Either he is a true capitalist and will sell his soul for a profit (Which he appears to have done) or the wisdom of F.Gump is held to be true again !!! đ
To be fair I don’t think hes trying to supplement his income so I don’t think hes guilty of scalping but definately guilty of something even worse, a dumb arse
Prepare for a deluge of outraged skeptics arguing passionately and furiously that leading players in the climate change debate have paid someone $US100k to develop teaching materials specifically designed towards, in their own words, “dissuading teachers from teaching science”
Reckoned if I typed ‘climategate’ into the search bar I’d get a list of regular rightish commenters with dozens if not hundreds of hits.
Also reckon they’ll have fuck all to say about this.
And that Bob Carter joker who has often said that he isn’t funded for his research by lobby gropups or what have you, and that scientists are under enormous pressure to ‘conform’ in order to get funding? Now saying that the monthly cheques he’s been getting from the heartland institute don’t influence him any way, that disclosing them would be quaint, and that no scientists would ever let funding issues influence their work.
They get to believe humans are at the center of the universe, and the people pulling their strings own the oil and car companies, as layed out by the doners to the Heartland Institute, they make TONS of money…
& âWe will also pursue additional support from the Charles G. Koch Foundation. They returned as a Heartland donor in 2011 with a contribution of $200,000. We expect to push up their level of support in 2012 and gain access to their network of philanthropists, if our focus continues to align with their interests. Other contributions will be pursued for this work, especially from corporations whose interests are threatened by climate policies.â
ââŠIn the years of conscious, self-inflicted decline at home, âlossesâ continued to mount elsewhere.
In the past decade for the first time in 500 years –
– South America has taken successful steps to free itself from western domination â another serious loss.
The region has moved towards integration â and has begun to address some of the terrible internal problems of societies ruled by mostly Europeanized elites –
– tiny islands of extreme wealth in a sea of misery.
They have also rid themselves of all U.S. military bases and of IMF controls.
A newly formed organization, CELAC, includes all countries of the hemisphere apart from the U.S. and Canada.
If it actually functions â that would be another step in American decline –
– in this case in what has always been regarded as âthe backyard.â..â
Tho I didnt put this on open mike thru the Standards censorship this where it now resides……
It was by far funnier on the “sell sell sell” post…:-)
[lprent: It wasn’t censored, it was moved because it was a classic example of diversion trolling being off topic to anything in the post. You have just wasted my time again having to respond. It is not particularly wise to do that because I tend to take action to reduce the dumbarse problem wasting my time. Read the policy. ]
Hi Lprent, will Mallard get the same educational ban from Parliament for his repeated stupidity ??
Just asking.
[lprent: Ask Lockjaw. He runs the house, I don’t. In much the same way that Lockjaw doesn’t run this site, I do. But your question was rather imprecise. You probably should direct it to the leader of the Labour parliamentary party – David Shearer.
This is rather obvious. Why are you bothering me with the question (and wasting my time)? ]
Television New Zealand has dumped the Labour leader’s weekly appearance on its Breakfast show, telling David Shearer it’s not about him “as a person”.
[…]
In a letter back to Labour, TVNZ said the Prime Minister was a newsmaker in his own right and the state broadcaster was merely doing what it always had.
The leader of the Opposition had only featured weekly during election years.
“This is not an issue about the person, merely a decision about the position, and we have been consistent with that through Labour and National administrations.
“The Breakfast team has already shown its willingness to invite Mr Shearer on to the programme when he is a legitimate newsmaker and is setting the agenda on a story.”
So Key’s distractions from the significant political issues by chasing photo ops, is not about the person, and is about Key “setting the agenda”?
It’s pretty obvious that TVNZ think Shearer is boring, and they don’t want him on their station unless they absolutely have to have him there, whereas they consider Key to be prime ‘talent’ that will draw viewers regardless of what he’s talking about.
It’s pretty obvious TVNZ only take an interest in Opposition leaders in election year because they can’t rule out the possibility they might win and therefore take charge of the purse strings. In the meantime it’s a case of sucking up to JK for all their worth because he’s got his hands on the money bags.
Experience has taught me to take the most cynical line at all times because it is invariably the right one. đ
Good question….. How about I write to my MP and ask what they would do. Of course their answer might be different from the legal requirement because it’s different when Labour do it.
If I embraced socialism I would have asked you to pay for me to go and I would have made you pay more than the cost of me going to cover the transaction cost of extracting the money from you.
Then if I discovered you could afford that I would have made you pay for my transport costs to and from the event as well; plus a transaction cost to extract that money from you.
Actually if I had embraced socialism I would pass a law to make sure other people couldn’t do this then do it myself – And I’d claim it was OK when I did it…..
A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral.
Leo Tolstoy.
The Auckland council has a $300m hole it its budget from the IT systems blow out…
“Making matters worse for ratepayers, the council has only budgeted $150 million for the $450 million cost over the next eight years. This has left a $300 million shortfall that will have to be borrowed or paid for from rates at a time of economic hardship”
Ask Rodney Hide, he & his transition agency set the budget for this and if i am not mistaken public opinion at the time suggested their budget (150m) was way under.
