And a school that was reportedly sheltering people fleeing Aleppo! Further glory to great savior Putin, whose crimes do not count because he is not Western.
‘I oppose war crimes especially those targeting civilians and the medical infrastructure that supports civilian populations in a war zone. People who do these things are war criminals who should be tried in court and should lose the support of anyone who claims to be of the left’.
Keep looking Moz, it’s there somewhere. If you haven’t found it by this evening get back to me and I promise to take action. I’ve got the night shift at trp towers on standby just in case. They’re big fans of your work.
I wonder what they’re excuse will be. The US at least told a large part of the truth when it slaughtered innocents at a hospital . . .
. . . A U.S. airstrike that mistakenly killed 30 people at a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, last month was, in part, the result of military personnel inadvertently aiming at the wrong target — the hospital compound — instead of a suspected nearby site, from which Taliban fighters were firing, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Wednesday . . .
As an internationalist, does it grind against your allegiance to accept that the USA and the UK are directly responsible for the very existence of ISIS ?
The fact that Putin fights like this, as has been known since Grozny, is why I don’t support him. The same reason I didn’t support what was done by Bush in Iraq and Kissinger in SE Asia.
I realise that other people do support Putin on the basis he is not Western though, I get that.
Putin is far from alone in the use of cluster bombs, although he is less likely to be breaking his own law than Obama is . . .
Human Rights Watch released a report Sunday providing new indications that Saudi Arabia has fired American-made cluster munitions, banned by international treaty, in civilian areas of Yemen, and said their use may also violate United States law.
The report included photographs from Yemen purporting to show unexploded but potentially lethal remnants of American cluster weapons, suggesting that they had failed legally required reliability standards . . .
“Good on Joycey for front-footing it!”
Is Hillary Barry auditioning for a future rôle as parliamentary head-nodder? Paul Henry, TV3, Tuesday 16 February 2016
Shortly after 6 o’clock news, the eponymous host and his two slaves engage in a discussion about the major news story of the last 24 hours: John Oliver’s coverage of the dildo attack on Steven Joyce at Waitangi. After Henry mentions that Joyce had quipped “Might as well send it straight to John Oliver and get it over with,” there’s a brief clip of Labour leader Andrew Little contending that this is no longer a laughing matter, and New Zealand is now an international laughing stock. Cut to news-reader slave Hilary Barry frowning at that killjoy, then expressing her North Korean level of support for the regime. “Good on Joycey,” she intones fervently, “for front-footing it!”
There is no longer even the slightest pretense of political objectivity on this show. That Key regime bail-out of Media Works a few years back is really paying off.
BREEN PREDICTS:
In a few years, look for National M.P. Hillary Barry to fill the vital parliamentary head-nodding rôle currently occupied by another old television hack, Maggie Barry and her understudies Louise Upston and Tim McIndoe.
Still think that hatchet job of the smelly TPP protesters was the lowest they’ve gone. Courtesy of Garner and du Plessis.
We should remember who were the enablers for the elite.
Joyce got a lot more than he wished for, mocked the crap out of. Key and his pet flag project copped it also. Teflon John can hardly blame anyone else but his lead snake oil salesman Joyce for really bringing the dildo saga to a worldwide audience.
Not the brightest dildo in the toy box, but certainly the biggest. Be a couple of angry hobbits in the House today. Keep it coming team teflon, laughter will make a change to the booing you have been getting lately.
I am no fan of Joyce but I actually think he has handled this as well as he possibly could. He had no control over getting smacked in the face with a big dick. Did he go full on offensive? no he actually pushed the humorous side of it. May have been un wise to goad Oliver but I wonder if John really could have avoided pulling the piss out of the guy who said that the NACT adds were “pretty legal”.
Audrey Young pens an odd piece together leading with John Key’s honeymoon is over than drops in the small crowd nonsense booing him at the BDO.
One thing is clear Natcorp are panicked. Last week they conducted polling in Northland & Whangarei electorates seeking information about do you know the candidates from the last election and who would you vote for if an election was held tomorrow? Monitoring Shane Reti’s popularity closely, given the likelihood that Shane Jones could make his comeback in the Whangarei seat. Interesting Peters was saying Whangarei will fall to NZF next.
the first comment is interesting, the Lady complaining that Winz appointments are weeks away, that the National MP for the electorate is not helpfull, and Unions were not allowed on the site.
Oh shucks. NZ is waking up from the beauty slumber of the last few years.
“A 70-year-old eco-warrior has been left bruised and battered after being beaten in a “cowardly” attack outside his Shannon home in the dead of night.
As they left the men commented on who had sent them. However, the Horowhenua Chronicle will not identify them as police are investigating the assault.
Mr Andrews is an environmental activist and spent Friday and Saturday prior to the attack, dealing with an issue to do with Shannon’s Sewerage Treatment Plant where he and Shannon councillor Ross Campbell filmed what they believed to be raw sewage being pumped into the nearby Otauru Stream (Standsell drain) which then poured into the nearby Mangaone Stream, which feeds the Manawatu River.”
The Horror Phew Enema city council is hopeless. I have been on at them for 2 years to do some proper recycling, but no. Everything still goes into the landfill.
Long term effects?
Blenheim 1999- 35 shops empty after nine years of National. Personally counted.
Come forward to 2011 after 9 years of Labour and three years of National.
Blenheim 15 shops empty.
After 7 years of National, in 2015
Blenheim 20 shops empty.
After 8 years of National in 2016?
Blenheim 29 shops empty. Double that of five years ago.
Figures from the Marlborough Express.
I wonder how other regional economies are faring under National? Was this neglect apparent in Northland and reflected in the message given recently to National by the election of Winston Peters in preference to a National lackey?
National seems to be lacking the key to economic growth.
as i posted yesterday, one of my real estate customers is really happy that the asian investors (her term not mine) are finally recieving their IRD numbers and sales in Auckland will pick up again and prices should raise accordingly.
don’t you feel the rockstar economy? All drugs rock n roll and early death?
Even the chief of the dairy industry says the government got it wrong while Goff lays out the differences in the public consultation process during the China agreement and the TPP. This highlights to me just why Labour moved away from the so called bi-partisan relationship – because the current government had abandoned the inclusive consultation process adopted by the more publicly responsible Labour government.
Farrer can whinge all he likes about the change in attitude by Labour but the real change in attitude was by Tim Groser and his paranoid, do-nothing department.
look it was a really funny video, and friends of mine from overseas really think that our government is worse than theirs, at least as one friend put it, they can keep it in their pants :
lol..
bwhahahahahahahahaha Dildo Baggins. Awesome comedy. Can you see the Honorable Mr. Joyce go and meet and greet dignitaries overseas…..Gentlement and Ladies….Dildo Bagg….err Steven Joyce Minster of something from NZ.
It doesn’t matter, that statement comes down right near the end which means the narrative has already been planted in the readers mind so when they get to the bottom (IF they get to the bottom) the idea that Little is humourless is already stuck there.
Whereas the first two paragraphs are:
“The Leader of the Opposition has expressed his concern over a skit which made fun of a government minister being hit with a sex toy.”
“Labour leader Andrew Little questioned minister Steven Joyce’s invitation for a comedian to poke fun at the incident which occurred a couple of weeks ago.”
I mean seriously can you really not see the issue here?
Whoever is running the media for Andrew Little should be all over this
You are a liar. You’ve made an argument that Little has no sense of humour and you’ve quoted some bits from a newspaper article to back that up and then left out the bit where they’ve said he was finding the whole thing funny. Hence you lied.
Or, you didn’t actually watch Little or read the whole article, which makes you stupid.
You must have liked the phrase John Oliver used at the beginning of the video regarding previous coverage of New Zealand and “their ridiculous Prime Minister .”
I know I did, even though I felt embarassed, it was such a relief to hear someone in the media speak the truth!
If the political left think that pushing a Twerking for a “Pervy PM” angle against “dirty old man” John Key is going to help prevent a 4th term for National, it has another think coming.
Good question, although another one might be ‘What would ensure a first term left wing coalition govt?’
In terms of preventing National getting a 4th term, I think the recording of and discussion about the PM of NZ being a disgrace of a PM (separate from his other sins) is useful.
I also think the TPPA is going to be a big thorn in their side if the protest momentum can be kept going.
But ultimately I think the problem isn’t that National are good, it’s that we need Labour to present as competent and then the left wing parties to present as a govt in waiting. No amount of dealing to National will make up for that if it’s missing.
In terms of preventing National getting a 4th term, I think the recording of and discussion about the PM of NZ being a disgrace of a PM (separate from his other sins) is useful.
– No it won’t, the majority of voters don’t seem to care
I also think the TPPA is going to be a big thorn in their side if the protest momentum can be kept going.
– It will be a big thorn but that thorn will be for Labour (you don’t think Key will go hard on Littles support but not really support for the TPPA?)
But ultimately I think the problem isn’t that National are good, it’s that we need Labour to present as competent and then the left wing parties to present as a govt in waiting. No amount of dealing to National will make up for that if it’s missing.
