Not Phillip Hammond: Some Decent Englishmen
No. 1: TONY BENN
The vile and hypocritical public utterances of the British Foreign Secretary might lead some people to wonder if every British public figure is as despicable. In fact, there ARE decent and honorable English men and women—sadly, not enough of them are in politics. This series is to pay tribute to some of the good, decent English people out there, the antitheses of Blair, Mandelson, Campbell, Freedland, Duncan Smith, Heseltine, Hain, Straw and all those who make the very word “England” a curse to so many around the world.
There are many people like him in Britain. The furious denunciation, intimidation and scorn they have to endure is immense, as we saw in the Stalinist Show Trial that took place in London last week…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guAjF0csFI0
Galloway set out his argument in broad terms in a (Newsnight Scotland) TV debate with veteran socialist Labour-turned-SNP politician, Jim Sillars. Here’s a few excerpts…
Galloway: (In reply to Sillars) “But there are no Scottish State interests. This is the fundamental flaw at the heart of nationalism. The bus driver in Bathgate has far more in common with the bus driver in Bradford than with the man that owns the bus he drives, who happens to be the biggest donor to SNP coffers and the biggest funder of the Yes campaign……When Jim was a champion of the miners in Ayrshire, he had everything in common with the miners in Durham and nothing in common with the Yule and Dodds drivers who were scabbing on the miners strike, even though they were Scottish. This is a fundamental flaw in the nationalist argument.”
Panel Journalist: “But when we look at the political make-up of the UK it’s fair to say the Conservatives and UKIP are more popular in England than here in Scotland. Isn’t there an argument for an independent Scotland being a social beacon for the rest of the UK ?”
Galloway: “But it wouldn’t be. This nonsense on stilts is, Jim, what people are voting for, it’s for a currency union with the Treasury in London…..You wouldn’t be independent at all. You’d be entirely dependent on the fiscal/monetary policies set in the Treasury and in the Bank of England, the clue being in the name. What would happen though, and it’s already been announced by the SNP – a 3% cut in the taxation on private company profit.”
Panel Journalist: “But, could it not be argued that a Yes vote in Scotland would be a seismic shift across these islands that could lead to political change and benefit in the way that you would like to see – the people of Merseyside and these other areas that you mention ?”
Galloway: “Well, it would certainly be a shock !!! And a shock just like the one Mrs Thatcher introduced, laying waste to the Scottish industrial heartland which has never recovered. For example, when there are no MoD orders for the Clyde shipyards – the job loss will be the equivalent of the job loss at Linwood when the motor manufacturers pulled out of there. (The SNP) have made it clear, it would be a free market, low-tax – 3% cut in corporation tax……(To Jim Sillars) You know that, in the Labour heartland that we both come from, people are deeply sceptical about Alex Salmond and the kind of politics he represents…….We are both Socialists and we’re arguing about what the best way for the working people in this Country is. Now my view is that the working people are all. I care nothing for Scottish landowners, Scottish company owners, Scottish billionaires. I have nothing in common with them other than I was born on the same piece of rock, which is of singularly less importance to me than the relationship to wealth and power.”
Right, thanks for this…I do agree with Galloway on one thing…the currency union with the UK would’ve been a big big mistake. Without the ability to issue your own money, issue your own debt, control your own interest rates and foreign exchange rates, you really are just a dependent province, not an independent state.
80 British Politicians Express Solidarity with Venezuela
Telesur, 12 February 2015
One hundred leading British figures, including 82 parliamentarians, have expressed their solidarity with Venezuela against right-wing destabilizing tactics and U.S. intervention.
On the anniversary of last year’s wave of right-wing violent and anti-democratic protests that left 43 people dead and 800 injured, the politicians signed a statement condemning the sectors “whose declared aim is the ousting of the elected government.”
Prestigious signatories include four former government ministers, while in total representatives of seven parties backed the call.
The signatories express agreement with bodies such as the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in “both condemning the ongoing wave of anti-democratic violence from extreme elements of Venezuela’s right-wing opposition … and in supporting the calls of Venezuela’s elected President Nicolas Maduro for peace and dialogue.”
The statement also expresses opposition to U.S. meddling, backing the Organization of American States in its call for “respect for the principle of non intervention in the internal affairs of states, and therefore disagree with all external interference, including through U.S. sanctions on Venezuela.” ….
Not on a par according to these organisations. Worse.
I see Human Rights Watch has posted a further warning today regarding the Venezuelan Governments permitting use of force by the military to suppress protest.
So forgetting the silly sheep jokes Tricle – how about you answer the question…..what do you think of the human rights and press freedom issues in Venezuela?
The Cia is not fermenting unrest in South America then Sheep Shagger.
The Guardian published evidence that roght wing groups are being funded to ferment unrest in Venezuela.
The very same right winger who are pushing the War on drugs.
But are happy to have corrupt right wing politicians funded by the drug cartels!The Drug cartels don’t want the war on drugs to end as it is feeding demand in Venezuela the drug cartels run most of the suburbs.
Thats why Venezuela has a very high murder rate.
The right wingers are in the pockets of the Drug Cartels.
They don’t want left wing governments decriminalizing it would take away their income.
Argentina a prosecutor is murdered for trying to put a corrupt right wing politician on trial CIA drug money again.
I don’t know if you watched sons of anarchy but its underlying story was about US corruption the Drug trade gun trade.
The guns and money come from the US
The Drugs come from South America.
Decriminalizing all Drugs would do what getting rid of prohibition did in the 30’s.
The CIA have been tethered to the drug trade since George HW Bush as head of the CIA used a $200 million cocaine deal for the Iran Contra deal as the CIA could not gey funding from Congress.
You have avoided the question once again Tricle. (And MORRISSEY doesn’t want to make any comment either?)
Can you please give me a straight reply?
What do you think of the human rights and press freedom issues in Venezuela?
Do you think the ‘opposition and interference’ justifies the governments erosion of human rights and press freedoms as documented by independent and credible NGO’s?
What do you think about the USA wanting to see the last of Chavez’ government fail, and actively working to return millions of Venezuelans to poverty in order to do it?
Frankly, Venezuela has a far freer media environment than the USA has so what the fuck are you bitching about?
Okay, so the US, where mentalists claim freely that 9/11 was framed, are unfree, compared to any non-state Venezuelans are supes free and can have sweet yarns are free. Idiot. CV, you’ve jumped the shark
HRW is heavily connected to the establishment of the US and A. The “human rights” they are most concerned about are the rights to make a buck. They would support the rights of Sly City against the Kiwi people.
Why the hell should the Venezuelan government allow an anti-democratic media to subvert their democracy? I think they’re too lenient.
That principle already does apply in NZ. Look at what happens to journalists who threaten FJK’s “democracy”. What about the poaka campaign against Nicky Hager? Bradley Ambrose?
Should the Weimar Republic have arrested Julius Streicher and dumped Der Spiegel’s printing presses in the Baltic? Yes. That’s what Maduro’s government is facing, and I think they’re stupidly lenient.
Lost sheep you are reporting only half the story Venezuelan Right Wing fascist dictatoships held power for most of the last century.
They shared power at one stage.
Then Chavez took power only to be overthrown then he won power back.
Now Maduro has power.
Their is a slow burning civil war in Venezuela.
The Human rights abuses And corruption have continued right througout the Venzuelan history nothing new.
Thanks for acknowledging the human rights abuses and corruption of the past and current Venezuelan Govts. Tricle.
That is the other half of the story that doesn’t get mentioned by people like Morrissey who regularly post pro Venezuelan government material here.
And those same pro Venezuelan govt. people here seem to be totally unwilling to address these issues.
Would that be because they are willing to excuse levels of corruption and abuse in a Socialist country that they would not accept in a Capitalist one?
Or is it that admitting that Socialist Governments can be just as abusive and corrupt as any other doesn’t fit with the narrative that Socialism would eliminate such issues?
I don’t see why we should support any country that has such a poor record on human rights and press freedoms. And I think the implication that it is somehow ‘justified’ by ‘opposition’ is the most frighteningly corrupt concept of all.
You’re full of imperialist shit. The US would like nothing more for a puppet military dictatorship to take over Venezuela and let Exxon Mobil back in to grab billions of barrels of Venezuelan oil while making sure the people of the country get nothing, while the Venezuelan elite class get paid off.
That’s what they tried to do to Chavez a few years back, and that is what they will try to do again.
I think the reason is that many leftist can never acknowledge the downsides of their vision for a new society. They only see upsides and anyone who objects us obviously delusional or out for their own ends or both. What this means is when presented with hard evidence of the failure of regimes imposing a system that reflects their views they tend to blame external forces fir the problems not the policies they themselves support. It is a firm of cognitive dissonance on the left which I find truly fascinating. CO’S reply to you above this is a good example if this in action. Most of Venezuela’s problems are the result of actions of the US. This explains away everything nasty or economically illiterate that the Chavezta regime does.
Really Gos? So has there been either now or any time in the past, any form of “influence” or meddling in Venezuela’s government by the United States? A simple yes or no will suffice.
Rather irrelevant because the impact of any meddling by the US is dwarfed by the negative impact of the policies that the Venezuela government has decided to impose on that poor nation’s citizens. What I do find interesting is that people like you try to blame the US for actions by Venezuelan’s that any rational acting person would do given the circumstances email e.g. stopping selling items that have price controls on them.
Even on your own link the sentence “Venezuela’s traditional media, which are dominated by a few privately-owned publishing companies, are currently undergoing profound structural change.” should have stood out.
The privately owned media have never supported the democratically elected left leaders of Venezuela.
Many private radio and television stations utilised without license, some of the public broadcasting bands and when those bands were reclaimed by the Chavez government – they used their predominance to claim suppression of the press.
The reality is that the majority of media in Venezuela is still privately owned and still anti-government.
No, I’m saying that the premise that the government is controlling the media is negated by your own link: “Venezuela’s traditional media, which are dominated by a few privately-owned publishing companies…”
To say that the state is not allowing dissenting views is incorrect.
Most of the airtime is given to anti-government commentary. Most of the anti-government reports are the ones picked up by international media who have the same ideology.
That is not to say there is no corruption or need for improvement. That occurs in every country.
I wonder if you raised the same freedom of press concerns regarding the police going after Bradley Ambrose, the dismissal of Malcolm Evans due to his cartoon on the Israeli occupation, the Defence Force dismissing Jon Stephenson’s articles even when they knew they were accurate, and the police investigation into Nicky Hager.
Some fair points there Molly, that I’m happy to answer. But before I do, I’d appreciate you answering the straightforward questions I asked you first?
I only do so, because they are very relevant to how I answer your further questions..
“How about Reporters without Borders?
