Satire. Good satire, because it pokes the borax at not only the CEO class but all the ordinary people who would rather the world burned than having to change.
It’s only too late if you think the only thing worth saving is human civilisation. If you think that life itself, including people, species and ecosystems have inherent worth beyond their use to civilisation, then it’s not too late to do something.
The ‘it’s too late’ meme is the last refuge of the denialists (where we see that it’s not about their disbelief in AGW, but their fear and greed and belief that they can’t live without fossil fueled society). But the bigger danger is in the people that want to do something but feel powerless or don’t know how to give up what is required. If they buy into the meme, then the momentum of change will stall.
Think that much is obvious….one has to wonder about the thought processes of the likes of Tillerson however….an aging individual of great wealth (40 mil US pa package) , has children…..what drives them to push this line when they and theirs already have more material wealth than they could possibly use in their remaining time?….bloody-mindedness?
Clinton v Sanders political debate from Brooklyn, New York is on at 1pm NZ time today. Broadcast by CNN, there might be a live stream on their website.
Is anyone else really pissed off with Richie being invested in Order of NZ? He has definitely devalued the system of picking 20 great living NZers. He has done one thing in his short life – chased a ball around a field for 80 minutes a week for about 30 weeks a year for which he has been paid millions. What has he done to enrich the lives of people in New Zealand.
If we were going to give this honour to someone younger then I would have voted for someone like Nano girl who at least has upped NZ girls interest in science! For him to say that it does not come with a title is disingenuous as he just needs to make a call and he can start calling himself Sir.
This has taken the Order of NZ back to the honours system when you just had to be a mate of the PM’s to get a gong and has totally destroyed the intention to make the O of NZ about 20 people who had truly enriched NZ life and culture.
Agreed Lucy. If he had done another 30 years worth of charity work or something meaningful for the community (like Ian Botham, though he got a knighthood too early) then in 2046 when he was 62 or so you could argue the case.
Just being able to play rugby well and being a mate of the PM’s should not be enough. In fact his craven support for the new flag as a hired hand should have disqualified him on that count alone.
Been wondering about that too Lucy. Its not that I am anti-Richie who has been a great rugby player. But it just seems a bit thin for him to be in such illustrious company. Murray Halberg was a great athlete and he founded the Murray Halberg Trust to help the physically disabled. Has Richie equalled that effort? I think Richie is helping the elderly by investing in shares in Old Folks homes if that counts?
I was surprised that Key was not by the Governor General’s side at the Investure.
Absolutely, I agree he’s not worthy of a knighthood, so why should he be given greater recognition by being put in the top 20 honourable kiwis!
Also anyone who puts their name behind a crap house building company like Versatile and helps create banal suburbia should also get demerit points imo, not honours.
Check out the images and comments from “Pete” at the end of the article. Is that the Pete from The Sewer? In my view they border on slander and should be swiftly removed by RNZ.
BG @ 7.2
There’s a news clip out there of a young Helen Clark being manhandled by a police officer during an anti apartheid protest around 1978 I think. A group of young men were trying to pull down a barbed wire fence erected to keep them out of Eden Park and Helen Clark happened to be standing only a few metres away from the action. The next thing she was being lunged at by this cop. If he’s still alive I bet he keeps a low profile. 🙂
Coming up on Radionz – sound interesting. Bill takes care to watch and learn about Fukushima!
9:20 am Monday 18 April: Tilman Ruff
Tilman Ruff
Global Health Professor, Tillman Ruff from the University of Melbourne says a true picture of the catastrophic health fallout from the Fukushima nuclear disaster is emerging.
The meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant was triggered by the tsunami that followed a magnitude 9 earthquake which struck off the Pacific Coast of Japan . Tillman Ruff says leaks from the defunct plant are continuing, tens of thousands of people are still displaced, and there is an emerging thyroid cancer epidemic.
Then,Bill Phillips was one of our bright people that wasn’t able to pass his acuity to the rest of us, leaving us to indulge ourselves in an ancient Egyptian practice as our main pursuit,(soaking ourselves in asses milk).
He developed a machine that demonstrated the working of an economy.
(I don’t think it was like ours is.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MONIAC
Perhaps now he is the ghost in the machine?
(Sorry if I have confused someone. I have shifted this to Open Mike myself – put in on Twyfords Housing post by mistake.)
“It’s really disappointing actually. They’ve doctored the tape recording to take out the bit where he says ‘this is what some in the industry say’, and they’ve doctored the bit which says ‘we need to help these people to make sure they get employment’.
Mr Lees-Galloway concedes the recording is a partial one and started recording after hearing a question about immigration. He missed the start of the answer, but maintains what was released is accurate.
No surprise there, Labour indulging in some Dirty Politics to attempt to score a hit
You really are a nasty little shit PR, of the mindfucking variety, who has no ethics and minimal morals and who has large disregard for the truth as part of your political MO. Your comments here are a complete misrepresentation of what what happened. That’s deliberate IMO. I’m sure you will trot out some oh I didn’t really mean that bullshit when confronted on it, so I’m not even going to bother pointing out where you are lying. Others can go read the article for themselves.