My theorising is that National and John Key are still high in the polls and Labours stagnating and I bet that the next round of polls will see a slight lift for National and a slight dip for Labour
We don’t need the majority of voters to care, we just need enough voters to vote on the left. The right didn’t win by a huge margin last time.
“My theorising is that National and John Key are still high in the polls and Labours stagnating and I bet that the next round of polls will see a slight lift for National and a slight dip for Labour”
Sure, but how do you tie that into “the majority of voters don’t seem to care” about Key as PM supporting rape culture? I’m not talking about the next poll, I’m talking about a steady shift within the culture in NZ over time. The next poll could be influenced by a rugby game or any other event, I don’t see how you could pull out the influence of a dynamic happening over a year or so.
– Heres what the Left needed to win last time:
Labour + Green + NZFirst + Maori Party + UF + Act
and heres what National could have done
National + MP or National + UF or National + Act
You are assuming that the left wouldn’t pick up any additional votes, so that doesn’t make sense.
Because if the voters did care, and more pertinently believed what the left were saying, then Nationals and John Keys numbers would be getting close to Labours and Littles
“You are assuming that the left wouldn’t pick up any additional votes, so that doesn’t make sense.”
– I’m assuming you’re referring to the missing million voters? If so you’re falling into the trap that thinks all those voters are left wing voters and if Labour just went more left all the voters would flock to it
“Because if the voters did care, and more pertinently believed what the left were saying, then Nationals and John Keys numbers would be getting close to Labours and Littles”
Only if things were really simple and people thought about voting in such simplistic ways. We’ve both agreed that the lefts polling isn’t going to move much until Labour look more competent, so there may be people upset at Key who still won’t say Labour until Labour change, but when Labour change they will jump easily. This is why the timeframes are important. It’s a long time until the next election and I can’t see Key improving his record in that time.
“– I’m assuming you’re referring to the missing million voters? If so you’re falling into the trap that thinks all those voters are left wing voters and if Labour just went more left all the voters would flock to it”
No, I’m not. I’m assuming that because in the past more NZers have voted on the left they can do so again. That might be part of the non-vote, it might be swing voters. It might be poor RW turnout, or centrist voters wanting to give Labour a chance. Your arguments are superficially tempting to some but the reality is more complex.
well hmm, the voters that booed at him both at the rugby game and the bgo might disagree with you. but in saying that, i agree that a lot of voters would not see it and hence not know about it.
tppa, hmm at the moment it is key’s thorn, and it will be labours thorn when they get to form a coalition government, but they will by then supported and restrained by the Greens (which is good in my eyes) and i think Winston Peters will have a thing to say or two.
again i agree that Labour needs to do better, and so do the Greens and NZ First if they want to be the grand coalition. They all need to up their game and play MMP instead of what evs.
However, reading the article about the Meatworkers that are not working because their chinese overlords are not ready yet (linked to the stuff article in Open Mike), and reading the comments, there are a lot of smaller lesser known National MP’s that are not getting good creds for doing their work, WINZ is not getting good cred for helping these people that are not pulling a wage for a few weeks and all points to the complete lack of care of the National MP’s in their electorate, and the National Governed Ministry that should help these people. I am guessing that nothing much is going to change over the next year, and if National voters get upset enough they might simply abstain from voting if they can’t be seen voting for any of the other parties.
So frankly i think at this day and age, everything is possible, and John Key has more to loose then any of the other parties.
I also think the TPPA is going to be a big thorn in their side if the protest momentum can be kept going.
That’s going to guarantee a 4th term
In terms of preventing National getting a 4th term, I think the recording of and discussion about the PM of NZ being a disgrace of a PM (separate from his other sins) is useful.
Only in lefty world is the PM considered a disgrace, so there’s no win there, if anything it’s costing the left votes.
Seriously, go have a look at John Keys face book page and read some of the offensive comments left wingers have made under pictures of John Key talking and interacting with peoples kids.
Lots and lots of pissed off parents having what is a nice experience ruined by some left wing wankers.
Absolute voter poison for the left, especially Labour.
So you say. I’m finding the whole CT mantra-repeating ‘National will win, the left will lose’ thing without any political substance boring. We need better RWNJs.
A poll last year, fwiw, showed that something like 60% of NZers are against the TPPA, 34% for and the rest undecided. Of the National party voters only 22% are in favour.
Had a quick scroll through of a couple of those, it doesn’t look full of rapid left wingers destroying people’s family time. It looks mostly like Key fans posting applause and a few other people dropping in either political comments or angry insulting ones (and not necessarily lefties, not sure why you categorise them all that way). Par for the course for FB.
I don’t agree with calling Key a paedophile, mostly because I think we are really bad in NZ at dealing with rape culture and throwing round accusations like that makes things murkier not clearer. But I think you underestimate how many people in NZ will be feeling uncomfortable about the growing number of times Key demonstrates at the least poor judgement when it comes to issues close to sexual violence. Even of the people who are good with Key’s politics there will be some who are uncomfortable with how he is on this.
A poll last year, fwiw, showed that something like 60% of NZers are against the TPPA, 34% for and the rest undecided. Of the National party voters only 22% are in favour.
And Labour can’t even get their shit together to interpret from that what they should do with regards to the TPP.
An absolute vote winning position on the TPP staring them right in the face and instead they choose to side with the corporates and transnational financial interests.
Yeah but rememeber there was also a lot of opposition to the partial sell down of shares in the power companies and it didn’t stop National then
The thing the left to recognize is theres a difference between a government enacting a policy that’s unpopular and a enacting a policy that will see you lose an election
This is an unpopular policy but its not going to cost the election for National but when protestors block of roads of people going to work then that will cost votes for the left
And all your doing pal is trying to tag these halfwits you talk about to Labour. We all know Key accused Mana and the Greens of being the small group who disrupted the GDO. You have to get in the real world, the likelihood of a fourth term is remote. For every 10 policies the Bats have put forward 1 or 2 will be met with disapproval, as the years roll by and more disapproving policies come with the years, some voters reach the tipping point. The TPPA, the flag change are big voter slippage, add more as we close in on the 2017 election and it is over for the incumbent. Happened to Clark and it will happen to Key. That is political life cobbah.
Not all voters think FPP not in Epsom as you know and not in Northland as you also know. It has taken a while for the opposition party’s to get their head around strategic voting but the whole country sat up and took notice when Peters took a seat that was regarded as a safe national stronghold. There are countless seats that the same result can happen. Especially in the forgotten regions.
Winston is a good man, an honest man, honest as the day is long, that is why so many Kiwis like the man and his party, his MP’s are solid too. Will be delighted when he can find time from his busy schedule to joins me on a friends super yacht for some much needed r & r with a wee celebration of a tidy donation to his party.
“Seriously, go have a look at John Keys face book page and read some of the offensive comments left wingers have made under pictures of John Key talking and interacting with peoples kids.”
You have a lot of faith in people online, actually being who and what they say they are.
I will give you my opinion from someone who has tagged a few hits on Key and his cronies over the years.
Start now with theme’s that the public can relate to. Highlight their association with corporations, address them as National Corporation or Natcorp, it is clearly evident Kiwis distrust the sweet deal the multi national corporations are getting if the TPPA comes to pass. Use the Tories own trick that this government is tired out of fresh idea’s and use the time for change meme. All this stuff is basic but it will get the desired result.
Yes, i like to point out the changes to the welfare system since our National Led Government started. It is interesting to see how many people actually don’t know that you have no more Widowers benefits, no more Sickness Benefit, etc. That all those people now are on the JobSeekers benefit.
And so on and so on. Nope this did not happen under Labour, these were changes that came about under John Key and his National Party led Government.
Any issues, please contact your local National MP. 🙂
Sabine, the difficulty of pointing out National’s changes to the welfare system is Labour hasn’t committed, or even made mention, they would overturn them.
Use the Tories own trick that this government is tired out of fresh idea’s and use the time for change meme. All this stuff is basic but it will get the desired result.
– That is not a bad idea but the problem for Labour (specifically) is that Labour doesn’t look like its rejuvenated as much as National have, as an example National have two hold overs from the 80s whereas Labour has three but the real problem is that those three from Labour get a lot of air time (King, Goff and Mallard) whereas Williamson and McCully don’t get as much (in Williamsons case far too much but I digress)
Of course yes National could lose it and the opposition could win it but National are still keeping a reasonably tight lid on its internal struggles whereas Labour is still leaking like a sieve
Yes we’re in an MMP environment but the voting public still sees it as Labour + support partners as no one seriously considers that the Greens will ever be more then a support partner so if the left wing block are to take power then Labour MUST be seen to be a credible option for running the country
At the moment National haven’t had any major howlers and Labour hasn’t had any significant hits
If the language kept basic most kiwis (who are not political junkies) soon start following like sheep. “Time for a change this lot have had a good trot of 9 years and if the failed flag change was John Key’s legacy time to move on and let another regime have a go.”
It may be as simple as that or a few attachments may be required? Sold us out to multi national corporations, foreign speculators are changing the kiwi life as we use to know it.
