We have sent a request to jacinda to come to meet our community groups in Gisborne/HB over our own “local government’s support to retore/re-open our mothballed rail services.”
We are currently awaiting Jacinda’s acceptance to meet our committees in Napier & Gisborne, as we are happy if jacinda does want to be a ‘mover & shaker’ when these “roadblocks” are in everyone’s way.
We see this morning our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has committeed $3 million dollars to give to the Manus Island refugees.
Three million dollars is half we need to get our railn re-opened and it would only cost $6 million to re-open our Gisborne/Napier rail service without improvements, we are advised byour engineers.
So we are seeing jacinda’s offer to communities needing help as a positive Patricia. “lets do this”.
Yep. And hopefully the money saved from corporate welfare (perhaps all the stuff that isn’t dressed up as ‘PPP’s ) will more than cover it.
Once that Soimun no-Brudges vanity projek the Tauranga Expressway is paid off (the four lane thing that never sees traffic in one direction having vehicles parallel to each other in both lanes, even during peak hours) could have its tolls contribute to more sensible options (going forward).
…. and then we have the Auckland East-West link. (and Judith Collins desperately trying to defend it in parliament today pulling out her best she-devil, would-be crusher, desperately trying to be sensible persona).
Ekshully @CG, now I think about it, it’d have been a fucking sight cheaper to have provided a kind of roll-on roll-off link between Murapara and (port of) Tauranga using rail than that elephant (no disrespect to elephants) that’s dressed up as a road ‘highway’. Do you know how many tunnels on that line there are that might need lowering? I can’t find any
An interesting and nuanced take on the 2016 Dem primary. Among other things, it makes a solid argument that Sanders was actually the biggest beneficiary of the cleared Democrat field.
Because the fewer competitors there are trying to get your attention, the easier it is to grab a big chunk of it. If more solid competitors like Biden and Warren had also been in the race, then Sanders would have been relegated to the ineffectual fringe grumpy role he’s had his entire career.
You don’t understand the last 40 years. Biden is the flake , not Sanders. ‘Mr Vice-President’. You don’t understand the people v. the powerful. Our great grandfathers’ generation it was a flora of the guts we couldn’t deny.
‘Daunting’ Antarctic sea ice plummet could be tipping point.
‘A dramatic drop in the amount of sea ice around Antarctica has scientists wondering if the continent has hit a tipping point.
There has been a record 30 percent decrease in the total amount of sea ice, and this summer it’s disappearing from the Ross Sea at a rate not seen in more than 30 years.
The rapidly changing conditions are having a major impact on this year’s scientific research at Scott Base, with scientists describing the changes as “unusual”, “unprecedented” and “daunting”.
One of the affected scientists is Antarctic oceanographer Dr Natalie Robinson, who studies sea ice and what lies beneath it.
“We had about 200km of sea ice to play with last year, but this year we’re down to about 25-30km, so it’s certainly a very different ball game,” she told Newshub.’
Kim & John are a wonderful duo I have always had a deep respect for kim going back years as she has been an enduring soul who presents a simply delightful presentation of every item covered.
long live Kim Hill, she should be made Radio NZ Production Manager ( and paid suitablly for this) and begin to teach all other presenters on public media the art of being neutral in presentation of issues, without bias!!!!!!
As Kim & John are the only ones we hear that possess “neutrality without bias.”
We hope they do cover this Antartica melting ice cap to the south of us as we will be dramatically affected by this within five years everywhere in our low lying global regions.
If I were the government, I’d deal with the neoliberal reserve bank.
This is meddling by the banking and finance industries and they need to be reminded who is boss.
Yes Ed, they are part of the “grumpy neo-liberal crowd” who have their snouts in the housing trough and do not want competition of any kind. Banks have grown fat on interest on inflated loans.
The fact that the government will back developments by buying the smaller units and townhouses up to 20% of builds, to help meet demand, helps secures developer’s futures.
Further, the freeing up of land assures no bottle necks, and the proposed fast tracking of pre-approved basic designs should speed up council approvals.
These are co-operative ventures, not destructive ones competing for fewer homes as they are for differing parts of the market, and ensure continuity. Great!!
“Yes Ed, they are part of the “grumpy neo-liberal crowd” who have their snouts in the housing trough and do not want competition of any kind. Banks have grown fat on interest on inflated loans.”
Do really not understand who, and what, the Reserve Bank is and what they do?
They don’t loan money to people to buy houses.
Actually they once used to, many, many years ago. They apparently would make loans to their staff. That was back in the sad old days when wages were low, tax rates were enormously high and perks were not taxed.
Long, long, long ago though.
No, they loan it out to private banks after the private banks have loaned out so much money that they’re insolvent and need propping up.
Actually they once used to, many, many years ago. They apparently would make loans to their staff. That was back in the sad old days when wages were low, tax rates were enormously high and perks were not taxed.
Long, long, long ago though.
Not just to their staff but to the general public to build houses. It was the old Housing Corp loan that many people used to buy/build their first home with minimal interest rate. This was discontinued when the government decided that corporate profit was more important than people.
We could do it again. Done properly it would be far better than what we have now and better than what we had then as well.
Yep, the Housing Corp was awesome. Lent us money to buy a house when we were a shop assistant and a postgrad student – not many couples like that buying a house these days, unless they’ve rich relatives.
Twyford seems to have his finger on the pulse of it, this should provide a boost in developments by virtue of more funding.
Banks won’t lend on a construction, they’ll only lend against a secure asset like the land. Developers usually need to find at least 40% of the cash to fund a development. Since it’s super high risk few will lend them the dosh and those that will charge usurious rates of interest.
If the Govt is minimising the risk, as Twyford claims, then we should see more developments, not less, as more funding taps are turned on for them.
That’s funny Ed.
Less than a week ago the Reserve Bank were being lauded as being the fountain of wisdom, on this site no less.
Are you really advocating that they shouldn’t be allowed to carry out their job which is to give free and frank advice to the country?
Look at all the enthusiasm for them and their opinions just a few days ago. https://thestandard.org.nz/reserve-bank-predicts-economic-growth-under-new-government/
“Are you really advocating that they shouldn’t be allowed to carry out their job which is to give free and frank advice to the country?”
That is a big stretch to believe the RB really know what’s in ‘our best interest’, when they have been ‘overseeing’ us buying overseas funds fro forien banks to prop our “emergency funding” for disasters ect’ when other countries were using their RB to print money so now we are paying $6 Billlion annually in ‘interest only” on our huge crown debt now because of this when some of the ’emergency” funding had been printed by our RB instead.
We advocate that the reserve ;bank act; be ammended and go back to as it was when the last time we had to print money.
And the last time was under the first labour Government of Michael Joseph Savage when he and he pulled us out of the spiralling depression then doing it.
Alwyn did you watch parliament yesterday when the $11.7 billion dollar man (S Joyce) asked David Parker if he had the cost figures for the Christchurch re-build?
Parker said he believed it to be around $60 billion, so if true we are really being loaded up with so much overseas bank debt like Greece was, until we may finally go the same way as Greece.
Why do I get the distinct impression that the RBNZ doesn’t understand economics?
The RBNZ would be right if the numbers of builders remained the same. Considering Kiwibuild always planned on better technology and training more builders this obviously isn’t the case and thus they’re wrong.
I did not no my what my name was till my great grandmother died I stayed with the name she preferred to call me . But staying with the name I have has done me no favours as a person can tell I’m Maori and I don’t try and hide that fact.
Good name for the new Kiwi In Rotorua I have a niece with that name and she has excellent parents her father has worked for DOC for 20 od years and her mother is a Teacher her future will be bright we have the same sir name.
Do we really want OUR Warriors franchise or any sports franchise sold to Foreigners as OUR sports stars are one of the reason we have a big influence In OUR worlds Society.
They could have ulterior motives and the only motive we want for OUR sports stars is to win fairly and for them to be good role models for our Moko’s and all the Moko’s around OUR world Ka pai
Yesterday Guyon found a racist thug called Ian who was happy to brutalise the inmates at Manus for 18 months.
Guyon the Tory amplified this guard’s voice to smear Jacinda and Labour. No difficult questions were asked of Ian.
This morning people were allowed to challenge the view of Ian.
Why was such a thug allowed a platform in the first place, RNZ?
I noticed Ian pulled out the old “I’m not racist BUT….” line.
He might consider too that if you treat people the way they have been on Manus, and after the trauma they’ve already suffered, they’re not necessarily all going to be the compliant little beings Ian thinks they should be
And yet Guyon said nothing, asked nothing…..
He just held the amplifier closer for the bigot to spread his smears.
I thought RNZ was better than that – you’d expect it on Murdoch’s press, the Daily Fail or Fox, but our state broadcaster should have higher standards….
I’m putting this out there to protect my sibling and there Moko future .
To the largest forestry management company in New Zealand the first letter in there name is P F.
