In a worker co-op what happens if the co-op loses money?
I’m guessing everyone have to stump up with extra coin to bail it out.
Which is the probably the main reason you don’t see too many co-ops, lets face it the average person wants to go to work do his /her 8 hours and go home, they don’t want to worry about not being paid or losing their shirts if the co-op goes tits up.
BM workers lose their shirts and don’t get paid when just about any enterprise goes tits-up. (Although National and Novopay are working on extending that to functioning enterprises too.)
Yes employees do lose a bit of coin, but they’re not liable for any debts that the company they work for owe.
With a co-op they become owners and are liable for monies owed.
Most people aren’t too enthusiastic about that and prefer to just be employees and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Yes employees do lose a bit of coin, but they’re not liable for any debts that the company they work for owe.
So why is it that they’re the ones paying? It’s almost always the employees and sub-contractors that wear the loss when a business fails. We saw that when Mainzeal collapsed.
Most people aren’t too enthusiastic about that and prefer to just be employees and there’s nothing wrong with that.
I didn’t know you knew most people.
The reports I’ve seen about those factories in South America that were taken over by the workers the workers were more than happy and felt that it had opened up their horizons. I suspect that the same would be true of the workers in NZ. The problem is, IMO, getting over the cultural concept that we need bosses. If we work together we don’t.
Yes, the subbies get shafted but that’s the risk you take when you go into business.
It’s a trade off, more money = more risk.
The employees lose their wages that is all which may be a week or two + some holiday pay.
I talked to many people about self employment most if not all are happy just doing a 40 hr week.
This is especially true in a small business setup as the employees see first hand how much time and effort goes into keeping a small business running.
Bud, I couldn’t give a shit if people want to get together and form a co-op, I wish them all the luck in the world.
A co-op is no different to any business that starts up, anyone who succeeds especially in the current economic climate deserves plenty of praise.
Of course, the existence of a number of large cooperatives suggests a certain sample bias in the people you speak to, ” most if not all are happy just doing a 40 hr week”.
Besides, I thought the nacts were running an excellent, business-friendly economy that really helps the job producers in NZ. Can’t think where I got that impression from.
“With a co-op they become owners and are liable for monies owed.”
Not always, BM. It would depend on how the coop was set up, particularly the initial set up costs. Just like any other Ltd Co. in NZ, there would likely be bank overdrafts to tide of temporary dips in trade and should the business fail, then it would depend on the ownership structure, the securities and how personal the liabilities were before any shareholder would be liable.
NZ has famously soft bankruptcy provisions, and an established business environment that allows the broke Acme Widgets to fold and then Acme Widgets 2013 Ltd. to rise from the ashes with the same ownership and management.
So, what I’m saying is that a coop is subject to the same business laws and operating dynamics as any other kiwi business. And the same (limited) risks. The key question would be how much it costs to set it up. Buying an existing, but bankrupt, business is obviously way cheaper than starting from scratch, so individual workers may have very small exposure in the event of it failing. And if the ownership is vested in a trust, then it is the trust that would go broke, not the individual worker/owners.
BM @ 1.1.1.2.1: in your fervour to disseminate elitist neo-liberal rubbish you don’t even understand, you prove an appalling ignorance which disqualifies you from pushing even that shit-barrow.
Your minimalisation – “Yes employees do lose a bit of coin……” followed by the contradistinction – “but they’re not liable for any of the debts that the company they work for owe.” – is ignorant bullshit !
170 plus finance companies gone down the gurgler for billions of dollars in recent years. In the main their directors and shareholders walked away, as a matter of law owing not a skerrick of debt. Not because they were NOT co-operatively themed enterprises but because they were incorporated as limited liability companies. So your attempt at highlighting a “sufficient” quid pro quo is ignorant bullshit !
There is NOTHING to stop a co-operatively themed enterprise meeting the legal requirements for incorporation as a limited liability company. In which case the “owners” of the “co-operative” walk away just like your wide-boys.
What you’re really saying is that you don’t like the IDEA of co-operatively themed enterprises because that runs counter to the gospel according to Thatcher, Reagan, Key and ACT. And, in keeping with the neo-liberal “wisdom”, workers are essentially inferior and incapable. Well come right out and say it then and be judged for the lunacy of that assertion. Just don’t bullshit about the legal and commercial facts.
I don’t know whether you’re a two-bob Tory or not. You sound like one. Certainly you are in the nature of a cheap snob, an ignorant and wrongheaded one at that.
He’s deftly demonstrated that he knows next to fuck all about how most enterprises are structured, yet he thinks he can dictate the ownership structure, liability, and finance arrangements of a hypothetical enterprise he wants no part of.
Well done BM, you’ve just proved that a co-op imagined by an idiot could well be a miserable failure.
Once again I couldn’t give a fuck if some people want to start a co-op.
Big fucking deal,.
The thing is, I’m not some ideologically driven wanker such as yourself where everything must follow a particular path,
if a co-op rocks your boat, go for it.
If you want to start and run your own business and employ people, whoo hoo more power to you.
If you’re happy to be a wage slave, good for you, whom am I to judge.
The one size fits all theoretical bull shit is what holds the left back.
“The thing is, I’m not some ideologically driven wanker such as yourself where everything must follow a particular path”
lolz, according to your comments above anyone starting a co-op must follow a very particular path. And as it happens it’s a stupid, poorly conceived path which I imagine no-one would be particularly interested in following.
And that, my dim-witted little chum, is why why can’t see many examples of the type of stupid, poorly conceived strawman co-ops that you brilliantly imagined.
The thing is, I’m not some ideologically driven wanker such as yourself where everything must follow a particular path,
Yes you are. You believe that everyone must submit to the capitalist paradigm, that the rich are the saviours and that everyone else is a loser. So as not to consider yourself a loser you model yourself upon the rich and thus becoming the biggest loser of all as you lose yourself.
Co-ops are just a way of allowing workers to take over bankrupt businesses to keep their jobs.
They still have to go to the banks for funds, play by all the rules, so in itself its not at all an alternative to capitalism.
The co-ops in Argentina that came out of the 2001 Argentinazo were enabled by a law which allowed them to contest with the boss for ownership in lieu of unpaid wages. Where they won the workers ended up as legal shareholders, no different to a capitalist business except they decide collectively what they can pay in wages rather than a boss.
Co-ops can play a progressive role if worker-owners come to see them as more than running a business and part of a wider strategy of socialisation that means taking over the whole economy.
The co-ops in Argentina that joined forces and tried to set up a co-op trading system inside the capitalist economy were heading in the right direction. In the process they see the need to plan production on a large scale rather than be concerned only with their own success.
But without state banks, and without socialisation of more strategic industries, which means a socialist government and socialist plan, co-ops will always remain a fringe activity unable to break out of the global capitalist economy.
Marie Schroff has suggested that anyone wondering if they are being spied on by the GCSB should ask if this is so.
So I thought I would do so and have emailed on the following terms. Other Standardistas may wish to do the same.
“info@gcsb.govt.nz
Request for personal information
Dear Ian
I note the GCSB is alleged to have illegally spied on 88 New Zealanders over the past few years. The allegation is contained in the Kitteridge report which somehow was recently leaked to the media.
I can’t imagine why but I wondered if I was one of the 88. So pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982 and/or the Privacy Act 1993 can you tell me if I am on that list and if so what information you obtained about me?
My full name is #### and my date of birth is ####.
Funnily enough the header on their contact page says “Mastery of Cyberspace for the security of New Zealand”. If their website is an example I can understand why they are in such difficulty …
I have decided to do the same after hearing Keith Locke and others talking about this on Checkpoint last night. We all have the right to know whether we have been subject to the interest of the GCSB and/or the SIS, and if so, what they have – irrespective of whether or not we might be one of the 88.
So my OIA/Privacy Act request will not refer to the latter – just be a general inquiry, probably in the form of a written letter by snail mail (registerd?) rather than letting them know my email …..
The devil in me would like to see them inundated with such requests.
Surprise, Key goes non stick, and Labour, yet again, mess up another open goal chance. Two left feet, not likely.
Gower trots out the spin, the public are becalmed, and the ‘main’ opposition still collect the wage packets despite being totally crap and ineffective.
Gower on three news this morning spinning the nat company line and bringing Labour’s latest failure [The swing and a miss at the overseer] to the surface for all to see.
Still, it’s not like voters don’t already know dead ducks, fish and toxic shit float.
Better luck next time, Grant.
[rob: your email address in last 2 comments is incorrect, I am fixing it for you, please check…]
Sorry about and thanks for that mate, some arsehat gcsb hacker agent must have planted the extra letter in my email address when I wasn’t looking.
A lesson for all to remain vigilant like Rob. 😆
Yes it just makes them all the more gung ho and they will go for broke now having got the bumbling DS and old guard entrenched till 2014.
Watching DS/Curran/King/mallard etc and it’s job done, they look like the useless troughers the NACT are in terms of getting middle, lower NZ out of the intentional dive they’ve been put in.
Heavily indebted euro zone nations such as Italy and Portugal could come under pressure to put their bullion reserves to work as a result of plans for Cyprus to sell gold to meet its financing needs.
NZ handed over its gold reserves to the IMF in 1961, and have been implementing the conditionalities policies , which came with the loans , ever since!
This will be the continued M.O, to ensure that the real currency (no fiat), continues to find its way to the tip top of the pyramid!
Now why would it be of such high priority/interest to get hold of the gold!
Money is always fiat. I’ve explained this before and so those debts aren’t fraudulent except in how they came about (countries don’t need to borrow as they have the resources needed to maintain themselves). The big thing about debt is that the person or government in debt can always renege on it. That’s the risk of loaning money to people and/or governments.
Now, consider the uselessness of gold. Most of it gets dug up, turned into bars and sealed in a vault somewhere.
What I’m getting at here is that there’s a belief that gold is valuable when it actually isn’t. Same can be said of money really.
The financial crisis ravaging Cyprus deepened on Thursday after the cost of the country’s bail-out surged from €17.5bn to €23bn – larger than the size of the country’s economy.
BOOM – Just like that, 34% increase in the cost of the *bailout*!
Yippy! No need for Austerity in the UK!
Turns out Thatcher squirreled away billions
by not giving it to Europe!!!
Propaganda swept away criticism of Thatcher,
that even after her death she still has them working
to twisted logic to make her look good.
They could not find anything to justify their
adoration of her, but then they remembered
she saved all that money from being paid
to the Eu, despite ignoring the horrendous
Austerity program they are rolling out due to
her market economic ideology failing so
spectacularly. Tories still delusional dills.
In NZ the Pike River Mine families find out
that deregulation of their industry by
parliamentarians led to their loved ones death.
Lucky that hey, that the only people in the
system who can’t be held to account, MPs,
who did away with a upper chamber to cut corners,
who did away with regulations of mines, to the
chorus of the-market-will-provide, are not now
accountable.
Its was a massive herding by media to stop, distort,
dismiss, criticism of favored politicians. Politicians
who thought it would never catch up to them.
When asked about Thatchers legacy, a british MP said that she saved Britian billions by standing up to the EU over the budget refund. I took offense to this considering the wasteland caused by
Austerity, how is the great gamble that has left Britain in such fiscal crisis placated by this one off temporary victory that failed to save UK from ravages of the GFC.
Its rich, that Conservatives are beating themselves up to find a good reason to justify their adoration for Thatcher by citing how she got them a rebate, have they seen the effects of debt, of austerity, of polarization, she has left in her wake.
Hey…….Bunter Brownlee’s going to London for the the Vile Old Bag’s send off.
Be a bugger if he’s flying Samoa Air which apparently wants to levy a significant surcharge for obesity.
Apologies for my churlishness but I still well remember ’72 when all the brainiac Tories could say about Norm Kirk was this – “Well, if he can’t control his own weight how can he control a country ?
No apologies re the Vile Old Bag. Pensioners died from the cold while she hosted Pinochet. And lauded the “reasonable” people in the Khmer Rouge. And declaimed Nelson Mandela as a terrorist.
And praised the Taliban as freedom-fighters. And supported Saddam Hussein. And turned her hateful gimlet eye on the Irish hunger-strikers, and let them die.
“This bloody government are laughing at the poor. Remember when they were told that cuts must be made to welfare…..all the bloody Tories CHEERED like the evil pigs that they are. This myth of a so called recession is just a cover to take everything away from the poor and disabled and give it to the filthy rich!!! Keep telling it like it is Mark!”
“Oh my god. I have just heard a load of fucking celebrities are going thatchers funeral. It is a fucking pr stunt. They are glorifying this bitch and her policies so they can bring more of them in. What the fuck has Jeremy Clarkson got to do with it? The bbc is true blue for sure. 7 hours of necrophilia in parliament and now this. This is just fucking weird. Are one direction going to perform karma chameleon at the funeral?”
“Keep it going Mark!! This drooling over Thatcher has made me physically sick. And the BBC calls those of us who are not shedding a tear anarchists?! Try telling that to my Dad…one of thousands of Thames Lightermen who lost their jobs in the 1980s because of her. He won’t even talk about it to this day. Honest working people who never claimed a days benefit ripped apart. And we’re seeing it all over again. I will never forgive Thatcher.”
“Well said mark it’s an all out attack on the vulnerable while gov blood sucking parasites claim thousands in tax payers money. Its about greed. Smoke and mirrors media whoring about scroungers. I’m too disabled at 58 to work I’m raging angry too. I’ve no heat with chronic body spasms and chronic asthma triggered by cold to pay this bedroom tax. It’s either no heat little food or evicted from my home.Six worn discs, chronic pain, and housebound. Atos!!! says I’m fit to work!!!! Utter disgrace!!!We need to redo this gov”
We’ve fallen a long, long way. Shearer would probably want to pay Blackwater’s Ocean Division to send a ship, given his love of mercenaries. And seeing that the testing has stopped, the protest would probably be for the French to start up again.
