Open mike 11/10/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 11th, 2010 - 82 comments
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82 comments on “Open mike 11/10/2010 ”

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  1. Bored 1
    11 October 2010 at 7:45 am

    Pushing the bounds of reality seems to be the norm this month: first we hear that the economists got it wrong with their predictions for “growth” (surprise surprise)….and this morning in Granny Herald we see that an Auckland developer is going to sink $125 million into a hole in the ground in Queenstown (ex Henderson the Chch bankrupt IRD wrangler).

    The gist of this rather fantastic attempt to go against the ebb and flow of todays econo / energy zeit geist is that it Gapes (the developer) has obvious faith that the future of Queenstown, tourism, holiday chalets, happy motoring and most of all retail therapy is here to stay. For this a further $125 million will be sunk into putting a mall onto top of a 1200 car hole in the middle of an alpine field. It raises a lot of questions, a few too many for me as to the economic and social sanity of our current “business” elite and the political structures that let them operate. What a way to start the week.

  2. mickysavage 2
    11 October 2010 at 7:51 am

    Kia ora Standard readers

    After reading yesterday’s post and smhead’s principled arguments why I should disclose my real identity and given that commentators on other sites have accurately identified me and also given that I now hold an elected office I wish to formally confirm that I mickysavage am also Greg Presland.

    I am sure that the internet will now be scoured for information and comments to be used against me but hey that is politics.

    • Bored 2.1
      11 October 2010 at 7:56 am

      Micky you may be ****** to other people, but here in Blogland it would be nice if you remain the reliable lefty and considered contributer Mickysavage…..good luck and keep posting.

    • just saying 2.2
      11 October 2010 at 8:25 am

      Kia ora Greg/mickeysavage

      Hearty congratulations – keep up the good work 😀

      • pollywog 2.2.1
        11 October 2010 at 9:51 am

        awww…what a wannabe famous using your real name guy.

        …any relation to Elvis Presland ?

        On a related side note. I seem to be having trouble posting at the dim post

        I posted a comment that appeared then disappeared later when i checked and subsequent ones dont even show. Maybe my interwebz is on the dodge or i’m on his blacklist or whatever but it’d be nice to know either way.

        I’d hate to think i’m paranoid and got banned cos someone there is powertripping and doesn’t have the common decency to give warnings 🙂

        • pollywog 2.2.1.1
          11 October 2010 at 10:28 am

          hmmm….strange alright

          meanwhile, a post by another of my legion of nom de plumes using a proxy has been retrofitted in the timeline but my initial comment has not and it wasn’t nearly as bitchy as that ranapia guy’s

          go figure…

        • mickysavage 2.2.1.2
          11 October 2010 at 9:56 pm

          Talofa PW

          …any relation to Elvis Presland ?

          Not that I know of but my sister had a cat called Elvis Presland once.

    • Carol 2.3
      11 October 2010 at 8:25 am

      Congratulations! Part of Future West! Yes! Glad to see the successes in getting elected on this ticket. And, this may seem a little premature, but in the run up to the next election, a word with futurewest about fielding a counsellor candidate for Whau would be good. I feel we have kind of been cut off from the rest of the west by Rodney’s gerrymandering. Glad that Catherine Farmer got elected to the Whau Board though, and hope she will be looking beyond Avondale to represent New Lynn.

      • Carol 2.3.1
        11 October 2010 at 8:43 am

        Whoops. Should be “councillor” candidate. I don’t expect free therapy from our elected representatives.

      • mickysavage 2.3.2
        11 October 2010 at 8:49 am

        Thanks Carol

        Futurewest wanted Ross Clow to run for us and discussions were pretty advanced. Ross thought his chances as an “independent” were better but he missed out. I think if he had run under the banner he would have made it.

        Really good about Catherine Farmer winning. She is principled and reliable, just what you want.

