Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step right up to the mike …
o those commenting on obesity and to bm in particular. Many women who were raped or otherwise sexually abused over eat. Some to hide from me so they protect themselves subconsciously by becoming what they think is fat and ugly…. by eating to feel better when depression or anxiety strikes. So dont assume all obese people are simply fat and lazy as bm puts it. With 1-3 girls sexually abused it may be a hidden factor.
I bet there are some woman that over eat due to a lack of attention, lurid or otherwise, from men. There will also be some that over eat because they only got 54% in school C English.
The one thing they all have in common though is a lack of self control.
And many people who are depressed or without much hope for all sorts of reasons.
Living in poverty, illness or disability without much hope of any improvement leads people to seize on anything which makes them feel better. Eating, Alcohol, gambling etc.
It takes an exceptionally strong person to resist. Mine was eating.
Which is why I am so against people who make a living from gambling and drugs, including alcohol and smokes.
They are making profits off peoples need for hope.
Well said KJT. Easy to judge and criticise for those whose life is one of ease, or that old chestnut “I did it so you can you too” as if we are all the same, experiencing our difficulties the same way.
Another factor in comfort eating/drinking/past times is work stress, and the NZ workplace seems to becoming an increasingly fraught place to be with insecure work hours, poor prospects, low pay, loss of self esteem and diminishing employment law. If some one is working long hours and is stressed and fatigued the easiest thing to turn at the end of a shift is carbohydratey goodness. Instant gratification with undesirable consequences in the long run, eg, weight gain, type 2 diabetes, heart problems Then again anti depressants can trigger weight gain too, so unless we have the opportunity to live our life well and free from stressors, we face an uphill battle in our dog eat dog world.
Exercise of course is of great benefit to our physical and mental health but for some there is simply no energy just to go for a walk around the block.
As well as the vampires (booze, fags, and junk food co’s and casino’s) who source of profit is derived from stressed people we still live in a society that doesn’t accept differences so for those whose health is sub optimal, they are further punished by non acceptance.
Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a society where people had well paid secure work in safe conditions, access to preventative healthcare (eg counselling), access to cheap gst free, good quality food and secure living arrangements. Whats the bet the health of the population would improve, and we wouldn’t be treating people for preventable illness further down the line.
“..Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a society where people had well paid secure work in safe conditions, access to preventative healthcare (eg counselling), access to cheap gst free, good quality food and secure living arrangements. .”
Agreed phillip, on the do-able bit. It would take a bold socially focused government to promote equality, genuinely, not just as a nice word to throw around, and address that which makes the population unhealthy and unhappy.There will always be individual factors influencing poor health (including genetic and environmental) but decreasing poverty and opening up access to better standards of public health care should be something governments should priortise. All been said before though.
Indeed KJT. I’d love to see the personally responsible KK cope given a life of simply working (2, maybe 3 minimum wage jobs), eating (often a diet of noodles and the cheapest bargains out of one of those duopoly constructed SUPERmarkets), shitting, struggling with artificially constructed power bills designed for efficiency and fectivniss and a return to its shareholders, a MSM – again constructed by a fukwit whose only understanding of life and the universe is that it must make a ‘return’, and tending towards monopoly, getiing the kids to school and worrying about how they might pay for the next train fare or petrol bill; only to repeat without being able to rinse.
And this cycle is week after week, month after month’ year after year.
Any form of escapism is STRICTLY VERBOTEN!
I’d bloody take to drink as well!
Dirty filthy bennies though are NOT allowed to have any fun, or pleasure, and must be monitored at ALL times by a matron (one that’s not just the stereotypical image of 50’s matronliness, but one that’s the biggest nenny-statist, truly UGLY [in EVERY sense of the word] specimen that waddled the green fleur de lis carpit. CHA-OYCE (aye1)
The best metaphor I’ve heard to date is Cunliffe’s “pulling up the ladder”.
The truly UGLY & inadequate control freak hopefully has no conscience (for her sake).
That part of her brain that a conscience would normally occupy has been taken over by EMBUSHIN.
Oh, btw – she’s not alone of course. There’s an utterly incompetent specimen trying to inflict her will on the masses as well – in order to impress her dear dea leader.
Ever noticed her fashion?
Very military-like – not unlike those of colonial oppressors.
She’s rilly rilly in control! (at least in her own mind)
Bridges has to go as a Minister, while not declaring the property held in the personally managed super-fund might be ‘within the rules’ the non-declaration of the Northland property Bridges claims to be holding on behalf of ‘a friend’ is definitely not,
Obviously ‘within the rules’ looks to be a very thin veneer of cover of what is yet another Ministerial rort over housing allowances for MP’s and Ministers where the ‘system’ is being gamed by MP’s and Ministers so as to allow them to dip deeply into the taxpayers pockets collecting ‘rent’ for property that they actually own and rent off of their personal super-fund which they are the personal managers of…
‘Chester Borrows, Simon Bridges, Anne Tolley, Chris Auchinvole, Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga and Mike Sabin – live in the Wellington properties while working in the capital and claim the accommodation allowance or expenses.’
Too right you’re right amirite.
Must be about time for Borrows to announce again how successful he’s been in bashing some more beneficiaries for not taking the lawn-mowing money off their children’s plates and giving it to the Slippery Natz slush-fund party.
—-Paul Dykzeul, Chief Executive of Bauer Media, Mediawatch, Radio NZ National, Sunday 10 November 2013
More liars….
No. 35 Mark Jennings: “I think Paul’s a bright guy and he will be able to bring a discipline to his performance….”
No. 34 Willie Jackson: “I thought we’d been sensitive with her yesterday….”
No. 33 Supt. Bill Searle: “I think what’s happened here is the police officers have done their very best….”
No. 32 Sonny-Bill Williams: “It’s good to get the win over Papua-New Guinea, a strong Papua-New Guinea side, aahhhh….”
No. 31 John Palino: “Suggestions that I am somehow orchestrating some grand right-wing conspiracy to unseat Len after the election are so wrong…”
No. 30 Alan Dershowitz: “I will give $10,000 to the PLO if you can find a historical fact in my book that you can prove to be false.”
No. 29 John Banks: “I have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. And never, ever would I ever knowingly sign a false electoral return. Never ever would I ever.”
No. 28 John Kerry: “…we are especially sensitive, Chuck and I, to never again asking any member of Congress to take a vote on faulty intelligence.”
No. 27 Lyse Doucet: “I am there for those without a voice.”
No. 26 Sam Wallace: “So here we are—Otahuhu. It’s just a great place to be, really.”
No. 25 Margaret Thatcher: “…no British government involvement of any kind…with Khmer Rouge…”
No. 24 John Key: “…at the end of the day I, like most New Zealanders, value the role of the fourth estate…”
No. 23 Jay Carney: “…expel Mr Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice…”
No. 22 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton had integrity beyond reproach.”
No. 21 Tim Groser: “I think the relationship is genuinely in outstanding form.”
No. 20 John Key: “But if the question is do we use the United States or one of our other partners to circumvent New Zealand law then the answer is categorically no.”
No. 19 Matthew Hooton: “It is ridiculous to say that unions deliver higher wages! They DON’T!”
No. 18 Ant Strachan: “The All Blacks won the RWC 2011 because of outstanding defence!”
No. 17 Stephen Franks: “Peter has been such a level-headed, safe pair of hands.”
No. 16 Phil Kafcaloudes: “Tony Abbott…hasn’t made any mistakes over the past eighteen months.”
No. 15 Donald Rumsfeld: “I did not lie… Colin Powell did not lie.”
No. 14 Colin Powell: “a post-9/11 nexus between Iraq and terrorist organizations…connections are now emerging…”
No. 13 Barack Obama: “Simply put, these strikes have saved lives.”
No. 12 U.K. Ministry of Defence: “Protecting the Afghan civilian population is one of ISAF and the UK’s top priorities.”
No. 11 Brendan O’Connor: “Australia’s approach to refugees is compassionate and generous.”
No. 10 Boris Johnson: “Londoners have… the best police in the world to look after us and keep us safe.”
No. 9 NewstalkZB PR dept: “News you NEED! Fast, fair, accurate!”
No. 8 Simon Bridges: “I don’t mean to duck the question….”
No. 7 Nigel Morrison: “Quite frankly, they’ve been VERY tough.”
No. 6 Herald PR dept: “Congratulations—you’re reading New Zealand’s best newspaper.”
No. 5 Rawdon Christie: “…a FORMIDABLE replacement, it seems, is Claudette Hauiti.”
No. 4 Willie and J.T.: “The X-Factor. Nah, nah, there’s some GREAT talent there!”
No. 3 John Key: “Yeah we hold MPs to a higher standard.”
No. 2 Colin Craig: “Oh, I have a GREAT sense of humour.”
No. 1 Barack Obama: “Margaret Thatcher was one of the great champions of freedom and liberty.”
Yea sock! What we need to counter such utter stupidity, when we can’t come up with any intelligent sort of response – is – ANOTHER Shopping Channel! Could even shove it on Freeview.
Yes – how many shopping channels do people need on Freeview? Does anyone watch one of them, let alone 3? Or is it more? The numbers of such channels seems to be growing daily.
With all that is currently going on re the appalling Roastbusters issues, Dunne’s flights of fancy as to his power to dictate coalition terms, and now the Nat super/accommodation rort, Banks has slipped well down the priorities list.
However, I read Penny Bright’s latest update last night on OM 10 Nov (thanks Penny) and this morning read Justice Heath’s minute linked to on Penny’s website.
In brief, Justice Heath (who is to hear the application for judicial review on 27 Nov) has raised as an alternative or addition to the judicial review, the possibility of the case being transferred to the High Court under section 28J of the District Court Act. It would then be open to Banks to apply under section 347 of the Crimes Act to have the charges dropped.
Personally, I have not taken this as Justice Heath attempting to ‘help Banks out of his difficult spot’; rather as Justice Heath rightly pointing out another legal option open. (I hope so anyway!)
I am not a lawyer but had many years of having to find my way around legislation, understand it etc, so being the pedantic person I am, looked up the sections of the District Court Act and Crimes Act referred to by Justice Heath.
Of interest is that these specific sectons of both Acts appear to have been repealed as of 1 July 2013 – but can presumably still apply in the Banks case because the original procecution application, hearings etc started prior to the repeal of these sections.
(In the case of s28J of the D C Act, new provisions for transfer between the District Court and High Court have been added to the D C Act. I have not found any replacement provisions for S347 of the Crimes Act, but don’t have time to check this further today. )
So, I for one anyway it will be watching closely what both Banks’ counsel and the Solicitor-General decide on this alternative raised by Justice Heath. In the hopes that Banks does not get off on legal technicalities etc.
Penny Bright- hopefully you will keep us informed of further developments. I have appreciated you doing so to date, and thought you might be interested in my quick research.
“Getting a 347” used to mean that the police had made a charge based on insufficient evidence and a judge had thrown it out rather than waste court time. Since a judge has already ruled that Banks should go to trial, it’d be a pretty low blow if they used this to let him walk.