Blame RH not the current Auckland Council.
IT was partially and poorly amalgamated until the money ran out then left for the akl ratepayer and the new council to sort out by Hide and co.
That’s probably why Ford threw his watercare CIO into the top job at Supercity as most other CIO’s would’ve run a mile as it was time bomb as the folk who were rolled off one by one as the money ran out had not finished the task at hand.
The real elephant is having a unified ratings system across the entire region hooked up to a single billing engine…don’t hold your breath just keep your wallet open ratepayers.
Another shonky effort to open up land, carve out the water and divert attention away from grabbing more public assets brought to you by the NACT who’ve moved onto chch.
Eyecandy? Isn’t it great we have a deaf MP, who needs to read lips to follow debates but can’t because its the view of many she should just sit there and look pretty, and damnit, pay for her own eyeglasses (I presume she does already).
But there is a very low tech solution to the problem, if the speaker had the capitalist gene that is.
Simple place a camera above and behind the speaker, then have all members talk directly to the speakers chair (using the new MS movement recognition box), it will wind MPs up so much that they’d all put their hands in their pockets to have the already taking of members spoken word to text redirected to her. And would that be so bad, I mean why can’t we get the Maori translation on parliament TV also.
errr…. how do we know those in the photos / videos wearing camo gear and handling guns were the four defendants in the dock?
How come there has been all this persecution / prosecution of activists whilst it has been impossible to get the Police, the SFO or the Finance Markets Authority to lift a finger and charge John Banks or Don Brash as former fellow Directors of Huljich Wealth Management (NZ) Ltd, who equally signed Huljich Kiwisaver Scheme registered prospectuses dated 22 August 2008 and 18 September 2009, which contained untrue statements?
So â how come only ONE Director â Peter Huljich â was ever charged?
How about ZERO TOLERANCE FOR ‘WHITE COLLAR’ CRIME?
Penny Bright [email deleted]
[lprent: moved to OpenMike. Tacking a sentence on the top doesn’t obviate that the bulk of the comment was well out of content wasn’t anything to do with the post you dropped it in. ]
[lprent: moved to OpenMike. Tacking a sentence on the top doesn’t obviate that the bulk of the comment was well out of content wasn’t anything to do with the post you dropped it in. ]
I don’t share your view at all on this point.
It is to do with the criminalising of dissent whilst effectively doing nothing about the corrupt ‘gang’ of ‘white collar’ criminals who run New Zealand?
Interesting that it is exactly the same prosecutor in both the Urewera and Occupy Auckland court cases – Ross Burns.
Ever heard of ‘State capture’?
The form of grand corruption which, in my considered opinion as an anti-corruption campaigner, is ENDEMIC in NZ?
‘State capture’ is where vested interests get their way at the ‘policy’ level – before legislation is passed which serves their interests.
That’s where the NZ Business Round Table focussed.
On ‘policy’.
Take any issue and check out the ‘Regulatory Impact Reports /Statement’ and see with whom policy analysts and the like are ‘consulting’……
Penny Bright
Named Respondent
Auckland Council v The Occupiers of Aotea Square
CIV-2011-404-8284
Interesting how TODAY the ACT Party are announcing their new âLeaderâ?
Whom exactly the National Party âBâ Team âLeaderâ is going to âleadâ is a fair question â is it not?
Is Catherine Isaac going to be the new ACT Party Leader?
If so â does Catherine Isaac support ACT stated policy of âONE LAW FOR ALLâ?
(We know that current ACT MP for Epsom John Banks obviously doesnât).
Former ACT Leader Rodney Hide does.
PROOF that the former (deposed) Leader of the ACT Party, Rodney Hide, supports âONE LAW FOR ALLâ and agrees that one law for all should equally apply to ACT MP for Epsom, John Banks, and former ACT Party Leader Don Brash, who as fellow former Directors of Huljich Wealth Management equally signed registered prospectuses that contained untrue statements:
Rodney Hide was a guest with Willie Jackson on Radio Live, Friday 20 January 2012, from 1 â 3pm.
I rang and asked the following questions:
âRodney, you were the former Leader of the ACT Party.
Do you believe in âone law for allâ?â
Rodney Hideâs reply â âYesâ.
âDo you believe that one law for all should equally apply to ACT MP for Epsom, John Banks, and former ACT Party Leader Don Brash, who as fellow former Directors of Huljich Wealth Management equally signed registered prospectuses that contained untrue statements?â
Rodney Hideâs reply â âYesâ.
(This was on approximately the 85th minute of the show â about 15mm from the end using the âposition sliderâ).
[lprent: When there are a lot of e-mail addresses on this site I get an increase in bots coming to harvest them for the spam bots. Since there are a lot of them and they almost all come from overseas they impact on my overseas traffic. We get some expensive excess charging on overseas traffic ($3+GST per GB) so I take every opportunity to reduce it because in the worst periods it has nearly doubled our server costs.
I find that the best way to prevent it being a problem is to not have any identifiable e-mail addresses on the site in recent posts and comments. Then they try, go away, and don’t come back for a while.