What I’m getting today is that you simply don’t care about what dirty politics is, how serious it is, and how much damage it does. And that you are pretty happy to misuse that concept to smear your political opponents. I’m sick of your constant astroturfing/trolling and think from now on I will just name it as such.
Lees-Galloway deliberately released the recording knowing without the context provided that it would sound bad, he knew it wasn’t representative of what English was saying but he released to try to get a hit on the government
It failed because Lees-Galloway was sloppy and now you’re all “waah waah waah” , you’re quick to label whatever the National party does as “Dirty Politics” but whenever Labour is exposed its a different story
No only rude but wrong – public statements are not dirty politics.
It sounded bad because it was bad – like everything about this disgustingly corrupt and treacherous government.
Labour should stand silent while the crooks lie – crooks like you? Fuck off PR – if you can’t pretend to be polite, and you be bothered being truthfull failoil is your natural home.
It sounded bad because it wasn’t what Bill English said, it was what Lees-Galloway recorded, without the context, and what he gleefully published and what the mouth breathers on here lapped up without a second thought
But that’s not what you said. As I predicted you now come back with a different story. Seen you do this so many times. You are a liar, and I’m not going to sit by and let and amoral fuck like you distort a critical political concept like DP for your own ends. My comment isn’t about LG or Labour (go read it again) it’s about disingenuous fuckwits like you who are happy to burn down the house. As someone else said, piss off to WO because I’m sick of the endless lies and deliberate mindfucking with the political culture of NZ, including the debate culture here. You are quite capable of communicating without telling lies, but you choose to lie as a way of trolling here. You are so disrespectful I can’t even be bothered telling you to up your game. Puckish Rogue, liar, shill and troll, time to make that plain and clear.
Pay attention. I haven’t yet expressed an opinion about LG (or Labour). My comment is about PR’s behaviour. But seeing as how everyone keeps replying to me about LG, I’m going to add hypocrite the list of adjectives for PR.
So lees-galloway got caught out using an altered recording that he suckered compliant media into using to attack his political opponent, which apparently is dirty politics methodology 101 according to the trustafarian hager. PR has called it dirty politics, because if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck then….. it must be a duck. or dirty politics in this case.
you’ve lost it for some reason I can’t quite fathom? is it because whats been said all along, both sides are guilty of using such practices, is true? and your carefully maintained imaginary construct of somehow the left being purer than pure has been shattered?
But Lees Galloway heard the comment in it’s entirety
When you include the ‘this is what some in the industry say’, and the ‘we need to help these people to make sure they get employment’, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with what Bill English.
That fact that Lees -Galloway went to the media with a non accurate version which he knew was misleading and then claims what Bill English said was this appalling outrage is dirty politics 101.
Without the other bits the recording is completely out of context,
Anyway, wrong score, should be LG 0, Dipton 3
First goal is that that vast majority agreed with the misleading version anyway, some kiwi unemployed are farkin hopeless and do need a kick up the arse.
Second goal, is that Labour leapt in on the side of the lazy and useless therefore further cementing it’s position in the voters eye as the bludger party.
Third goal is the feeble dirty politics blowing up in Lees -Galloway face.
Bald-faced lies about doctoring is one thing, playing a tape of what someone actually said is another.
Even if the rest of the answer was recorded (noting here the PMs version of context doesn’t provide any), English still said some young men were hopeless. That was a wrong thing to say. If he wants to plead context he should have stated the situation some young men were in, not the young men, were hopeless.
English has had 30-odd years in politics to learn to say correctly what he believes. If he doesn’t believe what he said should apologise and rephrase. Not go on about context that he didn’t use when making the offending remark. If he does believe it, own it – personal responsibility and all that.
There is no need for the PM to be planting lies about doctoring recordings. Simple enough.
it’s wrong to tell the truth then? some young men ARE hopeless. otherwise how would the qualifier, that something needs to be done to fix this, make any sense?
the left bang on about fixing problems, but if you can’t talk about them how can you really fix them?
“Something is wrong with my car, I’m sure what, but I can’t tell you what something is. so throw money at it till it’s fixed
BE says young men are hopeless
LG records BE saying young men are hopeless
LG plays recording
Nessalt agrees with BE that young men are hopeless
and Nessalt says “It’s not wrong to tell the truth”
so… If there is nothing wrong with telling truth (as BE sees it, and Nessalt agrees with) that’s that then.
Unless they don’t want to be seen to be telling the ‘truth’.
When you include the ‘this is what some in the industry say’, and the ‘we need to help these people to make sure they get employment’, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with what Bill English.
There are some people who are unwilling or unable to work reliably. Always have been. Not sure of the causes. Not very bright? Unable to concentrate for long? Uneducated? Feel worthless? No understanding of work ethic?
There always have been some at the bottom of the employable heap. Maybe society has to accept that they exist and just carry them like others who are handicapped.
Probably the ones ianmac is talking about, the wily, sly slippery types that are fun to see on film running rorts on horse races etc., well they would always be there being the tricksters, but they would also do a job and earn if there were jobs, They would be panelbeaters, van drivers, on roadworks gangs, and labouring guys, jacks of all trades and work when they had to.