Thanks for that, Murray, although it now leaves me wondering (a) about Justice Heath raising it; and (b) why it (s347) has been repealed (if it has not been replaced elsewhere – haven’t had time to check this further but I am curious as to why it was repealed if it has not been replaced).
It would be a low blow if s347 allowed Banks to walk – hope that was not J Heath’s intention. OTOH it was not just one DC judge who ruled that Banks should go to trial (Gittos). but Judge Mill of Wellington DC also seemed to think that there was a case to answer, as per my comment on OM on 31 Oct.
Willie and J.T. are disgusting.
But they are not unique….
With all the attention on the hapless, hopeless Radio Vile comedians Willie and Hatey recently, some people seem to have forgotten that there is another radio station that has been sticking up for woman-beaters for years….
The disturbing incident with the police commissioner Marshal tracking and contacting the blogger who criticised him has gone semi-public, callers are discussing this on Radio Live morning talkback.
Not so disturbing when the blogger left his name and contact details on the police website along with a compaint.
Didn’t really need the GCSB to track him down then did he? And after laying a complaint he was too chicken to receive a call from the Commissioner following up about the complaint.
Slightly paranoid I guess. Not really James Bond stuff as was first portrayed to be honest.
If I left a complaint on the police website I certainly wouldn’t be expecting the Commissioner to phone me on a Sunday. An email asking to make contact would be more appropriate.
I’d expect the officers carrying out checks around the corner one dark night to abruptly jump in their car and follow me home on my push-bike, then to linger in front of my whare with their headlights shining upon me as I shake my head and proceed round to open the back door… oh wait… 😉
Please confirm YOU will not vote for the New Zealand International Convention Centre (‘Sky City money-laundering’) Bill
Please discuss this as a matter of urgency at the Cabinet meeting today, and at your Party caucuses tomorrow, Tuesday 12 November 2013: and confirm that YOU will NOT vote for the New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill at its ‘third reading’ because ‘due diligence’ has not been done on the increased risk of money-laundering.
BACKGROUND:
A) Open Letter /OIA request to the Minister of Economic Development Steven Joyce:
6 November 2013
“Why are you continuing with the International Convention Centre (Sky City money-laundering) Bill?
Dear Minister,
I note that the International Convention Centre Bill is now at the Committee Stage: on today’s Parliamentary Order Paper:
Please provide the following information which confirms:
1) That you have considered the following OIA reply from OFCANZ, which shows that they have not done any ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering with the International Convention Centre Bill.
2) That you as the Minister of Economic Development, are knowingly and willingly, continuing to push the International Convention Centre Bill.through Parliament, although this OIA reply from OFCANZ, shows that they have not done any ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering, as outlined in the following Regulatory Impact Statement.
95 Cash intensive industries such as casinos are attractive to money laundering activity. New Zealand’s National Risk Assessment 2010 assessed casinos as presenting moderate to high risk of money laundering.
For this reason, casinos (including all SkyCity casinos) are subject to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of
Terrorism Act 2009 (the AML/CFT Act), which comes into force on 30 June 2013. …”
ACKNOWLEDGMENT FROM THE OFFICE OF MINISTER OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – STEVEN JOYCE:
B) ‘Open Letter ‘ / OIA to Prime Minister John Key:
24 October 2013
‘Open Letter’/OIA to NZ Prime Minister John Key:
”Why have you not ensured that ‘due diligence’ was carried out over the increased risk of money-laundering with the International Convention Centre (Sky City) Bill”?
Dear Prime Minister,
As an ‘anti-corruption’ campaigner, (and 2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate), I am deeply concerned at the apparent lack of ‘due diligence’, by yourself, as Prime Minister of New Zealand (‘perceived’ to be ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ ) regarding the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the International Convention Centre (Sky City deal) Bill?
Please provide all information which confirms why you failed to do ‘due diligence’ and consult the ‘lead agency’ (OFCANZ) who has responsibility for “making it harder to launder money“,regarding the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the International Convention Centre (Sky City deal) Bill.
c) ‘Open Letter’ to Robert Simpson, Auckland Council Principal Policy Analyst re: ‘Due diligence on the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the International Convention Centre (Sky City) Bill:
Increased risk of money-laundering at Sky City – no ‘due diligence’ by Auckland Council?
November 4, 2013 | Author Penny
4 November 2013
Local Government Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) request to Auckland Council and their reply:
SKY CITY AUCKLAND COUNCIL Penny Bright NZICC Information Request (Oct 13) (3)
SKY CITY AUCKLAND COUNCIL 120928 Submission process flowchart (1)
C) 29 October 2013
Robert Simpson | Principal Policy Analyst
Strategic Advice | Auckland Council
‘Open Letter ‘ to Robert Simpson, Auckland Council Principal Policy Analyst
re: ‘Due diligence on the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the International Convention Centre (Sky City) Bill.
D) Please be advised that at 12 noon today, myself and fellow community ‘Public Watchdog’ Lisa Prager will be meeting with Auckland District Commander, SuperIntendent Michael Clement, to discuss the lack of ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill, and the potentially increased risk of organised crime in the Auckland region.
E) Please be advised that I shall be attending the Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference to be held in Sydney from 26 – 28 November 2013, where I shall be raising this, amongst other matters with international anti-corruption experts. http://www.apsac.com.au/2013conference/index.html
(Please be reminded that I attended the 2009 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference, and 2010 Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference).
I’m sure that the following ‘Action Plan’, upon which I campaigned as the 4th polling Auckland Mayoral candidate (obtaining 11,723 votes), will be of interest to both fellow delegates, and speakers (a number of whom I have already met), and Australian media.
There seems to be a reasonable explanation amirite. Rhinocrates (as he is known here) had apparently left a message on the police complaints website last Thursday. That is apparently where Marshall obtained the contact information. Unfortunately Marshall’s call to Rhinocrates coincided with some police criticism he had made on the Public Address site yesterday, so not unnaturally he thought it was connected to those remarks.
As has been suggested Marshall’s intentions were probably honourable, but it was a mistake to make a cold call like that and especially on a Sunday afternoon when you would least expect it.
Not really a mistake – just his paranoid reaction to it.
If I got sick from eating at a fast food restaurant and made an online complaint and then subsequently received a call from the NZ CEO to discuss my complaint I would be over the moon that they were taking my complaint seriously for the CEO to take time out of their day to talk about it.
What Rhinocrates should have done was listen to the Commissioner, politely discuss the points he raised in his complaint and suggest what the Police could do to fix the situation. I mean if he wasn’t prepared to do that why bother making a complaint in the first place?
What you don’t do is slam the phone down and go shrieking online about police states and evil spying and conveniently leave out the fact that he had supplied his own details to the police.
Peter Marshall is probably sitting at his desk wondering what he did wrong.
Perhaps he forgot how the NZ Police treat political activists, and how that informs said activists’ impressions of said Police. It’s all about perception, Jimmie. I think I would have listened to Marshall too, but I completely understand Rhino’s reaction.
Nah, just another internet warrior who stridently spits their bile when hidden behind a screen but is actually a gutless coward when it comes to real life interactions.
I use a pseudonym for professional reasons which I understand is not an issue that you face, having not been employed for a while.
I can assure you though, that I wouldn’t go weak at the knees if I was contacted by anyone in authority to discuss something I had officially registered my interest in.
“I can assure you though, that I wouldn’t go weak at the knees if I was contacted by anyone in authority to discuss something I had officially registered my interest in.”
But then, I’m guessing you’re not autistic like rhino. Am I right?
“I though I read somewhere that we are all Autistic.”
In the sense that we are all part genius and part stupid, but that does’t make everyone a stupid genius does it kk? Only a small % of people have problems relating to others to the point of being diagnosed as autistic.
I’ve lived with a person with Asperger’s and I can see how getting an unexpected phone call from the police commissioner would be disturbing and intimidating. Yes even if they left their name and number on an online form.
Maybe you’d be chuffed about getting such a call, but guess what? Not everyone is like you. Thank God.
I’m afraid I’m not privy to that information chris, maybe try using your imagination? Perhaps he/she thought that by filling in the fields it would help the complaint to be looked at? Maybe just habit? I really don’t know. But that doesn’t change my distaste for kk calling an autistic person a ‘gutless coward’ because they got freaked out by an unexpected call from the police commissioner.
You’re blind to some realities Jimmie. You don’t check out the background to some people’s reactions. You don’t think – typical right-wing response. Go away to some place where your brand of non thinking and stupidity is acceptable.
If I got sick from eating at a fast food restaurant and made an online complaint and then subsequently received a call from the NZ CEO to discuss my complaint I would be over the moon that they were taking my complaint seriously for the CEO to take time out of their day to talk about it.
That would be because you’re an authoritarian follower and kowtow to anyone with more wealth and power than you. You’re actual response to said call would probably be ZOMG, a randian super-hero called me. You’d then take everything he said as gospel and fail to “politely discuss the points he raised in his complaint” which is, most likely, why the commissioner called.
You should study psychology DTB. I am here sitting in my chair weeping as you have spoken my life story before you online……to diagnose my personality and to be able to project future conversations from one paragraph is nothing short of outstanding.
I mean what a gift especially from someone with only one eye.
I’d probably say both “yes” and “no” to that – if it was a pr stunt (“Commissioner Cares”), then it seems the commissioner forgot that some people have legitimate or even paranoid fears about the police (a characteristic that is probably weighted towards people who make complaints on the website), a problem that the NZCEO of McD’s probably doesn’t face so much.
It could be that the blogger raised an extremely important point that the commissioner wanted to discuss (or at least reassure the blogger that their concerns were being addressed), although the above caveat still comes to mind. As others have suggested, easing in with a call from a p.a. might have been nice.
The possible error on the part of the blogger was then to tell everybody on their regular websites, using their regular pseudonym. He’s basically told the police exactly which handles he uses – not that they’d be overly interested, but still…
Does seem weird that one blogger only (that has been made public) gets called in Marshall’s personal charm offensive. Air NZ’s Rob Fyfe used to personally email hundreds of people (union supporters that had sent emails to him) into the small hours during tense times when he was taking on the workers there.
Rhino/Cracklite should maybe take a break from this stoush because the cops do play for keeps and are experts at harassing the vulnerable as BLiP’s extensive list showed the other day.
The police are searching for a new police commissioner – as Peter Marshall prepares to step down.
He was appointed in 2010 and said he would serve only three years.
The State Services Commission is advertising for the position of “chief executive and police commissioner”. The job title invites speculation about whether a non-sworn – or civilian – applicant could be considered.
I suspect blogging is irrelevant/unknown, and it was based purely on the complaint to the police website.
No idea what they wrote, or whether marshall gives random complaints the personal touch, or whether R/C raised something serious that was kicked upstairs automatically (e.g. maybe he wanted to be informed about specific matters that might be raised by members of the public from time to time, e.g. serious allegations).
