A business article turns into Max pashing his girlfriend. Hopefully this is the end days for the herald, distorted reality mirroring what’s happening in government and capitalism in general.
‘Responding to the bleak statistic that almost a quarter of all New Zealand families with children experience income poverty (2014 Child Poverty Monitor), Social Justice Week this year is focused on family poverty and what it would take for all Kiwi families to flourish.
An annual awareness-raising campaign, the week is set aside by the Catholic Bishops of New Zealand and runs from 13-19 September this year. The aim in 2015 is to increase awareness and understanding of the challenges struggling families face today in Aoteraoa New Zealand, while also inspiring people to take action.
This year Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has produced a short documentary – ‘Kiwi Families: It’s Our Story’ – featuring four community groups across the country and the families they support.’
Yes, the Herald sees this as less important than Max Key’s new ‘job’.
So long as Key and the nasty Nats remain in power we will have poverty.
Democracy has failed Aotearoa. The RWNJS control the media and use it dupe the masses.
I am not advoting violence but the only answer is a violent if necessary revolutionary coup to force change! Private property will then be banned, a Maori Upper House set up in according to Te Tiriti O Waitangi, all ties to the fascist state of Isreal destroyed, and everyone giving according to their ablities and getting according to their needs. All equality! No poverty!
no democracy has not failed Aotearoa. Democracy is an idea of participation in the political process. What has failed Aotearoa are the Men and Women that have voted for high house prices (yei! us too are rich!!) and nothing else, that have voted for beneficiary bashing as they are not yet beneficiaries, the ones that have voted for the dismantling of our school system, our health system, our public service sector because they will never need to use it again or at least don’t want to fund it, the ones that will vote for greed and themselves cause when history will judge them they are dead.
Greed, stupidity and short shortsightedness is failing Aotearoa, and if you only need to look at the current flag debacle / farce to see that it afflicts people of all stripes and political affiliation.
Those “Men and Women” are the wrongful majority. How can the rightful minority gain power in a democracy against a wrongful majority? For democracy to work the majority participating in it must at least have a brain!!!
the right full minority could have voted, all 1 million non voters of them, they could have worked together and forced their parties to vote together. But they did not. They voted for ‘their party’ ‘their candidate’ and sadly they are still arguing for ‘their party’ and ‘their candidate’ as if it were to make a difference. They don’t.
No National won, because 1 million people want to associate with them and have no issues with poor kids, poor parents, crap housing, high unemployment and under employments, crap work safety and so on and so on because it serves them well.
Then National won, because the opposition parties did not work together, they did not show spine and guts, they fiddled and sadly they are still fiddling, but hey, we got a new Labour Leader, and the Greens had the victory of a cycleway somewhere of national importance, and Winston won Northland, and Hone is retired.
Then National won, because 1 million people could not be asked to vote, a lot of them white middle aged men cause no one does anything for them. A lot of them women on a benefit, cause no one does anything for them too. A lot of the young ones that just got the right to vote, cause why bother we are screwed anyways.
The right full minority, needs to grow a spine, guts, and heart. They need to start working together, they need to start voting, not because someone will do something for them, but because the alternative is a government that will absolutly do nothing for them, be on record about not doing anything for them and be happy about it.
So there, National won, because 2 million people were to occupied to do a nothing, b. to occupied to find fault with the ones that could do something, but hey ….they are not my party.
was there no poverty under the Helen Clark lead Labour Governments from 1999-2008? Get real!!!!
I would prefer our current “failed democracy” to anything that you are advocating as our “failed democracy” has law and order – without violence – as its guiding principle.
You may not like our “failed democracy” but t me it seems better than your jungle bunny violence driven model.
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) believes an increase in algorithmic trading would bolster liquidity and create a more efficient market in New Zealand.
I’m assuming that you are saying that’s the only answer because you know that will never be voted for by the good people of new Zealand. But nice to see some people on here think that a violent rise up again the wishes of the majority of the country is the way to go. And to think you call right wingers nut jobs.
I’m starting to look at an interesting line of conspiracy theories regarding the question of “Who owns the Federal Reserve?”
If you “Google” that question, one of the first statements to come up is from the U.S. Government itself; essentially it denies that the Fed is a privately owned operation. To which, a conspiracy theorist might reply “Well they would say that, wouldn’t they!”
Look a bit further down the list thrown up by Google and there’s an interesting article by Ellen Brown who argues that (quote) “The Fed is privately owned. Its shareholders are private banks”:
Brown is the author of eleven books; her article begins with this quote:
“Some people think that the Federal Reserve Banks are United States Government institutions. They are private monopolies which prey upon the people of these United States for the benefit of themselves and their foreign customers; foreign and domestic speculators and swindlers; and rich and predatory money lenders.”
The Honorable Louis McFadden, Chairman of the House Banking and Currency Committee in the 1930s.
There are also several Youtube videos on the topic including this lengthy but fascinating 3 hour 20 minute effort, published in Oct 2014:
It is accompanied by a couple of quotes:
“We shall have World Government, whether or not we like it. The only question is whether World Government will be achieved by conquest or consent.” ~ Rothschild
“Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes the laws.” ~ Rothschild
There are also shorter versions available on Youtube.
Even if they are only half true, they give the citizens of the world an AWFUL lot to worry about!
And now, both Australia and NZ have prime ministers who formerly worked for the U.S. Banks! Am I getting paranoid in my old age???
No Murray Simmonds you are not. You are simply waking up to one of the most real realities of our world. More people are waking up to it.
Pre-interweb days it was easier to keep such things on the downlow, but today all information is out in the public arena so people are in fact waking up to the fact that;
One, the US Federal Reserve, which prints all US money, is privately owned.
Two, the printed money brings a return for the private owners equating to the interest rate (pretty good money for doing some printing……..).
Three, all loans by banks, including NZ banks, are created out of thin air – the loan money didn’t exist before it was lent, it is simply printed. . . and all interest paid on that printed loan goes to the bank (pretty good money for doing some printing).
Four, that this privately-owned money system requires economic growth so that the interest can be paid i.e. most all growth in our economies goes to banks, hence why the average Joe’s position is the same as it has always been despite economic growth (and the rich just are spectacularly rich)
Five, that John Key knows all of this full well, and knows that the people don’t know this.
Six, if you think about it, the entire system is a Ponzi scheme incapable of running forever. It is on its last legs imo.
“Pre-interweb days it was easier to keep such things on the downlow, but today all information is out in the public arena …”
And this is why they are seeking to undermine net neutrality, control and log everyones use and denial of anything considered a ‘national security’ issue which is a subjective judgement call left up to politicians.
