Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step right up to the mike…
—Jim Mora, Radio NZ National, The Panel, Monday 14 October 2013
I am sorry to report that, far from responding to such nonsense, guest Panelists Matt Nippert and Josie Pagani maintained a silence closely resembling stupidity.
hogwash, n.1. Worthless, false, or ridiculous speech or writing; nonsense. 2. Garbage fed to hogs; swill. hypocrisy, n.1. the practice of professing standards, beliefs, etc., contrary to one’s real character or actual behaviour, esp. the pretence of virtue and piety 2. an act or instance of this
More hogwash….
No. 3 JOHN KERRY: “The best way to give these negotiations a chance is to keep them private.” http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Kerry-prolongs-trip-set-to-meet-Abbas-in-Ramallah-320386
No. 2 DAVID CAMERON: “We never support, in countries, the intervention by the military.”
No. 1 BARACK OBAMA: “Madiba’s moral courage…people standing up for what’s right….aaaahhhh, the yearning for justice and dignity…”
@ Morrissey Agreed …often ( but not always)find Jim Mora and his panel hard to listen to ..(.staus quo crap.)..without getting brain numbed, angry and switching off ….. or feeling I have been forced to swallow something non-nutritious, even at times, sickie sweet…(.toxic untruths or half truths)
I’m afraid I agree with Te Reo, Paul. I would love to think that those arch-criminals Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz et al. were involved but there is simply no evidence to support that. Like Norman Finkelstein, I accept that Dick Cheney is a criminal, a draft-dodger, a coward, a liar and a moral reprobate, but there is nothing to show he orchestrated or was involved in any way in the 9/11 attacks.
WT7 housed the financial evidence which was going to be needed when Rumsfeld at al had to explain where $2.3T disappeared to, along with the Pentagon, receiving its miraculous hit, directly to the accounts department.
Take a look at which agencies had presence in WT7, and what else was housed in there – “Pull it”!
The study by Stanford Law School and New York University’s School of Law calls for a re-evaluation of the practice, saying the number of “high-level” targets killed as a percentage of total casualties is extremely low — about 2%.
[…]
TBIJ reports that from June 2004 through mid-September 2012, available data indicate that drone strikes killed 2,562 – 3,325 people in Pakistan, of whom 474 – 881 were civilians, including 176 children. TBIJ reports that these strikes also injured an additional 1,228 – 1,362 individuals,” according to the Stanford/NYU study.
Tuesday 15 October 2013 – heading off shortly to Auckland airport to pick up Graham McCready for the adjourned hearing of oral evidence from Kim Dotcom, his bodyguard and lawyer, plus the CEO of Sky City, which should confirm that the DEFENDANT John Banks KNEW that donations from Kim Dotcom and Sky City’s CEO were NOT anonymous.
We should be at the Auckland District Court (Albert St) before 9.30am
‘Her Warship’ 😉
PS: on the 6th Anniversary of the Urewera ‘Terror’ Raids, Vince Siemer will be in the Auckland High Court, giving evidence which proves how he and his wife were subjected to alleged unlawful detention, search and seizure by Police…..
Can’t be in 2 places at once – but if anyone can go to the High Court to support Vince and Jane today – that would be GREAT!
“NEED BETTER WORK STORIES?
A 7-day trial in the Auckland High Court began Monday, 14 October, against 14 men in blue concerning the dawn 2008 raid on the offices of Spartan News Limited and home of Vince and Jane Siemer. A fifteenth defendant is the deputy registrar of the District Court who signed the undated police search warrant.
No one was charged as a result of the raid, which was postulated on Vince Siemer publishing the suppressed police affidavit used to hold, without bail, 18 New Zealand citizens in the infamous October 2007 Tuhoe raids (4 of the 18 were eventually convicted of various weapons charges; charges were dropped on the other 14).
Kim Dotcom has an extremely similar case against Police scheduled for trial in February 2014.
Defence Counsel Austin Powell, of the “Constitutional and Human Rights Team” within Crown Law, will first cross-examine Vince Siemer Tuesday on the events of 21 February 2008 before the 14 police defendants tell their work stories. Two weeks ago that was expected to concern the twelve pages of items Police seized but never accounted for on the day. However, the week before trial, the police conceded they have been withholding evidence of examination reports on the 5 cell phones they seized, had taken 183 photos inside the home not previously accounted for and cannot find the data the police cloned from three computers they seized.
Crown counsel Powell could only reply in a 7 October email, “I am not able to give priority to any more questions about discovery of documents. We are now a week out from the fixture and there is a great deal of preparation to do. I will attend to this and any other requests if time permits.”
Then-Solicitor General David Collins approved the raids on Tuhoe in 2007 and against the Siemers in 2008 but the Court of Appeal ruled in 2011 he could not be sued by Siemers and Spartan News. Mr Collins was appointed a High Court judge in 2012.
In addition to all phones and computers, the police seized tax and business accounts, cameras and even printers. The police claim their active investigation ceased three years ago but admit to still holding unspecified property. The biggest return of items to date was more than 4 years after the raid, on 21 September 2012.
The public are encouraged to attend to catch a rare glimpse of the work stories behind the badges. ”
If business wants convention centres, then business can pay for them. I find it incredibly rude that they even consider asking elderly ratepayers to pay for their business.
Rude, don’t care who foots the bill as long as it is not them. Rude. And out of line.
Arise Quidditch players prepare for the Game in the House. Represent and defend your constituents, the people and not just those in business. Look out for the Golden Snitcher.
phillip ure..(.on another topic) You are a Vegan?……what do Vegans eat to keep healthy?….my son is a vegetarian and now is considering Veganism!…request info
..congratulations on having such an evolved offspring/fruit of the loins..
..as far as his healthy-longevity/making a serious effort to both help the planet..and stop the wholesale suffering..(from both animals..and consumers of them.. is concerned..going vegan will be the best decision of/in his life..
..and having myself been vegan for about 15 yrs..and vegetarian for 15 before that..
..(and knowing people who have been vegan for 30 + yrs..)
..has all necessitated/evolved into the gathering of necessary information/data..
..there you will get all the recipies you will need..(mm!!..gourmet japanese/thai etc vegan..)
..plus the all-important nutritional information..
..it is pretty much a primer on the subject..(and the compilation of it some of the work i am most ‘proud of’..it is an agit=prop tool of some potency..
..i would (not so) humbly submit..
..and as an aside to current vegetarians..
.you get my utmost respect..for being where you are..
..especially if done for the ‘right’ reasons..(ie..animal-welfare/personal health/save the planet etc..
..but where you are..(and i was for 15 yrs..)..is a way-station on yr journey..
..a halfway house..
..and for the following reasons..
..personal health:..the fact is that eating animal bye-products is almost as bad for you as eating the actual animal flesh..(this increasingly confirmed by current/new research..u will find evidence-links to all my claims made here..in the archive..)
..animal welfare:..eating animal bye-products sustains/financially supports the wholesale horrors of the factory-farms/charnel-houses..so if vego for animal welfare reasons..?..
..mental-health:..it is common for vegetarians to feel better within themselves..when they stop eating animal-flesh..
..and personally..my/any expectation of ‘feeling netter’ from taking that vegan-step were minimal..
..silly me..!..i can testify to those long-time vegetarians that the feeling-better factor takes a giant leap..
..(in crude/blunt-terms..it is like ripping off another dietary-scab..(much as stopping meat was for you..eh..?..)
..saving the planet:..the well documented ‘costs’ of from humans farming/eating animals/animal bye-products..if you stop..you stop feeding that beast..
(and as a berm-aside:..never mind the berms..stop mowing yr fucken lawns..!..eh..!..
..kilo for kilo..the lawnmower is one of the dirtiest machines on the planet..
..and if you crunch the numbers..
you will see that if we all went vegan..and ended our anal-obsession with all lawns having a number-one cut..
..we could all drive s.u.v.’s ..
..with utter environmental-impunity..
..(sez it all really..eh..?..)
..and yes..my heart does sink a tad..
..when i see ‘green-leaders’..strutting around clad in the skins of butchered animals..
..and wiping the animal-grease/fat from their lips..
..with the backs of their hands..
..all the while claiming to be there ‘to save the planet’..eh..?
..eh..?
..but anyway chooky..the word-up to you wd be to join yr son on his journey..
..you too will share in all those benefits..
..that he has to look forward to..
..and if you actually nut it all out..with an open mind..
Thanks so much!!!!….you are convincing!!!!!…(sigh)…Will check out site and point son in the direction of it.
I know being a meat eater is a beastly habit and isn’t nice . ( If I had to kill it myself instead of picking up a little pack in the super market…soul already departed …I would be a vegetarian.).
Did try to be a vegetarian years ago myself but beans and rice all the time wound my energy levels down over 6 months…However just love Indian vegetarian food …so there is hope!!!!
@ tc…thanks for info….actually for lunch I had a wrap with chillie beans, brown rice ,salad and Indian mango chutney ..it was yuuummm!!!!!…yesterday we had lentil samosas…..so it isn’t so difficult to be a Vegan…(.but I have always put it off until the next incarnation)….we will see….maybe a semi Vegan? …cant see myself becoming a strict one. ha ha…but it is probably very good for one’s health…quite apart from the ethical considerations
Snacking throughout the day on live food (sprouts), seeds (sesame, pumpkin and sunflower) and nuts tend to help with the energy levels.
Also, you will tend to eat a lot more food (volume) so regular snacking helps to space it out.
Movements will be healthier and regular as clockwork.
Living as a vegetarian requires a bit of research, some thought and changes to your shopping habits but your body (and thus your mind) will thank you for it.
..the fact/nugget of information that five years ago made me foreswear the lawnmower/lawn-mowing..
..is that..depending on the vehicle you drive..
..one hours’ use of a lawnmower..
..is the same environmental footprint..
..as driving a vehicle between a low of 250 kms..to a high of 650 kms..
..fucken whoar..!
..eh..?
..something for those who are trying to heed the ever-more-urgent/compelling change-or-die!-messages..and those who urge others to ‘go green’..
..yet who still mow themselves..
..a question to ask themselves in front of the bathroom mirror/when overcome by that urge to give their lawns a number one..
..and they can reinforce that logical/rational decision..
..while walking past the flesh/dairy-sections @ the supermarket..
..and funny story..!..my walked-down lawns..after five years..have turned already good soil into super-soil..
..and my mini-eco system has recenttly sprouted swan-plants everywhere..and they have trunks like broom-handles..
..and so now i/we have monarch butterflies etc..fluttering around..
..(and the sound of/from those wings flapping..are far more pleasing on the ear/soul..than the discordant clatter of a wheezing/belching lawn-mower..eh..?..)
..the birds also love our yard/’lawn’…so we get lots of bird-action..
..and really..from this p.o.v…the action of cutting lawn/collecting the clippings..making a pile of them..
..turning them into compost..to then spread back on the soill..
..is an act of utter/pointless group-madness..
..it’s already programmed to do that itself..eh..
..if we just leave well alone..
..and in the process..
..both help the environment..
..and reclaim a large chunk of our lives that are currently wasted in this self-imposed sisyphian-task..
..of doing battle with/trying to tame/control nature..
And we could have become a true Banana republic complete with Russian weapons. If only Key had been in charge.
Now there’s a scary thought Key with a Russki Nuc (presumably with Missiles intact) sub tied up feeding Ak’s power.
David H
Tanks for the memory eh! Instead we got Lada cars, they got butter for their larders. Hah good one!
As for rubles, I think we would have preferred rubies.
But the flexible nature of trade allowed us to keep trading with this, then, pariah country. Perhaps we should keep the spirit of multi-lateralism or whatever, alive and not sign up to constraining TPPA with it’s flashy front billboard of free trade, and dirty little dealers behind the scenes selling their real agendas.
oh how times have changed. (had a wee bright yellow Lada when I was 20, and a bright orange VW) anyway, been fortunate today, cycled into town to do errands (food for the worms) and was able to be home before it fair poured down.
Tomorrow, in the Appeal Court in Wellington (pdf), Justices Harrison, French and Miller will hear argument in the case of the NZ Climate Science “Education” Trust (NZCSET) versus the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), in the continuing effort of the cranks to litigate away warming in New Zealand over the last 150 years. According to the man who kicked off the whole process, Richard Treadgold of the “Climate Conversation” web site, the NZCSET bases its appeal on two main points:
The focussed grounds are that all three NIWA temperature series resulted from serious mistakes of fact, which impugned the rationality of the Crown Entity’s decisions.
This seems somewhat surprising, given that the judge in the original case was so scathing of the NZCSET’s expertise in his judgement delivered a year ago. One wonders how the Appeal Court will react to any attempt to relitigate the original decision, given Justice Venning’s findings. But then perhaps the whole appeal has rather more to do with the second basis for appeal:
The Coalition is also seeking reversal of the High Court’s costs order.
Must have been edited Karol “leading” is missing in my current view. Armstrong’s position (tory supplicant) is well known and illustrated further by quoting Hollow Man Hooten in his ‘go easy on her’ Parata suckup.
And the bit I got out of hearing comment from the Minimum of Education was that they had planned a new ground-breaking experiment in Christchurch to test a new approach in schooling.
Their action was not to attend to the needs of children unsettled or traumatised by the loss of their normal daily life, the feeling of security and safety, the tipping over of many into the precariat, the loss of housing and local society, the loss of services even to having a toilet, the hardship for families without any fat to cushion the blows.
And on top of that the knowledge that the comfortably off didn’t really care, didn’t think kindly towards them, saw them as a problem to be dealt with some time at the convenience of the planners and finance holders. Left to themselves without annoying questions about action, the powers that be will proceed at their own pace with little empathy it seems.
I remember reading about how long it took Southern Italian authorities to provide for their poor people after a major earthquake destroyed their homes long established in an ancient slum area.
Originally a hard life, precarious but settled into a known culture that was livable, to totally miserable with whole families being poked into small hotel rooms for years. This was outlined in Thomas Belmonte’s great book of his time in Naples ‘The Broken Fountain’. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gables/hiv/mem/belmonte.html
Yesterday I commented on Radionz item on this woman who has written a book that goes straight to the heart of NZ’s problems with poverty in its business thinking.
However, economist and professor Mariana Mazzucato argues that the state has a huge part to play in bringing new goods and services to market.
Peter Day discusses her thought-provoking thesis with her. Her latest book is The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking public vs. private sector myths. She tweets on @MazzucatoM
Today I want to highlight that she says that all countries that advance do so on the back of government involvement. The big innovations in the USA have been done on the back of government research and development. Left to the private sector, little new stuff happens.
It is too costly for private companies to spend much on research because so much comes to nothing! But new things are needed to advance into the future with useful stuff, and to develop new ways of coping with whatever is happening, likely to happen – think green technology for instance.
I’m reading the book ATM, it’s the one I’ve been quoting over the last few days. It is rather enlightening about where the actual innovation has come from, who supported it and who benefited.
DTB
Keep on quoting. There is so much to learn to get out of the mre we are in. I sometimes think that the only people doing any important learning and thinking are on TS. Silly really. But it’s just an impression I get.
And a bit of whimsy. Do keep dropping pieces of smart thinking from her and similar others onto TS from time to time. They may be like the crumbs from Hansel and Gretel which we can follow leading to a good destination.
It’s well known that Obama hates Charlotte for letting the Hornets franchise move to New Orleans. Never cross POTUS over Bball, the man is serious about his sport.
Auckland’s population has grown by 110,000 people to 1.42 million people since the last census seven years ago, data published this morning shows.
Census night data showed that all 21 local board areas in Auckland increased in population, and Waitemata, Upper Harbour, Rodney, Howick and Franklin were the fastest-growing areas.
The population of Christchurch has dropped by almost 7000 since the devastating 2010 and 2011 earthquake sequence – but the number of people living in the Canterbury region has jumped by 17,000.
New census figures out today provide the first snapshot into the population shift since the quakes.
The Christchurch city population has gone from 348,456 in 2006 to 341,469 this year – a drop of 2 per cent.
The Canterbury region numbers have gone from 521,0832 in 2006 to 539,433 this year.
Outlying areas experienced huge growths.
Selwyn District has experienced the largest population growth in the country, up nearly a third to 44,595 people.
Waimakariri is up 17 per cent to 49,989.
Will be watching how this info is processed by the media.
…Their sloppy cronyism approach ends up costing more than any anticipated benefits.
Why? Short-termism gone mad? Why would nearly 50% of voters affirm a party this dysfunction on its core issue? the economy! Shonkey is not a good manager, he’s a fly boy pant sniffer type.
yet still 50% of the voting public voted for inanity. How does the Herald do it? I mean its so right wing (the wrong kind) and so actively deranged in its appeals to poor managing solutions.
We need a tax system that targets the wealthy less we forget what happens when a few own and control the super majority of the nation.
Did you see Collins, her eyebrow was a shocker, like she was some deranged bag lady invited on Q&A to an opinion that no credible minister could.
So Len Brown allegedly had sex with no condom with someone that isnt his wife at the auckland town hall, he shouldnt lose his job over this. A written warning and a divorce lawyer for his wife. The media should report news, not sleaze.
So Len Brown allegedly had sex with no condom with someone that isnt his wife at the auckland town hall, he shouldnt lose his job over this. A written warning and a divorce lawyer for his wife. The media should report news, not sleaze.
Because my point wasnt the source, it was the fact that its a non story, and noones business
apart from his wife. Yet over on the TM boards, people are all up in arms.
I heard a rumour that Brett lives in a gingerbread house and masturbates while drowning kittens, but I don’t believe it so if any of you haters out there repeat it, I’d disapprove. /sarc
And you’re also saying the media shouldn’t be reporting it, but are real keen to talk about it yourself, adding your little bit to the hype, which is what makes them report things.
“and people here on the extreme left shouldnt be calling for his firing”
Who has called for his firing brett? A link to the comment from an extreme leftie would be good and luckily for you it isn’t six months down the track. Or is it more of the same made up bullshit that you so often spread.
If its such a non-story why are you spreading it so much, if it’s noones business why are you spreading it so much – does it make you feel good brett. imo those that break a story are one thing but those who spread it while trying to pretend to have the moral high-ground are worse, as in an animal poos and the flies spread it around – you brett are a fly.
You’re the one saying he’s right. I’d be pretty sceptical about the whole thing, and worried for his source. This guy makes Ian Wishart look principled.
Please, those on the left and right who dont like len, will be saying he should resign, my point is, I dont care what he does with his penis, he should keep his job, thats the point im trying to make.
Far out…all the Nats have anger problems…Nick Smith is spitting while doing his best Key/Bridges impersonation, his colleagues should have worn their raincoats…
These farmers should be forced to get their drinking water below their farms or from the stream they are putting the shit into – record fine lol put a zero on it I say.
Maybe the fine should be a % of the business’ turnover? And yep to the drinking water.
“Council’s investigation manager Patrick Lynch said it was “unbelievable” a farmer would choose to deliberately pump raw effluent straight into a waterway.”
Funny that Mr Bridges was far more subdued in answering in Question Time today, than he was during his hyperactive shouting display last night on Campbell Live. Perhaps he had taken his ritalin today?
The most well known political leaders from Eisenhower to Kennedy to Lange have had extra-marital affairs. Grow up and learn a little bit about real life.
It was hard to type that with a straight face true 🙂 but I bet if you replaced Len Brown with John Key you lefties would all over it like white on rice
Plus theres the small matter of the threatning text she got, that puts it into a completely different catergory…
Also shows how much of a typical leftie he really is: good at throwing around other peoples money but buys his mistress cheap knickers
Rooting on the job is bad form, especially if it’s a junior employee (almost like incest).
I see there’s a high ranking defence force guy up on Court Marshall for the same thing. Guess Banksie won’t get the firing squad though?
Mate, it’s regarded as “in the family”. Why do you think the Army guy in being charged? You can’t take advantage of employees – who knows what pressures have been placed on them?
If Len Brown had spent on his Council credit card entertaining this woman, took her on Council paid trips, got her promotions etc, then that’s definitely relevant to his conduct on the job.