Can you make sure that my sibling get the best deal possible for there forestry estate harvest as they no nothing about forestry But I no a lot about this subject and I don’t want to use the Thunder .
Because my sister is so stubborn she won’t admit she need my help just about but not quite . So I just use my wisdom to guide them in the right direction and they are listening to my lectures as my children put it I am there only wise protector who has there best interest at hart and I will not be happy if I see them being ripped off.
As I no that some people see the innocent people as $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ .P.S I was going to run and build a house on there estate but this action would not have been good for my Moko’s future and It’s there future that matters the most to me. Yes I could have challenged the estate but I don’t like being negtive on people especially with them so close to my Hart and I don’t like pissing money on Lawyers
Kia kaha
It’s because money has got power and they have a lot of money.
Money has power because We give the power to money it would be toilet paper if we did not worship money over everything else in OUR WORLD SOCIETY Ka Pai
The changes to paid parental leave has given Hosking a chance to show what an arse he is.
“National were never fans of expanding paid parental leave” he says so that means he can declare that Labour are “telling us how to live our lives and how to raise our kids.”
Enjoy his teeth. And , given he grew up in the welfare state like me , I have no polite reluctance in hacking his ankles with the most forceful blows. Vive us.
See if you can watch this appalling performance by New York’s
moronic governor Andrew Cuomo without screaming at your screen.
Imagine if, in the 1950s, New York Governor Averell Harriman had attacked the Montgomery bus boycott, or if Governor Rockefeller in the ’70s had attacked the anti-apartheid movement. They didn’t, of course, which makes them morally and ethically very different to the intellectual pygmy that currently sits in Albany….
Cuomo is a shameless and cynical supporter of Israel’s depradations in the Occupied Territories. That’s far away, though, and it’s easy enough for him to shout his support for it. Back in New York, however, it’s not so easy to advocate killing and brutality. After one of Cuomo’s thugs killed Eric Garner in 2014, some people tried to make him do something….
Give the poor guy a break.
He’s a Democrat and they really aren’t very smart.
As Will Rogers put it so well.
“I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat”.
Cuomo is pretty good evidence of that statement.
Truly? Trump isn’t a Democrat, and neither are any of his voters or the various morons he’s appointed to key positions. Are you sure you’re attacking the right party? (And this from the guy who today announced that he didn’t know what the Reserve Banks does and yet a few minute later thought his comments on their activities should carry some weight…)
Thanks alwyn, your point is a very good one. Because the Democratic Party is dominated by the likes of the Cuomo and Clinton families, we can look forward to indefinite Republican Party rule in the United States
“indefinite Republican Party rule in the United States”
Now I am really getting scared. I don’t think very much of the leading lights in the Democratic Party but the Republicans are generally even more ‘barking at the moon’ types.
I will confess my personal choice, if I had been able to vote in the US, would have been Republican Governor Kasich of Ohio but he is definitely an odd one amount among his party. The rest of the people who ran for President were pretty flaky and Trump was the worst. He could end up getting us into a war.
Jacinda; – while you stress stop & be kind to your body to please.
Get a daily massage to mobilise the toxins & take a hyrotherapy bath every day as i do, by adding backing soda, and other times use hyrogen peroxide (H2O2) (about a half of a honey pot filled or more of H2O2.
The hydrogen peroxide forces oxygen (like a hypobaric chamber in reverse) into your body and this energises the body, while it destroys all the free radical cells we take in our polluted environment every day, which can cause toxicity and more extreme symtoms.
“The hydrogen peroxide forces oxygen (like a hypobaric chamber in reverse) into your body and this energises the body, while it destroys all the free radical cells we take in our polluted environment every day,..”
Yes, she has lost weight and it shows in her face. I’m sure her partner Clarke will be preparing nourishing meals for when she returns. She’s had a frenetic two and a bit months. Amazing to think what has happened in such a short space of time. I’m still pinching myself for confirmation it is all true. 🙂
I am still pinching myself also. Jacinda is certainly looking a bit thinner, particularly in her face – but it is hardly surprising with not just the frenetic pace of the political side of her life, but losing both her beloved grandmother and her adored cat in the midst of it all. But Clarke is on to it and has the fish as part of healthy food in hand …
This is good news. Will reverse some of the sly pro-developer anti-landscape rules the previous government slipped through under the radar of most people.
Not sure about Jane Cliftons political allegiances but surely even the most one-eyed, dyed-in-the-wool leftie can’t be impressed by how the new government is going
I think its a good move by Labour/NZFirst because we need to trade, simple as that. But I’m not a leftie, I didn’t vote for a party that was protesting the TPPA, I voted for a party that supported the TPPA
I will agree that Trev (and Tolley…TnT perhaps?) have made a good start as speaker and deputy speaker and long may it continue
Clifton’s column didn’t read “unimpressed” to me; she notes that the “keepers” are keeping mum while their bosses are away; very wise, I’d have thought, and that Trevor Mallard has the measure of even the slimiest of the Nats, citing Bridges attempt at humour/smarminess; Clifton notes that no Nat dared try him on his Hurrumph ruling. I reckon you’re wrong in your claim that no one is impressed by the Government’s performance, very wrong indeed. As an aside, isn’t it wonderful not to have to be be exposed to Key’s snide, immature schoolyard taunts and put-downs. What a pill he was! What a joy too, listening to Trevor Mallard bring respect back to the Speaker’s role. We suffered some appalling years with Carter plonked onto that seat.
“while their bosses are away”.
Are you sure? I doubt that Heather Simpson, who I gather is back in the PM’s office, was off on the jaunt overseas with Ardern.
She will certainly have been cracking the whip over the Cabinet members. Trevor started off quite well on day 1. After that though I’ll bet he got called in and fed the riot act. He’ll now turn into a fawning wimp like Margaret Wilson. Nobody would dare offend H2 twice.
Very sad isn’t it?
Jane Clifton has certainly had appalling taste in men during her life.
Shame, as her columns are most interesting and would indicate that she is an intelligent woman.
You haven’t noticed? She’s an agreer and supporter of 1984. After all it’s been good for the top 10 %. That is to say, as a thinker, she’s consciously repudiated the 90 %. No problem except for her being a NZer. I admire her quickness , where I failed as a journalist, but few of the middle class pooped up by their unprivileged parents had enough imagination for their parents circumstances.
Next month the company will promote a New Zealand webpage for agents and property developers who want to raise their profile and advertise properties in China before the change.
“This campaign is really trying to assist those Chinese buyers who do have a real need to invest in New Zealand, whether because their children are studying in New Zealand or their families and relatives already live there and they’re potentially looking to migrate there in the future.”
With new builds exempt from the new ban, Jane Lu said interest from China in the New Zealand market would remain strong.
“We do believe, of course, with the new policy change it will … push the overseas Chinese buyers into the new development sector.
So Labour’s so-called ban on offshore investors is expected to drive them towards new developments, which will create a ripple effect keeping upward pressure on housing costs.
Response to OIA docments showing TVNZ’s declining revenue:
Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran is alarmed the previous government did nothing to address TVNZ’s declining revenue, despite being warned about it by officials earlier this year, she says.
…
However, Ms Curran said the government had been left with an organisation that had been neglected and had no ministerial oversight.
“I feel some alarm at the strategic challenges that the previous government was aware of and did nothing about.
“[We’ll be] seeking some urgent advice from Treasury and we’ll be wanting to explore a full range of options from talking to officials and also the board of TVNZ as to approach its strategic challenges.
Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran is alarmed the previous government did nothing to address TVNZ’s declining revenue, despite being warned about it by officials earlier this year, she says.
Sounds like typical National. Run it into the ground in preparation for selling it on the cheap to their donors.
A whole lot of people fell for yet another round of anti-Assange/Don Trump Jnr smears yesterday, this time fired up by The Atlantic and then repeated all around the world.
Firstly, Assange openly tweeted about communicating with Don Jnr way back in July
The author of the Atlantic article, Julia Ioffe, put a period rather than a comma at the end of the text about not wanting to appear pro-Trump or pro-Russia, and completely omitted WikiLeaks’ statement following the comma that it considers those allegations slanderous. This completely changes the way the interaction is perceived.
This is malpractice. Putting an ellipsis (…) and then omitting the rest of the sentence would have been sleazy and disingenuous enough, because you’re leaving out crucial information but at least communicating to the reader that there is more to the sentence you’ve left out, but replacing the comma with a period obviously communicates to the reader that there is no more to the sentence. If you exclude important information while communicating that you have not, you are blatantly lying to your readers.
The damage has been done CV, and this was just yet another grain of sand put atop an increasingly large heap (and Assange is in the company of many, many others who’ve been buried in such a way).
Picking up on and arguing against every instance of it happening won’t lead anywhere…not even if you eventually win every argument.
People think (or choose to believe) that that which is heaping the grains of sand is a force of good – that, though perhaps flawed, it’s essentially benevolent.