Or Amnesty International?
Are they credible?
And are you implying that Government should exercise control over the media?”
Lost Sheep. Spent some time looking into HRW a couple of years ago, and found the funding behind was particularly dodgy and so was some of the advocacy and criticisms they did – which is why I commented on them in particular.
My feeling is, that you cannot fully rely on any institution to give completely accurate and trustworthy reports unless all monies and associations of that entity are transparent.
The issue with Venezuelan media still stands. The majority is anti-government and often virulently so. The attempted coup against Chavez had been proposed and supported by those privately run stations, and this was an democratically elected government. Images were deliberately shot and presented during that coup that misled the viewing public – and international media.
It is incorrect to say that there is a full out war on dissenting voices in the media there, when the majority of media is still operating and speaking out against the elected government.
Now, are you going to answer regarding NZ authorities persecution of members of our own press?
gosman and lost sheep’s obsession with Venezuela = grasping at straws to defend their rotten capitalist ideology, which has been pillaging the world for most of the last century.
Reagan and Thatcher threw out all the rules, took away democracy and handed sovereignty to the new economic elite.
Shame on LS and Gos for trying to defend a global crime that has caused untold suffering.
@Molly
I’m a great believer in Trotsky’s rule that you will find the truth in a comparison of the lies. Which I am keen to discuss in light of the comments you make.
But before I comment further, can you state your sources of credible information for the situation in Venezuela?
I also believe that debate is a process of point and counter point. With a crucial aspect being that you answer a fair point that was put to you before you move on to further questions of your own.
So can you please answer the question I have already put to you twice….
“are you implying that Government should exercise control over the media?”
It’s a straight forward question that should be very easy for you to answer.
“But before I comment further, can you state your sources of credible information for the situation in Venezuela?”
I’m going to say “No.” Despite my initial comment making reference to “one of your own links” you keep asking me to jump through hoops to find links that you feel comfortable with before you will even discuss the topic.
That is your job.
You can then disagree with any points I make and then defineyour own opinion on it, not someone else’s cut and paste.
Do you really think that commenters who disagree with you must necessarily perform a series of jumping through your own self-created hoops, before you enter into dialogue?
I read up to ten to fifteen books a week – advantages of not watching TV. Some resonate, some don’t. I’m not keeping a book list so that I can feed the gratuitous needs of someone like you. If I come across any websites that I like, I will take time to check out the sources and funding for them before adding to my bookmarks. I watch documentaries online and critique them with my children. Very rarely do I find sources that I agree with unequivocally.
I don’t live in such a rarified state, that I think that is possible or even desirable.
Everything is up for debate, but only if during that debate you are providing good reasoning or quality new information.
@Molly
You talk about everything being up for debate – but you are not going to answer straight forward questions simply put, and you refuse to post a single credible source to counter either the information I provided, or to back the concrete assertions you made?
Those are the actions of someone completely unwilling to engage in genuine debate.
You know very well that you can’t sustain any sensible comparison between the situation in NZ and the one in Venezuela, and so you are refusing to engage.
I’ve seen the Venezuela situation all before, and in fact this is exactly why I am an ex communist /socialist.
Govt comes to power on a strong ideology that is going to create a nirvana. Things don’t work out that way. Govt starts to blame outside interference. Things continue to go wrong so Govt starts to try and control information exposing that. Some of the people start to object to ideology. Govt links them to outside interference. Govt tries stronger methods to control ‘outside interference’, even when that actually involves controlling citizens. Legislation changes occur. The judiciary are subjugated. Violence starts occurring. All internal opposition is defined as outside interference and defense of the ideology is linked with the defense of the Country . The military are increasingly used as a control mechanism.
That’s about where Venezuela is now, and I’m just amazed that some of you who set such high standards for govt behavior here in NZ are willing to be apologists for a govt behaving in a way you would never accept here.
It goes downhill badly from here of course.
The next stage is when the Govt decides protection of the ideology is synonymous with the interests of ‘The State / The People’, and democracy is deemed to be a barrier.
In Venezuela this will be circumvented however. The Military will intervene at the point they lose patience with the political situation. Out of the frying pan etc.
All the things you talk about, destruction of a free press, corruption of the judiciary, puppet politicians using violent and totalitarian means to control its population – that is what the USA has become, and what the USA encourages in the creation of servile client states.
Keep in mind that having Venezuela (and its oil) at the beck and call of US oil majors is exactly what the USA wants.
On the other hand, Venezuela has lifted millions of its poorest citizens on to the rungs of the middle classes, and the 1%’ers cannot tolerate that.
Why can’t you let a good comment stand alone lost sheep?
Why have to dumb down Morrisey’s one about something positive with your spiteful, denigrating comparisons? You really are trying to ram your RW attitudes down our throats.
We want to be able to honour and admire people of worth. They can be admired for what they have achieved even if everything about them, and in the world isn’t perfect.
edited
Apparently Shit Sheep the Right Winger is now so very concerned about human rights abuses and press freedoms. Typical two faced dick. Never heard him speaking out for Snowden, Assange or Manning, incidentally.
You have never heard me express any opinion about many things CR. But don’t let that stop you making wild speculations about what I actually believe in!
er…..i that is the first time i can remember being politically aware Phillip.
That first awareness was the realisation of the possibility of being conscripted into the Vietnam war….
Morrissey and others declined to discuss human rights and press freedom issues in Venezuela last time I raised the issue, on the basis i had diverted from the topic in hand at the time.
I said I would bring it up next time someone raised Venezuela specifically, and so i have.
Every day here many people raise issues of human rights and press freedom in countries such as NZ or Britain or the USA, and this is universally considered to be a completely valid and vitally important thing to do?
So how does it work that questioning freedom and rights issues in Venezuela is seen as “spiteful, denigrating comparisons……trying to ram your RW attitudes down our throats.”?
Surely we should question such things openly and freely where ever they occur?
It seems to me there is a major double standard here greywarshark. The implication is clearly that some people here set a lower standard of democratic behavior for a country that is Socialist than they would accept from countries of other ideologies?
And they would rather I didn’t bring up such inconvenient matters here on TS. Perhaps they would prefer such ‘opposition’ to be suppressed?
@ the lost sheep
Baaa. Concern troll. I vill overwhelm you with my sanctimonious speech of reason about whatever subject I choose to disconnect discussion on in the threads I join.
If you want evidence that the Herald is nothing other than a rag designed to propagandise the vile nightmares of the 0.1%, this article about some U.S. finance operator, who made his billions in Russia in the 1990s, (wonder how?!) , claims Reagan as his hero, took part in the recent Davos conference at which Key attended and now wants to impose on this country his nightmarish views on education.
Obviously having destroyed their own nation, and realising Americans might just rise up against their corporatocracy, these criminals are moving to places like NZ and aiming to continue the pillage they started in the 1980s. Monetising education . They see the price of everything and the value of nothing.
I read that article and felt sick. The guy obviously sees a quick buck in charter schools. If they come with a government gift of land and buildings that you get to keep whatever happens, I can see why. We do not need his charter schools to teach STEM subjects well. We need to attract scientifically qualified people to teaching.
I would have expected an article like this about drought to have mentioned the words ‘climate change.’ But no …RNZ sticks to the extreme weather line.
Secondly, there is absolutely no mention of the levels of irrigation going on which would have exacerbated the problem.
These are political decisions, RNZ, not to report either climate change or water usage by corporates.
Who is your master?
The people of NZ or the corporate elite.
Sadly I think we know the answer.
Someone said to me that there was a report that National had done some research and realised that Radionz had a bigger audience than television and they should start moving RW people into it. Has anyone heard of that. I guess it would have been 5 years or so ago.
Helen Clark interview – found it on BBC page.
John Key is not in the same league when it comes to answering interviewer where his first instinct is to deny. (Except when he is vox/pop radio) http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31423012
You may be right. However left leaning parties are still beholden to centuries of privileged order and organisation. You may be a champion of revolution but others would be prepared to get there more gradually. I guess, from your comment, that it is a matter of indifference to you whether we have a nominally left of centre government with a form of social programme or a Tory administration realigning the purse strings to the privileged undemocratic organisations.
But on a finer point I was observing what it was (and ought to be) to have someone who is learned and articulate as a leader of a nation as opposed to a cliche driven mono-syllabic populist prick.
Prince Phil.
Prince Charles biography has some interesting insights into hippy Prince Charles he used to ditch his body guards and sneek over to the nneighbors for a few joints and conversation.
What do you think about all the panic about children hit by car walking to school. Its not good the accident happened but I’m worried that children will be even more restricted in their movements as a result and how are they going to grow up and make good decisions if they have no freedom to walk up the road to school.
Yes it is a very busy road but there are pedestrian crossings on that road. Its probably more that schools and parents need to talk to the children about the safe way to walk to school. I know we had those sorts of rules when I walked to school as a five year old with some of the neighbours kids. Perhaps because so many children go to school and everywhere else by car they just haven’t been taught how to be safe as a pedestrian. Oh and it doesn’t help the environment either.
Oil prices will plunge in two or three months as global Crude Storage Capacity is maxed out. Could it be because fewer and fewer people can afford to buy it??
The quantitative easing ie bailing out big caused another speculation bubble on commodities like Gold,Oil Minerals etc.
Now the US has slowed its QE the EU is now having to start another round of QE.囧
Because Goldman Sachs and other big banks will be the main beneficeries(Corporate Welfare recipients)they will play casino speculatiion with this money until it runs out and then their inside man (ex Goldman Sachs boss is the European treasury boss)will insist on another round.
Greece may be the fly in the oinkment while the capital gaignsters are feeding like pig’s in the $1.8 Trillion bailout trough.
The slippery slope created by Greece ditching the failed Austerity program could mean even more QE.
Goldman Sachs will be rubbing their hands with glee.
Money for nothing the perpetrators of Greece’s massive debt Goldman Sachs get money for free while the ordinary Greek people have lost jobs 27% unemployment 54% youth unemployment.
Goldman Sachs(loan sharks) who corrupted Greek politicians and Ratings agencies to allow Greece to borrow beyond its abilities have faced no sanctions taken no resposibility and are doing exactly the same now!
Because peak oil occurred in 2005/2006 and we are well into conventional production declines.
What we are seeing is increasing unaffordability of oil and even economic commentators admit that lower oil prices are going to hurt the economy not help it.
These kinds of inversions to the norm and volatility will only grow as we fall more steeply down the oil production descent curve.
And even the NBR is turning on Key. Occasional Standard commenter Matthew Hooton has posted an article about SkyCity titled “Close to Corruption” where he neatly dissects the mess that the SkyCity deal is becoming. Well worth a read …
Close is being kind. I can’t for the life of me see this whole Sly City business as anything but corruption. As seen all over the world, corruption and organised crime find fertile ground in casinos. FJK reminds me of Batista.