I genuinely cannot believe that Key got away with this, there is no logical reason to be deleting texts in this day and age. Back in the late 1990s or early 2000s when phones only had memory measured in MBs, sure deleting texts would have been necessary but in this day and age with phones that have GBs worth of memory I cannot see any logical reason for it (aside from the obvious – keeping information out of public record).
This is a man who represents the entire country, a man who should be answerable to everyone, yet he gets to pick and choose which conversations are deletable and which are on public record? Give me a break.
I think someone in somebody’s office just read the news. A teacher got sacked and removed from the profession for sexual misconduct evidenced by 8,000 texts.
I received a post on my Facebook page from a conspiracy theorist that claims Hitler was right when he talked about a conspiracy and this is being proved at the present time. I have noticed before that some conspiracy theorists refer to the “Rothschilds” which seemed to have an anti-Jewish flavour. It seems now that some conspiracy theorists who previously have focused on 9/11 etc have now gone full circle in their attempt to save us all from the dangers of the “Illuminati” etc to the point that they are actually in the same camp as holocaust deniers and support the arch conspiracy theorist of all time – Hitler – who exterminated millions of people. Conspiracy theorists can make a useful contribution at times to analysing events and highlighting inconsistencies but recognising irony is not their strong suite. For instance, a good number are deniers of man-made climate change which puts them in the same camp as far right Republican politicians in the United States which they usually see being part of the evil forces they are trying to alert the world to. Going full circle to supporting Hitler’s conspiracy theories is taking irony to a whole other level.
Someone who has access to secret information told me last week that there is a conspiracy to brainwash the unenlightened masses into believing that Conspiracies are not real, and that the people who claim to know about them are nutters.
verb
make secret plans jointly to commit an unlawful or harmful act.
“they conspired against him”
synonyms: plot, hatch a plot, form a conspiracy, scheme, plan, lay plans, intrigue, collude, connive, collaborate, consort, machinate, manoeuvre, be/work hand in glove;
More
(of events or circumstances) seem to be working together to bring about a particular negative result.
“everything conspires to exacerbate the situation”
synonyms: act together, work together, combine, join, unite, ally, join forces, cooperate;
Thanks for the clarity Tracey but it was not necessary as a closer consideration of the examples provided will highlight the negative result required for the victim in each case, for conspiracy to exist …
You must have missed it in the haze fog which seems to envelope your eyes with each response to mine
Yes, human sociality is built on shifting alliances and the gossip and network of conversations that individuals and groups of individuals have with each other.
But as Tracy points out, the word ‘conspire’ (when applied to people rather than events) is usually used when the aim is to harm. (The Red Cross doesn’t ‘conspire’ to help in disaster situations, for example.)
I’d actually call conversations involving how best to ‘spin’ a political event as ‘conspiring’ since I believe that attempting to generate a partial and limited understanding of events in the mind of the public is to do harm to the public, whose interest is to know the whole truth and consequences of an event.
The way in which the Tories are currently misrepresenting Corbyn’s words in their video, for example, is a classic, conspiratorial act in my books. They know they are misrepresenting him – but they wish to do that to give the public a false impression of him.
Given that so many thousands of people today make their livings out of these kinds of conversations and spinning efforts I suppose it wouldn’t be ‘good form’ to call them ‘conspiracies’ – more like ‘business’ perhaps? (Reminiscent of Adam Smith’s comment about business people gathered in a room always conspiring against the public.)
When does the employment relations amendment act come into effect? There was to be a new provision included that would go some way to protect workers against zero hours contracts.
However I keep reading job ads that still appear to expecting the prospective employee to be on call 7 days a week:
Here’s one example, see what you make of the requirements:
“have full availability across all retail hours – must be able to work 12-3pm weekdays and weekends”
These are shitty hours and this employer must know they are using desperation as a lever
Which is why they will vote National – they know that National will attack beneficiaries and make life far more difficult for the poor so that it will be easier to exploit them.
Revealing Freudian slip from Gower this morning on Paul Henry (paraphrasing):
Paul: “You could be a political strategist Paddy!”
Gower: “I don’t think Lab… I don’t think anyone would want me, Paul!”
[r0b: Please stick with this name / email from now on, It’s a pain for moderators when you change your name all the time because the first comment from every new name gets held for moderation. One name / email – or I’m just going to delete them from now on.]
Did anyone see Henry this morning? The reason I asked, I normally don’t go down that sewer but when I switched the TV on it was tuned to TV3 and I could not avoid hearing Henry as the inspection cover to the sewer was off. Before a managed to change channels I heard that prat say something about Andrew Little should be more respectful to Key or something as it gives a bad impression overseas or something and he will never become a PM or something. What the fuck was that dick on about?
He was pushing the same line a few of the rw muppets where pushing here about Little not being statesman like with his comment about pitying Australia if the new leader wants to be like key.
He’s got to earn his money some how.
““FARCE” barely describes the process by which New Zealand is deciding whether or not it needs a new flag. John Key, the prime minister, caught everyone by surprise during last year’s general-election campaign when he floated the idea of changing it. He wanted to get rid of the present one, which incorporates Britain’s Union Jack as well as the stars of the Southern Cross, to one that, as he put it to The Economist, “screams New Zealandness”. The immediate reaction was that this was at best an irrelevance, at worst a cynical diversion from the difficult stuff of politics.“
“”Oh, I thought Henry may have been referring to Little playing hard to get on the flag referendum, Red Peak, etc..”
It is a long show so you are possible right I’m sure henry takes any chance available to attack labour.
Not all of them James, In fact occasionally we do get one who comes on here with a
very valid argument. Although one may not agree with it, one can see the logic of their point of view.
But that is extremely rare.
Hey Puckish I say this in jest. As us lefties are all for spending our dollar and banking others dollars, according to a good right wing myth. Please,don’t thank us, buy us something
An example is David Farrar. We know he is a National Party fan boy and his blogsite is indicative of that, but on the rare occasion he has come here to debate something he is polite and respectful, and he receives politeness and respect in return.
Farrar is a fool, and a liar, and his opinions are nasty. However, his amiable persona means he can get away with a lot. Other lightweight commentators like Jordan Williams could learn a lot from him.
That “amiable” personality only appears if you’re a man. Women to him are slabs of meat. Other RW commentators have indeed learned a lot from him at his “Princess Parties.”