The rest of this is BS. Two grown up consenting adults getting it on, yaaawn.
sure but when it is a superior who may or may not hold hiring and firing in his/her hands it can be different cv. NOT that that is suggested here.
Ah yes there may be a case to be answered in situations where coercive pressure was being applied through seniority and hiring firing power.
but so far there is no evidence of coersion, it appears the woman herself has spoken to someone about it but n suggestion f misuse of power by Brown I suppose it might yet be made.
IIRC the Navy guy is being charged for lying about it on security vetting forms and alleged abusing his authority to intimidate his subordinate when she tried to end it.
nothing like incest. assuming it was consensual there is no wrong doing other than people’s perception of orality.
incest is a crime. speaking of crimes. Slater knows no bounds to th depths he will stoop. I bet he knows of a number of dirty secrets of right wing MP’s and he will die before revealling them.
” A journalist sacked by the Herald on Sunday has been ordered to pay his former employer $7500 costs for an Employment Relations Authority hearing he lost.
The newspaper was justified in sacking assistant editor Stephen Cook, who was being investigated as part of a police inquiry into drug dealing, authority member Rosemary Monaghan ruled last December.
Cook was dismissed in December 2008 because he would not tell his newspaper bosses why he was under suspicion.
They responded by saying they had lost trust and confidence in him, which made his position untenable.
Cook’s work car had been seen outside an Auckland property under surveillance by the police drugs squad.
Ms Monaghan said that in failing to provide material which could have cleared his name, Cook fed the suspicion that he was not being open and honest about his activities.
She found Cook’s dismissal was justified, not because he was dishonest or had something to hide, but rather his reactions to his employer “reasonably” suggested that he did.
Today she released a cost determination ordering Cook to pay $7500 to Herald on Sunday proprietor APN New Zealand Limited as a contribution to its costs.
APN, in its memorandum of costs, pointed to the need to address Cook’s inclusion of irrelevant and prejudicial material. It also cited delay and disruptions resulting from unavailability of counsel for Cook, including two delays in starting and the scheduling of a further part-day to address matters Cook had raised at the last moment. “
“….nothing like incest. assuming it was consensual there is no wrong doing other than people’s perception of orality..”
I presume that was a typo????????
Actually, from what I saw on the news, the high ranking defense guy is up on fairly major charges to do with the defense of the realm as well as sexual abuse.
I see there’s a high ranking defence force guy up on Court Marshall for the same thing
Except it’s not, because in that case the accused was blackmailing her into sex and using his position to threaten her partners continued employment in the military.
Not at all, but you’d expect grown ups in positions of responsibility like this to behave with some decorum and not go around rooting all and sundry. Honestly what is it about men of a certain age acting in this way……. Clinton, Lange, Brash etc etc. pathetic really.
Not at all, but you’d expect grown ups in positions of responsibility like this to behave with some decorum and not go around rooting all and sundry. Honestly what is it about men of a certain age acting in this way……. Clinton, Lange, Brash etc. pathetic really.
you want an author to right about whether or not the mayor of auckland has been extra maritally screwing an employee? There’s a few things I’ve wanted them to write about, so I could comment, but they didn’t.
Why dont you write it and submit is as a guest post.
(Complaining about Herald staff anonymity, that is).
[lprent: Nope because…
1. They truly are anonymous on editorials and Staff Reporter. Just like our Notices and Features when we’re doing the routine OpenMikes except they put in news content and opinion.
2. The Gosman rule applies to assertions made here about people here. Just as I cannot police the Herald, I don’t police people making comments about the Herald either there or here (unless they cause legal issues or overstep the bounds of taste here).
3. The rules are there to make this site easier to use. I’m not an ideologue and I don’t presume to demand how people should act off this site. I may merely comment on it ]
“People using a pseudonym to comment who then claim that other people commenting/posting anonymously (or any words construed to mean that) will have their own comments treated as being anonymous. Since this site does not allow anonymous comments, they will receive an immediate long ban.”
You’re right – technically – as an anonymous outside article isn’t a “post” or a “comment”.
[lprent: “Since this site does not allow anonymous comments…” is also a dead giveaway. ]
wow you are onto it. First pointing out no one has posted an article about Brown and now a violation of the rules (possibility thereof). A fine eye for detail.
The bit that you missed was that the NZHerald has run articles that attacked the “anonymous” authors on The Standard while hypocritically publishing anonymous articles.
Hardly a hanging offence if true, but he should have been sacked by the voters for not supporting the wharfies, “Lenslide” may now be “Lenslider” and joins the boardroom bonker club of various other randy old goat politicians–Worth, insert other names here……. etc.
You are right CV. Mayor of Auckland “porks the payroll” is not something that any Aucklander, other than the prurient working class filth that read the Truth, should be interested in.
I haven’t followed all the comments on the Len Brown matter but he has just issued a statement confirming he had a two year affair with a woman who was working on some project linked to the Council. She was not a Council employee.
Since it’s come from the sleaziest blogger in the business, can someone locate the story which appeared a year or two ago detailing a story of an extra marital indulgence by the self same blogger who released this story. From memory he never denied it. Anyone else remember it? If it can be found lets give it another airing…
What ‘Truth’ is that, do you mean the one the ex Editor/Manager a true piece of filth in anyone’s books managed in a few short months to run into the ground,
Lolz Blubber-boi the dysfunctional head case with the un-functional newspaper what a f**king loser that waste of space really is in the real world…
Last November the body of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was exhumed for an autopsy to determine if he was poisoned. Sadly, it appears that he was:
“Swiss radiation experts have confirmed they found traces of the radioactive agent polonium on the clothing of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, supporting the possibility he was poisoned.”
Give me a break, just received my insurance bill for my property in CHCH 50% increase on top of last years 20% increase.
You just gotta love that free market at work, about all thats free in this market is there right to screw you when your down, can’t find another company to reinsure with so take it or leave it Jack, the people of CHCH are being walked all over by greedy insurance companies along with this government, roll on election day.
The Right are good at this stuff, and the MSM falls for it pavlovian like every time. Mind you, this is a good wee reminder of how dirty the NATs are going to fight next year.
I have political criticisms of Brown’s performance. I think his private behaviour probably has hurt others, especially the women involved. The sleazemongers don’t care about the latter.
Meanwhile, there’s some significant political issues that don’t get enough in-depth attention.
It looks like ‘the other woman’ went to sleazebag herself and has given him their text conversations. Seems Len Brown ended the affair month or two ago. She claims she received anonymous threatening messages.
Well, an intelligent and mature woman would go to the police if it is true, not spill the beans in what looks to me like a spiteful vendetta.
Yes the right are good at making lefties make tits on themselves, I can just see the RWNJ setting Len up with a two year sting operation timed to go off after the election
The timing is all. I thought Brown on Campbell Live tonight was suggesting that the timing of the release has been done to force him to stand down before he is inaugurated. Thus, I guess, the 2nd place candidate would be mayor without a new election?
Had Brown lost there would be no story. This is why it did not come out prior to the election. Who ever is now behind Brown’s demise feel confident enough that Brown being elected mayor will become untenable.
How hard are those who want Brown gone going to push?
Interesting. Just been looking at the real time analytics after getting a threshold CPU alert.
I normally only get those if the database jams or a Labour leader resigns or is elected or we are having an election…
What is going on with the Simon Bridges post? Way higher than anything else right now and a hell of a lot of people piling on at once. Looks like facebook.
We get those enough that the pattern is predictable. Just gives little bumps. This was a social media jump and started at ~1:30PM according to the CPU log rather than the 3:56PM start for bryce’s post. We just had a big spike in the last 15 minutes when it started going viral.
Maybe also because I put the link to the Youtube video of the interview in the post? the video’s gone from one or two views this morning to over 450 views this afternoon.
Consensual sex is not an issue for me. Having sex at the office during working hours is not in the job description, nor is using the credit card for personal use in a relationship appropriate.
I want to know:
1. Was the sex during office hours on council premises?
2. Was the mayoral credit card used for personal use as part of the relationship e.g gifts, dining?
3. Was the other willing party silenced, bullied or threatened?
that too. I often reflect on how “the old lady” became our term of reference at home; hardly respectful, but then, you know how it is -“the old man” (Down The Road)
Slater is pushing for a re-election Maybe he should be careful what he wishes for – a proper campaign just for Mayor, with high profile media attention encouraging people to vote?
Made that point five minutes ago CV. Gone into moderation. Second time in 24 hrs???
In essence I’ve suggested a vendetta by the ‘other woman’. An intelligent and mature person would go to the police… not spill the beans to a sleazebag!
I’m also in moderation, saying Brown has to go and what a let down he’s proven himself to be.
Don’t expect to be agreed with, but it’s not like it’s a momentary indiscretion, it’s a two year long deceit. In politics, once you lose trust, you have nothing.
Len Brown should resign.
He’s been exposed by his actions as a weak man, and if he tries to sit tight until the media storm blows itself out, it will only emphasise this further.
If he cries on Campbell live, says he’s sorry and begs forgiveness, it’s more bullsh*t weakness.
Gift horse to the tories when they were so under the cosh. No excuses, just get out.
Fu*k, I dislike weak politicians.
Len Brown should resign.
He’s been exposed by his actions as a weak man,
On that basis, we would hardly have any politicians left. Some might say that would be a good thing.
Btw, it’s been going on in high places since God made little apples. Secretaries and parliamentary bunnies are usually the primary sources.
I’m not expecting anyone to agree with me, just like I don’t expect politicians to be whiter than white and anything other than human like the rest of us, but when caught out, they have to do the decent thing and walk away and not wait for the polls or results of focus groups to see how much they can get away with.
But using your logic, it should be acceptable for all our elected representatives to be like Berlusconi.
Just remember that while no-one is clean this all started because of Len Brown, he instigated it, he continued it, its completely his fault so stop trying to spread the blame around
Oh. Yeah. Brown has not behaved well. He is the best of the standing candidates for Mayor. But I care more about democracy. And WO and co. and all thier supporters try to undermine it. That is far more despicable. I’m not spreading anything. SleazeOil does it all on his own.
I would stand down if it were me, though it wouldn’t be me because I can keep it in my pants and even as a dumb middle aged bloke, know these things rarely ever stay secret.
What on earth was he thinking? He’s old enough to be her dads older brother. :grrrross:
For goodness sake – Len made a mistake, or was a hu(man) , call it what you will – its personal. Its not a hanging matter. And its not something that will interfere with his ability to be Mayor or to be political or to be a manager – all qualities he needs as Mayor. And he fronted up to his wife before this became public, which is saying something positive about him, her, and their family.
No wrath or scorn here, nor judgement on his moral failing, but at the very least a rerun of the vote is needed. If he’s brazen enough to run again and wins, then fair fight fair result.
The worshipful mayor of Auckland is a complete and utter skeevy idiot who has played into the hands of gleeful rightwingers. Did he think he wouldn’t be found out with the blubbery whale sniffing around for any kind of scandal? It shouldn’t matter what people get up to in their private lives, but to most people it will look very bad. Especially shagging in his office. I am intrigued by the timing of this though, wouldn’t it have been more effective for the blubbery one to go public before the election?
Brown’s behaviour is not commendable. But repeating my comment from above, given WO had the info about a month ago.
The timing is all. I thought Brown on Campbell Live tonight was suggesting that the timing of the release has been done to force him to stand down before he is inaugurated. Thus, I guess, the 2nd place candidate would be mayor without a new election?
I am fascinated that WO has been sitting on this story for some time. I remember a story way back of a High commissioner or someone similar of some country bonking his secretary on the table of the High commission. It wasn’t Clinton. Can someone please refresh my memory.
The story sure takes the heat off the “young pup” from Tauranga!
success breeds success (being a Towns van Zandt sorta’ guy)
I’d give up my Bad Habits , yet, then I would not be the man you see before you. (everyone is better off if I’m out of it).
I passed on my Red and Glo Butane, and now I dodge the Hammer of dawn.
No synths and everyone is better off if I’m not out of it (except poor old Al1).
@ Dan1…it was the guy who held up the sausages in parliament wasn’t it ? ( no not Shearer…he held up the fish) ….McClay?…I could be wrong
…everyone in NZ was gobsmacked at both sausages and table incidents …..didnt know whether to laugh or howl….but then he rapidly took off to Britain to be High Commissioner ( the perfect Nat solution)… .overseas and respectability ….the mirth was all over …all forgotten…almost…..not quite
The allegations were about John Collinge High commissioner in London and past National party president. I believe the next High commissioner replaced the table.
Story is at bottom of this link
Jim Mora calls U.S. “a bulwark against totalitarianism”
Another very bad day for The Panel
Radio NZ National, Monday 14 October 2013
Jim Mora, Matt Nippert, Josie Pagani
JIM MORA: Jessica Maddock is here, with what the WOOOOOORLD is talking about! JESSICA MADDOCK: Well first up is Richard Branson! He’s living permanently in the British Virgin Islands now, and he denies it has anything to do with a tax dodge! MORA: Hurr, hurr, hurr, hurr! JOSIE PAGANI: He’s a tax dodger. JESSICA MADDOCK: Well, since he gives all the money he makes now to charity I guess he thinks it probably all balances out. JOSIE PAGANI: He’s a tax dodger! MORA: Ahhhh, he would say that he can use the money BETTER, wouldn’t he. JOSIE PAGANI: He’s a TAX DODGER!!
[Awkward silence for several seconds.]
MORA: Okay, what else have you got? JESSICA MADDOCK: Well this is an unusual one! A man has died from guzzling mince! MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! He died from guzzling mince? JESSICA MADDOCK:[voice betraying a slight edge of irritation] Y-y-y-yes.
[A short discussion about the dangers of guzzling mince, then on to the next topic: self drive cars….]
JESSICA MADDOCK: Not only the big car companies, but also Google is getting in on the act! But a British survey shows that only 29 per cent of people would buy one and a mere 21 per cent would feel safe in one. MORA: Ah yeah, watch that change though. I’d like the NSA to be in charge of it! Ha ha ha ha ha! Okay, what else? JESSICA MADDOCK: Prince William and Princess Kate are breaking with tradition and choosing their friends from university for the christening of Prince George. MORA: Oh really? JESSICA MADDOCK: Yes, the godparents will be chosen from their closest friends, who include Emilia d’Erlanger, Fergus Boyd, Hugh van Cutsem, Alasdair Coutts-Wood, and Alicia Fox-Pitt.
[Lengthy silence]
MORA: Hmmmmm…. JOSIE PAGANI: Those are not really names of ordinary people, are they? MORA: No they’re aristocratic names! All right, anything else? JESSICA MADDOCK: Yes, a feminist has accused Lorde of racism in her song “Royals”. MORA: W-w-what??!!??!? JOSIE PAGANI: Surely not. JESSICA MADDOCK: Veronica Bayetti Flores says that Lorde lambasts things like gold teeth, Maybach cars and diamonds—all accoutrements of black rappers. She asks why Lorde doesn’t attack golf or polo or Central Park East. JOSIE PAGANI: Good Lord! It’s SILLY, isn’t it! MORA: It’s a questionable thesis that gold teeth and Maybach cars are the preserve of rappers, surely. All right, anything else? JESSICA MADDOCK: Plasma televisions will soon be a thing of the past. MORA: So plasma TV will soon be a thing of the past? JESSICA MADDOCK:[voice betraying real irritation] Y-y-yeah…
1.) Penny Hulse skillfully deals with a series of bumptious and ridiculous questions from Mora. Somehow she maintains her equanimity throughout.
2.) Josie Pagani launches into a wandery, poorly informed potted history of the Rwandan genocide, during which she makes the highly contentious statement that “Rwandans absolutely HATE Kofi Annan”.
3.) A professor of dentistry scolds Jim Mora for approvingly quoting Kevin Milne’s braindead suggestion that people defraud dentists.
[After the 4:30 news and weather, a welcome blast from the past, Neil Diamond’s “They’re coming to America”. This is by way of introducing the next once-over-lightly….]
MORA: China’s official news agency has called for the creation of a “de-Americanised world”, saying the destinies of people should not be left in the hands of a hypocritical nation with a dysfunctional government.
[Long pause….]
MATT NIPPERT Huh! MORA: Heaping criticism and caustic ridicule on Washington, the Xinhua news agency called the US a civilian slayer, prisoner torturer and meddler in others’ affairs, and said the ‘Pax Americana’ was a failure on all fronts. JOSIE PAGANI:[snorting] What on EARTH—- MORA: So what are we to MAKE of this? America has always been a bulwark against totalitarianism….
It has to be noted that neither Josie Pagani nor Matt Nippert challenged this foolish propaganda statement, nor uttered even a murmur of dissent.
faaaaaaaaaaark! now that’s out of the system, gr8t piece Morrissey, especially the bit from the you-know-what news agency. Ha! (Maybachs, now, if I were still a petroleum-head, yet an old , mid-80’s SL500 would be about all I could afford). Did I ever tell you about the Merc diesel ambulance imported by a German dental technician that I remedied after it was erroneously filled with petrol…and the wonderful gig with a live band we enjoyed (Christina and I) held in his consulting rooms, just off Taranaki Street). no, guess not. 😀
If we’re going to have a “Resign-athon”, with much sound and fury, then I suggest we start with those who have betrayed the public. Not their private partners.
If Brown goes, and Banks remains, we all lose.
If Key is faithful to his wife, but unfaithful to his country, does he keep his job, while half the mayors and MPs must lose theirs, because of their private lives?
I don’t defend Brown, or like him much, but I sure as hell don’t want to live in a country where sex is a bigger crime than fraud and treason.
I think he’s a more competent person for the job than John Palino, who I trust to give ratepayers’ money to his best mates, oops, business contacts.
Am I disappointed in Brown? Yes, it’s all so cliched and sordid. Does it affect his ability to run the city? It may do – it all depends on who (if anyone) he’s compromised to keep the affair quiet.
Otherwise, this is something for his family to work through. If it has affected relationships that reduce his ability to do his job, then the public should be concerned. Otherwise, outside of his personal relationships, it’s just info that Brown and the consenting adult he slept with, are two more flawed human beings.
I’ll add this to the other info I know about him when I do the compare and contrasts with other politicians looking to impress.
Don’t think much of that woman sticking herself into Len Brown’s marriage. So many women seem to just go and do this type of thing? Do they not think of their fellow women and the misery they cause?
silly eggs. just trying to balance up the comments which so typically and heavily imbalancedly point the naughty finger at the guy rather than the girl, who usually comes across as squeaky clean and pressed against her will into the arms of the typically despicable man. rolly eyes..
+1vto….except that maybe she thought it was just a fling and would never come out….certainly not come out this way
I feel sorry for his wife….but then again who knows….maybe she has had flings before also…and if not she may certainly be contemplating them for the future
so then one feels sorry for the kids….but it is life and sometimes it is best to be prepared rather than kept in a cocoon
Maybe everyone needs an overseas holiday until it all blows over !!!
ooops ….the plot thickens……on more information ……seems like the girlfriend may have let it out of the bag herself! ..and to Whaleoil!..in which case Len definitely should Not resign!….but take an overseas holiday with wifee and kids….
There seems to be a few regular commenters, whose recent comments have gone into auto-moderation. I’m reluctant to release them, before Lynn can check why it’s happening.
Edit: ah, there they are.
[lprent: Just have a lock on the Len Brown against flooding coming in from some of the usual trolls. Releases are pretty fast (except when I’m travelling home of course). ]
he hooked up with a young Asian women probably fulfilling some fantasy of his (especially if you read her account of the affair) and treats her pretty shabbily, she breaks it off and she then gets sent threatening texts
Yeah I’m sure Len Brown had nothing to do with it, him being a paragon of virtue and all
As opposed to John Palino and his Chinese girlfriend, 20 years younger? (yes, she is)
Her age and ethnicity are irrelevant to me, but obviously it matters to you, so I guess Palino’s ruled out too. Who’s next for your vote, Minto or Penny?