        • Carol 2.3.2.1
          11 October 2010 at 8:56 am

          Thnks for the Farmer recommendation. Yes, agree it would have been probably a better outcome if Ross Clow had been with future west. I only knew to vote for him after asking a question on the futurewest blog. Other voters probably wouldn’t have bothered to check the candidates out and just gone by the info in the vote pack booklet. Clow did pretty well, just not well enough.

          • Draco T Bastard 2.3.2.1.1
            11 October 2010 at 11:17 am

            Other voters probably wouldn’t have bothered to check the candidates out and just gone by the info in the vote pack booklet.

            That what most people will do and it’s irrational as we just don’t have enough information to make an informed decision. That’s one of the reasons why I like political parties – they tend to be known better than individuals.

            • prism 2.3.2.1.1.1
              11 October 2010 at 11:44 am

              I agree DTB the info on candidates is woeful for local body elections and I definitely do not want to see STV voting brought in as I found it hard enough to make a reasoned, informed decision reading about new people without having to carefully dot numbers giving rankings. I have noticed too when I have tried to find information about government members, there is often the barest minimum about them and their background and expertise if any.

              Thinking back to the local body election information on candidates booklet, I want to see a set of factual info as a basic, such as – my main occupation is…, while I have experience and interest in commercial recycling techniques, for how many years, my experience base includes management of a dairy, cafe, alcohol outlet, paint business, farming, youth sport coaching, education and children etc. I am interested in sport, learning Maori, building art and tourism links etc.

              Things like that after which they can waffle on for a prescribed length.

    • lprent 2.4
      11 October 2010 at 8:32 am

      Sorry about putting your name in the list of bloggers who got elected. I was aware that the connection had been made because of the stalkers.

      Do you know where/who that connection was made by originally? Because I suspect it would have required the complicity of someone running a site. You have been pretty good at separating yourself from your other self.

      • mickysavage 2.4.1
        11 October 2010 at 8:57 am

        No problems Lynne.

        Tim Ellis in a comment at Kiwiblog made the connection early this year. He compared a facebook comment that I made with a post that Micky made.

        Ever since then the secret was well and truly out of the bag. On my own website I had this weirdo try to post a comment every couple of days spelling my name in various unusual combinations.

        Keep up the good work.

        • deWithiel 2.4.1.1
          11 October 2010 at 10:47 am

          It was at least something that Future Whau has a voice in Catherine Farmer on the board. What I can’t get is the 2000 or so blank votes that were cast for the Auckland Council; an extraordinary number given the relatively small size of the vote. In saying that I have to say that Clow wasn’t known in Avondale and that seems to have been the killer. Name recognition is all that the Mangere Bridge resident Raffills has going for in Avondale; she didn’t do anything for the area when she was on the ACC other than ensuring that revenue was redirected at Crusty and Rusty projects further east and subsidising Christian youth prayer weekends out of SLIPs funding.

          • Carol 2.4.1.1.1
            11 October 2010 at 10:58 am

            I think it’s probably the lack of name recognition for many voters who don’t make the effort to research the candidates. That may have been compounded by confusions arising from the new ward, and people not being familiar with the history of candidates across the current city boundaries. Maybe it requires an even bigger effort to get people on the ground out in the Whau area to inform people about the candidates, to raise the level of name recognition?

          • Lindsey 2.4.1.1.2
            11 October 2010 at 12:46 pm

            The Raffils name is only a flag of convenience, she has remarried but hangs on to her late husbands name for electoral purposes.
            Fortunately she is not bright enough to be a real right wing force on Council and with the drop in her majority a good campaign next time should see her gone.

        • lprent 2.4.1.2
          11 October 2010 at 11:20 am

          Ah – the eyes of the internet are many and very very persistent. That is why to maintain a clear pseudonym ‘personality’ you really have to stay completely in character.

          • pollywog 2.4.1.2.1
            11 October 2010 at 11:37 am

            Werd homeslice !!!

            …and heres one of my founding credos for a long since passed alias. Busta Nuttz.

            If wasn’t talking shit about you, we wouldn’t be talking ’bout you at all

    • Colonial Viper 2.5
      11 October 2010 at 8:35 am

      Here to support you man, congrats on your hard work and keep strong.