A friend on Facebook posted a clip of Jeremy Corbyn and said “We are behind you”. I fully support the sentiment but commented that it is better to say “We are beside you”. I think people expect too much of the people they want to be their champions. We can’t expect another individual to take all the heat while we stand behind them. I think this has been a problem for Labour for quite a few years. It votes in another leader and then that person is expected to engage the opposition on their own. Phil Goff seemed to be fighting all by himself in 2011 and there didn’t seem to be much back up support from the rest of the party, especially cabinet members for David Cunliffe. Things seem to be a little bit better for Andrew Little but he still seems to be doing all the heavy lifting by himself. The same principle applies to all progressive parties and organisations. Bob Dylan was right – “don’t follow leaders” – see them as part of a chain that you also are part of as well.
Three hours of Hosking and Henry every morning.
Could New Zealand’s media get any more dismal? The Mike Hosking Breakfast, NewstalkZB and PAUL HENRY, TV3
Wednesday 16 September 2015
vacuousadj.1. lacking in ideas or intelligence: a vacuous mind.2. expressing or characterized by a lack of ideas or intelligence; inane; stupid: a vacuous show.
Just before the 8 o’clock news, Sky City and National Party booster Mike Hosking said: “I thought what Andrew Little said yesterday about the new Australian prime minister was CHURLISH.”
After the news, it was time for the weekly “Wednesday Politics” feature…..
MIKE HOSKING: What are your thoughts on Jeremy Corbyn? STEVEN JOYCE: It’s going to cause them a lot of trouble. ANNETTE KING: I think it’s a case of wait and see. He’s certainly popular. JOYCE: Yeah THAT’S true. HOSKING: Hmmm…. But surely Annette, you couldn’t endorse his positions could you? KING: I didn’t say that. HOSKING: He’ll be printing money! Will he even BE there for the next general election? KING: He’ll be there. HOSKING: And they’ll LOSE! JOYCE: He’ll be gone. They’ll wake up and see what they’ve done.
…ad nauseam…
Half an hour later, another Sky City ambassador was winding up his show. Apparently Dame Helen Mirren must have said something that offended Paul “Kill them ALL” Henry, because he snarled about “silly old Helen Mirren” to his guest, then right at the end of the program, he said this:
I’d like to dedicate this program to Dame Helen Mirren, because no matter how hard she tries, she’ll never be Dame Judy Dench.”
His slaves Jim Kayes and Hillary Barry looked unimpressed, and frowned in a troubled manner.
Attitudes like this from Labour merely reinforces the perception that being left is some how bad. Giving their media (clowns like Hosking) and political opponents a larger stick to bash them with.
To be fair to the woman, she was being asked (and hence NZ Labour) to effectively, out of the blue, carte blanche endorse Corbyn’s entire position. I’m glad she didn’t. Hosking’s show is hardly the place for nuance.
Any astute Labour MP should have seen this coming. They are well aware of what has taken place in the UK, thus the repercussions that would be reflected on them.
Moreover, Corbyn’ s monumental victory presented a prime opportunity for Labour here to cement a new position.
She should have stood tall and proud and hammered him with the facts (all the good things) Corbyn stands for.
She coward like a little girl and fell straight into his stratagem.
Everyone has some policy or other that might sound nutty, if only to someone on the other side of the planet.
Hosking, being a nat fanboi, could well have one of those policies or a statement from Corbyn in reserve just in case King did categorically endorse Corbyn – probably a longer rant of the “Hell be printing money” line that he used before he flipped to speculation as to how long Corbyn will last (if morrissey’s ).
I note that when hoaxing asked whether corbyn will see the next election, King said “He’ll be there”. So not blanket about policy specifics, but firm on the stability of UK Labour under Corbyn.
She could have simply said she largely supports his position, highlighting a number of strong points, giving further weight to her last remark, while leaving scope to counter any further challenge from Hosking.
Indeed.
But live broadcasts, can only handle nuanced responses if the interviewer isn’t an active opponent.
King makes complex response, hosking “simplifies” it, joyce tagteams with mockery of the straw man hosking just raised, King has to debate what she actually meant and so looks defensive.
Interviews with hostile media are holding actions, not advances.
The response I suggested to you was far from complex. Moreover, a well seasoned MP like King knows what to expect and how to counter in kind. As I do with you, McFlock.
Interviews with the media, regardless if they’re deemed hostile (which most are to the left) is where the fight for voters is largely fought. It’s where the larger audience are.
Not too complex for text, where you get to write all you want, whenever you want, are guaranteed to be uninterrupted if it looks like you’re making a good point, and existing for future reference when it’s misinterpreted.
But no good for an interview on mediaworks. Short answers, clear, not being drawn in to rash commitments – that’s what she needed, and that’s what she gave.
As you say, she’s experienced and “well seasoned” enough to know how to deal with different media environments. I suspect that you are not.
An example that relied on a single bullshit assertion and a complete lack of interruption in delivery of said bullshit. EG:
TC: Rubbish. The spoken word is faster than the written word, thus you-
McF [voice raised in laughter]: on what planet? If you’re going to start making stuff up, at least make it plausible!
hammered Hosking with a few quick points which he’d never let her finish without interruption – the technique used to defeat the gish gallop. swiftly shutdown any contention from Joyce because nact ministers are famous for accepting opposition points without protest, regardless of the points’ merit?
The result of your tactical plan is simply to end up in a shouting match that makes men look strong and women look pushy and alienates the public, adding to the missing million.
Feel free to keep asserting. I can still read faster than most people talk, especially if they wish to be understood.
And how will you interrupt me? Sure, you can glance over sentences, but there is no way for you to derail or distract me from composing this paragraph as I write it. My full message is guaranteed to be delivered (moderators permitting 🙂 ).
You talk about taking control of an interview as if it is a passive thing. Two other people were attempting to take control of that conversation, too. All three highly experienced at dealing with the medium. Yes, Winston is exceptionally good at it, and even he has his bad days.
We were discussing the speed of the spoken word compared to the written.
Therefore, you are now resorting to presenting strawmans. Clearly you have no credible counter.
I don’t need to interrupt you, not that I can online. My counters stand solid, regardless what fictitious crap you write.
There are numerous ways to take control of the spoken medium. Below are several examples.
By being on point. Ensuring the delivery is hard hitting and presented swiftly, robbing opponents of the opportunity to interrupt. This is the quick jab approach.
Highlight the question was put to you. Thus, highlighting their rudeness, thereby getting the audience on your side while gaining back the floor.
Stating excuse me sharply, stunning opponents into silence, thus presenting the opportunity to regain the floor.