That belief runs deep and it’s that that needs challenged. Picking up on particular singular causes and running with them breathlessly can, for a number of reasons, be counter productive.
The main reason I commented about it yesterday is because of the reputation of Wikileaks (don’t actually care that much about Assange one way or the other). In that sense I think these things are worth bring into discussion and seeing what happens. Wikileaks appears to be increasingly less reliable and I don’t think that’s all down to a pile of sand grains.
From memory, there have been accusations that information being made public ought not to have been made public.
But, as far as I know, there has never been any suggestion that information coming through Wikileaks (and they are basically, though not wholly, a conduit for information) has been false.
Here’s what David Farrar’s website is saying about the Prime Minister today.
5,167 COMMENTS
Rich Prick
That fucking bitch has sold us out in her march for UN virtue points. Enjoy applying for visas and attending the embassy for interviews, just to pop over to Sydney for the weekend people. Stupid fucking bitch. Ask yourself, are those restraints on our freedom worth it for the 150 rapists and criminals Cindy wants to bring home?
Thumb up 7 Thumb down 1REPLY REPORTNOVEMBER 14, 2017 11:21PM
Farrar’s Ferals at their very, very best. (/sarc btw)
What rips my undies is that our State Broadcaster, the otherwise relatively tolerable Natrad, insists on having Farrar as a regular guest.
My tinfoilhatwearingnutbar alter ego kinda figured that it was part of some nefarious deal with Those Who Will Not Be Mentioned in order to maintain their pathetic level of funding.
Farrar’s actually worse than that other right wing commentator they have on from time to time…
There’s a level of endorsement from Farrar for comments like that because they are unmoderated. He might claim the views of his commenters don’t represent his but by leaving them up he is accepting of that kind of language towards the PM.
Not really – using your logic it would mean that “the standard” (or its owners / moderators) have a level of endorsement for post that they leave up (assuming you are being even handed in your application of moral outrage)
Remember when a poster on here said that Ashburton WINZ murder should be held up as a hero ?
As this is a moderated blog – and that the comment was left up – would you be saying that there is a level of endorsement from the people that run this website?
No – of course not. What that poster (as well as the Rick Prick” posted above) is disgusting and the people making those comments should be ashamed of themselves.
Regardless of political leanings – there is no need for that level of comment.
I dont post on kiwiblog – but if I did I would be downticking Rick Pricks comment to get it hidden.
But it needs to be seen for what it is – the view (all be it a poor one) of a commentor and its not the blog stating it.
[Farrar is well known for allowing content that wouldn’t be acceptable here. e.g. the comment that Muttonbird quotes would almost certainly get moderated here. That’s because we don’t tolerate misogyny.
Read the bit in the policy that says “What we’re not prepared to accept are pointless personal attacks, or tone or language that has the effect of excluding others” and consider what it is like for many women to have to be around men that call women stupid fucking bitches or align themselves with rape culture advocates. And what it is like for those women to be in spaces where that is passively endorsed.
Farrar sets the standard at his blog. There is a standard at The Standard too, so I’m pointing out that we have active moderation here to inhibit bigots of many kinds because they’re basically antisocial and bad for political discussions as well as being generally harmful to society – weka]
To support your argument you pull out a comment from years ago which, if we actually go and have a look, provoked a shit ton of opprobrium for the original commentator and led to a very interesting and thought provoking debate.
The debate was…nuanced…which is not a characteristic of Farrar’s little cesspit dwellers.
No, but the owners and authors of the site do have a responsibility for the comments. So death threats and threats of violence are usually removed. Stuff that is grossly sexist or racist likewise. I’ve moderated people for fat phobia. You probably don’t see the stuff that gets removed.
Farrar doesn’t care because he wants a reactionary blog that foments hatred. So that’s what he gets.
There are two moderation notes in this thread for you, one requires a response.
I am curious about this comment though, and if you can come up with any examples other than the Tully comment. I’m guessing not. It doesn’t surprise me that people who vote for a party that had a leader for 8 years that supported rape culture can’t tell the difference between KB and here. But there is a difference. I think you are focussed on the things you don’t like, but that’s not how it works. It’s about creating spaces that are safer and more attractive to a range of people. Farrar obviously wants misogynists and that’s what KB gets.
“There’s a level of endorsement from Farrar for comments like that….”
We can only assume that the comments he fails to moderate are actually from real individuals. If I were on a mission to promulgate a certain narrative then using such a site would be an ideal way of spreading the word under the guise of vigorous and open debate.
The site certainly attracts those with a propensity to hate speech.
Who knew there were so many of them with enough time on their hands…?
David Farrar must go, and we understand the revamp of the public broadcaster Radio NZ will rout these National Party lobbyists such as Farrar, Hooten, and any other biased National puppets, because the public broadcaster was abused and used by national for nine years and manipulated by the chief National Propagangist Steven Joyce as his propaganda platform illegally.
So we welcome the removal of these propagandists from our public funded media.
No – thats not what his website is saying about the prime minister – its what a commenter said about her. (for the record – I think the comment made is disgusting)
Just like some of the filth that has been put on this site by commentators is not being said my the standard.
You know full well that since the day the woman won the leadership, the demented fucks have been throwing truly vile misogynist insults, targeting everything from her looks, her health, her private life, her body shape through to her choice of attire and hair style, and smearing her character, honesty, motivations and intelligence, surpassing any thing they threw at Clark.
I’m no shrinking violet and I like putting the needle in but this shit is truly nauseating 4chan/gamergate style hate speech that’s arrived, fresh from the fetid swamp that is US political discourse.
Did you read my link?
Are you really going to say that the sort of comment I linked to doesn’t count as filth?
Do you really think that Key should have been burnt to death or that Bolger should be shot? Fair comment do you say?
Would you really hold the administrators of this site responsible for comments like the one I pointed to?
I certainly wouldn’t, just as I wouldn’t hold Farrar responsible for the crap some people post on Kiwiblog about Ardern or Clark.
It is, unfortunately an innate fact of life on the Internet.
Your whataboutism doesn’t wash because occasional unhinged comments by unhinged folk ain’t the same as day in day out, page after page of vile4chan/gamergate style hate speech authored by multiple contributors, specifically targeting women.
And yes, I want publishers to be responsible for the crap some people post on their sites. A day or so ago over at the sewer there was an actionable comment, that still stands, and one day Farrar or some other publisher will be called to account and required to turn over their visitor logs stats. The sooner the better, I reckon.
“occasional unhinged comments by unhinged folk”.
What was occasional about these sort of comments?
Just search for “Key treason” and see how many hits you get.
Or just look at anything by “Wild Katipo”.
That is an amazing number, really it is.
I tried it in the search panel on this blog.
I didn’t find nearly as many as that and I discovered that in every case it was me using the word, usually about people like you. I didn’t see a single case where someone had used it to describe me.
I shall have to expand my vocabulary. Perhaps I should stop describing you as “foolish” for a while and simply call you an idiot.
Would you prefer that?
☺ good you tried it out i thought you would – just trying to help you with the moaner you were on – no need for that level of abuse mate pull your head in.
We are all trying to help a new government succeed making NZ a kinder, gentler, society after the nine cruel toxic years of a National party hate campaign.
It’s funny – I actually went to KB and couldn’t find muttonbird’s quote. I did find piles of similarly disgusting comments in the most likely threads, though.
Whereas I’m actually surprised the comment you found slipped through the mods’ radar, and it’s most definitely an exception to the norm.
“Would you really hold the administrators of this site responsible for comments like the one I pointed to?
I certainly wouldn’t, just as I wouldn’t hold Farrar responsible for the crap some people post on Kiwiblog about Ardern or Clark.”
We remove stuff like that all the time. Pay attention. And yes, admin and the authors here take it seriously and actively moderate. Stop trying to be an apologist for Farrar’s really shitty politics.
I’m going to edit the Bolger comment now. The Key one can stand, it’s a metaphor.
“the demented fucks have been throwing truly vile misogynist insults, targeting everything from her looks, her health, her private life, her body shape through to her choice of attire and hair style, and smearing her character, honesty, motivations and intelligence, ”
And you think that commenters on here havn’t done the same about Paula Bennett or Judith Collins?
again – Im simply pointing out that people who make comments do not speak for the website – is that a hard concept for you to grasp?
edit: And as a “righty” – I’m pretty confident that you will not find comments like that about Jacinda from myself.
[I’d like to see some examples of comments on TS about Bennett or Collins that are similar to ones at KB. Three examples, with quotes and links, thanks – weka]
There have been some very rude comments about National MP’s for years – not hard to find them.
and indeed – Millsy was – Im not arguing that. What I was pointing out is that the commenter is making the statements and its not what the blog is saying or endorsing.
This is the irrefutable evidence that there is no struggle against terrorism as the whole global community believes. The US are actually covering the ISIS combat units to recover their combat capabilities, redeploy, and use them to promote the American interests in the Middle East.