You can put e-mail addresses in human readable form like “waterpressure at gmail”, or even better just point then to the e-mail address page on your site. Even fixing the URL you use so people can click on it (.nzz ?). Just don’t use something that encourages the vermin to come here. ]
This is the type of government services that the government is bringing about with it’s incessant cuts.
Beverley Wakem says the public watchdog has a bulging backlog of cases because it lacks investigators, with underpaid staff leaving and in some cases literally being worked to death.
You’ll also note that that’s an article about the Ombudsman – the public service that’s there to hold the government to account.
Sometime this year, we taxpayers may again receive another ‘Economic Stimulus’ payment. This is indeed a very exciting program for Australians, and I’ll explain it by using a Q & A format:
Q. What is an ‘Economic Stimulus’ payment ?
A. It is money that the government will send to taxpayers.
Q. Where will the government get this money ?
A. From taxpayers.
Q. So the government is giving me back my own money ?
A. Only a smidgen of it.
Q. What is the purpose of this payment ?
A. The plan is for you to use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.
Q. But isn’t that stimulating the economy of China ?
A. Shut up.
Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the NZ. Economy by spending your stimulus cheque wisely:
If you spend the stimulus money at The Warehouse, the money will go to China or Sri Lanka …
If you spend it on petrol, your money will go to the Arabs.
If you purchase a computer, it will go to India , Taiwan , Malaysia or China ..
If you purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico , Philippines and Australia .
If you buy an efficient car, it will go to Japan or Korea
If you purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan ..
If you pay your credit cards off, or buy stock, it will go to management bonuses and they will hide it offshore.
Instead, keep the money in NZ by:
1) Spending it at garage sales..
2) Going to the footy.
3) Spending it on prostitutes or
4) Beer or
5) Tattoos.
(These are the only NZ BUSINESSES STILL OPERATING HERE)
Conclusion:
Go to a footy game with a tattooed prostitute that you met at a garage-sale and drink beer all day!
Milford/Hollyford/Dart Tunnel: submissions to DOC closes next Monday. DOC have said they intend to grant the concessions for this tunnel, which will be a private road for select tourism operators only. It’s planned to cross two National Parks. This is another contemporary but private ‘think big’, profit-for-the-rich-boys project, with very little benefit to kiwis, and major negative impact to the National parks esp on the Fiordland side. It would also enable the argument to be put for a road to the West Coast, and then the top road from the Coast to Golden Bay.
I think numbers will really count in the submission process, so if you feel this is important, even a brief submission will be important. The deadline has been extended a month to Feb 20th.
Oh joy! Another “new” think tank consisting of overpaid CEO’s. I can’t wait for them to recommend ways of increasing their own wealth. This bit from Fran OâSullivan has to take the cake:
The published “strategies” to engage with major countries like China and India are also woefully silent on strategic “what ifs” and risk analysis.
And when the Government is having to face down a woefully misinformed public over the realities of bilateral free trade and investment deals – as with the Crafar farms – business has stood on the sidelines.
Australian CEOs also seem less wary when it comes to engaging with journalists (they are used to operating in a robust environment which at times verges on feral). But in this country they are less forward.
She thinks a think tank can better strategize on how to sell off our assets. Yeah! What if National ignores the law and tries to manipulate the public with claims of racism, Fran? What if the court rule against the governments decision… are they also woefully misinformed and xenophobic?
Speaking of engaging, I notice that she didn’t once respond to The Standards excellent post concerning the matter. What a coward!
….a panel of leading international environmental scientists declared in London on Friday. The solution, they said, may not lie with governments at all.
“We are disillusioned. The current political system is broken,” said Bob Watson, the UK government’s chief environmental science advisor, who chaired the meeting.
The panel, all winners of the prestigious Blue Planet prize, often seen as the Nobel prize for environmental science, were meeting to prepare a statement for the Earth Summit 2012, to be held in Rio de Janeiro in June â 20 years after the original Earth Summit in that city.
The world has wasted the intervening years, the group said. Ecosystems are disappearing ever faster, the world is still warming, and two 1992 treaties, on climate change and species loss, have failed to achieve their aims. Governments, the group said, were largely to blame.
Sounds good! Government’s and other factions are becoming ever more controlling of social media networks, which are also becoming more commercialized. Something that can bypass all of that would be great! Having information readily available not dependent on commercial and other manipulatory interests would be helpful.
It’d be fun to write. Probably less fun to deal with the assorted egos of those Who’d be attracted to such a project. But I fail to see why they haven’t just have a look though sourceforge and the like…
That got me interested and thinking. You still need an initial access point into the net though as far as I can tell.
I was thinking though just like we played Doom locally, as to the best of my knowledge still can, by putting in each others phone number, I wonder if it would be possible to set up local mesh networks in NZ that could take advantage of free local calling. The ISP/host type cost would simply be the cost of a second local phone line running 24/7.
Before the days of broadband I ran a second phone-line 24/7 just for internet.
There’s clearly more people here who understand this technology better than me but if this was possible I could see that you could set up local peoples networks for instance completely bypassing the normal internet.
Here’s one place that seems to have saved plenty by using this technology:
Is there a way to make sure that this is not just another talk shop, for “assorted egos” in love with their own cleverness?
But instead become an international organising centre?