Shame and embarrass them for asking a question (or speaking out of turn) and not giving you the opportunity. Again, winning the audience over to your side.
Getting the audience on side in a debate/interview, puts one in the winning position.
Yes, we all have our bad days from time to time, thus the use of the word ‘generally’ above.
Are you now going to conveniently excuse this as one of Annette’s bad days?
You seem to making a lot of excuses for her. She could have performed better and we both know it.
Ah, so the spoken word is “faster” than the written word, but the written word doesn’t need to be read.
“By being on point. Ensuring the delivery is hard hitting and presented swiftly,” She did that. Corrected hosking when he attributed comments to her that she didn’t make, and said firmly that corbyn will be the labour leaderin the next election. You’re just pissed because she didn’t carte blanch attribute to NZ Labour all the policies of UK Labour and every single personal belief of Corbyn.
“Highlight the question was put to you. Thus, highlighting their rudeness, ” – yadda yadda, all joyce does then is explain how you’re wrong when you’ve barely started answering, then you get into an argument that simply adds to the missing million.
“stunning opponents into silence” – lol yeah, right. Got any clips of that happening to joyce or hosking, ever?
“Shame and embarrass them” – they have no fucking shame. They’re tories. Try another one.
Basically, the only “excuse” I’ve made is to point out that king was in the real world, not in whatever fantasy land you’re picturing.
No. I’m disappointed she was quick to distance herself from his left wing stance. And in doing so fell straight into Hosking’s stratagem,
reinforcing the perception that being left is some how bad.
Not off hand (re clips). Moreover, it was merely a general example – not a specific one.
Have you got any clips to prove it hasn’t worked on them?
To shame and embarrass them to win over the audience. How they feel is of no concern.
And no, you are full of excuses – see your posts above.
I’m disappointed she was quick to distance herself from his left wing stance.
cite, pls. Or did you want her to “endorse his positions”, as hosking put it?
You’ve made the assertion that she could have stunned hosking and/or joyce into silence. You’re welcome to provide evidence that that has ever happened.
To shame and embarrass them to win over the audience. How they feel is of no concern.
lol so basically your advice is for king to get the audience on her side. People who tune in to specifically watch hosking. Slight audience bias, there, easily covered by the bluster and confidence joyce and hosking exude.
Oh, sorry, that was a refernce to the real world again, so you’ll probably call it another “excuse”.
Of course not (as Hosking put it) That was most likely also part his stratagem. However, she could have handled far better, as I’ve already explained to you above.
The way she handled it also fell into his stratagem, handing him a larger stick to bash the left.
Therefore, you are now going over covered ground. Clearly, you’ve got nothing new to add
And again, it was a general example – not a specific one. As we also already covered.
You’re the one that specifically named Joyce and Hosking, implying its never worked on them, thus I called you out.
Now your speculating on who tunes in, hence I’m now also calling you on that too.
No, that was an example of you’re amateurish spin, which I just unspun and served back to you.
You’ve outlined alternative ways she could have handled it. They were not ways she could have handled it “better”, for reasons I have already explained to you above.
Yes, I specifically named joyce and hosking, for the simple reason that they were the people she was facing. In order for her to deal with something “better” in that situation, it needs to work on them, not just “generally”. Again, a reference to the real world rather than an excuse.
Saying that people who tune in to watch hosking’s programme are tuning in to watch hosking’s programme is not speculation. It’s a statement of the obvious: the “audience” you wanted king to win over choose to tune in to hosking. Hosking is a rabid national party propagandist and I believe a former national party candidate, as well as a fuckwit. You wanted king to appeal to people who choose to tune in to watch that type of person. My speculation is that singing the internationale wasn’t going to do the job.
Here’s the thing: you reckon she could have done better against hosking and joyce in that conversation. Not some general hypothetical debate, you reckon she should have done better in that specific, precise circumstance.
So maybe you could demonstrate how your suggestions would be “better” in that precise, specific incident against those specific people, rather than pretending that naming the specific people in that specific situation is somehow a dirty trick to “call me out on”.
You talked about how she should have won the audience over in that specific conversation. The nature of that specific audience is therefore a reasonable factor to consider. You watched it. so did morrissey. Big deal. Surely it’s a reasonable assumption to assume the bulk of the audience were fans of the host, rather than frustrated lefties more eager to score points against Labour than the tories?
The one time she followed “your” strategem, you didn’t like the result. There’s no pleasing some people, I guess.
Indeed. We both know she could have done better. And how has been demonstrated/outlined above. She even used an approach I gave as an example. Which you went on to concede worked. However, her execution was flawed.
But this, is once again, all covered ground.
I didn’t say or pretend naming them was a dirty trick. That’s more of your lies and spin
I was calling you out on your claim that another of my examples wouldn’t have (because you implied it never has). Thus I called you on it.
Claiming I’m not in the real world or spinning it proves nothing. You’ re just wasting my time.
How about you cut the crap, front up and substantiate your claim. Or own that you’re wrong
The make up of the mindset of the bulk of the audience is anybodies guess. People may have tuned in because she was airing. Moreover,you went further than just assuming, thus I’m calling you on your claim.
You may be happy with a poor performance and making the left look bad. I know she is cable of better, thus expected better.
Do you work for her? You seem overly keen to defend her.
You want evidence that you live in a fantasy land? How about your repeated claims of what I do and do not know. Not only are those claims without basis, they frequently run contrary to everything I’ve said.
You want to know why I give a shit? I’m not employed by labour, anyone in labour, and I’m not employed to comment here. I give a shit because I think that the eternal bitching by self-loathing labourites is the haemorrhoids on the arsehole of the left. They profess genuine concern and a goodwilled desire for caucus to “improve”, but really they’re just throwing their toys out of the cot. Leadership and caucus can be huge puss-filled pimples on the face of Labour and the left, but some of the tories’ best allies are self-proclaimed lefties who whinge obsessively. In my opinion, anyway.
Well, considering I countered all your points thus far (and you even conceded to a couple) you should very well know. Therefore, your evidence doesn’t really stack up.
As for the rest of your post, it’s merely your opinion. And you know what they say about opinions? They are like assholes, everybody has one. And I just kicked yours.
[lprent: Claiming victory around here is dangerous. I like to exhibit it too. But I have more toolkit and I really don’t care about do the debating bit. I jump to you losing.
If you use anything like a pwned/owned strategy, I will happily demonstrate who always wins. It is the sysop, who has had to clean up too many flamewars caused by jumped up gits playing stupid debating games. Read the policy on flamewars. This is your only warning. Let me know when you have read this. It will be in auto-moderation. ]
You wanted me to engage more, thus I was. Countering points being made (debating).