“At the same time, the refusal of the US command to strike November 9 against the columns of terrorists IGIL (the outdated name of the IG-TASS commentary) retreating in the Bu-Kemal area is an objective fact recorded in the transcripts of the talks, and therefore well-known to the American side, just like and the active counteraction by the US aircraft of the air force of the Russian Air Force, which was ready to destroy the IGIL terrorists, regrouping for new attacks on government forces in the Bu-Kemal area, “the military department said.
Earlier, the Ministry of Defense spread the message that the US refused to strike at the IG militants on the Syrian-Iraqi border, and published photographs of the column of terrorists. However, Internet users noticed that the screenshots are screenshots made from the computer game AC-130 Gunship Simulator: Special Ops Squadron.
On the degradation of citizens to consumers, via The New Yorker.
The background: Keurig temporarily withdrew advertising from Sean Hannity’s show after he voiced support for paedophile Republican Senate candidate, Roy Moore. In protest, other Moore supporters posted videos of themselves destroying their Keurig coffee machines. Also, Nazi website The Daily Stormer proclaimed Papa John’s the “official pizza of the alt. right,” for some obscure reason related to NFL protests.
how moored our notions of civic engagement have become to our sense of ourselves as consumers, and how easy that fact is to aggravate and exploit…. In his Keurig video, Snoop Bailey is selling something, too.Before he busts up his coffeemaker, he touts the qualities of the golf club he’s using, and then later instructs his viewers to buy a competing brand of coffee, one that’s owned by military veterans. What looks at first like a strange act of suburban rage is really just another commercial.
Simon Wilson writes a nice long article wanting a kind of radical centrism for New
Zealand:
“A radical centre in New Zealand would not be Macronist, because we are not France. It would have its own guiding principles, and they might look something like this:
-T he economy and the environment are one.
– Long-term planning is fundamental to the purpose of government.
– Fiscal surpluses are invaluable for that long-term planning.
– The state doesn’t need to do everything.
– Government exists to safeguard and enhance the values of society and the rights of citizens, not to cut taxes.
– Low inflation is a foundational tool for creating opportunity for all.
– A developed economy should be a high-wage economy.
– Poverty and all its bitter handmaidens can be defeated, and they must be. Not sometime, when we can, if we can; but as a result of policies we put in place right now.”
Blah, blah, utopian wet dream and we don’t know what Simon means when he makes certain statements:
A developed economy should be a high-wage economy. Behind that large poster there is embedded poverty and people’s smarts twisted on how to screw a life out
of the crusts that have been thrown to them. Perhaps his standard will be reached by letting them die in the cold. Take out the no-wage then the low-wage and you get a nice self-satisfied bunch of strivers.
Perhaps they will all be like Alex the conniving finance dealer in the Peattie & Taylor cartoons. The look of things is important and that his peers can see that he can afford the best. He tells his wife off for buying expensive silk alluring underwear.
Don’t worry dear she says, no-one but you will see it. ‘That’s what’s bothering me’
he replies.
Poverty isn’t so dreadful, some people might like to live simply, but there need to be options to earn enough for it, plus a basic pension. What we need is everyone who is receiving government help being asked to do a few hours put-in, and that is all rich and poor. And this be regarded well as being good citizens by all and they receive a thank you certificate at year end.
Yes, it is a shame that Mugabe didn’t live up to his promises as I think Southern Africa might in a better state than it is atm. But then again depending one’s POV some say our Commonwealth leaders at time backed the wrong horse on the day.
Before Malcolm Frasier die, a lot of the Australian reporters ask him about the ongoing Zimbabwe issues and it was always met with a silent answer and some cases he walked away in silence.
I’m actually half way though this book after I had read Ian Smiths book and so far this book been quite interesting.
Yes, this is a very interesting move by the Zimbabwean Chief of Army and I wonder if he has the whole backing of the Army and Airforce? And the other is question is, has Mugabe still got the support of his infamous 5th Brigade and his Presidential Guard? If Mugabe still has the support from these two units, it could lead a very bloody coup for either side.
On the International Front:
What’s China’s position on this as China has been propping up the Mugabe regime of late? And what is the Commonwealth position on this?
It times like this I wish I had access to British, Australian and New Zealand Government archives on the Rhodesian/ Zimbabwe problem on who knew what etc and like what you said there could be “Lot of people running for cover on this…or rewriting of history”
Apparently this chart explains why the Department of Justice is corrupt because it’s not still investigating Hillary and Uranium One. Put together and shown to congress and the world by Louie Gohmert, one of the ever-helpful Republican caucus.
Fast and furious was not such a great movie unless you like cars and this led to executive privilege with prejudice and thus clintion is bbbbbbad to the bone.
What a load of BS pay 2 parents to look after children you no that would cost to much and there are other more urgent problems that need resources to fix the stuff ups of the last 9 years who’s chain is bull pulling. Kia Kaha
eco Maori – I think you will find in the proposal from National that they share the parental allowance – so there is no additional cost – just flexibility should both parents want to be there.
Paula Bennett lost her composure today and even the deputy speaker Anne Tollley had to pulll her up for inappropriate behaviour. Then Paula said wildly “I just got carried away”
Search on the parlaimametary site, speaking time, around 3.20pm today please.
It was so offensive that I had to turn off the sound.
National appear to be finding it very hard to live now without all that previous power they had to abuse the public any time they freely wanted.
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
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Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
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Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
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Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
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Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
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The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
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Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
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Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
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Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
jacinda appears to be having an impact on those she meets.
We have sent a request to jacinda to come to meet our community groups in Gisborne/HB over our own “local government’s support to retore/re-open our mothballed rail services.”
We are currently awaiting Jacinda’s acceptance to meet our committees in Napier & Gisborne, as we are happy if jacinda does want to be a ‘mover & shaker’ when these “roadblocks” are in everyone’s way.
We see this morning our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has committeed $3 million dollars to give to the Manus Island refugees.
Three million dollars is half we need to get our railn re-opened and it would only cost $6 million to re-open our Gisborne/Napier rail service without improvements, we are advised byour engineers.
So we are seeing jacinda’s offer to communities needing help as a positive Patricia. “lets do this”.
Yep. And hopefully the money saved from corporate welfare (perhaps all the stuff that isn’t dressed up as ‘PPP’s ) will more than cover it.
Once that Soimun no-Brudges vanity projek the Tauranga Expressway is paid off (the four lane thing that never sees traffic in one direction having vehicles parallel to each other in both lanes, even during peak hours) could have its tolls contribute to more sensible options (going forward).
…. and then we have the Auckland East-West link. (and Judith Collins desperately trying to defend it in parliament today pulling out her best she-devil, would-be crusher, desperately trying to be sensible persona).
Ekshully @CG, now I think about it, it’d have been a fucking sight cheaper to have provided a kind of roll-on roll-off link between Murapara and (port of) Tauranga using rail than that elephant (no disrespect to elephants) that’s dressed up as a road ‘highway’. Do you know how many tunnels on that line there are that might need lowering? I can’t find any
An interesting and nuanced take on the 2016 Dem primary. Among other things, it makes a solid argument that Sanders was actually the biggest beneficiary of the cleared Democrat field.
Because the fewer competitors there are trying to get your attention, the easier it is to grab a big chunk of it. If more solid competitors like Biden and Warren had also been in the race, then Sanders would have been relegated to the ineffectual fringe grumpy role he’s had his entire career.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/11/14/16640082/donna-brazile-warren-bernie-sanders-democratic-primary-rigged
Good article. Interesting to read the Clinton rigged it lines being pulled apart and given actual context rather than just a clintonhate vibe.
You don’t understand the last 40 years. Biden is the flake , not Sanders. ‘Mr Vice-President’. You don’t understand the people v. the powerful. Our great grandfathers’ generation it was a flora of the guts we couldn’t deny.
It’s like I fell asleep and woke up in a different country.
Kim Hill and John Campbell. What a dream start to the day!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=291ET6Py6H8
‘Daunting’ Antarctic sea ice plummet could be tipping point.
‘A dramatic drop in the amount of sea ice around Antarctica has scientists wondering if the continent has hit a tipping point.
There has been a record 30 percent decrease in the total amount of sea ice, and this summer it’s disappearing from the Ross Sea at a rate not seen in more than 30 years.
The rapidly changing conditions are having a major impact on this year’s scientific research at Scott Base, with scientists describing the changes as “unusual”, “unprecedented” and “daunting”.
One of the affected scientists is Antarctic oceanographer Dr Natalie Robinson, who studies sea ice and what lies beneath it.
“We had about 200km of sea ice to play with last year, but this year we’re down to about 25-30km, so it’s certainly a very different ball game,” she told Newshub.’
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2017/11/daunting-antarctic-sea-ice-plummet-could-be-tipping-point.html
yes Ed ageed,
Kim & John are a wonderful duo I have always had a deep respect for kim going back years as she has been an enduring soul who presents a simply delightful presentation of every item covered.
long live Kim Hill, she should be made Radio NZ Production Manager ( and paid suitablly for this) and begin to teach all other presenters on public media the art of being neutral in presentation of issues, without bias!!!!!!