Could a true Global Commons be able to act on the real world to influence events and bring about change?
Could it be able to reach into the mainstream media?
Would it be able to reach across borders even in war time?
Could it connect people of good will on both sides of seemingly intractable disputes from disparate cultures and languages?
Could it be a resource informed by the most advanced study and scientific advice on what needs to be done to save our world and society from complete global economic and environmental collapse?
Could it be a safe haven for whistle blowers and insiders appalled at what is happening to their world?
Could it mobilise millions and even billions to take actions to save our planet?
Can it be made immune from governmental shut down or censorship, on behalf of entrenched vested interest?
Could it combine the best of Wikipedia, Wikileaks, and the Arab Spring on a global scale?
Could it be a global force for change?
Lynn, What I am asking, is this a worthwhile project, or not?
drop in finance costs of about $266 million by 2016.
But the trade-off is the loss of an estimated $200 million in dividends by 2016 and the loss of $360 million in forecast foregone profits in the same year.
By selling the assets we save $266mil on interest but lose $360mil on profits from owning the assets -> Net position NZ is poorer by $100mil over 4 years unless I’m misreading that.
Aside from this official admission of the ridiculousness of this asset sale in the first place, this:
The Government campaigned at the last election on selling a stake in the SOEs and Finance Minister Bill English today defended not making today’s figures available before the election to inform the debate.
That was because the Government had not made decisions “which would then trigger Treasury incorporating events in the forecast”.
“Since the pre-election fiscal update the government has confirmed its plans to proceed with cabinet decisions and initial work has now been completed.”
Wait what?
Back in November the Ombudsman said the decision has already been made -> is already Government policy -> cannot disclose advice that affects the potential decision.
But now English says they hadn’t made the decision until after the election so this Treasury advice they had before the election was kept secret.
This means either:
1: the Ombudsman has been misled for political gain at the election
2: the Ombudsman decision was not correct
3: the Ombudsman participated in misleading the public for political gain in favor of the Government.
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Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.Weâve announced we are the âYes Governmentâ. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. Itâs about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. âThe latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
Nationalâs cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te PÄti MÄori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna MÄori from state care back to te iwi MÄori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willisâ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Armyâs annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Armyâs State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Memberâs Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The âFluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Billâ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Memberâs Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current âEnvironmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Frameworkâ. âThis Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if todayâs announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, the Treaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between MÄori and the British Crown. Initially inked by NgÄ Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this governmentâs failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealandâs opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting MÄori and Pacific people especially hard, with MÄori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, the Treaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between MÄori and the British Crown. Initially inked by NgÄ Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing â National still wonât commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the countryâs public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te PÄti MÄori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymourâs âcost-savingâ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. âWhatâs the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?â Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the townâs Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mĆ Te KÄhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tĆ«puna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tĆ«puna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Childrenâs Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her governmentâs terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers â temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymourâs school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Governmentâs commitment to get New Zealandâs roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. âIncreasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. âToday I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in WhÄngarei will be offering childhood immunisations â the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Governmentâs record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealandâs strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealandâs national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Governmentâs transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. Itâs a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. âThe racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. âThe latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are âstill both very highâ.â The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawkeâs Bay Fallen Soldiersâ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawkeâs Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealandâs second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. âWe have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mĆ Te KÄhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. âThis Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. âA world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed KÄinga Oraâs decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. âIn 2024 KÄinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,â Mr Bishop says. âAs part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. âAs schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamarikiâs review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 Whatâs Up hotline. âWhen I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. âThe Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. âDecember 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labourâs blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. âThe previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. âNational campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 â the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. âThis yearâs Budget will drive forward the Governmentâs plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. âBudget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Governmentâs growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. âJust over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. âThe Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,â says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. âThe change is part of the Governmentâs plan to unlock New Zealandâs potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of KÄinga Oraâs development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. âIâve been a strong advocate for social housing on KÄinga Oraâs Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministersâ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
MONDAYSheriff Seymour rode slowly down the main street of Dodge on his faithful white horse Atlas Network.He liked what he saw.Children were being fed free lunches prepared by kind people who collected the scraps from an offal rendering plant.“Very strongly flavoured liver, such as ox liver, can be soaked overnight ...
Once upon a time it was all about being an astronaut, a firefighter or doctor; but these days kids have their sights set on becoming vloggers or YouTubers.That’s according to a 2019 study by Lego that surveyed 3000 children between the ages of eight to 12 from the US, the ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. From the moment I started high school and realised almost every other girl in my year was at least partially interested in what the boys were up to, I realised that I would be single for life. The feeling wasnât one of ...
The Pacific profiles series shines a light on Pacific people in Aotearoa doing interesting and important work in their communities, as nominated by members of the public. Today, Selina Alesana Alefosio.All photos by Geoffery Matautia.On a bright Sunday morning from her grandparentâs home in Pito-one, I spoke with ...
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Claire Mabey explores the pros and cons of puff quotes on book covers.In January, Publishers Weekly put out an article by Sean Manning â publisher of Simon & Schusterâs flagship US imprint â in which he said heâd âno longer require authors to obtain blurbs for their booksâ.The ...