But they would just slip away an hour early or something, or pinch the tea money that was saved for the Friday night drinks. Nothing big, just annoying and if their tendencies were known, you would know to keep an eye on them.
It’s time that TS tightened up – circulate the trolls with one month stand downs or something. It is not a great blog with all of the wasps trying to make stinging remarks. Put’s me off the picnic, and letting them do it shows that someone is a sandwich short.
You can send me off for uttering full frank and transparent opinion but it will be no loss to me. And before some grouch says it, you may think it no loss to you. But I think my little excursions add a different perspective, something to break the repetitive skewed comment-and-put-down reply. Ignore them FGS. And I put links usually so add some detail rather than swop self-righteous sneers. That way no-one’s IQ is raised.
@ the sad wee trolls who rush in to derail whenever a national politician has been found wanting or arrogant or a liar:
your manipulative framing, accusatory remarks and deflections are always transparent, and in my view just add to the overall disgust I have for the dirty politics that have characterised this last national government
…… English was rightly called out for his cynical and arrogant comments ….. this is not “gotcha politics” this is a Labour politician honestly fed up with the denigration of others
and the pm’s misleading and twisting to try to muddy the waters won’t get Englih off the hook
The thing is, the item you’ve linked to says the PM is complaining that Bill English’s comment was taken out of context. Yet when the paragraph with the apparent context is quoted, the offending phrases are not in it.
That’s not context or proof of doctoring. That’s spin.
And yes, the PM is better at spin than Labour. Although frustrated by it, I’m a little bit proud of that.
He knows it’s a lie, but he’s repeating it anyway.
And that’s what gives away National’s strategy. Both on the flag and on the UBI, their coordinated response is to lie over and over again, and trust enough people will reprint the lies until they become truthy.
So, how does an opposition respond? Well it can’t stop National telling the lies, because Voltaire. And only the most boring and small-thinking oppositions say so little that there’s no opportunity for malignant mischief from their opponents.
I think the opposition’s best option is to name the behaviour, over and over again. It works in parenting, and it works with this.
They say sunlight is the best disinfectant. So when National infects our public conversation with lies and excuses, I’ll be here on Public Address providing a little ray of sun.
“It’s really disappointing actually. They’ve doctored the tape recording to take out the bit where he says ‘this is what some in the industry say’, and they’ve doctored the bit which says ‘we need to help these people to make sure they get employment’.
Mr Lees-Galloway concedes the recording is a partial one and started recording after hearing a question about immigration. He missed the start of the answer, but maintains what was released is accurate.
No surprise there, Labour indulging in some Dirty Politics to attempt to score a hit
Let’s break this down,
“It’s really disappointing actually. They’ve doctored the tape recording to take out the bit where he says ‘this is what some in the industry say’, and they’ve doctored the bit which says ‘we need to help these people to make sure they get employment’.
That’s John Key, known liar and Dirty Politics operative. Key lies so routinely now that it’s very easy to see which things in his statement need checking. The word ‘doctoring’ has a big stonking red flag on it, because (a) even Labour wouldn’t be so stupid and (b) it’s got CT carefully selected term written all over it. A word designed to obliterate the truth and do maximum damage. It’s the same old shit.
Here’s what LG said in response, most of which PR left out,
Mr Lees-Galloway concedes the recording is a partial one and started recording after hearing a question about immigration. He missed the start of the answer, but maintains what was released is accurate.
“Nothing’s been rearranged or added or swapped around so I think he’s a bit desperate if he’s trying to clutch at that,” Mr Lees-Galloway says.
“What we produced was a recording of what Bill English said. All I can say is those are the words Bill English used. The only one who smeared the National Party is Bill English.”
The recording was stopped after Mr English had finished answering the question.
So Key says LG doctored the tape. That means something quite specific. LG says the tape was not doctored or altered and that he was late starting recording English so missed a bit. That on the face of it is plausible. He also says that he believes that the points he made yesterday are still relevant.
There is nothing to suggest that LG doctored the tape apart from an unsubstantiated assertion from Key and from PR. If the tape was doctored, and there was a deliberate decision to misuse the recording to undercut English/National then we might be getting close to Dirty Politics. But it wasn’t. Do I think LG was wise to handle this in the way he did? Probably not, but I didn’t follow all of the coverage yesterday so I don’t really know.
Did Bill English call a class of young men looking for work ‘pretty damned hopeless’? Yes. Does putting that in context make it more acceptable? Not really. Leaving out the context doesn’t make this Dirty Politics.
All PR had to do was be honest about all that. Instead he yet again selectively quoted (oh the irony) to do some Labour bashing and to run a nasty RWNJ meme, that Labour do DP as well. They don’t. No-one really does except for National. This doesn’t mean that all other political parties are squeaky clean, and it doesn’t mean that shitty stuff doesn’t happen. But it’s not DP. Which everyone in this conversation already knows, including PR, BM, and Nessalt.
So, fuck the lot of you who engage in this shit. I’ve had enough of the thread derailments, the slander, and the false framing. I know that PR and BM are both easily capable of putting up intelligent, coherent, meaningful comment from a RW perspective. I have no problem with that. But this lazy-arse trolling and Labour bashing is the politics of the nasty party and I’m just going to keep naming it for what it is.