As Kim & John are the only ones we hear that possess “neutrality without bias.”
We hope they do cover this Antartica melting ice cap to the south of us as we will be dramatically affected by this within five years everywhere in our low lying global regions.
That and the northwest passage is pretty much never frozen over to prevent shipping anymore.
Both ends are ‘burning’ in relative terms.
Kim Hill is a living treasure !
A daily reminder at the moment of what New Zealand could be.
If I were the government, I’d deal with the neoliberal reserve bank.
This is meddling by the banking and finance industries and they need to be reminded who is boss.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/343835/govt-reserve-bank-clash-over-kiwibuild-numbers.
Yes Ed, they are part of the “grumpy neo-liberal crowd” who have their snouts in the housing trough and do not want competition of any kind. Banks have grown fat on interest on inflated loans.
The fact that the government will back developments by buying the smaller units and townhouses up to 20% of builds, to help meet demand, helps secures developer’s futures.
Further, the freeing up of land assures no bottle necks, and the proposed fast tracking of pre-approved basic designs should speed up council approvals.
These are co-operative ventures, not destructive ones competing for fewer homes as they are for differing parts of the market, and ensure continuity. Great!!
100% Patricia,
The greedies can’t get used of loosing control can they?
We ask these ‘greedies’;
“How much is enough”?
“Yes Ed, they are part of the “grumpy neo-liberal crowd” who have their snouts in the housing trough and do not want competition of any kind. Banks have grown fat on interest on inflated loans.”
Do really not understand who, and what, the Reserve Bank is and what they do?
They don’t loan money to people to buy houses.
Actually they once used to, many, many years ago. They apparently would make loans to their staff. That was back in the sad old days when wages were low, tax rates were enormously high and perks were not taxed.
Long, long, long ago though.
No, they loan it out to private banks after the private banks have loaned out so much money that they’re insolvent and need propping up.
Not just to their staff but to the general public to build houses. It was the old Housing Corp loan that many people used to buy/build their first home with minimal interest rate. This was discontinued when the government decided that corporate profit was more important than people.
We could do it again. Done properly it would be far better than what we have now and better than what we had then as well.
Yep, the Housing Corp was awesome. Lent us money to buy a house when we were a shop assistant and a postgrad student – not many couples like that buying a house these days, unless they’ve rich relatives.
What old days when wages were low.?
Another right wing alternative planet.
Another example of the pushback that Labour is going to get when pushing through even then most modest of changes.
Twyford seems to have his finger on the pulse of it, this should provide a boost in developments by virtue of more funding.
Banks won’t lend on a construction, they’ll only lend against a secure asset like the land. Developers usually need to find at least 40% of the cash to fund a development. Since it’s super high risk few will lend them the dosh and those that will charge usurious rates of interest.
If the Govt is minimising the risk, as Twyford claims, then we should see more developments, not less, as more funding taps are turned on for them.
That’s funny Ed.
Less than a week ago the Reserve Bank were being lauded as being the fountain of wisdom, on this site no less.
Are you really advocating that they shouldn’t be allowed to carry out their job which is to give free and frank advice to the country?
Look at all the enthusiasm for them and their opinions just a few days ago.
https://thestandard.org.nz/reserve-bank-predicts-economic-growth-under-new-government/
Alwyn;
“Are you really advocating that they shouldn’t be allowed to carry out their job which is to give free and frank advice to the country?”
That is a big stretch to believe the RB really know what’s in ‘our best interest’, when they have been ‘overseeing’ us buying overseas funds fro forien banks to prop our “emergency funding” for disasters ect’ when other countries were using their RB to print money so now we are paying $6 Billlion annually in ‘interest only” on our huge crown debt now because of this when some of the ’emergency” funding had been printed by our RB instead.
We advocate that the reserve ;bank act; be ammended and go back to as it was when the last time we had to print money.
And the last time was under the first labour Government of Michael Joseph Savage when he and he pulled us out of the spiralling depression then doing it.
Alwyn did you watch parliament yesterday when the $11.7 billion dollar man (S Joyce) asked David Parker if he had the cost figures for the Christchurch re-build?
Parker said he believed it to be around $60 billion, so if true we are really being loaded up with so much overseas bank debt like Greece was, until we may finally go the same way as Greece.
Why do I get the distinct impression that the RBNZ doesn’t understand economics?
The RBNZ would be right if the numbers of builders remained the same. Considering Kiwibuild always planned on better technology and training more builders this obviously isn’t the case and thus they’re wrong.
100% Draco,
The reserve bank are dumb bastards simply.
I did not no my what my name was till my great grandmother died I stayed with the name she preferred to call me . But staying with the name I have has done me no favours as a person can tell I’m Maori and I don’t try and hide that fact.
Good name for the new Kiwi In Rotorua I have a niece with that name and she has excellent parents her father has worked for DOC for 20 od years and her mother is a Teacher her future will be bright we have the same sir name.
Do we really want OUR Warriors franchise or any sports franchise sold to Foreigners as OUR sports stars are one of the reason we have a big influence In OUR worlds Society.
They could have ulterior motives and the only motive we want for OUR sports stars is to win fairly and for them to be good role models for our Moko’s and all the Moko’s around OUR world Ka pai
Yesterday Guyon found a racist thug called Ian who was happy to brutalise the inmates at Manus for 18 months.
Guyon the Tory amplified this guard’s voice to smear Jacinda and Labour. No difficult questions were asked of Ian.
This morning people were allowed to challenge the view of Ian.
Why was such a thug allowed a platform in the first place, RNZ?
I noticed Ian pulled out the old “I’m not racist BUT….” line.
He might consider too that if you treat people the way they have been on Manus, and after the trauma they’ve already suffered, they’re not necessarily all going to be the compliant little beings Ian thinks they should be
And yet Guyon said nothing, asked nothing…..
He just held the amplifier closer for the bigot to spread his smears.
I thought RNZ was better than that – you’d expect it on Murdoch’s press, the Daily Fail or Fox, but our state broadcaster should have higher standards….
You are right Ed,
Guyon Espiner is a died in the wool right wing puppet – trumpet for the Global One world Government elitists.
Guyon should join George Soros as George is always looking for other activists to control.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/12/george-soros-upset-by-anti-semitic-campaign-against-him-in-hungary
Go on Guyon; – call George and bugger off.
Well, it shows RNZ is truly public service, and gives space to diverse political views.
And, public service media needs to do this. Fine if we then get some other interviewers at RNZ coming at the same issue from a different angle.
It can’t be all liberal/left.
I was amused to hear a security guard pontificate on immigration and human psychology, too.
From where do they get these experts?
I’m putting this out there to protect my sibling and there Moko future .
To the largest forestry management company in New Zealand the first letter in there name is P F.
Can you make sure that my sibling get the best deal possible for there forestry estate harvest as they no nothing about forestry But I no a lot about this subject and I don’t want to use the Thunder .
Because my sister is so stubborn she won’t admit she need my help just about but not quite . So I just use my wisdom to guide them in the right direction and they are listening to my lectures as my children put it I am there only wise protector who has there best interest at hart and I will not be happy if I see them being ripped off.
As I no that some people see the innocent people as $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ .P.S I was going to run and build a house on there estate but this action would not have been good for my Moko’s future and It’s there future that matters the most to me. Yes I could have challenged the estate but I don’t like being negtive on people especially with them so close to my Hart and I don’t like pissing money on Lawyers
Kia kaha
Ten Reasons We Got Rid of National
No. 10: Boors and louts like these
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/gerry-brownlee-deeply-embarrassed-by-airport-security-breach-6135096
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11673027
http://tvnz.co.nz/content/910849/2556418.html
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/08/patrick-gower-bill-english-in-shutdown-mode-over-todd-barclay-texts.html
If wealth is pushed to the top, society collapses
If wealth is pushed to the bottom, society prospers
Why is this so hard to understand?
Why is it so hard to action?
VTO That was brilliant. thanks for that.
+100
Some people don’t want to understand that as they like to think that they’re special and that’s why they’re rich and everyone else is poor.
Now, that’s a very good question. Why do our governments always kowtow to the rich and what they want and don’t listen to everyone else?
It’s because money has got power and they have a lot of money.
Money has power because We give the power to money it would be toilet paper if we did not worship money over everything else in OUR WORLD SOCIETY Ka Pai
The changes to paid parental leave has given Hosking a chance to show what an arse he is.
“National were never fans of expanding paid parental leave” he says so that means he can declare that Labour are “telling us how to live our lives and how to raise our kids.”
Hoskings seems increasingly weird. Perhaps he should have a chat with J Kirwin and seek help.
Enjoy his teeth. And , given he grew up in the welfare state like me , I have no polite reluctance in hacking his ankles with the most forceful blows. Vive us.