Nevertheless, it takes two to participate in a so-called flame war. I don’t see McFlock being warned for his participation.
Furthermore, when ones opponent resorts to strawmans, spin and lies to points made, clearly they have no credible counter, thus are losing the debate. Hence, I wasn’t claiming victory, merely stating fact. Which surely isn’t against this site’s policy?
Therefore, now that this has been made clear, I would expect you (if you are balanced and reasonable) to reconsider and revoke the warning made.
[lprent: Don’t try to use strawman arguments on me! Read the warning. Nothing you said here has ANYTHING to do with that warning. I wasn’t talking about the conversation you were having. That was fine. You can argue that all you want.
What I warned you about was using pwned/owned arguments. That is a specific flamewar starter that I look for, and stomp on hard. You may have noticed that others don’t use it? There is a reason for that.
If you can’t read clear warnings, I will take what I consider is the appropriate action. ]
Additionally, people like me are beneficial to Labour. it allows them to covertly test voter support of their position (or newly considered policy) while gauging potential counters to positions being considered.
Allowing them to better counter things or improve them, before going public.
Q. – But surely Annette, you couldn’t endorse his positions could you?
Answer: “Why not?”
The questioner then (I think) has no option but to list/rant various ‘outrageous positions’ .
Points can be agreed with, repudiated or ignored and at the end something like “So, we know you certainly don’t endorse him Mike…but that’s no surprise to anyone”, can be thrown in.
Take away confidence, insert fear or uncertainty (a constant state of affairs for the NZ Labour Party, it seems) – and you get something along the lines of what happened.
Jerry Seinfeld, Andrew Dice Clay and Sasha Baron Cohen eat your hearts out:
Here’s another insane right wing “comedian”.
Wayne Rogers used to play the part of Trapper John in the hit television show M*A*S*H. Trapper John was a funny, witty, nice guy. Wayne Rogers, on the other hand, is neither funny nor witty nor nice….
Isn’t it clear that farming has ruined this lake in just the last recent years? Yet he wants to intensify further?
Do these guys have rocks in their heads or something?…. Listen to what the planet and people are telling you mr farmer….stop acting like a child …. stop and listen to what you are being told …..
… the land cannot be irrigated as it is way too sensitive. Stop trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Ffs.
… when will farmers learn to farm within the confines of their farm and their climate? If it is a dry place then farm as a dry place.
ffs, farmers attitudes and approaches drive me nuts with their square-peg-round-hole demands.
edit: whats the bet that the previous owners of this station always used to claim “blah blah we are custodians of the land and want to leave it better for the next generation blah blah”. All farmers do. Yet the evidence shows that farmers have NEVER left the land in a better condition for the future. Never. It is a lie. Proved by their own actions and results.
Yeah that one makes me see red too. I wonder how much is a result of 30 years of neoliberalism socialising people into an overdevelopped sense of entitlement. Adding that to the culture of importance within some farming sectors, plus the banks and farm advisors encouraging all their clients to see the environement in terms of profit, it’s a bad mix.
If you’ve done everything you can to protect the environment and you’re still polluting it, then you just have to stop farming.
edit: whats the bet that the previous owners of this station always used to claim “blah blah we are custodians of the land and want to leave it better for the next generation blah blah”. All farmers do. Yet the evidence shows that farmers have NEVER left the land in a better condition for the future. Never. It is a lie. Proved by their own actions and results.
There are whole systems of farming that address this, broadly called regenerative agriculture and holistic land management. Biodynamics and some organic farms too. The underlying ethos is that all practices have to build health in the land not deplete it ie there is a net increase. There are farmers in NZ already doing this, and there is no reason that we couldn’t be doing this en masse, apart from greed, ignorance, and the control that the banks and Fed Farmers have.
There are farmers in NZ already doing this, and there is no reason that we couldn’t be doing this en masse, apart from greed, ignorance, and the control that the banks and Fed Farmers have.
True and the only way that we will get the farmers doing sustainable farming is to legislate for it. The farmers will whinge for awhile but I think that they’d all come around eventually.
I also think we need to limit farming to ~15% of the land mass of the country and to suitable locations.
But haven’t reports cited low benefit payments as a contributing factor adding to social, health, and poverty problems? Therefore, isn’t more money needed?
Debt ratios have reached extreme levels across all major regions of the global economy, leaving the financial system acutely vulnerable to monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve, the world’s top financial watchdog has warned.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said the wild market ructions of recent weeks and capital outflows from China are warning signs that the massive build-up in credit is coming back to haunt, compounded by worries that policymakers may be struggling to control events.
“We are not seeing isolated tremors, but the release of pressure that has gradually accumulated over the years along major fault lines,” said Claudio Borio, the bank’s chief economist.
….So, if at all possible people, lower your mortgage, keep your cash savings high, and buckle in for the next really tough ride.
😉
Of course he wont, like the Vietnam war all the fat cats made sure their kids were at College or somewhere to make sure they dodged the draft and did not have to attend that shit.
NZ Herald did a poll on Medical Cannabis, 70% support access to Medical Cannabis under strict conditions. I would take that as a win. Class B drugs by definition are strict anyway…..
About bloody time. OK let me add more having now read article. What planet is the Minister on? Evidence, bloody nora, has he not heard of google, or indeed “The American Journal of the Medical Sciences”? What does a minister have to read? It seems not a lot these days.
Hello all. Judith here to talk about how National are going to take the election in September. The National Party prides itself its unity and cohesion. We are working together to deliver for New Zealanders. First of all, ee are a strong team. We are a very strong team. Our ...
Parliament has just begun the adjournment debate, signalling the effective end of this Parliament. So it seems like an appropriate time to assess Labour's term in office. Unfortunately, its a pretty dismal assessment. Labour campaigned on one thing: change. Not just a change in who got the top jobs and ...
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After I noticed that my name had been taken yet again in vain by my friendly antagonist Tom Hunter over at No Minister, I went over to see what the fuss was about. Nothing much, but then I discovered a post about the Operation Burnham Inquiry by Psycho Milt. I ...
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As many good things come in threes (as the saying goes), we are happy to announce a third partnership between Skeptical Science and other websites. Fakebook.eco in Brazil is joining Klimafakten.de in Germany and Nauka o Klimacie in Poland to leverage translated rebuttal material and to make the information readily available in other ...
This interview on RNZ with Ross Tucker, the scientist who headed a review of transgender athletes playing in women’s rugby, discusses the findings of the review and what it means for women in sports. The review that World Rugby undertook had a broad range of independent experts and included a ...