I was referring to the bit about Brown being a cliche, middle age white man scoring a young Asian women is a cliche but its only a cliche because it happens so often
The problem for Len is that she wasn’t his girlfriend (like John Palino) but she was his mistress
Yeah I know its difficult to defend the indefensible but remember he bought it all on himself
and it is OK with you that Slater and his mates roll out the whole affair in front of the Nation without caring one iota for his wife and children…as I said what goes around…
You mean as much care that Len had for his own family?
Heres the thing, 4/10 Len is a very public figure and he knows it, he knows hes being watched and yet he still decided to carry own with his mistress, the guy even had the balls to introduce her to movers and shakers (surely people who knew he was married to someone else) hes the person that brought his own family into this
Unfortunately Dirty Lens family is caught in the crossfire but again thats because of Lens own actions, if Len didn’tt wanted this to happen he shouldn’t have pursued the women
As I said before, if it is proven that it was Brown that sent the threatening texts, then that would be serious misconduct, and he should step down, but so far there is no proof that he sent the txts.
There’s a problem with the threatening texts so we probably find out who sent them rather than assume that it was Len Brown.
I bet that if this happened to a right wing politician you lot (all you lefties I mean) would be baying for blood
Nope and you can check my comments here about the Labour MP that watched porn.
In fact, the only people I know that get really upset about people having sex is the RWNJs. It’s the politics of envy – their not getting laid and they’re jealous.
Seven Sharp (no never watch it but they signalled it in advance) had a poll. Overwhelmingly in favour of Len Brown resigning. Metro editor said he wasn’t surprised. I wasn’t surprised either but for a different reason. Slater, Lusk and co. would have set their bush telegraph on high alert and lined up the moral Right in large numbers.
Maybe, but I think this is just as much a “sink John Campbell” exercise. The super soft interview by Campbell would have been predicted. Just wait for tomorrow and more info on the “threats” will emerge. An embarrassment to Campbell (who ignored that issue) as much as Brown (who is dead meat anyway).
Aha. Thanks for that gobsmacked. Like father like son. Remember hearing about Slater senior back in the 80s. I think he was the chairman of the Auckland branch of the National Party at the time. Rather a nasty piece of work from all accounts. Didn’t he and Slater junior try to smear the current Nat. Party Chairman, Goodfellow after he ousted Slater senior?
Edit: Yes they did and it’s always to do with sex. Couple of slimeballs both of them. And how about Palino? He must have known about it and approved their actions!
Slater What a sleazy loser..Loved Len Brown’s performance on Campbell…Masterful.I was moved to tears of compassion.
Much better than Shagger Brash’s performance. Even better than Lange’s misedemeanours.
Mine pale by comparison but who cares? Watch Len Brown’s popularity polls rocket like Clinton’s.
Hey why do people get so exited about sex…Its the economy stupid!
God I love the dramas that TV celebrities and slime bloggers can drag up.Campbell’s pietism was a bit overdone though.
I can’t wait for Slater’s mosquito (I mean slug) attacks on Cunliffe.Should be worth a lot of votes.
Yep those cunning righties, the way they tricked Brown into instigating the affair and then how they manipulated him into continuing it for two years…will they stoop to nothing?
Blurred boundaries and dirty tricks. The woman Brown had the affair with is the meat in the sandwhich and she may end up being fodder and she has to be so careful.
Or maybe they should just have revealed the affair during/before the elction campaign, then people could have had the choice to vote for Brown or someone else?
Timing smells of a cynical ploy.
Nats just seem to hate democracy.
And Bevan Chaung was standing on the Cits & Rats ticket – politically aligned to the Nats and Palino.
from Bevan Chuang of the Chinese Community Centre but without letting the audience know Bevan is a National Ltd™-linked candidate in the up-coming local board elections.
Would it have been brown that instigated the affair?
Bevan Chuang – Google+
plus.google.com
Bevan Chuang – The Burlesque Dancing Superwoman – Member of Ethnic People’s Advisory Panel, Auckland Council – Auckland Council – Hong Kong – Auckland
Communities and Residents – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org
The Auckland Communities and Residents Incorporated, known as Communities and Residents (C&R), is an established right-leaning local bodyticket in Auckland, New Zealand. It formed in 1937 as Citizens & Ratepayers with a view to control the Auckland City Council and prevent the left-leaning Labour Pa…
Yes, that affair is wrong and the Auckland people can decide for themselves, but BlubberOil bringing down a whole family publically is no laughing matter either. What goes around Cameron.
I suspect that there was no change in his actions towards his family and thus the consequences to his family are the result of the affair being made public which it wasn’t by him or his family.
+1 …and some have been blackmailed into sticking with or marrying the ‘ honey trap’ in all probability…or suffered the consequences of not doing so……..
The source and content of the txts will be crucial to the case.
It is not acceptable to intimidate or harass a person.
There needs to be some sort of investigation to determine whether or not the txts are genuine. Hell we may never get to see them, recall the emails between Dunne and Vance.
Will Key get involved in a city council matter, recall what he has said about Banks when he was mayor and how Key says he is not Banks leader.
OK, I know people have busy lives and can’t always check out the background details, but for those trying to follow this grubby business, here are the basic facts:
1) The Right wanted to defeat Brown (not sure why they’d bother, but never mind, that’s what they wanted)
2) Various candidates were canvassed, none were credible, Nobody could win at the ballot box.
3) Palino stood as a token Rightie. But obviously couldn’t win.
4) Slater (father, son, who cares?) got dirt on Brown. BUT their problem was … Palino’s private history is even more “colourful”. So they couldn’t run with “Saint versus Sinner”.
5) So their best option (in their warped thinking) was to wait until Brown had won, and then hit him.
Therefore, the choice NOW (see all media parrots) is not “Who do you vote for Mayor?’ but “Should the Mayor resign”?. That’s a crucial difference. It’s not Brown versus fallible alternative, its Brown versus nobody.
The aim is to change to a narrative they think they can win (i.e. Dump Brown), not one they would lose (i.e. Vote Palino).
And – this is classic SOP for these guys – they try to win a dirt-fight in the media, not a straight fight at the ballot box. Hence the references to ‘online polls”, instead of real ones. The problem with real votes is that they can be counted. Whereas astroturf and noise can’t be.
We’ve got to get wise to their Rove tactics, and not take them at face value ever. It’s gonna be a lot worse next year.
There’s a lot that is very strange about this. When it all goes tits up, Slater and a few others are not going to enjoy finding out how expendable they are.
Basic Facts
Well maybe Len should have shagged the help if he didn’t want it out in the open.
And that covers points 1 to 5
Next please, but try harder
Surely set ups, schemes and political machination are totally a different matter as to whether LB can ever be a trustworthy sort of guy again, let alone trusted mayor of our biggest city.
It is all about trust, and as a politico, if you lie you lose it. Hard to see how outside the walls of a one eyed blogosphere he can maintain credibility, whether ultimately it’s a private matter (which of course it’s not, he’s the mayor) or just an ego flattering sex thing. If he can lie to his missus for two years, then what’s he prepared to do to us? And so it will go, etc…
Anyway, I’ve said my bit now, so no need to fall out with anyone, especially over a guy that can’t keep to his vows.
“I’m leavin’ it up to you who who…” (fast, maybe you have fibre; I despaired and finally connected up a gifted computer, as anybody who is interested can tell).
Knock yourself out, (figuratively speaking of course).
Brett didn’t mention deny masturbatory kitten-drowning. However, anyone who spreads the rumour that he partakes in it is being grossly irresponsible, as we don’t know the truth of the matter.
Brett didn’t mention deny masturbatory kitten-drowning. However, anyone who spreads the rumour that he partakes in it is being grossly irresponsible, as we don’t know the truth of the matter.
Help Wanted Column:
Long-term Green Party member, likes the cut of DC’s jib and the direction the party seems headed, seeks advice on how to decide between GP and LP for party vote. Any well-researched thoughts on the key policy differentiators?
But previously, House Republicans had made a small but hugely consequential move to block them from doing it.
Here’s the rule in question:
When the stage of disagreement has been reached on a bill or resolution with House or Senate amendments, a motion to dispose of any amendment shall be privileged.
In other words, if the House and Senate are gridlocked as they were on the eve of the shutdown, any motion from any member to end that gridlock should be allowed to proceed. Like, for example, a motion to vote on the Senate bill. That’s how House Democrats read it.
But the House Rules Committee voted the night of Sept. 30 to change that rule for this specific bill. They added language dictating that any motion “may be offered only by the majority Leader or his designee.”
So unless House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) wanted the Senate spending bill to come to the floor, it wasn’t going to happen. And it didn’t.
ooh, whose ‘insane’ now. oh dear, how sad, Nevermind (‘cept for all the folks back home missing out on the American Dream).What would Ralph Waite’s character say.
ps, only 18 more # comments to go, but I gotta go watch a movie
and kill some Slugs
The truth comes out “First home buyers, shut out of the market by new restrictions to lending rules, are better off not owning a home at all rather than purchasing one to find it’s no longer worth what they’ve paid, Prime Minister John Key says.”
So those wanting to buy a house are better of renting are they Key?
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by Daphna Whitmore At Golden Oaks, a luxurious country retreat in the Hudson Valley, pregnant women have the best care money can buy. From the organic food, personalised exercise programmes, private yoga instruction and daily massages Golden Oaks looks like a country lodge for the upper class. Set some time ...
When Labour was running for election in 2017, it felt it needed to demonstrate "fiscal responsibility" and signed itself up to masochistic "budget responsibility rules". It was a fool's errand: the sorts of voters who demand fiscal responsibility are also the sorts of voters who believe that labour can never ...
Writing in Stuff, Joel MacManus looks at what we need to do to meet the Zero Carbon Act's targets. The core of it:1. Convert 85 per cent of vehicles on the road to electric. 2. Eliminate fossil fuels from all industrial heating up to 300 degrees Celsius. 3. Double our ...
Professors Janet Hoek and Richard Edwards, Emeritus Professor Phil Gendall, Jude Ball, Dr Judith McCool, Anaru Waa, Dr Becky FreemanRecent media reports have presented conflicting evidence on youth vaping in NZ. While some NZ school principals report concerns about increasing vaping on school grounds and confiscating vapes, ASH Year ...
“America the Beautiful!”, staunch defender of democracy, freedom and… a whole lot of despotic tyrants that play nice with what is called “the Washington Consensus.” America is indeed capable of immense good, but like any Nation, and most assuredly any aspirant to the mantle of Empire, great, immense evil. All ...
Image credit:The beginner’s guide to blogging I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is ...
1080 is used to control pests in NZ. Its use is contested by a noisy few. A new report claims high levels of 1080 in rats washed up on a beach. Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa (F&F) won’t name the laboratory that did their testing. It has sparked a hunt ...
What Kind Of Empire? The thing for Kiwis to decide is what kind of empire they want to belong to. The kind that, while offering its own citizens democratic rights, demands absolute obedience from its “friends”? Or, the kind that, while authoritarian at home, takes a relaxed attitude to the ...
It hasn't been a good week for the Conservatives, pollwise. All major recent polls are showing their lead shrinking.Comparing each pollster's current (between 29/11 and 22/11) and previous most recent poll.Com Res - Conservative lead down 3 points.You Gov - Conservative lead down 1 point.Kantar - Conservative lead down 4 ...
Within quick succession, Countdown maths wizard and twitterer Rachel Riley, alleged comedian David Baddiel and prominent lawyer Andrew Julius have all expressed very similar opinions / ideas:
These #3billboards are going round London today, organised by ex-Labour people, horrified by what their party has become. Their principles haven’t changed, they’re ...
So, there have been a bunch of bad polls out for Labour, and even the Leftie's friend, Survation, have recently given the Conservatives a rip-snorting 11% lead. You Gov's much vaunted MRP poll - which pretty much nailed the result in 2015 - is currently predicting a comfortable majority for ...
The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to declare a climate emergency:The European parliament has declared a global “climate and environmental emergency” as it urged all EU countries to commit to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The vote came as scientists warned that the world may have already crossed ...
Pure Fear: Worse than Heroin, this drug’s addictive power was terrifying. People under its influence didn’t drift off to Elysium. Nor did it persuade inadequate individuals that they could conquer the world. No, this drug – pure crystal methamphetamine, “P” for short – unlocked the gates of Hell itself. It ...
As the rate of measles infection, and of deaths, continues to climb in Samoa, antivaccination activists infectious disease proponents seem intent on doubling down on their claims about vaccination. (Check pretty much any news-media FB post about measles & you’ll see exactly what I mean.) Unfortunately, some of them have ...
Samoa are experiencing a devastating measles epidemic. It is possible that 2-3% of the population will ultimately be infected by the time it is over. Hopefully the mass immunisation campaign currently under way can mitigate some of this, for many it is too late. The first question many people ask ...
Meghan Murphy is a Canadian writer and journalist She runs the Feminist Current website which she founded in 2012. She was a keynote speaker for the Feminism2020 conference in Wellington this month. When Massey University cancelled the original venue booking Feminism2020 was hosted in Parliament by MP David Seymour. Meghan ...
Text and photos by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh Colombia has lived through one week of protests against the economic measures taken by president Duque. What looked like a protest that would fizzle out after its first day on November 21st is still going strong. Part of the reason for the continuance ...
Around a million billion pass through you each second, almost all originating from our sun, but few of them are likely to interact with you enroute. I was reading in a physics magazine earlier in the week about the nature of neutrinos. These are extremely numerous elementary particles, but only ...
By Pallab GhoshThere’s value in covering new research advances, even when the underlying science is unsettled. But there are also risks.The recent announcement that scientists discovered water on the planet K2-18b, 110 light years away, prompted a media swoon. News stories, including a piece written by me, billed ...
I wrote this review a couple of years ago when I was still in the process of getting my head around the politics of transgenderism, and specifically the claim that intersex conditions lend support to the notion that sex is ‘socially constructed’. Since writing this review I have come across ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzHow much does our use of air travel contribute to the ...
Minor planet/asteroid (2309) Mr. Spock is named not for the character in Star Trek, but for a cat that was itself imperturbable, logical, intelligent and had pointed ears. In a preceding blog post I introduced one of my favourite asteroids, (2472) Bradman, and also mentioned (6581) Sobers amongst a few ...
Today the death toll from measles in Samoa rose to 32. All but four of the dead were less than 5 years old. Absolutely terrible, heartbreaking, news. That statistic alone should be enough to give the lie to the common claim by antivaccination activists plague enthusiasts that “measles is a ...
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh It is late here in Bogotá, almost 11.30pm on Monday the 25th of November as I write this. The day began full of hope with yet more massive marches throughout the country, a mix of the International Day of Non-Violence Against Women and the National Strike. ...
Anti-fluoride activists are rubbing their hands in glee over what they claim is “yet another study” showing fluoride harms the brains of children. But their promotion relies on IQ relationships which the paper’s authors acknowledge disappearing when outliers or other factors are considered. And they completely ignore other relationships ...
The feature below is the conclusion of A History of Economic Thought, whose author was a leading Marxist economist in Russia in the early 20th century, Isaac Ilyich Rubin. The book arose from a course he ran at Moscow University following the Russian Revolution. First published in Russian in 1929, ...
There are many thousands of asteroids with formal names, some humdrum but other more noteworthy (depending on your predilections). One of my favourites, the name of which I was involved in suggesting, is (2472) Bradman, named for the Australian cricketing great. As a minor planet (synonym: asteroid) spotter, I have ...
Tory manifesto: big on austerity, low on promise, non-existent on delivery. The Tories: the party so big on ambition they couldn't be arsed writing a manifesto. MLK: "I have a dream!"BJ: "I'll just have a nap." Labour: Broadband!Tories: Narrow minds! Labour have hope, dreams and ambition. The Tories will save ...
The Ministry of Health has announced that “people under the age of 50 travelling from New Zealand to Samoa, Tonga, Philippines and Fiji” are now on the list of national priorities for MMR vaccination. Given the outbreaks of measles in Samoa, Tonga, Philippines and Fiji, the Ministry of Health is ...
Hong Kong has been protesting for six months for, demanding democracy, human rights, and an end to police violence. Today, they went to the polls in district council elections - a low-level of government with virtually no power, similar to community boards in New Zealand. But while the positions themselves ...
Text and photos by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh On Friday 22nd of November a curfew came into effect and troops were deployed on the streets, here in Bogota. It was the first time since September 1977 that a curfew had been imposed on the city. The decision was a cynical pre-planned ...
Meanwhile, while the government is planning to restore voting rights to prisoners, National is promising to turn our prisons into US-style slave-labour camps:The Opposition is proposing compulsory education, training or employment for prisoners who are serving sentences of two years or more. [...] On Sunday, National Party Leader Simon Bridges ...
Excerpts from Being and Being Bought, by Kajsa Ekis Ekman Spinifex Press, 2013. Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book. This is the second part of a synopsis and brief commentary of the book by Daphna ...
Dalmeet Singh ChawlaIn 2008, psychologists proposed that when humans are shown an unfamiliar face, they judge it on two main dimensions: trustworthiness and physical strength. These form the basis of first impressions, which may help people make important social decisions, from who to vote for to how long a ...
Claas Kirchhelle, University of Oxford; Adam Roberts, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and Andrew Singer, Centre for Ecology & HydrologyAntibiotics are among the most important medicines known to humankind, but we are running out of this crucial resource. Decisive action is needed if we are to retain access to ...
Things That Make You Go - Hmmmm: “All right. Let me come at this another way. I’m guessing that what you’ve got in that box contains names, dates, bank account numbers – all the details you need to put Winston Peters and Jacinda Ardern squarely in the cross-hairs. So, the first ...
Coasters Turn Out In Droves: It’s precisely the widening gulf between those with actual experience of things like guns, chainsaws and drilling machines, and those who regulate their use, that accounts for the angry crowd at Greymouth’s Messenger Park on Sunday, 17 November 2019. In the rarefied atmosphere where decisions ...
There are perennial arguments about the circumstances of the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, and in particular whether more than one shooter is required by the evidence (such as the Zapruder film). Those who know little about physics frequently claim that the sharp backwards motion of JFK’s head as ...
Apparently, some people enjoy washing their cars. Each to his or her own, I suppose. I mean, some people like duck shooting, some people follow Coronation Street, and some people’s idea of a good day out is to sit on a grass bank at Seddon Park and watch cricket all ...
Last week we learned that New Zealand First had apparently tried to enrich itself from public office, with a dodgy forestry company linked to a number of NZ First figures sticking its hand out repeatedly for government money. Today in Question Time Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had his ...
Finally, governments seem slowly to be beginning to act on climate change. But its not enough. While they're publicly signing up to targets, they're planning to destroy the world by continuing fossil fuel extraction:The world’s nations are on track to produce more than twice as much coal, oil and gas ...
Stuff has begun interviewing NZ First's secret donors, and it turns out that its as bad as we expected. They start with racing industry figure Garry Chittick, who is predictably grumpy about NZ First's coalition choices. Meanwhile, I'm looking at the list of pork NZ First has effectively given its ...
Stag At Bay: Twelve years ago, Winston Peters was still robust enough to come back from the political crucifixion which his political and media enemies had prepared for him. In his seventies now, the chances of a second resurrection are slim. We should, therefore, prepare for the last gasp of ...
Satellites pass over NZ all the time (literally). Here I focus on the 187 Planet Labs ‘Dove’ Earth-imaging satellites, and I show that one can determine in advance where they will be, enabling scientists on the ground to correlate their environmental and other data collection with opportunities to get imaging ...
The Council of Disobedient Women has learned that the Prefect of Aro Valley has been promoted to a new role with the blessing of the Pope of Wellington. Softy Jejune Parson has been appointed Mother Superior of Woke Wellington for the work she has been doing calling out heretics, ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First spokesperson for Primary Industries, Mark Patterson, has called for awareness to be raised and more stringent biosecurity checks to be put in place for African Swine Fever (ASF), a widespread virus that is uncontrolled in most of Asia and a serious ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Human Rights A critical step has been taken to end gender based violence against women and girls in Parliament this evening. New Zealand First Spokesperson for Human Rights Jenny Marcroft MP has welcomed the passing of the first reading of the Crimes (Definition of Female ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says it's time to recognise market forces haven't led to the expected reduction in Māori smoking rates and try a new approach. The Party had recently invoked the agree to disagree clause in their Coalition Agreement with the Labour Party, and will not support ...