Because National, though looking a bit frayed around the edges, is still preferable to a Labour/Green coalition
That will change in the future of course but at the moment theres no real appetite for change (the TPPA is not as big a deal as the left would like to think it is) and, in the voters minds, theres no other opposition worth giving a go to
Of course the Greens will take another hit, I mean whats one more when you’ve spent over 25 years in the wilderness
“Theres a good Green party you just roll over and lie on your back and let Labour rub your belly once again while Winston laughs at you, because its for the greater good don’t you know”
You’re still thinking about things like bills passed and policies. I’m talking about the much bigger influence the Greens have had and your still in denial about it. You can spin all you like, but the success of the GP doesn’t get defined by people like yourself that don’t understand what they do, or value it. Try and remember that when Climate Change gets really uncomfortable for you personally.
I think the real problem for the Labour Party, who must do well if National are displaced, is simply that they are continuously negative.
The editorial in the February 13 Listener illustrated their problem.
I can’t seem to link to it on-line. Sorry.
The editorial was about changing the flag. They start by pointing out that Labour, in a policy they wish to be forgotten, were in favour of a change.
As Mallard said before the last election “The time has come for a change and it is right for the issue to be put to the public”.
The article then goes on to say “Why has Labour spent the last few months sullenly resisting a proposal that it embraced less than two years ago”.
Then they explain it as “Labour is suffering from a severe case of sour grapes”. This is followed by “The party appears incapable of rising above its dislike of the Prime Minister, even fighting him on policies with which it might be expected to agree”
They also quote Labour man Nick Leggett that “People vote for hope, optimism and the promise of something better” and that Little should “stop barking at passing cars”.
The final part continues “what better time than now for Little to drop the curmudgeonly resistance” and concludes that Labour “need to stop sulking and get on board”
Why can’t Labour accept that an idea isn’t automatically unclean because Key supports it? Is the whole of Labour policy to be asking what John Key thinks and then simply spout it back after prefacing the words “We are opposed”.
I suspect that if John Key announced a policy of free tertiary education tomorrow Labour would do an immediate about turn and respond that they are opposed to the idea. They are never going to be the Government with their current we hate John Key attitude.
Labour doesn’t look like they’re even remotely ready to govern NZ.
Combine that with the left government having to consist of three good sized parties and maybe one or two small parties and you’ve got a recipe for instability and chaos.
How do you even reach an agreement?, let alone pitch this sort of scenario to the NZ voter.
Until one party on the left makes into the late 30’s, early 40’s the left will always be struggling to win.
The only chance the left has is if NZ falls completely apart and the voters feels like they’ve got nothing to lose.
Do you really think Labour is going to get over 30% in 2017?
I totally struggle to envisage a scenario where that is going to happen.
I am still picking them coming in at +/-3% of their 2014 result = 22% to 28%.
There are Labour supporters I know who are dead sure that Labour will deliver well over 30% next year.
Like I said, I cannot visualise it, excepting perhaps Key self destructing on live TV. Calling a snap election with an almost empty glass of scotch in one hand while tugging on the reporters pony tail should do it.
The thought of another 3 years is grim, still plenty of water to go under the bridge CV. From what I saw at Waitangi the usual suspects are still circling. I could have flogged the lot of them out of the party if I had a bull whip.
Moving on… I prefer operating as a free agent, have for a while now, quite close with First & Green crews and met a pleasant couple of new hopes within the old party. I still believe the Teflon is coming apart, thanks to the hardcore who are doing the heavy work trying to tear the system down.
Primary definition of “many” according to the Merriam/Webster dictionary
“consisting of or amounting to a large but indefinite number”
Do you really think 2 is a large number. Really truly?
The last 4 term Government left office in late 1972, or about 43 years ago. That seems a very short 2 generations to me rather than the grandiose claim of “many generations”.
i don’t think that the ‘left’ is underestimating Key.
they don’t like him, they abhor him and his posse. I frankly find the man to be as disgusting as one can find a man disgusting, but that is simply the female talking that had to deal many many times with managers like him. They are disgusting horrible little men. They win usually by walking over bodies and abusing everyone around them until either the leave or give up.
But CV, the ones that i count more dangerous like Key are people like you.
Disillusion, bitter and angry, and just too happy to cry constantly about how those that have wronged you are wrong no matter what they do. No matter that the wrong you are crying about are several decades old, that the people that have wronged you are maybe not even in the party any more or may have been young at the time. No you want a personal apology, back tracking and what nots. YOU want, you you you you you.
You, and man and women like you, are the ‘left’ biggest enemy.
And you have no alternative to offer, in fact you don’t want an alternative, you just want to beat your chest and whine.
But frankly we don’t need your saviour who will never show up, but if we want to stop the sell out of this country, literally and figuratively, than the left will have to work together.
And frankly I don’t care if Labour comes in with 30%, or the Green Party or NZ First, as long as the parties of the opposition understand that they each have a role to play in bringing this country back to its people.
You however should have a good look in the mirror and ask yourself why you actually pretend to care about the left.
The Political Left in NZ is dead in the water, Sabine.
The biggest party of the “Left” wants to stay in the TPP, thinks that NZ Super is unaffordable, and voted for the bene bashing as well as the anti-terrorism and spying legislation that National put up on behalf of the NSA.
No you want a personal apology, back tracking and what nots. YOU want, you you you you you.
You, and man and women like you, are the ‘left’ biggest enemy.
Then do what the Left has always been good at, witch hunt out the enemy.
Have you noted that’s how Labour has always behaved, since the days of John A Lee?
And its exactly how Labour treated Cunliffe and Cunliffe’s supporters?
NB I don’t want a single thing more from the Labour Party because I know that they are incapable of holding firm to any worthwhile policy long enough to actually deliver it.
As for apologies etc. from Labour, who are you kidding. Many in there still think Rogernomics was necessary and the couldn’t even bring themselves to properly congratulate Corbyn on his victory in the UK.
Now your being silly and quiet surprised you have lowered yourself to turn to kaka’s that is abit childish I must say.
Anyway before you go have your forced afternoon nap answering your flippant opinion. In the end the electorate just want the incumbent gone burger, having finally woken up to the deceitful lies and awful mismanagement of our economy.
“In the end the electorate just want the incumbent gone burger, having finally woken up”
Do you actually think the electorate feels that way Skinny or is it just you and your friends. There doesn’t seem to be any such feeling being exhibited in the polls.
Alwyn I think you know about the little number I done the other week, deliberately planned for the day after the big anti TPPA protest in Auckland. My debriefing analysis showed Peters and to a lesser degree Labour and Greens gained some shift support, both their speakers spoke very well too.
Over 100,000 (now 160.000)) watched either live or afterwards on mainly the NZH fb feed, tho other media like tv1news were there but i never watched we were celebrating out for dinner. A truck load of comments and thousands of shares of the video. There were many comments who had voted National they were openly saying they had lost their vote, most were saying Winston was getting their viote next year, some it was the Greens or Labour. Looking at their profiles and friends suggested they were genuine. Crude but good enough as a guide. It will still up if you want to go look, I have moved on to the next little number planned in my head.
I assume that NZH fb means FaceBook.
From a link weka posted the other day it appears that to look at it you need a FaceBook persona.
That I will not do. I dislike FaceBooks mode of operation and refuse to have anything to do with it.
If I’ve interpreted you wrongly, or the bit about a persona on FB, or indeed if you published elsewhere please let me know. Otherwise I will have to give it a miss.
Just for you alwyn since you make a stand against the ever worsening Face Book.
If you use a search engine type Politicians voice concern over TPP at rally NZ Heard, this new item and a couple of video clips should be on there. I can not cut and paste on here for some reason.
You know how the right-wing have always told us that opening up more land for housing would lower prices?
Well, it seems that that doesn’t work:
The second is that greenfield land supply is not necessarily a solution for house price inflation. Tauranga is less than one-tenth the size of Auckland and its house prices are already high relative to local incomes. Adding greenfield land supply hasn’t prevented or reversed previous price increases. In larger cities, where fringe locations are much less of a substitute for desirable central locations, it’s likely to be even less effective.
well, if you think about it terms of ‘what comes around goes around’ what else was to be expected.
If, a big IF, cashed up Aucklanders are moving to Tauranga and other such nice places to buy there (now, that even with all the money they received from selling their property in AKL, that they can’t afford a property in Auckland anymore) they are running up prices in that market as they come with Cash that no one in Tauranga has.
And the same happens in other places. So essentially the housing crisis is carried from one town to the next, leaving ordinary citizens that only want to buy a house to live in out of a chance to ever buy, and leaving more and more properties waiting for that cashed up speculator to buy. Why sell your house, if keeping it empty will increase its value. Heck, why work 🙂
Anyone who could not see this happening needs to adjust their glasses, as that was a consequence quite a few of us have warned of.
Apologies about the loss of the mobile version. Looks like it turned off on Friday.
There was an update to wp-touch mobile theme that had a fix in it to deal with multi-site systems like The Standard (even though we have never used it in public). By the look of it, it deactivated the local website activation that was on.
I haven’t spent much time on the site for a few days, and none at all on mobile so I didn’t notice (bad Lynn…)
Just in case you’re interested the new Microsoft Edge browser is having terrible issues with caching.