It felt good to be a Kiwi when Big Norm sent that ship. Since then, it’s mostly just felt embarrassing. Even Lange’s witty slapping down of a frat boy from Jerry Falwell College was just a diversion from what Douglas was doing.
Now we have a Labour Party that believes in what? That we’re lucky to have them in opposition because they hold the government to account? Great, that seems to be their plan for the foreseeable future.
So I’ve got a decision to make, in my new job I (I left my old one a month ago because I hated it) I have the opportunity to join the PSA
On the one hand I think unions are out for themselves at the expense of others but on the other hand I do like to get more than others for doing the same job…decisions, decisions
“But thats what you do if you’re in a job you don’t like, you leave when you can and find a better job…don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner”
Should have just exploited the fact most bosses are shit and take liberties with employment contracts and work place relations.
Two for two at the era, so far, and it would have been a threepeat had I not settled for a new pair of boots and an apology, saving the jobs of one, maybe two staff who would have been let go to afford the expected payout.
Social conscience cost me more than a few grand, but ninety day sack laws are tools of the weak.
Key’s broken promise on raising wages
Has a lovely graph on it showing the precise amount of difference that the 90 day fire at will bill made on unemployment.
lol…good call soldier, but seriously you are hardly Shane Jones material are you. I mean I very much doubt Shane laps up Whaleoil like yourself for starters.
Chris73 you better keep your trolling mouth shut at the new job that you like because you open it and they’re gonna think you’re an arsehole and a wanker and a wannabe Key Cargo Cultist.
I didn’t explain myself as well as I could have (the perils of concentrating on marvel avengers alliance)
Basically I know I might get more benefits for myself by joining the psa however the more I get has to come from somewhere plus it’d make me a hypocrite if i did join…
I agree withe unions in theory, what i dont like are unions like the teachers union who are more concerned with protecting their members as opposed to helping (and in some cases) protecting students
You must really hate the Police Association, who are more concerned with protecting their members as opposed to campaigning for and protecting the accused. Or is that not a union, and therefore allowed to act on behalf of its members?
What on earth do you think unions are for? Have you ever stopped to think that they may have some other purpose than giving Slater a hardon every time he types out “union scum”?
You probably think consumer associations should protect the rights of employers, as should employer associations.
On another note: which organisations do the most to attack and fail to protect young people, the Teachers’ Unions or your beloved Tory government?
You must really hate the Police Association, who are more concerned with protecting their members as opposed to campaigning for and protecting the accused.
– They also have gone too far in terms of putting their own interests first, it is a tough one though because some of their concerns are actually about life and death situations
– But like anything unions (and we’ll go with unions in NZ) started out with great intentions and did some excellent work but as the saying goes a little bit of power…I’m sure we all remember the strikes in the 70s-80s,especially the interislander (for me the very late 70s)
Chris73 do you realise what an arch-idiot you are saying what you said about teachers and their union(s) ? Teachers don’t care about the kids ???? Fuck off ! You’re no better than that flatulent lump from Waitakere with all her facile bullshit.
And if I ever saw a ridiculous non-sequitur you provide it in your comment about Police Association not protecting and campaigning on behalf of the accused.
How can a punkarsed neo-liberal like you presume to speak pejoratively about tenuously identified “self-interest” in others ?
In case you’ve genuinely forgotten the rest of that sentence, allow me:
A little bit of power and nek minit workplace safety, meal breaks, holidays, penal rates, a wage that supports a family, job security, allowances for costs, right to collective bargaining, legal representation.
Um – if your knob has swelled massively and (more importantly) turned green, I suggest you examine whether PSA membership includes any health benefits.
It does make me wonder about the possible inherited traits of any male issue from likely love-interest sub-plots in future avengers films, though. High school could be a very difficult time – although the lad could be popular in college.
I don’t see how that makes Israel a non democratic country, Prof. A country run by a brutal state that doesn’t give a shit about minority rights, international law, or human decency, sure. I just don’t see what it is about democracy that makes those things impossible.
Great to see David Cunliffe raising the questions that need answering about taxes and multinationals in the NZH today. About time we saw some good thought leadership happening from our politicians.
This is the kind of vision stuff the country is craving. Ties in the economic and social arguments and gets people thinking.
Why on earth aren’t they using Cunliffe more? Given every time he speaks/ writes at the moment, he effectively exposes the Government’s flaws. Good stuff. We want more!
I suspect they would rather lose the next election and hold onto their jobs and salaries rather than actual challenge neoliberal orthodoxy, even to the extent that Cunliffe does. They won’t use him because their beliefs are closer to Key’s than they are to his.
3: “hospital meals, may be a week old after preparation before consumption.”
South Korea : Watch-con too.
“Noahs Ark” project-the tiger, the lion and the grizzly bear; “and the lambs shall lay with…”
Reinsurance flows will increase the $ / TWI
mango or Shelly, shark-infested swamps?
CL: Cadmium;” Heavy metals are part of our economy (super=phosphate)
oh, kidney failure? wait…breast cancer, testicular cancer
residues 5 x in dairying / agricultural fields
highest levels in their systems-vegetarians, unfortunately, and wheat consumers.
good evidence kiwis exceed safe limits of ingestion most nights (potatoes)
un-marketable offal? goes into blood and bone
(turnips” will suck it up privately, turnips)
sooo, now land values and food security are questionable; an Energizer bunny indeed.
threat of Zespri staff being arrested in the home of the goose-berry; Key- “it’s an important market, we need to grow that.” PSA? Hello, cat got your memory? or is just an ornament to the side of the stocking. (don’t forget the bed of fire-clay in the coal mine then).
thank goodness we can relax ourselves with the 50th anniversary of the good Dr (on Prime)
-“run you clever boy, and remember”
(Celia Imrie, whoar) pointless being a monk and fez are not fetching for every one.
“hoovering up data and hoovering up people”.
see, 101 places to be; 🙂
Morning Report-” 3 more years of house prices rising steply in Ak, Well. and ChCh; Forbidden cities indeed.
proverb you won’t read on kiwiblog:
4.20 expiration am, gears loose wearing, mystery won’t see them again. Dingle (Keyser alarm saze) the exhaust pyrometer is climbing into the red.
A couple of very low flying UPS 767s that have me questioning whether or not all planes that are painted to APPEAR to be a regular commercial traffic; if not, then who is running this utterly massive global operation?
Who is the boss? Who can compromise every single Federal agency that might be capable of figuring it out?
It’s actually a nice role that wikileaks offered, really. You can say to all these conspiracy nuts: “if this really is such a massive coverup, how come no one has leaked it to wikileaks yet?”.
Make you feel safe/confident in yourself that you know whats going on by doing so?
Then seeking affirmation from the site herd, that you’re *in the know* about this….
You got Joe90, and Lanth – SCORE!
Joe -Still waiting for your reponse about SFO, as it related to that picture you posted the many days ago now!
Why would a subject with high likelihood of serious negative consequences, which are going to impossible to measure/forecast the fallout of, be so funny to you!
Best hope its not happening eh bro, if you want to keep that attitude up!
[sigh]
You are assuming a highly complex explanation based on scant evidence. You then interpret all subsequent data so that it fits your hypothesis. To the point of absurdity and, yes, humour.
And for my part I’m assuming that your confirmation bias is the result of stupidity, and not part of some elaborate social “experiment” you are conducting without documentation, peer review, ethics committee authorisation or participant consent.
As I said to P’s B, best hope its not actually happening then eh, McFlock!
And perhaps keep the stupidity for the perception bias you’ve formed about my online handle here, I’ll leave perception bias to the un-evolved, and wait for them to catch up, which will be a wee way of for most, if ever!
Scant evidence – McFlock, its only the threat to the egos of the *self styled*, who want to believe this, as it’s an affront to all they believe to *know*, about the world, and the self esteem is not prepared to accept that sort of abuse, as yet!
P’s B (below comment) – Monkton, has only ever been an attempt to distract, which many have brought into. He represents various interests and plays the role, somewhat effectively, although it looks like he has a whole new set of issues to deal with, and I would expect him to disappear from the stage pretty quickly, or change tact.
Best hope that the zombies don’t attack you tonight, eh!
Given that now you’re blaming your handle for perceptions about your beliefs regarding contrails, are we to infer that your contrail obsession is actually a contrivance constructed as part of your social “experiments” here, muzz?
But we do agree that monckton is an intentional distraction. I think he’s a shill for the dying fossil fuels industry. You think he’s a cover-up for what: contrail-engineered global warming? Cui bono – who benefits?
Zombies – What are you on about McFlock, watching too many movies, or getting stuck into the *bath salts* perhaps.
The experiments are going on at your expense, along with everyone else’s, including my own!
All I ‘m doing is commenting on the experiments, which are not yet mainstream, and watching people live completely unaware of what is going on around them. Even those who somewhat are aware, still have constraints which are allowing the experiments you refer, to continue, and its all an experiment, which should have the science types super excited, so be part of it!
As always, it will be a time lag before people, including those who ridicule (out of fear mostly), begin to accept whats going on above them, and go through the intermal critique which is necessary, before humanity can move forward meaningfully.
Better hope you’re right McFlock, have an honest self evaluation of how confident you are in your position, then ask whose position has a larger probable downside, yours or mine!
I’m wrong, (great, ill be happy to be so), no damage to people or the environment. etc.
You, and those sharing your position wrong, and the consequence, could be all the way down to the bottom, for everyone/everything!
Did you see a chemtrail as the point flew over your head?
Muzz, if you’re wrong then nutbars like you have been used to discredit folk with genuine environmental or political concerns for the last forty years. If your think that that is zero-harm behaviour then you’re a bigger idiot than you pretend.
Nothing would please me more than that everywhere Monckton went he was confronted by people with oversized hi-res printouts of chemtrails demanding to know why he was covering up the real scandal.
You got to love the way the Jap’s and Yank’s are printing money hand over fist then banking some of it here, all because of our high interest rates, inflation and rising dollar which will keep rising because of demand and shortage, so a win win for the money traders, all the while Billygoat English and the Reserve bank sit by doing nothing.
We need to start Printing Money now before it’s to late, if English and The Reserve bank thinks they can just sit around while 2 of the worlds largest economies print trillions of dollars then I would suggest they are as corrupt as Key or stupid or both.
Another twist to the ongoing GCSB saga etc which really doesn’t fit under any of the other posts to date, referred to in a comment on Russell Brown’s Key Questions post on Public Address.
The Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) have recently put up a RFP tender (38883) on the http://www.gets.govt.nz site for a “Security Sector Professional Development Programme”.
I have not looked at the detail of the RFP as you need to register on the site to do so, but apparently it is looking for
” an innovative supplier to provide a professional development programme for executives and senior officials within the security sector. The focus of the programme is to equip officials with the knowledge and skills required to deal with the myriad of security challenges that threaten New Zealand’s wellbeing and prosperity.”
The fact that it is a DPMC-initiated tender for a programme across the ‘security sector’ is in line with the changes and structure of the sector outlined in Chris Trotter’s revealing post on The Daily Blog
I recommend this post as a ‘must read’ as it is a good piece of investigative journalism giving an insight into what has been going on behind the scenes – almost up to Karol’s high standard!
I had almost given up on Trotter over the last year or so, but this post, and one or two of his other posts over the last month or so, have started to restore him in my eyes.
Under “Feeds” in the side panel (about 15 down at the moment) is “Citizen with Keith Locke & Selwyn ManningThe Jackal | 2013-04-11”
It is yet another daunting set of opinions re the GSB. Keith Locke was there during the 2003 Act passage and is adamant that the NZ citizens were definitely exempt from spying in spite of the Key spin that the Act is ambiguous. Keith reckons that the first thing in a Court of Law would be to look at the intent of the Act and it would be impossible to argue ambiguity. The Government would hate to see it before the Court! A great session but not sure how to link directly.
Exhausted: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDStHQLSQWQ – pieces of 8
“got a friend in End casino and it’s getting close to Harvest time
she was kinda cute if a little pass her Prime”
-“Momma always said I’d go like this if I didn’t change my ways…stretched between a dead cyborg motorbike and a really better cyborg motorbike impaled on the tip of a bullet train in the japanese badlands.”
The Ghost Rider.
David Shearer was interviewed and took calls on Radio Live (1pm to 2.15).
It’ll be on the Radio Live website if you want to hear it, but don’t bother, I did it so you don’t have to.
Summary – he likes Winston Peters, he thought Tamihere was going to be first Maori PM, he agrees with Prince Charles about housing, his bank account same old same old, and he sang along with Sinatra and Tamihere (mercifully brief). Nothing terrible, nothing memorable, nothing very political, and nobody listened.
He is stuttering less than before, so he is still saying nothing much, but he’s saying nothing less badly.
It would be head/desk if my head had metaphorically ever left my desk in order to pound against it again. Mumblefuck’s beyond hope and finally even his own caucus knows it, but doesn’t know what to do with him while Mallard makes Zaphod Beeblebrox look modest and prudent and Robertson persists in thinking that elections are vending machines into which you keep inserting press releases until government falls out.
They’re so desperate not to lose control of the party, they can’t win for the people they claim to represent.
Because he put up a fight, the European Court of Justice ruled against the Spanish eviction law. Other judges can now refer to that ruling and pre-empt or suspend other evictions.
The Andalusian regional government, a coalition between the Socialist Workers Party and the United Left, is taking control of properties belonging to banks for a period of three years if families living there are “at risk of exclusion” and threatened with eviction.
The decision, which will come into force on April 11, has come at a time when the new mortgage law is under discussion in the national parliament. The legislation imposes fines on banks that own unoccupied housing, which they refuse to rent out.