There is too much double speak flowing off Hooton’s folked tongue in that NBR article. At no stage is he really taking the stick to SkyCity and he rounds it out by saying the Government has no choice but to stump up $130 million of our money. Of course that’s a fabrication of epic proportions by the slithery tongued one.
Quite simply put in gambling terms the Government is the House and the House sets the rules and never loses. SkyCity are not in a strong bargaining position. Not if they want to keep their gambling empire operating in this country. Hooton knows this and I say he is just like Hosking and clipping the ticket. Why do I think this is because he has chosen to obmit It in the NBR article.
The procurement process for the Auckland centre was a farce and as close to corruption as we ever see in New Zealand.
No Matthew, it was outright corruption and we’ve been seeing a lot more of it over the last few decades especially from National.
The best option would be for the government to walk and restart the procurement process
No, the best option would be for the government to walk and to forget even the idea of supporting the building of a convention centre. If ‘the market’ wants Auckland to have a new convention centre then ‘the market’ can damn well provide.
The problem is that SkyCity has a guaranteed casino monopoly in Auckland and changing that would create enormous litigation risk. Beyond that, SkyCity knows too much. They have been talking privately with Mr Key and Mr Eagleson for many years. Abandoning the project would therefore create unmanageable political risk. Plus there are long-standing personal friendships to consider.
Len Brown missing in action (swanning off to Christchurch for the cricket world cup opening) over crucial reclamation vote, which saw the Right puppets narrowly win 9-8.
I was hopeful anti reclamation lobbyist Matthew Hooton could give us his oil on the issue. Alas he may have picked up some work from POAL, which wouldn’t be a surprise considering their history of taking out opposition.
Yeah that would figure things are a bit crowded in the snake oil world of public relations, what with a few notable new entrant’s into the market, C & T etc.
Actually my sister is learning Spanish in preparation for her annual 6 weeks winter holiday reckons she seen Hooton on campus. Apparently he is learning mandarin. Good for him up skilling and all. Though I thought he could get some lessions from Jude Collins who is fluent, hussle some business from her husband while he is at it.
Too close to an outfit viewed as corrupt, bad for business, any potential dodgy client’s wouldn’t want the GCSB looking into their affairs. Especially Chinese who know Beijing is amping up the anti on white collar crims lurking down here.
The Greeks would have to leave the EU as well as the Eurozone if they wanted to be rescued by Russia. The new Greek Government didn’t promise that and in fact stated they would stay with the Euro.
The new Greek leader is a kept man, he will do what Putin says if he doesn’t want to be thrown out of office.
Where is your offsider Hooton today, I want to tear his snake oil column too bits. Let me guess…flaked out under a table of ponsonby bar, deary me you would think Jude Collins would have barked at him to eat some Tapa’s her husband put on his tab.
So, the first page of those google results are almost all about a comedy made by trans people, with trans actors, that respects trans people’s identities and doesn’t involve misogynistic stereotypes about trans people.
Watch some of that sort of comedy, and see how it differs from your sense of humour and you might just see what Stephanie was on about.
Oh right, Mc Flock, careful we are being watched by the special branch. Sorry was muti tasking which I’m not much chop at, playing with tackle off fishing soon hoping to have smoke snapper for tomorrow’s cricket. Got a leave pass from the boss lady, if I get the house work done in time.
No but I suggested he talk to Mc Carten, he already had, may take a while as he is currently commando. Just wondering if Key is using carpet, you know the lochs comment?
Matt does what Hosking does for SkyCity by endorsing a transplant outfit.
That was a laugh, the comb over link, men are vain. Silly Alf Ngaro carry’s an umbrella everywhere and is seen walking the streets of Wellington on a sunny but windy day with his brolly up practically sitting aloft on his head, trying to hide his identity with hideously large blow fly sunglasses.
No go there Phil as Percy is one of those new age men who gets a chest, back & crack wax jobby monthly, ouch the pain in that.
You might be right about using velcro, there is a technique where they sew strips into the scalp. I will do some studying and flick him a link. Maybe the Labour Party can post it on there web site and add a donation button, they may as well they ask members to donate for everything else.
Pretty sure Shearer will be keen on a rug for his mayoral bid, get one over Lenny with the ladies.
Oh that reality? The one that prints money from a machine and claims it is some sort of reality……
The greeks should print shitloads of euros, load them into some trucks and drive them to the German border. This is what happens anyway – the euro shysters print shitloads of euros, load them into some software and email them to greek inboxes.
The entire Greek national debt would go away with about 2 days worth of ECB printing – but that’s the point isn’t it?
The Central Banks and their investment banking fraternity are in charge of the spigot. They are allowed free money, hundreds of billions of it, but nations like Greece have to be kept enslaved.
Russia Today propaganda on Kiev’s Maidan Square massacre
Russia Today has always questioned western media narratives of how dozens of anti-government protestors were killed by pro-Russian snipers a year ago. Western outrage at the massacres helped sweep out the Yanukovich government and unconstitutionally put in place a pro US administration.
But maybe Russia Today was right in asking the questions that the west didn’t.
Now, the BBC has finally come around to the idea that maybe some of the gunmen involved were actually part of the protestor camp, and fired shots at their own people to help discredit the Yanukovich government.
Dr. Zina O’Leary (Social Psychologist) is giving a seminar on “The Art of Persuasion” next Tuesday, 17th Feb in the Auckland Art Gallery 12 noon. Need to RSVP today.
If you think that the Sky City issue is a big deal, then you may be surprised (unpleasantly) to know that it is nothing compared with the potential of the TPPA (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement that the US and the National Government are trying to push through by stealth. The tactic is to keep the proposed text secret so that it is very difficult for the public to express their genuine concerns or be able to do cost benefit analyses because of the lack of available detailed information.
One of the major areas which will be affected greatly is our health system.
NZ and Australian health advocates are joining forces, using the medical journal the Lancet to push for a fairer more transparent process with respect to the TPPA negotiations (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement.)
“Co-lead author and Canterbury psychiatrist Dr Erik Monasterio, says the TPPA, like other ‘new generation’ trade deals, threatens governmental ability to deliver affordable health care and legislate to protect public health and reduce health inequities. “And all the while, the text is shrouded in secrecy.”
“The negotiations are not about the way most of us think of trade – you and me buying and selling things. Instead they are protecting the massive investments profits of multinational companies that are bigger than the whole New Zealand economy. They want to make sure that countries won’t be able to pass laws or change policies, no matter how important to the local country, if that would cut profits of an overseas investor.”
“It’s an unprecedented expansion of intellectual property rights that will push up the cost of affordable and life-saving medicines, hitting hardest the already vulnerable households in New Zealand and other countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia’”, says Dr Monasterio.
The deal also threatens public health by freezing government ability to pass laws for better health. Dr Monasterio says that governments could be sued for protecting health – but governments can’t sue back. “This will stop important health initiatives on tobacco, alcohol, the obesity epidemic, climate change, antibiotic resistance, and other major future challenges”.
“We are asking for heath impact assessments, for each nation, and then their public release, so that parliaments and the public can discuss the issues– before political trade-offs are made and the agreement is signed”, ends Dr Monasterio.” http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1502/S00039/new-zealand-leads-lancet-call-for-tppa-transparency.htm
Please discuss the TPPA with as many people as you can. There will be protests held on 7th March and we need to tell this government that our sovereignty is not to be signed away to multinational corporates. Our health and our environment are at risk.
I have been trying to locate a video record or transcripts of the opening addresses to Parliament on 10-02-2015.
Neither Hansard, nor In the House seem to have any record of the speeches.
I have not wanted to locate Parliamentary ‘new year’ speeches before and am now wondering is it normal procedure not to record these speeches when Parliament begins a new year?
Try as I might I just could not locate it. I must have repeatedly skipped a page or something when going through the archive listed because I checked that Debate on the Prime Minister’s Statement archive.
Any clue how to find the Hansard transcript then? -as i have probably walked past that a dozen times today also 🙂 just kidding, –
i’ll track the bugger down eventually, it’s not exactly a life or death scenario
OK that does it – me and my brain are gonna have words – serious words – i think the fingers have been conspiring behind my back 😮 might explain the slaps to the back of the head I keep getting when I load youtube instead of doing stuff –
According to Armstrong, it seems the videos had not been loaded until yesterday, so my fruitless searches on Wednesday and Thursday before asking for assistance, had good reason to be failures 🙂 bit of a relief tbh
Fran Wilde
Chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council /’Private Citizen’
URGENT ‘Open Letter /OIA request’ to Fran Wilde, Chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council / ‘Private Citizen’- re: an email you allegedly distributed on Tuesday 10 February 2015 encouraging those emailed to support the Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal.
Dear Fran,
I do not claim to be ‘an expert on everything’, but as a proven ‘anti-corruption whistle-blower’, I do have an understanding,in my considered opinion, of allegedly arguably and potentially ‘corrupt conflicts of interest’.
Please be reminded of s.105A of the New Zealand Crimes Act 1961:
“105A Corrupt use of official information
Every official is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who, whether within New Zealand or elsewhere, corruptly uses or discloses any information, acquired by him or her in his or her official capacity, to obtain, directly or indirectly, an advantage or a pecuniary gain for himself or herself or any other person.”
From: Fran Wilde [mailto:fran@franwilde.com]
Sent: Tuesday, 10 February 2015 10:29 p.m.
To: fran@franwilde.com
Subject: Wellington region needs your help urgently!
Greetings
First an apology for sending a bulk email – my contacts list is too big to personalise on this occasion.
Just before Christmas the Local Government Commission (LGC) published a Draft Proposal for reform of local government in our region. The report is a blueprint for our future 20 or 30 years from now. Links to the report and to a smaller summary are at the bottom of this message.
Wellington is now at a critical time. For more than a decade our economic performance relative to other regions has been dismal and we have infrastructure and social challenges that can’t be addressed by our fragmented local government structure. The new Auckland and post-quake Christchurch are getting huge attention from central government. Wellington appears to be irrelevant. Of course local government isn’t the answer to everything, but it plays a critical role and right now just can’t be an agent for the transformational change we need.
The LGC proposal is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leapfrog our region into the future – one unified region-wide council to deliver infrastructure, economic development etc, with well-funded local boards replacing current local councils to take care of community issues. One organisation with one Mayor and one CEO and one rates bill. And most importantly the ability to take a regional view of the big issues.
The LGC is seeking submissions and will have hearings. Following that, it may publish a final Proposal the same as, similar to or different from the draft – or it could decide to make no change at all. To proceed along the lines of the Proposal it requires “demonstrable community support” from every single TA area in the region – i.e. Wellington City, Kapiti Coast, Upper Hutt, Carterton etc.