Every link you click on serves a cached version, you then have to reload the page to get the latest version.
What the browsers are meant to do is to cache pages for a set period of time. But on a refresh, they are meant to request the page passing details of their cached version. If it is up to date, then the server returns just use that again. If it isn’t, then it returns a freshly generated page. There is a certain amount of caching going on at all sides. It is how the caching is handled that will be at fault.
It sounds like it is over interpreting the caching hints being passed to it and never bothering to go back to the server. In which case I probably need to tell edge never to cache for
He really doesn’t need to descend to that level (who does). He has neither the push to duty that a few have in that position nor the blatant egoistical need to be at the centre of attention nor the lust for power nor the rent grabbing of some of the political professionals.
It is quite apparent that he just has an arrogant regard for his own abilities and he has a track record that he values to back it up. I don’t think that he really gives a shit about what you and other members of the tall poppy brigade like you think.
Why would he bother to become an MP? It’d constrain his ability to say what he thinks.
He has neither the push to duty that a few have in that position nor the blatant egoistical need to be at the centre of attention nor the lust for power nor the rent grabbing of some of the political professionals
– Yes hes a shrinking violet who avoids the limelight
It is quite apparent that he just has an arrogant regard for his own abilities and he has a track record that he values to back it up. I don’t think that he really gives a shit about what you and other members of the tall poppy brigade like you think.
– I’m a member of the tall poppy brigade because I think hes spinning like a top?
Why would he bother to become an MP? It’d constrain his ability to say what he thinks.
Might help reign in some of his ideas.
Sort of an oxymoron as that reign is royal not the horse-controlling kind. Probably a very apt choice of words PR.
Well, at least it was an interesting explanation of things from his point of view.
I think his assessment is flawed, though: as a commenter pointed out, the imperfect information distributed through the “crowd” was simply that his priority was personal advantage in access, rather than public access.
But the other problem is that he’s assuming that minimising the purchase price is even a priority for the people who donated (who weren’t him). I didn’t donate to that campaign (because fundage), but I do donate on occasion. When I do, my attitude is that the money is sunk – I’m not looking for any return. So really, if they overpay to ensure public ownership, who gives a damn? Any overpayment is simply insurance against a gazumper at the post.
Tomorrow 9:10 AM I will be on Aaron’s Raglan Radio morning show.
We will be talking about the Global banking crisis, the Kiwi saver scam/scheme and the “Open bank resolution” which enables banks to confiscate deposits from small banking depositors if and when a bank fails and which was accepted by New Zealand in 2013.
Quote: “Perhaps you’ve had an experience in our health system recently?
I know a man who sat in a hospital some 18 months ago. He spent a week sitting in a ward, a man in his 40s, with a severely broken leg. It was a mess. And I think it took 8 days for him to have surgery. Short-staffed. Not enough operating theatre space anyway. And so he fasted every day until early afternoon, and then they told him he wouldn’t have surgery that day. Every day. For 8 days.
Our health needs aren’t reducing, they’re increasing. The only way to make cuts for many DHBs will be to staff.
We’re struggling with issues of unmet need, we’re struggling with the issues triggered by the diabetes and obesity epidemics — and so I really feel for our health workers right now.”
A British politician’s outrageous lies are given pride
of place in a BBC report; why does TVNZ go along with this farce?
Television One News, Tuesday 16 February 2016
There is a shameful history of disinformation and black propaganda— i.e., outright lies —by the Americans, the French, the Saudis, the Israelis and the British in the Middle East; most infamously, after the U.S.-U.K. ally Saddam Hussein of Iraq used poison gas to kill thousands of Kurdish civilians in Halabja in 1988, the United States blamed Iran for the massacre. More recently, the scofflaw Obama regime tried to blame the Syrian government for using chemical weapons which were actually used by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated “rebels” backed by the United States and Britain.
It is by no means reliable, and it is quite possibly a fabrication, but one of the major stories in today’s news is of the bombing of two Syrian hospitals by Russia. Anyone familiar with Television One’s dire, face-pulling, unfunny-joke-cracking, smirking, fist-pumping “news team” will not have been at all surprised to see that they decided to simply buy into the propaganda, without making even a gesture of due diligence.
Their “report” of the hospital bombings was not by any credible, independent, respected journalist of the stature of, say, New Zealand’s world-renowned Jon Stephenson. Instead, they went for one James Robbins, yet another robotic product of the BBC’s production line of robotic mediocrity; his “report” of the bombings was nothing more than a highly loaded, partisan denunciation of Britain’s official enemy, Russia. It was so lacking in any sense of balance, so lacking even the slightest sense of skepticism, it might as well have been written by someone at the Foreign Office. Farcically, but appropriately for this Pythonesque effort, Robbins’ “report” ended with a harried-looking British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond, who wearily reiterated his patently false talking points: “Russia could stop this tomorrow, if it started bombing terrorists and stopped bombing the moderate opposition.”
Never, not even during the era of its reprehensibly biased reporting on Ireland in the 1980s under Thatcher’s draconian restrictions, has the BBC been more politically controlled, nor has it has it ever been more untrustworthy than it is now. That TVNZ routinely goes to the BBC, when it is so discredited, and so patently an arm of the British state, is depressing beyond measure.
At the end of this deplorable little propaganda exercise, Simon Dallow read a few closing remarks from his script, his eyes swiveled hard to the right in an apparent attempt to indicate moral disapproval of the evil bastards who bomb hospitals. Chiming in a few seconds later was Wendy “Fist Pumper” Petrie, who obviously felt obliged to follow suit and indicate her own sense of moral outrage at those dastardly Russians; she did this by pausing meaningfully and looking as doleful as she could, before moving on to the next item.
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
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. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
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Please excuse me but heaps of people in the South Island are at an unacceptable heavy risk of death and injury this morning so this needs re-posting.
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-15022016/#comment-1133459
Have you drawn this to the attention of whoever is Minister of Transport, vto ?
Probably a bit useless trying to get a response from the puppet who is Minister of “Tourism.
Aleppo, cluster bombs.
I see the Russians have struck a significant blow against terrorism overnight, taking out three MSF field hospitals. That’ll learn ’em!
And a school that was reportedly sheltering people fleeing Aleppo! Further glory to great savior Putin, whose crimes do not count because he is not Western.
Te Reo,
I can find no evidence of your expressing any outrage at the sustained bombing of Kunduz Hospital in Afghanistan last year.
I condemned it, as I condemn this. Because I support things based on what’s done, not on who does it. How about you?
Wonder if you can find similar outrage about Fallujah and Odessa.
You’ll find it from me, but to reiterate,
‘I oppose war crimes especially those targeting civilians and the medical infrastructure that supports civilian populations in a war zone. People who do these things are war criminals who should be tried in court and should lose the support of anyone who claims to be of the left’.
Keep looking Moz, it’s there somewhere. If you haven’t found it by this evening get back to me and I promise to take action. I’ve got the night shift at trp towers on standby just in case. They’re big fans of your work.
‘
I wonder what they’re excuse will be. The US at least told a large part of the truth when it slaughtered innocents at a hospital . . .
As an internationalist, does it grind against your allegiance to accept that the USA and the UK are directly responsible for the very existence of ISIS ?
holy fuck is that what cluster bombs do?
heinous
Here is a timeline of their use.
It seems we should be condemning a lot of countries for their inhumane use.
http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/en-gb/cluster-bombs/use-of-cluster-bombs.aspx
Indeed we should. I am, that’s why I posted it.
The fact that Putin fights like this, as has been known since Grozny, is why I don’t support him. The same reason I didn’t support what was done by Bush in Iraq and Kissinger in SE Asia.
I realise that other people do support Putin on the basis he is not Western though, I get that.
‘
Putin is far from alone in the use of cluster bombs, although he is less likely to be breaking his own law than Obama is . . .
“Good on Joycey for front-footing it!”
Is Hillary Barry auditioning for a future rôle as parliamentary head-nodder?
Paul Henry, TV3, Tuesday 16 February 2016
Shortly after 6 o’clock news, the eponymous host and his two slaves engage in a discussion about the major news story of the last 24 hours: John Oliver’s coverage of the dildo attack on Steven Joyce at Waitangi. After Henry mentions that Joyce had quipped “Might as well send it straight to John Oliver and get it over with,” there’s a brief clip of Labour leader Andrew Little contending that this is no longer a laughing matter, and New Zealand is now an international laughing stock. Cut to news-reader slave Hilary Barry frowning at that killjoy, then expressing her North Korean level of support for the regime. “Good on Joycey,” she intones fervently, “for front-footing it!”
There is no longer even the slightest pretense of political objectivity on this show. That Key regime bail-out of Media Works a few years back is really paying off.
BREEN PREDICTS:
In a few years, look for National M.P. Hillary Barry to fill the vital parliamentary head-nodding rôle currently occupied by another old television hack, Maggie Barry and her understudies Louise Upston and Tim McIndoe.
Apparently Key gave an audience to Henry the day before.
The Dear Leader was glorified by his media slaves.