Am I overreacting? No idea. PR is a master of the understated trollbait. And wow do you quantify years of this kind of thing undermining political culture? I think it’s more that I’ve just reached the end of my tether.
Grey, I didn’t really understand you comment, so all I can say is that ignoring trolls doesn’t work, it just cedes the space to them.
Two days after the announcement of her hiring, the Sanders presidential campaign suspended its national Jewish outreach coordinator, Simone Zimmerman, on Thursday after revelations that she had posted vulgarities about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Facebook.
“She has been suspended while we investigate the matter,” Michael Briggs, a spokesman for Senator Bernie Sanders, wrote in an email.
Ms. Zimmerman’s suspension comes after a report on Wednesday in The Washington Free Beacon, which found a Facebook post in which she used a vulgarity and described Mr. Netanyahu as “arrogant, deceptive, cynical” and “manipulative.” She then used more aggressive language and continued that he had “sanctioned the murder of over 2,000 people this summer.”
As Mickeysavage said HERE “They only own the one place and have no other property holdings whatsoever” “Addendum: For the benefit of the National Party Research Unit when I say “own” I mean “have a beneficial interest in””.
He obviously has no beneficial interest in it any more.
This is part of an interesting blog discussing :Why Bernie Sanders is LESS protectionist than Hillary Clinton. It deals with the “anti-trade” accusation often levelled at TPP protesters.
Is opposing trade agreements like NAFTA or TPP anti-free trade?
In the current election discussions about trade, opponents of post-GATT trade agreements often get tarred with the brush of Donald Trump-like xenophobia. It is worth remembering that these agreements, while admittedly taking further the kind of tariff-cutting begun with the GATT, are not primarily about non-discriminatory free trade. They reflect neo-liberal ideas about optimal economic governance and public policy that have been, rightly challenged, both from the perspective of national sovereignty, but also from a more cosmopolitan point of view (particularly the protection of monopoly rents from intellectual property). Among the clearest explanations of these difference is to be found in Dani Rodrik’s The Globalization Paradox: the “deep integration” to which post-GATT trade agreements seek is not really based in classic free trade theory but a more recent and more questionable (and questioned) economic orthodoxy.
If you click on comments, there is this illuminating gem:
“first, in a couple places, you seem to equate intellectual property rules in trade agreements with neoliberalism. I can’t speak for all neoliberals, but as a card-carrying neoliberal myself, let me just note that in my view, the excessive intellectual property protections in modern trade agreements are the furthest thing from neoliberal. In fact, they are better described as statist interventionism/corporate welfare than neoliberalism.”
That was annoying. The outage just after 1500 was caused by an upgrade to WordPress 4.5. One of the plugins that is not in the test system; a plugin tester that was meant to be uninstalled months ago, was still in the real system. Apparently because its admin directory had a live open and unmoveable file.
It was calling a deprecated wordpress function that was removed in 4.5. That call to deprecated API was actually the reason I removed it in the first place.
So the upgrade caused the site to fail…. but it’d worked fine when testing. Now to write a better sync between the test system and the real site.
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Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
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Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
“It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April to meet the Prime Minister’s ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
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 A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
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Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, 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 up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
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Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
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Cynicism or Satire?
http://www.theonion.com/article/exxonmobil-ceo-relieved-it-finally-too-late-do-any-52732
As the climate crisis deepens, it is getting harder to tell.
hmmm….toss a coin
Satire. Good satire, because it pokes the borax at not only the CEO class but all the ordinary people who would rather the world burned than having to change.
It’s only too late if you think the only thing worth saving is human civilisation. If you think that life itself, including people, species and ecosystems have inherent worth beyond their use to civilisation, then it’s not too late to do something.
The ‘it’s too late’ meme is the last refuge of the denialists (where we see that it’s not about their disbelief in AGW, but their fear and greed and belief that they can’t live without fossil fueled society). But the bigger danger is in the people that want to do something but feel powerless or don’t know how to give up what is required. If they buy into the meme, then the momentum of change will stall.
Think that much is obvious….one has to wonder about the thought processes of the likes of Tillerson however….an aging individual of great wealth (40 mil US pa package) , has children…..what drives them to push this line when they and theirs already have more material wealth than they could possibly use in their remaining time?….bloody-mindedness?
Satire but behind the scenes really really true.
Clinton v Sanders political debate from Brooklyn, New York is on at 1pm NZ time today. Broadcast by CNN, there might be a live stream on their website.
The .1 percent are the true villains: What Americans don’t understand about income inequality
http://www.salon.com/2016/04/14/the_1_percent_are_the_real_villains_what_americans_dont_understand_about_income_inequality_partner/
Problems with Parliament’s Cabinet Manual…
Circular reasoning, a casual treatment of democracy, and some assertions that are just plain wrong.
Link
Is anyone else really pissed off with Richie being invested in Order of NZ? He has definitely devalued the system of picking 20 great living NZers. He has done one thing in his short life – chased a ball around a field for 80 minutes a week for about 30 weeks a year for which he has been paid millions. What has he done to enrich the lives of people in New Zealand.