    • felix 2.6
      11 October 2010 at 8:38 am

      “I am sure that the internet will now be scoured for information and comments to be used against me”

      I can’t see that posing a problem for you micky, unless you’re about to undergo a sudden transformation and disavow all of your philosophy to date.

      Congratulations on the win too.

    • Pascal's bookie 2.7
      11 October 2010 at 8:40 am

      Congrats Mickey.

      I’d keep the pseud for continuuity sake, and if people use your comments agin ya then have a prepared comeback.

      The online world can be rough and tumble and when confronted online by our brothers and sisters across the aisle who say things like “x” and “y”, well, you have to stand up against that sort of thing. There’s no need to apologise for that. Context is everything.

    • r0b 2.8
      11 October 2010 at 8:48 am

      Bravo Greg, and all the very best for your new job! Hope you won’t stop commenting her as mickysavage – we’d miss him hugely if he was gone…

    • BLiP 2.9
      11 October 2010 at 1:29 pm

      Kia kaha Greg – congratulations! I sincerely hope we don’t those the mickeysavage aspect of your personality from The Standard but, yep, you’re right: the Tories are hurt and wounded and will be looking for anything to smear the opposition. Dot your “i”s and cross your “t”s. Best of luck and remember – SuperCity be fucked – this is BROWN TOWN : )

    • Armchair Critic 2.10
      11 October 2010 at 10:00 pm

      Firstly, congratulations Greg.
      Secondly, I think I worked out who you (in all likelihood) were when you either commented on (here) or posted on (at waitakerenews) your submission to a select committee (on something to do with the Waitakere Ranges?) and there was a link to the submission, which had your name on it. I had always assumed everyone knew who you are.

  4. comedy 4
    11 October 2010 at 9:28 am

    My prediction was October for when the world would double dip and turn to shit …….

    “Currency wars loom as finance talks fail”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10679592

    Could be time to hunker down for a while.

    • Pascal's bookie 4.1
      11 October 2010 at 9:50 am

      I reckon that stuffs a bit of a sideshow. Google combinations of ‘foreclosure crisis scandal fraud florida ‘for the current big.

      No one knows who owns the mortgages and the banks have been buying forged documentation to secure foreclosures. Now some attornies general are on the case and it’s all about to go kablooie. If the banks can’t prove who owns the mortgages, and they’ve collatorised and leveraged those mortgages into trillions in debt, 2008 was a fucking picnic.

      • Colonial Viper 4.1.1
        11 October 2010 at 10:08 am

        Agreed. The billion dollar bailouts with tax payers’ money has simply allowed the capitalist game of musical chairs to go one more round. Lots of sore bums coming once the music stops.

        And in NZ – we’re still at >300 mortgagee sales per month, with no sign of the seasonal spring real estate resurgence.

        Unless you are in the building trade in Christchurch, the economy is still looking grim with price increases and income falls.

        • Bored 4.1.1.1
          11 October 2010 at 10:41 am

          The financial crisis is actually the “real show” whilst we all look at the bullshit surrounding Jonkey, henry and the other pile of worthless egomaniacs littering our myopic polity. One part of the article I liked was “A lack of growth accompanied by high unemployment is having consequences,” Zoellick said. “There is a danger that countries will turn inward and, as a result, international co-operation falters. This could be dangerous.”

          What in effect the tea leaf readers (economists) are worried about is that “international co-operation” (i.e unfettered financial movement and free trade), from which the imperium of the G7 take their profits will be cut off at the knees by local national restrictions and financial sovereignty. The world is changing and there is nothing short of force that the neo lib / cons can do to prevent it.

          • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.1.1
            11 October 2010 at 12:00 pm

            And the reason for that change is the same that which caused the change in the 1930s – the financial system has collapsed. People are beginning to question why CEOs are paid hundreds of times more than them when they don’t do hundreds of times more work or produce more value. The speculation in CDSs and CDOs has people questioning the validity of the banking/finance sector and these questions are being answered and the answers are completely against neo-liberalism as it’s complete BS. The BERL report on making trains proves that.