Submission close in just under three weeks – at 4.00pm on Monday March 2nd. Those who oppose change are particularly active are canvassing their local council areas. In my view it’s absolutely imperative that Wellingtonians who want change make their voices heard. Change will not happen unless we say we want it – i.e. “demonstrable community support”.
Please take two minutes to make a submission right now. It’s really easy – you don’t have to write a long piece. All that is required is a short email with your name and address and a message saying that you support the Proposal. Send your email to submissions@lgc.govt.nz
Alternatively, you might want to click on the link below which is the LGC submission form, fill it in then email it to submissions@lgc.govt.nz
Wellington reorganisation proposal – Submission form
You don’t have to appear at the hearings if you make a submission – only if you request to appear.
Finally, in order to get the numbers to show “demonstrable community support” please could you help by talking to or sending these links through to anyone else you know who supports improving local government in our region. It could be people in your family or your street or your workplace – or friends who live in other parts of the region.
Remember the deadline is 4.00pm Monday March 2nd – please could you send in your views now!
IMPORTANT: The information contained in this e-mail message may be legally privileged or confidential. The information is intended only for the recipient named in the e-mail message. If the reader of this e-mail message is not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use, copyingU or distribution of this e-mail message is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail message in error, please notify the sender immediately. Thank you.
______________________________________________________________________________________
1) Please provide the information, which confirms that none of the email addresses to which you sent the above-mentioned email, originated from ANY email database, which was accessible to you, in any way, in your capacity as Chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council.
2) Please provide the information which confirms in what ‘capacity’ you sent the above-mentioned email.
3) Please provide the information which confirms how it it is not a ‘conflict of interest’ for you to send out this above-mentioned email, which is actively promoting ‘one side’ (as it were) of the Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal:
“The LGC is seeking submissions and will have hearings. Following that, it may publish a final Proposal the same as, similar to or different from the draft – or it could decide to make no change at all. To proceed along the lines of the Proposal it requires “demonstrable community support” from every single TA area in the region – i.e. Wellington City, Kapiti Coast, Upper Hutt, Carterton etc.”
– as opposed to just encouraging those emailed to participate in the Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal, particularly given that you are arguably, in my considered opinion, a potential candidate for the position of Mayor for this proposed Greater Wellington Regional Council, which you are, in my considered opinion, actively supporting.
4) Please provide the information which confirms that you exercised ‘due diligence’, and took the precautionary step, given your position as current Chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council, and sought competent legal advice, before sending out this above-mentioned email.
Yours sincerely,
Penny Bright
……………………..
Attendee: 2009 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2010 Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2013 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2014 G20 Anti-Corruption Conference
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate (polled 4th with 11,723 votes)
______________________________________________________________________________________
This is hysterical, if it were not so awful .. spinning the spin of the spin ..
“In today’s NBR article, ‘Govt, SkyCity refuse to respond to convention centre queries’ (not currently online), Grant writes that ‘spin doctors for Mr Key have refused to directly address NBR’s questions about the convention centre’. He reports on the responses, in particular, from ‘Chief spin doctor Sia Aston’, which have ranged from the opaque to the blatantly disingenuous.
For example, in attempting to explain one inconsistency,
Aston replied:
‘In trying to understand any differences in the language used around this issue, it’s probably just important to note that the situation has clearly changed and therefore the nuances in language have changed’.
In response to further attempts to understand the evolving SkyCity deal, the spin doctor simply replied: ‘We have already answered your queries’.
unfuxxing believable !
see Bryce Edwards masterful gathering of all the published odium falling on Key and Joyce .. surely something must stick sooner or later ?
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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. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
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 ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Not Phillip Hammond: Some Decent Englishmen
No. 1: TONY BENN
The vile and hypocritical public utterances of the British Foreign Secretary might lead some people to wonder if every British public figure is as despicable. In fact, there ARE decent and honorable English men and women—sadly, not enough of them are in politics. This series is to pay tribute to some of the good, decent English people out there, the antitheses of Blair, Mandelson, Campbell, Freedland, Duncan Smith, Heseltine, Hain, Straw and all those who make the very word “England” a curse to so many around the world.
Tony Benn to BBC “If you wont broadcast the Gaza appeal then I will myself”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E21MdXe3BOQ
A fine man.
There are many people like him in Britain. The furious denunciation, intimidation and scorn they have to endure is immense, as we saw in the Stalinist Show Trial that took place in London last week….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guAjF0csFI0
Galloway is a brave man peaking against a powerful establishment.
3. Russell Brand
4. Dennis Skinner
I still find it odd that Galloway backed the Tories and Labour speaking against Scottish independence.
Galloway set out his argument in broad terms in a (Newsnight Scotland) TV debate with veteran socialist Labour-turned-SNP politician, Jim Sillars. Here’s a few excerpts…
Galloway: (In reply to Sillars) “But there are no Scottish State interests. This is the fundamental flaw at the heart of nationalism. The bus driver in Bathgate has far more in common with the bus driver in Bradford than with the man that owns the bus he drives, who happens to be the biggest donor to SNP coffers and the biggest funder of the Yes campaign……When Jim was a champion of the miners in Ayrshire, he had everything in common with the miners in Durham and nothing in common with the Yule and Dodds drivers who were scabbing on the miners strike, even though they were Scottish. This is a fundamental flaw in the nationalist argument.”
Panel Journalist: “But when we look at the political make-up of the UK it’s fair to say the Conservatives and UKIP are more popular in England than here in Scotland. Isn’t there an argument for an independent Scotland being a social beacon for the rest of the UK ?”
Galloway: “But it wouldn’t be. This nonsense on stilts is, Jim, what people are voting for, it’s for a currency union with the Treasury in London…..You wouldn’t be independent at all. You’d be entirely dependent on the fiscal/monetary policies set in the Treasury and in the Bank of England, the clue being in the name. What would happen though, and it’s already been announced by the SNP – a 3% cut in the taxation on private company profit.”
Panel Journalist: “But, could it not be argued that a Yes vote in Scotland would be a seismic shift across these islands that could lead to political change and benefit in the way that you would like to see – the people of Merseyside and these other areas that you mention ?”
Galloway: “Well, it would certainly be a shock !!! And a shock just like the one Mrs Thatcher introduced, laying waste to the Scottish industrial heartland which has never recovered. For example, when there are no MoD orders for the Clyde shipyards – the job loss will be the equivalent of the job loss at Linwood when the motor manufacturers pulled out of there. (The SNP) have made it clear, it would be a free market, low-tax – 3% cut in corporation tax……(To Jim Sillars) You know that, in the Labour heartland that we both come from, people are deeply sceptical about Alex Salmond and the kind of politics he represents…….We are both Socialists and we’re arguing about what the best way for the working people in this Country is. Now my view is that the working people are all. I care nothing for Scottish landowners, Scottish company owners, Scottish billionaires. I have nothing in common with them other than I was born on the same piece of rock, which is of singularly less importance to me than the relationship to wealth and power.”
Right, thanks for this…I do agree with Galloway on one thing…the currency union with the UK would’ve been a big big mistake. Without the ability to issue your own money, issue your own debt, control your own interest rates and foreign exchange rates, you really are just a dependent province, not an independent state.
80 British Politicians Express Solidarity with Venezuela
Telesur, 12 February 2015
One hundred leading British figures, including 82 parliamentarians, have expressed their solidarity with Venezuela against right-wing destabilizing tactics and U.S. intervention.
On the anniversary of last year’s wave of right-wing violent and anti-democratic protests that left 43 people dead and 800 injured, the politicians signed a statement condemning the sectors “whose declared aim is the ousting of the elected government.”
Prestigious signatories include four former government ministers, while in total representatives of seven parties backed the call.
The signatories express agreement with bodies such as the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in “both condemning the ongoing wave of anti-democratic violence from extreme elements of Venezuela’s right-wing opposition … and in supporting the calls of Venezuela’s elected President Nicolas Maduro for peace and dialogue.”
The statement also expresses opposition to U.S. meddling, backing the Organization of American States in its call for “respect for the principle of non intervention in the internal affairs of states, and therefore disagree with all external interference, including through U.S. sanctions on Venezuela.” ….
Read more….
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/80-British-Politicians-Express-Solidarity-with-Venezuela-20150212-0015.html
What do you think about the Venezuelan Governments continued erosion of human rights and press freedom Morrissey?
Does this level of ‘opposition and interference’ justify it?
http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2014/country-chapters/venezuela?page=1
http://en.rsf.org/venezuela-venezuela-urged-to-improve-media-04-08-2014,46751.html
http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/venezuela-face-tough-questions-about-torture-and-other-ill-treatment-2014-1
lost sheep shagger So they are on par with the US torturing,Murdocracy Media.
Not on a par according to these organisations. Worse.
I see Human Rights Watch has posted a further warning today regarding the Venezuelan Governments permitting use of force by the military to suppress protest.
http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/02/12/venezuela-new-military-authority-curb-protests
So forgetting the silly sheep jokes Tricle – how about you answer the question…..what do you think of the human rights and press freedom issues in Venezuela?
Morrissey?
The Cia is not fermenting unrest in South America then Sheep Shagger.
The Guardian published evidence that roght wing groups are being funded to ferment unrest in Venezuela.
The very same right winger who are pushing the War on drugs.
But are happy to have corrupt right wing politicians funded by the drug cartels!The Drug cartels don’t want the war on drugs to end as it is feeding demand in Venezuela the drug cartels run most of the suburbs.
Thats why Venezuela has a very high murder rate.
The right wingers are in the pockets of the Drug Cartels.
They don’t want left wing governments decriminalizing it would take away their income.
Argentina a prosecutor is murdered for trying to put a corrupt right wing politician on trial CIA drug money again.
I don’t know if you watched sons of anarchy but its underlying story was about US corruption the Drug trade gun trade.
The guns and money come from the US
The Drugs come from South America.
Decriminalizing all Drugs would do what getting rid of prohibition did in the 30’s.
The CIA have been tethered to the drug trade since George HW Bush as head of the CIA used a $200 million cocaine deal for the Iran Contra deal as the CIA could not gey funding from Congress.
You have avoided the question once again Tricle. (And MORRISSEY doesn’t want to make any comment either?)
Can you please give me a straight reply?
What do you think of the human rights and press freedom issues in Venezuela?
Do you think the ‘opposition and interference’ justifies the governments erosion of human rights and press freedoms as documented by independent and credible NGO’s?
What do you think about the USA wanting to see the last of Chavez’ government fail, and actively working to return millions of Venezuelans to poverty in order to do it?