If we were going to give this honour to someone younger then I would have voted for someone like Nano girl who at least has upped NZ girls interest in science! For him to say that it does not come with a title is disingenuous as he just needs to make a call and he can start calling himself Sir.
This has taken the Order of NZ back to the honours system when you just had to be a mate of the PM’s to get a gong and has totally destroyed the intention to make the O of NZ about 20 people who had truly enriched NZ life and culture.
Agreed Lucy. If he had done another 30 years worth of charity work or something meaningful for the community (like Ian Botham, though he got a knighthood too early) then in 2046 when he was 62 or so you could argue the case.
Just being able to play rugby well and being a mate of the PM’s should not be enough. In fact his craven support for the new flag as a hired hand should have disqualified him on that count alone.
🙂
Been wondering about that too Lucy. Its not that I am anti-Richie who has been a great rugby player. But it just seems a bit thin for him to be in such illustrious company. Murray Halberg was a great athlete and he founded the Murray Halberg Trust to help the physically disabled. Has Richie equalled that effort? I think Richie is helping the elderly by investing in shares in Old Folks homes if that counts?
I was surprised that Key was not by the Governor General’s side at the Investure.
Absolutely, I agree he’s not worthy of a knighthood, so why should he be given greater recognition by being put in the top 20 honourable kiwis!
Also anyone who puts their name behind a crap house building company like Versatile and helps create banal suburbia should also get demerit points imo, not honours.
Totally agree Lucy!
Great interview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ6NRFQ-jUY&ebc=ANyPxKo2-nnf61hQVdBVYI3jZ8TAP1-c_lKdsDoGBhdet6BDm975mp7ZwGNDRXEtKftYyJZboPGk0ph_R0LAaC_nsBdX_29w_w
Thanks Adam, inspiring.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/301526/helen-clark's-toughest-job-interview
Check out the images and comments from “Pete” at the end of the article. Is that the Pete from The Sewer? In my view they border on slander and should be swiftly removed by RNZ.
Which of those statements posted by Pete is untrue?
Presumably most of them as the whole comment has been removed.
I loved Clark’s passionate and lucid explanation of how she fought against apartheid.
Now isn’t there a prominent citizen who can’t even remember his position on this issue…
Seems appropriate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vQpW9XRiyM
BG @ 7.2
There’s a news clip out there of a young Helen Clark being manhandled by a police officer during an anti apartheid protest around 1978 I think. A group of young men were trying to pull down a barbed wire fence erected to keep them out of Eden Park and Helen Clark happened to be standing only a few metres away from the action. The next thing she was being lunged at by this cop. If he’s still alive I bet he keeps a low profile. 🙂
Ooops. Looks like Pete’s gone. 😈
Coming up on Radionz – sound interesting. Bill takes care to watch and learn about Fukushima!
9:20 am Monday 18 April: Tilman Ruff
Tilman Ruff
Global Health Professor, Tillman Ruff from the University of Melbourne says a true picture of the catastrophic health fallout from the Fukushima nuclear disaster is emerging.
The meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant was triggered by the tsunami that followed a magnitude 9 earthquake which struck off the Pacific Coast of Japan . Tillman Ruff says leaks from the defunct plant are continuing, tens of thousands of people are still displaced, and there is an emerging thyroid cancer epidemic.
Then,Bill Phillips was one of our bright people that wasn’t able to pass his acuity to the rest of us, leaving us to indulge ourselves in an ancient Egyptian practice as our main pursuit,(soaking ourselves in asses milk).
11:25 am Wednesday 20 April: Alan Bollard on the life and economics of Bill Phillips
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Phillips_%28economist%29
He developed a machine that demonstrated the working of an economy.
(I don’t think it was like ours is.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MONIAC
Perhaps now he is the ghost in the machine?
(Sorry if I have confused someone. I have shifted this to Open Mike myself – put in on Twyfords Housing post by mistake.)
Live stream for today’s CNN Democratic presidential Debate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMN9q2BGsyE
We are at half way.
And I’d say Bernie is winning. Hilary got Booed at one point.
Hilary’s talking points sound to much like PR spin. And she looks really rattled at times.
Bernie looked like he was getting beaten on gun control, but he managed a come back. But Hilary won that part of the debate.
Every other point, especially minimum wage, Bernie wiped the floor of Hilary. She actually lied, and was pulled up by moderation.
Yes dear 🙂
🙂 Sabine has really had an impact on you PR. I’ve seen your ‘yes dear’ popping up all over the place.
Now you just need to work out the context in which she used that phrase.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/labour-denies-doctoring-hopeless-worker-tape-2016041416#axzz45qMmwGSL
“It’s really disappointing actually. They’ve doctored the tape recording to take out the bit where he says ‘this is what some in the industry say’, and they’ve doctored the bit which says ‘we need to help these people to make sure they get employment’.
Mr Lees-Galloway concedes the recording is a partial one and started recording after hearing a question about immigration. He missed the start of the answer, but maintains what was released is accurate.
No surprise there, Labour indulging in some Dirty Politics to attempt to score a hit
darvo
/
It’s almost lying by omission.