See if you can watch this appalling performance by New York’s
moronic governor Andrew Cuomo without screaming at your screen.
Imagine if, in the 1950s, New York Governor Averell Harriman had attacked the Montgomery bus boycott, or if Governor Rockefeller in the ’70s had attacked the anti-apartheid movement. They didn’t, of course, which makes them morally and ethically very different to the intellectual pygmy that currently sits in Albany….
http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201711140214-0025544
Freedom to bear arms Morrissey. Solid.
Freedom of free speech. Ummm. Not really.
Cuomo is a shameless and cynical supporter of Israel’s depradations in the Occupied Territories. That’s far away, though, and it’s easy enough for him to shout his support for it. Back in New York, however, it’s not so easy to advocate killing and brutality. After one of Cuomo’s thugs killed Eric Garner in 2014, some people tried to make him do something….
http://www.andralemarie.com/Home-Blog/2014/12/Jay-Z-Takes-a-Political-Stand-Against-Police-Brutality-Urges-Governor-Cuomo-to-Reform-The-Justice-System-in-New-York
Give the poor guy a break.
He’s a Democrat and they really aren’t very smart.
As Will Rogers put it so well.
“I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat”.
Cuomo is pretty good evidence of that statement.
Truly? Trump isn’t a Democrat, and neither are any of his voters or the various morons he’s appointed to key positions. Are you sure you’re attacking the right party? (And this from the guy who today announced that he didn’t know what the Reserve Banks does and yet a few minute later thought his comments on their activities should carry some weight…)
Thanks alwyn, your point is a very good one. Because the Democratic Party is dominated by the likes of the Cuomo and Clinton families, we can look forward to indefinite Republican Party rule in the United States
“indefinite Republican Party rule in the United States”
Now I am really getting scared. I don’t think very much of the leading lights in the Democratic Party but the Republicans are generally even more ‘barking at the moon’ types.
I will confess my personal choice, if I had been able to vote in the US, would have been Republican Governor Kasich of Ohio but he is definitely an odd one amount among his party. The rest of the people who ran for President were pretty flaky and Trump was the worst. He could end up getting us into a war.
Even Hillary would have been much, much better.
Dance all around the world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdjggnZmsCY
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Anyone wonder if Jacinda is loosing weight? The pace that she has adopted since becoming the Leader and PM must be taking a toll. Take care Jacinda.
Yes, Ianmac, jacinda has lost weight.
I noticed this too.
Jacinda; – while you stress stop & be kind to your body to please.
Get a daily massage to mobilise the toxins & take a hyrotherapy bath every day as i do, by adding backing soda, and other times use hyrogen peroxide (H2O2) (about a half of a honey pot filled or more of H2O2.
The hydrogen peroxide forces oxygen (like a hypobaric chamber in reverse) into your body and this energises the body, while it destroys all the free radical cells we take in our polluted environment every day, which can cause toxicity and more extreme symtoms.
“Lets do this.” ilovejacinda.
“The hydrogen peroxide forces oxygen (like a hypobaric chamber in reverse) into your body and this energises the body, while it destroys all the free radical cells we take in our polluted environment every day,..”
Um no it really doesn’t..
To be fair, having a massage doesn’t “mobilise toxins” either, so at least they’re consistent.
Yes, she has lost weight and it shows in her face. I’m sure her partner Clarke will be preparing nourishing meals for when she returns. She’s had a frenetic two and a bit months. Amazing to think what has happened in such a short space of time. I’m still pinching myself for confirmation it is all true. 🙂
I am still pinching myself also. Jacinda is certainly looking a bit thinner, particularly in her face – but it is hardly surprising with not just the frenetic pace of the political side of her life, but losing both her beloved grandmother and her adored cat in the midst of it all. But Clarke is on to it and has the fish as part of healthy food in hand …
https://twitter.com/NZClarke/status/930591243461042176
Yep. But at the same time I’ve been wondering whether Mr Creosote is expanding.
I’m pretty sure Ms Adern will cope, I’m not so sure about Brownlee.
Stress is a killer. Look at the state of Obama’s body by the time he left the White House.
This is good news. Will reverse some of the sly pro-developer anti-landscape rules the previous government slipped through under the radar of most people.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/98853157/david-parker-plans-to-reverse-nick-smiths-resource-consent-nonnotification-law
Nick Smith and his cronies have a lot to answer for.
For lprent – This is starting them very young on the world of coding. https://kano.me/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s6VmMr5DFU&ab_channel=LinusTechTips
coool 😉 i want one
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/98887491/opposition-making-a-sport-out-of-question-time
Not sure about Jane Cliftons political allegiances but surely even the most one-eyed, dyed-in-the-wool leftie can’t be impressed by how the new government is going
After 9 years of lies and evasion under a weak and biased Speaker this looks pretty good to me.
I would have thought you would have been applauding Labour’s pragmatism on CRPTPTPPC or whatever it is, Pukish
I think its a good move by Labour/NZFirst because we need to trade, simple as that. But I’m not a leftie, I didn’t vote for a party that was protesting the TPPA, I voted for a party that supported the TPPA
I will agree that Trev (and Tolley…TnT perhaps?) have made a good start as speaker and deputy speaker and long may it continue
Clifton’s column didn’t read “unimpressed” to me; she notes that the “keepers” are keeping mum while their bosses are away; very wise, I’d have thought, and that Trevor Mallard has the measure of even the slimiest of the Nats, citing Bridges attempt at humour/smarminess; Clifton notes that no Nat dared try him on his Hurrumph ruling. I reckon you’re wrong in your claim that no one is impressed by the Government’s performance, very wrong indeed. As an aside, isn’t it wonderful not to have to be be exposed to Key’s snide, immature schoolyard taunts and put-downs. What a pill he was! What a joy too, listening to Trevor Mallard bring respect back to the Speaker’s role. We suffered some appalling years with Carter plonked onto that seat.
“she notes that the “keepers” are keeping mum while their bosses are away; very wise, I’d have thought”
Yes better to be thought a fool etc etc
(Nope, no irony there at all)
“while their bosses are away”.
Are you sure? I doubt that Heather Simpson, who I gather is back in the PM’s office, was off on the jaunt overseas with Ardern.
She will certainly have been cracking the whip over the Cabinet members. Trevor started off quite well on day 1. After that though I’ll bet he got called in and fed the riot act. He’ll now turn into a fawning wimp like Margaret Wilson. Nobody would dare offend H2 twice.
probably bending over backwards trying to show she is objective:
Jane Clifton and Trevor Mallard wed (2014).
Very sad isn’t it?
Jane Clifton has certainly had appalling taste in men during her life.
Shame, as her columns are most interesting and would indicate that she is an intelligent woman.
You haven’t noticed? She’s an agreer and supporter of 1984. After all it’s been good for the top 10 %. That is to say, as a thinker, she’s consciously repudiated the 90 %. No problem except for her being a NZer. I admire her quickness , where I failed as a journalist, but few of the middle class pooped up by their unprivileged parents had enough imagination for their parents circumstances.
Next month the company will promote a New Zealand webpage for agents and property developers who want to raise their profile and advertise properties in China before the change.
“This campaign is really trying to assist those Chinese buyers who do have a real need to invest in New Zealand, whether because their children are studying in New Zealand or their families and relatives already live there and they’re potentially looking to migrate there in the future.”
With new builds exempt from the new ban, Jane Lu said interest from China in the New Zealand market would remain strong.
“We do believe, of course, with the new policy change it will … push the overseas Chinese buyers into the new development sector.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/343811/foreign-buyers-set-for-rush-to-beat-cutoff.
So Labour’s so-called ban on offshore investors is expected to drive them towards new developments, which will create a ripple effect keeping upward pressure on housing costs.
If you’ve got the bandwidth and the screen this goes up to 4k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fYKMCCPh28
RNZ: Clare Curran says the government won’t be selling off TVNZ.
Response to OIA docments showing TVNZ’s declining revenue:
Sounds like typical National. Run it into the ground in preparation for selling it on the cheap to their donors.
A whole lot of people fell for yet another round of anti-Assange/Don Trump Jnr smears yesterday, this time fired up by The Atlantic and then repeated all around the world.
Firstly, Assange openly tweeted about communicating with Don Jnr way back in July
https://twitter.com/JulianAssange/status/884853347815235584
Secondly, the Atlantic appears to have deliberately misrepresented the material between Assange and Don Jnr by multiple selective edits and omissions.
https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/the-atlantic-commits-malpractice-selectively-edits-to-smear-wikileaks-65ecd7c2468f
The damage has been done CV, and this was just yet another grain of sand put atop an increasingly large heap (and Assange is in the company of many, many others who’ve been buried in such a way).
Picking up on and arguing against every instance of it happening won’t lead anywhere…not even if you eventually win every argument.
People think (or choose to believe) that that which is heaping the grains of sand is a force of good – that, though perhaps flawed, it’s essentially benevolent.