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On Friday the Hit and Run inquiry delivered a devastating report which found that NZDF had systematically misled Ministers over civilian deaths. The report called into question civilian control of the military (and indeed, military control of the military), a fundamental principle of our democracy. So you'd expect our politicians ...
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Parliament's triennial Review of Standing Orders was released today, and it contains a number of welcome, if minor, improvements. The ones that caught my are: A move to encourage "pre-legislative engagement" - the government consulting widely on legislation before it is introduced - by promising easier passage (e.g. with ...
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New Zealand First is facing a difficult struggle to get re-elected, but Josh Van Veen, who was once a researcher for Winston Peters, argues that there is still a very significant section of cultural conservatives who oppose mass immigration and political correctness and might yet be won back over to ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk Many Americans these days seem unable to avoid controversy on practically any topic, so why not embrace the discord and wade into the especially volatile arena of nuclear energy? Advocates claim it’s the only way to meet global climate goals, ...
Can we trust New Zealand’s military? There must now be serious doubt, given the landmark report released on Friday concluding the investigation into allegations made in the book Hit and Run by Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson about a 2010 SAS killing raid in Afghanistan. The most recent Colmar Brunton ...
In New Zealand, we've just had the report of the Hit and Run inquiry, which found that a New Zealand led raid had accidentally killed civilians, including a child. meanwhile, around the same time, the British SAS was conducting its own raids in Afghanistan, and theirs were a hell of ...
In addition to establishing a process for setting emissions reductions plans, the Zero Carbon Act established a process for managing the risks of climate change. The first part of this is the preparation of regular risk assessments, looking at the risks to our economy, society, environment, and ecology. The first ...
Over on The spinoff, Amnesty International's Meg de Ronde has a response to Friday's release of the Hit and Run report. And in response to Attorney-General David Parker's claim that the government was being "transparent" by releasing the report, its titled "we shouldn’t have to work this hard to get ...
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There's an election next month, so you'd be expecting political parties to be telling us what they stand for and what they'd do if they'd win. But while the Greens have given us a detailed policy platform, and National has talked about roads and austerity, Labour, currently leading the polls ...
"Who's youse accusin' of innference?" Without the timely intervention of a team of top American political consultants and campaign experts, Boris Yeltsin would never have won his second term as President of the Russian Federation. The Russians waited 20 years to return the favour.WHEN IT COMES to the disinformation game, ...
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Our health professionals do an amazing job. Image credit: Wikipedia – Cardiac surgery. Finally, I have got back to these rankings. A long period in hospital and computer problems meant the June 2020 rankings were abandoned. Now, with a new personal defibrillator implanted in my chest and a new hard ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 26 through Sat, Aug 1, 2020Editor's ChoiceThe four types of climate denier, and why you should ignore them allThe shill, the grifter, the egomaniac and the ideological ...
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Former National Minister - Wayne MappYou could tell that the Hit and Run book by investigative journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson was right on the money by the way former National Party Minister of Defence, Wayne Mapp, reacted to its now largely vindicated claims.Even though the recent inquiry into ...
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We are failing to think though the interdependencies in an economy. We miss economist Bryan Philpott (1921-2000). I miss him personally – we used to have such great discussions – but this column is about how the nation misses his economic experience and wisdom. We tend to ...
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Adam Smith, Massey UniversityA recent global assessment of shark populations at 371 coral reefs in 58 countries found no sharks at almost 20% of reefs and alarmingly low numbers at many others. The study, which involved over 100 scientists under the Global FinPrint project, gave New Zealand a good ...
On different trajectories and from different ends of the political spectrum, last night’s One News/Colmar Brunton poll has the Green Party and ACT converging around the five percent mark. And, as odd as it may sound, they head into the election campaign with a lot in common.Putting the Greens and ...
Janet Stephenson, University of OtagoA proposed multibillion-dollar project to build a pumped hydro storage plant could make New Zealand’s electricity grid 100% renewable, but expensive new infrastructure may not be the best way to achieve this. New Zealand’s electricity generation is already around 80% renewable, with just over half ...
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This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Government rulemakers looking to decide how much money to spend to avoid adding more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere need a good estimate of what a warming climate will cost in social damages, for example through more extreme weather events. That point makes ...
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I hope we can all agree that charging only certain returning expats for isolation costs is the right call. Instead of a blanket fee, which may have resulted in a small number of Kiwis deciding not to return home because of financial reasons, the Government has chosen to implement a ...
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Have unions and the Government sold workers short with their attempt at fixing the so-called “Hobbit Law”? Unionist Ian Powell argues that the union movement has been outmanoeuvered, and the Government has agreed to a new piece of anti-worker legislation that retains the principles of the previous National Government’s hated ...
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Last week, after Judith Collins announced that National would be cruel and vicious to kiwis caught overseas by the pandemic, and rob them at the border if they returned home, Labour looked like it was falling all over itself to cry "me too". But now, it looks like kindness has ...
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Liz SlootenScientists from the University of Otago, working with colleagues from around the world, have found that New Zealand right whales are doing much better than right whales in other parts of the world. The research was published as the feature article in the journal Marine Ecology Progress ...
Back in 2019, the government asked for a comprehensive, independent review of the Resource Management Act and associated legislation. That review has now reported back and recommended a complete repeal and re-enactment. Despite the headlines, this is not a "scrapping" - we're still going to have a resource management law, ...
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Britain's spy agencies are supposedly overseen by various watchdogs, including the investigatory powers tribunal. But it turns out that MI6 at least has contempt for those watchdogs, and attempted to interfere with the operations of the tribunal by concealing evidence from its judges: MI6 has been accused of “inappropriate interference” ...
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Powerful Connection: Neoliberalism is the antithesis of everything that has traditionally been associated with the feminine aspects of human nature. Kindness and compassion, nurturance and inclusiveness: such qualities have no place in the neoliberal order. When Jacinda proclaimed her determination to practice the “politics of kindness”, she was, wittingly or ...
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Today a full bench of the High Court is hearing Andrew Borrowdale's challenge to the legality of the COVID-19 lockdown. That lockdown ended two months ago, so the point seems moot - but it was never about ending it. Instead, as Andrew Geddis points out, its about a key principle ...
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We went hard and we went early in our health response to COVID-19, and we did everything we could to cushion the economic impact too. In fact, we can fill every letter of the alphabet with the steps we took to fight COVID-19 and ensure we were in a position ...