Frankly, Venezuela has a far freer media environment than the USA has so what the fuck are you bitching about?
Okay, so the US, where mentalists claim freely that 9/11 was framed, are unfree, compared to any non-state Venezuelans are supes free and can have sweet yarns are free. Idiot. CV, you’ve jumped the shark
HRW is heavily connected to the establishment of the US and A. The “human rights” they are most concerned about are the rights to make a buck. They would support the rights of Sly City against the Kiwi people.
Why the hell should the Venezuelan government allow an anti-democratic media to subvert their democracy? I think they’re too lenient.
Amnesty International and Reporters without Borders are RW lackeys also MR?
And you support the right of governments to suppress human rights and press freedom if they consider ‘democracy’ is threatened?
So who decides whether the threat exists and such suppression is justified? The government itself?, or some other body like….?
And would you be happy for that principle to apply in NZ?
That principle already does apply in NZ. Look at what happens to journalists who threaten FJK’s “democracy”. What about the poaka campaign against Nicky Hager? Bradley Ambrose?
Go for a walk. Remember your gumboots.
Nonsense MR.
Show me any credible source that puts NZ and Venezuela’s human rights and press freedom ratings on an equal footing?
I’ll make it even easier for you. Show me any organisation that doesn’t put NZ among the best 10% of countries and Venezuela among the worst 30%?
And you think no one noticed that you completely avoided the inconvenient questions I asked?
Should the Weimar Republic have arrested Julius Streicher and dumped Der Spiegel’s printing presses in the Baltic? Yes. That’s what Maduro’s government is facing, and I think they’re stupidly lenient.
And you think no one noticed that you completely avoided the inconvenient questions I asked?
But nice fantasy about government suppression of free speech.
Brings to mind an image of freshly polished jack boots.
Lost sheep you are reporting only half the story Venezuelan Right Wing fascist dictatoships held power for most of the last century.
They shared power at one stage.
Then Chavez took power only to be overthrown then he won power back.
Now Maduro has power.
Their is a slow burning civil war in Venezuela.
The Human rights abuses And corruption have continued right througout the Venzuelan history nothing new.
Thanks for acknowledging the human rights abuses and corruption of the past and current Venezuelan Govts. Tricle.
That is the other half of the story that doesn’t get mentioned by people like Morrissey who regularly post pro Venezuelan government material here.
And those same pro Venezuelan govt. people here seem to be totally unwilling to address these issues.
Would that be because they are willing to excuse levels of corruption and abuse in a Socialist country that they would not accept in a Capitalist one?
Or is it that admitting that Socialist Governments can be just as abusive and corrupt as any other doesn’t fit with the narrative that Socialism would eliminate such issues?
I don’t see why we should support any country that has such a poor record on human rights and press freedoms. And I think the implication that it is somehow ‘justified’ by ‘opposition’ is the most frighteningly corrupt concept of all.
You’re full of imperialist shit. The US would like nothing more for a puppet military dictatorship to take over Venezuela and let Exxon Mobil back in to grab billions of barrels of Venezuelan oil while making sure the people of the country get nothing, while the Venezuelan elite class get paid off.
That’s what they tried to do to Chavez a few years back, and that is what they will try to do again.
I think the reason is that many leftist can never acknowledge the downsides of their vision for a new society. They only see upsides and anyone who objects us obviously delusional or out for their own ends or both. What this means is when presented with hard evidence of the failure of regimes imposing a system that reflects their views they tend to blame external forces fir the problems not the policies they themselves support. It is a firm of cognitive dissonance on the left which I find truly fascinating. CO’S reply to you above this is a good example if this in action. Most of Venezuela’s problems are the result of actions of the US. This explains away everything nasty or economically illiterate that the Chavezta regime does.
Really Gos? So has there been either now or any time in the past, any form of “influence” or meddling in Venezuela’s government by the United States? A simple yes or no will suffice.
Rather irrelevant because the impact of any meddling by the US is dwarfed by the negative impact of the policies that the Venezuela government has decided to impose on that poor nation’s citizens. What I do find interesting is that people like you try to blame the US for actions by Venezuelan’s that any rational acting person would do given the circumstances email e.g. stopping selling items that have price controls on them.
A simple yes or no will suffice.
No response as expected.
Even on your own link the sentence “Venezuela’s traditional media, which are dominated by a few privately-owned publishing companies, are currently undergoing profound structural change.” should have stood out.
The privately owned media have never supported the democratically elected left leaders of Venezuela.
Many private radio and television stations utilised without license, some of the public broadcasting bands and when those bands were reclaimed by the Chavez government – they used their predominance to claim suppression of the press.
The reality is that the majority of media in Venezuela is still privately owned and still anti-government.
HRW does not have credibility.
How about Reporters without Borders Molly?
Or Amnesty International?
Are they credible?
And are you implying that Government should exercise control over the media?
I do believe that is what she is implying.
No, I’m saying that the premise that the government is controlling the media is negated by your own link:
“Venezuela’s traditional media, which are dominated by a few privately-owned publishing companies…”
To say that the state is not allowing dissenting views is incorrect.
Most of the airtime is given to anti-government commentary. Most of the anti-government reports are the ones picked up by international media who have the same ideology.
That is not to say there is no corruption or need for improvement. That occurs in every country.
I wonder if you raised the same freedom of press concerns regarding the police going after Bradley Ambrose, the dismissal of Malcolm Evans due to his cartoon on the Israeli occupation, the Defence Force dismissing Jon Stephenson’s articles even when they knew they were accurate, and the police investigation into Nicky Hager.
Some fair points there Molly, that I’m happy to answer. But before I do, I’d appreciate you answering the straightforward questions I asked you first?
I only do so, because they are very relevant to how I answer your further questions..
“How about Reporters without Borders?
Or Amnesty International?
Are they credible?
And are you implying that Government should exercise control over the media?”
Lost Sheep. Spent some time looking into HRW a couple of years ago, and found the funding behind was particularly dodgy and so was some of the advocacy and criticisms they did – which is why I commented on them in particular.
Briefly looked at Reporters without Borders and immediately came across the Wikipedia entry that claims pro US bias when reporting countries – including Venezuela.
Amnesty International also has received merited criticism for bias.
My feeling is, that you cannot fully rely on any institution to give completely accurate and trustworthy reports unless all monies and associations of that entity are transparent.
The issue with Venezuelan media still stands. The majority is anti-government and often virulently so. The attempted coup against Chavez had been proposed and supported by those privately run stations, and this was an democratically elected government. Images were deliberately shot and presented during that coup that misled the viewing public – and international media.
It is incorrect to say that there is a full out war on dissenting voices in the media there, when the majority of media is still operating and speaking out against the elected government.
Now, are you going to answer regarding NZ authorities persecution of members of our own press?
gosman and lost sheep’s obsession with Venezuela = grasping at straws to defend their rotten capitalist ideology, which has been pillaging the world for most of the last century.
Reagan and Thatcher threw out all the rules, took away democracy and handed sovereignty to the new economic elite.
Shame on LS and Gos for trying to defend a global crime that has caused untold suffering.
@Molly
I’m a great believer in Trotsky’s rule that you will find the truth in a comparison of the lies. Which I am keen to discuss in light of the comments you make.
But before I comment further, can you state your sources of credible information for the situation in Venezuela?
I also believe that debate is a process of point and counter point. With a crucial aspect being that you answer a fair point that was put to you before you move on to further questions of your own.
So can you please answer the question I have already put to you twice….
“are you implying that Government should exercise control over the media?”
It’s a straight forward question that should be very easy for you to answer.
The Lost Sheep.
“But before I comment further, can you state your sources of credible information for the situation in Venezuela?”
I’m going to say “No.” Despite my initial comment making reference to “one of your own links” you keep asking me to jump through hoops to find links that you feel comfortable with before you will even discuss the topic.
That is your job.
You can then disagree with any points I make and then defineyour own opinion on it, not someone else’s cut and paste.
Do you really think that commenters who disagree with you must necessarily perform a series of jumping through your own self-created hoops, before you enter into dialogue?
I read up to ten to fifteen books a week – advantages of not watching TV. Some resonate, some don’t. I’m not keeping a book list so that I can feed the gratuitous needs of someone like you. If I come across any websites that I like, I will take time to check out the sources and funding for them before adding to my bookmarks. I watch documentaries online and critique them with my children. Very rarely do I find sources that I agree with unequivocally.
I don’t live in such a rarified state, that I think that is possible or even desirable.
Everything is up for debate, but only if during that debate you are providing good reasoning or quality new information.
You have done neither. I doubt your sincerity.
@Molly
You talk about everything being up for debate – but you are not going to answer straight forward questions simply put, and you refuse to post a single credible source to counter either the information I provided, or to back the concrete assertions you made?
Those are the actions of someone completely unwilling to engage in genuine debate.
You know very well that you can’t sustain any sensible comparison between the situation in NZ and the one in Venezuela, and so you are refusing to engage.
I’ve seen the Venezuela situation all before, and in fact this is exactly why I am an ex communist /socialist.
Govt comes to power on a strong ideology that is going to create a nirvana. Things don’t work out that way. Govt starts to blame outside interference. Things continue to go wrong so Govt starts to try and control information exposing that. Some of the people start to object to ideology. Govt links them to outside interference. Govt tries stronger methods to control ‘outside interference’, even when that actually involves controlling citizens. Legislation changes occur. The judiciary are subjugated. Violence starts occurring. All internal opposition is defined as outside interference and defense of the ideology is linked with the defense of the Country . The military are increasingly used as a control mechanism.
That’s about where Venezuela is now, and I’m just amazed that some of you who set such high standards for govt behavior here in NZ are willing to be apologists for a govt behaving in a way you would never accept here.
It goes downhill badly from here of course.
The next stage is when the Govt decides protection of the ideology is synonymous with the interests of ‘The State / The People’, and democracy is deemed to be a barrier.
In Venezuela this will be circumvented however. The Military will intervene at the point they lose patience with the political situation. Out of the frying pan etc.
All the things you talk about, destruction of a free press, corruption of the judiciary, puppet politicians using violent and totalitarian means to control its population – that is what the USA has become, and what the USA encourages in the creation of servile client states.
Keep in mind that having Venezuela (and its oil) at the beck and call of US oil majors is exactly what the USA wants.
On the other hand, Venezuela has lifted millions of its poorest citizens on to the rungs of the middle classes, and the 1%’ers cannot tolerate that.
“…straight forward questions simply put,”
That’s a joke. Leading questions liberally adorned with fishhooks.
Oh, and Molly answered your question at 7:31 pm yesterday.
“No…”
Why can’t you let a good comment stand alone lost sheep?