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http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6426246/Mallard-sells-festival-tickets-online-at-profit
Perception is everything I guess
Yeah a politician acting like a politician, they all need shooting
Stupid, Mallard. Why did you need to do that? rather than, say, giving them away?
Either he is a true capitalist and will sell his soul for a profit (Which he appears to have done) or the wisdom of F.Gump is held to be true again !!! đ
FFS, I am agreeing with you Chris – a very stupid act by Trev.
To be fair I don’t think hes trying to supplement his income so I don’t think hes guilty of scalping but definately guilty of something even worse, a dumb arse
Man oh man.
Prepare for a deluge of outraged skeptics arguing passionately and furiously that leading players in the climate change debate have paid someone $US100k to develop teaching materials specifically designed towards, in their own words, “dissuading teachers from teaching science”
http://bit.ly/xwkcHZ
Reckoned if I typed ‘climategate’ into the search bar I’d get a list of regular rightish commenters with dozens if not hundreds of hits.
Also reckon they’ll have fuck all to say about this.
And that Bob Carter joker who has often said that he isn’t funded for his research by lobby gropups or what have you, and that scientists are under enormous pressure to ‘conform’ in order to get funding? Now saying that the monthly cheques he’s been getting from the heartland institute don’t influence him any way, that disclosing them would be quaint, and that no scientists would ever let funding issues influence their work.
http://www.readfearn.com/2012/02/bob-carter-responds-to-heartland-leak/
Hahahaha.
Sort of wonder what motivates these deniers. What do they get out of their positions? Money? Fame?
They get to believe humans are at the center of the universe, and the people pulling their strings own the oil and car companies, as layed out by the doners to the Heartland Institute, they make TONS of money…
On Heartland Institute leak.. #deniergate
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/15/leak-exposes-heartland-institute-climate
& âWe will also pursue additional support from the Charles G. Koch Foundation. They returned as a Heartland donor in 2011 with a contribution of $200,000. We expect to push up their level of support in 2012 and gain access to their network of philanthropists, if our focus continues to align with their interests. Other contributions will be pursued for this work, especially from corporations whose interests are threatened by climate policies.â
http://www.desmogblog.com/heartland-institute-exposed-internal-documents-unmask-heart-climate-denial-machine
&
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/feb/15/leaked-heartland-institute-documents-climate-scepticism
$ a pdf of Heartland Institutes 2012 budget, including scientists on the payroll
http://t.co/kFZPMhks
http://whoar.co.nz/2012/noam-chomsky-the-imperial-way-american-decline-in-perspective-part-2/
ââŠIn the years of conscious, self-inflicted decline at home, âlossesâ continued to mount elsewhere.
In the past decade for the first time in 500 years –
– South America has taken successful steps to free itself from western domination â another serious loss.
The region has moved towards integration â and has begun to address some of the terrible internal problems of societies ruled by mostly Europeanized elites –
– tiny islands of extreme wealth in a sea of misery.
They have also rid themselves of all U.S. military bases and of IMF controls.
A newly formed organization, CELAC, includes all countries of the hemisphere apart from the U.S. and Canada.
If it actually functions â that would be another step in American decline –
– in this case in what has always been regarded as âthe backyard.â..â
(cont..)
[email look alike deleted].
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6426246/Mallard-sells-festival-tickets-online-at-profit
Mallard seems to have “sell sell sell” sorted!
đ
[lprent: off topic – moved to OpenMike. Don’t waste my time. ]
Tho I didnt put this on open mike thru the Standards censorship this where it now resides……
It was by far funnier on the “sell sell sell” post…:-)
[lprent: It wasn’t censored, it was moved because it was a classic example of diversion trolling being off topic to anything in the post. You have just wasted my time again having to respond. It is not particularly wise to do that because I tend to take action to reduce the dumbarse problem wasting my time. Read the policy. ]
No one held a gun to your head lprent…maybe you need a happy pill in your morning coffee…
[lprent: Two week educational ban for repeated stupidity. ]
Hi Lprent, will Mallard get the same educational ban from Parliament for his repeated stupidity ??
Just asking.
[lprent: Ask Lockjaw. He runs the house, I don’t. In much the same way that Lockjaw doesn’t run this site, I do. But your question was rather imprecise. You probably should direct it to the leader of the Labour parliamentary party – David Shearer.
This is rather obvious. Why are you bothering me with the question (and wasting my time)? ]
So TVNZ puts commercial logic over political balance?
And what’s the it’s not about him “as a person”.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6427529/TVNZ-show-dumps-Labour-leader
So Key’s distractions from the significant political issues by chasing photo ops, is not about the person, and is about Key “setting the agenda”?
It’s pretty obvious that TVNZ think Shearer is boring, and they don’t want him on their station unless they absolutely have to have him there, whereas they consider Key to be prime ‘talent’ that will draw viewers regardless of what he’s talking about.
It’s pretty obvious TVNZ only take an interest in Opposition leaders in election year because they can’t rule out the possibility they might win and therefore take charge of the purse strings. In the meantime it’s a case of sucking up to JK for all their worth because he’s got his hands on the money bags.