Still think that hatchet job of the smelly TPP protesters was the lowest they’ve gone. Courtesy of Garner and du Plessis.
We should remember who were the enablers for the elite.
Joyce got a lot more than he wished for, mocked the crap out of. Key and his pet flag project copped it also. Teflon John can hardly blame anyone else but his lead snake oil salesman Joyce for really bringing the dildo saga to a worldwide audience.
Not the brightest dildo in the toy box, but certainly the biggest. Be a couple of angry hobbits in the House today. Keep it coming team teflon, laughter will make a change to the booing you have been getting lately.
I am no fan of Joyce but I actually think he has handled this as well as he possibly could. He had no control over getting smacked in the face with a big dick. Did he go full on offensive? no he actually pushed the humorous side of it. May have been un wise to goad Oliver but I wonder if John really could have avoided pulling the piss out of the guy who said that the NACT adds were “pretty legal”.
How to grief the death of a river
http://americanindiansandfriends.com/news/how-do-we-grieve-the-death-of-a-river-written-by-winona-laduke
That’s very interesting including the connection to NZ.
Can’t help but think we outsource our disasters though.
of course we do.
But what goes around comes around, and now it’s our time.
Sabine, who needs cluster bombs?
Audrey Young pens an odd piece together leading with John Key’s honeymoon is over than drops in the small crowd nonsense booing him at the BDO.
One thing is clear Natcorp are panicked. Last week they conducted polling in Northland & Whangarei electorates seeking information about do you know the candidates from the last election and who would you vote for if an election was held tomorrow? Monitoring Shane Reti’s popularity closely, given the likelihood that Shane Jones could make his comeback in the Whangarei seat. Interesting Peters was saying Whangarei will fall to NZF next.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11590131
Given her recent praise the Lord Key pieces, this one by Audrey has a plaintive tone, like when she discovered that Father Christmas was a fraud.
“With the greatest respect, TPP is not a gay and lesbian issue,” so says JK.
Foreign ownership is good for us, and what have Unions ever done for us.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/76912197/prime-range-meats-boss-gutted-for-130-workers-after-processing-suspended
the first comment is interesting, the Lady complaining that Winz appointments are weeks away, that the National MP for the electorate is not helpfull, and Unions were not allowed on the site.
Oh shucks. NZ is waking up from the beauty slumber of the last few years.
‘
Horowhenua District Council doing its bit for 100% Pure New Zealand . . .
And, strangely, this….http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11590284
“A 70-year-old eco-warrior has been left bruised and battered after being beaten in a “cowardly” attack outside his Shannon home in the dead of night.
As they left the men commented on who had sent them. However, the Horowhenua Chronicle will not identify them as police are investigating the assault.
Mr Andrews is an environmental activist and spent Friday and Saturday prior to the attack, dealing with an issue to do with Shannon’s Sewerage Treatment Plant where he and Shannon councillor Ross Campbell filmed what they believed to be raw sewage being pumped into the nearby Otauru Stream (Standsell drain) which then poured into the nearby Mangaone Stream, which feeds the Manawatu River.”
Shit, as they say, just got real.
To be fair, this particular issue isn’t new. The Mangaore Stream was an open sewer even in the early 80s.
The Horror Phew Enema city council is hopeless. I have been on at them for 2 years to do some proper recycling, but no. Everything still goes into the landfill.
The wheels on the bus are falling off.
Someone who knows more than I might know what the long term effect of having 2.2% growth entirely due to immigration, while real growth lies at zero.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11590214
Long term effects?
Blenheim 1999- 35 shops empty after nine years of National. Personally counted.
Come forward to 2011 after 9 years of Labour and three years of National.
Blenheim 15 shops empty.
After 7 years of National, in 2015
Blenheim 20 shops empty.
After 8 years of National in 2016?
Blenheim 29 shops empty. Double that of five years ago.
Figures from the Marlborough Express.
I wonder how other regional economies are faring under National? Was this neglect apparent in Northland and reflected in the message given recently to National by the election of Winston Peters in preference to a National lackey?
National seems to be lacking the key to economic growth.
as i posted yesterday, one of my real estate customers is really happy that the asian investors (her term not mine) are finally recieving their IRD numbers and sales in Auckland will pick up again and prices should raise accordingly.
don’t you feel the rockstar economy? All drugs rock n roll and early death?
-Phil Goff
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/296628/lobbyists-at-odds-over-tpp-consultation
Even the chief of the dairy industry says the government got it wrong while Goff lays out the differences in the public consultation process during the China agreement and the TPP. This highlights to me just why Labour moved away from the so called bi-partisan relationship – because the current government had abandoned the inclusive consultation process adopted by the more publicly responsible Labour government.
Farrer can whinge all he likes about the change in attitude by Labour but the real change in attitude was by Tim Groser and his paranoid, do-nothing department.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/76837125/Can-John-Key-pull-off-a-fourth-term-Here-are-the-reasons-why-he-might?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Well here’s a reason why he’ll get a fourth term:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/76925005/labour-leader-andrew-little-on-john-olivers-dancing-dildos
I mean seriously who’s advising him?
“So we kind of asked for it, but what we got was absolutely full on,” he said.
“Once you had the dancing dildos and the full on hallelujah chorus, it goes beyond something where we’re just laughing at ourselves.”
I mean if you want to show NZ you have no sense of humour then well done he has certainly nailed it
3/10. Must try harder Puckish.
Little has a perception in wider NZ of being a humourless union appointee so when theres a chance to show that he has a sense of humour what does do?
Come off like hes po-faced whereas Joyce tweets it was quite funny so who do you think will resonate with the majority of voters?
look it was a really funny video, and friends of mine from overseas really think that our government is worse than theirs, at least as one friend put it, they can keep it in their pants :
lol..
bwhahahahahahahahaha Dildo Baggins. Awesome comedy. Can you see the Honorable Mr. Joyce go and meet and greet dignitaries overseas…..Gentlement and Ladies….Dildo Bagg….err Steven Joyce Minster of something from NZ.
bhwhahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
I can see it more then I can see someone from Labour because Labour would have to be in a position of power first
Labour in power in before 2020 bhwhahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
You’re a liar PR.
“However, Little himself couldn’t stop grinning as he spoke about it.”
It doesn’t matter, that statement comes down right near the end which means the narrative has already been planted in the readers mind so when they get to the bottom (IF they get to the bottom) the idea that Little is humourless is already stuck there.
Whereas the first two paragraphs are:
“The Leader of the Opposition has expressed his concern over a skit which made fun of a government minister being hit with a sex toy.”
“Labour leader Andrew Little questioned minister Steven Joyce’s invitation for a comedian to poke fun at the incident which occurred a couple of weeks ago.”
I mean seriously can you really not see the issue here?
Whoever is running the media for Andrew Little should be all over this
Amateur hour is what it is
You are a liar. You’ve made an argument that Little has no sense of humour and you’ve quoted some bits from a newspaper article to back that up and then left out the bit where they’ve said he was finding the whole thing funny. Hence you lied.
Or, you didn’t actually watch Little or read the whole article, which makes you stupid.
I’m good with either.
mate, its all good.
I can see it MP / future PM Dildo Baggins, National Party….bwhahahahahaha
no matter what mate, this guy is all yours.
Joycie wasn’t so twerpy on twitter last night. That is because he knew he put his boot to his own head. Oh the joy of watching parliament later today!
pass the popcorn 🙂
Expect the opposition party’s to join in a chorus of booing when either Key or Joycie lose the plot and turn into angry hobbits 😂
bwhhahahahahahahaha
but would angry hobbits not be something more akin to Trolls?
2pm http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/about-parliament/see-hear/ptv
@puckish rogue
You must have liked the phrase John Oliver used at the beginning of the video regarding previous coverage of New Zealand and “their ridiculous Prime Minister .”
I know I did, even though I felt embarassed, it was such a relief to hear someone in the media speak the truth!
Colonial Viper:
So what would prevent a 4th term for national?
Good question, although another one might be ‘What would ensure a first term left wing coalition govt?’
In terms of preventing National getting a 4th term, I think the recording of and discussion about the PM of NZ being a disgrace of a PM (separate from his other sins) is useful.
I also think the TPPA is going to be a big thorn in their side if the protest momentum can be kept going.
But ultimately I think the problem isn’t that National are good, it’s that we need Labour to present as competent and then the left wing parties to present as a govt in waiting. No amount of dealing to National will make up for that if it’s missing.
In terms of preventing National getting a 4th term, I think the recording of and discussion about the PM of NZ being a disgrace of a PM (separate from his other sins) is useful.
– No it won’t, the majority of voters don’t seem to care
I also think the TPPA is going to be a big thorn in their side if the protest momentum can be kept going.
– It will be a big thorn but that thorn will be for Labour (you don’t think Key will go hard on Littles support but not really support for the TPPA?)
But ultimately I think the problem isn’t that National are good, it’s that we need Labour to present as competent and then the left wing parties to present as a govt in waiting. No amount of dealing to National will make up for that if it’s missing.
– On this we’re in complete agreement
“– No it won’t, the majority of voters don’t seem to care”
Citation needed, or at least some credible theorising.