Investing in our people, backing businesses, and upgrading infrastructure and housing throughout the country - it's been another week of progress for New Zealanders as we deliver our plan to recover and rebuild. ...
July was another busy month, packed with key investments aimed at progressing our economic recovery as we rebuild New Zealand. We extended support for businesses, helped create jobs through local infrastructure projects, and kept working to clean up our waterways so Kiwis can access safe clean water. Check out the ...
The Green Party is calling for the Defence Force Chiefs in place between 2010-2017 to front up and explain how dishonesty, process and policy failures within the Defence Force led to ‘a series of incorrect statements in briefings to ministers and public releases’ regarding alleged breaches of international torture prevention ...
Thanks to our strong health response, New Zealand’s economy is more open than many other countries. But as COVID continues to surge around the world, the economic consequences of the virus will continue to be a challenge, which is why we have a detailed plan to help New Zealand bounce ...
Thanks to our strong health response, New Zealand’s economy is more open than many other countries. But as COVID continues to surge around the world, the economic consequences of the virus will continue to be a challenge, which is why we have a detailed plan to help New Zealand bounce ...
The Green Party are ensuring that New Zealanders who were overseas when COVID-19 hit will not be charged for the cost of isolation or quarantine if they return home to live. ...
It's been another week of creating jobs, supporting local businesses, and investing in infrastructure up and down the country - all of which are helping to keep our economy moving post-COVID-19. ...
Law changes to end tenure review and provide for better management of Crown pastoral lands in the South Island high country were considered by Parliament today with the first reading of the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill says Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage. ...
The Green Party have secured legislative amendments in a bill expected to pass third reading this week, to ensure better rules for school teachers and staff, so they can de-escalate children with diverse needs and cognitive differences, such as autism, rather than using unnecessary and often traumatising force. ...
New Zealand needs to be more aggressive in pursuing economic opportunities and resist the short-term thinking affecting some of its major industry, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says.Mr Peters told Wellington Chamber of Commerce members this morning that the planned closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter will have ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has ridiculed the National Party "circus", with the politician saying it was in "chaos" after the resignation of another MP.Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon announced on Monday he would retire from politics after he allegedly sent inappropriate pornographic images to a young woman. Following a ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters today outlined what he saw as the requirements to re-open New Zealand's borders for tourists and travellers. If New Zealand was dealing solely with an Australian state such as Tasmania, we wouldn't need a vaccine, said Mr Peters, but these moves were complicated by the ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters appears to have prompted last-minute alterations to proposed legislation for commercial landlords and their tenants. Mr Peters told reporters on Wednesday said that he was making sure the proposed bill was in step with what the parties had actually agreed to. He said he ...
Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprise and New Zealand First List MP Shane Jones attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new NZ Post "super depot" in Wellington. The state-owned postal service, which got $280 million from the Coalition Government last month, is expanding its operations to handle surging parcel volumes. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First CHECK AGAINST DELIVERYIntroduction Good afternoon. Welcome to you all here today and party supporters watching from around the country. We appreciate your hard work keeping New Zealand First strong; thank you for keeping the faith. Sixty-three days out from Election Day, ...
The diversity of conservation boards around Aotearoa is increasing with 47 appointments to 14 of the 15 conservation boards across New Zealand announced today by the Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage. ...
The Green Party is honoured to be remembering former co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons today at a public memorial service in the heart of Wellington at the Cathedral of St. Paul’s. Following her passing in March, this celebration of her life brings together her friends, family and colleagues to honour her life ...
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage has announced a $2.5 million boost for South Westland to help a regional alliance of local businesses and government agencies provide nature based jobs. ...
Getting low-emission trucks on the road is a step closer with investment in infrastructure to support hydrogen vehicles, the Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods has announced. The Infrastructure Reference Group has provisionally approved $20 million for New Plymouth company Hiringa Energy to establish a nationwide network of hydrogen-fuelling stations. ...
A new trades training centre to upskill the local workforce will be built in the South Waikato town of Tokoroa through funding from the Government’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. The Government will contribute $10.84 million from ...
The Government has agreed to repeal part of the Oranga Tamariki Act subsequent children provisions, Minister for Children Tracey Martin announced today. “There are times when children need to go into care for their safety – the safety and care of children must always be paramount,” Minister Martin said. “But ...
A $1.5 million boost to grow primary mental health and addiction services for Pacific peoples in Auckland, Hamilton and Canterbury will lead to better outcomes for Pacific communities, Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa says. Pasifika Futures has received funding to expand services through The Fono, Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest by ...
Twenty-two projects to boost the sustainability and climate resilience of New Zealand’s food and fibres sector have been announced today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. The $18m funding will deliver practical knowledge to help farmers and growers use their land more sustainably, meet environmental targets, remain prosperous, and better understand ...
Employment Minister Willie Jackson welcomes an initiative that assists employers to get mature workers into New Zealand small businesses. The disadvantages that older people face in the workplace was highlighted in the whole of Government Employment Strategy. In order to address this, a Mature Workers Toolkit has been developed and ...
New Zealand and Australia reaffirmed today the need for the closest possible collaboration as they tackle a global environment shaped by COVID-19, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said. “In these challenging times, our close collaboration with Australia is more vital than ever,” said Mr Peters. Mr Peters and his Australian ...
The recovery and forensic examination of the loader driven by survivor Russell Smith means the underground team are now moving into an area of the Pike River Mine that has not been seen since the explosion, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little said. “The fifth and last robot ...
The Government has confirmed a community-wide trial of CovidCard technology as it explores options for COVID-19 contact tracing. “Effective contact tracing is a vital part of the COVID-19 response,” Minister of Health Chris Hipkins said. “While manual processes remain the critical component for contact tracing, we know digital solutions can ...
The government is proposing changes to aquaculture legislation to improve the process for allocating and transferring aquaculture assets to iwi. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash has introduced the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Amendment Bill to Parliament. It proposes a limited new discretionary power for Te Ohu Kaimoana Trustee Limited (ToKM). ...
The Minister of Justice has today introduced the Family Court (Supporting Children in Court) Legislation Bill – the next step in the ongoing programme of work to fix the failed 2014 Family Court reforms led by then Justice Minister Judith Collins. The Bill arises from the report of the Independent ...
A new Department of Conservation (DOC) action plan tackles the impacts of climate change on New Zealand’s biodiversity and DOC managed infrastructure including tracks, huts and cultural heritage. Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage says extreme weather events around the country have really brought home our vulnerability to changing weather patterns. ...