That is odd…. Ohno it isn’t. As far as the system is concerned since Thursday everyone has been posting comments from the same IP number – the new gateway address. I finally got the correct fix in last night.
Willie and JT are gone, for at least the rest of the year:
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, 11 November, 2013
WILLIE JACKSON, JOHN TAMIHERE OFF AIR FOR REMAINDER OF 2013
Willie Jackson and John Tamihere will not return to RadioLIVE for the rest of 2013. The announcement was made on RadioLIVE just after 12noon today by the two broadcasters.
Announcement from Willie Jackson and John Tamihere:
This will be our last show on RadioLIVE for this year.
We will be taking the next few weeks to review what happened last week with the management here, and agree what action needs to be taken.
We do not condone rape in any way and did not intend to blame the victims. Rape is a terrible crime and the victims who come forward deserve support and respect.
We deeply regret the comments we made last week and the upset they caused so many people.
We also want to apologise to the clients of RadioLIVE who’ve had to deal with negative feedback to their businesses because they advertise in our show.
Closer to home, we regret the impact this has had on our wives, children, grandchildren and communities. We also apologise to the staff at RadioLIVE and throughout the MediaWorks whanau who have had to deal with the fallout.
RadioLIVE will update you on our discussions and plans as is appropriate.
As this will be our last time on the radio this year, we wish you and your families a safe and happy Christmas and send our aroha to you all.
JT & Willie
– –
MediaWorks Radio Chief Executive Belinda Mulgrew says: “After discussions with Willie Jackson and John Tamihere it has been agreed that Willie and John will be off air for the rest of 2013.
“We continue to review the situation, and I would like to reiterate that MediaWorks in no way condones the actions of the ‘Roast Busters’ or any violence against women.
My last role in corporate we ate together, drank together, shared good news and bad, supported each other and celebrated successes together – all the actions of a family unit which I hardly found ‘disturbing’.
So? A corporation is made up of people who work together, laugh together and in some cases form tight bonds of friendship. There is nothing disturbing about someone or some organisation self describing themselves as a family.
So? There are still real kinships in corporations. Real connections are made and real enduring friendships follow. It isn’t disturbing and you are making extremely broad statements as if it is always as you say. It isn’t. I’ve worked in poisons were I have had CEO’s go to bat for their staff and treat them as they would their own family. It isn’t disturbing.
The issue is that a foreign residing board of directors doesn’t care how closely bonded your work group is with your local management TC. Chances are they’ve never ever met any of you or set foot in your office/facility.
It would seem from comments from Radio Live that they may be still paying the two announcers. When asked they refused to confirm that they were still paying which I guess means they are.
what is really important at the moment is National sucking up to the rural industrialists and giving them carte blance to foul the county’s waterways as they see fit.
Supposedly farmers care about the environment but that just seems to be as shibboleth for them to hide their ignorance behind and carry on regardless.
More lies retailed as truth.
Reads like a list of wasted opportunities where the electorate had had enough of Labor. And many core Labor blue collar and skilled trades vote walking away from the party.
Urrgh.. Been off doing other things for the last few days.
Testing Beta release 1.06 RC4 – which has now gone gold (the last bug was with shm_open – the block of shared memory had a lock error after several days of stress testing). Getting dragged off by Lyn at ungodly hours of the morning to cart video equipment around for blogacademy that she was shooting. Catching up on sleep (or trying to). Doing the 18 month updates of my home systems.The latter largely dropped me offline for the weekend with video driver issues.
But I see that the tireless spam bots are in action. 380 unsorted auto-spam out of the several thousand that got sent over the weekend. If anyone’s legit comments got caught in that deluge, they will shortly be popping out.
I also see that I have a problem with IPs at present since the site updates last week. They’re reporting a gateway address..
there was an article on te newz about the growth of blogging in the fashion industry, in contrast to the traditional glossy magazines (still coveted by the tactile).
A recent phenomenon I have taken an interest in is the sheer number and variety of niche hard-copy magazines that are published; more variations on Easyriders , Popular Mechanics and NME than a rascal could chew through in a lifetime. 😀
Things seen – on a standard NZ weekend – that give insight into the soul of the common Kiwi…
Few drinks post work Friday, nearly get knocked over by sober driver (assuming he was) driving well over limit…young passenger shouted abuse as they passed…charming.
Got on bus, packed. Woman standing in front of me very obviously late stages of pregnancy…every seated person looking straight through her. Not one offered her a seat. I asked who would, got dagger eyes from a seated young woman….
Watched Luther on TV, said it had course language and violence…cool…the violence bits were so graphic, psycho killer stuff…on prime time TV….
Saw man at dairy run out door and give a woman her purse she left on counter, much thanking.
More TV, rugby test, yawn, the 672 match of the “season”, go Richie and Dan….how does a man stay interested?
Turned to music channel…Mylie Cyrus pretending to have sex on stage…dressed up in next to nothing….looked just like her fans drunk and behaving like louts in heels in Courtney Place.
Put the Roast lads well into context as “us” methinks.
yes, The Hangover 2 was pushing the boundaries on tele.
I was cycling along last week and saw a purse by the driver’s side door of a car parked in front of recently widowed woman’s flat. Instinctively, broke as I often am, I stopped and returned the purse to the front door.
I paid $30 for part of photcopying a/c of poor bene who is trying to create opportunities and the habit of political discussion with meetings flyers posters etc. She has spent $1000 in past year holding the meetings, getting venues, photocopying etc etc. She sees the need and has paid out of her little income but cannot get grant as in past to help with her dental bill of $300. Good people being crushed by this neo liberalism. Little help for those amongst us who need it, whether community and society stalwarts or not.
Ex-Cowboy Michael Irvin: a decent, thoughtful man
—oh sorry, cancel that….
I find this depressing. This guy has a brain, as we see in the first clip. But in this totalitarian climate, he feels obliged to spout the most pernicious nonsense in the second clip…..
CLIP No. 1: Is race still an issue in the NFL?
In this clip, former Dallas Cowboys star Michael Irvin eloquently explains why racist language is unacceptable. He describes the racist putdowns of a team-mate by a white Miami Dolphins player, Richie Incognito, as “the systematic breaking down of another man by using derogatory language.” http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-gameday/0ap2000000278848/Is-race-still-an-issue-in-the-NFL
But then, just when you think there’s an American sportsman with a brain, a heart and a conscience, he goes and mouths this piece of offensive propaganda….
Weirdo Colin Craig looks very excited on TV3 News tonight. For ShonKey Python it can at least be said he’s straight-up if brazen – he’ll do whatever it takes to retain power. There is a critical point though…….
Reminds me of one of those Melbourne Lunar Park smiling faces on a chain ….. moving from Left to Right, Left to Right, waiting for some punter to throw ball and claim their prize if they get a direct hit.
Even when they do “strike”, that smiling clown-like visage, representing goodness and wholesomeness just keeps on going.
L 🙂 M 😉 r 🙂 L 🙂 M 😉 r 🙂 L 🙂 M 😉 r 🙂 L 🙂 M 😉 r 🙂 L 🙂 M 😉 r 🙂 L 🙂 M 😉 r 🙂
Hey Col… I reckon a bit more teeth bleaching – it might trump a coiffure
UK spies continue “quantum insert” attack via LinkedIn, Slashdot pages . . .
. . . As part of the Turmoil system, the NSA places secret servers, codenamed Quantum, at key places on the Internet backbone. This placement ensures that they can react faster than other websites can. By exploiting that speed difference, these servers can impersonate a visited website to the target before the legitimate website can respond, thereby tricking the target’s browser to visit a Foxacid server.
In the academic literature, these are called “man-in-the-middle” attacks and have been known to the commercial and academic security communities. More specifically, they are examples of “man-on-the-side” attacks.
They are hard for any organization other than the NSA to reliably execute, because they require the attacker to have a privileged position on the Internet backbone and exploit a “race condition” between the NSA server and the legitimate website. This top-secret NSA diagram, made public last month, shows a Quantum server impersonating Google in this type of attack . . .
That is very interesting, and very concerning. Just another way for them to directly pick up your login details, passwords etc, imitating your email or banking provider.
The more Craig is interviewed the better I say. He’s such a total dork. Climate Change is all about sun spots and other planets. It’s got nothing to do with mankind. So says the dork.
Its amazing how such overwhelming and orchestrated media coverage is given to someone like him however. A political party with a handful of members, no MPs, and the policy depth of a puddle.
No producer on earth would fail to run a story about a political leader, who the PM is saying he’ll deal with, when you have a quote of him blaming global warming on “the circulation of the planets”
Yes the climax of the other weeks media blitz highlighting Craig and the (not christian) Conservatives was the Reid Poll on TV3, given the contorted nature of this particular poll the numbers given Craig’s Conservatives are questionable,
If my memory serves me right the Conservatives have yet to rate in a Roy Morgan in the last few months and it will be ‘interesting’ to see if the events leading up to Labour weekend where National called in a lot of favors among it’s friendly editors and programers to run a series of stories on the Conservatives has boosted them in the minds of the electorate,
The game being played here is a double edged sword as there is something about Craig that a lot of people will dislike at first sight without being able to elucidate that actual dislike, given that many of us see the current National Government’s numbers around 42-43% max it would seem that Slippery the Prime Minister is going to go ‘all in’ and bet His occupancy of the Treasury Benches after November 2014 on His ability to manufacture Colin Craig into an easily manipulated coalition partner,
The obvious risk in doing so for Slippery and National is that the only support that Craig’s Conservatives can garner from the electorate comes directly from National’s own base, the other risk of course is that the voters in whichever electorate Craig tries to legitimize His political ambitions wave the middle finger in the air rejecting Him in the face of the PM’s obvious desperation…
Yes the 3 news item had a distinct “Hey folks, we just want to talk to you a today about National’s new coalition option. Have ya heard about this?” feel to it. Key has ruled out any ‘cups of tea’ this time, but this seems to be the set up for one. Put the jug on John
I also noticed that of the numbers Gower was going on about, Labour up, Greens Down, Conservative Party vote, none of them were as big as the margin of error that was quietly displayed at the top of the screen without a mention: 3.1%.
One number did crack the margin of error though, National down 3.2%.
I disagree, Anne. I’ve seen Craig a few times on Citizen A. In a longer discussion he can sound fairly reasonable on some issues.
He says things that, while they seem crazy to us (eg re climate change), there are enough people that would be nodding in agreement. Craig doesn’t need to get a popular following in NZ. He just needs to appeal to an electorate, and/or 5% of the population.
Last election, I was surprised when someone I know mentioned him as someone she would be inclined to vote for, as a result of agreeing with lots of things he says. And that person is quite intelligent.
It’s always dangerous to underestimate the potential opposition.