Experience has taught me to take the most cynical line at all times because it is invariably the right one. đ
Oh dear, they’ve failed to take into account people like me. I switch channels the second I see “beloved Leader” appear or hear his voice! đ
Hi guys, I have some tickets to Homegrown – Anyone want to pay me 73% over the face value?
[deleted]
[lprent: no emails please. It causes email scraping bots to look at the site. Which reminds me. Time to deal with penny brights habits ]
nah thanks burt I am already sorted but I am interested to know if you will be paying tax on your profit?
David C
Good question….. How about I write to my MP and ask what they would do. Of course their answer might be different from the legal requirement because it’s different when Labour do it.
In breaking news, Burt embraces socialism; decries workings of the free market. Later: Spinning noise heard in Rand crypt, details at ten.
If I embraced socialism I would have asked you to pay for me to go and I would have made you pay more than the cost of me going to cover the transaction cost of extracting the money from you.
Then if I discovered you could afford that I would have made you pay for my transport costs to and from the event as well; plus a transaction cost to extract that money from you.
burt, that’s capitalism and you’ve already embraced that.
Actually if I had embraced socialism I would pass a law to make sure other people couldn’t do this then do it myself – And I’d claim it was OK when I did it…..
ââŠBeing a vegan can come with considerable criticism and questions.
Some are well-founded, but others ⊠not so much.
Letâs debunk some of the more prevalent myths about being a veganâŠâ
http://whoar.co.nz/2012/infographic-veganism-myths-debunked/
[email look alike deleted].
A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral.
Leo Tolstoy.
Maybe it’s not the right day to be talking about people who “sell, sell, sell” đ
[lprent: Despite the attempt to make it relevant to the post, it is still off topic. Moved to OpenMike. ]
http://www.interest.co.nz/bonds/57929/inaugural-local-govt-funding-agency-debt-auction-attracts-bids-worth-nz132-bln-equivalen
So they had $300 worth of debt to be sold! – OK
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10729158
The Auckland council has a $300m hole it its budget from the IT systems blow out…
“Making matters worse for ratepayers, the council has only budgeted $150 million for the $450 million cost over the next eight years. This has left a $300 million shortfall that will have to be borrowed or paid for from rates at a time of economic hardship”
Anyone know if this is related?
Anyoner know if this is related?
Ask Rodney Hide, he & his transition agency set the budget for this and if i am not mistaken public opinion at the time suggested their budget (150m) was way under.
Blame RH not the current Auckland Council.
IT was partially and poorly amalgamated until the money ran out then left for the akl ratepayer and the new council to sort out by Hide and co.
That’s probably why Ford threw his watercare CIO into the top job at Supercity as most other CIO’s would’ve run a mile as it was time bomb as the folk who were rolled off one by one as the money ran out had not finished the task at hand.
The real elephant is having a unified ratings system across the entire region hooked up to a single billing engine…don’t hold your breath just keep your wallet open ratepayers.
Another shonky effort to open up land, carve out the water and divert attention away from grabbing more public assets brought to you by the NACT who’ve moved onto chch.
It’s been awhile:
Bridgenorth castle or why two planes cannot collapse three steel framed high rises.
I’ll trump that with http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/CrystalPalace.htm
Eyecandy? Isn’t it great we have a deaf MP, who needs to read lips to follow debates but can’t because its the view of many she should just sit there and look pretty, and damnit, pay for her own eyeglasses (I presume she does already).
But there is a very low tech solution to the problem, if the speaker had the capitalist gene that is.
Simple place a camera above and behind the speaker, then have all members talk directly to the speakers chair (using the new MS movement recognition box), it will wind MPs up so much that they’d all put their hands in their pockets to have the already taking of members spoken word to text redirected to her. And would that be so bad, I mean why can’t we get the Maori translation on parliament TV also.
errr…. how do we know those in the photos / videos wearing camo gear and handling guns were the four defendants in the dock?
How come there has been all this persecution / prosecution of activists whilst it has been impossible to get the Police, the SFO or the Finance Markets Authority to lift a finger and charge John Banks or Don Brash as former fellow Directors of Huljich Wealth Management (NZ) Ltd, who equally signed Huljich Kiwisaver Scheme registered prospectuses dated 22 August 2008 and 18 September 2009, which contained untrue statements?
So â how come only ONE Director â Peter Huljich â was ever charged?
How about ZERO TOLERANCE FOR ‘WHITE COLLAR’ CRIME?
Penny Bright
[email deleted]
[lprent: moved to OpenMike. Tacking a sentence on the top doesn’t obviate that the bulk of the comment was well out of content wasn’t anything to do with the post you dropped it in. ]
[lprent: moved to OpenMike. Tacking a sentence on the top doesn’t obviate that the bulk of the comment was well out of content wasn’t anything to do with the post you dropped it in. ]
I don’t share your view at all on this point.
It is to do with the criminalising of dissent whilst effectively doing nothing about the corrupt ‘gang’ of ‘white collar’ criminals who run New Zealand?
Interesting that it is exactly the same prosecutor in both the Urewera and Occupy Auckland court cases – Ross Burns.
Ever heard of ‘State capture’?