The fightback gained momentum a few months ago when locksmiths and police put their jobs on the line by refusing to help with evictions
The Union of Security Locksmiths, an industry association that represents roughly 40% of Spain’s locksmiths, recently said its members won’t do any more evictions involving “extreme” situations—such as pregnant or infirm adults or families with young children—because the emotional strain of throwing people out on the street is too much for locksmiths to handle.
In a parallel move, the Joint Union of Police recently said it would offer legal support to officers in the ranks who don’t want to participate in evictions.
…
The problem took on another dimension over the past couple months as participants in evictions said several homeowners committed suicide just before they were to be put out of their homes. In the ensuing political uproar, mayors of several towns threatened to withdraw municipal funds deposited at banks that were carrying out evictions
(a)to promote the confident and informed participation of businesses, investors, and consumers in the financial markets, including (without limitation) by—
(i)collecting and disseminating information or research about any matter relating to those markets:
(ii)issuing warnings, reports, or guidelines, or making comments, about any matter relating to those markets, financial markets participants, or other persons engaged in conduct relating to those markets (including in relation to 1 or more
particular persons):
(iii)providing information about its functions, powers, and duties under this Act and other enactments (including promoting awareness by investors that all investments involve risks and that it is not the role of the FMA to remove those risks):
(iv)providing, or facilitating the provision of, public information and education about any matter relating to those markets:
(b)to perform and exercise the functions, powers, and duties conferred or imposed on it by or under the financial markets legislation and any other enactments:
(c)to monitor compliance with, investigate conduct that constitutes or may constitute a contravention of, and enforce—
(i)the Acts referred to in Part 1 of Schedule 1 (and the enactments made under those Acts); and
(ii)the Acts referred to in Part 2 of Schedule 1 (and the enactments made under those Acts) to the extent that those Acts or other enactments apply, or otherwise relate, to financial markets participants:
(d)to monitor, and conduct inquiries and investigations into any matter relating to, financial markets or the activities of financial markets participants or of other persons engaged in conduct relating to those markets:
(e)to keep under review the law and practices relating to financial markets, financial markets participants, and other persons engaged in conduct relating to those markets:
(f)to co-operate with—
(i)any other law enforcement or regulatory agency (including under section 30):
(ii)overseas regulators (including under section 30 or 31).
(2)Subsection (1)(b) and (c) do not limit the functions, powers, and duties conferred or imposed on any other person in respect of financial markets legislation.
(3)The fact that some other person has functions, powers, and duties in respect of financial markets legislation does not limit or restrict the FMA’s functions, powers, and duties in respect of that legislation.
(4)Except as expressly provided otherwise in this or any other Act, the FMA must act independently in performing its statutory functions and duties, and exercising its statutory powers, under—
(a)this Act; and
(b)any other Act that expressly provides for the functions, powers, or duties of the FMA (other than the Crown Entities Act 2004).
Compare: 1978 No 103 s 10
_______________________________________________
Schedule 1
Financial markets legislation
s 4
Part 1
Auditor Regulation Act 2011
Financial Advisers Act 2008
Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008
Parts 4 and 5 and Schedules 1 and 2 of the KiwiSaver Act 2006
Sections 45U and 45V of the Public Finance Act 1989
Securities Act 1978
Securities Markets Act 1988
Securities Transfer Act 1991
Securities Trustees and Statutory Supervisors Act 2011
Superannuation Schemes Act 1989
Unit Trusts Act 1960
Schedule 1 Part 1: amended, on 1 July 2012, by section 82 of the Auditor Regulation Act 2011 (2011 No 21).
Schedule 1 Part 1: amended, on 30 June 2012, by section 11 of the Public Finance (Mixed Ownership Model) Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 45).
Schedule 1 Part 1: amended, on 1 October 2011, by section 60(2) of the Securities Trustees and Statutory Supervisors Act 2011 (2011 No 10).
Part 2
Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009
Building Societies Act 1965
Companies Act 1993
Co-operative Companies Act 1996
Corporations (Investigation and Management) Act 1989
Sections 220, 228, 229, 240, 242, and 256 to 260 of the Crimes Act 1961
Financial Reporting Act 1993
Friendly Societies and Credit Unions Act 1982
Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1908
Limited Partnerships Act 2008
Part 5C of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989
Trustee Companies Act 1967
(1) A person is an information insider of a public issuer if that person—
(a) has material information relating to the public issuer that is not generally available to the market; and
(b) knows or ought reasonably to know that the information is material information; and
(c) knows or ought reasonably to know that the information is not generally available to the market.
(2)A public issuer may be an information insider of itself.
Section 8A: inserted, on 29 February 2008, by section 5 of the Securities Markets Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 47).
In this subpart, inside information means the information in respect of which a person is an information insider of the public issuer in question.
Section 8B: inserted, on 29 February 2008, by section 5 of the Securities Markets Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 47).
8C Information insider must not trade
An information insider of a public issuer must not trade securities of the public issuer.
Section 8C: inserted, on 29 February 2008, by section 5 of the Securities Markets Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 47).
8D Information insider must not disclose inside information
An information insider (A) of a public issuer must not directly or indirectly disclose inside information to another person (B) if A knows or ought reasonably to know or believes that B will, or is likely to,—
(a )trade securities of the public issuer; or
(b) if B is already a holder of those securities, continue to hold them; or
(c) advise or encourage another person (C) to trade or hold them.
Section 8D: inserted, on 29 February 2008, by section 5 of the Securities Markets Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 47).
8E Information insider must not advise or encourage trading
An information insider (A) of a public issuer must not—
(a) advise or encourage another person (B) to trade or hold securities of the public issuer:
(b) advise or encourage B to advise or encourage another person (C) to trade or hold those securities.
Section 8E: inserted, on 29 February 2008, by section 5 of the Securities Markets Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 47).
8F Criminal liability for insider conduct
A person who contravenes any of sections 8C to 8E commits an offence (see section 43 for the maximum penalty of 5 years’ imprisonment and a $300,000 fine for an individual or a $1,000,000 fine for a body corporate) if the person has actual knowledge—
(a) that the information is material information; and
(b) that the information is not generally available to the market; and
(c) in the case of a contravention of section 8D, of any of the matters set out in section 8D(a) to (c).
Section 8F: inserted, on 29 February 2008, by section 5 of the Securities Markets Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 47).
________________________________________________________________________
Three-quarters of Sunday Star-Times readers believe we should follow Australia and prohibit cabinet ministers from buying shares in state-owned companies they decide to sell.
The pre-registration for the Mighty River Power share float closed on Friday with more than 440,000 signed up, but the sale of state assets remains divisive.
We asked our readers if they wanted a similar rule to Australia’s “Standards of Ministerial Ethics” that require ministers “to divest themselves of all shareholdings other than through investment vehicles such as broadly diversified superannuation funds or publicly listed managed or trust arrangements”.
It’s a rule that would prohibit buying into a state-owned asset float while in power and 75 per cent of the 788 people polled were in favour of it.
Cabinet ministers have agreed to a voluntary “moratorium” preventing the purchase of shares by all ministers, and some of their staff, until 90 days after the initial sale.
Finance Minister Bill English’s office said: “Cabinet also agreed that ministers and the staff in those offices . . . should use their best endeavours to ensure that their partners and dependent children adhere to the same moratorium.”
But our readers say that is not long enough and want a more permanent solution.
As one pro-asset sales reader said, a ban on share purchases would “prove they don’t have a vested interest or conflict of interest”.
Another said: “It would help to keep our politicians openly accountable to public scrutiny. As corruption and lobbying increases in countries around the world this is just another small way we can try and stay relatively ‘clean’ for longer and assists in enhancing our international reputation as an honest country to deal with.”
But a conflict of interest in an asset sale would, many felt, last longer than 90 days, and dozens cited fears of insider trading. One reader said: “They would probably have ‘insider knowledge’ of how MRP or any other state-owned companies were trading, and if in a downward spiral, would be able to offload them without getting hurt.”
Not everyone wants ministers forced to sell all their shares, something that might discourage successful people from standing for office.
Some cited the example of John Key, whose wealth is managed through a “blind trust” over which he says he has no control.
“Good practice would be for all ministers to put their financial affairs into a blind trust type arrangement,” one reader said.
Some also felt the suggested rule would do nothing to stop ministers from taking up roles such as directorships on assets they sold even after leaving office.
The MPs from NZ First, Labour, and the Greens have all pledged not to buy Mighty River Power shares to demonstrate their opposition to the sale.
RISKS and INFORMATION which have arguably not been fully disclosed in the Mighty River Power prospectus, thus potentially misleading investors :
1) Over-supply of wholesale electricity now.
2) Further over-supply of the wholesale electricity market if the Government partially-privatises State-Owned Enterprises Meridian and Genesis.
3) The consumer boycott of Mercury Energy, Mighty River Power’s main retail electricity provider by the Switch Off Mercury Energy community group. http://www.switchoffmercuryenergy.org.nz
4) Failure to attempt to quantify the cost to Mighty River Power, if Rio Tinto does not reach a deal with Meridian Energy.
5) Cabinet Ministers responsible for setting a ‘good’ price for Mighty River Power, John Key, Bill English, Steven Joyce and Tony Ryall are not prohibited by law from purchasing shares in Mighty River Power, so are potentially ‘information insiders’ as per http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1988/0234/latest/DLM140405.html
8A Who is information insider
(1) A person is an information insider of a public issuer if that person—
(a) has material information relating to the public issuer that is not generally available to the market; and
(b) knows or ought reasonably to know that the information is material information; and
(c) knows or ought reasonably to know that the information is not generally available to the market.
(2) A public issuer may be an information insider of itself.
Section 8A: inserted, on 29 February 2008, by section 5 of the Securities Markets Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 47).
(OFFICIAL INFORMATION REPLY FROM MINISTER FOR STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES TONY RYALL):
This information has not been disclosed to investors.
7) Mighty River Power is also arguably misleading investors , because it advertises investors to ‘share’ in a company that they arguably already own, as currently a ‘State-Owned Enterprise’.
Yours sincerely,
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
A Spokesperson for the Switch Off Mercury Energy Group
Superior edition of The Panel this afternoon
Finlay Macdonald gets his act together and delivers
Radio NZ National, Friday 12 April 2013
Jim Mora, Sam Johnson, Finlay Macdonald
Jim Mora’s Panel program has been pretty effectively purged of dissenting voices. Regular listeners will remember two of the victims of Radio NZ’s clobbering machine, AKA the “management”. Gordon Campbell on one episode challenged the bullying ex-cop Graham Bell and forced him to back down, after Bell had indulged in a wandery, foam-flecked rant against Jeanette Fitzsimmons. Entertainingly, on another occasion Campbell also embarrassed the godawful Richard Griffin into backing down and apologizing after he had made a foolish and ignorant comment about Hugo Chavez. Griffin has since then been appointed to the chair of the Radio New Zealand Board of Governors—and Campbell has never again appeared on the program. In 2011, Panelist Martyn “Bomber” Bradbury dared to criticize the Prime Minister after Key had been involved in some typically hare-brained and reckless behavior in parliament; Bradbury was banished almost instantly for this act of lèse majesté.
The few “left” or “liberal” voices that are still allowed on the Panel pose no such dangers. With the occasional exception, they are unlikely to spoil the convivial atmosphere, or to ruffle the smooth and unexamined prejudices of either Mora or the other guest, who will be almost inevitably a National Party supporter or something even further to the right.
Occasionally, though, the token liberal actually does a good job. One of the occasional exceptions is Finlay Macdonald, who this afternoon managed to actually stay on message and say something coherent…
JIM MORA: The BBC says it will continue to play “Ding Dong The Witch is Dead” even though it’s an obvious dig at Baroness Thatcher. What do we THINK of this? SAM JOHNSON: I admired her will, and her strong character! FINLAY MACDONALD: Well it’s all a bit obvious, really. There were plenty of songs actually inspired by Maggie Thatcher. Let’s face it: she was detested, especially in the north. SAM JOHNSON: I liked her leadership! FINLAY MACDONALD: She was never as popular as has been asserted recently. SAM JOHNSON:[doubtfully] Oh, okay. FINLAY MACDONALD: Sam, you need to remember she said some pretty terrible things. She once said that there are “reasonable people in the Khmer Rouge”. JIM MORA: Did she actually say that? SAM JOHNSON: She also said many clever things. “The lady’s not for turning.” That was one of her good ones. MORA: So what do we think? Should the BBC ban this like it banned “Lola” and it bowdlerized “Fairy Tale in New York”? FINLAY MACDONALD: Play it, I say! Play it! SAM JOHNSON: Many people admired her resolve! MORA: Oh okay. She’s a good witch in the eyes of a lot of people. And a bad witch to others of course.
Soapbox…
Finlay Macdonald’s contribution was a thoughtful and serious rumination on the pernicious and cynical use of the phrase “systemic failure”. The continual resort to such official codewords, he said, is a sign of the corruption of our intellectual and political life.
Macdonald made his case so compellingly that Mora actually contributed something intelligent instead of doing something flippant like countering with a quote from some right wing ideologue in the New York Times. Sam Johnson, too, showed that he is more than the ambitious young-man-on-the-make he has too often appeared to be. For a short time, The Panel was an intelligent and interesting forum.
Thanks Morrissey for that analysis. Poor guy. You are now obliged to furnish the same on a daily basis. MacDonald was great. No bones about it. Play the bloody thing !
Aunty Affable Mora was dying to clutch her pearls over the “unseemliness” of celebrating The Vile Old Bag’s going off with 666 stamped all over her arse for delivery purposes but obviously thought better of it, for fear no doubt of Finlay showing him up for the Semi-Hurrah-Henry dick he is.
The seminal thing for me about TVOB and her vaunted love of freedom and democracy is “Nelson Mandela is a terrorist”. What ??? Gimme Terrorist Nelson over you and your alarmingly inbred looking arms-dealing spawn Mummy, any day.