Labour can’t even do Dirty Politics properly
You really are a nasty little shit PR, of the mindfucking variety, who has no ethics and minimal morals and who has large disregard for the truth as part of your political MO. Your comments here are a complete misrepresentation of what what happened. That’s deliberate IMO. I’m sure you will trot out some oh I didn’t really mean that bullshit when confronted on it, so I’m not even going to bother pointing out where you are lying. Others can go read the article for themselves.
What I’m getting today is that you simply don’t care about what dirty politics is, how serious it is, and how much damage it does. And that you are pretty happy to misuse that concept to smear your political opponents. I’m sick of your constant astroturfing/trolling and think from now on I will just name it as such.
Puckish Rogue, liar, shill and troll.
Oh bugger off you sanctimonious twat
Lees-Galloway deliberately released the recording knowing without the context provided that it would sound bad, he knew it wasn’t representative of what English was saying but he released to try to get a hit on the government
It failed because Lees-Galloway was sloppy and now you’re all “waah waah waah” , you’re quick to label whatever the National party does as “Dirty Politics” but whenever Labour is exposed its a different story
yes dear
No only rude but wrong – public statements are not dirty politics.
It sounded bad because it was bad – like everything about this disgustingly corrupt and treacherous government.
Labour should stand silent while the crooks lie – crooks like you? Fuck off PR – if you can’t pretend to be polite, and you be bothered being truthfull failoil is your natural home.
It sounded bad because it wasn’t what Bill English said, it was what Lees-Galloway recorded, without the context, and what he gleefully published and what the mouth breathers on here lapped up without a second thought
But that’s not what you said. As I predicted you now come back with a different story. Seen you do this so many times. You are a liar, and I’m not going to sit by and let and amoral fuck like you distort a critical political concept like DP for your own ends. My comment isn’t about LG or Labour (go read it again) it’s about disingenuous fuckwits like you who are happy to burn down the house. As someone else said, piss off to WO because I’m sick of the endless lies and deliberate mindfucking with the political culture of NZ, including the debate culture here. You are quite capable of communicating without telling lies, but you choose to lie as a way of trolling here. You are so disrespectful I can’t even be bothered telling you to up your game. Puckish Rogue, liar, shill and troll, time to make that plain and clear.
Do you approve of what Lees-Galloway did?, it’s fairly obvious he’s gone out of his way to misrepresent what Bill English said.
Feeble amateur hour dirty politics from Labour.
Pay attention. I haven’t yet expressed an opinion about LG (or Labour). My comment is about PR’s behaviour. But seeing as how everyone keeps replying to me about LG, I’m going to add hypocrite the list of adjectives for PR.
weka’s not wrong PR and you know it.
So lees-galloway got caught out using an altered recording that he suckered compliant media into using to attack his political opponent, which apparently is dirty politics methodology 101 according to the trustafarian hager. PR has called it dirty politics, because if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck then….. it must be a duck. or dirty politics in this case.
you’ve lost it for some reason I can’t quite fathom? is it because whats been said all along, both sides are guilty of using such practices, is true? and your carefully maintained imaginary construct of somehow the left being purer than pure has been shattered?
Lees Galloway says that the recording was not altered Nessalt.
Pretending it was and attacking someone for something they didn’t do and feeding it to media mates… Now that’s dirty politics101.
But Lees Galloway heard the comment in it’s entirety
When you include the ‘this is what some in the industry say’, and the ‘we need to help these people to make sure they get employment’, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with what Bill English.
That fact that Lees -Galloway went to the media with a non accurate version which he knew was misleading and then claims what Bill English said was this appalling outrage is dirty politics 101.
It was entirely accurate and Bill English agreed he’d said it. And meant it. ILG 1, Dipton 0.
Without the other bits the recording is completely out of context,
Anyway, wrong score, should be LG 0, Dipton 3
First goal is that that vast majority agreed with the misleading version anyway, some kiwi unemployed are farkin hopeless and do need a kick up the arse.
Second goal, is that Labour leapt in on the side of the lazy and useless therefore further cementing it’s position in the voters eye as the bludger party.
Third goal is the feeble dirty politics blowing up in Lees -Galloway face.
🙄
Bald-faced lies about doctoring is one thing, playing a tape of what someone actually said is another.
Even if the rest of the answer was recorded (noting here the PMs version of context doesn’t provide any), English still said some young men were hopeless. That was a wrong thing to say. If he wants to plead context he should have stated the situation some young men were in, not the young men, were hopeless.
English has had 30-odd years in politics to learn to say correctly what he believes. If he doesn’t believe what he said should apologise and rephrase. Not go on about context that he didn’t use when making the offending remark. If he does believe it, own it – personal responsibility and all that.
There is no need for the PM to be planting lies about doctoring recordings. Simple enough.
it’s wrong to tell the truth then? some young men ARE hopeless. otherwise how would the qualifier, that something needs to be done to fix this, make any sense?
the left bang on about fixing problems, but if you can’t talk about them how can you really fix them?