We don’t need the majority of voters to care, we just need enough voters to vote on the left. The right didn’t win by a huge margin last time.
My theorising is that National and John Key are still high in the polls and Labours stagnating and I bet that the next round of polls will see a slight lift for National and a slight dip for Labour
We don’t need the majority of voters to care, we just need enough voters to vote on the left. The right didn’t win by a huge margin last time.
– Heres what the Left needed to win last time:
Labour + Green + NZFirst + Maori Party + UF + Act
and heres what National could have done
National + MP or National + UF or National + Act
“My theorising is that National and John Key are still high in the polls and Labours stagnating and I bet that the next round of polls will see a slight lift for National and a slight dip for Labour”
Sure, but how do you tie that into “the majority of voters don’t seem to care” about Key as PM supporting rape culture? I’m not talking about the next poll, I’m talking about a steady shift within the culture in NZ over time. The next poll could be influenced by a rugby game or any other event, I don’t see how you could pull out the influence of a dynamic happening over a year or so.
– Heres what the Left needed to win last time:
Labour + Green + NZFirst + Maori Party + UF + Act
and heres what National could have done
National + MP or National + UF or National + Act
You are assuming that the left wouldn’t pick up any additional votes, so that doesn’t make sense.
Because if the voters did care, and more pertinently believed what the left were saying, then Nationals and John Keys numbers would be getting close to Labours and Littles
“You are assuming that the left wouldn’t pick up any additional votes, so that doesn’t make sense.”
– I’m assuming you’re referring to the missing million voters? If so you’re falling into the trap that thinks all those voters are left wing voters and if Labour just went more left all the voters would flock to it
“Because if the voters did care, and more pertinently believed what the left were saying, then Nationals and John Keys numbers would be getting close to Labours and Littles”
Only if things were really simple and people thought about voting in such simplistic ways. We’ve both agreed that the lefts polling isn’t going to move much until Labour look more competent, so there may be people upset at Key who still won’t say Labour until Labour change, but when Labour change they will jump easily. This is why the timeframes are important. It’s a long time until the next election and I can’t see Key improving his record in that time.
“– I’m assuming you’re referring to the missing million voters? If so you’re falling into the trap that thinks all those voters are left wing voters and if Labour just went more left all the voters would flock to it”
No, I’m not. I’m assuming that because in the past more NZers have voted on the left they can do so again. That might be part of the non-vote, it might be swing voters. It might be poor RW turnout, or centrist voters wanting to give Labour a chance. Your arguments are superficially tempting to some but the reality is more complex.
The funny thing is I actually agree with most of what you’re saying, the only real difference is the time frame
I think National will win in 2017 and lose in 2020
You gotta be kidding mate.
Paula Bennett versus Grant Robertson 2020
There is only one possible outcome from that stoush.
well hmm, the voters that booed at him both at the rugby game and the bgo might disagree with you. but in saying that, i agree that a lot of voters would not see it and hence not know about it.
tppa, hmm at the moment it is key’s thorn, and it will be labours thorn when they get to form a coalition government, but they will by then supported and restrained by the Greens (which is good in my eyes) and i think Winston Peters will have a thing to say or two.
again i agree that Labour needs to do better, and so do the Greens and NZ First if they want to be the grand coalition. They all need to up their game and play MMP instead of what evs.
However, reading the article about the Meatworkers that are not working because their chinese overlords are not ready yet (linked to the stuff article in Open Mike), and reading the comments, there are a lot of smaller lesser known National MP’s that are not getting good creds for doing their work, WINZ is not getting good cred for helping these people that are not pulling a wage for a few weeks and all points to the complete lack of care of the National MP’s in their electorate, and the National Governed Ministry that should help these people. I am guessing that nothing much is going to change over the next year, and if National voters get upset enough they might simply abstain from voting if they can’t be seen voting for any of the other parties.
So frankly i think at this day and age, everything is possible, and John Key has more to loose then any of the other parties.
That’s going to guarantee a 4th term
Only in lefty world is the PM considered a disgrace, so there’s no win there, if anything it’s costing the left votes.
Seriously, go have a look at John Keys face book page and read some of the offensive comments left wingers have made under pictures of John Key talking and interacting with peoples kids.
Lots and lots of pissed off parents having what is a nice experience ruined by some left wing wankers.
Absolute voter poison for the left, especially Labour.
“That’s going to guarantee a 4th term”
So you say. I’m finding the whole CT mantra-repeating ‘National will win, the left will lose’ thing without any political substance boring. We need better RWNJs.
A poll last year, fwiw, showed that something like 60% of NZers are against the TPPA, 34% for and the rest undecided. Of the National party voters only 22% are in favour.
Link to the FB convos or they didn’t happen.
https://www.facebook.com/pmjohnkey/posts/10153901670390429
https://www.facebook.com/pmjohnkey/posts/10153898014080429
https://www.facebook.com/pmjohnkey/posts/10153897587335429
-any photo with Key
This shit is what’s sinking the left
Had a quick scroll through of a couple of those, it doesn’t look full of rapid left wingers destroying people’s family time. It looks mostly like Key fans posting applause and a few other people dropping in either political comments or angry insulting ones (and not necessarily lefties, not sure why you categorise them all that way). Par for the course for FB.
I don’t agree with calling Key a paedophile, mostly because I think we are really bad in NZ at dealing with rape culture and throwing round accusations like that makes things murkier not clearer. But I think you underestimate how many people in NZ will be feeling uncomfortable about the growing number of times Key demonstrates at the least poor judgement when it comes to issues close to sexual violence. Even of the people who are good with Key’s politics there will be some who are uncomfortable with how he is on this.
And Labour can’t even get their shit together to interpret from that what they should do with regards to the TPP.
An absolute vote winning position on the TPP staring them right in the face and instead they choose to side with the corporates and transnational financial interests.
That’s why National will get a 4th term.
So you hope.
Yeah but rememeber there was also a lot of opposition to the partial sell down of shares in the power companies and it didn’t stop National then
The thing the left to recognize is theres a difference between a government enacting a policy that’s unpopular and a enacting a policy that will see you lose an election
This is an unpopular policy but its not going to cost the election for National but when protestors block of roads of people going to work then that will cost votes for the left
Civil resistance is going to cause inconvenience, no doubt about it.
But the real problem for the left is that there is no alternative political economic agenda being presented to the people.
Merely mild tweaking of the current agenda.
And in that case, why on Earth would you vote for fake vanilla when you can have real vanilla?
You can. Vote Mana.
And all your doing pal is trying to tag these halfwits you talk about to Labour. We all know Key accused Mana and the Greens of being the small group who disrupted the GDO. You have to get in the real world, the likelihood of a fourth term is remote. For every 10 policies the Bats have put forward 1 or 2 will be met with disapproval, as the years roll by and more disapproving policies come with the years, some voters reach the tipping point. The TPPA, the flag change are big voter slippage, add more as we close in on the 2017 election and it is over for the incumbent. Happened to Clark and it will happen to Key. That is political life cobbah.
Voters still think in FPP terms, they hear/read someone doing something offensive at John Key, automatically think must be a left winger.
Biggest party on the left is Labour, must be a Labour voter.
Little hasn’t got a chance with these fuckwits running around spraying their shit every where.
Not all voters think FPP not in Epsom as you know and not in Northland as you also know. It has taken a while for the opposition party’s to get their head around strategic voting but the whole country sat up and took notice when Peters took a seat that was regarded as a safe national stronghold. There are countless seats that the same result can happen. Especially in the forgotten regions.
Counting on Winstons support before the trading begins and the votes have been counted is not really a good idea
Winston is a good man, an honest man, honest as the day is long, that is why so many Kiwis like the man and his party, his MP’s are solid too. Will be delighted when he can find time from his busy schedule to joins me on a friends super yacht for some much needed r & r with a wee celebration of a tidy donation to his party.
🙂
“Seriously, go have a look at John Keys face book page and read some of the offensive comments left wingers have made under pictures of John Key talking and interacting with peoples kids.”
You have a lot of faith in people online, actually being who and what they say they are.
I will give you my opinion from someone who has tagged a few hits on Key and his cronies over the years.
Start now with theme’s that the public can relate to. Highlight their association with corporations, address them as National Corporation or Natcorp, it is clearly evident Kiwis distrust the sweet deal the multi national corporations are getting if the TPPA comes to pass. Use the Tories own trick that this government is tired out of fresh idea’s and use the time for change meme. All this stuff is basic but it will get the desired result.
Yes, i like to point out the changes to the welfare system since our National Led Government started. It is interesting to see how many people actually don’t know that you have no more Widowers benefits, no more Sickness Benefit, etc. That all those people now are on the JobSeekers benefit.
And so on and so on. Nope this did not happen under Labour, these were changes that came about under John Key and his National Party led Government.
Any issues, please contact your local National MP. 🙂
Sabine, the difficulty of pointing out National’s changes to the welfare system is Labour hasn’t committed, or even made mention, they would overturn them.
Use the Tories own trick that this government is tired out of fresh idea’s and use the time for change meme. All this stuff is basic but it will get the desired result.