Saw some comedy thing the other night where this wit (Englishman) said the send-off will be the first ceremonial funeral in history where the 21 gun salute shoots the coffin.
Saw some comedy thing the other night where this wit (Englishman) said the send-off will be the first ceremonial funeral in history where the 21 gun salute shoots the coffin.
That was Frankie Boyle, from Scotland. He was speaking four years ago, following a rumour that she had died. Here’s the clip…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmmomV-ax-s
Good summary, Moz. I heard the latter half, and then a Mora inspired waffle about why ‘systemic failure’ was a catch all for any modern enquiry. Actually, its not. It’s what kills kiwi workers at record levels. And a finding of systemic failure does not preclude individuals being fully prosecuted for personal failings. It’s not an either/or as Mora seemed to think.
Yeah, I immediately thought Key would be taking the long way home from China if he could get away with it. Then I wondered why anyone should be going at all.
Hmm if Gerry wears the “Full Day Ceremonial without swords” he can hide some spare ribs in the scabbard for later.
The ‘business’ model for other essential public services has proven to be a disaster for the public – where is the evidence that it will work for students / parents or the public?
Where is the transparency and accountability under this model?
Wall Street Behind Charter School Push
Posted: 01/15/2013 1:31 pm
About a quarter of the kids in the San Antonio Independent School District attend charter schools. Most are the low-income, minority students we think about when we imagine providing innovative opportunities for kids stuck in failing public schools in bad neighborhoods. For a long time, school reform has targeted only kids from poor families. You know, the lucky ones who get those free lunches.
Starting this fall, though, no longer will Texas exclude upper-middle class white kids like mine from the gravy train of school choice. Last November, the State Board of Education approved a charter allowing Great Hearts Academies to open a school in North San Antonio, the wealthier, whiter section of a majority-Hispanic city.
Great Hearts Academies operates out of Arizona, where they survive not just on public funding that would normally go to public schools but also on mandatory fees as well as contributions from students’ families, pricing Great Hearts out of reach for most San Antonio families. In other words, upper-middle class Anglos are finally getting a taxpayer-subsidized private school. Our long nightmare of being stuck in high-performing, better-funded public schools is almost over.
If that’s not what you have in mind when you think of school choice, you’re not alone. Great Hearts tried this in Nashville, but the school board rejected the charter application, arguing reasonably that creating a government-funded private school to serve an affluent, white neighborhood constituted segregation. It’s exactly what they’re planning in North San Antonio, except our school board approved it.
Private tuition and public subsidies only provide enough money to pay the teachers, buy textbooks and keep the lights on. To build schools, you need to go into massive debt. But don’t worry, because our need to borrow millions of dollars creates an investment opportunity for Wall Street investment bankers.Apparently charter schools are “a favorite cause of many of the wealthy founders of New York hedge funds.” The word you’re probably looking for is “yippee.”
Public school bonds are a safe investment, but low risk means lower reward, in this case an average 3 percent return on general-obligation funds used to raise money to build schools. But debt for charter schools runs an average of 3.8 percent higher than general-obligation bonds, and charter schools even qualify for federal tax credits under the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000.
As every investment prospectus says in small type, investments carry risk. In this case, 3.91 percent of charter-school bonds are in default versus 0.03 percent for public schools. And since 1992, 15 percent of charters have closed, including 52 in Texas.
Despite the risks, charter schools are big business. Pearson, the company that sells tests and curricula to public schools, also sells tests and curriculato charter schools, and JPMorgan Chase of worldwide economic meltdown fame is bullish on charter school construction.
“Many charter schools have expanded access to academic opportunities for students in all types of communities, so we shouldn’t let tough economic times bring them down,” said JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon.
This is the same Jamie Dimon who thought mortgage-backed securities were foolproof, who was forced to take $25 billion of our money in the bank bailout, who wrongly foreclosed on military families, whoovercharged 4,000 other military families by $2 million, and who then lost $2 billion of our money in what amounted to the kind of gambling that only happens after 4 a.m. in Las Vegas. Let’s absolutely have this guy underwrite our schools. What could go wrong that hasn’t already many times over?
Subjecting our public school system to the free market requires us to accept that hopped-up Wall Street bankers will mess up, schools will close, and sooner or later, someone will have to choose between increasing shareholder returns and improving some kid’s education. Failure is not only an option. When it comes to Wall Street, failure is inevitable.
The specter of resegregating our schools along racial and economic lines under the cloak of school choice presents a more daunting future for a state that is growing poorer, browner, and younger. When it comes to schools, the question isn’t whether we’re going to have charter schools or public schools. We have both now. When it comes to schools, the real choice is whether we are all in this together or if it’s every man for himself.”
So – if Wall St bank$ters are behind Charter Schools – and neither ACT nor National campaigned for Charter Schools during the 2011 election – did this idea actually come from John Key?
PETROBRAS – 2 FOR 1 SPECIAL!!!
COASTAL OIL SPILL WRECKS SAO PAULO BEACHES AND MASSIVE PIPELINE BLOWOUT IN EQUADOR (5500 BARRELLS OF CRUDE!) IN ONE DAY!!!
Dear Simon Bridges,
Right now, Petrobras, the company your government permitted to drill for oil in the Raukumara Basin, is responsible for both a catastrophic oil spill off the beautiful San Paulo coast, and part of a consortium that owns a massive pipeline that has ruptured, causing over 5500 barrels of crude oil to spew into the biodynamic Esmeraldes Province in Ecuador. Right now. When it comes to environmental disaster, this company gives you value for money – 2 for 1, on the same day!!
Yeah, your government accused us of scaremongering, said these accidents hardly ever happened. But they do happen. And they happen all the time for Petrobras. And they more in countries where governments falsely separate economic development from environmental integrity.
You use words like ‘reckless’ and ‘criminal’ to describe those of my iwi who would stand up against deep sea oil drilling. These accidents could have happened here, because you and your government would have let them. You have no adequate regulation in place for these activities, yet you waste what precious time you have dreaming up new anti-protest jurisdiction you already asserted you had – instead of addressing the real issues. You are mistaken if you think peaceful protest and those seeking to protect the environment are the problem. You, and people who enable companies like Petrobras to do irreparable damage to the environment and get away with it, are the problem. You can’t fix that problem by silencing dissent. You can’t fix that problem by refusing to be accountable. You can’t fix that problem by threatening us. You can’t fix that problem by pretending the industry will safely regulate itself. And until you start addressing the real problem, we can assure you we will not be moving.
Dayle Takitimu
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL
08/04/2013
There is crude oil flowing into the coastal marine area, and volunteer crews are struggling against all odds to contain it. It has been described as an ‘environmental disaster’ for the area, which relies heavily on the marine area for tourism and fishing industries.
The crude oil spill has hit the coastal cities of Sao Sebastiao and Caraguatatuba, which are a popular resort area along Sao Paulo’s Atlantic Ocean coast where residents of the state’s capital flock to relax from the hustle and bustle of Brazil’s largest city. The two cities sit across a marine channel from another popular tourist destination, an island known as Ilhabela.
Sao Paulo state environment regulator Cetesb said it had fined parent company Petrobras 10 million Brazilian reais ($5 million) for an “operational failure” during refueling of a Transpetro ship at the terminal. Cetesb was still finalizing a report that will be submitted to state prosecutors, which could result in charges filed against the company, the regulator said.
While Transpetro has removed globs of oil from the beaches and replaced soiled areas with fresh sand, Sao Sebastiao’s environment secretary, Eduardo Hipolito do Rego, said other environmentally sensitive areas remained contaminated.
“Rocky coastal areas and other ecosystems, such as mangrove swamps, still have oil and will require special care” to be cleaned,” Mr. Hipolito said via telephone. “Starting now, a more delicate operation will be required.”
A crop of mussels raised at an offshore farm was completely lost because of the spill, Mr. Hipolito said. Eight beaches in the Sao Sebastiao and Caraguatatuba areas also remain unfit for swimming, according to Cetesb.
Transpetro said it will constantly monitor areas affected by the spill. The environmental fallout is expected to be huge, and long lasting.
As many as 500 workers and 37 ships were mobilized to contain and clean up the spill, Transpetro said.
The crude oil from the spill is currently “fouling three popular Brazilian beaches as slicks drift north off the coast of Sao Paulo state, complicating clean-up efforts. The area is north of the Terminal Almirante Barroso, where fuel spilled from an offshore pier Friday.”
____
ESMERALDAS, ECUADOR
08/04/2013
At the same time, right now, in Ecuador, a pipeline part-owned by Petrobras is spilling heavy crude all over the place, wrecking havoc on the environment. The officials are just struggling to contain and mitigate the spill. Its still under emergency status, and they haven’t even repaired the pipe yet. So far 5500 barrels have been spilt, and the clean up has not even started. The true environmental impacts will be massive.
Can someone please tell me how I ‘know’ that Clare Curran was behind the contacting of contributors to The Standard (through matching their user names with the same names and registration details on Red Alert?)
I thought I ‘knew’ that people who belonged to the Labour Party and who were commenting or blogging on The Standard were told to stop backing Cunliffe over Shearer for Leader or leave the Party and that she was behind this as the Labour Party IT go to person.
I met Ms Curran today. She said the claim was false. She said she would come on The Standard today and defend herself (so long as no one was abusive).
I have an invitation from her to go to her Electorate Meeting and from another Labour Party official to go to the Dunedin North Meeting. Can anyone help?
I have met some of the frequent commentators/mods on The Standard and they know my bona fides.
Firstly, pick an electorate/branch with an active membership and one with people you can get along with. Each electorate (and each branch within that electorate) has a different demographic of membership and different emphasis in terms of what their usual focus is. Find one which suits you.
Secondly, Labour Party meetings are supposed to be about the party, its policies, and the activities of the membership. I’m speaking where Labour”s “Party” and it’s “Parliamentary wing” are two very distinct and separate entities. Unfortunately, in too many electorates these days, the meetings have become a kind of “MPs supporters club”. Which I believe is the presumption behind how you worded your question, and which I believe is a concept worth identifying and then canning nice and early. Candidates come and go, MPs come and go. The party and your support for it are supposed to go much deeper than just that.
Lastly, you can trust Curran as far as you can throw her with both hands tied behind your back.
I don’t think you have got your questions quite right there. Important because after all we wouldn’t want the wrong question to be put to Curran and then for her to miss out on being able to answer truthfully.
DWBH, It would indeed be a good idea to take up both offers and attend both meetings in order to make up your own mind about any MPs credibilty. Also, it’s an opportunity to see the workings of LEC or branch meetings, especially if you are interested in finding our more about the workings of the NZLP.
Colonial Viper’s comments are made in bad faith – an obvious personal vendetta – so surely it would be best to make up your own mind?
Unfortunately blogsites such as this encourage a torch and pitchfork mentality without the benefit of many unknown facts behind the scenes.
If an MP says a claim is false then I would imagine you yourself would want an opportunity to defend your integrity were you to find yourself in a similar position.
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 24 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Possible alternative for Tiwai point?
http://www.labornotes.org/2013/04/mexican-workers-win-ownership-tire-plant-three-year-strike
Workers co-op…let the workers take over the plant when the corporates or the government abandon it.
In a worker co-op what happens if the co-op loses money?
I’m guessing everyone have to stump up with extra coin to bail it out.
Which is the probably the main reason you don’t see too many co-ops, lets face it the average person wants to go to work do his /her 8 hours and go home, they don’t want to worry about not being paid or losing their shirts if the co-op goes tits up.
How about when the the banks lose money a la, Cyprus – Who got the hair-cut then genius!
The quality of, *right* comments here has fallen dramatically, the thinking has become som sub par!
BM, C73, for christs sake its low grade!
Yep, it’s getting embarrassing.
BM workers lose their shirts and don’t get paid when just about any enterprise goes tits-up. (Although National and Novopay are working on extending that to functioning enterprises too.)
Yes employees do lose a bit of coin, but they’re not liable for any debts that the company they work for owe.
With a co-op they become owners and are liable for monies owed.
Most people aren’t too enthusiastic about that and prefer to just be employees and there’s nothing wrong with that.
So why is it that they’re the ones paying? It’s almost always the employees and sub-contractors that wear the loss when a business fails. We saw that when Mainzeal collapsed.
I didn’t know you knew most people.
The reports I’ve seen about those factories in South America that were taken over by the workers the workers were more than happy and felt that it had opened up their horizons. I suspect that the same would be true of the workers in NZ. The problem is, IMO, getting over the cultural concept that we need bosses. If we work together we don’t.
Yes, the subbies get shafted but that’s the risk you take when you go into business.
It’s a trade off, more money = more risk.
The employees lose their wages that is all which may be a week or two + some holiday pay.
I talked to many people about self employment most if not all are happy just doing a 40 hr week.
This is especially true in a small business setup as the employees see first hand how much time and effort goes into keeping a small business running.
http://www.nceo.org/articles/employee-ownership-100
like these 100 ‘small’ employee owned businesses BM
better check the expiration date of your wingnut juice, you guys are becoming an embarrasment to your masters
Bud, I couldn’t give a shit if people want to get together and form a co-op, I wish them all the luck in the world.
A co-op is no different to any business that starts up, anyone who succeeds especially in the current economic climate deserves plenty of praise.
Of course, the existence of a number of large cooperatives suggests a certain sample bias in the people you speak to, ” most if not all are happy just doing a 40 hr week”.
Besides, I thought the nacts were running an excellent, business-friendly economy that really helps the job producers in NZ. Can’t think where I got that impression from.
The problem with that is that the subbies aren’t getting more money.
And in a co-op they’d be able to share it around.
“With a co-op they become owners and are liable for monies owed.”
Not always, BM. It would depend on how the coop was set up, particularly the initial set up costs. Just like any other Ltd Co. in NZ, there would likely be bank overdrafts to tide of temporary dips in trade and should the business fail, then it would depend on the ownership structure, the securities and how personal the liabilities were before any shareholder would be liable.