Live from the Whanganui Opera House, on the final day of the 2019 Labour Party Conference, Jacinda Ardern announced the largest investment in school property in 25 years. ...
The Coalition Government will be banning foreign donations to political parties and candidates, ahead of next year’s general elections. Legislation will be introduced to Parliament and passed under urgency – emphasising the need for such restrictions to safeguard our democracy. The bill introduces a new requirement that party secretaries and ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones opened Taipā's $19 million bridge recently, improving transport infrastructure in the Northland region. The two-lane bridge is 107m long with a 2.5m-wide shared walking and cycling path, and will reduce the congestion that the old one-lane bridge was notorious for. The project had also included ...
The Overseas Investment Office have rejected the application of Mercury Agriculture LP, which is 92 per cent controlled by Canadian interests, to purchase more than 2000 hectares of South Canterbury and Otago land. Mercury wanted to buy 2000ha at Rangitata, 1494ha near Ashburton, 816ha near Cromwell and 212ha near Temuka. ...
This weekend was Labour's 103rd Party Conference! We welcomed over 500 of our Labour whānau in red to Whanganui, where we reflected on the last two years in Government, and looked ahead to 2020 and beyond. We know the long-term challenges facing New Zealand won't be tackled overnight, but we're making ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced that the Provincial Growth Fund will invest $9.6 million to seal the final unsealed section of State Highway 43 from Stratford to Taumarunui. The Minister said sealing the 12-kilometre gravel section of the highway – also called the “Forgotten World Highway” - through ...
Former Finance Minister and former chair of the Tax Working Group, Sir Michael Cullen, has voiced his support for New Zealand First’s decision to oppose the planned increase in tobacco excise tax. In an interview with The Weekend Collective, he said that increasing the price was no longer effective in ...
Māori are natural storytellers. On the marae we use stories to tell our history, to teach the next generation life lessons and to let people know, in our most creative of ways, who we are and where we have come from. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First has invoked the ‘Agree to Disagree’ provisions of the Coalition Agreement because it cannot support the announced 11.46 percent increase in the tobacco excise from 1 January 2020. “Studies show that the automatic tobacco excise increases are having less effect ...
Taupō-based company Geo40 has made a breakthrough in extracting near battery-grade lithium from geothermal fluid which its says could be a gamechanger. Its chief executive John Worth said the earth mineral was highly prized, with battery-grade lithium selling for US$10,000 (NZ$15,600) a tonne. Geo40 was founded in 2010 to find ...
Crown research institute AgResearch Ltd, as part of its Future Footprint plan, had intended to relocate top scientists and support staff — particularly those focused on sheep genetics and genomics — from Invermay to Lincoln. However, those plans seem to have been shelved at the request of the Coalition Government. ...
Ten engineering firms in Southland are receiving a total of $2.13 million in Provincial Growth Fund funding to lift productivity and create new jobs. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced in Invercargill that the 10 engineering and manufacturing firms would receive funding to assist them with buying equipment that ...
The number of new residents to New Zealand is the lowest it has been in nearly two decades and it has earned the ire of the immigration industry. The industry alleges that 'Trump-style extreme vetting' is being put in place aimed at keeping a lid on immigration numbers. June Ranson, ...
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is one step closer to modernising its fleet after the United States State Department recently approved the sale of five new C-130J Hercules aircraft to New Zealand. Arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin, in Fort Worth, Texas, will provide the aircraft, but as a "foreign military ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones wants to create a log barging facility at Hicks Bay and turn the area into a Special Economic Zone. The move would be part of protecting New Zealand's forests from being depleted by India and China, he said. It follows his announcement last week to strengthen ...
New Zealand First supports the changes recommended by the Winter Grazing Taskforce to improve animal welfare outcomes through the winter months, and the establishment of a pan-sector action group to implement them. New Zealand First Primary Industries Spokesperson Mark Patterson says the report highlights areas of concern about the animal ...
Former prime ministers Helen Clark and Sir John Key, formerly from the Labour and National parties respectively, have joined forces in support of New Zealand First’s plan to relocate Auckland's port to Whangārei. While Ms Clark and Sir John spent their political careers on opposite sides of the political divide, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is in Japan for the Foreign Ministers' meeting of the G20 grouping of countries as one of nine "invited" countries. He has used the opportunity to cast a spotlight on the plight of Pacific countries, calling out countries which still offered subsidies or Government assistance to ...
It's been a great week of progress: we've celebrated Children's Day, we've made communities safer with 1800 new police, and we've seen almost 90% of eligible schools take up Government funding to scrap school donations - taking pressure off the families of more than 416,000 students. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Forestry The Government will further strengthen New Zealand’s wood processing sector as part of our focus on ‘value over volume’ in our forestry industry, Forestry Minister Shane Jones says. Minister Jones will today meet with forestry representatives in Northland to signal new measures to help the ...
New Zealand First are celebrating the announcement of an investment of $3.5 million into five new trapping devices. These are a range of bait and trap devices, all designed to be left unattended for long periods of time. NZ First conservation spokesperson Jenny Marcroft says that this latest development will ...
Jenny Marcroft, Spokesperson for Conservation New Zealand First is proud to announce the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) has allocated $3.5 million to develop innovative predator control approaches which will reduce the need for repeated 1080 use. $19.5 million of PGF funding was announced for Predator Free 2050 Limited in February ...
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Police New Zealand First is proud to have delivered on a key Coalition Agreement commitment to adding 1800 new frontline police, with the graduation of Recruit Wing 332 in Porirua today. Law and Order Spokesperson Darroch Ball says increasing police numbers and boosting their resources was one ...
Clayton Mitchell, Spokesperson for Consumer Affairs The ‘wheel clamping’ Bill that will cap clamper fees to $100 passed its third readinginParliament today. New Zealand First welcomes The Land Transport (Wheel Clamping) Amendment Bill to combat predatory wheel clamping behaviour in what is currently a largely unregulated business. Cowboy clampers are: gouging ...
Jenny Marcroft, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its first reading in Parliament. “Today’s progress takes serious action on the mental health and addiction crisis the country is facing,” says New Zealand First Health Spokesperson Jenny Marcroft. “The re-establishment ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries Today the Government announced the delivery of the promise to protect New Zealand interests by applying a new National Interest Test to the sales of our most sensitive and high risk assets to overseas buyers. This further strengthening of the Overseas Investment Act will ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced further support as the Government of Samoa responds to a serious measles outbreak. “New Zealand will deploy a further 18 vaccination nurses, bringing the total to 30 working in Samoa over the next ...
The Coalition Government is delivering on its promise to protect New Zealanders’ interests by applying a new national interest test to the sales of our most sensitive and high-risk assets to overseas buyers. Under current Overseas Investment Act (OIA) rules, assets such as ports and airports, telecommunications infrastructure, electricity and ...
Rt Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First Allegations raised this morning by Stuff Limited / Fairfax concern a party matter but I am confident that New Zealand First has operated within electoral laws, now and for the last 27 years. Declarable donations were declared to the Electoral Commission. Our ...
The chairman of the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy (UNISCS) working group, Wayne Brown, has hit back at critics of his group’s recommendations to relocate the Ports of Auckland cargo operations to Whangarei’s deepwater port of Northport. The working group's recommendation to close Auckland waterfront to all but cruise ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Fletcher Tabuteau, is travelling to Germany, Poland, Austria, and Spain next week to bolster New Zealand’s political and trade relationships in Europe. While in Spain, Mr Tabuteau will represent New Zealand at the 14th Asia-Europe (ASEM) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Madrid. “New Zealand strongly supports ...
“I’ve spoken to Minister Faafoi, who has apologised for his poor handling of this issue,” Jacinda Ardern said. “I have confidence in Kris as a hardworking and effective Minister, but this should have been dealt with in a much clearer manner, and I’ve made my views on that very clear ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters met with Tongan Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa in Wellington today. The pair signed a Statement of Partnership setting out joint priorities for cooperation out to 2023. “We welcomed Prime Minister Tu'i'onetoa on his first visit to New Zealand as Prime Minister. Tonga ...
The Minister of Police Stuart Nash says his sympathies are with the family of a man who died after being shot by Police in Kurow. “Initial reports are that Police were called by a family member to help the man who was threatening to harm himself,” Mr Nash says. “However ...
Healthier waterways, better productivity and farmer wellbeing are front and centre in a new project involving more than 1000 Southland farmers and growers. Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor today announced that the Thriving Southland Change and Innovation Project is the first region-wide extension programme supported by the $229 million Sustainable ...
Work to look after nature and restore freshwater quality in Te Hoiere/Pelorus River catchment is getting a significant boost, thanks to new Government funding support Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage announced in Canvastown today. “Every New Zealander should be able to swim in their local river without getting sick, and ...
Eight Queen’s Counsel have been appointed under a process that includes the new criterion of a commitment to improving access to justice, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. “The new criterion was included this year. It emphasises that excellence and leadership in the profession can be seen through a wider, community ...
Onslow College in Wellington will get 20 new classrooms for more than 400 students, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. The much-needed investment will relieve growth pressure the school has been experiencing for some time. Seven existing classrooms which have deteriorated over time will also be replaced, bringing the total ...
More than 250 young New Zealanders will add international experience to their education, thanks to the latest Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia (PMSA) and Latin America (PMSLA), Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. This round of scholarships supports 252 recent graduates or current students to undertake study, research or internships ...
Consumers will benefit from a more competitive, transparent retail fuel market as a result of changes the Government will be making in response to the findings of the Commerce Commission’s study of the fuel sector. “We accept the Commission’s findings and, as the Prime Minister has said, we’re ready to ...
Five new cancer medicines have now been funded this year, meaning thousands of people have more treatment options PHARMAC has today announced that it has approved two new medicines for funding – fulvestrant for breast cancer and olaparib for ovarian cancer. This follows earlier decisions on advanced lung cancer treatment alectinib, ...
The Minister of Local Government, Hon Nanaia Mahuta says the Government will consider making changes to local electoral legislation before the 2022 elections to fix the problems that have arisen where elections are settled by a coin toss. The Minister says the recount process in the Murupara- Galatea ward at ...
New Zealand will sign up to new international maritime regulations to reduce ship emissions and lift air quality around ports and harbours, Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter announced today. Subject to completion of the Parliamentary treaty examination process, New Zealand will sign up to Annex VI of MARPOL, an ...
New legislation to transform our urban areas and create sustainable, inclusive and thriving communities will tomorrow be introduced to Parliament, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said. “The Urban Development Bill gives Kāinga Ora-Homes and Communities the tools it needs to partner with councils, communities, mana whenua and private developers to ...
Today’s launch of He taonga te Tamaiti: Every child a taonga: The Early Learning Action Plan 2019-2029 provides the foundation for long-lasting changes to early learning, Education Minister Chris Hipkins says. “Early learning will be one of the Government’s top education priorities going into 2020,” Chris Hipkins said. ...
Major decisions made by the Government will now be considered under a climate change lens, Minister for Climate Change James Shaw announced today. “Cabinet routinely considers the effects of its decisions on human rights, the Treaty of Waitangi, rural communities, the disability community, and gender – now climate change will ...
Education Minister Chris Hipkins today announced the appointment of Māori education specialist Dr Wayne Ngata and Business NZ head Kirk Hope to the Board of the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC). Dr Alastair MacCormick has been reappointed for another term. “Wayne Ngata, Kirk Hope and Alastair MacCormick bring a great deal ...
The next phase of the Pike River Re-entry project is underway, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little says. “Fresh air will be pumped into the Pike River Mine drift this week, following acceptance of the plan for re-entry beyond the 170m barrier by New Zealand’s independent health and ...
New Zealand consumers will have greater certainty about their insurance cover when they need to make claims as a result of proposed government changes. “Insurance is vitally important in supporting consumers and businesses to be financially resilient when unexpected events happen,” Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Kris Faafoi said. ...
The Crown is providing an opportunity for the hapu of Ngāpuhi to rebuild its framework from the ground up for collective negotiations to deal with its historical Treaty claims, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little and Minister for Māori Development Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The Crown is also ...
A Bill enabling referendums to be held with the 2020 General Election has passed its third reading. Justice Minister Andrew Little says the Act is important for upholding the integrity of New Zealand’s electoral process. “The Government has committed to holding a referendum on legalising recreational cannabis at the next ...
The first release of public information on the two referendums to be held at next year’s General Election was made today with an informative new Government website going live. Additionally, the draft Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill has been released, showing the strict controls on cannabis that will apply if ...
The Government is taking action to protect New Zealand from foreign interference in our elections by banning foreign donations to political parties and candidates, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced today. Legislation will be introduced to Parliament this afternoon and passed under urgency. “There’s no need for anyone other than New ...
Governments and tech companies are holding a two-day workshop, hosted by YouTube/Google in Wellington, to test the Christchurch Call Shared Crisis Response Protocol. The workshop aims to refine and strengthen the response in the event of a terrorist attack with online implications. Companies, governments, civil society experts and NGOs will ...
The new independent Cancer Control Agency has formally opened today, delivering on the Government’s plan to improve cancer care in New Zealand. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Health David Clark marked the occasion by announcing the membership of the Advisory Council that will be supporting ...
Small businesses who deal with government departments are set to be paid faster and have improved cash flow as a result, under a new strategy released today. The Government is backing recommendations from the Small Business Council (SBC) and has agreed to implement three initiatives immediately to support business and ...
The Education and Training Bill 2019, introduced in Parliament today, proposes the biggest education changes in decades and is an important step towards improving success for all our learners, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. “The Bill’s rewrite of education legislation is long overdue. Indeed one Education Act, parts of which ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio will travel to Bali to represent New Zealand at the 12th Bali Democracy Forum that will be held on the 5-6 December. “The Forum is a valuable opportunity for Asia-Pacific countries to share experiences and best practice in building home-grown democracy and fostering ...
A package of new and expanded technology and other tools will encourage responsible camping and help communities and local councils better manage freedom camping this summer, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. “Our Government has been investing to improve the freedom camping experience for everyone because we want to support ...
The government is laying the groundwork to understanding our genes – work that can help us tackle some of our biggest health challenges, like heart disease and diabetes, says Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods. $4.7 million has been invested in the Genomics Aotearoa Rakeiora programme. The programme will ...
Nearly every state schools will receive a capital injection next year valued at $693 per student to bring forward urgent school property improvements, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. The one-off cash injection is the first project to be announced from the Government’s infrastructure package ...
The Government has decided to bring forward major investments in New Zealand’s infrastructure to future proof the economy. “Cabinet has agreed to a significant boost to infrastructure investment. I have directed the Treasury to help bring together a package of projects that can be brought into the Government’s short and ...
It is a great pleasure to be with you today in Whanganui. Like the Prime Minister I grew up with the TV clip of Selwyn Toogood booming “What do you say Whanganui, the money or the bag?” to an unsuspecting ‘It’s in the Bag’ audience. For those under the age ...
New Zealand’s newest Great Walk, the Paparoa Track, was officially opened in Blackball today by the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage alongside the family members of the Pike 29 and Ngāti Waewae. Local mayors and MP for the West Coast Hon Damien O’Connor were also in attendance. “Paparoa National Park ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark turned the first sod of earth on the infrastructure works for the new P-8A Poseidon fleet at RNZAF Base Ohakea today. “The Coalition Government’s investment in Ohakea will ensure the Royal New Zealand Air Force can manage, maintain and task the new fleet efficiently ahead ...
Civil Defence Minister Hon Peeni Henare today announced the establishment of the new National Emergency Management Agency from 1 December 2019. The National Emergency Management Agency will replace the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management. It will be an autonomous departmental agency, hosted by the Department of the Prime ...
New Zealand tertiary students with top grades and a passion for space will once again be offered the opportunity to work with the world’s best and brightest at NASA, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Recipients of the New Zealand Space Scholarship are nominated by the Ministry of Business, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further support to Samoa in the wake of an ongoing measles outbreak in the country. Additional medical supplies and personnel, including a third rotation of New Zealand’s emergency medical assistance team (NZMAT), further nurse vaccinators, intensive care (ICU) specialists and Samoan-speaking medical professionals, will ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark says new data showing a sharp drop in the number of people who can’t afford to visit their GP is a sign of real progress. One year after the Government made it cheaper for about 600,000 Kiwis to visit their doctor, results of the New ...
The Trade for All Advisory Board has released its recommendations for making New Zealand’s trade policy deliver for all New Zealanders. The report was today welcomed by Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker. “Trade is crucial to this country’s economy and well-being, and the benefits need to flow to all ...
Analysis - The government's first crack at cannabis legislation runs into trouble, a foreign donations bill is rammed through Parliament and a select committee refuses to listen to former NZ First officeholders. ...
Dr Ben Jansen is Oceania's leading prescriber of cannabis medicines, and a co-founder of the Hemp Foundation.org.nz “I’d like to thank the Labour Party and Chris Woodney. Thanks to his policy remit at Labours national conference, and Labours full support, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Soong, Senior Lecturer in Teacher Education Practice, School of Education, University of South Australia Australian 15 year olds were around three and a half years behind their counterparts in China in maths, according to the OECD’s latest results for education systems ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitri Perrin, Senior Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology More than a year ago, the world was shocked by Chinese biophysicist He Jiankui’s attempt to use CRISPR technology to modify human embryos and make them resistant to HIV, which led to the birth ...
Cabinet minister Kris Faafoi has apologised to the Prime Minister for his messages to Jason Kerrison regarding an immigration case, but will not lose his job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julian Meyrick, Professor of Creative Arts, Flinders University The decision to merge the Department of Communications and the Arts with Transport, Infrastructure and Regional development (dropping the “Arts” entirely) ends a year in which Australian politics has been deeply confused over its ...
A historic referendum on independence has been completed in Bougainville. Johnny Blades of RNZ was there. People in the autonomous Papua New Guinea region of Bougainville have voted in an historic independence referendum. The long-anticipated referendum is the ultimate provision of 2001’s Bougainville Peace Agreement, which followed a brutal, protracted ...
Dairy farmers had some Xmas cheer this week, as dairy giant Fonterra told them the forecast payout would be the fourth-highest-ever, at the mid-point of its farmgate milk price range. The $7.30kg/ms means the cash payout for the season will reach $11.2bn, a rise of about $400m from the earlier forecast. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caitlin Syme, PhD in Vertebrate Palaeontology, The University of Queensland When you find dinosaur skeletons, how can you tell how old the dinosaur was? Like, if the skeleton is from a child dinosaur or an adult dinosaur? – Henry, aged 8. ...
The Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO) has had to clarify the law with Police and receive their reassurance that while the amnesty for ammunition was not extended to 20 December, Police will act as if it has been. ...
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 We Are Here: An Atlas of Aotearoa by Chris McDowall & Tim Denee (Massey University Press, $70)Superlative ...
This week a petition with more than 15,000 signatures was presented at parliament to Nicola Willis, MP and opposition spokesperson for Early Childhood Education. Also attending were Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick and Hon Nikki Kaye. ...
It’s that time of year again when, for the third year running, a new A Christmas Prince movie is released. Sam Brooks was in front of a TV screen for the latest instalment’s debut on Netflix last night, and here catalogues the many stupid, wild, and wildly stupid things he ...
One of the most highly rated members of Jacinda Ardern’s Cabinet is under pressure over assurances given in relation to an immigration case. How bad could it get, asks Toby Manhire.There has never been a New Zealand prime minister more engaged with contemporary homegrown music than Jacinda Ardern. She’s forever ...
Kris Faafoi, Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media; Minister ofCommerce and Consumer Affairs;Minister of Government Digital Services; Associate Minister forHousing; MP for Mana.The latest allegations of a corruption scandal involving a Cabinet minister suggests this government is far too loose when it comes to providing access to power ...