            Over the last few decades, with increasing productivity, we should have been working less and less but instead we’ve been working more and more and, for most of us, going backwards financially. Only the few have been getting richer and it is increasingly becoming obvious that they do so at our expense.

            • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1.1.1
              11 October 2010 at 10:12 pm

              People are beginning to question why CEOs are paid hundreds of times more than them when they don’t do hundreds of times more work or produce more value.

              Realistically these CEOs often destroy value, by the billion dollar denomination, and they still get paid their millions. (On top of which governments kindly give them tax cuts).

          • prism 4.1.1.1.2
            11 October 2010 at 12:01 pm

            This is a flow of consciousness attempt! Gee I’m a Paul Henry fan and I think that everyone has been so mean to him and everything. And Bored when you say myopic polity and worthless egomaniacs what does that all mean? Paul is such a a good guy, he’s really funny and he’s got the right name to be a celebrity I mean look at Paul Holmes, he is one too. Everyone knows that TV One really likes all us young people from 15 to 35, and they know what makes us laugh and show us stuff that we want to go out and buy. We want good times not like all those stuffy old people who sneer and criticise Paul’s light-hearted jokes at people who have no sense of humour at all.

            Phil Wallington said it all this a.m. he used the words “Crass and Vulgar” plus some other uncomplimentary terms. Couldn’t get over Paul Norris reminding us of how talented Paul is as an interviewer presenter whatever. (Paul Norris BA, MA, Dip Management Tutor Broadcasting School … in September 1996, after working for many years as a television journalist and executive. …) Has this guy got any basic standards of behaviour and quality? If Paul can be good then it’s all the more egregious that he would put out all this dick.ead s..it. Can I say that? Incidentally why are so many Paul’s in this comment? Aren’t there any other names out there? Like Woldegrave or Marmaduke?

            • Bored 4.1.1.1.2.1
              11 October 2010 at 4:16 pm

              Man oh man Prism! A new career beckons with the MSM for you. Hope you get the exit interview on National Radio with Paul whatever his name is (I forget now, who was it this time, some cheeky darky)?

        • The Chairman 4.1.1.2
          11 October 2010 at 11:37 am

          The main beneficiary of low rates is not the economy at large but the financial sector itself.

          Banks have kept borrowing costs high while slashing interest rates paid to savers.

          In the U.S., average interest on savings deposits, money-market funds, and CDs first dipped below 1 percent in July, less than what savers lose to inflation.

          Because most banks have also hiked fees, some savers are now, in effect, paying banks to keep their money.

          Borrowers are no better off.

          According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, average mortgage rates have barely budged since the Federal Reserve lowered its funds rate from 5.25 percent in 2007 to the 0.25 percent in effect since 2008; the 6.1 percent average rate on all outstanding mortgages in the second quarter this year (compared with 6.4 percent in 2007) gave banks the highest margin since at least the 1980s.

          Though rates for new mortgages look low, banks have slapped higher fees on new loans as well and have made it harder for homeowners to refinance at a lower rate.

          In Europe, bank lending is also only slowly winding its way into the economy.

          The return of most banks to vast profits has only been possible because of artificially low interest rates and other help from policy-makers

          http://tinyurl.com/2caa924

          Why would policy-makers help the banks at the expense of the larger economy?

          It couldn’t have anything to do with insufficient political structures?

          • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.2.1
            11 October 2010 at 12:06 pm

            Why would policy-makers help the banks at the expense of the larger economy?

            Because they’re owned by the banksters.

            It couldn’t have anything to do with insufficient political structures?

            Insufficient transparency. When everyone can see what’s going on it’s more difficult to hide the fraud and vested interests.

    • Draco T Bastard 4.2
      11 October 2010 at 11:36 am

      French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said a successful resolution of the currency dispute with China would require a cooling of over-heated rhetoric about currency wars. “In a war, there is always a loser and in this situation there must not be a loser,” she said.