“Something is wrong with my car, I’m sure what, but I can’t tell you what something is. so throw money at it till it’s fixed
Miravox – “There is no need for the PM to be planting lies about doctoring recordings.”
Nessalt – “it’s wrong to tell the truth then?”
lolz, the epitome of what is wrong with the RW shills.
right..
BE says young men are hopeless
LG records BE saying young men are hopeless
LG plays recording
Nessalt agrees with BE that young men are hopeless
and Nessalt says “It’s not wrong to tell the truth”
so… If there is nothing wrong with telling truth (as BE sees it, and Nessalt agrees with) that’s that then.
Unless they don’t want to be seen to be telling the ‘truth’.
When you include the ‘this is what some in the industry say’, and the ‘we need to help these people to make sure they get employment’, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with what Bill English.
Please link to your source for those quotes.
Did you leave out the bit where he said he agrees with them accidental-like or on purpose, purple knob?
There are some people who are unwilling or unable to work reliably. Always have been. Not sure of the causes. Not very bright? Unable to concentrate for long? Uneducated? Feel worthless? No understanding of work ethic?
There always have been some at the bottom of the employable heap. Maybe society has to accept that they exist and just carry them like others who are handicapped.
+1
Thing is, if we gave them the right support they’d probably turn into fine citizens.
Probably the ones ianmac is talking about, the wily, sly slippery types that are fun to see on film running rorts on horse races etc., well they would always be there being the tricksters, but they would also do a job and earn if there were jobs, They would be panelbeaters, van drivers, on roadworks gangs, and labouring guys, jacks of all trades and work when they had to.
But they would just slip away an hour early or something, or pinch the tea money that was saved for the Friday night drinks. Nothing big, just annoying and if their tendencies were known, you would know to keep an eye on them.
Anyone who pinches the beer money deserves to be beaten.
What a weasel Lees-Galloway is.
It’s a shame, but it’s what you expect from labour these days.
Labours new motto should read: The end justifies the means
Puckish Rogue today is being a liar, shill and troll. That latest comment looks like flamebaiting too.
You need to chill Weka. You’re sounding abit unhinged.
Want to prove the he’s telling lies weka? kind of makes you a liar if you are calling someone else a liar when you know they are telling the truth.
Clucking pretty hard on this aren’t you? thought “gotcha” politics was finally paying off for you?
It’s time that TS tightened up – circulate the trolls with one month stand downs or something. It is not a great blog with all of the wasps trying to make stinging remarks. Put’s me off the picnic, and letting them do it shows that someone is a sandwich short.
You can send me off for uttering full frank and transparent opinion but it will be no loss to me. And before some grouch says it, you may think it no loss to you. But I think my little excursions add a different perspective, something to break the repetitive skewed comment-and-put-down reply. Ignore them FGS. And I put links usually so add some detail rather than swop self-righteous sneers. That way no-one’s IQ is raised.
@ the sad wee trolls who rush in to derail whenever a national politician has been found wanting or arrogant or a liar:
your manipulative framing, accusatory remarks and deflections are always transparent, and in my view just add to the overall disgust I have for the dirty politics that have characterised this last national government
…… English was rightly called out for his cynical and arrogant comments ….. this is not “gotcha politics” this is a Labour politician honestly fed up with the denigration of others
and the pm’s misleading and twisting to try to muddy the waters won’t get Englih off the hook
The thing is, the item you’ve linked to says the PM is complaining that Bill English’s comment was taken out of context. Yet when the paragraph with the apparent context is quoted, the offending phrases are not in it.
That’s not context or proof of doctoring. That’s spin.
And yes, the PM is better at spin than Labour. Although frustrated by it, I’m a little bit proud of that.
+1 and me too for the last bit.
reposting this,
http://publicaddress.net/polity/let-the-big-lies-flow/
Thanks for that weka.
Something to think about.
Right, for the people that don’t understand what I am on about I’m back on the laptop now and going to explain.
PR said,
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/labour-denies-doctoring-hopeless-worker-tape-2016041416#axzz45qMmwGSL
“It’s really disappointing actually. They’ve doctored the tape recording to take out the bit where he says ‘this is what some in the industry say’, and they’ve doctored the bit which says ‘we need to help these people to make sure they get employment’.
Mr Lees-Galloway concedes the recording is a partial one and started recording after hearing a question about immigration. He missed the start of the answer, but maintains what was released is accurate.
No surprise there, Labour indulging in some Dirty Politics to attempt to score a hit
Let’s break this down,
“It’s really disappointing actually. They’ve doctored the tape recording to take out the bit where he says ‘this is what some in the industry say’, and they’ve doctored the bit which says ‘we need to help these people to make sure they get employment’.
That’s John Key, known liar and Dirty Politics operative. Key lies so routinely now that it’s very easy to see which things in his statement need checking. The word ‘doctoring’ has a big stonking red flag on it, because (a) even Labour wouldn’t be so stupid and (b) it’s got CT carefully selected term written all over it. A word designed to obliterate the truth and do maximum damage. It’s the same old shit.
Here’s what LG said in response, most of which PR left out,
Mr Lees-Galloway concedes the recording is a partial one and started recording after hearing a question about immigration. He missed the start of the answer, but maintains what was released is accurate.