Indeed, in the Rodney electorate Craig came a distant second in 2011, of interest was the 2000 odd votes He took from the National candidate, 1000 odd from the death throes of ACT, and hopefully with the election of David Cunliffe as Labour leader Craig in 2014 will not be able to take 2000 and something more of the Labour vote as He did in 2011,
It will be interesting to see where the new boundaries are drawn in Auckland, will the new Parliamentary seat be to the North of the city or in the central area,
Where ever Craig stands Labour need get a presence in the electorate with Labour’s leaders spending time campaigning there early on in the cycle to try and blunt the rise of Craig considering that National are more or less openly campaigning on His behalf…
Sure, there’s probably enough points out there for Craig to be relavant. But it’s, as they say, a dinnimmic environment.
the closer Craig looks to being really at around 3%, the more pressure goes on key to talk about a deal. that can actually help craig get points as it won;t be a wasted vote.
However, the more he cozies up to Craig, the more he pisses off people in national who aren’t completely daft.
He’s got a fine line to walk. If Key refuses to deal with Craig, or is dismissive of his views, in an attempt to maintain his moderate image, then that pisses off National voters who are sympathetic to whatever Craig was atlking about.
Look at those comments Craig made about the Treaty and global warming. that’s not far at all from where National was just 6 or 7 years ago, when Brash scred them heaps of votes talking on those issues. If Key describes those comments as crazy or radical, then Craig could gain votes.
Key has to be very careful about how he manages this shit. It’s a swamp of their own making.
Key is not dismissive of Craig, PB. He’s very obviously keen on him getting into Parliament – as per tonights TV3 News. And those comments Craig made about the Treaty and Maori are just the sort of thing rightwingers like to hear. He’ll take over from Act and if there’s a “blue” seat hanging around after the boundary changes in the northern part of Auckland, that’s where he’ll be ……. and the Nats will all vote for him there. This is manipulative scarey rightwing stuff – just the sort of thing Key relishes.
Put it another way: National really can’t risk the Conservatives gobbling up a sizeable chunk of their party vote and then not getting any seats. I bet they’re rueing not dropping the threshold to 4% now – Conservatives could easily reach that mark, but I think they’ll struggle to get to 5%.
NZFirst clocking up 4.6% really helped National in 2008. They’ll be really hurt in 2014 if the Conservatives follow in those footsteps.
According to the ‘Provisional’ Order Paper for the NZ Parliament, the New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill is set down for its ‘third reading’ on Tuesday 12 November 2013:
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Business before the House
Government orders of the day
Name of bill Stage of Bill
Minister in charge consideration no Times for debate
1 New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill 140–2 12 x 10 m speeches
Hon Steven Joyce Third reading
_____________________________________________________________________________
The NZ International Convention Centre Bill, effectively covers and facilitates money-laundering, because there has been no ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering, by OFCANZ, (Organised and Financial Crime Agency of NZ) the body tasked with:
“Leading, coordinating or contributing to policy or legislative changes to make it harder for organised criminals to operate. There will be opportunities to do so by, for example, making it harder to launder money, or obtain false identities, or by increasing information sharing. …”
Yet – this OFCANZ OIA reply proves that this purported ‘leading’ agency for fighting money-laundering, did NO ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the NZ International Convention Centre Bill:
(a)to detect and deter money laundering and the financing of terrorism; and
(b)to maintain and enhance New Zealand’s international reputation by adopting, where appropriate in the New Zealand context, recommendations issued by the Financial Action Task Force; and
(c)to contribute to public confidence in the financial system.
(2)Accordingly, this Act facilitates co-operation amongst reporting entities, AML/CFT supervisors, and various government agencies, in particular law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
_____________________________________________________________________________
There are a series of provisions in the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009, which deal with the need for ‘DUE DILIGENCE’:
Subpart 1—Customer due diligence
10Definitions
11Customer due diligence
12Reliance on risk assessment when establishing level of risk
13Basis for verifying identity
Standard customer due diligence
14Circumstances when standard customer due diligence applies
15Standard customer due diligence: identity requirements
16Standard customer due diligence: verification of identity requirements
17Standard customer due diligence: other requirements
Simplified customer due diligence
18Circumstances when simplified customer due diligence applies
19Simplified customer due diligence: identity requirements
20Simplified customer due diligence: verification of identity requirements
21Simplified customer due diligence: other requirements
Enhanced customer due diligence
22Circumstances when enhanced customer due diligence applies
23Enhanced customer due diligence: identity requirements
24Enhanced customer due diligence: verification of identity requirements
25Enhanced customer due diligence: other requirements
26Politically exposed person
27Wire transfers: identity requirements
28Wire transfers: verification of identity requirements
29Correspondent banking relationships
30New or developing technologies, or products, that might favour anonymity
Ongoing customer due diligence and account monitoring
31Ongoing customer due diligence and account monitoring
Reliance on third parties
32Reliance on member of designated business group
33Reliance on other reporting entities or persons in another country
34Reliance on agents
35Use of information obtained from third party conducting customer due diligence
36Protection of personal information and designated business groups
Prohibitions
37Prohibitions if customer due diligence not conducted
38Prohibition on false customer names and customer anonymity
39Prohibition on establishing or continuing business relationship involving shell bank
_____________________________________________________________________________
So, how is it that the New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill, can be railroaded through Parliament, without any ‘DUE DILIGENCE’, on the increased risk of money-laundering, which the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009, is supposed to help prevent?
_____________________________________________________________________________
Whoever forms the next government should drop student loan interest from the exorbitant 5.9% that’s being charged at the moment. Something like 0% would be my preference, with the scheme done away with completely, but in the meantime 3% would be more reasonable.
And stop charging compound interest on the loans of those who are overseas. That one is a complete and utter rort: don’t bother to invest in your own country, just drive people overseas to earn their living, then track them down and rob them.
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
o those commenting on obesity and to bm in particular. Many women who were raped or otherwise sexually abused over eat. Some to hide from me so they protect themselves subconsciously by becoming what they think is fat and ugly…. by eating to feel better when depression or anxiety strikes. So dont assume all obese people are simply fat and lazy as bm puts it. With 1-3 girls sexually abused it may be a hidden factor.
Living in the patriarchy is enough to make one overeat.
I bet there are some woman that over eat due to a lack of attention, lurid or otherwise, from men. There will also be some that over eat because they only got 54% in school C English.
The one thing they all have in common though is a lack of self control.
So rising inequality leads to less self control? Well I never.
…are you a skinny little gorrilla then?….too bad , because I like the BIG sex appeal of Mr Dot Com!
@ King Kong ….what you need is a sugar baby
Unfortunate typo, Tracey. Second line, 9th word should probably have an n on the end of it.
Other than that, I have seen this happen, and as a conscious decision in some cases.
Not hide from me but hide from men
And many people who are depressed or without much hope for all sorts of reasons.
Living in poverty, illness or disability without much hope of any improvement leads people to seize on anything which makes them feel better. Eating, Alcohol, gambling etc.
It takes an exceptionally strong person to resist. Mine was eating.
Which is why I am so against people who make a living from gambling and drugs, including alcohol and smokes.
They are making profits off peoples need for hope.
Well said KJT. Easy to judge and criticise for those whose life is one of ease, or that old chestnut “I did it so you can you too” as if we are all the same, experiencing our difficulties the same way.
Another factor in comfort eating/drinking/past times is work stress, and the NZ workplace seems to becoming an increasingly fraught place to be with insecure work hours, poor prospects, low pay, loss of self esteem and diminishing employment law. If some one is working long hours and is stressed and fatigued the easiest thing to turn at the end of a shift is carbohydratey goodness. Instant gratification with undesirable consequences in the long run, eg, weight gain, type 2 diabetes, heart problems Then again anti depressants can trigger weight gain too, so unless we have the opportunity to live our life well and free from stressors, we face an uphill battle in our dog eat dog world.
Exercise of course is of great benefit to our physical and mental health but for some there is simply no energy just to go for a walk around the block.
As well as the vampires (booze, fags, and junk food co’s and casino’s) who source of profit is derived from stressed people we still live in a society that doesn’t accept differences so for those whose health is sub optimal, they are further punished by non acceptance.
Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a society where people had well paid secure work in safe conditions, access to preventative healthcare (eg counselling), access to cheap gst free, good quality food and secure living arrangements. Whats the bet the health of the population would improve, and we wouldn’t be treating people for preventable illness further down the line.
“..Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a society where people had well paid secure work in safe conditions, access to preventative healthcare (eg counselling), access to cheap gst free, good quality food and secure living arrangements. .”
it is all do-able..
..it only needs political-will..
and/or a ‘real’ labour party..
..phillip ure..
Agreed phillip, on the do-able bit. It would take a bold socially focused government to promote equality, genuinely, not just as a nice word to throw around, and address that which makes the population unhealthy and unhappy.There will always be individual factors influencing poor health (including genetic and environmental) but decreasing poverty and opening up access to better standards of public health care should be something governments should priortise. All been said before though.
Indeed KJT. I’d love to see the personally responsible KK cope given a life of simply working (2, maybe 3 minimum wage jobs), eating (often a diet of noodles and the cheapest bargains out of one of those duopoly constructed SUPERmarkets), shitting, struggling with artificially constructed power bills designed for efficiency and fectivniss and a return to its shareholders, a MSM – again constructed by a fukwit whose only understanding of life and the universe is that it must make a ‘return’, and tending towards monopoly, getiing the kids to school and worrying about how they might pay for the next train fare or petrol bill; only to repeat without being able to rinse.
And this cycle is week after week, month after month’ year after year.
Any form of escapism is STRICTLY VERBOTEN!
I’d bloody take to drink as well!
Dirty filthy bennies though are NOT allowed to have any fun, or pleasure, and must be monitored at ALL times by a matron (one that’s not just the stereotypical image of 50’s matronliness, but one that’s the biggest nenny-statist, truly UGLY [in EVERY sense of the word] specimen that waddled the green fleur de lis carpit. CHA-OYCE (aye1)
The best metaphor I’ve heard to date is Cunliffe’s “pulling up the ladder”.
The truly UGLY & inadequate control freak hopefully has no conscience (for her sake).
That part of her brain that a conscience would normally occupy has been taken over by EMBUSHIN.
Oh, btw – she’s not alone of course. There’s an utterly incompetent specimen trying to inflict her will on the masses as well – in order to impress her dear dea leader.
Ever noticed her fashion?
Very military-like – not unlike those of colonial oppressors.
She’s rilly rilly in control! (at least in her own mind)
Herald does some great investigative work (!!) in uncovering ministers secret investment properties:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11154765
Bridges has to go as a Minister, while not declaring the property held in the personally managed super-fund might be ‘within the rules’ the non-declaration of the Northland property Bridges claims to be holding on behalf of ‘a friend’ is definitely not,
Obviously ‘within the rules’ looks to be a very thin veneer of cover of what is yet another Ministerial rort over housing allowances for MP’s and Ministers where the ‘system’ is being gamed by MP’s and Ministers so as to allow them to dip deeply into the taxpayers pockets collecting ‘rent’ for property that they actually own and rent off of their personal super-fund which they are the personal managers of…
Dirty filthy rorting Tory rats:
‘Chester Borrows, Simon Bridges, Anne Tolley, Chris Auchinvole, Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga and Mike Sabin – live in the Wellington properties while working in the capital and claim the accommodation allowance or expenses.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11154765
And that’s why the Nats will NEVER move to introduce the CGT or in any other way intervene in the overheated property market.