The National Party cannot credibly critique the Government’s hikes to fuel tax while it refuses to commit to reversing these hikes, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “Simon Bridges has lambasted ...
Newspaper staff were among those to express dismay and fury during the frenzy of denunciations that followed publication of an ill-considered cartoon about Samoa and the measles epidemic. The Spinoffrecorded their reactions under the heading ODT cartoonist infuriates his colleagues with Sāmoa measles epidemic ‘joke’. It also reproduced the ...
New Zealand Police Association condemns comments made by People Against Prisons Aotearoa following the fatal police shooting of an armed man who had made threats of suicide. ...
A new poem by Harry Ricketts. The Writing Life You want to write.You want to be published.You want to be read. You want to be a cult figure.You want to be reviewed.You want to write. You want to win prizes.You want to be anthologised.You want to be read. You want to be taught in schools ...
As Christmas is near, it’s time to set the record straight on some of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of employment law that apply to the festive season. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Kris Faafoi immigration case Fiona Connor and Tova O’Brien (Newshub): ‘I’m on it bro’: Messages show Kris Faafoi offering help to ...
The Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta has announced changes to prevent Māori wards being voted down by referendums are off the table, saying she believes such a change is not possible within the coalition. ...
It’s officially the festive season, and what does that mean? An office Secret Santa with a budget of $20 and you’ve picked your boss. Instead of settling for a bottle of average wine and a ribbon, follow our essential guide on what to get those unique workmates.At last year’s Secret ...
The shooting of a suicidal man in Southland shows that police armament is dangerous, says criminal justice group People Against Prisons Aotearoa. The shooting comes just over a month into the controversial trial of heavily armed police teams in 3 regions ...
The Prime Minister should deal urgently with reports Cabinet Minister Kris Faafoi offered to help a friend over an immigration case, National Party leader Simon Bridges says. ...
The families of top former All Blacks are likely to donate their loved ones’ brains to research so the effect of head impacts in sport can be studied. ...
A woman who went on a Tinder date with the man who murdered Grace Millane tells her story, and issues a warning to other women to trust their instincts when something doesn’t feel right.First published on Newshub.co.nzI went on a date with Grace Millane’s killer while her body lay in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gottfried Lechner, Associate Professor and Director of the Institute for Telecommunications Research, University of South Australia, University of South Australia Satellites are becoming increasingly important in our lives, as they help us meet a demand for more data, exchanged at higher speeds. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Terry Goldsworthy, Associate Professor in Criminology, Bond University According to the latest figures, homicides in Australia are at historic lows and compare well against international trends. So what do the trends tell us and why is the homicide rate in Australia declining? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy O’Rourke, Senior Lecturer, School of Architecture, The University of Queensland Welcome to the next article in our Designing Hospitals series, where we explore how architecture and design shape our hospitals and medical centres. Today, we look at what Indigenous people tell ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW The latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results are bad news for Australian students, parents, employers and policymakers. Pretty much everyone. Australian 15-year-olds are now below the OECD average in mathematics, and our results in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Clode, Senior Research Fellow in Creative Writing, Flinders University It is only mid-November but we have to walk early to avoid the heat. A northerly wind picks up clouds of dust and pollen, sending dirty billows across the paddocks. The long ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Changes coming to fuel market, anti-vaxxer arrested in Samoa, and banks told to hold more capital.New recommendations to increase competition in the fuel market have been made by the Commerce Commission, reports the NZ Herald. Their conclusion is that it isn’t competitive ...
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by ReadingRoom literary editor Steve Braunias. ...
An alliance of top researchers is trying to keep New Zealand ahead of complex health challenges from overuse of antibiotics, threats to freshwater quality and emerging infectious diseases. ...
The birthplace of the Labour Party is once again at the forefront of a new movement, this time harnessing the power of the collective to step away from coal towards a low carbon future.Blackball is a small place with a huge history. This week the town, 29 kilometres from Greymouth, ...
Life expectancy is increasing all the time, and now actuaries and retirement experts say young people need far more information on what they’ll need to do with their money if they live to 100. Don’t worry, we’re here to help. The message from the Retirement Income Interest Group of the New ...
German politician Joschka Fischer has had a remarkable career. From street violence and helping to set up the Green party, he matured into the foreign minister and vice-chancellor of a united Germany, serving until 2005. His understanding of power politics led him to support the use of force in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison said it with a straight face, and repetition for emphasis. “I’m very pleased, very pleased, with the performance of all of my ministers,” he declared on Thursday. This ringing if unconvincing universal endorsement ...
PARENTS AROUND THE WORLD PLEA FOR URGENT CLIMATE ACTION 222 parents groups from 27 countries have released a heartfelt joint plea calling on negotiators at this year’s UN climate summit – COP25 – in Madrid to push for ambitious and urgent ...
Government proposals to overhaul insurance contract laws should make the whole process of taking out insurance easier and simpler to understand for consumers, says Financial Advice New Zealand. ...
Despite New Zealand First lobbying hard at the Cabinet table, the Finance Minister says the case to move Auckland's port operations north has not yet been made. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Tomnay, Assoc. Professor / Director of Centre for Excellence in Rural Sexual Health, University of Melbourne Around one in six Australian women have had an abortion by their mid-30s. These women come from all age groups and demographics: some are mothers ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roslyn Petelin, Course coordinator, The University of Queensland Reports this week about the demise of the Apostrophe Protection Society may have been greatly exaggerated. The Apostrophe Protection Society was set up in 2001 in the UK by retired journalist John Richards with ...
Today the Court of Appeal released their decision to allow Helen Milner (The Black Widow) to have the last remaining body samples of the husband she murdered, in an attempt to prove her innocence by trying to see if he had an underlying heart condition. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Pearse, Lecturer, Department of Political Economy, University of Sydney Federal Labor this week commemorated a dubious anniversary – a decade of climate policy failure. And it pointed the finger of blame squarely at the Greens. Labor claimed that had the Greens ...
The recent statement by Simon Tyler on behalf of the National Provident Fund and the Government Superannuation Fund, that environmental and social goals must be balanced with financial risk and reward, displays conceptual confusion about the role of ethical ...
A bill designed to deal with terrorists returning from overseas has hit its latest speed bump as human rights groups raise concerns that it could be used to stifle press freedom. ...
by David Barber “To read,” says Jim Flynn, Emeritus Professor of Politics at Otago University, “is to enter a magic realm in which people are more interesting, informed, amusing and intelligent than anyone you encounter in everyday life.” It is a realm that half of New Zealand 15-year-olds never enter, ...
Democracy in New Zealand is suffering from a Parliament which under-performs in its scrutiny of human rights. A new report says human rights oversight by select committees examining potential legislation is weak and ad hoc. Human rights obligations and ...
Children’s Commissioner, Judge Andrew Becroft, calls the Breaking Down Porn report, released today by the Chief Censor, a ‘wake-up call’ for all New Zealanders. “I welcome today’s report. It’s a wake-up call and a catalyst for a national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison has announced a dramatic overhaul of the federal public service, cutting the number of departments and creating several new mega ones, while removing five secretaries. The departments will be reduced from 18 to ...
Open mike 15/10/2013 
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step right up to the mike…
We are very pleased to publish this submission is from Lucinda Stoan. She is a social justice activist, mother, and educator, based in Washington State in the US. This detailed and comprehensive source-linked overview of trans issues and what is at stake will be useful for many people, especially in ...10 hours ago
Newshub last night reported that Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi had apparently promised to help out a mate with an immigration issue. While its normal for people to approach MPs for assistance in this area, when you're a Minister, the rules are different: as the Cabinet Manual says, Ministers must "at ...14 hours ago
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Live from the Whanganui Opera House, on the final day of the 2019 Labour Party Conference, Jacinda Ardern announced the largest investment in school property in 25 years. ...3 days ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Soong, Senior Lecturer in Teacher Education Practice, School of Education, University of South Australia Australian 15 year olds were around three and a half years behind their counterparts in China in maths, according to the OECD’s latest results for education systems ...8 hours ago
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by David Barber “To read,” says Jim Flynn, Emeritus Professor of Politics at Otago University, “is to enter a magic realm in which people are more interesting, informed, amusing and intelligent than anyone you encounter in everyday life.” It is a realm that half of New Zealand 15-year-olds never enter, ...1 day ago
The Hall of Hogwash
Exhibit No. 4: JIM MORA
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“The United States has been a bulwark against totalitarianism, hasn’t it.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
—Jim Mora, Radio NZ National, The Panel, Monday 14 October 2013
I am sorry to report that, far from responding to such nonsense, guest Panelists Matt Nippert and Josie Pagani maintained a silence closely resembling stupidity.
hogwash, n. 1. Worthless, false, or ridiculous speech or writing; nonsense. 2. Garbage fed to hogs; swill.
hypocrisy, n. 1. the practice of professing standards, beliefs, etc., contrary to one’s real character or actual behaviour, esp. the pretence of virtue and piety 2. an act or instance of this
More hogwash….
No. 3 JOHN KERRY: “The best way to give these negotiations a chance is to keep them private.”
http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Kerry-prolongs-trip-set-to-meet-Abbas-in-Ramallah-320386
No. 2 DAVID CAMERON: “We never support, in countries, the intervention by the military.”
No. 1 BARACK OBAMA: “Madiba’s moral courage…people standing up for what’s right….aaaahhhh, the yearning for justice and dignity…”
on nipperts’ last appearance on that show..
..he derided any ideas about there being anything wrong/untoward with the new zealand justice system..
..does he not claim to be a ‘journalist’..?
..that nippert..?
..if so..w.t.f..!
..eh..?
..need i reel off the litany of current/past names..?
..from thomas to pora..?
..that comment from nippert is on my shortlist for brain-fart-of-the-year..(award-winning journalist sub-section..)
..and no..of course nippert was not ‘called’ on it..
..the stench was allowed to just float out on the airwaves..
..unquestioned/un-whiffed at..
..by anyone involved..
..phillip ure..
@ Morrissey Agreed …often ( but not always)find Jim Mora and his panel hard to listen to ..(.staus quo crap.)..without getting brain numbed, angry and switching off ….. or feeling I have been forced to swallow something non-nutritious, even at times, sickie sweet…(.toxic untruths or half truths)
I didn’t know that Jim Mora went in for irony or being devil’s advocate! Way to go Jimmy boy.
Interesting things they keep off the News
No. 2: U.S. drones have killed more than 2,500 Pakistanis
Half of those killed in U.S. drone strikes are women and children.
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10870
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2336905/Ex-drone-operator-says-hes-haunted-carnage-caused-cover-screen.html
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/28/life-us-drone-operator-artist
See also….
No. 1: Guantanamo Bay captives
John Lennon…Just Gimme Some Truth!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlzrNKN3rZI
Do you want suggestions for this series or are you loaded with ideas already?
I have lots of ideas lined up, but I appreciate any suggestions, Paul.
WTC7 something very interesting not in the news
Right wing fantasies aren’t always news, Paul. Thankfully.
I’m afraid I agree with Te Reo, Paul. I would love to think that those arch-criminals Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz et al. were involved but there is simply no evidence to support that. Like Norman Finkelstein, I accept that Dick Cheney is a criminal, a draft-dodger, a coward, a liar and a moral reprobate, but there is nothing to show he orchestrated or was involved in any way in the 9/11 attacks.
Here’s Noam Chomsky on the subject….
Good Man!
Voice, showing your inner weakness again bro!
Don’t conflate the discussion points.
WT7 housed the financial evidence which was going to be needed when Rumsfeld at al had to explain where $2.3T disappeared to, along with the Pentagon, receiving its miraculous hit, directly to the accounts department.
Take a look at which agencies had presence in WT7, and what else was housed in there – “Pull it”!
Hey, you’re a coincidence theorist!
From an earlier post.
Tuesday 15 October 2013 – heading off shortly to Auckland airport to pick up Graham McCready for the adjourned hearing of oral evidence from Kim Dotcom, his bodyguard and lawyer, plus the CEO of Sky City, which should confirm that the DEFENDANT John Banks KNEW that donations from Kim Dotcom and Sky City’s CEO were NOT anonymous.
We should be at the Auckland District Court (Albert St) before 9.30am
‘Her Warship’ 😉
PS: on the 6th Anniversary of the Urewera ‘Terror’ Raids, Vince Siemer will be in the Auckland High Court, giving evidence which proves how he and his wife were subjected to alleged unlawful detention, search and seizure by Police…..
Can’t be in 2 places at once – but if anyone can go to the High Court to support Vince and Jane today – that would be GREAT!
“NEED BETTER WORK STORIES?
A 7-day trial in the Auckland High Court began Monday, 14 October, against 14 men in blue concerning the dawn 2008 raid on the offices of Spartan News Limited and home of Vince and Jane Siemer. A fifteenth defendant is the deputy registrar of the District Court who signed the undated police search warrant.
No one was charged as a result of the raid, which was postulated on Vince Siemer publishing the suppressed police affidavit used to hold, without bail, 18 New Zealand citizens in the infamous October 2007 Tuhoe raids (4 of the 18 were eventually convicted of various weapons charges; charges were dropped on the other 14).
Kim Dotcom has an extremely similar case against Police scheduled for trial in February 2014.
Defence Counsel Austin Powell, of the “Constitutional and Human Rights Team” within Crown Law, will first cross-examine Vince Siemer Tuesday on the events of 21 February 2008 before the 14 police defendants tell their work stories. Two weeks ago that was expected to concern the twelve pages of items Police seized but never accounted for on the day. However, the week before trial, the police conceded they have been withholding evidence of examination reports on the 5 cell phones they seized, had taken 183 photos inside the home not previously accounted for and cannot find the data the police cloned from three computers they seized.
Crown counsel Powell could only reply in a 7 October email, “I am not able to give priority to any more questions about discovery of documents. We are now a week out from the fixture and there is a great deal of preparation to do. I will attend to this and any other requests if time permits.”
Then-Solicitor General David Collins approved the raids on Tuhoe in 2007 and against the Siemers in 2008 but the Court of Appeal ruled in 2011 he could not be sued by Siemers and Spartan News. Mr Collins was appointed a High Court judge in 2012.
In addition to all phones and computers, the police seized tax and business accounts, cameras and even printers. The police claim their active investigation ceased three years ago but admit to still holding unspecified property. The biggest return of items to date was more than 4 years after the raid, on 21 September 2012.
The public are encouraged to attend to catch a rare glimpse of the work stories behind the badges. ”
Vince Siemer
It is about time that business paid its way.
If business wants convention centres, then business can pay for them. I find it incredibly rude that they even consider asking elderly ratepayers to pay for their business.
Rude, don’t care who foots the bill as long as it is not them. Rude. And out of line.
What part of the country is this?
Queenstown? Where business does want to buit a convention centre, but the council don’t want them to, they want to use ratepayer funds instead.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/queenstown-lakes/273674/convention-centre-backed-rival-developer-firm
Seems to be happening all over the bloody country. Probably ignorant councils following the governments lead.
And how much councils are ‘representing’ business too.
Arise Quidditch players prepare for the Game in the House. Represent and defend your constituents, the people and not just those in business. Look out for the Golden Snitcher.
Tory council with a Tory mayor in Queenstown. To be expected.
mmm!!!..it’s cunnliffe vs. key day…
..let combat commence..!
..(i’m sharpening quills..as we speak..)
..phillip ure..
phillip ure..(.on another topic) You are a Vegan?……what do Vegans eat to keep healthy?….my son is a vegetarian and now is considering Veganism!…request info
(from shocked meat eater and dairy consumer)
hi chooky..
..congratulations on having such an evolved offspring/fruit of the loins..
..as far as his healthy-longevity/making a serious effort to both help the planet..and stop the wholesale suffering..(from both animals..and consumers of them.. is concerned..going vegan will be the best decision of/in his life..
..and having myself been vegan for about 15 yrs..and vegetarian for 15 before that..
..(and knowing people who have been vegan for 30 + yrs..)
..has all necessitated/evolved into the gathering of necessary information/data..
..this archive can be all found @ http://whoar.co.nz/?s=vegan
..there you will get all the recipies you will need..(mm!!..gourmet japanese/thai etc vegan..)
..plus the all-important nutritional information..
..it is pretty much a primer on the subject..(and the compilation of it some of the work i am most ‘proud of’..it is an agit=prop tool of some potency..
..i would (not so) humbly submit..
..and as an aside to current vegetarians..
.you get my utmost respect..for being where you are..
..especially if done for the ‘right’ reasons..(ie..animal-welfare/personal health/save the planet etc..
..but where you are..(and i was for 15 yrs..)..is a way-station on yr journey..
..a halfway house..
..and for the following reasons..
..personal health:..the fact is that eating animal bye-products is almost as bad for you as eating the actual animal flesh..(this increasingly confirmed by current/new research..u will find evidence-links to all my claims made here..in the archive..)
..animal welfare:..eating animal bye-products sustains/financially supports the wholesale horrors of the factory-farms/charnel-houses..so if vego for animal welfare reasons..?..
..mental-health:..it is common for vegetarians to feel better within themselves..when they stop eating animal-flesh..
..and personally..my/any expectation of ‘feeling netter’ from taking that vegan-step were minimal..
..silly me..!..i can testify to those long-time vegetarians that the feeling-better factor takes a giant leap..
..(in crude/blunt-terms..it is like ripping off another dietary-scab..(much as stopping meat was for you..eh..?..)
..saving the planet:..the well documented ‘costs’ of from humans farming/eating animals/animal bye-products..if you stop..you stop feeding that beast..
(and as a berm-aside:..never mind the berms..stop mowing yr fucken lawns..!..eh..!..
..kilo for kilo..the lawnmower is one of the dirtiest machines on the planet..
..and if you crunch the numbers..
you will see that if we all went vegan..and ended our anal-obsession with all lawns having a number-one cut..
..we could all drive s.u.v.’s ..
..with utter environmental-impunity..
..(sez it all really..eh..?..)
..and yes..my heart does sink a tad..
..when i see ‘green-leaders’..strutting around clad in the skins of butchered animals..
..and wiping the animal-grease/fat from their lips..
..with the backs of their hands..
..all the while claiming to be there ‘to save the planet’..eh..?
..eh..?
..but anyway chooky..the word-up to you wd be to join yr son on his journey..
..you too will share in all those benefits..
..that he has to look forward to..
..and if you actually nut it all out..with an open mind..
..save for desiring to eat flesh/fats..
..there are very few reasons not to go vegan.
..’tis the way of the future..
..eh..?
phillip ure..
Thanks so much!!!!….you are convincing!!!!!…(sigh)…Will check out site and point son in the direction of it.
I know being a meat eater is a beastly habit and isn’t nice . ( If I had to kill it myself instead of picking up a little pack in the super market…soul already departed …I would be a vegetarian.).
Did try to be a vegetarian years ago myself but beans and rice all the time wound my energy levels down over 6 months…However just love Indian vegetarian food …so there is hope!!!!
many fantastic vegan cookbooks like ‘veganomicon’ that go beyond beans/rice.
Personally enjoy Tempeh V Tofu and using ingredients like Tamarind with other spices to layer the flavour.
Consider the oils like coconut, hemp and avacado also. we’re blessed down here with all the necessaries.
yes, coconut oil. Handy.
@ tc…thanks for info….actually for lunch I had a wrap with chillie beans, brown rice ,salad and Indian mango chutney ..it was yuuummm!!!!!…yesterday we had lentil samosas…..so it isn’t so difficult to be a Vegan…(.but I have always put it off until the next incarnation)….we will see….maybe a semi Vegan? …cant see myself becoming a strict one. ha ha…but it is probably very good for one’s health…quite apart from the ethical considerations
Snacking throughout the day on live food (sprouts), seeds (sesame, pumpkin and sunflower) and nuts tend to help with the energy levels.
Also, you will tend to eat a lot more food (volume) so regular snacking helps to space it out.
Movements will be healthier and regular as clockwork.