Why have to dumb down Morrisey’s one about something positive with your spiteful, denigrating comparisons? You really are trying to ram your RW attitudes down our throats.
We want to be able to honour and admire people of worth. They can be admired for what they have achieved even if everything about them, and in the world isn’t perfect.
edited
Apparently Shit Sheep the Right Winger is now so very concerned about human rights abuses and press freedoms. Typical two faced dick. Never heard him speaking out for Snowden, Assange or Manning, incidentally.
You have never heard me express any opinion about many things CR. But don’t let that stop you making wild speculations about what I actually believe in!
Did you speak out for Nicky Hager? Or Bradley Ambrose? Or Andrea Vance? Did you criticise the police raid on TV3?
Or is your current fascination with press freedom some new found fling you’ve just decided to adopt?
Had a consistent concern for press freedom and human rights issues, where ever they occur, since 1967.
what happened in 1967..?
er…..i that is the first time i can remember being politically aware Phillip.
That first awareness was the realisation of the possibility of being conscripted into the Vietnam war….
so..you didn’t want to go..i am presuming..
..but as a rightwinger..
..you wd b all gung-ho for this latest spear-carrier job..?
..or did you want to go and stop the yellow peril in vietnam..
..i mean..if not us..who..?..eh..?
..i mean..that was the yellow-peril..
..our political-masters told us if we didn’t go there to stop them..
..the dominos wd fall..and they wd invade us here in nz..
..that was a total crock of shit then..
..and groundhog-day alert..!
..those arguments..(most recently pushed by trp..)
..are still a total crock of shit..
I’ve never seen you rail against Japanese occupation policy in Indochina between 1941 and 1945. That doesn’t mean you support their actions does it?
Morrissey and others declined to discuss human rights and press freedom issues in Venezuela last time I raised the issue, on the basis i had diverted from the topic in hand at the time.
I said I would bring it up next time someone raised Venezuela specifically, and so i have.
Every day here many people raise issues of human rights and press freedom in countries such as NZ or Britain or the USA, and this is universally considered to be a completely valid and vitally important thing to do?
So how does it work that questioning freedom and rights issues in Venezuela is seen as “spiteful, denigrating comparisons……trying to ram your RW attitudes down our throats.”?
Surely we should question such things openly and freely where ever they occur?
It seems to me there is a major double standard here greywarshark. The implication is clearly that some people here set a lower standard of democratic behavior for a country that is Socialist than they would accept from countries of other ideologies?
And they would rather I didn’t bring up such inconvenient matters here on TS. Perhaps they would prefer such ‘opposition’ to be suppressed?
@ the lost sheep
Baaa. Concern troll. I vill overwhelm you with my sanctimonious speech of reason about whatever subject I choose to disconnect discussion on in the threads I join.
“concern troll” is just another mechanism for avoiding fronting up to straightforward but inconvenient points.
Lost Sheep rehabilitates Lord Haw-Haw, because it’s all about the freedom of the press.
If you want evidence that the Herald is nothing other than a rag designed to propagandise the vile nightmares of the 0.1%, this article about some U.S. finance operator, who made his billions in Russia in the 1990s, (wonder how?!) , claims Reagan as his hero, took part in the recent Davos conference at which Key attended and now wants to impose on this country his nightmarish views on education.
Obviously having destroyed their own nation, and realising Americans might just rise up against their corporatocracy, these criminals are moving to places like NZ and aiming to continue the pillage they started in the 1980s. Monetising education . They see the price of everything and the value of nothing.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11401132
And as for the Herald.
If you buy it, you should divest now.
I read that article and felt sick. The guy obviously sees a quick buck in charter schools. If they come with a government gift of land and buildings that you get to keep whatever happens, I can see why. We do not need his charter schools to teach STEM subjects well. We need to attract scientifically qualified people to teaching.
Nz is in deep trouble
RNZ reports on the droughts in the South Island.
‘We haven’t seen these conditions before’
I would have expected an article like this about drought to have mentioned the words ‘climate change.’ But no …RNZ sticks to the extreme weather line.
Secondly, there is absolutely no mention of the levels of irrigation going on which would have exacerbated the problem.
These are political decisions, RNZ, not to report either climate change or water usage by corporates.
Who is your master?
The people of NZ or the corporate elite.
Sadly I think we know the answer.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/266002/'we-haven't-seen-these-conditions-before‘
Its not a true drought though is it – it is a poor-farming-model drought.
If the east coast gets say 100 units of rain per year and the farming model needs 200 units of water per year then … ummmm ………
where is the commonsense in all of this?
Haven’t seen these conditions before? Didn’t we just have a drought over much of the country a summer or two ago?
Yes we have.
There was a post on this site titled ‘ The Big Dry’
USA may return to mega droughts in the near future
Whoops. I think the US will be looking to takeover Canada shortly.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31434030
Someone said to me that there was a report that National had done some research and realised that Radionz had a bigger audience than television and they should start moving RW people into it. Has anyone heard of that. I guess it would have been 5 years or so ago.
Helen Clark interview – found it on BBC page.
John Key is not in the same league when it comes to answering interviewer where his first instinct is to deny. (Except when he is vox/pop radio)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31423012
Thanks logie97
It was good to have an intelligent (and competent) PM for 9 years.
Imagine if she returned.
if you were poor..it wasn’t..
..it was nine yrs of neglect/marginalisation/demonising/welfare-cuts..
..actions that virtually all of the ‘left’..just sat silently watching..
..(i’m looking @ you.!..unions..!..)
..aside from unite…not a peep from them…
..especially not the fucken engineers..eh mr little..?
phillip ure
You may be right. However left leaning parties are still beholden to centuries of privileged order and organisation. You may be a champion of revolution but others would be prepared to get there more gradually. I guess, from your comment, that it is a matter of indifference to you whether we have a nominally left of centre government with a form of social programme or a Tory administration realigning the purse strings to the privileged undemocratic organisations.
But on a finer point I was observing what it was (and ought to be) to have someone who is learned and articulate as a leader of a nation as opposed to a cliche driven mono-syllabic populist prick.
just shut up and be happy with tweedle-dum..eh..?
..’cos they aren’t quite as vile as tweedle-dee..?
..yeah..nah..eh..?
“..This Country Cut Drug Addiction Rates in Half – by Rejecting Criminalization..
..Fifteen years ago –
– the Portuguese had one of the worst drug problems in Europe..”
(cont..)
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/country-cut-drug-addiction-rates-half-rejecting-criminalization
“..How the Drug War Destroys Women’s Lives..
..One glance at the mass of black and brown faces locked in prison on nonviolent drug charges –
– and it’s clear that the so-called War on Drugs has deep roots in racism.
But what about the drug war’s impact on gender?..”
(cont..)
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/sexism-drug-war
“..Humans Have Been Getting High Since Prehistoric Times – Research Shows..
..According to a newly published review of decades of archaeological research –
– humans worldwide have been using psychoactive substances like opium – alcohol – and ‘magic mushrooms’-
– since prehistoric times..”
(cont..)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/12/prehistoric-drug-use-thousands-of-years_n_6622446.html
So glad someone else is onto this. Check out what this dude has to say about the *war* on drugs. Myths exploded here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBpypL2OYwI
Prince Phil.
Prince Charles biography has some interesting insights into hippy Prince Charles he used to ditch his body guards and sneek over to the nneighbors for a few joints and conversation.
yeah..i linked to that one earlier @ whoar…
..it’s funny..
..i also found an interesting doco..
..a handheld camera was given to a heroin addict..
..for him to make a record of what life is like as a heroin-addict..
..(i haven’t watched it..and probably won’t..as i already know..
..but for others i can see the educational/awareness-benefits from watching it..
..because of course we must follow that portugese-model..
..just some med-pot is not enough..
..all addictions should be treated as the health-issues they are..)
What do you think about all the panic about children hit by car walking to school. Its not good the accident happened but I’m worried that children will be even more restricted in their movements as a result and how are they going to grow up and make good decisions if they have no freedom to walk up the road to school.
In the video it seemed to be the 10 yr old making the bad decision to run between the cars. (the 5year old followed)
The road is a very busy road and the kids probable need some supervision though.
Yes it is a very busy road but there are pedestrian crossings on that road. Its probably more that schools and parents need to talk to the children about the safe way to walk to school. I know we had those sorts of rules when I walked to school as a five year old with some of the neighbours kids. Perhaps because so many children go to school and everywhere else by car they just haven’t been taught how to be safe as a pedestrian. Oh and it doesn’t help the environment either.
Oil prices will plunge in two or three months as global Crude Storage Capacity is maxed out. Could it be because fewer and fewer people can afford to buy it??
http://kingworldnews.com/danger-one-heavily-watched-indicators-world-just-hit-80-year-high/
The quantitative easing ie bailing out big caused another speculation bubble on commodities like Gold,Oil Minerals etc.
Now the US has slowed its QE the EU is now having to start another round of QE.囧
Because Goldman Sachs and other big banks will be the main beneficeries(Corporate Welfare recipients)they will play casino speculatiion with this money until it runs out and then their inside man (ex Goldman Sachs boss is the European treasury boss)will insist on another round.
Greece may be the fly in the oinkment while the capital gaignsters are feeding like pig’s in the $1.8 Trillion bailout trough.
The slippery slope created by Greece ditching the failed Austerity program could mean even more QE.
Goldman Sachs will be rubbing their hands with glee.
Money for nothing the perpetrators of Greece’s massive debt Goldman Sachs get money for free while the ordinary Greek people have lost jobs 27% unemployment 54% youth unemployment.
Goldman Sachs(loan sharks) who corrupted Greek politicians and Ratings agencies to allow Greece to borrow beyond its abilities have faced no sanctions taken no resposibility and are doing exactly the same now!
Why has all the talk of Peak Oil gone silent?
Is it like the so called manufacturing crisis which has seen rises every month for the last 13 months.
Because peak oil occurred in 2005/2006 and we are well into conventional production declines.
What we are seeing is increasing unaffordability of oil and even economic commentators admit that lower oil prices are going to hurt the economy not help it.
These kinds of inversions to the norm and volatility will only grow as we fall more steeply down the oil production descent curve.
A picture worth a thousand words. “Skywalking”:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/news-cartoons/news/article.cfm?c_id=500814&objectid=11401097
And even the NBR is turning on Key. Occasional Standard commenter Matthew Hooton has posted an article about SkyCity titled “Close to Corruption” where he neatly dissects the mess that the SkyCity deal is becoming. Well worth a read …
http://www.nbr.co.nz/opinion/skycity-debacle-offers-morbid-fascination
Close is being kind. I can’t for the life of me see this whole Sly City business as anything but corruption. As seen all over the world, corruption and organised crime find fertile ground in casinos. FJK reminds me of Batista.