I agree, I would like to see this area cleaned up or exposed to more daylight…whatever is more effective
“Sunlight is the best disinfectant” and leaves wishes squeaky clean.
Chester Borrows, Simon Bridges, Anne Tolley, Chris Auchinvole, Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga and Mike Sabin.
Putting to one side their dishonesty, what a depressing, talentless line-up. Depressing if you’re a National Party backer, that is.
Too right you’re right amirite.
Must be about time for Borrows to announce again how successful he’s been in bashing some more beneficiaries for not taking the lawn-mowing money off their children’s plates and giving it to the Slippery Natz slush-fund party.
It explains why they’re not leaving in the current “clean out”
They still have payments to make on their mortgage!
LIARS OF OUR TIME
No. 36: Paul Dykzeul
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“No we won’t be changing the Listener; it’s got a terrific editor….”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
—-Paul Dykzeul, Chief Executive of Bauer Media, Mediawatch, Radio NZ National, Sunday 10 November 2013
More liars….
No. 35 Mark Jennings: “I think Paul’s a bright guy and he will be able to bring a discipline to his performance….”
No. 34 Willie Jackson: “I thought we’d been sensitive with her yesterday….”
No. 33 Supt. Bill Searle: “I think what’s happened here is the police officers have done their very best….”
No. 32 Sonny-Bill Williams: “It’s good to get the win over Papua-New Guinea, a strong Papua-New Guinea side, aahhhh….”
No. 31 John Palino: “Suggestions that I am somehow orchestrating some grand right-wing conspiracy to unseat Len after the election are so wrong…”
No. 30 Alan Dershowitz: “I will give $10,000 to the PLO if you can find a historical fact in my book that you can prove to be false.”
No. 29 John Banks: “I have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. And never, ever would I ever knowingly sign a false electoral return. Never ever would I ever.”
No. 28 John Kerry: “…we are especially sensitive, Chuck and I, to never again asking any member of Congress to take a vote on faulty intelligence.”
No. 27 Lyse Doucet: “I am there for those without a voice.”
No. 26 Sam Wallace: “So here we are—Otahuhu. It’s just a great place to be, really.”
No. 25 Margaret Thatcher: “…no British government involvement of any kind…with Khmer Rouge…”
No. 24 John Key: “…at the end of the day I, like most New Zealanders, value the role of the fourth estate…”
No. 23 Jay Carney: “…expel Mr Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice…”
No. 22 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton had integrity beyond reproach.”
No. 21 Tim Groser: “I think the relationship is genuinely in outstanding form.”
No. 20 John Key: “But if the question is do we use the United States or one of our other partners to circumvent New Zealand law then the answer is categorically no.”
No. 19 Matthew Hooton: “It is ridiculous to say that unions deliver higher wages! They DON’T!”
No. 18 Ant Strachan: “The All Blacks won the RWC 2011 because of outstanding defence!”
No. 17 Stephen Franks: “Peter has been such a level-headed, safe pair of hands.”
No. 16 Phil Kafcaloudes: “Tony Abbott…hasn’t made any mistakes over the past eighteen months.”
No. 15 Donald Rumsfeld: “I did not lie… Colin Powell did not lie.”
No. 14 Colin Powell: “a post-9/11 nexus between Iraq and terrorist organizations…connections are now emerging…”
No. 13 Barack Obama: “Simply put, these strikes have saved lives.”
No. 12 U.K. Ministry of Defence: “Protecting the Afghan civilian population is one of ISAF and the UK’s top priorities.”
No. 11 Brendan O’Connor: “Australia’s approach to refugees is compassionate and generous.”
No. 10 Boris Johnson: “Londoners have… the best police in the world to look after us and keep us safe.”
No. 9 NewstalkZB PR dept: “News you NEED! Fast, fair, accurate!”
No. 8 Simon Bridges: “I don’t mean to duck the question….”
No. 7 Nigel Morrison: “Quite frankly, they’ve been VERY tough.”
No. 6 Herald PR dept: “Congratulations—you’re reading New Zealand’s best newspaper.”
No. 5 Rawdon Christie: “…a FORMIDABLE replacement, it seems, is Claudette Hauiti.”
No. 4 Willie and J.T.: “The X-Factor. Nah, nah, there’s some GREAT talent there!”
No. 3 John Key: “Yeah we hold MPs to a higher standard.”
No. 2 Colin Craig: “Oh, I have a GREAT sense of humour.”
No. 1 Barack Obama: “Margaret Thatcher was one of the great champions of freedom and liberty.”
Oh Morrissey you card……..
Was this writer, i.e., moi, perhaps a tad….well, mean to draw attention to the fact that Pamela Stirling is a no-hoper?
Yea sock! What we need to counter such utter stupidity, when we can’t come up with any intelligent sort of response – is – ANOTHER Shopping Channel! Could even shove it on Freeview.
Yes – how many shopping channels do people need on Freeview? Does anyone watch one of them, let alone 3? Or is it more? The numbers of such channels seems to be growing daily.
Morrissey
A grate list.
there is some good/cool stuff in this one..
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2013/nov/06/art-guerrillas-turning-left-tate-liverpool-in-pictures
“..From molotov cocktail Coke bottles – to the Guerrilla Girls’s feminist fights for gender equality –
– here’s a selection of the most highly charged political art in history..”
phillip ure..
LOL Coke bottle!
politically progressive tracts a pitch in time.
a piece in defence of link-baiting..
..arguing the quality of the baited-content is what really matters..
(..which brings us to whoar..eh..?..)
http://www.listener.co.nz/commentary/the-internaut/these-linkbait-links-will-blow-your-mind/
phillip ure..
has not brought me to whoar recently, yet “if there’s a demon in your brain…time to let it out”… of the Penn State again.
a similar vid could be done of/on the same shit being done to nz..here/now..
phillip ure..
Racist photographer targets NZ – radical artists fight back
http://readingthemaps.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-noble-savage-and-toilet-club.html
Lifts the seat.
Is that Tau Henare’s penis I can see in there somewhere? Hard to spot I know – just as well it produces a trickle down rather than a gusher.
thanks for that – and jimmys on 9-noon tmrrw morning – natrad
John Banks – Judical Review hearing, 27 Nov.
With all that is currently going on re the appalling Roastbusters issues, Dunne’s flights of fancy as to his power to dictate coalition terms, and now the Nat super/accommodation rort, Banks has slipped well down the priorities list.
However, I read Penny Bright’s latest update last night on OM 10 Nov (thanks Penny) and this morning read Justice Heath’s minute linked to on Penny’s website.
http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Minute-Judge-Heath-27-Nov-Hearing-1.pdf
In brief, Justice Heath (who is to hear the application for judicial review on 27 Nov) has raised as an alternative or addition to the judicial review, the possibility of the case being transferred to the High Court under section 28J of the District Court Act. It would then be open to Banks to apply under section 347 of the Crimes Act to have the charges dropped.
Personally, I have not taken this as Justice Heath attempting to ‘help Banks out of his difficult spot’; rather as Justice Heath rightly pointing out another legal option open. (I hope so anyway!)
I am not a lawyer but had many years of having to find my way around legislation, understand it etc, so being the pedantic person I am, looked up the sections of the District Court Act and Crimes Act referred to by Justice Heath.
Of interest is that these specific sectons of both Acts appear to have been repealed as of 1 July 2013 – but can presumably still apply in the Banks case because the original procecution application, hearings etc started prior to the repeal of these sections.
(In the case of s28J of the D C Act, new provisions for transfer between the District Court and High Court have been added to the D C Act. I have not found any replacement provisions for S347 of the Crimes Act, but don’t have time to check this further today. )
So, I for one anyway it will be watching closely what both Banks’ counsel and the Solicitor-General decide on this alternative raised by Justice Heath. In the hopes that Banks does not get off on legal technicalities etc.
Penny Bright- hopefully you will keep us informed of further developments. I have appreciated you doing so to date, and thought you might be interested in my quick research.
“Getting a 347” used to mean that the police had made a charge based on insufficient evidence and a judge had thrown it out rather than waste court time. Since a judge has already ruled that Banks should go to trial, it’d be a pretty low blow if they used this to let him walk.
Thanks for that, Murray, although it now leaves me wondering (a) about Justice Heath raising it; and (b) why it (s347) has been repealed (if it has not been replaced elsewhere – haven’t had time to check this further but I am curious as to why it was repealed if it has not been replaced).
It would be a low blow if s347 allowed Banks to walk – hope that was not J Heath’s intention. OTOH it was not just one DC judge who ruled that Banks should go to trial (Gittos). but Judge Mill of Wellington DC also seemed to think that there was a case to answer, as per my comment on OM on 31 Oct.
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-311013/#comment-719320
Willie and J.T. are disgusting.
But they are not unique….
With all the attention on the hapless, hopeless Radio Vile comedians Willie and Hatey recently, some people seem to have forgotten that there is another radio station that has been sticking up for woman-beaters for years….
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10522644
Morrissey
Radio Vile – tops! Paul Homes is dead, long live Tony Veitch.
And then Paul Henry returns.
The disturbing incident with the police commissioner Marshal tracking and contacting the blogger who criticised him has gone semi-public, callers are discussing this on Radio Live morning talkback.
Not so disturbing when the blogger left his name and contact details on the police website along with a compaint.
Didn’t really need the GCSB to track him down then did he? And after laying a complaint he was too chicken to receive a call from the Commissioner following up about the complaint.
Slightly paranoid I guess. Not really James Bond stuff as was first portrayed to be honest.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/crime/news/article.cfm?c_id=30&objectid=11154818
If I left a complaint on the police website I certainly wouldn’t be expecting the Commissioner to phone me on a Sunday. An email asking to make contact would be more appropriate.
I’d expect the officers carrying out checks around the corner one dark night to abruptly jump in their car and follow me home on my push-bike, then to linger in front of my whare with their headlights shining upon me as I shake my head and proceed round to open the back door… oh wait… 😉
a whiff of truth!
a blast, from the not too distant past.
The Midnight Special shines a light on you……
😀 “…but you better not complain boy you get in trouble with the man”.
Yeah, but if he did phone me, I would take the opportunity to tell him what was on my mind.
I think it’s great that he called.
FYI
URGENT ‘Open Letter’ to all New Zealand MPs:
Please confirm YOU will not vote for the New Zealand International Convention Centre (‘Sky City money-laundering’) Bill
Please discuss this as a matter of urgency at the Cabinet meeting today, and at your Party caucuses tomorrow, Tuesday 12 November 2013: and confirm that YOU will NOT vote for the New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill at its ‘third reading’ because ‘due diligence’ has not been done on the increased risk of money-laundering.