NZ has famously soft bankruptcy provisions, and an established business environment that allows the broke Acme Widgets to fold and then Acme Widgets 2013 Ltd. to rise from the ashes with the same ownership and management.
So, what I’m saying is that a coop is subject to the same business laws and operating dynamics as any other kiwi business. And the same (limited) risks. The key question would be how much it costs to set it up. Buying an existing, but bankrupt, business is obviously way cheaper than starting from scratch, so individual workers may have very small exposure in the event of it failing. And if the ownership is vested in a trust, then it is the trust that would go broke, not the individual worker/owners.
BM @ 1.1.1.2.1: in your fervour to disseminate elitist neo-liberal rubbish you don’t even understand, you prove an appalling ignorance which disqualifies you from pushing even that shit-barrow.
Your minimalisation – “Yes employees do lose a bit of coin……” followed by the contradistinction – “but they’re not liable for any of the debts that the company they work for owe.” – is ignorant bullshit !
170 plus finance companies gone down the gurgler for billions of dollars in recent years. In the main their directors and shareholders walked away, as a matter of law owing not a skerrick of debt. Not because they were NOT co-operatively themed enterprises but because they were incorporated as limited liability companies. So your attempt at highlighting a “sufficient” quid pro quo is ignorant bullshit !
There is NOTHING to stop a co-operatively themed enterprise meeting the legal requirements for incorporation as a limited liability company. In which case the “owners” of the “co-operative” walk away just like your wide-boys.
What you’re really saying is that you don’t like the IDEA of co-operatively themed enterprises because that runs counter to the gospel according to Thatcher, Reagan, Key and ACT. And, in keeping with the neo-liberal “wisdom”, workers are essentially inferior and incapable. Well come right out and say it then and be judged for the lunacy of that assertion. Just don’t bullshit about the legal and commercial facts.
I don’t know whether you’re a two-bob Tory or not. You sound like one. Certainly you are in the nature of a cheap snob, an ignorant and wrongheaded one at that.
I thought you were my friend 😐
BM is a fucking child.
He’s deftly demonstrated that he knows next to fuck all about how most enterprises are structured, yet he thinks he can dictate the ownership structure, liability, and finance arrangements of a hypothetical enterprise he wants no part of.
Well done BM, you’ve just proved that a co-op imagined by an idiot could well be a miserable failure.
Once again I couldn’t give a fuck if some people want to start a co-op.
Big fucking deal,.
The thing is, I’m not some ideologically driven wanker such as yourself where everything must follow a particular path,
if a co-op rocks your boat, go for it.
If you want to start and run your own business and employ people, whoo hoo more power to you.
If you’re happy to be a wage slave, good for you, whom am I to judge.
The one size fits all theoretical bull shit is what holds the left back.
“The thing is, I’m not some ideologically driven wanker such as yourself where everything must follow a particular path”
lolz, according to your comments above anyone starting a co-op must follow a very particular path. And as it happens it’s a stupid, poorly conceived path which I imagine no-one would be particularly interested in following.
And that, my dim-witted little chum, is why why can’t see many examples of the type of stupid, poorly conceived strawman co-ops that you brilliantly imagined.
Yes you are. You believe that everyone must submit to the capitalist paradigm, that the rich are the saviours and that everyone else is a loser. So as not to consider yourself a loser you model yourself upon the rich and thus becoming the biggest loser of all as you lose yourself.
Isn’t it funny. The most ardent idealogues always believe that their view is the only rational, correct one, and that all other peoples are deluded.
Some links.
http://www.geo.coop/
http://www.american.coop/
http://jasecon.org/
http://www.ellerman.org/category/main-blog/
Co-ops are just a way of allowing workers to take over bankrupt businesses to keep their jobs.
They still have to go to the banks for funds, play by all the rules, so in itself its not at all an alternative to capitalism.
The co-ops in Argentina that came out of the 2001 Argentinazo were enabled by a law which allowed them to contest with the boss for ownership in lieu of unpaid wages. Where they won the workers ended up as legal shareholders, no different to a capitalist business except they decide collectively what they can pay in wages rather than a boss.
Co-ops can play a progressive role if worker-owners come to see them as more than running a business and part of a wider strategy of socialisation that means taking over the whole economy.
The co-ops in Argentina that joined forces and tried to set up a co-op trading system inside the capitalist economy were heading in the right direction. In the process they see the need to plan production on a large scale rather than be concerned only with their own success.
But without state banks, and without socialisation of more strategic industries, which means a socialist government and socialist plan, co-ops will always remain a fringe activity unable to break out of the global capitalist economy.
A reason why Mondragon built and uses its own bank.
A network of collective and and mutual organisations can work together to gain a degree of independence from the retail banks.
Building societies and credit unions working hand in hand with manufacturing and service collectives.
Marie Schroff has suggested that anyone wondering if they are being spied on by the GCSB should ask if this is so.
So I thought I would do so and have emailed on the following terms. Other Standardistas may wish to do the same.
“info@gcsb.govt.nz
Request for personal information
Dear Ian
I note the GCSB is alleged to have illegally spied on 88 New Zealanders over the past few years. The allegation is contained in the Kitteridge report which somehow was recently leaked to the media.
I can’t imagine why but I wondered if I was one of the 88. So pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982 and/or the Privacy Act 1993 can you tell me if I am on that list and if so what information you obtained about me?
My full name is #### and my date of birth is ####.
Looking forward to your reply.
Yours etc”
And my email bounced back …
According to the GCSB website the email is right.
Maybe their email address is a secret one?
I guess we could write to the PM instead? He’s in charge after all…
Actually it’s a good idea for many here…
It’s a trap?
And now webmaster@gcsb.govt.nz is not working either …
My email to that address has also bounced back.
Funnily enough the header on their contact page says “Mastery of Cyberspace for the security of New Zealand”. If their website is an example I can understand why they are in such difficulty …
try weownyou@usa.com
Hehe
Same happened to Penny Bright. She was given “info@ etc etc, bounced back, but on further enquiry was given “information@ etc etc.
Maybe you could email Schroff’s office and let them know you have no way of contacting the GCSB as per her suggestion.
GCSB email is : Information@gcsb.govt.nz
(I’ve had a reply – so I know it works 🙂
Penny Bright
I have decided to do the same after hearing Keith Locke and others talking about this on Checkpoint last night. We all have the right to know whether we have been subject to the interest of the GCSB and/or the SIS, and if so, what they have – irrespective of whether or not we might be one of the 88.
So my OIA/Privacy Act request will not refer to the latter – just be a general inquiry, probably in the form of a written letter by snail mail (registerd?) rather than letting them know my email …..
The devil in me would like to see them inundated with such requests.
Surprise, Key goes non stick, and Labour, yet again, mess up another open goal chance. Two left feet, not likely.
Gower trots out the spin, the public are becalmed, and the ‘main’ opposition still collect the wage packets despite being totally crap and ineffective.
Good work, numb nuts.
Can you clarify please The Allen – what’s Labour done/said now ? I missed the news …..
Gower on three news this morning spinning the nat company line and bringing Labour’s latest failure [The swing and a miss at the overseer] to the surface for all to see.
Still, it’s not like voters don’t already know dead ducks, fish and toxic shit float.
Better luck next time, Grant.
[rob: your email address in last 2 comments is incorrect, I am fixing it for you, please check…]
Sorry about and thanks for that mate, some arsehat gcsb hacker agent must have planted the extra letter in my email address when I wasn’t looking.
A lesson for all to remain vigilant like Rob. 😆
Yes it just makes them all the more gung ho and they will go for broke now having got the bumbling DS and old guard entrenched till 2014.
Watching DS/Curran/King/mallard etc and it’s job done, they look like the useless troughers the NACT are in terms of getting middle, lower NZ out of the intentional dive they’ve been put in.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/04/11/uk-cyprus-bailout-gold-idUKBRE93A0JS20130411
NZ handed over its gold reserves to the IMF in 1961, and have been implementing the conditionalities policies , which came with the loans , ever since!
This will be the continued M.O, to ensure that the real currency (no fiat), continues to find its way to the tip top of the pyramid!
Now why would it be of such high priority/interest to get hold of the gold!
Good question especially considering how useless gold is.
Are you suggesting that being forced to hand over gold reserves, should provide loss of *no value*?
Seems to be of value when using to service a nations own fraudulant debt, consisting of paper, digital figures, etc.
Someones think its of value B, thats really the important part of the discussion!
Yep, pretty much.
Would you like to put come context around that last Draco?
Money is always fiat. I’ve explained this before and so those debts aren’t fraudulent except in how they came about (countries don’t need to borrow as they have the resources needed to maintain themselves). The big thing about debt is that the person or government in debt can always renege on it. That’s the risk of loaning money to people and/or governments.
Now, consider the uselessness of gold. Most of it gets dug up, turned into bars and sealed in a vault somewhere.
What I’m getting at here is that there’s a belief that gold is valuable when it actually isn’t. Same can be said of money really.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9988358/Cyprus-bailout-cost-surges-to-23bn.html
Cyprus bailout cost surges to €23bn
BOOM – Just like that, 34% increase in the cost of the *bailout*!
Next Stop….
Yippy! No need for Austerity in the UK!
Turns out Thatcher squirreled away billions
by not giving it to Europe!!!
Propaganda swept away criticism of Thatcher,
that even after her death she still has them working
to twisted logic to make her look good.
They could not find anything to justify their
adoration of her, but then they remembered
she saved all that money from being paid
to the Eu, despite ignoring the horrendous
Austerity program they are rolling out due to
her market economic ideology failing so
spectacularly. Tories still delusional dills.
In NZ the Pike River Mine families find out
that deregulation of their industry by
parliamentarians led to their loved ones death.
Lucky that hey, that the only people in the
system who can’t be held to account, MPs,
who did away with a upper chamber to cut corners,
who did away with regulations of mines, to the
chorus of the-market-will-provide, are not now
accountable.
Its was a massive herding by media to stop, distort,
dismiss, criticism of favored politicians. Politicians
who thought it would never catch up to them.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/6198708/EU-costs-Britain-118bn-a-year.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9643193/EU-budget-who-pays-what-and-how-it-is-spent.html
Where do these articles fit into the equation?
When asked about Thatchers legacy, a british MP said that she saved Britian billions by standing up to the EU over the budget refund. I took offense to this considering the wasteland caused by
Austerity, how is the great gamble that has left Britain in such fiscal crisis placated by this one off temporary victory that failed to save UK from ravages of the GFC.
LOL, the would have been refering to the UK, EU rebate!
Needless to say its like paying your yearly tax bill, then receiving a fraction of it back as * a return*. and believing that you’re up on the deal!
Its rich, that Conservatives are beating themselves up to find a good reason to justify their adoration for Thatcher by citing how she got them a rebate, have they seen the effects of debt, of austerity, of polarization, she has left in her wake.
Hey…….Bunter Brownlee’s going to London for the the Vile Old Bag’s send off.
Be a bugger if he’s flying Samoa Air which apparently wants to levy a significant surcharge for obesity.
Apologies for my churlishness but I still well remember ’72 when all the brainiac Tories could say about Norm Kirk was this – “Well, if he can’t control his own weight how can he control a country ?
No apologies re the Vile Old Bag. Pensioners died from the cold while she hosted Pinochet. And lauded the “reasonable” people in the Khmer Rouge. And declaimed Nelson Mandela as a terrorist.
And praised the Taliban as freedom-fighters. And supported Saddam Hussein. And turned her hateful gimlet eye on the Irish hunger-strikers, and let them die.
More Austerity class war dispatches from the Artist Taxi drive from the U$K
Who are the True Blues?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GueMzVfhvc&list=UUGThM-ZZBba1Zl9rU-XeR-A&index=2
**G8 Special** BBC Sucks O Cocks News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcmkrShK-GM&list=UUGThM-ZZBba1Zl9rU-XeR-A&index=1
“This bloody government are laughing at the poor. Remember when they were told that cuts must be made to welfare…..all the bloody Tories CHEERED like the evil pigs that they are. This myth of a so called recession is just a cover to take everything away from the poor and disabled and give it to the filthy rich!!! Keep telling it like it is Mark!”
“Oh my god. I have just heard a load of fucking celebrities are going thatchers funeral. It is a fucking pr stunt. They are glorifying this bitch and her policies so they can bring more of them in. What the fuck has Jeremy Clarkson got to do with it? The bbc is true blue for sure. 7 hours of necrophilia in parliament and now this. This is just fucking weird. Are one direction going to perform karma chameleon at the funeral?”
“Keep it going Mark!! This drooling over Thatcher has made me physically sick. And the BBC calls those of us who are not shedding a tear anarchists?! Try telling that to my Dad…one of thousands of Thames Lightermen who lost their jobs in the 1980s because of her. He won’t even talk about it to this day. Honest working people who never claimed a days benefit ripped apart. And we’re seeing it all over again. I will never forgive Thatcher.”
“Well said mark it’s an all out attack on the vulnerable while gov blood sucking parasites claim thousands in tax payers money. Its about greed. Smoke and mirrors media whoring about scroungers. I’m too disabled at 58 to work I’m raging angry too. I’ve no heat with chronic body spasms and chronic asthma triggered by cold to pay this bedroom tax. It’s either no heat little food or evicted from my home.Six worn discs, chronic pain, and housebound. Atos!!! says I’m fit to work!!!! Utter disgrace!!!We need to redo this gov”
LEST WE FORGET
how low we are falling
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/563827_10151601139550775_1870773157_n.jpg
Give that frigate a $100,000 fine and a prison sentence. How dare they protest!
We’ve fallen a long, long way. Shearer would probably want to pay Blackwater’s Ocean Division to send a ship, given his love of mercenaries. And seeing that the testing has stopped, the protest would probably be for the French to start up again.