The form of grand corruption which, in my considered opinion as an anti-corruption campaigner, is ENDEMIC in NZ?
‘State capture’ is where vested interests get their way at the ‘policy’ level – before legislation is passed which serves their interests.
That’s where the NZ Business Round Table focussed.
On ‘policy’.
Take any issue and check out the ‘Regulatory Impact Reports /Statement’ and see with whom policy analysts and the like are ‘consulting’……
Penny Bright
Named Respondent
Auckland Council v The Occupiers of Aotea Square
CIV-2011-404-8284
FYI
Interesting how TODAY the ACT Party are announcing their new âLeaderâ?
Whom exactly the National Party âBâ Team âLeaderâ is going to âleadâ is a fair question â is it not?
Is Catherine Isaac going to be the new ACT Party Leader?
If so â does Catherine Isaac support ACT stated policy of âONE LAW FOR ALLâ?
(We know that current ACT MP for Epsom John Banks obviously doesnât).
Former ACT Leader Rodney Hide does.
PROOF that the former (deposed) Leader of the ACT Party, Rodney Hide, supports âONE LAW FOR ALLâ and agrees that one law for all should equally apply to ACT MP for Epsom, John Banks, and former ACT Party Leader Don Brash, who as fellow former Directors of Huljich Wealth Management equally signed registered prospectuses that contained untrue statements:
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Rodney-Hide-and-Willie-Jackson/tabid/506/articleID/25533/Default.aspx
Rodney Hide was a guest with Willie Jackson on Radio Live, Friday 20 January 2012, from 1 â 3pm.
I rang and asked the following questions:
âRodney, you were the former Leader of the ACT Party.
Do you believe in âone law for allâ?â
Rodney Hideâs reply â âYesâ.
âDo you believe that one law for all should equally apply to ACT MP for Epsom, John Banks, and former ACT Party Leader Don Brash, who as fellow former Directors of Huljich Wealth Management equally signed registered prospectuses that contained untrue statements?â
Rodney Hideâs reply â âYesâ.
(This was on approximately the 85th minute of the show â about 15mm from the end using the âposition sliderâ).
Penny Bright
[email deleted]
What’s the problem with the email address?
Just asking – nicely?
Cheers!
Penny Bright
[lprent: When there are a lot of e-mail addresses on this site I get an increase in bots coming to harvest them for the spam bots. Since there are a lot of them and they almost all come from overseas they impact on my overseas traffic. We get some expensive excess charging on overseas traffic ($3+GST per GB) so I take every opportunity to reduce it because in the worst periods it has nearly doubled our server costs.
I find that the best way to prevent it being a problem is to not have any identifiable e-mail addresses on the site in recent posts and comments. Then they try, go away, and don’t come back for a while.
You can put e-mail addresses in human readable form like “waterpressure at gmail”, or even better just point then to the e-mail address page on your site. Even fixing the URL you use so people can click on it (.nzz ?). Just don’t use something that encourages the vermin to come here. ]
Ok!
Thanks.
Penny Bright
The new leader of the ACT party is…..John Banks!
Who would have guessed that?
Goodness I am slow! I thought he already was!
It’s not you that was slow, V32, it’s taken three months to find another ACT member to countersign Banksie’s nomination form!
Vicky32, are you Vicky who checked essays..? If you are her, you will know what I mean.
If you are, there’s a private message for you on a ”belief” portal, thanks.
Vicky is just my name here, but I have got notification of a message! I am trying to find it now… đ Thanks!
How do you define “new”?
Well there has not been an ACT leader since Don Brash walked away.
John Boscawen continues as Deputy Leader, indefinitely.
This is the type of government services that the government is bringing about with it’s incessant cuts.
You’ll also note that that’s an article about the Ombudsman – the public service that’s there to hold the government to account.
Labour Aus Stimulus by:
Gillard and Swan.
Sometime this year, we taxpayers may again receive another ‘Economic Stimulus’ payment. This is indeed a very exciting program for Australians, and I’ll explain it by using a Q & A format:
Q. What is an ‘Economic Stimulus’ payment ?
A. It is money that the government will send to taxpayers.
Q. Where will the government get this money ?
A. From taxpayers.
Q. So the government is giving me back my own money ?
A. Only a smidgen of it.
Q. What is the purpose of this payment ?
A. The plan is for you to use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.
Q. But isn’t that stimulating the economy of China ?
A. Shut up.
Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the NZ. Economy by spending your stimulus cheque wisely:
If you spend the stimulus money at The Warehouse, the money will go to China or Sri Lanka …
If you spend it on petrol, your money will go to the Arabs.
If you purchase a computer, it will go to India , Taiwan , Malaysia or China ..
If you purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico , Philippines and Australia .
If you buy an efficient car, it will go to Japan or Korea
If you purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan ..
If you pay your credit cards off, or buy stock, it will go to management bonuses and they will hide it offshore.
Instead, keep the money in NZ by:
1) Spending it at garage sales..
2) Going to the footy.
3) Spending it on prostitutes or
4) Beer or
5) Tattoos.
(These are the only NZ BUSINESSES STILL OPERATING HERE)
Conclusion:
Go to a footy game with a tattooed prostitute that you met at a garage-sale and drink beer all day!
