT.
Do you believe everything RT tells you? What have they ever reported that you outright disagree with? I find them as laughable on some issues as say CNN, but not as bad as Fox.
That’s good to hear.
I also don’t trust any msm source. Including RT.
The BBC, the Guardian and the New York Post are propaganda outlets for the western establishment.
Meh.
Different sectors, different audiences, different interests.
Sometimes a cigar really is just a cigar.
Meh?
Pretty much. Propaganda melds bullshit with chunks of truth. So even RT says some true things, as long as they lend validity to their larger position. So the problem becomes one of identifying the larger position and adding scepticism to the reports that intersect with it.
A bit like what we do around the smoko room every day, if people start gossiping.
Massive Trump rally in Pensacola Florida, 15K plus in attendence, lines forming from 6:30am.
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2016/09/09/donald-trump-rally-pensacola-florida-800pm-edt-live-stream/
Hillary Clinton says that half of these people are “ireedemable” and a bigoted, racist, hating, “basket of deplorables.”
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/hillary-clinton-half-trump-supporters-belong-basket-deplorables-n646026
Clinton now +2.7% compared to Trump on nationwide polls.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_clinton-5491.html
An impolitic remark by her, but seemingly an appropriate one:
http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/davidbadash/_hang_the_b_tch_f_g_n_gger_uncensored_video_of_trump_rallies_exposes_culture_he_s_created
Plus the endorsements from David Duke and the head of the American N— Party, which he’s happy to have.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/09/alt-right-makes-its-main-stream-debut
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/08/stephen-bannon-donald-trump-alt-right-breitbart-news
Visiting Breitbart, I found links directly to outright Neo-N— organisations and sites.
yes breitbart is a right wing website
And Breitbart chief Stephen Bannon is now running Trump’s campaign.
I’m not exaggerating. One site directly linked to Breitbart, called Red Ice, was full of “documentaries” praising Hitler and its view on the Holocaust was split between it never happened and it was cool.
National Socialism is not an ideology I would be eager to see given a hearing in the White House, yet is already upfront on the campaign.
I find it incredible that people with ostensibly left-wing principles are so consumed by their hatred of Clinton that they are cheerleading for this evil.
*shrug* Clinton and her neocon bankster mates have the proven track record of global death and destruction.
I’m no fan of Clinton by any means, but…
Maybe you’re too young to remember any victims, but I have family connections with the Holocaust through my stepfather, whose cousins shared an annexe with a young girl who kept a diary.
You can guess what happened to them.
The fact that you respond to N—sm with a contemptuous ‘shrug’ indicates that you have completely lost touch with reality or you are a truly horrible human being.
Clinton was instrumental in destroying Libya the richest country in Africa, causing a death toll which possibly runs into the hundreds of thousands, and turning it into a failed state controlled by Islamists who execute their own genocidal ideology in real life in modern times.
BTW the Clinton’s US neocon set has been instrumental in supporting and arming actual neo-N’s in power in Kiev, people who have done things like burn dozens of people alive in the Trade Union building in Odessa, and who have their own paramilitary units. Not just a few website crazies.
Completely lost touch with reality
Perhaps someone better informed than me can help me.
Why is it common to hear of RNZAF aircraft – Hercules & 757s – being grounded while on official duties (e.g. PM’s trip to Pac forum) or on exercise being grounded for one reason or another?
Why can the airforce not maintain them to a state of continuing readiness?
The Hercules are extremely old airframes and we don’t have enough of them so they all have to work very hard.
The Herald back to its role of mimicking Pravda.
Liam Dann: Return of the rock star economy the right time to tackle inequality
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11706840
I’ve watched that clip twice , it seems to me that the bagrie chap completely contradicts himself, his first chat is all ra ra rock star, and his second chat is more closer to what is going on, it’s odd
Brilliant cartoon.
‘A problem that is bigger than The Chiefs – In fact bigger than NZ rugby.’
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CsBP7CJVIAAhETr.jpg:large
“Of course, regenerative farming doesn’t offer a permanent solution to the climate crisis; soils can only hold a finite amount of carbon. We still need to get off fossil fuels, and – most importantly – we have to kick our obsession with endless exponential growth and downsize our material economy to bring it back in tune with ecological cycles. But it might buy us some time to get our act together”
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/sep/10/soil-our-best-shot-at-cooling-the-planet-might-be-right-under-our-feet
tick tock…
When you think things are as weird as they’ll ever be, Sean Hannity drunk tweets in defence of Julian Assange.
http://therightscoop.com/sean-hannity-triggered-into-trumpertantrum-twitter-meltdown-again/
https://twitter.com/search?q=sean+hannity+julian+assange
Could life get any better?
All Blacks win again -Check
Celtic thump Sevco -Check
National government -Check
3 Champion performers.
YOu live your life thru them? How fucking sad is that! Get out in the fresh air & maybe achieve something on your own you sad sack.
A: Knock Knock!
B: Who’s there?
A: 9/11!
B: 9/11 who?
A: .. you said you wouldn’t forget 🙁