“Nothing’s been rearranged or added or swapped around so I think he’s a bit desperate if he’s trying to clutch at that,” Mr Lees-Galloway says.
“What we produced was a recording of what Bill English said. All I can say is those are the words Bill English used. The only one who smeared the National Party is Bill English.”
The recording was stopped after Mr English had finished answering the question.
So Key says LG doctored the tape. That means something quite specific. LG says the tape was not doctored or altered and that he was late starting recording English so missed a bit. That on the face of it is plausible. He also says that he believes that the points he made yesterday are still relevant.
There is nothing to suggest that LG doctored the tape apart from an unsubstantiated assertion from Key and from PR. If the tape was doctored, and there was a deliberate decision to misuse the recording to undercut English/National then we might be getting close to Dirty Politics. But it wasn’t. Do I think LG was wise to handle this in the way he did? Probably not, but I didn’t follow all of the coverage yesterday so I don’t really know.
Did Bill English call a class of young men looking for work ‘pretty damned hopeless’? Yes. Does putting that in context make it more acceptable? Not really. Leaving out the context doesn’t make this Dirty Politics.
All PR had to do was be honest about all that. Instead he yet again selectively quoted (oh the irony) to do some Labour bashing and to run a nasty RWNJ meme, that Labour do DP as well. They don’t. No-one really does except for National. This doesn’t mean that all other political parties are squeaky clean, and it doesn’t mean that shitty stuff doesn’t happen. But it’s not DP. Which everyone in this conversation already knows, including PR, BM, and Nessalt.
So, fuck the lot of you who engage in this shit. I’ve had enough of the thread derailments, the slander, and the false framing. I know that PR and BM are both easily capable of putting up intelligent, coherent, meaningful comment from a RW perspective. I have no problem with that. But this lazy-arse trolling and Labour bashing is the politics of the nasty party and I’m just going to keep naming it for what it is.
Am I overreacting? No idea. PR is a master of the understated trollbait. And wow do you quantify years of this kind of thing undermining political culture? I think it’s more that I’ve just reached the end of my tether.
Grey, I didn’t really understand you comment, so all I can say is that ignoring trolls doesn’t work, it just cedes the space to them.
Thanks Weka.
+1 Thanks weka
And no, being fed up with the derails, slander and false framing is not over-reacting. It needs addressing.
Thanks GS and miravox 🙂
+1
NZ innovation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We_6at4ZMXM
I’m waiting for these people to offer a commuter version.
http://www.ubcobikes.com/
http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/two-wheel-drive-electric-utility-bike-doubles-as-remote-power-supply.html
Only if it sounds like the one in this clip….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6leSXdI_j4?rel=0&showinfo=0&w=560&h=315
It’s not far off.
Thou shalt not criticise.
/
Two days after the announcement of her hiring, the Sanders presidential campaign suspended its national Jewish outreach coordinator, Simone Zimmerman, on Thursday after revelations that she had posted vulgarities about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Facebook.
“She has been suspended while we investigate the matter,” Michael Briggs, a spokesman for Senator Bernie Sanders, wrote in an email.
Ms. Zimmerman’s suspension comes after a report on Wednesday in The Washington Free Beacon, which found a Facebook post in which she used a vulgarity and described Mr. Netanyahu as “arrogant, deceptive, cynical” and “manipulative.” She then used more aggressive language and continued that he had “sanctioned the murder of over 2,000 people this summer.”
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/04/14/bernie-sanders-suspends-jewish-outreach-coordinator-after-reports-of-her-criticisms-of-israel/
Has David Cunliffe sold his place in Herne Bay? If not, something seems fishy…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/78875326/our-121-mps-have-interests-in-295-properties-between-them
As Mickeysavage said HERE “They only own the one place and have no other property holdings whatsoever” “Addendum: For the benefit of the National Party Research Unit when I say “own” I mean “have a beneficial interest in””.
He obviously has no beneficial interest in it any more.
Yeah he sold it, was reported a few days ago.
This is part of an interesting blog discussing :Why Bernie Sanders is LESS protectionist than Hillary Clinton. It deals with the “anti-trade” accusation often levelled at TPP protesters.
http://worldtradelaw.typepad.com/u
If you click on comments, there is this illuminating gem:
“first, in a couple places, you seem to equate intellectual property rules in trade agreements with neoliberalism. I can’t speak for all neoliberals, but as a card-carrying neoliberal myself, let me just note that in my view, the excessive intellectual property protections in modern trade agreements are the furthest thing from neoliberal. In fact, they are better described as statist interventionism/corporate welfare than neoliberalism.”
TPP ain’t free trade!
That was annoying. The outage just after 1500 was caused by an upgrade to WordPress 4.5. One of the plugins that is not in the test system; a plugin tester that was meant to be uninstalled months ago, was still in the real system. Apparently because its admin directory had a live open and unmoveable file.
It was calling a deprecated wordpress function that was removed in 4.5. That call to deprecated API was actually the reason I removed it in the first place.
So the upgrade caused the site to fail…. but it’d worked fine when testing. Now to write a better sync between the test system and the real site.