There is too much double speak flowing off Hooton’s folked tongue in that NBR article. At no stage is he really taking the stick to SkyCity and he rounds it out by saying the Government has no choice but to stump up $130 million of our money. Of course that’s a fabrication of epic proportions by the slithery tongued one.
Quite simply put in gambling terms the Government is the House and the House sets the rules and never loses. SkyCity are not in a strong bargaining position. Not if they want to keep their gambling empire operating in this country. Hooton knows this and I say he is just like Hosking and clipping the ticket. Why do I think this is because he has chosen to obmit It in the NBR article.
+1111
Quoting the article:
No Matthew, it was outright corruption and we’ve been seeing a lot more of it over the last few decades especially from National.
No, the best option would be for the government to walk and to forget even the idea of supporting the building of a convention centre. If ‘the market’ wants Auckland to have a new convention centre then ‘the market’ can damn well provide.
And that’s the outright corruption of this deal.
Len Brown missing in action (swanning off to Christchurch for the cricket world cup opening) over crucial reclamation vote, which saw the Right puppets narrowly win 9-8.
I was hopeful anti reclamation lobbyist Matthew Hooton could give us his oil on the issue. Alas he may have picked up some work from POAL, which wouldn’t be a surprise considering their history of taking out opposition.
m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11401122
that wd be some ‘more’ work..
..cd that be a fiendishly-clever way for him to get spin-work..?
..appear here appearing to oppose something..
..so that those he opposes will rush to hire and thus silence him…
..can’t see why that wouldn’t work…
(i am sure that tactic must be covered in ‘rapacious-capitalism for dummies’..
..a book i am sure he has a well-thumbed copy of..).
Yeah that would figure things are a bit crowded in the snake oil world of public relations, what with a few notable new entrant’s into the market, C & T etc.
Actually my sister is learning Spanish in preparation for her annual 6 weeks winter holiday reckons she seen Hooton on campus. Apparently he is learning mandarin. Good for him up skilling and all. Though I thought he could get some lessions from Jude Collins who is fluent, hussle some business from her husband while he is at it.
and how do we know he is not already doing exactly that for jc and oravida etc, skinny ?
Too close to an outfit viewed as corrupt, bad for business, any potential dodgy client’s wouldn’t want the GCSB looking into their affairs. Especially Chinese who know Beijing is amping up the anti on white collar crims lurking down here.
Syriza is calling for solidarity as the big guns in the EU continue to put the squeeze on Greece:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/02/12/syriza-calls-for-solidarity/
Phil
Good luck if you want to see much in the way of sympathy protests here.
I believe the Greeks will soon real use the limitations of democracy soon enough.
Your a bit behind the times Gosman, Putin has their back.
You get the whisper the other day like I did on SkyCity shares. Nice collect on Joyce & Morrinson’s little manipulation of the market.
Putin will soon be running short of hard currency given the collapse in the Oil price. He won’t have money to lend.
LOL give it 2 or 3 years Gossie
Greece doesn’t have 2 or 3 years. It has got 2 or 3 months max.
Trade dear boy, of course Russia would be very keen on the Greeks telling the German’s whistle for their money, bit of payback in history.
The Greeks would have to leave the EU as well as the Eurozone if they wanted to be rescued by Russia. The new Greek Government didn’t promise that and in fact stated they would stay with the Euro.
The new Greek leader is a kept man, he will do what Putin says if he doesn’t want to be thrown out of office.
Where is your offsider Hooton today, I want to tear his snake oil column too bits. Let me guess…flaked out under a table of ponsonby bar, deary me you would think Jude Collins would have barked at him to eat some Tapa’s her husband put on his tab.
an f.y.i. for s.rogers..
https://www.google.co.nz/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=TC_dVPavJKiN8QfVuoAQ&gws_rd=ssl#q=transgender+comedy
So, the first page of those google results are almost all about a comedy made by trans people, with trans actors, that respects trans people’s identities and doesn’t involve misogynistic stereotypes about trans people.
Watch some of that sort of comedy, and see how it differs from your sense of humour and you might just see what Stephanie was on about.
dare I ask what fuck-useless drivel ure is trying to defend/justify now?
Straight to the point lol.
whoosh..!
Sorry Phil thought Flock was replying to DPG.
Hey I texted Percy about his hairdo, apparently he was low on tacking product for his rug.
You could have balanced things out with a crack at Nats tricky Alfie Ngaro, I haven’t seen a comb over like that since Koro.
I was replying to DPG.
That “whoosh” was just phil coughing into the bong.
Oh right, Mc Flock, careful we are being watched by the special branch. Sorry was muti tasking which I’m not much chop at, playing with tackle off fishing soon hoping to have smoke snapper for tomorrow’s cricket. Got a leave pass from the boss lady, if I get the house work done in time.
sounds nice – have a good ‘un
@ skinny..
..has he tried velcro..?
No but I suggested he talk to Mc Carten, he already had, may take a while as he is currently commando. Just wondering if Key is using carpet, you know the lochs comment?
is mccarten the labour party comb-over maintenance-expert..?
..i didn’t realise he was so multi-talented..
maybe you shd flick this one to parker..?
http://www.cracked.com/funny-2412-comb-overs/#ixzz3RamTdoY1
(here is the promise made..)
‘Going bald? – Don’t worry!
As long as you still have that outer strip of hair there’s hope!
And nobody will ever notice!
Really – we promise.’
..(link has great hair-disarray pics of d. trump..)
does mccarten ever do workshops on it..?
Matt does what Hosking does for SkyCity by endorsing a transplant outfit.
That was a laugh, the comb over link, men are vain. Silly Alf Ngaro carry’s an umbrella everywhere and is seen walking the streets of Wellington on a sunny but windy day with his brolly up practically sitting aloft on his head, trying to hide his identity with hideously large blow fly sunglasses.
aah..!..he laid new-lawn..
which begs that question you raised..
..if it means so much to parker..
..why doesn’t he go and get some hair taken off his back/bum..
..and stuck into his head..?
..(he can afford it..)
..i mean..imagine the maintenance/constant-stress of a serious comb-over..?
..surely you’d go for the new lawn..or a number one..
..as yr only options..?
..the comb-over..is just ‘sad’..
..no/little dignity there…
(yes…we’re looking @ you..foss-the-hapless..!)
..and i mean..surely having d. trump as the comb-over-world icon..
..must make parker ideologicaly-uneasy..?
..you’d think..?
‘koro’..
now yr talking ‘comb-over’..
..a titan..
..from memory he used the plaster/stick to the scalp approach..
..with..it must be said..limited success..
No go there Phil as Percy is one of those new age men who gets a chest, back & crack wax jobby monthly, ouch the pain in that.
You might be right about using velcro, there is a technique where they sew strips into the scalp. I will do some studying and flick him a link. Maybe the Labour Party can post it on there web site and add a donation button, they may as well they ask members to donate for everything else.
Pretty sure Shearer will be keen on a rug for his mayoral bid, get one over Lenny with the ladies.
his life seems to revolve around different regions of body-hair..
..maybe he cd ask for a party member hair-volunteer..?
..or..if he shuns the velcro-idea..maybe labour cd hire a comb-over minder for him..?
..someone equipped with the tools of the trade..
..to ensure that things are always in place..
..especially before/during public-appearances..
..and i must say..the thought of either shearer or goff as mayor of auckland..
..kinda has me dry-heaving..
Thanks, DPG. That pretty much covers it.
The Greeks are coming face to face with political and economic reality.
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21642210-how-european-central-bank-can-dictate-terms-greek-government
Should be interesting to see how the new Greek government spins any backsliding from their election promises.
Oh that reality? The one that prints money from a machine and claims it is some sort of reality……
The greeks should print shitloads of euros, load them into some trucks and drive them to the German border. This is what happens anyway – the euro shysters print shitloads of euros, load them into some software and email them to greek inboxes.
sham sham sham
shame shame shame
@ vto
That’s a very effective juxtaposition. Sham : Shame. Clever. And so frequently applicable.
I don’t think the Greeks have the ability to print Euro’s.
The entire Greek national debt would go away with about 2 days worth of ECB printing – but that’s the point isn’t it?
The Central Banks and their investment banking fraternity are in charge of the spigot. They are allowed free money, hundreds of billions of it, but nations like Greece have to be kept enslaved.
Do you know how much of Greek debt is owned by foreign investment banks?
Slightly off topic but how stupid are we humans to create something ie money and then let it in slave us.
Russia Today propaganda on Kiev’s Maidan Square massacre
Russia Today has always questioned western media narratives of how dozens of anti-government protestors were killed by pro-Russian snipers a year ago. Western outrage at the massacres helped sweep out the Yanukovich government and unconstitutionally put in place a pro US administration.
But maybe Russia Today was right in asking the questions that the west didn’t.
Now, the BBC has finally come around to the idea that maybe some of the gunmen involved were actually part of the protestor camp, and fired shots at their own people to help discredit the Yanukovich government.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31359021
Or were CIA snipers, not involved with the protestors at all.
Dr. Zina O’Leary (Social Psychologist) is giving a seminar on “The Art of Persuasion” next Tuesday, 17th Feb in the Auckland Art Gallery 12 noon. Need to RSVP today.
https://www.anzsog.edu.au/events/events-calendar/2015/02/16/ssc-new-zealand-partnership-program-event/583/dr-zina-oleary-the-art-of-persuasion-auckland-register-now
If you think that the Sky City issue is a big deal, then you may be surprised (unpleasantly) to know that it is nothing compared with the potential of the TPPA (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement that the US and the National Government are trying to push through by stealth. The tactic is to keep the proposed text secret so that it is very difficult for the public to express their genuine concerns or be able to do cost benefit analyses because of the lack of available detailed information.
One of the major areas which will be affected greatly is our health system.
NZ and Australian health advocates are joining forces, using the medical journal the Lancet to push for a fairer more transparent process with respect to the TPPA negotiations (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement.)
“Co-lead author and Canterbury psychiatrist Dr Erik Monasterio, says the TPPA, like other ‘new generation’ trade deals, threatens governmental ability to deliver affordable health care and legislate to protect public health and reduce health inequities. “And all the while, the text is shrouded in secrecy.”
“The negotiations are not about the way most of us think of trade – you and me buying and selling things. Instead they are protecting the massive investments profits of multinational companies that are bigger than the whole New Zealand economy. They want to make sure that countries won’t be able to pass laws or change policies, no matter how important to the local country, if that would cut profits of an overseas investor.”
“It’s an unprecedented expansion of intellectual property rights that will push up the cost of affordable and life-saving medicines, hitting hardest the already vulnerable households in New Zealand and other countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia’”, says Dr Monasterio.