BACKGROUND:
A) Open Letter /OIA request to the Minister of Economic Development Steven Joyce:
6 November 2013
“Why are you continuing with the International Convention Centre (Sky City money-laundering) Bill?
Dear Minister,
I note that the International Convention Centre Bill is now at the Committee Stage: on today’s Parliamentary Order Paper:
http://www.parliament.nz/resource/0001960125
Please provide the following information which confirms:
1) That you have considered the following OIA reply from OFCANZ, which shows that they have not done any ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering with the International Convention Centre Bill.
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/SKY-CITY-OFCANZ-OIA-REPLY-NO-DUE-DLIGENCE-RE-MONEY-LAUNDERING-bright-penny-06-c211711-2-sent-reply.pdf
2) That you as the Minister of Economic Development, are knowingly and willingly, continuing to push the International Convention Centre Bill.through Parliament, although this OIA reply from OFCANZ, shows that they have not done any ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering, as outlined in the following Regulatory Impact Statement.
http://www.med.govt.nz/about-us/publications/publications-by-topic/regulatory-impact-statements/mbie-regulatory-impact-statements/NZICC-RIS-June-2013.pdf
(See paras 95 – 111 )
Potential risk of money laundering
95 Cash intensive industries such as casinos are attractive to money laundering activity. New Zealand’s National Risk Assessment 2010 assessed casinos as presenting moderate to high risk of money laundering.
For this reason, casinos (including all SkyCity casinos) are subject to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of
Terrorism Act 2009 (the AML/CFT Act), which comes into force on 30 June 2013. …”
ACKNOWLEDGMENT FROM THE OFFICE OF MINISTER OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – STEVEN JOYCE:
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/SKY-CITY-STEVEN-JOYCE-OIA-ACKNOWLEDGMENT-P-Bright-Nov-7-7.pdf
_____________________________________________________________________________
B) ‘Open Letter ‘ / OIA to Prime Minister John Key:
24 October 2013
‘Open Letter’/OIA to NZ Prime Minister John Key:
”Why have you not ensured that ‘due diligence’ was carried out over the increased risk of money-laundering with the International Convention Centre (Sky City) Bill”?
Dear Prime Minister,
As an ‘anti-corruption’ campaigner, (and 2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate), I am deeply concerned at the apparent lack of ‘due diligence’, by yourself, as Prime Minister of New Zealand (‘perceived’ to be ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ ) regarding the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the International Convention Centre (Sky City deal) Bill?
http://www.transparency.org/cpi2012/results
Please provide all information which confirms why you failed to do ‘due diligence’ and consult the ‘lead agency’ (OFCANZ) who has responsibility for “making it harder to launder money“,regarding the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the International Convention Centre (Sky City deal) Bill.
c) ‘Open Letter’ to Robert Simpson, Auckland Council Principal Policy Analyst re: ‘Due diligence on the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the International Convention Centre (Sky City) Bill:
(See http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz/ and scroll down to this item, to find ‘Open Letter’ and reply:
Increased risk of money-laundering at Sky City – no ‘due diligence’ by Auckland Council?
November 4, 2013 | Author Penny
4 November 2013
Local Government Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) request to Auckland Council and their reply:
SKY CITY AUCKLAND COUNCIL Penny Bright NZICC Information Request (Oct 13) (3)
SKY CITY AUCKLAND COUNCIL 120928 Submission process flowchart (1)
C) 29 October 2013
Robert Simpson | Principal Policy Analyst
Strategic Advice | Auckland Council
‘Open Letter ‘ to Robert Simpson, Auckland Council Principal Policy Analyst
re: ‘Due diligence on the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the International Convention Centre (Sky City) Bill.
D) Please be advised that at 12 noon today, myself and fellow community ‘Public Watchdog’ Lisa Prager will be meeting with Auckland District Commander, SuperIntendent Michael Clement, to discuss the lack of ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill, and the potentially increased risk of organised crime in the Auckland region.
E) Please be advised that I shall be attending the Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference to be held in Sydney from 26 – 28 November 2013, where I shall be raising this, amongst other matters with international anti-corruption experts.
http://www.apsac.com.au/2013conference/index.html
(Please be reminded that I attended the 2009 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference, and 2010 Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference).
I’m sure that the following ‘Action Plan’, upon which I campaigned as the 4th polling Auckland Mayoral candidate (obtaining 11,723 votes), will be of interest to both fellow delegates, and speakers (a number of whom I have already met), and Australian media.
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/ANTI-CORRUPTION-WHITE-COLLAR-CRIME-CORPORATE-WELFARE-ACTION-PLAN-Ak-Mayoral-campaign-19-July-2013-2.pdf
Yours sincerely,
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate
On the Sky City deal theme, lets not forget this guys’ critical vote:
http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=61648
Remarkably, this placard remained in place all weekend, in the vicinity of the UF annual conference.
And has Penny thought of setting up a petition on http://www.change.org to harness public opposition?
I see Jessie Hume has set up the petition:
“Prime Minister John Key: bust the ‘Roast Busters’ and show you take sexual violence seriously.”
https://www.change.org/petitions/prime-minister-john-key-bust-the-roast-busters-and-show-you-take-sexual-violence-seriously
Just over 73,000 have signed and about 1,900 more needed.
There seems to be a reasonable explanation amirite. Rhinocrates (as he is known here) had apparently left a message on the police complaints website last Thursday. That is apparently where Marshall obtained the contact information. Unfortunately Marshall’s call to Rhinocrates coincided with some police criticism he had made on the Public Address site yesterday, so not unnaturally he thought it was connected to those remarks.
As has been suggested Marshall’s intentions were probably honourable, but it was a mistake to make a cold call like that and especially on a Sunday afternoon when you would least expect it.
Not really a mistake – just his paranoid reaction to it.
If I got sick from eating at a fast food restaurant and made an online complaint and then subsequently received a call from the NZ CEO to discuss my complaint I would be over the moon that they were taking my complaint seriously for the CEO to take time out of their day to talk about it.
What Rhinocrates should have done was listen to the Commissioner, politely discuss the points he raised in his complaint and suggest what the Police could do to fix the situation. I mean if he wasn’t prepared to do that why bother making a complaint in the first place?
What you don’t do is slam the phone down and go shrieking online about police states and evil spying and conveniently leave out the fact that he had supplied his own details to the police.
Peter Marshall is probably sitting at his desk wondering what he did wrong.
Perhaps he forgot how the NZ Police treat political activists, and how that informs said activists’ impressions of said Police. It’s all about perception, Jimmie. I think I would have listened to Marshall too, but I completely understand Rhino’s reaction.
Still, it seems they are reaching out to us 🙂
from The Other Side of Midnight
Nah, just another internet warrior who stridently spits their bile when hidden behind a screen but is actually a gutless coward when it comes to real life interactions.
and how many guerrilla might there be in this troop of “gutless cowards”…
@ ‘hidden behind a screen’..
um..!..why did yr parents name you ‘king’..?
..especially when they had a sirname like ‘kong’..?
..school must have been hell for you..
..phillip ure..
I use a pseudonym for professional reasons which I understand is not an issue that you face, having not been employed for a while.
I can assure you though, that I wouldn’t go weak at the knees if I was contacted by anyone in authority to discuss something I had officially registered my interest in.
peoples’ choice of pseudonyms is fascinating..
..slightly further down we have ‘naturesong’..
..who may well be a west coast miner..
..but who..going on that choice of name..probably isn’t..
..whereas your choice of king kong..?
..are you seeing/labeling yourself as kong as raging ape..?
..or kong as broken-hearted/futile-quest/in love/out of place/captive..?
..an essentially sad figure..?
..(i dunno why..but i am leaning to ‘raging-ape’..eh..?..)
..and before wholesale dumping on rhino..
..consider that he/she was quite clear in this forum that they are autistic..and have communication-issues..
..so..y’know..!..
(oh..!..and congratulations on yr ‘professional’ ’employment’..eh..?..)
..phillip ure..
a serious peter jackson fanboy/girl..?
..awed at alliteration..?
..phillip ure..
(NOT a girl Phillip)
“I can assure you though, that I wouldn’t go weak at the knees if I was contacted by anyone in authority to discuss something I had officially registered my interest in.”
But then, I’m guessing you’re not autistic like rhino. Am I right?
I though I read somewhere that we are all Autistic.
it’s a spectrum.
KK is on the tit part of the spectrum.
“I though I read somewhere that we are all Autistic.”
In the sense that we are all part genius and part stupid, but that does’t make everyone a stupid genius does it kk? Only a small % of people have problems relating to others to the point of being diagnosed as autistic.
I’ve lived with a person with Asperger’s and I can see how getting an unexpected phone call from the police commissioner would be disturbing and intimidating. Yes even if they left their name and number on an online form.
Maybe you’d be chuffed about getting such a call, but guess what? Not everyone is like you. Thank God.
So why put the name and number on the form if you don’t want to be contacted?
I’m afraid I’m not privy to that information chris, maybe try using your imagination? Perhaps he/she thought that by filling in the fields it would help the complaint to be looked at? Maybe just habit? I really don’t know. But that doesn’t change my distaste for kk calling an autistic person a ‘gutless coward’ because they got freaked out by an unexpected call from the police commissioner.
Which is what I was talking about.
lol…I bet they had a good laugh at Rhino’s reaction ( I certainly did) ….they were just trying to be friendly!
“Look out – the pigs are trying tracking their critics.”
You’re blind to some realities Jimmie. You don’t check out the background to some people’s reactions. You don’t think – typical right-wing response. Go away to some place where your brand of non thinking and stupidity is acceptable.
“Peter Marshall is probably sitting at his desk wondering what he did wrong.”
He’s spoilt for choice at the moment
That would be because you’re an authoritarian follower and kowtow to anyone with more wealth and power than you. You’re actual response to said call would probably be ZOMG, a randian super-hero called me. You’d then take everything he said as gospel and fail to “politely discuss the points he raised in his complaint” which is, most likely, why the commissioner called.
You should study psychology DTB. I am here sitting in my chair weeping as you have spoken my life story before you online……to diagnose my personality and to be able to project future conversations from one paragraph is nothing short of outstanding.
I mean what a gift especially from someone with only one eye.
I’d probably say both “yes” and “no” to that – if it was a pr stunt (“Commissioner Cares”), then it seems the commissioner forgot that some people have legitimate or even paranoid fears about the police (a characteristic that is probably weighted towards people who make complaints on the website), a problem that the NZCEO of McD’s probably doesn’t face so much.
It could be that the blogger raised an extremely important point that the commissioner wanted to discuss (or at least reassure the blogger that their concerns were being addressed), although the above caveat still comes to mind. As others have suggested, easing in with a call from a p.a. might have been nice.