      She obviously doesn’t understand capitalism where there are winners and losers. That’s the whole point of the capitalist system and something that needs to be changed. It would be nice, as well as necessary, if we could get it so that there was no losers but we won’t be able to do that unless we get rid of capitalism.

      • prism 4.2.1
        11 October 2010 at 3:07 pm

        Seems to me the French government sees itself as left and socialist but can change quickly and carry out the gypsy clearing.

  5. Sanctuary 5
    11 October 2010 at 10:00 am

    Question:

    Now Paul Henry has gone, does John Key have a weekly interview with any media outlet at all apart from the Monday post cabinet news conference?

    • Lanthanide 5.1
      11 October 2010 at 10:13 am

      He’s going to keep interviewing on breakfast for the next wee while. Be interesting to see how he ducks out of it, now that Henry (his old buddy) is gone. The new year is a good excuse to curtail the interviews, but that’s a little way aways yet (unless they go on ‘early’ holiday).

      captcha: season

    • Bored 5.2
      11 October 2010 at 10:44 am

      He can go on This is Your Life again like last night….actually The Mad Butcher showed true humility, what a great bloke, he can come to my bbq anyday. Thanks Peter for your generosity and kindness.

      • ianmac 5.2.1
        11 October 2010 at 11:53 am

        Key couldn’t resist doing a little politicking while smarming his way into the great Sir Peter’s show.

  6. The Chairman 6
    11 October 2010 at 10:04 am

    The Left gets what they voted for?

    Mr Brown takes over the new greater Auckland, including $30 billion in assets, on November 1.

    Mr Brown said his focus is on uniting Auckland – and reassuring people about the changes ahead.

    Though Mr Brown is from a Labour background he said he did not expect to be at odds with the National-led central Government.

    Key says he doesn’t find Brown overly left-wing.

    Mr Key said he had worked with Mr Brown in the past and found him “approachable and quite constructive”.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/local-elections-2010/4216806/Sort-out-Auckland-PM-urges-super-city-winner

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/local-elections-2010/4217368/Lets-get-down-to-work-Brown

    • Lanthanide 6.1
      11 October 2010 at 10:14 am

      Better a centrist than a crazy right-wing nutjob like Banks.

      captcha: considered

      • The Chairman 6.1.1
        11 October 2010 at 10:31 am

        Indeed.

        However, it’s clear the Left have been short-changed. Picking the better of two evils is not the best way to vote. It always ends in discontent.

        It’s a real pity more of the Left couldn’t see through his Sideshow Bob act (campaign) and have the courage to vote in real change.

    • lprent 6.2
      11 October 2010 at 10:53 am

      The problem is that most of that $30 billion in assets is under the control of the misnamed “council controlled organisations”, where they are pretty much out of the control of the councils (and largely under the control of Mark Ford).

  8. john 8
    11 October 2010 at 11:01 am

    The American NeoLiberal disaster continues: The Public or Common good continues to be destroyed while Corporate profiteers continue to party. Last September 159,000 Public sector jobs disappeared: These are good jobs like Teachers with Union rights and benefits. Obaaamaaa the Corporate sheep owned by the same trumpets 69,000 private sector jobs created such as dishwashers and the like! The US disaster of Corporate/Government fascism continues (what ordinary Americans need and want doesn’t count) .
    Refer link: http://www.countercurrents.org/cooke101010.htm

    • john 8.1
      11 October 2010 at 11:14 am

      The law locks up the hapless felon
      Who steals the goose from off the common,
      But lets the greater felon loose
      Who steals the common from the goose.
      Anonymous, England, 1821

      How the common good is stolen from the people

      • prism 8.1.1
        11 October 2010 at 11:25 am

        Good one john. Seems what goes around comes around or something like that. We are stuck in the loop of a vicious circle with the same base or simplistic ideas, strategies and desires repeating past debacles. It is a continuing struggle to change patterns. Perhaps we need a workshop with Edward de Bonos hats or the like to find new approaches.