Living as a vegetarian requires a bit of research, some thought and changes to your shopping habits but your body (and thus your mind) will thank you for it.
on the Way
thanx Naturesong…..will try to do
Cheers, Phillip. I’ve been contemplating switching to a more vegan based diet and you’ve given me some, um, food for thought.
chrs to all above..
..and as a berm-footnote..
..the fact/nugget of information that five years ago made me foreswear the lawnmower/lawn-mowing..
..is that..depending on the vehicle you drive..
..one hours’ use of a lawnmower..
..is the same environmental footprint..
..as driving a vehicle between a low of 250 kms..to a high of 650 kms..
..fucken whoar..!
..eh..?
..something for those who are trying to heed the ever-more-urgent/compelling change-or-die!-messages..and those who urge others to ‘go green’..
..yet who still mow themselves..
..a question to ask themselves in front of the bathroom mirror/when overcome by that urge to give their lawns a number one..
..and they can reinforce that logical/rational decision..
..while walking past the flesh/dairy-sections @ the supermarket..
..and funny story..!..my walked-down lawns..after five years..have turned already good soil into super-soil..
..and my mini-eco system has recenttly sprouted swan-plants everywhere..and they have trunks like broom-handles..
..and so now i/we have monarch butterflies etc..fluttering around..
..(and the sound of/from those wings flapping..are far more pleasing on the ear/soul..than the discordant clatter of a wheezing/belching lawn-mower..eh..?..)
..the birds also love our yard/’lawn’…so we get lots of bird-action..
..and really..from this p.o.v…the action of cutting lawn/collecting the clippings..making a pile of them..
..turning them into compost..to then spread back on the soill..
..is an act of utter/pointless group-madness..
..it’s already programmed to do that itself..eh..
..if we just leave well alone..
..and in the process..
..both help the environment..
..and reclaim a large chunk of our lives that are currently wasted in this self-imposed sisyphian-task..
..of doing battle with/trying to tame/control nature..
..just let it go..!..people..!
..phillip ure..
And we could have become a true Banana republic complete with Russian weapons. If only Key had been in charge.
Now there’s a scary thought Key with a Russki Nuc (presumably with Missiles intact) sub tied up feeding Ak’s power.
They must have owed us a Lot of Rubles
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9282669/Russia-offered-MiGs-tanks-to-settle-NZ-debt
Damn, should have taken the MiGs and a couple of diesel subs.
David H
Tanks for the memory eh! Instead we got Lada cars, they got butter for their larders. Hah good one!
As for rubles, I think we would have preferred rubies.
But the flexible nature of trade allowed us to keep trading with this, then, pariah country. Perhaps we should keep the spirit of multi-lateralism or whatever, alive and not sign up to constraining TPPA with it’s flashy front billboard of free trade, and dirty little dealers behind the scenes selling their real agendas.
oh how times have changed. (had a wee bright yellow Lada when I was 20, and a bright orange VW) anyway, been fortunate today, cycled into town to do errands (food for the worms) and was able to be home before it fair poured down.
In case you missed it on the Feeds:
http://hot-topic.co.nz/the-last-refuge-of-scoundrels/ (Or how to waste government money)
Tomorrow, in the Appeal Court in Wellington (pdf), Justices Harrison, French and Miller will hear argument in the case of the NZ Climate Science “Education” Trust (NZCSET) versus the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), in the continuing effort of the cranks to litigate away warming in New Zealand over the last 150 years. According to the man who kicked off the whole process, Richard Treadgold of the “Climate Conversation” web site, the NZCSET bases its appeal on two main points:
The focussed grounds are that all three NIWA temperature series resulted from serious mistakes of fact, which impugned the rationality of the Crown Entity’s decisions.
This seems somewhat surprising, given that the judge in the original case was so scathing of the NZCSET’s expertise in his judgement delivered a year ago. One wonders how the Appeal Court will react to any attempt to relitigate the original decision, given Justice Venning’s findings. But then perhaps the whole appeal has rather more to do with the second basis for appeal:
The Coalition is also seeking reversal of the High Court’s costs order.
What God of coincidence leads to people having names like Treadgold (climate denial),
Richwhite (for you guess)? Just pondering.
smile.
How low can you go? Not much lower in John Armstrong’s case. A truly rancid piece.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11140059
Interesting how Armstrong quotes NZ “leading political commentator” in support of his views.
Must have been edited Karol “leading” is missing in my current view. Armstrong’s position (tory supplicant) is well known and illustrated further by quoting Hollow Man Hooten in his ‘go easy on her’ Parata suckup.
It was my sarc reference to this on Hooton’s company page.
And the bit I got out of hearing comment from the Minimum of Education was that they had planned a new ground-breaking experiment in Christchurch to test a new approach in schooling.
Their action was not to attend to the needs of children unsettled or traumatised by the loss of their normal daily life, the feeling of security and safety, the tipping over of many into the precariat, the loss of housing and local society, the loss of services even to having a toilet, the hardship for families without any fat to cushion the blows.
And on top of that the knowledge that the comfortably off didn’t really care, didn’t think kindly towards them, saw them as a problem to be dealt with some time at the convenience of the planners and finance holders. Left to themselves without annoying questions about action, the powers that be will proceed at their own pace with little empathy it seems.
I remember reading about how long it took Southern Italian authorities to provide for their poor people after a major earthquake destroyed their homes long established in an ancient slum area.
Originally a hard life, precarious but settled into a known culture that was livable, to totally miserable with whole families being poked into small hotel rooms for years. This was outlined in Thomas Belmonte’s great book of his time in Naples ‘The Broken Fountain’.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gables/hiv/mem/belmonte.html
Parata and Hooten, up a tree, H.A.N.G.I.N.G.
(engaging writing by Armstrong though).
Yesterday I commented on Radionz item on this woman who has written a book that goes straight to the heart of NZ’s problems with poverty in its business thinking.
However, economist and professor Mariana Mazzucato argues that the state has a huge part to play in bringing new goods and services to market.
Peter Day discusses her thought-provoking thesis with her. Her latest book is The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking public vs. private sector myths. She tweets on @MazzucatoM
Today I want to highlight that she says that all countries that advance do so on the back of government involvement. The big innovations in the USA have been done on the back of government research and development. Left to the private sector, little new stuff happens.
It is too costly for private companies to spend much on research because so much comes to nothing! But new things are needed to advance into the future with useful stuff, and to develop new ways of coping with whatever is happening, likely to happen – think green technology for instance.
I’m reading the book ATM, it’s the one I’ve been quoting over the last few days. It is rather enlightening about where the actual innovation has come from, who supported it and who benefited.
DTB
Keep on quoting. There is so much to learn to get out of the mre we are in. I sometimes think that the only people doing any important learning and thinking are on TS. Silly really. But it’s just an impression I get.
And a bit of whimsy. Do keep dropping pieces of smart thinking from her and similar others onto TS from time to time. They may be like the crumbs from Hansel and Gretel which we can follow leading to a good destination.
…as Jacques Ellul wrote about 50 years ago. (The Technological Society)
Amen!
Ok then. All y’all truthers have convinced me, as Obama is busted in prepping a black flag op:
http://www.thetotalcollapse.com/obama-ousts-top-officers-after-nuke-explodes-in-ocean-instead-of-charleston/
2,500 facebook likes, can’t argue with that.
*grin* awesome….
It’s well known that Obama hates Charlotte for letting the Hornets franchise move to New Orleans. Never cross POTUS over Bball, the man is serious about his sport.
Census stats released.
Was embargoed til 10.45am today.
NZ Herald is running a story on it and updating.
Will be watching how this info is processed by the media.
informative karol
JohnDotBanks in court
http://www.3news.co.nz/Dotcom-Banks-wanted-donation-kept-anonymous/tabid/423/articleID/317264/Default.aspx?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
And reported in the Herald:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11140346
A bit unexpected really given the Herald/Banks support system.
I’m interested to see if the cabbage boat man will take the stand. Seem to recall he hinted he would.
His statement to the police was never released because he told the police not to, so it will be interesting to see if:
What he says in court stacks up against what he said in public.
Whether the police mention he has a swon statement saying other than what he says in court.
…Their sloppy cronyism approach ends up costing more than any anticipated benefits.
Why? Short-termism gone mad? Why would nearly 50% of voters affirm a party this dysfunction on its core issue? the economy! Shonkey is not a good manager, he’s a fly boy pant sniffer type.
yet still 50% of the voting public voted for inanity. How does the Herald do it? I mean its so right wing (the wrong kind) and so actively deranged in its appeals to poor managing solutions.
We need a tax system that targets the wealthy less we forget what happens when a few own and control the super majority of the nation.
Did you see Collins, her eyebrow was a shocker, like she was some deranged bag lady invited on Q&A to an opinion that no credible minister could.
So Len Brown allegedly had sex with no condom with someone that isnt his wife at the auckland town hall, he shouldnt lose his job over this. A written warning and a divorce lawyer for his wife. The media should report news, not sleaze.
Thanks for the snifter from the sewer, Brett.
aroused moi
Viper:
Thats my point, its no ones busines but his wife’s, he should be allowed to keep his job.
Got a link for that “story”, or did you have another wet-dream?
Fender:
The sleazo whale oil reported it.
So why didn’t you preface it with “Here’s some bullshit that Slater/Lusk made up”?
Felix:
Because my point wasnt the source, it was the fact that its a non story, and noones business
apart from his wife. Yet over on the TM boards, people are all up in arms.
So why rush in here to talk about it?
Pascal:
Because its going to be a topic for discussion on why people should think he should be fired, and im saying he shouldnt be fired.
You said it was nobody’s business at the same time you were telling everybody….
boy oh boy, you fullas have some funny thinking in your heads
Brett Dale so clever, repeating sexual smears, then saying – hey don’t repeat this!
I heard a rumour that Brett lives in a gingerbread house and masturbates while drowning kittens, but I don’t believe it so if any of you haters out there repeat it, I’d disapprove. /sarc
Nah. Weren’t you were saying people shouldn’t be talking about it? That it shouldn’t e a topic of discussion?
Pascal:
Im saying he shouldnt be fired, Slater on the extreme right and people here on the extreme left shouldnt be calling for his firing.
And you’re also saying the media shouldn’t be reporting it, but are real keen to talk about it yourself, adding your little bit to the hype, which is what makes them report things.
“and people here on the extreme left shouldnt be calling for his firing”
Who has called for his firing brett? A link to the comment from an extreme leftie would be good and luckily for you it isn’t six months down the track. Or is it more of the same made up bullshit that you so often spread.
If its such a non-story why are you spreading it so much, if it’s noones business why are you spreading it so much – does it make you feel good brett. imo those that break a story are one thing but those who spread it while trying to pretend to have the moral high-ground are worse, as in an animal poos and the flies spread it around – you brett are a fly.
marty mars
Im a McFly!
on a Cetacean’s Hide
rogue:
Nice poem, but not my point.
close, but no cigar. 😉
it’s not a story just cos bloated posted it. Some people dont even know who bloated is, so no harm done.
So when its proved correct you’ll admit you were wrong and he was right?
Stephen Cook has an awesome history.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3398209/Sacked-journalist-Stephen-Cook-ordered-to-pay-costs
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Woman_disclosed_by_newspaper_in_sex_tape_found_dead
https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/pdf/jdo/fb/alfresco/service/api/node/content/workspace/SpacesStore/9e48f7de-38c8-4336-8cd3-2bd6fb4cece3/9e48f7de-38c8-4336-8cd3-2bd6fb4cece3.pdf
News of the World would be ashamed of him
Hes a dick no doubt about it but in this instance is he wrong?
You’re the one saying he’s right. I’d be pretty sceptical about the whole thing, and worried for his source. This guy makes Ian Wishart look principled.
he was right about it not being a story you mean?
Oh its a story all right 🙂
Fender:
Nope my dreams like that arent about len brown, maybe about anna paquin on a hoverboard, saying “Ive here to take you to the garth brooks concert”
You poor sad bastard……
Bullshit. Everyone knows Len only screws wharfies.
lol
The media should report news, not sleaze.
… says the dude who just described said sleaze in far more detail than was necessary.
QOT:
Please, those on the left and right who dont like len, will be saying he should resign, my point is, I dont care what he does with his penis, he should keep his job, thats the point im trying to make.
Woosh!!!
Parata is on the ropes big-time, good work Hipkins, even the speaker found her answers “less than helpful”.
😀
What Len Brown should say
Far out…all the Nats have anger problems…Nick Smith is spitting while doing his best Key/Bridges impersonation, his colleagues should have worn their raincoats…
Has Whaleoil just jumped the Shark?
Either he’s right and the Mayor of Auckland is damaged by the allegations, or Whaleoil is about to have his ass sued off him.
[karol: moved this comment from the “This is how it’s done thread – off topic. Tried to tidy things up by moving the replies, too.]
[lprent: That’s correct. I have a SQL script for doing it as well at home. ]
What does that have to do with Cunliffe’s press conference today?
It doesn’t so move it to open mike. No one will mind if you accidentally lose it.
Done, DTB. Looks like it was successful. It was an expendable comment to try the move out on.
4/10 Len, now thats a burn
These farmers should be forced to get their drinking water below their farms or from the stream they are putting the shit into – record fine lol put a zero on it I say.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/dairy/9285515/Record-114-000-Waikato-dirty-dairying-fine
Should have been forfeiture of the farms – especially the second one.
Maybe the fine should be a % of the business’ turnover? And yep to the drinking water.
“Council’s investigation manager Patrick Lynch said it was “unbelievable” a farmer would choose to deliberately pump raw effluent straight into a waterway.”
Where’s he been for the past few decades?
Funny that Mr Bridges was far more subdued in answering in Question Time today, than he was during his hyperactive shouting display last night on Campbell Live. Perhaps he had taken his ritalin today?
Am in the international Koru lounge in Auckland watching David Farrars phone run hot.
This Len Brown thing looks like it might have legs.
cos farrar couldnt possibly be working on something else.
You know New Zealand is fucked when the fat turd’s gossip is taken as absolute truth by the MSM.
Fucking NZ Herald. I guess their editors see a market gap left by Truth.
What do you mean “left by Truth”? It’s more like the Truth was driven out of business by the NZHerald moving in to its bailiwick.
I also see that the NZ Herald article has been courageously penned by “New Zealand Herald staff”.
Is it that much to expect our leaders to keep it in their pants?
Oh fuck off.
The most well known political leaders from Eisenhower to Kennedy to Lange have had extra-marital affairs. Grow up and learn a little bit about real life.
As Larry Flynt said about Bill Clinton – “at least we have a President who fucks”
“cigars” all round
It was hard to type that with a straight face true 🙂 but I bet if you replaced Len Brown with John Key you lefties would all over it like white on rice
Plus theres the small matter of the threatning text she got, that puts it into a completely different catergory…
Also shows how much of a typical leftie he really is: good at throwing around other peoples money but buys his mistress cheap knickers
Len has never been my cup-of-tea; yet Auckland gets what Auckland gets
To be fair, I’m looking at Brown in a different way now – I didn’t think he had it in him.
Rooting on the job is bad form, especially if it’s a junior employee (almost like incest).
I see there’s a high ranking defence force guy up on Court Marshall for the same thing. Guess Banksie won’t get the firing squad though?
grumpy:
Like incest?? are you nuts, she was 32 years old and a consenting adult,
the only person who is allowed to be pissed off is lens wife.
Yeah it’s like incest. I mean. WTF.
The woman is supposedly 32. She hasn’t just left high school. She can make her own choices in life can she not.
Mate, it’s regarded as “in the family”. Why do you think the Army guy in being charged? You can’t take advantage of employees – who knows what pressures have been placed on them?
Sure, no one in a work place ever screwed a colleague or work mate before.
I feel your grief……..but he is the head honcho, sort of a higher standard sort of thing.
sure but when it is a superior who may or may not hold hiring and firing in his/her hands it can be different cv. NOT that that is suggested here.
If Len Brown had spent on his Council credit card entertaining this woman, took her on Council paid trips, got her promotions etc, then that’s definitely relevant to his conduct on the job.
The rest of this is BS. Two grown up consenting adults getting it on, yaaawn.
Ah yes there may be a case to be answered in situations where coercive pressure was being applied through seniority and hiring firing power.
….but in the Council Chambers????? Just think of the poor minimum pay cleaners………where is Helen Kelly on this?
lol grumpy yeah its too much for my gentle sensibilities
Brown’s statement. A personal and family issue
nothing to see here – move on
Doug Mackay doesn’t seem to see it as an employment issue.
Time for the sleaze-mongers to return to the sewer.
puh leaze, do not bring Helen (paragon of virtue) into this debacle, we plead.
(no condom, no mess).
but so far there is no evidence of coersion, it appears the woman herself has spoken to someone about it but n suggestion f misuse of power by Brown I suppose it might yet be made.
There is a report of a “threatening text” – oh goody – popcorn……..
Shes already had a threatening text sent to her
Yeah, and who knows where it came from.
IIRC the Navy guy is being charged for lying about it on security vetting forms and alleged abusing his authority to intimidate his subordinate when she tried to end it.
Not an act of consensual sex.
nothing like incest. assuming it was consensual there is no wrong doing other than people’s perception of orality.
incest is a crime. speaking of crimes. Slater knows no bounds to th depths he will stoop. I bet he knows of a number of dirty secrets of right wing MP’s and he will die before revealling them.
” A journalist sacked by the Herald on Sunday has been ordered to pay his former employer $7500 costs for an Employment Relations Authority hearing he lost.
The newspaper was justified in sacking assistant editor Stephen Cook, who was being investigated as part of a police inquiry into drug dealing, authority member Rosemary Monaghan ruled last December.
Cook was dismissed in December 2008 because he would not tell his newspaper bosses why he was under suspicion.
They responded by saying they had lost trust and confidence in him, which made his position untenable.
Cook’s work car had been seen outside an Auckland property under surveillance by the police drugs squad.
Ms Monaghan said that in failing to provide material which could have cleared his name, Cook fed the suspicion that he was not being open and honest about his activities.
She found Cook’s dismissal was justified, not because he was dishonest or had something to hide, but rather his reactions to his employer “reasonably” suggested that he did.
Today she released a cost determination ordering Cook to pay $7500 to Herald on Sunday proprietor APN New Zealand Limited as a contribution to its costs.
APN, in its memorandum of costs, pointed to the need to address Cook’s inclusion of irrelevant and prejudicial material. It also cited delay and disruptions resulting from unavailability of counsel for Cook, including two delays in starting and the scheduling of a further part-day to address matters Cook had raised at the last moment. “
“….nothing like incest. assuming it was consensual there is no wrong doing other than people’s perception of orality..”
I presume that was a typo????????
a slip of the tongue
🙂
Gold!
ha!
you are welcome, all donations gratefully received
Actually, from what I saw on the news, the high ranking defense guy is up on fairly major charges to do with the defense of the realm as well as sexual abuse.
Except it’s not, because in that case the accused was blackmailing her into sex and using his position to threaten her partners continued employment in the military.
Why do you want mayors to be celibate?
Does that mean that councillors are allowed to receive digital relief once a month?
Maybe Shane Jones was onto something? 🙂
Not at all, but you’d expect grown ups in positions of responsibility like this to behave with some decorum and not go around rooting all and sundry. Honestly what is it about men of a certain age acting in this way……. Clinton, Lange, Brash etc etc. pathetic really.
Not at all, but you’d expect grown ups in positions of responsibility like this to behave with some decorum and not go around rooting all and sundry. Honestly what is it about men of a certain age acting in this way……. Clinton, Lange, Brash etc. pathetic really.
oh and i do feel very sorry for his wife and kids and the woman who he appears to have treated so poorly.
Doubtful. Nice line regurgitation, though. Very dedicated.
?
FFS he has a wife – how much non celibacy do you want?
Little black books usually have more than one page.
Good point.
avoid drinking and dialling, it often ends in tears down the road
Celibacy or lack thereof is irrelevant to the role of mayor. But it does seem to excite the tories.
Good observation. Some patterns there.
as opposed to Key who is screwing the country
Come on – support the guy’s policies or not – it’s not good enough.