– That is not a bad idea but the problem for Labour (specifically) is that Labour doesn’t look like its rejuvenated as much as National have, as an example National have two hold overs from the 80s whereas Labour has three but the real problem is that those three from Labour get a lot of air time (King, Goff and Mallard) whereas Williamson and McCully don’t get as much (in Williamsons case far too much but I digress)
again in an MMP environment Labour is just one party. It needs to do well, granted, but it does not need to go it alone.
So you see, there is still some time to come for National to loose it, for the opposition to win it.
And I frankly look forward to the National Party of Pulls Her Benefit and the Crusher, as clearly D. Baggins might have issues in the future.
Of course yes National could lose it and the opposition could win it but National are still keeping a reasonably tight lid on its internal struggles whereas Labour is still leaking like a sieve
Yes we’re in an MMP environment but the voting public still sees it as Labour + support partners as no one seriously considers that the Greens will ever be more then a support partner so if the left wing block are to take power then Labour MUST be seen to be a credible option for running the country
At the moment National haven’t had any major howlers and Labour hasn’t had any significant hits
If the language kept basic most kiwis (who are not political junkies) soon start following like sheep. “Time for a change this lot have had a good trot of 9 years and if the failed flag change was John Key’s legacy time to move on and let another regime have a go.”
It may be as simple as that or a few attachments may be required? Sold us out to multi national corporations, foreign speculators are changing the kiwi life as we use to know it.
The list goes on….
Labour look old, broke and clapped out, that’s where your plan turns to poos.
Government in waiting, I don’t think so
so do National, which is where your argument turns to poos. NZers havent’ done 4 term govts in many generations, why would they start now?
Because National, though looking a bit frayed around the edges, is still preferable to a Labour/Green coalition
That will change in the future of course but at the moment theres no real appetite for change (the TPPA is not as big a deal as the left would like to think it is) and, in the voters minds, theres no other opposition worth giving a go to
It looks likely to be Labour and NZF with the Greens happy to sit on the cross benches or vice versa with NZF.
Of course the Greens will take another hit, I mean whats one more when you’ve spent over 25 years in the wilderness
“Theres a good Green party you just roll over and lie on your back and let Labour rub your belly once again while Winston laughs at you, because its for the greater good don’t you know”
I wouldn’t mind seeing that
The Greens are so good they’ve been getting NZ to change without even being in govt yet, and you’ve failed to notice lol
weka they get some table scraps thrown to them every now and then and only when it suits National
Act and Peter Dunne have had more of an effect on NZ then the Greens ever will until the Greens realise you get more done when in power
But hey if you’re happy the Greens staying outside government then that makes you, me, Winston and Helen all in agreement
You’re still thinking about things like bills passed and policies. I’m talking about the much bigger influence the Greens have had and your still in denial about it. You can spin all you like, but the success of the GP doesn’t get defined by people like yourself that don’t understand what they do, or value it. Try and remember that when Climate Change gets really uncomfortable for you personally.
I think the real problem for the Labour Party, who must do well if National are displaced, is simply that they are continuously negative.
The editorial in the February 13 Listener illustrated their problem.
I can’t seem to link to it on-line. Sorry.
The editorial was about changing the flag. They start by pointing out that Labour, in a policy they wish to be forgotten, were in favour of a change.
As Mallard said before the last election “The time has come for a change and it is right for the issue to be put to the public”.
The article then goes on to say “Why has Labour spent the last few months sullenly resisting a proposal that it embraced less than two years ago”.
Then they explain it as “Labour is suffering from a severe case of sour grapes”. This is followed by “The party appears incapable of rising above its dislike of the Prime Minister, even fighting him on policies with which it might be expected to agree”
They also quote Labour man Nick Leggett that “People vote for hope, optimism and the promise of something better” and that Little should “stop barking at passing cars”.
The final part continues “what better time than now for Little to drop the curmudgeonly resistance” and concludes that Labour “need to stop sulking and get on board”
Why can’t Labour accept that an idea isn’t automatically unclean because Key supports it? Is the whole of Labour policy to be asking what John Key thinks and then simply spout it back after prefacing the words “We are opposed”.
I suspect that if John Key announced a policy of free tertiary education tomorrow Labour would do an immediate about turn and respond that they are opposed to the idea. They are never going to be the Government with their current we hate John Key attitude.
Because there’s no alternative.
Labour doesn’t look like they’re even remotely ready to govern NZ.
Combine that with the left government having to consist of three good sized parties and maybe one or two small parties and you’ve got a recipe for instability and chaos.
How do you even reach an agreement?, let alone pitch this sort of scenario to the NZ voter.
Until one party on the left makes into the late 30’s, early 40’s the left will always be struggling to win.
The only chance the left has is if NZ falls completely apart and the voters feels like they’ve got nothing to lose.
“The only chance the left has is if NZ falls completely apart and the voters feels like they’ve got nothing to lose.”
Yes we obviously agree on that!
Do you really think Labour is going to get over 30% in 2017?
I totally struggle to envisage a scenario where that is going to happen.
I am still picking them coming in at +/-3% of their 2014 result = 22% to 28%.
There are Labour supporters I know who are dead sure that Labour will deliver well over 30% next year.
Like I said, I cannot visualise it, excepting perhaps Key self destructing on live TV. Calling a snap election with an almost empty glass of scotch in one hand while tugging on the reporters pony tail should do it.
But short of that…
The thought of another 3 years is grim, still plenty of water to go under the bridge CV. From what I saw at Waitangi the usual suspects are still circling. I could have flogged the lot of them out of the party if I had a bull whip.
Moving on… I prefer operating as a free agent, have for a while now, quite close with First & Green crews and met a pleasant couple of new hopes within the old party. I still believe the Teflon is coming apart, thanks to the hardcore who are doing the heavy work trying to tear the system down.
Primary definition of “many” according to the Merriam/Webster dictionary
“consisting of or amounting to a large but indefinite number”
Do you really think 2 is a large number. Really truly?
The last 4 term Government left office in late 1972, or about 43 years ago. That seems a very short 2 generations to me rather than the grandiose claim of “many generations”.
The Left are still seriously underestimating Key.
Yes, indeed.
Trotter had an interesting post on this some time ago.
At least at that time I don’t think he was.
i don’t think that the ‘left’ is underestimating Key.
they don’t like him, they abhor him and his posse. I frankly find the man to be as disgusting as one can find a man disgusting, but that is simply the female talking that had to deal many many times with managers like him. They are disgusting horrible little men. They win usually by walking over bodies and abusing everyone around them until either the leave or give up.
But CV, the ones that i count more dangerous like Key are people like you.
Disillusion, bitter and angry, and just too happy to cry constantly about how those that have wronged you are wrong no matter what they do. No matter that the wrong you are crying about are several decades old, that the people that have wronged you are maybe not even in the party any more or may have been young at the time. No you want a personal apology, back tracking and what nots. YOU want, you you you you you.
You, and man and women like you, are the ‘left’ biggest enemy.
And you have no alternative to offer, in fact you don’t want an alternative, you just want to beat your chest and whine.
But frankly we don’t need your saviour who will never show up, but if we want to stop the sell out of this country, literally and figuratively, than the left will have to work together.
And frankly I don’t care if Labour comes in with 30%, or the Green Party or NZ First, as long as the parties of the opposition understand that they each have a role to play in bringing this country back to its people.
You however should have a good look in the mirror and ask yourself why you actually pretend to care about the left.
The Political Left in NZ is dead in the water, Sabine.
The biggest party of the “Left” wants to stay in the TPP, thinks that NZ Super is unaffordable, and voted for the bene bashing as well as the anti-terrorism and spying legislation that National put up on behalf of the NSA.
Then do what the Left has always been good at, witch hunt out the enemy.
Have you noted that’s how Labour has always behaved, since the days of John A Lee?
And its exactly how Labour treated Cunliffe and Cunliffe’s supporters?
NB I don’t want a single thing more from the Labour Party because I know that they are incapable of holding firm to any worthwhile policy long enough to actually deliver it.
As for apologies etc. from Labour, who are you kidding. Many in there still think Rogernomics was necessary and the couldn’t even bring themselves to properly congratulate Corbyn on his victory in the UK.
The political left blah blah blah. It would help if you stopped talking in steretypes and cliches.
Maybe you should join NZF.
Hey weka if you give me some specific examples, maybe I would have some idea of what you are talking about.
Now your being silly and quiet surprised you have lowered yourself to turn to kaka’s that is abit childish I must say.
Anyway before you go have your forced afternoon nap answering your flippant opinion. In the end the electorate just want the incumbent gone burger, having finally woken up to the deceitful lies and awful mismanagement of our economy.
“In the end the electorate just want the incumbent gone burger, having finally woken up”
Do you actually think the electorate feels that way Skinny or is it just you and your friends. There doesn’t seem to be any such feeling being exhibited in the polls.
Alwyn I think you know about the little number I done the other week, deliberately planned for the day after the big anti TPPA protest in Auckland. My debriefing analysis showed Peters and to a lesser degree Labour and Greens gained some shift support, both their speakers spoke very well too.