The possible error on the part of the blogger was then to tell everybody on their regular websites, using their regular pseudonym. He’s basically told the police exactly which handles he uses – not that they’d be overly interested, but still…
Yeah, that last point you raised has crossed my mind as well.
Does seem weird that one blogger only (that has been made public) gets called in Marshall’s personal charm offensive. Air NZ’s Rob Fyfe used to personally email hundreds of people (union supporters that had sent emails to him) into the small hours during tense times when he was taking on the workers there.
Rhino/Cracklite should maybe take a break from this stoush because the cops do play for keeps and are experts at harassing the vulnerable as BLiP’s extensive list showed the other day.
Agreed, TM.
By the way, nobody seems to have remembered that Peter Marshall’s days as commissioner already looked numbered last month,
Stuff reported on 19 Oct 2013:
I suspect blogging is irrelevant/unknown, and it was based purely on the complaint to the police website.
No idea what they wrote, or whether marshall gives random complaints the personal touch, or whether R/C raised something serious that was kicked upstairs automatically (e.g. maybe he wanted to be informed about specific matters that might be raised by members of the public from time to time, e.g. serious allegations).
R/C learnt a valuble lesson from all this…that putting your personal details to a complaint can get reults
and that those results may be unanticipated
an even better lesson
lol….it reminded me of the ‘Young Ones’
Peter Marshall is probably sitting at his desk wondering what he did wrong.”
You might be right which explains the schamozzle of police investigations… focused but on the wrong stuff
Veuto on banks and justice heath…
I read it and wondered if heath wasnt sending them a “think very carefully” message but not in a good way for banks.
“You are posting comments too quickly, slow down”
Has the time frame on that got longer recently? It’s just come up and I haven’t posted for 30 mins.
I got that yesterday – after I hadn’t posted for over two hours. Sounds like the worst possible type of bug – an intermittent one.
Yep been getting it now and then as well. Even after extended breaks.
Me too. Thought I done wrong.
me too..
phillip ure..
That is odd…. Ohno it isn’t. As far as the system is concerned since Thursday everyone has been posting comments from the same IP number – the new gateway address. I finally got the correct fix in last night.
From Public address
Willie and JT are gone, for at least the rest of the year:
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, 11 November, 2013
WILLIE JACKSON, JOHN TAMIHERE OFF AIR FOR REMAINDER OF 2013
Willie Jackson and John Tamihere will not return to RadioLIVE for the rest of 2013. The announcement was made on RadioLIVE just after 12noon today by the two broadcasters.
Announcement from Willie Jackson and John Tamihere:
This will be our last show on RadioLIVE for this year.
We will be taking the next few weeks to review what happened last week with the management here, and agree what action needs to be taken.
We do not condone rape in any way and did not intend to blame the victims. Rape is a terrible crime and the victims who come forward deserve support and respect.
We deeply regret the comments we made last week and the upset they caused so many people.
We also want to apologise to the clients of RadioLIVE who’ve had to deal with negative feedback to their businesses because they advertise in our show.
Closer to home, we regret the impact this has had on our wives, children, grandchildren and communities. We also apologise to the staff at RadioLIVE and throughout the MediaWorks whanau who have had to deal with the fallout.
RadioLIVE will update you on our discussions and plans as is appropriate.
As this will be our last time on the radio this year, we wish you and your families a safe and happy Christmas and send our aroha to you all.
JT & Willie
– –
MediaWorks Radio Chief Executive Belinda Mulgrew says: “After discussions with Willie Jackson and John Tamihere it has been agreed that Willie and John will be off air for the rest of 2013.
“We continue to review the situation, and I would like to reiterate that MediaWorks in no way condones the actions of the ‘Roast Busters’ or any violence against women.
Seems like radioLIVE were taking the advice of Bomber on the daily blog…
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/11/09/dear-radio-live-what-you-need-to-do-about-willie-jt-before-your-radio-station-becomes-a-pariah/
That’s disturbing. A corporation is not whanau no matter how much that they like to pretend that they’re family.
PS, got the “You are posting comments too quickly, slow down” error when first posting this.
You realise that a corporation is made up of people who work together, laugh together and in some cases form tight bonds of friendship, right Draco?
In a way you are right TC. There can certainly be a very tribal character to some corporate work groups.
My last role in corporate we ate together, drank together, shared good news and bad, supported each other and celebrated successes together – all the actions of a family unit which I hardly found ‘disturbing’.
Look at the dynamics of small towns who have a large employer (meat works, coal plant etc). There is a very strong sense of family among those groups.
And they can all be fired/made redundant/over-worked/etc without the corporation or its managers batting an eyelid.
So? A corporation is made up of people who work together, laugh together and in some cases form tight bonds of friendship. There is nothing disturbing about someone or some organisation self describing themselves as a family.
Yes there is – the total lack of support from the corporation to its employees. The fact that the corporation considers its employees expendable.
So? There are still real kinships in corporations. Real connections are made and real enduring friendships follow. It isn’t disturbing and you are making extremely broad statements as if it is always as you say. It isn’t. I’ve worked in poisons were I have had CEO’s go to bat for their staff and treat them as they would their own family. It isn’t disturbing.
But not between the corporation and the employees. This is the point that you’ve spent an entire afternoon ignoring.
That is simply not true. Because it happens in some does not equal it happening in all cases. Your black and white thinking strikes again
The issue is that a foreign residing board of directors doesn’t care how closely bonded your work group is with your local management TC. Chances are they’ve never ever met any of you or set foot in your office/facility.
That’s quite right. But Draco is making a broad statement which simply isn’t true
that would be positions (seems alcohol has a lot of explaining to do) 😉
Good move RadioLive. A proper apology this time. What’s the bet someone else wrote it.
It would seem from comments from Radio Live that they may be still paying the two announcers. When asked they refused to confirm that they were still paying which I guess means they are.
what is really important at the moment is National sucking up to the rural industrialists and giving them carte blance to foul the county’s waterways as they see fit.
Supposedly farmers care about the environment but that just seems to be as shibboleth for them to hide their ignorance behind and carry on regardless.
More lies retailed as truth.
Please replace the now vacant space with Radio Live with Matthew Hooton.
Anthony if hooten replaced the it would become a vacant space.
How Labor hit it’s lowest vote since 1903
Reads like a list of wasted opportunities where the electorate had had enough of Labor. And many core Labor blue collar and skilled trades vote walking away from the party.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/06/australian-election-editorial
Crisis Brewing in US – Israeli Relations
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/crisis-brewing-israeli-us-relations-20839099?
just like ABCees.
Regional Insecurity threatens Gulf Food Security
http://www.trust.org/item/20131110234828-gi09o/?source=search
and
Australia’s Rising Debt
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/11/australias-rising-debt-what-happened-to-the-coalitions-budget-emergency?
-reduced tax-take yet cuts for the already well-off.
Urrgh.. Been off doing other things for the last few days.
Testing Beta release 1.06 RC4 – which has now gone gold (the last bug was with shm_open – the block of shared memory had a lock error after several days of stress testing). Getting dragged off by Lyn at ungodly hours of the morning to cart video equipment around for blogacademy that she was shooting. Catching up on sleep (or trying to). Doing the 18 month updates of my home systems.The latter largely dropped me offline for the weekend with video driver issues.
But I see that the tireless spam bots are in action. 380 unsorted auto-spam out of the several thousand that got sent over the weekend. If anyone’s legit comments got caught in that deluge, they will shortly be popping out.
I also see that I have a problem with IPs at present since the site updates last week. They’re reporting a gateway address..
there was an article on te newz about the growth of blogging in the fashion industry, in contrast to the traditional glossy magazines (still coveted by the tactile).
A recent phenomenon I have taken an interest in is the sheer number and variety of niche hard-copy magazines that are published; more variations on Easyriders , Popular Mechanics and NME than a rascal could chew through in a lifetime. 😀
Wondered where you had been 🙂 Did you see this? http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11112013/#comment-725600
Things seen – on a standard NZ weekend – that give insight into the soul of the common Kiwi…
Few drinks post work Friday, nearly get knocked over by sober driver (assuming he was) driving well over limit…young passenger shouted abuse as they passed…charming.
Got on bus, packed. Woman standing in front of me very obviously late stages of pregnancy…every seated person looking straight through her. Not one offered her a seat. I asked who would, got dagger eyes from a seated young woman….
Watched Luther on TV, said it had course language and violence…cool…the violence bits were so graphic, psycho killer stuff…on prime time TV….
Saw man at dairy run out door and give a woman her purse she left on counter, much thanking.
More TV, rugby test, yawn, the 672 match of the “season”, go Richie and Dan….how does a man stay interested?
Turned to music channel…Mylie Cyrus pretending to have sex on stage…dressed up in next to nothing….looked just like her fans drunk and behaving like louts in heels in Courtney Place.
Put the Roast lads well into context as “us” methinks.
yes, The Hangover 2 was pushing the boundaries on tele.
I was cycling along last week and saw a purse by the driver’s side door of a car parked in front of recently widowed woman’s flat. Instinctively, broke as I often am, I stopped and returned the purse to the front door.
Good deed well done, RT.
I paid $30 for part of photcopying a/c of poor bene who is trying to create opportunities and the habit of political discussion with meetings flyers posters etc. She has spent $1000 in past year holding the meetings, getting venues, photocopying etc etc. She sees the need and has paid out of her little income but cannot get grant as in past to help with her dental bill of $300. Good people being crushed by this neo liberalism. Little help for those amongst us who need it, whether community and society stalwarts or not.
More awhi for Aotearoa please.
Amen. God Bless You grey
Ex-Cowboy Michael Irvin: a decent, thoughtful man
—oh sorry, cancel that….
I find this depressing. This guy has a brain, as we see in the first clip. But in this totalitarian climate, he feels obliged to spout the most pernicious nonsense in the second clip…..
CLIP No. 1: Is race still an issue in the NFL?
In this clip, former Dallas Cowboys star Michael Irvin eloquently explains why racist language is unacceptable. He describes the racist putdowns of a team-mate by a white Miami Dolphins player, Richie Incognito, as “the systematic breaking down of another man by using derogatory language.”
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-gameday/0ap2000000278848/Is-race-still-an-issue-in-the-NFL
But then, just when you think there’s an American sportsman with a brain, a heart and a conscience, he goes and mouths this piece of offensive propaganda….
CLIP No. 2: ‘Who Must Play Inspired’: Salute to service
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-gameday/0ap2000000278828/Who-Must-Play-Inspired-Salute-to-service
Weirdo Colin Craig looks very excited on TV3 News tonight. For ShonKey Python it can at least be said he’s straight-up if brazen – he’ll do whatever it takes to retain power. There is a critical point though…….
Key looking desperate.
Ha ha. key having to get into bed with an ego bigger than his. Good luck with that!!
Reminds me of one of those Melbourne Lunar Park smiling faces on a chain ….. moving from Left to Right, Left to Right, waiting for some punter to throw ball and claim their prize if they get a direct hit.