Not telling them how to do their job but it would be good if one of the authors could put a post up about it soon (whatever their take).
you want an author to right about whether or not the mayor of auckland has been extra maritally screwing an employee? There’s a few things I’ve wanted them to write about, so I could comment, but they didn’t.
Why dont you write it and submit is as a guest post.
Is this a violation of the Gosman Ruling?
(Complaining about Herald staff anonymity, that is).
[lprent: Nope because…
1. They truly are anonymous on editorials and Staff Reporter. Just like our Notices and Features when we’re doing the routine OpenMikes except they put in news content and opinion.
2. The Gosman rule applies to assertions made here about people here. Just as I cannot police the Herald, I don’t police people making comments about the Herald either there or here (unless they cause legal issues or overstep the bounds of taste here).
3. The rules are there to make this site easier to use. I’m not an ideologue and I don’t presume to demand how people should act off this site. I may merely comment on it ]
Nope.
Just checked:
“People using a pseudonym to comment who then claim that other people commenting/posting anonymously (or any words construed to mean that) will have their own comments treated as being anonymous. Since this site does not allow anonymous comments, they will receive an immediate long ban.”
You’re right – technically – as an anonymous outside article isn’t a “post” or a “comment”.
[lprent: “Since this site does not allow anonymous comments…” is also a dead giveaway. ]
too much time on your hands, hopefully
wow you are onto it. First pointing out no one has posted an article about Brown and now a violation of the rules (possibility thereof). A fine eye for detail.
The bit that you missed was that the NZHerald has run articles that attacked the “anonymous” authors on The Standard while hypocritically publishing anonymous articles.
not technically, actually.
Texts up now.
Well the Herald spewspaper has a story too
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11140517
Hardly a hanging offence if true, but he should have been sacked by the voters for not supporting the wharfies, “Lenslide” may now be “Lenslider” and joins the boardroom bonker club of various other randy old goat politicians–Worth, insert other names here……. etc.
ba na na na dee dee dee di didit, ba na na na dee didit dee
ma na ma na na na na na.
You are right CV. Mayor of Auckland “porks the payroll” is not something that any Aucklander, other than the prurient working class filth that read the Truth, should be interested in.
lol you still at it mate
If mild mannered Len was shagging at work one can only imagine what Banksie was up to in the back seat of the Bentley…..
“prurient working class filth that read the Truth” That would be Mr Slater and the folks at his blog when he was editor?
I haven’t followed all the comments on the Len Brown matter but he has just issued a statement confirming he had a two year affair with a woman who was working on some project linked to the Council. She was not a Council employee.
Since it’s come from the sleaziest blogger in the business, can someone locate the story which appeared a year or two ago detailing a story of an extra marital indulgence by the self same blogger who released this story. From memory he never denied it. Anyone else remember it? If it can be found lets give it another airing…
Pot, kettle and all that.
Not an employee according to Brown;
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1310/S00612/statement-from-mayor-len-brown.htm
Brown confirmed the woman was not a council employee but served on a council advisory board and stood in this year’s election for a local board.
Ends , however, men and their dicks aye. Nothing new under the sun.
Can somone ban this fuckwit please?
C’mon, he adds humour – try it.
What ‘Truth’ is that, do you mean the one the ex Editor/Manager a true piece of filth in anyone’s books managed in a few short months to run into the ground,
Lolz Blubber-boi the dysfunctional head case with the un-functional newspaper what a f**king loser that waste of space really is in the real world…
From the sidebar
Last November the body of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was exhumed for an autopsy to determine if he was poisoned. Sadly, it appears that he was:
“Swiss radiation experts have confirmed they found traces of the radioactive agent polonium on the clothing of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, supporting the possibility he was poisoned.”
http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2013/10/arafat-was-poisoned.html
Give me a break, just received my insurance bill for my property in CHCH 50% increase on top of last years 20% increase.
You just gotta love that free market at work, about all thats free in this market is there right to screw you when your down, can’t find another company to reinsure with so take it or leave it Jack, the people of CHCH are being walked all over by greedy insurance companies along with this government, roll on election day.
Robbery and no morals from your insurer.
…maybe don’t insure?…unless you want to sell it
Yahoo!!!!! Whale is now posting the text messages. Very much not a good look!
Seems like she is younger – and Asian. Who would have thought?
“yahoo”? get your hand off it. Jesus wept.
Come on, you guys had great fun with Brash, surely you remember how great that felt?
cite for comments like “yahoo”?
I remember people saying brash was a hypocrite, and he was. I don’t remember much panty sniffing though.
He did indeed, still, as I may have mentioned earlier, Len tells them (the fortune cookie script) they want to hear.
What an arse! Does he have no concern for the woman’s privacy.
That’s sexual harassment in my book!
Where do you think he got them from? Certainly not Len – maybe Nicky Hager?
I don’t care where he got them – from the woman or not. It’s not acceptable. Sleaze is as sleaze does.
Brash – different situation.
And Brown’s wife and family? It’s already bad enough for them. They’ve been dealing with it.
“….Brash – different situation.”
Yep, he was National…..
Brash was a serial offender – had affairs with married women. Twice had affairs with another women while married to someone else.
That isn’t uncommon. My partner is 16 years younger than me.
Younger women going out with older men must be some kind of new, news-worthy phenomenon. Never seen it happening before myself.
this is not going to end well
Comment of the day……
too kind, however, a majority of over 50,000 (a cultural endorsement).
XKCD has a cartoon for everything.
“somewhere, at the (limits) of the Bell Curve, is the girl for me” 😀
Simon Bridges under fire….Banksie in court, JK not getting much media attention. MSM probably chasing SB & JB for evening TV news……what does WO do?
The Right are good at this stuff, and the MSM falls for it pavlovian like every time. Mind you, this is a good wee reminder of how dirty the NATs are going to fight next year.
I have political criticisms of Brown’s performance. I think his private behaviour probably has hurt others, especially the women involved. The sleazemongers don’t care about the latter.
Meanwhile, there’s some significant political issues that don’t get enough in-depth attention.
It looks like ‘the other woman’ went to sleazebag herself and has given him their text conversations. Seems Len Brown ended the affair month or two ago. She claims she received anonymous threatening messages.
Well, an intelligent and mature woman would go to the police if it is true, not spill the beans in what looks to me like a spiteful vendetta.
Yes the right are good at making lefties make tits on themselves, I can just see the RWNJ setting Len up with a two year sting operation timed to go off after the election
Poor Len, he never stood a chance…
and, just how chummy are you with Cameron…
Never met the guy but sent him some links to his web page, a youtube clip about a guy that made a double barrel pump action shot gun as I recall
handy, alas, not allowed a firearms license, for obvious reasons, however, crossbows are another target altogether, especially when compounded.
Nah – more like WO sits on stuff and then choices the timing to release it.
Maybe I should rephrase that?
nope.
WhaleSpew’s best work is released when he’s sitting.
Actually, 3 News said, WO got the info about a month ago. And Chuang signed the affadavit this morning.
What took so long for the release?
The timing is all. I thought Brown on Campbell Live tonight was suggesting that the timing of the release has been done to force him to stand down before he is inaugurated. Thus, I guess, the 2nd place candidate would be mayor without a new election?
How cynical and undemocratic is that?
Had Brown lost there would be no story. This is why it did not come out prior to the election. Who ever is now behind Brown’s demise feel confident enough that Brown being elected mayor will become untenable.
How hard are those who want Brown gone going to push?
Len Brown is left wing? Nah, he’s strictly centrist.
Interesting. Just been looking at the real time analytics after getting a threshold CPU alert.
I normally only get those if the database jams or a Labour leader resigns or is elected or we are having an election…
What is going on with the Simon Bridges post? Way higher than anything else right now and a hell of a lot of people piling on at once. Looks like facebook.
Oh – ~600 likes.
Bryce Edwards linked to it and a couple of other TS posts this afternoon here.
Thank goodness blogs like The Standard (and WO) have no relevance to the MSM 😈
who has the time
We get those enough that the pattern is predictable. Just gives little bumps. This was a social media jump and started at ~1:30PM according to the CPU log rather than the 3:56PM start for bryce’s post. We just had a big spike in the last 15 minutes when it started going viral.
Maybe also because I put the link to the Youtube video of the interview in the post? the video’s gone from one or two views this morning to over 450 views this afternoon.
You have to feel for his Wife.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/113640/mayoral-candidate039s-wife-has-throat-cancer
yes, however, how women get their hair to look like large poodles remains a mystery to the average kiwi bloke.
Sometimes it’s just the hair’s choice – mine has a mind of it’s own.
as above, so below 😀
Marine Le Pen’s NF Party Now The Largest in France
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-10-13/marine-le-pen-s-national-front-wins-french-local-by-election
(she threatens to sue if described as “extreme right”).
hmmm, and the Greeks wish for the repayment of a loan to the NSDAP
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/threat.jpg
– Heres one of the texts Dirty Len (yes its an Eastenders reference) sent to her, makes things different I feel
unsurprising
Why would you send that text, Chris? It’s a bit low, even for you.
Consensual sex is not an issue for me. Having sex at the office during working hours is not in the job description, nor is using the credit card for personal use in a relationship appropriate.
I want to know:
1. Was the sex during office hours on council premises?
2. Was the mayoral credit card used for personal use as part of the relationship e.g gifts, dining?
3. Was the other willing party silenced, bullied or threatened?
and, did they both orgasm
3 News said she’s been getting threatening txts from an anonymous number since Brown broke it off a few weeks’ back.
it’ll all come out in the wash; freakin’ sex aye, who wuld a thunk it.
Just for a second stop focusing on the sex act and then you may see what the substance is.
for instance
See 1., 2., 3., @34.
This story will grow legs.
of course; it will Bloom
Perhaps you meant this one?
that too. I often reflect on how “the old lady” became our term of reference at home; hardly respectful, but then, you know how it is -“the old man” (Down The Road)
Slater is pushing for a re-election Maybe he should be careful what he wishes for – a proper campaign just for Mayor, with high profile media attention encouraging people to vote?
And the Right thinks by-elections and referenda are wastes of money…
What sort of voting process did Auckland use to elect the council?
Postal – FPtP
Well, they are. Look at what happened to the smacking one.
The woman cannot ignore threatening txts. People are going to think that the mayor is involved in these txts.
Agreed. So let us choose a suggested course of action for the woman.
1) Go to the police.
2) Go to Whaleoil.
Your pick?
Made that point five minutes ago CV. Gone into moderation. Second time in 24 hrs???
In essence I’ve suggested a vendetta by the ‘other woman’. An intelligent and mature person would go to the police… not spill the beans to a sleazebag!
(now lets see if it goes into mod again)
I’m also in moderation, saying Brown has to go and what a let down he’s proven himself to be.
Don’t expect to be agreed with, but it’s not like it’s a momentary indiscretion, it’s a two year long deceit. In politics, once you lose trust, you have nothing.
Oh fuck let’s not go down this road UNLESS Brown has spent rate payers money on this woman with gifts, trips, career favours etc.
Would you have thrown Eisenhower out of office? Kennedy? Lange? Clinton? And a bunch of others too???
Both options are just as bad.
Strike out 2. as Brown does not have a mayoral credit card.
Len Brown should resign.
He’s been exposed by his actions as a weak man, and if he tries to sit tight until the media storm blows itself out, it will only emphasise this further.
If he cries on Campbell live, says he’s sorry and begs forgiveness, it’s more bullsh*t weakness.
Gift horse to the tories when they were so under the cosh. No excuses, just get out.
Fu*k, I dislike weak politicians.
like leaky ships, Into Darkness , such is the Wrath of a Khan scorned.
Um, what makes you think that Len is from the left? Chris Trotter writes an excellent analysis of Len’s outlook and while he may have been or is a member of the labour party, Trotter asserts that’s it’s the labour party of Roger Douglas that he joined – http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/10/14/leaving-politics-at-the-door-len-brown-wins-a-second-term/
He showed how much he leans to the left during the wharfies dispute.
So if this is a gift to the tories, they can have it.
“what makes you think that Len is from the left?”
If you can’t quote, just make it up, right?
But if you’re asking, I think he’s a somewhat left centrist.
Len will only go kicking and screaming.
On that basis, we would hardly have any politicians left. Some might say that would be a good thing.
Btw, it’s been going on in high places since God made little apples. Secretaries and parliamentary bunnies are usually the primary sources.
I’m not expecting anyone to agree with me, just like I don’t expect politicians to be whiter than white and anything other than human like the rest of us, but when caught out, they have to do the decent thing and walk away and not wait for the polls or results of focus groups to see how much they can get away with.
But using your logic, it should be acceptable for all our elected representatives to be like Berlusconi.
I think if Brown goes now, Palino will become mayor, without an election. Looks like it’s been timed to attempt just that.
No-one is clean here, including WO’s team.
Let’s just wait and see how things play out.
I do not want a loser right wing Mayor by un-elected default.
Just remember that while no-one is clean this all started because of Len Brown, he instigated it, he continued it, its completely his fault so stop trying to spread the blame around
Oh. Yeah. Brown has not behaved well. He is the best of the standing candidates for Mayor. But I care more about democracy. And WO and co. and all thier supporters try to undermine it. That is far more despicable. I’m not spreading anything. SleazeOil does it all on his own.
Hey chris73, did Len Brown just get elected as Bishop of Rome?
No? Then wtf with the calls that his personal life is relevant to his office holding.
plot?
It would be a very bad outcome for Auk if Palino won by default and WO is a tabloid scummer in the worst tradition.
A new election is what I’d want as a voter.
Yep. If Brown’s conduct does require standing down, I want another election. I don’t think the evidence so far requires a stand down.
I would stand down if it were me, though it wouldn’t be me because I can keep it in my pants and even as a dumb middle aged bloke, know these things rarely ever stay secret.
What on earth was he thinking? He’s old enough to be her dads older brother. :grrrross:
For goodness sake – Len made a mistake, or was a hu(man) , call it what you will – its personal. Its not a hanging matter. And its not something that will interfere with his ability to be Mayor or to be political or to be a manager – all qualities he needs as Mayor. And he fronted up to his wife before this became public, which is saying something positive about him, her, and their family.
He’s shit, to be fair. No brownie points for Len’s two years too late admission, apology and regret.
Berluscon was /is in a different league altogether !
+1 Anne
No wrath or scorn here, nor judgement on his moral failing, but at the very least a rerun of the vote is needed. If he’s brazen enough to run again and wins, then fair fight fair result.
phaser was not directed at you
More captain’s log for everyone else
Like 😀 Yuletide
Quite
ab solved
The worshipful mayor of Auckland is a complete and utter skeevy idiot who has played into the hands of gleeful rightwingers. Did he think he wouldn’t be found out with the blubbery whale sniffing around for any kind of scandal? It shouldn’t matter what people get up to in their private lives, but to most people it will look very bad. Especially shagging in his office. I am intrigued by the timing of this though, wouldn’t it have been more effective for the blubbery one to go public before the election?
Brown’s behaviour is not commendable. But repeating my comment from above, given WO had the info about a month ago.
The timing is all. I thought Brown on Campbell Live tonight was suggesting that the timing of the release has been done to force him to stand down before he is inaugurated. Thus, I guess, the 2nd place candidate would be mayor without a new election?
How cynical and undemocratic is that?
Very undemocratic and cynical, though the two subjects don’t cancel each other out.
Not commendable 😆
I am fascinated that WO has been sitting on this story for some time. I remember a story way back of a High commissioner or someone similar of some country bonking his secretary on the table of the High commission. It wasn’t Clinton. Can someone please refresh my memory.
The story sure takes the heat off the “young pup” from Tauranga!
“The story sure takes the heat off the “young pup” from Tauranga!”
And the alleged fraudster representing the divs of Epsom.
Of course ! you are so right The Allen. WO was waiting for the moment to distract everyone from the NaAct’s misdoings.
Probably coincidence, who knows? But you may be in the right place for conspiracy theorists.
a Stardate then 😀
Nova on the first date
me and you, and a dog named Blue.
-“The boy said my name’s Johnny, and it might be a sin, but I’ll take your bet, you’re gonna regret, cos….” 😉
’cause… You’re only as good as your last success
success breeds success (being a Towns van Zandt sorta’ guy)
I’d give up my Bad Habits , yet, then I would not be the man you see before you. (everyone is better off if I’m out of it).
I passed on my Red and Glo Butane, and now I dodge the Hammer of dawn.
No synths and everyone is better off if I’m not out of it (except poor old Al1).
@ Dan1…it was the guy who held up the sausages in parliament wasn’t it ? ( no not Shearer…he held up the fish) ….McClay?…I could be wrong
…everyone in NZ was gobsmacked at both sausages and table incidents …..didnt know whether to laugh or howl….but then he rapidly took off to Britain to be High Commissioner ( the perfect Nat solution)… .overseas and respectability ….the mirth was all over …all forgotten…almost…..not quite
The allegations were about John Collinge High commissioner in London and past National party president. I believe the next High commissioner replaced the table.
Story is at bottom of this link
stuff.co.nz
Thanks RB. Oh the trappings of power!
Yeh I think he used to tell them all that he would marry them. perhaps Len’s lady friend though she might be geeting a weeding as well.
@ Red Baron ….thanks …yes that was who it was …Collinge…but close on the heels of the sausage waving incident in parliament i think
Jim Mora calls U.S. “a bulwark against totalitarianism”
Another very bad day for The Panel
Radio NZ National, Monday 14 October 2013
Jim Mora, Matt Nippert, Josie Pagani
JIM MORA: Jessica Maddock is here, with what the WOOOOOORLD is talking about!
JESSICA MADDOCK: Well first up is Richard Branson! He’s living permanently in the British Virgin Islands now, and he denies it has anything to do with a tax dodge!
MORA: Hurr, hurr, hurr, hurr!
JOSIE PAGANI: He’s a tax dodger.
JESSICA MADDOCK: Well, since he gives all the money he makes now to charity I guess he thinks it probably all balances out.
JOSIE PAGANI: He’s a tax dodger!
MORA: Ahhhh, he would say that he can use the money BETTER, wouldn’t he.
JOSIE PAGANI: He’s a TAX DODGER!!
[Awkward silence for several seconds.]
MORA: Okay, what else have you got?
JESSICA MADDOCK: Well this is an unusual one! A man has died from guzzling mince!
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! He died from guzzling mince?
JESSICA MADDOCK: [voice betraying a slight edge of irritation] Y-y-y-yes.
[A short discussion about the dangers of guzzling mince, then on to the next topic: self drive cars….]
JESSICA MADDOCK: Not only the big car companies, but also Google is getting in on the act! But a British survey shows that only 29 per cent of people would buy one and a mere 21 per cent would feel safe in one.
MORA: Ah yeah, watch that change though. I’d like the NSA to be in charge of it! Ha ha ha ha ha! Okay, what else?
JESSICA MADDOCK: Prince William and Princess Kate are breaking with tradition and choosing their friends from university for the christening of Prince George.
MORA: Oh really?
JESSICA MADDOCK: Yes, the godparents will be chosen from their closest friends, who include Emilia d’Erlanger, Fergus Boyd, Hugh van Cutsem, Alasdair Coutts-Wood, and Alicia Fox-Pitt.
[Lengthy silence]
MORA: Hmmmmm….
JOSIE PAGANI: Those are not really names of ordinary people, are they?
MORA: No they’re aristocratic names! All right, anything else?
JESSICA MADDOCK: Yes, a feminist has accused Lorde of racism in her song “Royals”.
MORA: W-w-what??!!??!?
JOSIE PAGANI: Surely not.
JESSICA MADDOCK: Veronica Bayetti Flores says that Lorde lambasts things like gold teeth, Maybach cars and diamonds—all accoutrements of black rappers. She asks why Lorde doesn’t attack golf or polo or Central Park East.
JOSIE PAGANI: Good Lord! It’s SILLY, isn’t it!
MORA: It’s a questionable thesis that gold teeth and Maybach cars are the preserve of rappers, surely. All right, anything else?