That belief runs deep and it’s that that needs challenged. Picking up on particular singular causes and running with them breathlessly can, for a number of reasons, be counter productive.
It’s a tricky one to navigate.
The main reason I commented about it yesterday is because of the reputation of Wikileaks (don’t actually care that much about Assange one way or the other). In that sense I think these things are worth bring into discussion and seeing what happens. Wikileaks appears to be increasingly less reliable and I don’t think that’s all down to a pile of sand grains.
When you say “less reliable”, what do you mean?
From memory, there have been accusations that information being made public ought not to have been made public.
But, as far as I know, there has never been any suggestion that information coming through Wikileaks (and they are basically, though not wholly, a conduit for information) has been false.
For anyone more interested in the big picture of the forest, rather than examining the vein patterns on leaves, here’s something to consider.
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/14/politics/trump-jr-wikileaks-russia/index.html
The old saying is “follow the money”. So what are the money trails that might lead Putin to supporting Comrade Combover? Here’s some possibilities…
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/14/opinions/why-does-vladimir-putin-hate-me-browder-opinion/index.html
Here’s what David Farrar’s website is saying about the Prime Minister today.
Farrar’s Ferals at their very, very best. (/sarc btw)
What rips my undies is that our State Broadcaster, the otherwise relatively tolerable Natrad, insists on having Farrar as a regular guest.
My tinfoilhatwearingnutbar alter ego kinda figured that it was part of some nefarious deal with Those Who Will Not Be Mentioned in order to maintain their pathetic level of funding.
Farrar’s actually worse than that other right wing commentator they have on from time to time…
There’s a level of endorsement from Farrar for comments like that because they are unmoderated. He might claim the views of his commenters don’t represent his but by leaving them up he is accepting of that kind of language towards the PM.
Not really – using your logic it would mean that “the standard” (or its owners / moderators) have a level of endorsement for post that they leave up (assuming you are being even handed in your application of moral outrage)
Remember when a poster on here said that Ashburton WINZ murder should be held up as a hero ?
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-02092014/#comment-878213
As this is a moderated blog – and that the comment was left up – would you be saying that there is a level of endorsement from the people that run this website?
No – of course not. What that poster (as well as the Rick Prick” posted above) is disgusting and the people making those comments should be ashamed of themselves.
Regardless of political leanings – there is no need for that level of comment.
I dont post on kiwiblog – but if I did I would be downticking Rick Pricks comment to get it hidden.
But it needs to be seen for what it is – the view (all be it a poor one) of a commentor and its not the blog stating it.
[Farrar is well known for allowing content that wouldn’t be acceptable here. e.g. the comment that Muttonbird quotes would almost certainly get moderated here. That’s because we don’t tolerate misogyny.
Read the bit in the policy that says “What we’re not prepared to accept are pointless personal attacks, or tone or language that has the effect of excluding others” and consider what it is like for many women to have to be around men that call women stupid fucking bitches or align themselves with rape culture advocates. And what it is like for those women to be in spaces where that is passively endorsed.
Farrar sets the standard at his blog. There is a standard at The Standard too, so I’m pointing out that we have active moderation here to inhibit bigots of many kinds because they’re basically antisocial and bad for political discussions as well as being generally harmful to society – weka]
James, James, James.
To support your argument you pull out a comment from years ago which, if we actually go and have a look, provoked a shit ton of opprobrium for the original commentator and led to a very interesting and thought provoking debate.
The debate was…nuanced…which is not a characteristic of Farrar’s little cesspit dwellers.
Rosemary – you are missing the point of my post.
But hey – there are plenty of other post on here calling National MP’s names, picking on their appearance or weight.
My point was commenters do not speak for the site – its a basic concept.
No, but the owners and authors of the site do have a responsibility for the comments. So death threats and threats of violence are usually removed. Stuff that is grossly sexist or racist likewise. I’ve moderated people for fat phobia. You probably don’t see the stuff that gets removed.
Farrar doesn’t care because he wants a reactionary blog that foments hatred. So that’s what he gets.
There are two moderation notes in this thread for you, one requires a response.
I am curious about this comment though, and if you can come up with any examples other than the Tully comment. I’m guessing not. It doesn’t surprise me that people who vote for a party that had a leader for 8 years that supported rape culture can’t tell the difference between KB and here. But there is a difference. I think you are focussed on the things you don’t like, but that’s not how it works. It’s about creating spaces that are safer and more attractive to a range of people. Farrar obviously wants misogynists and that’s what KB gets.
“There’s a level of endorsement from Farrar for comments like that….”
We can only assume that the comments he fails to moderate are actually from real individuals. If I were on a mission to promulgate a certain narrative then using such a site would be an ideal way of spreading the word under the guise of vigorous and open debate.
The site certainly attracts those with a propensity to hate speech.
Who knew there were so many of them with enough time on their hands…?
I stand with you solidly Rosemary;
David Farrar must go, and we understand the revamp of the public broadcaster Radio NZ will rout these National Party lobbyists such as Farrar, Hooten, and any other biased National puppets, because the public broadcaster was abused and used by national for nine years and manipulated by the chief National Propagangist Steven Joyce as his propaganda platform illegally.
So we welcome the removal of these propagandists from our public funded media.
This can’t happen fast enough.
No – thats not what his website is saying about the prime minister – its what a commenter said about her. (for the record – I think the comment made is disgusting)
Just like some of the filth that has been put on this site by commentators is not being said my the standard.
Where can I find this filth that has been put on this site by commentators?.
edit: oh, and I think you’ll find millsy has often been roundly condemned for his obnoxious posts.
For joe90.
Try having a look at this one as an example.
https://thestandard.org.nz/al-jazeera-on-nz-homeless-watch-it-and-weep/#comment-1216824
I would normally list a few of the comments from it but I really don’t think you should have such utter rubbish as this pushed into your face.
If you have a strong stomach you can follow the link though.
Oh do fuck off .
You know full well that since the day the woman won the leadership, the demented fucks have been throwing truly vile misogynist insults, targeting everything from her looks, her health, her private life, her body shape through to her choice of attire and hair style, and smearing her character, honesty, motivations and intelligence, surpassing any thing they threw at Clark.
I’m no shrinking violet and I like putting the needle in but this shit is truly nauseating 4chan/gamergate style hate speech that’s arrived, fresh from the fetid swamp that is US political discourse.
And Farrar publishes it, so fuck him too.
Did you read my link?
Are you really going to say that the sort of comment I linked to doesn’t count as filth?
Do you really think that Key should have been burnt to death or that Bolger should be shot? Fair comment do you say?
Would you really hold the administrators of this site responsible for comments like the one I pointed to?
I certainly wouldn’t, just as I wouldn’t hold Farrar responsible for the crap some people post on Kiwiblog about Ardern or Clark.
It is, unfortunately an innate fact of life on the Internet.
Your whataboutism doesn’t wash because occasional unhinged comments by unhinged folk ain’t the same as day in day out, page after page of vile4chan/gamergate style hate speech authored by multiple contributors, specifically targeting women.
And yes, I want publishers to be responsible for the crap some people post on their sites. A day or so ago over at the sewer there was an actionable comment, that still stands, and one day Farrar or some other publisher will be called to account and required to turn over their visitor logs stats. The sooner the better, I reckon.
“occasional unhinged comments by unhinged folk”.
What was occasional about these sort of comments?
Just search for “Key treason” and see how many hits you get.
Or just look at anything by “Wild Katipo”.
I found 879 hits when I searched on ‘alwyn foolish’ does that help?
That is an amazing number, really it is.
I tried it in the search panel on this blog.
I didn’t find nearly as many as that and I discovered that in every case it was me using the word, usually about people like you. I didn’t see a single case where someone had used it to describe me.
I shall have to expand my vocabulary. Perhaps I should stop describing you as “foolish” for a while and simply call you an idiot.
Would you prefer that?
☺ good you tried it out i thought you would – just trying to help you with the moaner you were on – no need for that level of abuse mate pull your head in.
Alwyn cool it please;
We are all trying to help a new government succeed making NZ a kinder, gentler, society after the nine cruel toxic years of a National party hate campaign.
It’s funny – I actually went to KB and couldn’t find muttonbird’s quote. I did find piles of similarly disgusting comments in the most likely threads, though.
Whereas I’m actually surprised the comment you found slipped through the mods’ radar, and it’s most definitely an exception to the norm.
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2017/11/public_polls_october_2017.html#comment-2076508
Strictly speaking it was late last night rather than today. Endorsed at a rate of 7 to 1 by Farrar’s friends.
cheers.
I was looking through the ones re: nz and refugees – that was bad enough…
“Would you really hold the administrators of this site responsible for comments like the one I pointed to?
I certainly wouldn’t, just as I wouldn’t hold Farrar responsible for the crap some people post on Kiwiblog about Ardern or Clark.”
We remove stuff like that all the time. Pay attention. And yes, admin and the authors here take it seriously and actively moderate. Stop trying to be an apologist for Farrar’s really shitty politics.