The deal also threatens public health by freezing government ability to pass laws for better health. Dr Monasterio says that governments could be sued for protecting health – but governments can’t sue back. “This will stop important health initiatives on tobacco, alcohol, the obesity epidemic, climate change, antibiotic resistance, and other major future challenges”.
“We are asking for heath impact assessments, for each nation, and then their public release, so that parliaments and the public can discuss the issues– before political trade-offs are made and the agreement is signed”, ends Dr Monasterio.”
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1502/S00039/new-zealand-leads-lancet-call-for-tppa-transparency.htm
Please discuss the TPPA with as many people as you can. There will be protests held on 7th March and we need to tell this government that our sovereignty is not to be signed away to multinational corporates. Our health and our environment are at risk.
yeah – it’ll really be long term badness for us (NZers) if the govt signs up.
@Lynn – I think there might be something skew-whiff with the blog feeds in the right hand column. There have been no new posts there for 3 days.
Assistance please
I have been trying to locate a video record or transcripts of the opening addresses to Parliament on 10-02-2015.
Neither Hansard, nor In the House seem to have any record of the speeches.
I have not wanted to locate Parliamentary ‘new year’ speeches before and am now wondering is it normal procedure not to record these speeches when Parliament begins a new year?
Thank you
@freedom … is this what you are looking for … Key in main frame and replies listed below …
http://www.inthehouse.co.nz/video/35428
and nb Andrew Little and Winston are must-watch !
i wd also recommend watching the speech from marama fox from the maori party..
..she possibly said as much about poverty/inequality as has been heard in that house/forum in yrs..(esp. in scene-setting speeches like this..)
..i am surprised her speech has been so ignored by most..
..it deserves better..
I did enjoy that on the day – but then you remember the last few years and wonder if it is all too little too late for the Maori Party
i know..
..the juxtaposition of the words..and the party history..
..was jarring..
A hearty thankyou rawshark-yeshe .
Try as I might I just could not locate it. I must have repeatedly skipped a page or something when going through the archive listed because I checked that Debate on the Prime Minister’s Statement archive.
Any clue how to find the Hansard transcript then? -as i have probably walked past that a dozen times today also 🙂 just kidding, –
i’ll track the bugger down eventually, it’s not exactly a life or death scenario
thanks again
here you are, freedom … seems to be my luck today so I’m happy to help 😀
http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/51HansD_20150210_00000008/debate-on-prime-minister%E2%80%99s-statement
OK that does it – me and my brain are gonna have words – serious words – i think the fingers have been conspiring behind my back 😮 might explain the slaps to the back of the head I keep getting when I load youtube instead of doing stuff –
maybe you were loading caches of pages ? and I hope no-one is slapping you on the back of the head … some days I can’t find anything either !! 😀
According to Armstrong, it seems the videos had not been loaded until yesterday, so my fruitless searches on Wednesday and Thursday before asking for assistance, had good reason to be failures 🙂 bit of a relief tbh
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11401694
“So utterly underwhelming was Tuesday’s effort that it was three days later before someone noticed it had not been posted on the home page of the official Government website.”
FYI folks …..
______________________________________________________________________________________
13 February 2015
Fran Wilde
Chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council /’Private Citizen’
URGENT ‘Open Letter /OIA request’ to Fran Wilde, Chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council / ‘Private Citizen’- re: an email you allegedly distributed on Tuesday 10 February 2015 encouraging those emailed to support the Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal.
Dear Fran,
I do not claim to be ‘an expert on everything’, but as a proven ‘anti-corruption whistle-blower’, I do have an understanding,in my considered opinion, of allegedly arguably and potentially ‘corrupt conflicts of interest’.
Please be reminded of s.105A of the New Zealand Crimes Act 1961:
“105A Corrupt use of official information
Every official is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who, whether within New Zealand or elsewhere, corruptly uses or discloses any information, acquired by him or her in his or her official capacity, to obtain, directly or indirectly, an advantage or a pecuniary gain for himself or herself or any other person.”
______________________________________________________________________________________
I have been forwarded the following email, which you allegedly posted on Tuesday 10 February 2015 at 10.29pm.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
From: Fran Wilde [mailto:fran@franwilde.com]
Sent: Tuesday, 10 February 2015 10:29 p.m.
To: fran@franwilde.com
Subject: Wellington region needs your help urgently!
Greetings
First an apology for sending a bulk email – my contacts list is too big to personalise on this occasion.
Just before Christmas the Local Government Commission (LGC) published a Draft Proposal for reform of local government in our region. The report is a blueprint for our future 20 or 30 years from now. Links to the report and to a smaller summary are at the bottom of this message.
Wellington is now at a critical time. For more than a decade our economic performance relative to other regions has been dismal and we have infrastructure and social challenges that can’t be addressed by our fragmented local government structure. The new Auckland and post-quake Christchurch are getting huge attention from central government. Wellington appears to be irrelevant. Of course local government isn’t the answer to everything, but it plays a critical role and right now just can’t be an agent for the transformational change we need.
The LGC proposal is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leapfrog our region into the future – one unified region-wide council to deliver infrastructure, economic development etc, with well-funded local boards replacing current local councils to take care of community issues. One organisation with one Mayor and one CEO and one rates bill. And most importantly the ability to take a regional view of the big issues.
The LGC is seeking submissions and will have hearings. Following that, it may publish a final Proposal the same as, similar to or different from the draft – or it could decide to make no change at all. To proceed along the lines of the Proposal it requires “demonstrable community support” from every single TA area in the region – i.e. Wellington City, Kapiti Coast, Upper Hutt, Carterton etc.
Submission close in just under three weeks – at 4.00pm on Monday March 2nd. Those who oppose change are particularly active are canvassing their local council areas. In my view it’s absolutely imperative that Wellingtonians who want change make their voices heard. Change will not happen unless we say we want it – i.e. “demonstrable community support”.
Please take two minutes to make a submission right now. It’s really easy – you don’t have to write a long piece. All that is required is a short email with your name and address and a message saying that you support the Proposal. Send your email to submissions@lgc.govt.nz
Alternatively, you might want to click on the link below which is the LGC submission form, fill it in then email it to submissions@lgc.govt.nz
Wellington reorganisation proposal – Submission form
You don’t have to appear at the hearings if you make a submission – only if you request to appear.
Finally, in order to get the numbers to show “demonstrable community support” please could you help by talking to or sending these links through to anyone else you know who supports improving local government in our region. It could be people in your family or your street or your workplace – or friends who live in other parts of the region.
Remember the deadline is 4.00pm Monday March 2nd – please could you send in your views now!
Regards
Fran
http://www.lgc.govt.nz/assets/Wellington-Reorganisation/Wellington-reorg-Draft-Proposal-Wellington-Volume-1.pdf
Summary
http://www.lgc.govt.nz/assets/Wellington-Reorganisation/Wellington-reorg-Draft-Proposal-Wellington-Volume-2.pdf
Full report
IMPORTANT: The information contained in this e-mail message may be legally privileged or confidential. The information is intended only for the recipient named in the e-mail message. If the reader of this e-mail message is not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use, copyingU or distribution of this e-mail message is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail message in error, please notify the sender immediately. Thank you.
______________________________________________________________________________________
1) Please provide the information, which confirms that none of the email addresses to which you sent the above-mentioned email, originated from ANY email database, which was accessible to you, in any way, in your capacity as Chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council.
2) Please provide the information which confirms in what ‘capacity’ you sent the above-mentioned email.
3) Please provide the information which confirms how it it is not a ‘conflict of interest’ for you to send out this above-mentioned email, which is actively promoting ‘one side’ (as it were) of the Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal:
“The LGC is seeking submissions and will have hearings. Following that, it may publish a final Proposal the same as, similar to or different from the draft – or it could decide to make no change at all. To proceed along the lines of the Proposal it requires “demonstrable community support” from every single TA area in the region – i.e. Wellington City, Kapiti Coast, Upper Hutt, Carterton etc.”
– as opposed to just encouraging those emailed to participate in the Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal, particularly given that you are arguably, in my considered opinion, a potential candidate for the position of Mayor for this proposed Greater Wellington Regional Council, which you are, in my considered opinion, actively supporting.
4) Please provide the information which confirms that you exercised ‘due diligence’, and took the precautionary step, given your position as current Chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council, and sought competent legal advice, before sending out this above-mentioned email.
Yours sincerely,
Penny Bright
……………………..
Attendee: 2009 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2010 Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2013 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2014 G20 Anti-Corruption Conference
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate (polled 4th with 11,723 votes)
______________________________________________________________________________________
Kind regards,
Penny Bright
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
the drought has broken..!
..after four days of female panelists on moras’ show..
..that wd have the most enthusiastic feminist despairing for womanhood…
..today we were able to drink..
..her name is jolisa gracewood..
..it is her first appearance..
..and may there be many more…
and as a suggestion to the producers of the panel..
..it is way past time there was a cleanout of the deadwood-dumb in the panelists..
..both male and female..
..and wd it not be more interesting to do a left/right pairing on a regular basis..?
..as two just cooing in agreement..be they left or right..
..can be a bit of a snooze-fest..
..and helps resolve/clarify for listeners not a whit…
..and think how it will make life easier for yr host..doing that cleanout..
..’cos listening to him/mora trying to extract some semblance of intelligent/relevant comment..
..from some of them..
..is teeth-grinding/behind-the-sofa radio..
..tension..yes..
..but not good-tension..
..and he seems to be having no fun at all..
..whereas today..?
..with two intelligent/lucid commentators..
..he was as relaxed as..
..even seeming to enjoy it..
..certainly more so than on other days this week..
..(as you well know..so what’s stopping you..?..)
Fade to gray …
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/steve-strange-dead-visage-lead-5154662
This is hysterical, if it were not so awful .. spinning the spin of the spin ..
“In today’s NBR article, ‘Govt, SkyCity refuse to respond to convention centre queries’ (not currently online), Grant writes that ‘spin doctors for Mr Key have refused to directly address NBR’s questions about the convention centre’. He reports on the responses, in particular, from ‘Chief spin doctor Sia Aston’, which have ranged from the opaque to the blatantly disingenuous.
For example, in attempting to explain one inconsistency,
Aston replied:
‘In trying to understand any differences in the language used around this issue, it’s probably just important to note that the situation has clearly changed and therefore the nuances in language have changed’.
In response to further attempts to understand the evolving SkyCity deal, the spin doctor simply replied: ‘We have already answered your queries’.
unfuxxing believable !
see Bryce Edwards masterful gathering of all the published odium falling on Key and Joyce .. surely something must stick sooner or later ?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11401591