+1
đ
+2
Don’t the prostitutes all kick back to the Triads or the Mob? I suppose the latter is still ok for our balance of payments.
John Key’s internet fantasy
This looks set to be yet another National failure…
Milford/Hollyford/Dart Tunnel: submissions to DOC closes next Monday. DOC have said they intend to grant the concessions for this tunnel, which will be a private road for select tourism operators only. It’s planned to cross two National Parks. This is another contemporary but private ‘think big’, profit-for-the-rich-boys project, with very little benefit to kiwis, and major negative impact to the National parks esp on the Fiordland side. It would also enable the argument to be put for a road to the West Coast, and then the top road from the Coast to Golden Bay.
I think numbers will really count in the submission process, so if you feel this is important, even a brief submission will be important. The deadline has been extended a month to Feb 20th.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/getting-involved/consultations/current/notified-concession-applications/dart-passage-tunnel-milford-dart-ltd/
More detail/background –
Guidelines on making submissions http://www.fiordland.org.nz/Files/Submission-guide-on-Dart-Passage-Tunne.pdf
http://www.fiordland.org.nz/ABOUT-FIORDLAND/Submissions.asp
More Global Warming hits Britain…………..
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2101649/UK-weather-Blizzards-head-Britain-swaps-Siberian-winds-Arctic-gales.html
Sell sell sell? Sounds like Trevor and some homegrown tickets? Speaking of which…. Trevor do you have anymore?
[lprent: off topic – moved ]
Oh joy! Another “new” think tank consisting of overpaid CEO’s. I can’t wait for them to recommend ways of increasing their own wealth. This bit from Fran OâSullivan has to take the cake:
She thinks a think tank can better strategize on how to sell off our assets. Yeah! What if National ignores the law and tries to manipulate the public with claims of racism, Fran? What if the court rule against the governments decision… are they also woefully misinformed and xenophobic?
Speaking of engaging, I notice that she didn’t once respond to The Standards excellent post concerning the matter. What a coward!
Wow!
A call to arms for all coders
Coders Your planet needs you
Something for you Lynn?
What do you think?
Don’t make me send you a white feather. (just joking)
Seriously Lynn what are your thoughts, is this worth a post?
Before you say anything consider this:
Earth Summit is doomed to fail, say leading ecologists.
Sounds good! Government’s and other factions are becoming ever more controlling of social media networks, which are also becoming more commercialized. Something that can bypass all of that would be great! Having information readily available not dependent on commercial and other manipulatory interests would be helpful.
It’d be fun to write. Probably less fun to deal with the assorted egos of those Who’d be attracted to such a project. But I fail to see why they haven’t just have a look though sourceforge and the like…
From Scientific American: “Internet Freedom Fighters Build a Shadow Web“
That got me interested and thinking. You still need an initial access point into the net though as far as I can tell.
I was thinking though just like we played Doom locally, as to the best of my knowledge still can, by putting in each others phone number, I wonder if it would be possible to set up local mesh networks in NZ that could take advantage of free local calling. The ISP/host type cost would simply be the cost of a second local phone line running 24/7.
Before the days of broadband I ran a second phone-line 24/7 just for internet.
There’s clearly more people here who understand this technology better than me but if this was possible I could see that you could set up local peoples networks for instance completely bypassing the normal internet.
Here’s one place that seems to have saved plenty by using this technology:
http://www.govtech.com/wireless/99362464.html
Is there a way to make sure that this is not just another talk shop, for “assorted egos” in love with their own cleverness?
But instead become an international organising centre?
Could a true Global Commons be able to act on the real world to influence events and bring about change?
Could it be able to reach into the mainstream media?
Would it be able to reach across borders even in war time?
Could it connect people of good will on both sides of seemingly intractable disputes from disparate cultures and languages?
Could it be a resource informed by the most advanced study and scientific advice on what needs to be done to save our world and society from complete global economic and environmental collapse?
Could it be a safe haven for whistle blowers and insiders appalled at what is happening to their world?
Could it mobilise millions and even billions to take actions to save our planet?
Can it be made immune from governmental shut down or censorship, on behalf of entrenched vested interest?
Could it combine the best of Wikipedia, Wikileaks, and the Arab Spring on a global scale?
Could it be a global force for change?
Lynn, What I am asking, is this a worthwhile project, or not?
What would it take? Is it feasible? From tiny acorns….
Today we have this http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6429541/Govt-says-asset-sales-will-cut-debt
First & worthy of discussion itself
By selling the assets we save $266mil on interest but lose $360mil on profits from owning the assets -> Net position NZ is poorer by $100mil over 4 years unless I’m misreading that.
Aside from this official admission of the ridiculousness of this asset sale in the first place, this:
Wait what?
Back in November the Ombudsman said the decision has already been made -> is already Government policy -> cannot disclose advice that affects the potential decision.
But now English says they hadn’t made the decision until after the election so this Treasury advice they had before the election was kept secret.
This means either:
1: the Ombudsman has been misled for political gain at the election
2: the Ombudsman decision was not correct
3: the Ombudsman participated in misleading the public for political gain in favor of the Government.