It felt good to be a Kiwi when Big Norm sent that ship. Since then, it’s mostly just felt embarrassing. Even Lange’s witty slapping down of a frat boy from Jerry Falwell College was just a diversion from what Douglas was doing.
Now we have a Labour Party that believes in what? That we’re lucky to have them in opposition because they hold the government to account? Great, that seems to be their plan for the foreseeable future.
So I’ve got a decision to make, in my new job I (I left my old one a month ago because I hated it) I have the opportunity to join the PSA
On the one hand I think unions are out for themselves at the expense of others but on the other hand I do like to get more than others for doing the same job…decisions, decisions
“in my new job I (I left my old one a month ago because I hated it)”
90 day sack law you voted for come back and bite you on the arse did it?
I left my old job (had been there 4 years) because I hated it and have found a new job doing what I actually like
Yeah, you would say that. 😆
I agree with the 90 day law, I think its a good thing and working well (I notice Labour or the Greens don’t talk about it much anymore)
But thats what you do if you’re in a job you don’t like, you leave when you can and find a better job…don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner
“But thats what you do if you’re in a job you don’t like, you leave when you can and find a better job…don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner”
Should have just exploited the fact most bosses are shit and take liberties with employment contracts and work place relations.
Two for two at the era, so far, and it would have been a threepeat had I not settled for a new pair of boots and an apology, saving the jobs of one, maybe two staff who would have been let go to afford the expected payout.
Social conscience cost me more than a few grand, but ninety day sack laws are tools of the weak.
“Should have just exploited the fact most bosses are shit and take liberties with employment contracts and work place relations.”
– There was nothing wrong with the job, I just didn’t like it so why would I have anything to do with that when I was the one with the problem?
“There was nothing wrong with the job, I just didn’t like it so why would I have anything to do with that when I was the one with the problem?”
No other reason than to say bosses are shit and I’m a lot better than at least three of them are 🙂
Key’s broken promise on raising wages
Has a lovely graph on it showing the precise amount of difference that the 90 day fire at will bill made on unemployment.
‘ ….found a new job doing what I actually like’
Good luck finding someone to pay you for jerking off.
Shane Jones managed it
lol…good call soldier, but seriously you are hardly Shane Jones material are you. I mean I very much doubt Shane laps up Whaleoil like yourself for starters.
Of course not, politicians don’t read blogs after all.
Key must have been the first to spread that rumour, cos it’s clearly a lie.
Well, Key has staff who read the blogs for him, so for him it’s technically the truth. No surprise.
Touche. Well played, sir, well played.
Chris73 you better keep your trolling mouth shut at the new job that you like because you open it and they’re gonna think you’re an arsehole and a wanker and a wannabe Key Cargo Cultist.
lol
“I think unions are out for themselves at the expense of others but on the other hand I do like to get more than others for doing the same job”
you do realise what you just said right?
if more people joined the union, more people would have more
love your work man, 😎
I didn’t explain myself as well as I could have (the perils of concentrating on marvel avengers alliance)
Basically I know I might get more benefits for myself by joining the psa however the more I get has to come from somewhere plus it’d make me a hypocrite if i did join…
“has to come from somewhere”
Yep – it would come from the power that association brings, and it would boost profits for the owners too – cf: Australia, Germany etc.
Except in this its a government job so the extra benefits would I guess be paid for by tax payers
If you’ve taken a public service job you’re already a hypocrite.
Not really, just the job I’m doing falls under the banner.
…not to mention your bludging off the taxpayer in the army. What? You think one public service job is somehow different from another?
or you could acknowledge the subconscious event and accept you might have grown a little 🙂
Maybe you realised, deep down inside, that a little less profit to create a bit more pay
is a lot better for everybody
I agree withe unions in theory, what i dont like are unions like the teachers union who are more concerned with protecting their members as opposed to helping (and in some cases) protecting students
You must really hate the Police Association, who are more concerned with protecting their members as opposed to campaigning for and protecting the accused. Or is that not a union, and therefore allowed to act on behalf of its members?
What on earth do you think unions are for? Have you ever stopped to think that they may have some other purpose than giving Slater a hardon every time he types out “union scum”?
You probably think consumer associations should protect the rights of employers, as should employer associations.
On another note: which organisations do the most to attack and fail to protect young people, the Teachers’ Unions or your beloved Tory government?
You must really hate the Police Association, who are more concerned with protecting their members as opposed to campaigning for and protecting the accused.
– They also have gone too far in terms of putting their own interests first, it is a tough one though because some of their concerns are actually about life and death situations
– But like anything unions (and we’ll go with unions in NZ) started out with great intentions and did some excellent work but as the saying goes a little bit of power…I’m sure we all remember the strikes in the 70s-80s,especially the interislander (for me the very late 70s)
Chris73 do you realise what an arch-idiot you are saying what you said about teachers and their union(s) ? Teachers don’t care about the kids ???? Fuck off ! You’re no better than that flatulent lump from Waitakere with all her facile bullshit.
And if I ever saw a ridiculous non-sequitur you provide it in your comment about Police Association not protecting and campaigning on behalf of the accused.
How can a punkarsed neo-liberal like you presume to speak pejoratively about tenuously identified “self-interest” in others ?
“but as the saying goes a little bit of power…”
In case you’ve genuinely forgotten the rest of that sentence, allow me:
A little bit of power and nek minit workplace safety, meal breaks, holidays, penal rates, a wage that supports a family, job security, allowances for costs, right to collective bargaining, legal representation.
You’re welcome.
Why do you always talk such shit, Chris73?
Regarding your hatred of teachers, put up or shut up, asshole.
Describing your penis as ‘Marvel Avengers Alliance’ is not only sad, I suspect it’s breaching Disney’s copyright.
Hulk smash!
Um – if your knob has swelled massively and (more importantly) turned green, I suggest you examine whether PSA membership includes any health benefits.
To paraphrase Don Brash:
“I don’t think the moderators want any posters to be talking about my gentlemens sausage to be quite frank”
True enough.
It does make me wonder about the possible inherited traits of any male issue from likely love-interest sub-plots in future avengers films, though. High school could be a very difficult time – although the lad could be popular in college.
http://alt-world.com/altworld/?p=8674
hah – clocked off the work internet traffic management, that one. Must be good 🙂
That wasn’t any gentleman’s sausage. Brash was a right old stick man, remember ? As unlikely as that would seem.
Careful now Chris – you need to get past the 90 days – before you haven’t wasted your money on union fees
Just another day in the Occupation
Israeli troops shoot Palestinian photographer in the face
He was recording their invasion of a refugee camp in Aida.
Next time some halfwit tries to tell you that Israel is a democratic country, say: “Then explain this, Dr. Bassett”….
http://972mag.com/photos-palestinian-photographer-shot-in-the-face-by-israeli-troops/68897/
I don’t see how that makes Israel a non democratic country, Prof. A country run by a brutal state that doesn’t give a shit about minority rights, international law, or human decency, sure. I just don’t see what it is about democracy that makes those things impossible.
Great to see David Cunliffe raising the questions that need answering about taxes and multinationals in the NZH today. About time we saw some good thought leadership happening from our politicians.
This is the kind of vision stuff the country is craving. Ties in the economic and social arguments and gets people thinking.
Why on earth aren’t they using Cunliffe more? Given every time he speaks/ writes at the moment, he effectively exposes the Government’s flaws. Good stuff. We want more!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10877012.
I suspect they would rather lose the next election and hold onto their jobs and salaries rather than actual challenge neoliberal orthodoxy, even to the extent that Cunliffe does. They won’t use him because their beliefs are closer to Key’s than they are to his.
And by the look of the comments the punters agree. Way to go David.
3: “hospital meals, may be a week old after preparation before consumption.”
South Korea : Watch-con too.
“Noahs Ark” project-the tiger, the lion and the grizzly bear; “and the lambs shall lay with…”
Reinsurance flows will increase the $ / TWI
mango or Shelly, shark-infested swamps?
CL: Cadmium;” Heavy metals are part of our economy (super=phosphate)
oh, kidney failure? wait…breast cancer, testicular cancer
residues 5 x in dairying / agricultural fields
highest levels in their systems-vegetarians, unfortunately, and wheat consumers.
good evidence kiwis exceed safe limits of ingestion most nights (potatoes)
un-marketable offal? goes into blood and bone
(turnips” will suck it up privately, turnips)
sooo, now land values and food security are questionable; an Energizer bunny indeed.
threat of Zespri staff being arrested in the home of the goose-berry; Key- “it’s an important market, we need to grow that.” PSA? Hello, cat got your memory? or is just an ornament to the side of the stocking. (don’t forget the bed of fire-clay in the coal mine then).
thank goodness we can relax ourselves with the 50th anniversary of the good Dr (on Prime)
-“run you clever boy, and remember”
(Celia Imrie, whoar) pointless being a monk and fez are not fetching for every one.
“hoovering up data and hoovering up people”.
see, 101 places to be; 🙂
Morning Report-” 3 more years of house prices rising steply in Ak, Well. and ChCh; Forbidden cities indeed.
proverb you won’t read on kiwiblog:
4.20 expiration am, gears loose wearing, mystery won’t see them again. Dingle (Keyser alarm saze) the exhaust pyrometer is climbing into the red.
Peak derp
http://chemtrailsnorthnz.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/uncensored-interview-lord-moncktons-covers-up-chemtrailsgeoengineering/
http://xkcd.com/966/
Talk about paranoid:
http://weatherwars.info/
It’s actually a nice role that wikileaks offered, really. You can say to all these conspiracy nuts: “if this really is such a massive coverup, how come no one has leaked it to wikileaks yet?”.
Loon resource.
/
http://educate-yourself.org/dc/
Why are you reading it then posting it here PB?
Make you feel safe/confident in yourself that you know whats going on by doing so?
Then seeking affirmation from the site herd, that you’re *in the know* about this….
You got Joe90, and Lanth – SCORE!
Joe -Still waiting for your reponse about SFO, as it related to that picture you posted the many days ago now!
“Why are you reading it then posting it here PB?”
Because it’s fucking funny muzza.
lol
Why would a subject with high likelihood of serious negative consequences, which are going to impossible to measure/forecast the fallout of, be so funny to you!
Best hope its not happening eh bro, if you want to keep that attitude up!
Approaching the point, Muzz.
[sigh]
You are assuming a highly complex explanation based on scant evidence. You then interpret all subsequent data so that it fits your hypothesis. To the point of absurdity and, yes, humour.
And for my part I’m assuming that your confirmation bias is the result of stupidity, and not part of some elaborate social “experiment” you are conducting without documentation, peer review, ethics committee authorisation or participant consent.
How is Project Onan going, by the way?
As I said to P’s B, best hope its not actually happening then eh, McFlock!
And perhaps keep the stupidity for the perception bias you’ve formed about my online handle here, I’ll leave perception bias to the un-evolved, and wait for them to catch up, which will be a wee way of for most, if ever!
Scant evidence – McFlock, its only the threat to the egos of the *self styled*, who want to believe this, as it’s an affront to all they believe to *know*, about the world, and the self esteem is not prepared to accept that sort of abuse, as yet!
P’s B (below comment) – Monkton, has only ever been an attempt to distract, which many have brought into. He represents various interests and plays the role, somewhat effectively, although it looks like he has a whole new set of issues to deal with, and I would expect him to disappear from the stage pretty quickly, or change tact.
Best hope that the zombies don’t attack you tonight, eh!
Given that now you’re blaming your handle for perceptions about your beliefs regarding contrails, are we to infer that your contrail obsession is actually a contrivance constructed as part of your social “experiments” here, muzz?
But we do agree that monckton is an intentional distraction. I think he’s a shill for the dying fossil fuels industry. You think he’s a cover-up for what: contrail-engineered global warming? Cui bono – who benefits?
Zombies – What are you on about McFlock, watching too many movies, or getting stuck into the *bath salts* perhaps.
The experiments are going on at your expense, along with everyone else’s, including my own!
All I ‘m doing is commenting on the experiments, which are not yet mainstream, and watching people live completely unaware of what is going on around them. Even those who somewhat are aware, still have constraints which are allowing the experiments you refer, to continue, and its all an experiment, which should have the science types super excited, so be part of it!
As always, it will be a time lag before people, including those who ridicule (out of fear mostly), begin to accept whats going on above them, and go through the intermal critique which is necessary, before humanity can move forward meaningfully.
Better hope you’re right McFlock, have an honest self evaluation of how confident you are in your position, then ask whose position has a larger probable downside, yours or mine!
I’m wrong, (great, ill be happy to be so), no damage to people or the environment. etc.
You, and those sharing your position wrong, and the consequence, could be all the way down to the bottom, for everyone/everything!
I’m happy that you’re wrong too.
Needless to say, you’re one of those who could do with some inward reflection!
The underwhelming lack of confidence in your words, exposes your *truth*, as always!
Consider them the twin, of the insults you throw about!
Attacking me at your weak spots makes them no less yours, you tiresome cretin.
Did you see a chemtrail as the point flew over your head?
Muzz, if you’re wrong then nutbars like you have been used to discredit folk with genuine environmental or political concerns for the last forty years. If your think that that is zero-harm behaviour then you’re a bigger idiot than you pretend.
Don’t get me wrong Muzza.
Nothing would please me more than that everywhere Monckton went he was confronted by people with oversized hi-res printouts of chemtrails demanding to know why he was covering up the real scandal.
Soon there’ll only be one true sovereign person/freeman/knower of the truth on the whole planet. All else will be controlled opposition.
You got to love the way the Jap’s and Yank’s are printing money hand over fist then banking some of it here, all because of our high interest rates, inflation and rising dollar which will keep rising because of demand and shortage, so a win win for the money traders, all the while Billygoat English and the Reserve bank sit by doing nothing.