      • john 8.1.2
        12 October 2010 at 4:50 pm

        US NeoLiberalism: Profit before any social consideration.No Investment in the commons. Privatisation of everything: In short what shonkey and Wodney want to happen here even further has turned the US into a 3rd World country. Keep sucking Kiwis!Tax cuts until we are a disintigrated society of profit grubbers!
        http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_6437.shtml

    • prism 8.2
      11 October 2010 at 11:20 am

      We don’t hear about ordinary thinking USA’s much. What stays in my mind is the mindless drivel about guns, and the right of every American (in USA) to carry one, and I think that includes concealed. weaponry.

      No-one ever comments on the way this indicates a breakdown in civil society and trust and respect for others. These were all things that I learned that USA stood for when I was being fed baby food. As an adult I have learned that I have to chew bigger items, but the truth about the USA and its lack of integrity is hard to swallow.

      • Bored 8.2.1
        11 October 2010 at 4:45 pm

        I can be very brutal with regard to the USA as an economic political imperial entity. Interestingly the Americans I have met throughtout my life have generally with a few exceptions been thoroughly decent and generous to a fault. Seems quite schizophrenic but who knows?

        • nzfp 8.2.1.1
          11 October 2010 at 5:15 pm

          Interestingly the Americans I have met throughtout my life have generally with a few exceptions been thoroughly decent and generous to a fault. Seems quite schizophrenic but who knows?

          I believe that this is because there is a huge difference between the American people – there aspirations and desires – and the regime that claims to represent their [The Banks , Military, Media, Big Pharma and other Corporations] interests.

  10. Draco T Bastard 10
    11 October 2010 at 2:02 pm

    Searching for accountability

    A string of shootings by British troops in a non-combat zone resulting in scores of dead civilians; a highway rampage by US troops; a deaf boy shot at when orders barked at him did not illicit a response; a previously unknown US special forces unit reporting directly to the White House, as well as a ‘capture kill’ list with which they operated, and their botched up missions that resulted in scores of casualties, including the deaths of children at an Islamic school.

    The largest leak of classified military documents in US history revealed these incidents and many more. Nevertheless, the Afghan war logs published by Wikileaks on July 25 prompted no official apology or investigation into their contents.

    Instead, they were swiftly downplayed by the White House and Pentagon, with Barack Obama, the US president, telling a press conference that “these documents do not reveal any issues that have not already informed our public debate on Afghanistan”.

    The more leaks the better. That way we would have accountability of our, and our allies, actions in the war zone.

    Of course, it would be better if we didn’t have to rely upon leaks.

  11. Draco T Bastard 11
    11 October 2010 at 4:04 pm

    Laws ignores PM’s apology call

    Prime Minister John Key has called for Michael Laws to apologise after calling Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand fat, but Laws says Mr Key should stop being so PC.

    So, we have the PM now standing up against racist comments (probably due to all the bad publicity over his lack of action on PH) and the bigot Lhaws saying that the PM should stop being so PC…

    • BLiP 11.1
      11 October 2010 at 4:24 pm

      Such are the lofty heights of intellectual wisdom and public discourse does John Key display.

      Never mind that his bankster mate, Crosby/Textor groomed, Millenium appointed CCO cockwombles have had their PPP wet dreams dashed, no worry even about unemployment, crime, forced mortgagee sales, business collapse, and earthquake shock doctine attacks on civil liberties and the processing of law . . . no, not all. It seems the level of national debate as being driven by John Key is to get dissed by a reject-mayor/talk-back host bozo from the provinces.

  12. freedom 12
    11 October 2010 at 5:48 pm

    No disrespect to all who have served
    but I am continuously agape at the
    war crazy funding priorities of this Government

  13. Adders 13
    11 October 2010 at 6:27 pm

    Quite right, freedom.

    3.85 million for trinkets but there’s no money to give teachers a cost of living pay increase.

    But, according to John Key, ”This is a fantastic way to give our servicemen and women the recognition they deserve.”