JESSICA MADDOCK: Plasma televisions will soon be a thing of the past.
MORA: So plasma TV will soon be a thing of the past?
JESSICA MADDOCK: [voice betraying real irritation] Y-y-yeah…
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 o’clock news………………………..
[After the break, the usual dispiriting crap……]
1.) Penny Hulse skillfully deals with a series of bumptious and ridiculous questions from Mora. Somehow she maintains her equanimity throughout.
2.) Josie Pagani launches into a wandery, poorly informed potted history of the Rwandan genocide, during which she makes the highly contentious statement that “Rwandans absolutely HATE Kofi Annan”.
3.) A professor of dentistry scolds Jim Mora for approvingly quoting Kevin Milne’s braindead suggestion that people defraud dentists.
[After the 4:30 news and weather, a welcome blast from the past, Neil Diamond’s “They’re coming to America”. This is by way of introducing the next once-over-lightly….]
MORA: China’s official news agency has called for the creation of a “de-Americanised world”, saying the destinies of people should not be left in the hands of a hypocritical nation with a dysfunctional government.
[Long pause….]
MATT NIPPERT Huh!
MORA: Heaping criticism and caustic ridicule on Washington, the Xinhua news agency called the US a civilian slayer, prisoner torturer and meddler in others’ affairs, and said the ‘Pax Americana’ was a failure on all fronts.
JOSIE PAGANI: [snorting] What on EARTH—-
MORA: So what are we to MAKE of this? America has always been a bulwark against totalitarianism….
It has to be noted that neither Josie Pagani nor Matt Nippert challenged this foolish propaganda statement, nor uttered even a murmur of dissent.
faaaaaaaaaaark! now that’s out of the system, gr8t piece Morrissey, especially the bit from the you-know-what news agency. Ha! (Maybachs, now, if I were still a petroleum-head, yet an old , mid-80’s SL500 would be about all I could afford). Did I ever tell you about the Merc diesel ambulance imported by a German dental technician that I remedied after it was erroneously filled with petrol…and the wonderful gig with a live band we enjoyed (Christina and I) held in his consulting rooms, just off Taranaki Street). no, guess not. 😀
If we’re going to have a “Resign-athon”, with much sound and fury, then I suggest we start with those who have betrayed the public. Not their private partners.
If Brown goes, and Banks remains, we all lose.
If Key is faithful to his wife, but unfaithful to his country, does he keep his job, while half the mayors and MPs must lose theirs, because of their private lives?
I don’t defend Brown, or like him much, but I sure as hell don’t want to live in a country where sex is a bigger crime than fraud and treason.
“I sure as hell don’t want to live in a country where sex is a bigger crime than fraud and treason.”
Exactly.
But you’d trust Len and take him at his word after keeping a two year affair secret?
I know I couldn’t.
The Allen – at least he told his wife before it broke in the media
Two years too late, but thankful she must be for that small mercy.
I think he’s a more competent person for the job than John Palino, who I trust to give ratepayers’ money to his best mates, oops, business contacts.
Am I disappointed in Brown? Yes, it’s all so cliched and sordid. Does it affect his ability to run the city? It may do – it all depends on who (if anyone) he’s compromised to keep the affair quiet.
Otherwise, this is something for his family to work through. If it has affected relationships that reduce his ability to do his job, then the public should be concerned. Otherwise, outside of his personal relationships, it’s just info that Brown and the consenting adult he slept with, are two more flawed human beings.
I’ll add this to the other info I know about him when I do the compare and contrasts with other politicians looking to impress.
Don’t think much of that woman sticking herself into Len Brown’s marriage. So many women seem to just go and do this type of thing? Do they not think of their fellow women and the misery they cause?
What a toad.
Of course, the guys are completely incapable of making decisions for themselves.
Correct! Stupid comment from vto
silly eggs. just trying to balance up the comments which so typically and heavily imbalancedly point the naughty finger at the guy rather than the girl, who usually comes across as squeaky clean and pressed against her will into the arms of the typically despicable man. rolly eyes..
+1vto….except that maybe she thought it was just a fling and would never come out….certainly not come out this way
I feel sorry for his wife….but then again who knows….maybe she has had flings before also…and if not she may certainly be contemplating them for the future
so then one feels sorry for the kids….but it is life and sometimes it is best to be prepared rather than kept in a cocoon
Maybe everyone needs an overseas holiday until it all blows over !!!
ooops ….the plot thickens……on more information ……seems like the girlfriend may have let it out of the bag herself! ..and to Whaleoil!..in which case Len definitely should Not resign!….but take an overseas holiday with wifee and kids….
There seems to be a few regular commenters, whose recent comments have gone into auto-moderation. I’m reluctant to release them, before Lynn can check why it’s happening.
Edit: ah, there they are.
[lprent: Just have a lock on the Len Brown against flooding coming in from some of the usual trolls. Releases are pretty fast (except when I’m travelling home of course). ]
Ah. I see. Thanks. Good way of handling it.
So Len Brown cheated on his wife.
Big deal. None of our business. He should be apologising to his wife, not everyone else. That is where the greasing should be focused.
I smell a right wing smear campaign.
Mayors should only forced from office because of serious misconduct. Having an affair is not serious misconduct.
So you don’t have a problem with the threatening texts sent to the young lady, interesting how the left wing think when it happens to one of their own
I bet that if this happened to a right wing politician you lot (all you lefties I mean) would be baying for blood
I do have a problem with threatening txts. Has it been proved who sent them? Or are you willing to convict on no evidence? Due process.
Oh please spare me
Len Browns a walking cliche:
he hooked up with a young Asian women probably fulfilling some fantasy of his (especially if you read her account of the affair) and treats her pretty shabbily, she breaks it off and she then gets sent threatening texts
Yeah I’m sure Len Brown had nothing to do with it, him being a paragon of virtue and all
“He hooked up with a young Asian woman”
As opposed to John Palino and his Chinese girlfriend, 20 years younger? (yes, she is)
Her age and ethnicity are irrelevant to me, but obviously it matters to you, so I guess Palino’s ruled out too. Who’s next for your vote, Minto or Penny?
I was referring to the bit about Brown being a cliche, middle age white man scoring a young Asian women is a cliche but its only a cliche because it happens so often
The problem for Len is that she wasn’t his girlfriend (like John Palino) but she was his mistress
Yeah I know its difficult to defend the indefensible but remember he bought it all on himself
Penny (well, John is cool, yet something is not adding up there according to QoT).
and it is OK with you that Slater and his mates roll out the whole affair in front of the Nation without caring one iota for his wife and children…as I said what goes around…
You mean as much care that Len had for his own family?
Heres the thing, 4/10 Len is a very public figure and he knows it, he knows hes being watched and yet he still decided to carry own with his mistress, the guy even had the balls to introduce her to movers and shakers (surely people who knew he was married to someone else) hes the person that brought his own family into this
Unfortunately Dirty Lens family is caught in the crossfire but again thats because of Lens own actions, if Len didn’tt wanted this to happen he shouldn’t have pursued the women
As I said before, if it is proven that it was Brown that sent the threatening texts, then that would be serious misconduct, and he should step down, but so far there is no proof that he sent the txts.
Give it time, the stories only just been broken…enough time for Len to go on everyones favourite lefty show and have good “poor me” session
Did Campbell ask him about the threatening texts?
There’s a problem with the threatening texts so we probably find out who sent them rather than assume that it was Len Brown.
Nope and you can check my comments here about the Labour MP that watched porn.
In fact, the only people I know that get really upset about people having sex is the RWNJs. It’s the politics of envy – their not getting laid and they’re jealous.
You can’t compare having a hand shandy over some tame porn to cheating on your wife and sending threatening texts to cover it up
you just accused LB of sending threatening texts.
Got a helping of evidence for that?
It seems I just did.
The problem isn’t the affair but societies damaging views on sex.
see Foucault; “too much made of sex” . (yes Cameron and David, that is why this site is The Standard ).
Yep – Millsy. It IS none of our business. and it doesn’t interfere with Len’s ability to be the Mayor.
It’s there in large neon lights.
Seven Sharp (no never watch it but they signalled it in advance) had a poll. Overwhelmingly in favour of Len Brown resigning. Metro editor said he wasn’t surprised. I wasn’t surprised either but for a different reason. Slater, Lusk and co. would have set their bush telegraph on high alert and lined up the moral Right in large numbers.
Maybe, but I think this is just as much a “sink John Campbell” exercise. The super soft interview by Campbell would have been predicted. Just wait for tomorrow and more info on the “threats” will emerge. An embarrassment to Campbell (who ignored that issue) as much as Brown (who is dead meat anyway).
Seriously? Stop blaming the right and blame the 2 minute noodle mayor that couldn’t keep it in his pants
I know its a difficult concept to grasp but if he didn’t cheat on his wife and threaten the mistress then there wouldn’t have been a scandal
What is about the left that they seem incapable of owning up to their errors and always try to find someone else to blame…
John Palino was the Right’s candidate in Auckland. He came a distant second to Brown.
Palino’s campaign manager was … Slater’s dad.
Aha. Thanks for that gobsmacked. Like father like son. Remember hearing about Slater senior back in the 80s. I think he was the chairman of the Auckland branch of the National Party at the time. Rather a nasty piece of work from all accounts. Didn’t he and Slater junior try to smear the current Nat. Party Chairman, Goodfellow after he ousted Slater senior?
Edit: Yes they did and it’s always to do with sex. Couple of slimeballs both of them. And how about Palino? He must have known about it and approved their actions!
Slater What a sleazy loser..Loved Len Brown’s performance on Campbell…Masterful.I was moved to tears of compassion.
Much better than Shagger Brash’s performance. Even better than Lange’s misedemeanours.
Mine pale by comparison but who cares? Watch Len Brown’s popularity polls rocket like Clinton’s.
Hey why do people get so exited about sex…Its the economy stupid!
God I love the dramas that TV celebrities and slime bloggers can drag up.Campbell’s pietism was a bit overdone though.
I can’t wait for Slater’s mosquito (I mean slug) attacks on Cunliffe.Should be worth a lot of votes.
An inside job. Those behind wanting Brown gone did not want Palino associated with Brown’s indiscretion as this may have cost Palino votes.
They had to wait for the result as Brown may have lost. They will make Brown’s job untenable.
Brown’s vision of a city rail loop jeopardised by blurred boundaries. The right want Brown gone because there aint no money for his train set.
Yep those cunning righties, the way they tricked Brown into instigating the affair and then how they manipulated him into continuing it for two years…will they stoop to nothing?
Blurred boundaries and dirty tricks. The woman Brown had the affair with is the meat in the sandwhich and she may end up being fodder and she has to be so careful.
My advise to her is get your own legal advise.
I agree, shes a pawn in all this
Or maybe they should just have revealed the affair during/before the elction campaign, then people could have had the choice to vote for Brown or someone else?
Timing smells of a cynical ploy.
Nats just seem to hate democracy.
And Bevan Chaung was standing on the Cits & Rats ticket – politically aligned to the Nats and Palino.
All a bit dodgy.
Quoting BLiP from Karol’s link:
Would it have been brown that instigated the affair?
The plot thickens. Are Communities and Residents the old Cits & Rats, aka Auckland Council National Branch?
https://plus.google.com/108237597844137113671/posts
Bevan Chuang – Google+
plus.google.com
Bevan Chuang – The Burlesque Dancing Superwoman – Member of Ethnic People’s Advisory Panel, Auckland Council – Auckland Council – Hong Kong – Auckland
Yep. Something smells badly here, and it’s not a fragrant oriental blossom either:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communities_and_Residents
Communities and Residents – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org
The Auckland Communities and Residents Incorporated, known as Communities and Residents (C&R), is an established right-leaning local bodyticket in Auckland, New Zealand. It formed in 1937 as Citizens & Ratepayers with a view to control the Auckland City Council and prevent the left-leaning Labour Pa…
And then there’s this comment on TS from BLiP back in July.
Yes, that affair is wrong and the Auckland people can decide for themselves, but BlubberOil bringing down a whole family publically is no laughing matter either. What goes around Cameron.
I’m sure he knows the score and while its sad the family is involved its only involved because of Len (cheap knickers) Browns actions
If Len 4/10 Brown cared for his family as much as he’d like the public and media to care about his family we wouldn’t be having this discussion
I don’t see how having an affair can take away from caring for others.
Considering the consequences of his actions towards his family I’d suggest he cares two-fifths of f**k all towards his family especially his wife
I suspect that there was no change in his actions towards his family and thus the consequences to his family are the result of the affair being made public which it wasn’t by him or his family.
Ah so its not 4/10 Lens fault, good to know
If this affair is what I’m thinking, I hope someone ends up in prison for it. We’ll see.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10778625
Murray if half the stink around this girl comes out, it’s going to be messy!
a long drag on
Honey trap? Many a famous dignitary has fallen for that one.
2 years is quite a long time to run a honey trap…
Thought of that later.Too long for a honey trap. More like a set-up to bring Brown down and install Palino in his place.
If only there had been a way to stymie the plan…like, oh I don’t know, not having the affair?
+1 …and some have been blackmailed into sticking with or marrying the ‘ honey trap’ in all probability…or suffered the consequences of not doing so……..
Wont let me edit so:
… add anonymous threats but little ‘lady’ doesn’t go to the police. Interesting.
The source and content of the txts will be crucial to the case.
It is not acceptable to intimidate or harass a person.
There needs to be some sort of investigation to determine whether or not the txts are genuine. Hell we may never get to see them, recall the emails between Dunne and Vance.
Will Key get involved in a city council matter, recall what he has said about Banks when he was mayor and how Key says he is not Banks leader.
OK, I know people have busy lives and can’t always check out the background details, but for those trying to follow this grubby business, here are the basic facts:
1) The Right wanted to defeat Brown (not sure why they’d bother, but never mind, that’s what they wanted)
2) Various candidates were canvassed, none were credible, Nobody could win at the ballot box.
3) Palino stood as a token Rightie. But obviously couldn’t win.
4) Slater (father, son, who cares?) got dirt on Brown. BUT their problem was … Palino’s private history is even more “colourful”. So they couldn’t run with “Saint versus Sinner”.
5) So their best option (in their warped thinking) was to wait until Brown had won, and then hit him.
Therefore, the choice NOW (see all media parrots) is not “Who do you vote for Mayor?’ but “Should the Mayor resign”?. That’s a crucial difference. It’s not Brown versus fallible alternative, its Brown versus nobody.
The aim is to change to a narrative they think they can win (i.e. Dump Brown), not one they would lose (i.e. Vote Palino).
And – this is classic SOP for these guys – they try to win a dirt-fight in the media, not a straight fight at the ballot box. Hence the references to ‘online polls”, instead of real ones. The problem with real votes is that they can be counted. Whereas astroturf and noise can’t be.
We’ve got to get wise to their Rove tactics, and not take them at face value ever. It’s gonna be a lot worse next year.
Interesting WO April post about Bevan – why did he suddenly take up her cause?
What a bunch of physically degenerate toss pots…
I share your low opinion of the WhaleSpew suckups.
Um no Cameron Slater doesn’t have any time for them either but good try
From the link:
So ‘Bevan’ was happy to go to the police about an anti-Chinese leaflet drop but didn’t report recent anonymous threats to herself. A bit strange.
There’s a lot that is very strange about this. When it all goes tits up, Slater and a few others are not going to enjoy finding out how expendable they are.
QFT
Basic Facts
Well maybe Len should have shagged the help if he didn’t want it out in the open.
And that covers points 1 to 5
Next please, but try harder
So do you think Brown should resign?
And do you apply that to all elected reps?
Think for a moment before replying …
I don’t think he should resign because then the issue would go away
you are very forth-coming this evening, btw, we are at 330, let’s try for Four hundie aye.
(and it’s an aye aye to you too The Al1en, boldly going)
Well local body politics is normally so boring….
some truth to that, same old, same old.
Surely set ups, schemes and political machination are totally a different matter as to whether LB can ever be a trustworthy sort of guy again, let alone trusted mayor of our biggest city.
It is all about trust, and as a politico, if you lie you lose it. Hard to see how outside the walls of a one eyed blogosphere he can maintain credibility, whether ultimately it’s a private matter (which of course it’s not, he’s the mayor) or just an ego flattering sex thing. If he can lie to his missus for two years, then what’s he prepared to do to us? And so it will go, etc…
Anyway, I’ve said my bit now, so no need to fall out with anyone, especially over a guy that can’t keep to his vows.
have you my friend
Yes, I keep to my vows, and on this topic, yes, as saying extra won’t make me any more correct, and no-one like the guy that’s always right 😆
“The Man They Love To Hate”. 😉
And though he probably didn’y care too much
The girl she finally left him
Because she loved the man too much
How much can one Daemon achieve.
Let you know when I get the bill.
Be ready to leggit.
sounds like Mary, she’s quite contrary about her real estate, didn’t you know.
Nothing like Mary, more Mungo and Midge.
keeping me from my movie Captain Pugwash.
Who Made Who the ‘king hit”.
Just setting you up to hit the 400
You know you want to 😉
“I’m leavin’ it up to you who who…” (fast, maybe you have fibre; I despaired and finally connected up a gifted computer, as anybody who is interested can tell).
Knock yourself out, (figuratively speaking of course).
Ha! comment was all yours.
Result.
“Minute By Minute” man
Auckland has some super sized problems that only apply to Auckland. Will think about your questions.
a whimsical wending pseudonym
McFlock:
I wish i lived in a gingerbread house.
DIY would rot your teeth
Rogue:
But it would be yummy.
introduced a gingernut to #1 de-facto grand-daughter on the weekend; she loved it. Up your game, plenty of cavities for everyone
Not in Hamilton though they have fluoridation 🙂
don’t hide your light under a bushel; plurality plays out.
Brett didn’t mention deny masturbatory kitten-drowning. However, anyone who spreads the rumour that he partakes in it is being grossly irresponsible, as we don’t know the truth of the matter.
Brett didn’t mention deny masturbatory kitten-drowning. However, anyone who spreads the rumour that he partakes in it is being grossly irresponsible, as we don’t know the truth of the matter.
been drinking? or merely thinking…
slow computer and double press of the button 🙂
McFlock:
I can honesty say, that i dont masturbate to drowning kittens.
well, that’s a relief
Already thinking about who to vote for in 2014…
Help Wanted Column:
Long-term Green Party member, likes the cut of DC’s jib and the direction the party seems headed, seeks advice on how to decide between GP and LP for party vote. Any well-researched thoughts on the key policy differentiators?
Thanks, Jim
Tricksy house goppits.
But previously, House Republicans had made a small but hugely consequential move to block them from doing it.
Here’s the rule in question:
In other words, if the House and Senate are gridlocked as they were on the eve of the shutdown, any motion from any member to end that gridlock should be allowed to proceed. Like, for example, a motion to vote on the Senate bill. That’s how House Democrats read it.
But the House Rules Committee voted the night of Sept. 30 to change that rule for this specific bill. They added language dictating that any motion “may be offered only by the majority Leader or his designee.”
So unless House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) wanted the Senate spending bill to come to the floor, it wasn’t going to happen. And it didn’t.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/the-house-gop-s-little-rule-change-that-guaranteed-a-shutdown
The demands.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/09/here-are-the-gops-debt-ceiling-demands-and-they-are-insane/280012/
ooh, whose ‘insane’ now. oh dear, how sad, Nevermind (‘cept for all the folks back home missing out on the American Dream).What would Ralph Waite’s character say.
ps, only 18 more # comments to go, but I gotta go watch a movie
and kill some Slugs
When is an election win, not a election win?
That’s some menu. Pity it doesn’t include the TPP.
when you are the first African-American POTUS
The truth comes out “First home buyers, shut out of the market by new restrictions to lending rules, are better off not owning a home at all rather than purchasing one to find it’s no longer worth what they’ve paid, Prime Minister John Key says.”
So those wanting to buy a house are better of renting are they Key?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9284357/Key-defends-loan-restrictions