Over 100,000 (now 160.000)) watched either live or afterwards on mainly the NZH fb feed, tho other media like tv1news were there but i never watched we were celebrating out for dinner. A truck load of comments and thousands of shares of the video. There were many comments who had voted National they were openly saying they had lost their vote, most were saying Winston was getting their viote next year, some it was the Greens or Labour. Looking at their profiles and friends suggested they were genuine. Crude but good enough as a guide. It will still up if you want to go look, I have moved on to the next little number planned in my head.
I assume that NZH fb means FaceBook.
From a link weka posted the other day it appears that to look at it you need a FaceBook persona.
That I will not do. I dislike FaceBooks mode of operation and refuse to have anything to do with it.
If I’ve interpreted you wrongly, or the bit about a persona on FB, or indeed if you published elsewhere please let me know. Otherwise I will have to give it a miss.
Just for you alwyn since you make a stand against the ever worsening Face Book.
If you use a search engine type Politicians voice concern over TPP at rally NZ Heard, this new item and a couple of video clips should be on there. I can not cut and paste on here for some reason.
You know how the right-wing have always told us that opening up more land for housing would lower prices?
Well, it seems that that doesn’t work:
The right-wing: Wrong by ideology.
well, if you think about it terms of ‘what comes around goes around’ what else was to be expected.
If, a big IF, cashed up Aucklanders are moving to Tauranga and other such nice places to buy there (now, that even with all the money they received from selling their property in AKL, that they can’t afford a property in Auckland anymore) they are running up prices in that market as they come with Cash that no one in Tauranga has.
And the same happens in other places. So essentially the housing crisis is carried from one town to the next, leaving ordinary citizens that only want to buy a house to live in out of a chance to ever buy, and leaving more and more properties waiting for that cashed up speculator to buy. Why sell your house, if keeping it empty will increase its value. Heck, why work 🙂
Anyone who could not see this happening needs to adjust their glasses, as that was a consequence quite a few of us have warned of.
Tauranga is the Florida of NZ.
You get old, sell up and move to Tauranga, the weather is better and it’s not that far from Auckland.
Tauranga will always be in demand.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/11/miami-drowning-climate-change-deniers-sea-levels-rising
Apologies about the loss of the mobile version. Looks like it turned off on Friday.
There was an update to wp-touch mobile theme that had a fix in it to deal with multi-site systems like The Standard (even though we have never used it in public). By the look of it, it deactivated the local website activation that was on.
I haven’t spent much time on the site for a few days, and none at all on mobile so I didn’t notice (bad Lynn…)
😈
Just in case you’re interested the new Microsoft Edge browser is having terrible issues with caching.
Every link you click on serves a cached version, you then have to reload the page to get the latest version.
Ummm. Ok I will try it out somehow.
What the browsers are meant to do is to cache pages for a set period of time. But on a refresh, they are meant to request the page passing details of their cached version. If it is up to date, then the server returns just use that again. If it isn’t, then it returns a freshly generated page. There is a certain amount of caching going on at all sides. It is how the caching is handled that will be at fault.
It sounds like it is over interpreting the caching hints being passed to it and never bothering to go back to the server. In which case I probably need to tell edge never to cache for
No worries, I use chrome for 99% of my internetting, I’d just upgraded to windows 10 and I thought I’d give the edge browser a go
https://garethsworld.com/blog/economics/the-beach-the-monkey-and-rationality/
With this level of hubris he really should run for parliament
He really doesn’t need to descend to that level (who does). He has neither the push to duty that a few have in that position nor the blatant egoistical need to be at the centre of attention nor the lust for power nor the rent grabbing of some of the political professionals.
It is quite apparent that he just has an arrogant regard for his own abilities and he has a track record that he values to back it up. I don’t think that he really gives a shit about what you and other members of the tall poppy brigade like you think.
Why would he bother to become an MP? It’d constrain his ability to say what he thinks.
He has neither the push to duty that a few have in that position nor the blatant egoistical need to be at the centre of attention nor the lust for power nor the rent grabbing of some of the political professionals
– Yes hes a shrinking violet who avoids the limelight
It is quite apparent that he just has an arrogant regard for his own abilities and he has a track record that he values to back it up. I don’t think that he really gives a shit about what you and other members of the tall poppy brigade like you think.
– I’m a member of the tall poppy brigade because I think hes spinning like a top?
Why would he bother to become an MP? It’d constrain his ability to say what he thinks.
– Might help reign in some of his ideas
Might help reign in some of his ideas.
Sort of an oxymoron as that reign is royal not the horse-controlling kind. Probably a very apt choice of words PR.
Well, at least it was an interesting explanation of things from his point of view.
I think his assessment is flawed, though: as a commenter pointed out, the imperfect information distributed through the “crowd” was simply that his priority was personal advantage in access, rather than public access.
But the other problem is that he’s assuming that minimising the purchase price is even a priority for the people who donated (who weren’t him). I didn’t donate to that campaign (because fundage), but I do donate on occasion. When I do, my attitude is that the money is sunk – I’m not looking for any return. So really, if they overpay to ensure public ownership, who gives a damn? Any overpayment is simply insurance against a gazumper at the post.
Tomorrow 9:10 AM I will be on Aaron’s Raglan Radio morning show.
We will be talking about the Global banking crisis, the Kiwi saver scam/scheme and the “Open bank resolution” which enables banks to confiscate deposits from small banking depositors if and when a bank fails and which was accepted by New Zealand in 2013.
http://www.raglanradio.com/index.php/listen/listen-live
Rock Star Economy
Surplus
Tax Cuts 2017
4th term National Party led rationing of vital service – wow it sounds like we are “back to the USSR” to me 🙂
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/kpmg-early-edition/opinion/rachel-smalley-no-spin-can-hide-health-sector-cuts/
Quote: “Perhaps you’ve had an experience in our health system recently?
I know a man who sat in a hospital some 18 months ago. He spent a week sitting in a ward, a man in his 40s, with a severely broken leg. It was a mess. And I think it took 8 days for him to have surgery. Short-staffed. Not enough operating theatre space anyway. And so he fasted every day until early afternoon, and then they told him he wouldn’t have surgery that day. Every day. For 8 days.
Our health needs aren’t reducing, they’re increasing. The only way to make cuts for many DHBs will be to staff.
We’re struggling with issues of unmet need, we’re struggling with the issues triggered by the diabetes and obesity epidemics — and so I really feel for our health workers right now.”
Boo hoo, the bully suggests he’s being bullied
boo hoo, the bully Slater seems to be suggesting he is being bullied
A British politician’s outrageous lies are given pride
of place in a BBC report; why does TVNZ go along with this farce?
Television One News, Tuesday 16 February 2016
There is a shameful history of disinformation and black propaganda— i.e., outright lies —by the Americans, the French, the Saudis, the Israelis and the British in the Middle East; most infamously, after the U.S.-U.K. ally Saddam Hussein of Iraq used poison gas to kill thousands of Kurdish civilians in Halabja in 1988, the United States blamed Iran for the massacre. More recently, the scofflaw Obama regime tried to blame the Syrian government for using chemical weapons which were actually used by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated “rebels” backed by the United States and Britain.
It is by no means reliable, and it is quite possibly a fabrication, but one of the major stories in today’s news is of the bombing of two Syrian hospitals by Russia. Anyone familiar with Television One’s dire, face-pulling, unfunny-joke-cracking, smirking, fist-pumping “news team” will not have been at all surprised to see that they decided to simply buy into the propaganda, without making even a gesture of due diligence.
Their “report” of the hospital bombings was not by any credible, independent, respected journalist of the stature of, say, New Zealand’s world-renowned Jon Stephenson. Instead, they went for one James Robbins, yet another robotic product of the BBC’s production line of robotic mediocrity; his “report” of the bombings was nothing more than a highly loaded, partisan denunciation of Britain’s official enemy, Russia. It was so lacking in any sense of balance, so lacking even the slightest sense of skepticism, it might as well have been written by someone at the Foreign Office. Farcically, but appropriately for this Pythonesque effort, Robbins’ “report” ended with a harried-looking British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond, who wearily reiterated his patently false talking points: “Russia could stop this tomorrow, if it started bombing terrorists and stopped bombing the moderate opposition.”
Never, not even during the era of its reprehensibly biased reporting on Ireland in the 1980s under Thatcher’s draconian restrictions, has the BBC been more politically controlled, nor has it has it ever been more untrustworthy than it is now. That TVNZ routinely goes to the BBC, when it is so discredited, and so patently an arm of the British state, is depressing beyond measure.
At the end of this deplorable little propaganda exercise, Simon Dallow read a few closing remarks from his script, his eyes swiveled hard to the right in an apparent attempt to indicate moral disapproval of the evil bastards who bomb hospitals. Chiming in a few seconds later was Wendy “Fist Pumper” Petrie, who obviously felt obliged to follow suit and indicate her own sense of moral outrage at those dastardly Russians; she did this by pausing meaningfully and looking as doleful as she could, before moving on to the next item.
Yes, I’ve seen that little post-item ‘act’ by the Dallow/Petrie coupling on numerous occasions.