Even when they do “strike”, that smiling clown-like visage, representing goodness and wholesomeness just keeps on going.
L 🙂 M 😉 r 🙂 L 🙂 M 😉 r 🙂 L 🙂 M 😉 r 🙂 L 🙂 M 😉 r 🙂 L 🙂 M 😉 r 🙂 L 🙂 M 😉 r 🙂
Hey Col… I reckon a bit more teeth bleaching – it might trump a coiffure
‘
UK spies continue “quantum insert” attack via LinkedIn, Slashdot pages . . .
That is very interesting, and very concerning. Just another way for them to directly pick up your login details, passwords etc, imitating your email or banking provider.
hahahaha
Colin Craig and Key interviewed separately by Gower.
I’d rather National + anyone over National + Craig.
Awful thought.
It seemed almost impossible for someone more loony than Hilary Calvert to turn up.
And then Kooky Craig does.
want to know where clavert is, shes a dcc counciler, & she got the most votes, http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/277266/dunedin-city-councillor-interviews-hilary-calvert
guess the migration south is cancelled then. By the time the conservatives in this country are done, I’ll be in Samoa (or anywhere but here).
The more Craig is interviewed the better I say. He’s such a total dork. Climate Change is all about sun spots and other planets. It’s got nothing to do with mankind. So says the dork.
Its amazing how such overwhelming and orchestrated media coverage is given to someone like him however. A political party with a handful of members, no MPs, and the policy depth of a puddle.
Not really. he gives good copy.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Key-lines-up-deal-with-Colin-Craig/tabid/1607/articleID/320895/Default.aspx
No producer on earth would fail to run a story about a political leader, who the PM is saying he’ll deal with, when you have a quote of him blaming global warming on “the circulation of the planets”
Actually quite true. It’s awesome TV.
Yes the climax of the other weeks media blitz highlighting Craig and the (not christian) Conservatives was the Reid Poll on TV3, given the contorted nature of this particular poll the numbers given Craig’s Conservatives are questionable,
If my memory serves me right the Conservatives have yet to rate in a Roy Morgan in the last few months and it will be ‘interesting’ to see if the events leading up to Labour weekend where National called in a lot of favors among it’s friendly editors and programers to run a series of stories on the Conservatives has boosted them in the minds of the electorate,
The game being played here is a double edged sword as there is something about Craig that a lot of people will dislike at first sight without being able to elucidate that actual dislike, given that many of us see the current National Government’s numbers around 42-43% max it would seem that Slippery the Prime Minister is going to go ‘all in’ and bet His occupancy of the Treasury Benches after November 2014 on His ability to manufacture Colin Craig into an easily manipulated coalition partner,
The obvious risk in doing so for Slippery and National is that the only support that Craig’s Conservatives can garner from the electorate comes directly from National’s own base, the other risk of course is that the voters in whichever electorate Craig tries to legitimize His political ambitions wave the middle finger in the air rejecting Him in the face of the PM’s obvious desperation…
Yes the 3 news item had a distinct “Hey folks, we just want to talk to you a today about National’s new coalition option. Have ya heard about this?” feel to it. Key has ruled out any ‘cups of tea’ this time, but this seems to be the set up for one. Put the jug on John
I also noticed that of the numbers Gower was going on about, Labour up, Greens Down, Conservative Party vote, none of them were as big as the margin of error that was quietly displayed at the top of the screen without a mention: 3.1%.
One number did crack the margin of error though, National down 3.2%.
I disagree, Anne. I’ve seen Craig a few times on Citizen A. In a longer discussion he can sound fairly reasonable on some issues.
He says things that, while they seem crazy to us (eg re climate change), there are enough people that would be nodding in agreement. Craig doesn’t need to get a popular following in NZ. He just needs to appeal to an electorate, and/or 5% of the population.
Last election, I was surprised when someone I know mentioned him as someone she would be inclined to vote for, as a result of agreeing with lots of things he says. And that person is quite intelligent.
It’s always dangerous to underestimate the potential opposition.
I hope you wash your mouth out karol 😉
Indeed, in the Rodney electorate Craig came a distant second in 2011, of interest was the 2000 odd votes He took from the National candidate, 1000 odd from the death throes of ACT, and hopefully with the election of David Cunliffe as Labour leader Craig in 2014 will not be able to take 2000 and something more of the Labour vote as He did in 2011,
It will be interesting to see where the new boundaries are drawn in Auckland, will the new Parliamentary seat be to the North of the city or in the central area,
Where ever Craig stands Labour need get a presence in the electorate with Labour’s leaders spending time campaigning there early on in the cycle to try and blunt the rise of Craig considering that National are more or less openly campaigning on His behalf…
Sure, there’s probably enough points out there for Craig to be relavant. But it’s, as they say, a dinnimmic environment.
the closer Craig looks to being really at around 3%, the more pressure goes on key to talk about a deal. that can actually help craig get points as it won;t be a wasted vote.
However, the more he cozies up to Craig, the more he pisses off people in national who aren’t completely daft.
He’s got a fine line to walk. If Key refuses to deal with Craig, or is dismissive of his views, in an attempt to maintain his moderate image, then that pisses off National voters who are sympathetic to whatever Craig was atlking about.
Look at those comments Craig made about the Treaty and global warming. that’s not far at all from where National was just 6 or 7 years ago, when Brash scred them heaps of votes talking on those issues. If Key describes those comments as crazy or radical, then Craig could gain votes.
Key has to be very careful about how he manages this shit. It’s a swamp of their own making.
That they are going to need to traverse through for the next 12 months. Ouch.
Key is not dismissive of Craig, PB. He’s very obviously keen on him getting into Parliament – as per tonights TV3 News. And those comments Craig made about the Treaty and Maori are just the sort of thing rightwingers like to hear. He’ll take over from Act and if there’s a “blue” seat hanging around after the boundary changes in the northern part of Auckland, that’s where he’ll be ……. and the Nats will all vote for him there. This is manipulative scarey rightwing stuff – just the sort of thing Key relishes.
Put it another way: National really can’t risk the Conservatives gobbling up a sizeable chunk of their party vote and then not getting any seats. I bet they’re rueing not dropping the threshold to 4% now – Conservatives could easily reach that mark, but I think they’ll struggle to get to 5%.
NZFirst clocking up 4.6% really helped National in 2008. They’ll be really hurt in 2014 if the Conservatives follow in those footsteps.
it is sad state of affairs indeed. Long may they ooze.
Why does Martyn Bradbury give Colin Craig political ‘oxygen’ on his show?
Meanwhile – he bans me from making ANY comments on his Daily Blog.
Go figure……
Penny Bright
I reckon it’s just a space limitation thing, Penners.
where you been hiding Arfamo
According to the ‘Provisional’ Order Paper for the NZ Parliament, the New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill is set down for its ‘third reading’ on Tuesday 12 November 2013:
http://www.parliament.nz/resource/0001968117
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Business before the House
Government orders of the day
Name of bill Stage of Bill
Minister in charge consideration no Times for debate
1 New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill 140–2 12 x 10 m speeches
Hon Steven Joyce Third reading
_____________________________________________________________________________
The NZ International Convention Centre Bill, effectively covers and facilitates money-laundering, because there has been no ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering, by OFCANZ, (Organised and Financial Crime Agency of NZ) the body tasked with:
“Leading, coordinating or contributing to policy or legislative changes to make it harder for organised criminals to operate. There will be opportunities to do so by, for example, making it harder to launder money, or obtain false identities, or by increasing information sharing. …”
http://www.ofcanz.govt.nz/about-ofcanz
Yet – this OFCANZ OIA reply proves that this purported ‘leading’ agency for fighting money-laundering, did NO ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the NZ International Convention Centre Bill:
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/SKY-CITY-OFCANZ-OIA-REPLY-NO-DUE-DLIGENCE-RE-MONEY-LAUNDERING-bright-penny-06-c211711-2-sent-reply.pdf
The NZ International Convention Centre Bill, thus effectively undermines the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009:
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2009/0035/latest/DLM2140726.html
3 Purpose
(1)The purposes of this Act are—
(a)to detect and deter money laundering and the financing of terrorism; and
(b)to maintain and enhance New Zealand’s international reputation by adopting, where appropriate in the New Zealand context, recommendations issued by the Financial Action Task Force; and
(c)to contribute to public confidence in the financial system.
(2)Accordingly, this Act facilitates co-operation amongst reporting entities, AML/CFT supervisors, and various government agencies, in particular law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
_____________________________________________________________________________
There are a series of provisions in the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009, which deal with the need for ‘DUE DILIGENCE’:
Subpart 1—Customer due diligence
10Definitions
11Customer due diligence
12Reliance on risk assessment when establishing level of risk
13Basis for verifying identity
Standard customer due diligence
14Circumstances when standard customer due diligence applies
15Standard customer due diligence: identity requirements
16Standard customer due diligence: verification of identity requirements
17Standard customer due diligence: other requirements
Simplified customer due diligence
18Circumstances when simplified customer due diligence applies
19Simplified customer due diligence: identity requirements
20Simplified customer due diligence: verification of identity requirements
21Simplified customer due diligence: other requirements
Enhanced customer due diligence
22Circumstances when enhanced customer due diligence applies
23Enhanced customer due diligence: identity requirements
24Enhanced customer due diligence: verification of identity requirements
25Enhanced customer due diligence: other requirements
26Politically exposed person
27Wire transfers: identity requirements
28Wire transfers: verification of identity requirements
29Correspondent banking relationships
30New or developing technologies, or products, that might favour anonymity
Ongoing customer due diligence and account monitoring
31Ongoing customer due diligence and account monitoring
Reliance on third parties
32Reliance on member of designated business group
33Reliance on other reporting entities or persons in another country
34Reliance on agents
35Use of information obtained from third party conducting customer due diligence
36Protection of personal information and designated business groups
Prohibitions
37Prohibitions if customer due diligence not conducted
38Prohibition on false customer names and customer anonymity
39Prohibition on establishing or continuing business relationship involving shell bank
_____________________________________________________________________________
http://www.justice.govt.nz/policy/criminal-justice/aml-cft
_____________________________________________________________________________
So, how is it that the New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill, can be railroaded through Parliament, without any ‘DUE DILIGENCE’, on the increased risk of money-laundering, which the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009, is supposed to help prevent?
_____________________________________________________________________________
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
Whoever forms the next government should drop student loan interest from the exorbitant 5.9% that’s being charged at the moment. Something like 0% would be my preference, with the scheme done away with completely, but in the meantime 3% would be more reasonable.
Making the younger generation pay more and more is the ethos of the (rulership) age.
You only pay interest on your student loan if you leave the country. Seems fair to me.
Agreed.
And stop charging compound interest on the loans of those who are overseas. That one is a complete and utter rort: don’t bother to invest in your own country, just drive people overseas to earn their living, then track them down and rob them.
Yep. That’s why most of us are overseas. The jobs don’t exist at home, so why should they make a profit out of us?