We need to start Printing Money now before it’s to late, if English and The Reserve bank thinks they can just sit around while 2 of the worlds largest economies print trillions of dollars then I would suggest they are as corrupt as Key or stupid or both.
Another twist to the ongoing GCSB saga etc which really doesn’t fit under any of the other posts to date, referred to in a comment on Russell Brown’s Key Questions post on Public Address.
The Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) have recently put up a RFP tender (38883) on the http://www.gets.govt.nz site for a “Security Sector Professional Development Programme”.
I have not looked at the detail of the RFP as you need to register on the site to do so, but apparently it is looking for
” an innovative supplier to provide a professional development programme for executives and senior officials within the security sector. The focus of the programme is to equip officials with the knowledge and skills required to deal with the myriad of security challenges that threaten New Zealand’s wellbeing and prosperity.”
The fact that it is a DPMC-initiated tender for a programme across the ‘security sector’ is in line with the changes and structure of the sector outlined in Chris Trotter’s revealing post on The Daily Blog
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/04/11/breaking-worse-than-we-thought-rebecca-kitteridge-and-the-new-community-of-spooks/
I recommend this post as a ‘must read’ as it is a good piece of investigative journalism giving an insight into what has been going on behind the scenes – almost up to Karol’s high standard!
I had almost given up on Trotter over the last year or so, but this post, and one or two of his other posts over the last month or so, have started to restore him in my eyes.
Under “Feeds” in the side panel (about 15 down at the moment) is “Citizen with Keith Locke & Selwyn ManningThe Jackal | 2013-04-11”
It is yet another daunting set of opinions re the GSB. Keith Locke was there during the 2003 Act passage and is adamant that the NZ citizens were definitely exempt from spying in spite of the Key spin that the Act is ambiguous. Keith reckons that the first thing in a Court of Law would be to look at the intent of the Act and it would be impossible to argue ambiguity. The Government would hate to see it before the Court! A great session but not sure how to link directly.
Exhausted:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDStHQLSQWQ – pieces of 8
“got a friend in End casino and it’s getting close to Harvest time
she was kinda cute if a little pass her Prime”
tired now. have an Excellent weekend.a DVD and Scrabble for the Rogue : carry on, as you were, at ease.
now
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZyVZFJGX5g )
*much?
-my name it is Sam Hall, may the Good Lord bless you all. 😉
Parallel Lines
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZZXOTRU75Q
for Christina
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkbaRJuZ3A8
-“Momma always said I’d go like this if I didn’t change my ways…stretched between a dead cyborg motorbike and a really better cyborg motorbike impaled on the tip of a bullet train in the japanese badlands.”
The Ghost Rider.
David Shearer was interviewed and took calls on Radio Live (1pm to 2.15).
It’ll be on the Radio Live website if you want to hear it, but don’t bother, I did it so you don’t have to.
Summary – he likes Winston Peters, he thought Tamihere was going to be first Maori PM, he agrees with Prince Charles about housing, his bank account same old same old, and he sang along with Sinatra and Tamihere (mercifully brief). Nothing terrible, nothing memorable, nothing very political, and nobody listened.
He is stuttering less than before, so he is still saying nothing much, but he’s saying nothing less badly.
Oh. Is Shearer still here? I thought he must have abdicated or summat.
Maybe he has.
Compare and contrast …
https://twitter.com/DavidShearerMP
https://twitter.com/grantrobertson1
One has said nothing for a week. The other is leading the Labour party.
It would be head/desk if my head had metaphorically ever left my desk in order to pound against it again. Mumblefuck’s beyond hope and finally even his own caucus knows it, but doesn’t know what to do with him while Mallard makes Zaphod Beeblebrox look modest and prudent and Robertson persists in thinking that elections are vending machines into which you keep inserting press releases until government falls out.
They’re so desperate not to lose control of the party, they can’t win for the people they claim to represent.
gotta Fly
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092618/
weeds are Pilling up. thanks Lyn n
Ken Orr, the “Right to life” guy, ‘deplores’ the recent attack on a nurses car, but can’t see why anyone would value the victim:
http://righttolife.org.nz/2013/04/12/vandalism-of-abortion-nurses-car-deplored/
That’s because he’s a fuckwit, for those keeping score at home.
On the fightback in Spain
Suing banks over evictions – and winning.
And in Andalusia
The fightback gained momentum a few months ago when locksmiths and police put their jobs on the line by refusing to help with evictions
(Apologise for the length of this post – but some may find it useful? )
‘Open Letter’ / formal request to the CEO of the Finance Markets Authority (FMA) to conduct an investigation into the Mighty River Power prospectus.
12 April 2013
Sean Hughes
Finance Markets Authority CEO
Dear Sean,
Please be reminded of your statutory duties arising from the Finance Markets Authority Act 2011:
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2011/0005/latest/DLM3231068.html
9FMA’s functions
(1)The FMA’s functions are as follows:
(a)to promote the confident and informed participation of businesses, investors, and consumers in the financial markets, including (without limitation) by—
(i)collecting and disseminating information or research about any matter relating to those markets:
(ii)issuing warnings, reports, or guidelines, or making comments, about any matter relating to those markets, financial markets participants, or other persons engaged in conduct relating to those markets (including in relation to 1 or more
particular persons):
(iii)providing information about its functions, powers, and duties under this Act and other enactments (including promoting awareness by investors that all investments involve risks and that it is not the role of the FMA to remove those risks):
(iv)providing, or facilitating the provision of, public information and education about any matter relating to those markets:
(b)to perform and exercise the functions, powers, and duties conferred or imposed on it by or under the financial markets legislation and any other enactments:
(c)to monitor compliance with, investigate conduct that constitutes or may constitute a contravention of, and enforce—
(i)the Acts referred to in Part 1 of Schedule 1 (and the enactments made under those Acts); and
(ii)the Acts referred to in Part 2 of Schedule 1 (and the enactments made under those Acts) to the extent that those Acts or other enactments apply, or otherwise relate, to financial markets participants:
(d)to monitor, and conduct inquiries and investigations into any matter relating to, financial markets or the activities of financial markets participants or of other persons engaged in conduct relating to those markets:
(e)to keep under review the law and practices relating to financial markets, financial markets participants, and other persons engaged in conduct relating to those markets:
(f)to co-operate with—
(i)any other law enforcement or regulatory agency (including under section 30):
(ii)overseas regulators (including under section 30 or 31).
(2)Subsection (1)(b) and (c) do not limit the functions, powers, and duties conferred or imposed on any other person in respect of financial markets legislation.
(3)The fact that some other person has functions, powers, and duties in respect of financial markets legislation does not limit or restrict the FMA’s functions, powers, and duties in respect of that legislation.
(4)Except as expressly provided otherwise in this or any other Act, the FMA must act independently in performing its statutory functions and duties, and exercising its statutory powers, under—
(a)this Act; and
(b)any other Act that expressly provides for the functions, powers, or duties of the FMA (other than the Crown Entities Act 2004).
Compare: 1978 No 103 s 10
_______________________________________________
Schedule 1
Financial markets legislation
s 4
Part 1
Auditor Regulation Act 2011
Financial Advisers Act 2008
Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008
Parts 4 and 5 and Schedules 1 and 2 of the KiwiSaver Act 2006
Sections 45U and 45V of the Public Finance Act 1989
Securities Act 1978
Securities Markets Act 1988
Securities Transfer Act 1991
Securities Trustees and Statutory Supervisors Act 2011
Superannuation Schemes Act 1989
Unit Trusts Act 1960
Schedule 1 Part 1: amended, on 1 July 2012, by section 82 of the Auditor Regulation Act 2011 (2011 No 21).
Schedule 1 Part 1: amended, on 30 June 2012, by section 11 of the Public Finance (Mixed Ownership Model) Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 45).
Schedule 1 Part 1: amended, on 1 October 2011, by section 60(2) of the Securities Trustees and Statutory Supervisors Act 2011 (2011 No 10).
Part 2
Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009
Building Societies Act 1965
Companies Act 1993
Co-operative Companies Act 1996
Corporations (Investigation and Management) Act 1989
Sections 220, 228, 229, 240, 242, and 256 to 260 of the Crimes Act 1961
Financial Reporting Act 1993
Friendly Societies and Credit Unions Act 1982
Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1908
Limited Partnerships Act 2008
Part 5C of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989
Trustee Companies Act 1967
_________________________________________________________________________
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1988/0234/latest/DLM140405.html
8A Who is information insider
(1) A person is an information insider of a public issuer if that person—
(a) has material information relating to the public issuer that is not generally available to the market; and
(b) knows or ought reasonably to know that the information is material information; and
(c) knows or ought reasonably to know that the information is not generally available to the market.
(2)A public issuer may be an information insider of itself.
Section 8A: inserted, on 29 February 2008, by section 5 of the Securities Markets Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 47).
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1988/0234/latest/DLM140407.html
8BMeaning of inside information
In this subpart, inside information means the information in respect of which a person is an information insider of the public issuer in question.
Section 8B: inserted, on 29 February 2008, by section 5 of the Securities Markets Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 47).
8C Information insider must not trade
An information insider of a public issuer must not trade securities of the public issuer.
Section 8C: inserted, on 29 February 2008, by section 5 of the Securities Markets Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 47).
8D Information insider must not disclose inside information
An information insider (A) of a public issuer must not directly or indirectly disclose inside information to another person (B) if A knows or ought reasonably to know or believes that B will, or is likely to,—
(a )trade securities of the public issuer; or
(b) if B is already a holder of those securities, continue to hold them; or
(c) advise or encourage another person (C) to trade or hold them.
Section 8D: inserted, on 29 February 2008, by section 5 of the Securities Markets Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 47).
8E Information insider must not advise or encourage trading
An information insider (A) of a public issuer must not—
(a) advise or encourage another person (B) to trade or hold securities of the public issuer:
(b) advise or encourage B to advise or encourage another person (C) to trade or hold those securities.
Section 8E: inserted, on 29 February 2008, by section 5 of the Securities Markets Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 47).
8F Criminal liability for insider conduct
A person who contravenes any of sections 8C to 8E commits an offence (see section 43 for the maximum penalty of 5 years’ imprisonment and a $300,000 fine for an individual or a $1,000,000 fine for a body corporate) if the person has actual knowledge—
(a) that the information is material information; and
(b) that the information is not generally available to the market; and
(c) in the case of a contravention of section 8D, of any of the matters set out in section 8D(a) to (c).
Section 8F: inserted, on 29 February 2008, by section 5 of the Securities Markets Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 47).
________________________________________________________________________
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8465532/Call-to-ban-ministers-from-share-float
Three-quarters of Sunday Star-Times readers believe we should follow Australia and prohibit cabinet ministers from buying shares in state-owned companies they decide to sell.
The pre-registration for the Mighty River Power share float closed on Friday with more than 440,000 signed up, but the sale of state assets remains divisive.
We asked our readers if they wanted a similar rule to Australia’s “Standards of Ministerial Ethics” that require ministers “to divest themselves of all shareholdings other than through investment vehicles such as broadly diversified superannuation funds or publicly listed managed or trust arrangements”.
It’s a rule that would prohibit buying into a state-owned asset float while in power and 75 per cent of the 788 people polled were in favour of it.
Cabinet ministers have agreed to a voluntary “moratorium” preventing the purchase of shares by all ministers, and some of their staff, until 90 days after the initial sale.
Finance Minister Bill English’s office said: “Cabinet also agreed that ministers and the staff in those offices . . . should use their best endeavours to ensure that their partners and dependent children adhere to the same moratorium.”
But our readers say that is not long enough and want a more permanent solution.
As one pro-asset sales reader said, a ban on share purchases would “prove they don’t have a vested interest or conflict of interest”.
Another said: “It would help to keep our politicians openly accountable to public scrutiny. As corruption and lobbying increases in countries around the world this is just another small way we can try and stay relatively ‘clean’ for longer and assists in enhancing our international reputation as an honest country to deal with.”
But a conflict of interest in an asset sale would, many felt, last longer than 90 days, and dozens cited fears of insider trading. One reader said: “They would probably have ‘insider knowledge’ of how MRP or any other state-owned companies were trading, and if in a downward spiral, would be able to offload them without getting hurt.”
Not everyone wants ministers forced to sell all their shares, something that might discourage successful people from standing for office.
Some cited the example of John Key, whose wealth is managed through a “blind trust” over which he says he has no control.
“Good practice would be for all ministers to put their financial affairs into a blind trust type arrangement,” one reader said.
Some also felt the suggested rule would do nothing to stop ministers from taking up roles such as directorships on assets they sold even after leaving office.
The MPs from NZ First, Labour, and the Greens have all pledged not to buy Mighty River Power shares to demonstrate their opposition to the sale.
_____________________________________________________________________________
https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/?ui=2&ik=18afffb768&view=att&th=13ddc0c862efa428&attid=0.0&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P-I5Cd-lIWIP7LzmJSi9erv&sadet=1365196872571&sads
____________________________________________________________________________
RISKS and INFORMATION which have arguably not been fully disclosed in the Mighty River Power prospectus, thus potentially misleading investors :
1) Over-supply of wholesale electricity now.
2) Further over-supply of the wholesale electricity market if the Government partially-privatises State-Owned Enterprises Meridian and Genesis.
3) The consumer boycott of Mercury Energy, Mighty River Power’s main retail electricity provider by the Switch Off Mercury Energy community group. http://www.switchoffmercuryenergy.org.nz
4) Failure to attempt to quantify the cost to Mighty River Power, if Rio Tinto does not reach a deal with Meridian Energy.
5) Cabinet Ministers responsible for setting a ‘good’ price for Mighty River Power, John Key, Bill English, Steven Joyce and Tony Ryall are not prohibited by law from purchasing shares in Mighty River Power, so are potentially ‘information insiders’ as per
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1988/0234/latest/DLM140405.html
8A Who is information insider
(1) A person is an information insider of a public issuer if that person—
(a) has material information relating to the public issuer that is not generally available to the market; and
(b) knows or ought reasonably to know that the information is material information; and
(c) knows or ought reasonably to know that the information is not generally available to the market.