    No it’s not. It’s a pathetic sop.

    You can’t spend medals.

    And a medal worth 24 bucks (delivered) just for turning up to work for three years devalues the whole medal concept.

  14. Carol 14
    11 October 2010 at 6:49 pm

    Duncan Garner talked up the result of the latest poll, spinning it shows key and NACT are still in favour after the GST rise, while he says Goff and Labour don’t seem to be increasing that much on NACT. But the poll shows Nats down a smidgen, Key up a bit, Goff and Labour up a couple of points. But, I think Garner also said that Key got a bit of Quake boost. Garner claims that the local government shift to the left is not happening with national politics:

    http://www.3news.co.nz/Voters-weigh-in-on-GST-increase—poll/tabid/419/articleID/180826/Default.aspx

    http://www.3news.co.nz/Voters-weigh-in-on-GST-increase—poll/tabid/370/articleID/180826/Default.aspx

  15. joe90 15
    11 October 2010 at 7:05 pm

    Spread doubt and claim it’s too soon to take action. ‘Science as the Enemy’.

    A handful of US scientists have made names for themselves by casting doubt on global warming research. In the past, the same people have also downplayed the dangers of passive smoking, acid rain and the ozone hole. In all cases, the tactics are the same: Spread doubt and claim it’s too soon to take action.

    and

  16. nzfp 16
    11 October 2010 at 7:36 pm

    Australian Economist “Steve Keen” was invited to speak at the “6th annual AMI Monetary Reform Conference” at the University Center, in Chicago, Sept. 30 – Oct. 3, 2010 hosted by Stephen Zarlenga of the “American Monetary Institute (AMI)” and author of “The Lost Science of Money: The Mythology of Money – the Story of Power”.

    Steve Keen gave a speech title “why a credit money system doesn’t have to crash, and why it always does” where he asserts that:

    […] the issue to me is not how money is created, but how it is used. If it’s used to finance productive investment, then generally speaking all will be well; but if it’s used to finance speculation on asset prices, then it will lead to financial crises (though not necessarily as severe as the one we’re experiencing now).

    […]

    Bankers especially might not like this analogy, but it’s apt: banks are effectively debt pushers, and trying to control bank lending at the source is like trying to control the spread of illegal drugs by directly controlling the drug pushers. […]

    Keen goes on to demonstrate the cause and effect of the current Global Financial Crisis (GFC) using computer models for macroeconomics and then compares the results to the current GFC (called the Great Recession) as well as the Great Depression.

    Keen shows that the current GFC was wholly predictable.

    Keen’s entire presentation is available to view on his website in shockwave flash format, as well as an audio only format. I highly recommend Keens presentation as well as those by Professor Michael Hudson and Kaoru Yamaguchi.

    Links:

    Steve Keens Posting with Links
    Steve Keen (Video Shockwave Flash)
    Steve Keen (Audio Only)

    A mujst for people who want to know what happened, why it happened and how much longer before it is over…

  17. prism 17
    11 October 2010 at 8:45 pm

    There is a discussion on equality between Bryan Crump and Neville Bennet economist who has been looking at the growth of inequality throughout the world.
    Now on RadNZ.

  18. Lazy Susan 18
    11 October 2010 at 11:14 pm

    Congratulations to Llaws, Henry and Key for your outstanding contributions to New Zealand Tourism

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  • About boot camps.

    I am not a criminologist or organisational sociologist, so I cannot offer a data-driven opinion on the effectiveness of military-syle so-called ‘boot camps” when it comes to rehabilitating juvenile delinquents and youth offenders. They are popular in the US and … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    3 hours ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 27

    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 hours ago
  • Ticket To Anywhere

    You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 hours ago
  • Stories of varying weight

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    10 hours ago
  • Balancing External Security and the Economy

    New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    22 hours ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: The unravelling of the offsets

    The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • What makes us tick

    This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 day ago
  • Foreshore and seabed 2.0

    In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Royal Commission report into abuse in care

    Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
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