I’m going to edit the Bolger comment now. The Key one can stand, it’s a metaphor.
“the demented fucks have been throwing truly vile misogynist insults, targeting everything from her looks, her health, her private life, her body shape through to her choice of attire and hair style, and smearing her character, honesty, motivations and intelligence, ”
And you think that commenters on here havn’t done the same about Paula Bennett or Judith Collins?
again – Im simply pointing out that people who make comments do not speak for the website – is that a hard concept for you to grasp?
edit: And as a “righty” – I’m pretty confident that you will not find comments like that about Jacinda from myself.
[I’d like to see some examples of comments on TS about Bennett or Collins that are similar to ones at KB. Three examples, with quotes and links, thanks – weka]
Yuck you James there is no comparison and you know it. You’re such a dirty appologist for bullshit.
+ 1 Joe – you nailed it. Filthy scum over there.
There have been some very rude comments about National MP’s for years – not hard to find them.
and indeed – Millsy was – Im not arguing that. What I was pointing out is that the commenter is making the statements and its not what the blog is saying or endorsing.
The worst I seen is my own. that Bennett, and her enablers should go to jail for serial child abuse.
Justified. given the number of car dwelling families with kids suffering from the diseases of poverty..
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/13/conservative-governments-kill-people-health-disability-benefits-prisons
Irrefutable……oops…..such an easy mistake to make.
//
This is the irrefutable evidence that there is no struggle against terrorism as the whole global community believes. The US are actually covering the ISIS combat units to recover their combat capabilities, redeploy, and use them to promote the American interests in the Middle East.
https://www.facebook.com/mod.mil.rus/posts/2007062896203123
“At the same time, the refusal of the US command to strike November 9 against the columns of terrorists IGIL (the outdated name of the IG-TASS commentary) retreating in the Bu-Kemal area is an objective fact recorded in the transcripts of the talks, and therefore well-known to the American side, just like and the active counteraction by the US aircraft of the air force of the Russian Air Force, which was ready to destroy the IGIL terrorists, regrouping for new attacks on government forces in the Bu-Kemal area, “the military department said.
Earlier, the Ministry of Defense spread the message that the US refused to strike at the IG militants on the Syrian-Iraqi border, and published photographs of the column of terrorists. However, Internet users noticed that the screenshots are screenshots made from the computer game AC-130 Gunship Simulator: Special Ops Squadron.
https://translate.google.co.nz/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/4728484&prev=search
I s’pose the video game screenshots looked more plausible than their satellite photo of a fighter jet did.
Egg all over the shop.
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/11/14/russian-ministry-defence-publishes-screenshots-computer-games-evidence-us-collusion-isis/
Yeah i laughed about that one – just shows truth is stranger, weirder, and funnier than fiction.
On the degradation of citizens to consumers, via The New Yorker.
The background: Keurig temporarily withdrew advertising from Sean Hannity’s show after he voiced support for paedophile Republican Senate candidate, Roy Moore. In protest, other Moore supporters posted videos of themselves destroying their Keurig coffee machines. Also, Nazi website The Daily Stormer proclaimed Papa John’s the “official pizza of the alt. right,” for some obscure reason related to NFL protests.
how moored our notions of civic engagement have become to our sense of ourselves as consumers, and how easy that fact is to aggravate and exploit…. In his Keurig video, Snoop Bailey is selling something, too.Before he busts up his coffeemaker, he touts the qualities of the golf club he’s using, and then later instructs his viewers to buy a competing brand of coffee, one that’s owned by military veterans. What looks at first like a strange act of suburban rage is really just another commercial.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/keurig-papa-johns-and-the-politicization-of-american-junk
Simon Wilson writes a nice long article wanting a kind of radical centrism for New
Zealand:
“A radical centre in New Zealand would not be Macronist, because we are not France. It would have its own guiding principles, and they might look something like this:
-T he economy and the environment are one.
– Long-term planning is fundamental to the purpose of government.
– Fiscal surpluses are invaluable for that long-term planning.
– The state doesn’t need to do everything.
– Government exists to safeguard and enhance the values of society and the rights of citizens, not to cut taxes.
– Low inflation is a foundational tool for creating opportunity for all.
– A developed economy should be a high-wage economy.
– Poverty and all its bitter handmaidens can be defeated, and they must be. Not sometime, when we can, if we can; but as a result of policies we put in place right now.”
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/14-11-2017/new-radicals-the-challenge-for-nz-politics-in-the-time-of-corbyn-and-trump/
Blah, blah, utopian wet dream and we don’t know what Simon means when he makes certain statements:
A developed economy should be a high-wage economy. Behind that large poster there is embedded poverty and people’s smarts twisted on how to screw a life out
of the crusts that have been thrown to them. Perhaps his standard will be reached by letting them die in the cold. Take out the no-wage then the low-wage and you get a nice self-satisfied bunch of strivers.
Perhaps they will all be like Alex the conniving finance dealer in the Peattie & Taylor cartoons. The look of things is important and that his peers can see that he can afford the best. He tells his wife off for buying expensive silk alluring underwear.
Don’t worry dear she says, no-one but you will see it. ‘That’s what’s bothering me’
he replies.
Poverty isn’t so dreadful, some people might like to live simply, but there need to be options to earn enough for it, plus a basic pension. What we need is everyone who is receiving government help being asked to do a few hours put-in, and that is all rich and poor. And this be regarded well as being good citizens by all and they receive a thank you certificate at year end.
Interesting
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/africa/98896894/possible-military-coup-in-zimbabwe-as-tanks-roll-towards-robert-mugabes-capital
Chiwenga finally got bored waiting for him to die.
Such a shame. If Mugabe had been half the man Mandela was, Zimbabwe would be flourishing.
Wonder if any of the leaders that supported Mugabe will say anything, hindsight and all that
“Diplomacy is the art of saying ‘nice doggie’ while you look for a rock.”
I forget who said that.
Yes, it is a shame that Mugabe didn’t live up to his promises as I think Southern Africa might in a better state than it is atm. But then again depending one’s POV some say our Commonwealth leaders at time backed the wrong horse on the day.
Before Malcolm Frasier die, a lot of the Australian reporters ask him about the ongoing Zimbabwe issues and it was always met with a silent answer and some cases he walked away in silence.
I’m actually half way though this book after I had read Ian Smiths book and so far this book been quite interesting.
https://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Rhodesian-War-Paul-L-Moorcraft-Peter-McLaughlin/9781473860735rick
These two are next on the reading list. Apart from the usual Military Books on RLI, RAR, Grey Scouts, RR and RRAF etc.
https://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Struggle-Continues-David-Coltart/9781431423187
https://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Zimbabwe-Philip-Barclay/9781408805206
Yes, this is a very interesting move by the Zimbabwean Chief of Army and I wonder if he has the whole backing of the Army and Airforce? And the other is question is, has Mugabe still got the support of his infamous 5th Brigade and his Presidential Guard? If Mugabe still has the support from these two units, it could lead a very bloody coup for either side.
On the International Front:
What’s China’s position on this as China has been propping up the Mugabe regime of late? And what is the Commonwealth position on this?
Lot of people running for cover on this…or rewriting of history
It times like this I wish I had access to British, Australian and New Zealand Government archives on the Rhodesian/ Zimbabwe problem on who knew what etc and like what you said there could be “Lot of people running for cover on this…or rewriting of history”
This is from the ABC News Website:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-15/zimbabwe-cracks-are-showing-between-robert-mugabe-and-the-army/9153120
😆
Apparently this chart explains why the Department of Justice is corrupt because it’s not still investigating Hillary and Uranium One. Put together and shown to congress and the world by Louie Gohmert, one of the ever-helpful Republican caucus.
https://www.vox.com/world/2017/11/14/16652876/louie-gohmert-conspiracy-chart
I’m having a bit of trouble grasping what I’m supposed to take away from it. Anyone here want to help with some interpretive assistance?
Fast and furious was not such a great movie unless you like cars and this led to executive privilege with prejudice and thus clintion is bbbbbbad to the bone.
What a load of BS pay 2 parents to look after children you no that would cost to much and there are other more urgent problems that need resources to fix the stuff ups of the last 9 years who’s chain is bull pulling. Kia Kaha
eco Maori – I think you will find in the proposal from National that they share the parental allowance – so there is no additional cost – just flexibility should both parents want to be there.
so no BS – no additional cost
Paula Bennett lost her composure today and even the deputy speaker Anne Tollley had to pulll her up for inappropriate behaviour. Then Paula said wildly “I just got carried away”
Search on the parlaimametary site, speaking time, around 3.20pm today please.
It was so offensive that I had to turn off the sound.
National appear to be finding it very hard to live now without all that previous power they had to abuse the public any time they freely wanted.
Very sad performance today.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20171115_20171115_08
Scroll down for Bennett’s content in her speech.
It was the way she said it all, that was offensive, as she was wildly ranting on wildly.