(2) A public issuer may be an information insider of itself.
Section 8A: inserted, on 29 February 2008, by section 5 of the Securities Markets Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 47).
(OFFICIAL INFORMATION REPLY FROM MINISTER FOR STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES TONY RYALL):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ung4048v4cgtul7/Slevel6.3-c13031716040.pdf
This information has not been disclosed to investors.
7) Mighty River Power is also arguably misleading investors , because it advertises investors to ‘share’ in a company that they arguably already own, as currently a ‘State-Owned Enterprise’.
Yours sincerely,
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
A Spokesperson for the Switch Off Mercury Energy Group
Superior edition of The Panel this afternoon
Finlay Macdonald gets his act together and delivers
Radio NZ National, Friday 12 April 2013
Jim Mora, Sam Johnson, Finlay Macdonald
Jim Mora’s Panel program has been pretty effectively purged of dissenting voices. Regular listeners will remember two of the victims of Radio NZ’s clobbering machine, AKA the “management”. Gordon Campbell on one episode challenged the bullying ex-cop Graham Bell and forced him to back down, after Bell had indulged in a wandery, foam-flecked rant against Jeanette Fitzsimmons. Entertainingly, on another occasion Campbell also embarrassed the godawful Richard Griffin into backing down and apologizing after he had made a foolish and ignorant comment about Hugo Chavez. Griffin has since then been appointed to the chair of the Radio New Zealand Board of Governors—and Campbell has never again appeared on the program. In 2011, Panelist Martyn “Bomber” Bradbury dared to criticize the Prime Minister after Key had been involved in some typically hare-brained and reckless behavior in parliament; Bradbury was banished almost instantly for this act of lèse majesté.
The few “left” or “liberal” voices that are still allowed on the Panel pose no such dangers. With the occasional exception, they are unlikely to spoil the convivial atmosphere, or to ruffle the smooth and unexamined prejudices of either Mora or the other guest, who will be almost inevitably a National Party supporter or something even further to the right.
Occasionally, though, the token liberal actually does a good job. One of the occasional exceptions is Finlay Macdonald, who this afternoon managed to actually stay on message and say something coherent…
JIM MORA: The BBC says it will continue to play “Ding Dong The Witch is Dead” even though it’s an obvious dig at Baroness Thatcher. What do we THINK of this?
SAM JOHNSON: I admired her will, and her strong character!
FINLAY MACDONALD: Well it’s all a bit obvious, really. There were plenty of songs actually inspired by Maggie Thatcher. Let’s face it: she was detested, especially in the north.
SAM JOHNSON: I liked her leadership!
FINLAY MACDONALD: She was never as popular as has been asserted recently.
SAM JOHNSON: [doubtfully] Oh, okay.
FINLAY MACDONALD: Sam, you need to remember she said some pretty terrible things. She once said that there are “reasonable people in the Khmer Rouge”.
JIM MORA: Did she actually say that?
SAM JOHNSON: She also said many clever things. “The lady’s not for turning.” That was one of her good ones.
MORA: So what do we think? Should the BBC ban this like it banned “Lola” and it bowdlerized “Fairy Tale in New York”?
FINLAY MACDONALD: Play it, I say! Play it!
SAM JOHNSON: Many people admired her resolve!
MORA: Oh okay. She’s a good witch in the eyes of a lot of people. And a bad witch to others of course.
Soapbox…
Finlay Macdonald’s contribution was a thoughtful and serious rumination on the pernicious and cynical use of the phrase “systemic failure”. The continual resort to such official codewords, he said, is a sign of the corruption of our intellectual and political life.
Macdonald made his case so compellingly that Mora actually contributed something intelligent instead of doing something flippant like countering with a quote from some right wing ideologue in the New York Times. Sam Johnson, too, showed that he is more than the ambitious young-man-on-the-make he has too often appeared to be. For a short time, The Panel was an intelligent and interesting forum.
What a pity it doesn’t happen more often.
Thanks Morrissey for that analysis. Poor guy. You are now obliged to furnish the same on a daily basis. MacDonald was great. No bones about it. Play the bloody thing !
Aunty Affable Mora was dying to clutch her pearls over the “unseemliness” of celebrating The Vile Old Bag’s going off with 666 stamped all over her arse for delivery purposes but obviously thought better of it, for fear no doubt of Finlay showing him up for the Semi-Hurrah-Henry dick he is.
The seminal thing for me about TVOB and her vaunted love of freedom and democracy is “Nelson Mandela is a terrorist”. What ??? Gimme Terrorist Nelson over you and your alarmingly inbred looking arms-dealing spawn Mummy, any day.
Saw some comedy thing the other night where this wit (Englishman) said the send-off will be the first ceremonial funeral in history where the 21 gun salute shoots the coffin.
Saw some comedy thing the other night where this wit (Englishman) said the send-off will be the first ceremonial funeral in history where the 21 gun salute shoots the coffin.
That was Frankie Boyle, from Scotland. He was speaking four years ago, following a rumour that she had died. Here’s the clip….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmmomV-ax-s
Good summary, Moz. I heard the latter half, and then a Mora inspired waffle about why ‘systemic failure’ was a catch all for any modern enquiry. Actually, its not. It’s what kills kiwi workers at record levels. And a finding of systemic failure does not preclude individuals being fully prosecuted for personal failings. It’s not an either/or as Mora seemed to think.
It seems that very few of these top executives are worth the risk-free pay they demand.
Any chance the SST is calling for the jailing of Peter Whittall? Nah, thought not.
Any chance the SST is calling for the jailing of Peter Whittall? Nah, thought not.
The SST has officially come out in support of the exploding gas.
Why is Gerry Brownlee wasting money by going to Thatcher’s funeral? Isn’t that the job of the High Commissioner, who is already paid and in-country?
Because he’s pretty much sorted Christchurch now and has nothing pressing to do.
🙂 Aha! That’s the answer, definitely.
Nothing at all to do with sycophantic need to be seen at a bombastic, jingoistic tory political rally.
Actually you wanna know the real answer?
It’s because Key knows everything he does is being watched and scrutinised and analysed and criticised for a change. Otherwise he’d be there already.
Also Gerry heard the baby back ribs will be made from real babies.
Yeah, I immediately thought Key would be taking the long way home from China if he could get away with it. Then I wondered why anyone should be going at all.
Hmm if Gerry wears the “Full Day Ceremonial without swords” he can hide some spare ribs in the scabbard for later.
Gluttonous bastard’s only going for the hakari anyway.
Sticking up for the NZEI on Kiwiblog! 🙂
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/04/the_nzei_campaign.html/comment-page-1#comment-1125119
There is no electorate ‘mandate’ for ‘charter’ schools.
The ACT Party did NOT campaign on this issue in the 2011 election, and neither did the National Party.
http://www.act.org.nz/policies/education
http://www.national.org.nz/PDF_General/Education_in_Schools_policy.pdf
The ‘business’ model for other essential public services has proven to be a disaster for the public – where is the evidence that it will work for students / parents or the public?
Where is the transparency and accountability under this model?
Where will the money go and who will benefit?
______________________________________________________________________________
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-stanford/wall-street-charter-schools_b_2467608.html
Wall Street Behind Charter School Push
Posted: 01/15/2013 1:31 pm
About a quarter of the kids in the San Antonio Independent School District attend charter schools. Most are the low-income, minority students we think about when we imagine providing innovative opportunities for kids stuck in failing public schools in bad neighborhoods. For a long time, school reform has targeted only kids from poor families. You know, the lucky ones who get those free lunches.
Starting this fall, though, no longer will Texas exclude upper-middle class white kids like mine from the gravy train of school choice. Last November, the State Board of Education approved a charter allowing Great Hearts Academies to open a school in North San Antonio, the wealthier, whiter section of a majority-Hispanic city.
Great Hearts Academies operates out of Arizona, where they survive not just on public funding that would normally go to public schools but also on mandatory fees as well as contributions from students’ families, pricing Great Hearts out of reach for most San Antonio families. In other words, upper-middle class Anglos are finally getting a taxpayer-subsidized private school. Our long nightmare of being stuck in high-performing, better-funded public schools is almost over.
If that’s not what you have in mind when you think of school choice, you’re not alone. Great Hearts tried this in Nashville, but the school board rejected the charter application, arguing reasonably that creating a government-funded private school to serve an affluent, white neighborhood constituted segregation. It’s exactly what they’re planning in North San Antonio, except our school board approved it.
Private tuition and public subsidies only provide enough money to pay the teachers, buy textbooks and keep the lights on. To build schools, you need to go into massive debt. But don’t worry, because our need to borrow millions of dollars creates an investment opportunity for Wall Street investment bankers.Apparently charter schools are “a favorite cause of many of the wealthy founders of New York hedge funds.” The word you’re probably looking for is “yippee.”
Public school bonds are a safe investment, but low risk means lower reward, in this case an average 3 percent return on general-obligation funds used to raise money to build schools. But debt for charter schools runs an average of 3.8 percent higher than general-obligation bonds, and charter schools even qualify for federal tax credits under the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000.
As every investment prospectus says in small type, investments carry risk. In this case, 3.91 percent of charter-school bonds are in default versus 0.03 percent for public schools. And since 1992, 15 percent of charters have closed, including 52 in Texas.
Despite the risks, charter schools are big business. Pearson, the company that sells tests and curricula to public schools, also sells tests and curriculato charter schools, and JPMorgan Chase of worldwide economic meltdown fame is bullish on charter school construction.
“Many charter schools have expanded access to academic opportunities for students in all types of communities, so we shouldn’t let tough economic times bring them down,” said JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon.
This is the same Jamie Dimon who thought mortgage-backed securities were foolproof, who was forced to take $25 billion of our money in the bank bailout, who wrongly foreclosed on military families, whoovercharged 4,000 other military families by $2 million, and who then lost $2 billion of our money in what amounted to the kind of gambling that only happens after 4 a.m. in Las Vegas. Let’s absolutely have this guy underwrite our schools. What could go wrong that hasn’t already many times over?
Subjecting our public school system to the free market requires us to accept that hopped-up Wall Street bankers will mess up, schools will close, and sooner or later, someone will have to choose between increasing shareholder returns and improving some kid’s education. Failure is not only an option. When it comes to Wall Street, failure is inevitable.
The specter of resegregating our schools along racial and economic lines under the cloak of school choice presents a more daunting future for a state that is growing poorer, browner, and younger. When it comes to schools, the question isn’t whether we’re going to have charter schools or public schools. We have both now. When it comes to schools, the real choice is whether we are all in this together or if it’s every man for himself.”
______________________________________________________________________________
So – if Wall St bank$ters are behind Charter Schools – and neither ACT nor National campaigned for Charter Schools during the 2011 election – did this idea actually come from John Key?
(Just asking……. 🙂
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate
‘
http://www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/en/take-action/Take-action-online/reject-the-Anadarko-Amendment/?utm_source=MailingList&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AnadarkoAmendmentKicker
PETROBRAS – 2 FOR 1 SPECIAL!!!
COASTAL OIL SPILL WRECKS SAO PAULO BEACHES AND MASSIVE PIPELINE BLOWOUT IN EQUADOR (5500 BARRELLS OF CRUDE!) IN ONE DAY!!!
well-lubed up Jenny.
Can someone please tell me how I ‘know’ that Clare Curran was behind the contacting of contributors to The Standard (through matching their user names with the same names and registration details on Red Alert?)
I thought I ‘knew’ that people who belonged to the Labour Party and who were commenting or blogging on The Standard were told to stop backing Cunliffe over Shearer for Leader or leave the Party and that she was behind this as the Labour Party IT go to person.
I met Ms Curran today. She said the claim was false. She said she would come on The Standard today and defend herself (so long as no one was abusive).
I have an invitation from her to go to her Electorate Meeting and from another Labour Party official to go to the Dunedin North Meeting. Can anyone help?
I have met some of the frequent commentators/mods on The Standard and they know my bona fides.
Firstly, pick an electorate/branch with an active membership and one with people you can get along with. Each electorate (and each branch within that electorate) has a different demographic of membership and different emphasis in terms of what their usual focus is. Find one which suits you.
Secondly, Labour Party meetings are supposed to be about the party, its policies, and the activities of the membership. I’m speaking where Labour”s “Party” and it’s “Parliamentary wing” are two very distinct and separate entities. Unfortunately, in too many electorates these days, the meetings have become a kind of “MPs supporters club”. Which I believe is the presumption behind how you worded your question, and which I believe is a concept worth identifying and then canning nice and early. Candidates come and go, MPs come and go. The party and your support for it are supposed to go much deeper than just that.
Lastly, you can trust Curran as far as you can throw her with both hands tied behind your back.
I don’t think you have got your questions quite right there. Important because after all we wouldn’t want the wrong question to be put to Curran and then for her to miss out on being able to answer truthfully.
Here’s an overview http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/238634/curran-hits-out-online-critics
And if you want more specifics on the discussion here, look at the conversations in the week preceding and around that article.
DWBH, It would indeed be a good idea to take up both offers and attend both meetings in order to make up your own mind about any MPs credibilty. Also, it’s an opportunity to see the workings of LEC or branch meetings, especially if you are interested in finding our more about the workings of the NZLP.
Colonial Viper’s comments are made in bad faith – an obvious personal vendetta – so surely it would be best to make up your own mind?
Unfortunately blogsites such as this encourage a torch and pitchfork mentality without the benefit of many unknown facts behind the scenes.
If an MP says a claim is false then I would imagine you yourself would want an opportunity to defend your integrity were you to find yourself in a similar position.