A heavily scaled back international Antarctic season will commence this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods have confirmed. “Antarctica is the only continent that is COVID-19 free,” Mr Peters said. “Throughout the global pandemic, essential operations and long-term science have continued at ...
The Government is providing up to $30 million to help fund the NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport in Upper Hutt - an investment that will create 244 jobs. “The sports hub is designed to be a world-leading shared service for a range of sports, offering the level of facilities ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today transport projects currently in construction will continue at pace due to extra Government support for transport projects to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. To keep the $16.9 billion 2018-21 National Land Transport Programme going the Government has allocated funding from the COVID Response and ...
$50 million for further rural broadband digital connectivity has been allocated from the $3 billion infrastructure fund in the COVID Response and Recovery Fund has been announced by Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure and Kris Faafoi, Minister for Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media. The investment will go to boosting broadband ...
The Minister for Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media has congratulated the Ultra-fast Broadband (UFB) programme on its major milestone of connecting more than 1 million New Zealand households and businesses to UFB. “This milestone has been 10 years in the making and demonstrates the popularity of the UFB network. “Uptake ...
Landmark legislation passed today puts New Zealand on track to saving thousands of lives and having a smokefree generation sooner rather than later, Associate Health Minister, Jenny Salesa says. The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill regulates vaping products and heated tobacco devices. “There has long been concern ...
A discriminatory law that has been a symbol of frustration for many people needing and providing care and support, has been scrapped by the Government. “Part 4A of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill (No 2) was introduced under urgency in 2013 by a National Government,” Associate ...
Kiwi motorists are set to reap the benefits of a more competitive fuel market following the passing of the Fuel Industry Bill tonight, Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods says. “This Act is where the rubber meets the road in terms of our response to the recommendations made in the ...
The Government has delivered on its promise to New Zealanders to modernise tenancy laws with the passing of the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill 2020 today, says Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing), Kris Faafoi. “The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 was out-dated and the reforms in the RTA modernise our ...
New rules to protect and restore New Zealand’s freshwater passed into law today. Environment Minister David Parker and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor welcomed the gazetting of the new national direction on freshwater management. “These regulations deliver on the Government’s commitment to stop further degradation, show material improvements within five years and ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced the appointment of Jeremy Clarke-Watson as New Zealand’s new Consul-General in Los Angeles. “New Zealand and the United States share a close and dynamic partnership, based on a long history of shared values and democratic traditions,” Mr Peters said. “Mr Clarke-Watson is a ...
Victims of family violence can end a tenancy with two days’ notice Landlords can terminate tenancies with 14 days’ notice if tenants assault them Timeframe brought forward for limiting rent increases to once every 12 months Extension of time Tenancy Tribunal can hear cases via phone/video conference Reform of New ...
Two employment schemes – one new and one expanded – going live today will help tens of thousands of people continue training on the job and support thousands more into work, the Government has announced. Apprenticeship Boost, a subsidy of up to $12,000 per annum for first year apprentices and ...
The Government is funding a significant infrastructure package at Omokoroa which will create 150 new jobs and help transform the Western Bay of Plenty peninsula, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Phil Twyford says the Government is investing $14 million towards the $28 million roading and water package. This ...
The Bill allowing the Government to recover some costs for managed isolation and quarantine passed its third reading today, with charges coming into force as soon as regulations are finalised. Putting regulations into force is the next step. “The COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill and its supporting regulations will ...
Today’s unemployment data shows the Government’s plan to protect jobs and cushion the blow for businesses and households against the economic impact of COVID-19 was the right decision, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. Stats NZ said today that New Zealand’s unemployment rate in the June quarter – which includes the ...
A new role of New Zealand Reading Ambassador for children and young people is being established, Prime Minister and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Internal Affairs and for Children, Tracey Martin announced today. The Reading Ambassador, announced at a Celebration of Reading event at ...
Community Law Centres will receive a funding boost to meet the increased need for free legal services due to COVID-19, Justice Minister Andrew Little said. The $3.5m funding is for the next three financial years and is additional to the almost $8 million for Community Law Centres announced in Budget ...
New Zealand has joined Canada and Chile in a new trade initiative aimed at increasing women’s participation in global trade. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker, together with Canada’s Minister for Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade Mary Ng, Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrés Allamand, and Chile’s Vice ...
Building owners around New Zealand have benefited from the latest round of Heritage EQUIP funding with grants totalling $2,230,166. “The Heritage EQUIP grants for seismic strengthening assist private building owners to get the professional advice they need to go ahead with their projects or support them to carry out the ...
• New paediatric facilities, including a Special Baby Care Unit • Up to 50 extra inpatient beds • New lab facilities Northland babies and their whānau will soon have access to improved hospital care when they need it with Health Minister Chris Hipkins today confirming new paediatric facilities and more ...
People walking and cycling between Featherston and Greytown, or along Wellington’s Eastern Bays will soon have a safe shared path, as part of a $220 million shovel-ready cycleways package announced by Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter. “During lockdown we saw many more families and kids out on their bikes, ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today extended New Zealand’s condolences following the death of Vanuatu’s High Commissioner to New Zealand, Johnson Naviti, who passed away yesterday afternoon in Wellington. “Our thoughts are with the High Commissioner’s family and colleagues during this difficult time. This is a terrible loss both to ...
The Government has today set out the regional allocations of the $761 million Three Waters stimulus and reform funding for councils announced by Prime Minister Hon Jacinda Ardern this month. "I want to thank Councils around the country for engaging with the Central Local Government Steering Group who have been ...
Students with high and complex learning needs, as well as their teachers and parents, will benefit from a substantial increase to Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding, Associate Education Minister Martin announced today. “Nearly $160 million will go towards helping these students by lifting their base support over the next four ...
Funding for innovative projects to connect Kiwis with affordable, safe and wholesome food, reduce food waste, and help our food producers recover from COVID-19 has been announced today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “COVID-19 has seen an increasing number of families facing unprecedented financial pressure. Foodbanks and community food service ...
Eight shovel-ready projects within Kāinga Ora large-scale developments, and the Unitec residential development in Auckland have been given the go-ahead, Minister for Housing Dr Megan Woods announced today. Megan Woods says these significant infrastructure upgrades will ensure that the provision of homes in Auckland can continue apace. “The funding announced ...
The Government is funding a new separated walking and cycleway path along Napier’s Chambers and Ellison streets to provide safer access for local students and residents across Marine Parade and State Highway 51, Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Police Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Funding of $2.7 million has been ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Indonesia’s West Papua province has again been recorded as having the worst democracy index in the republic, reports CNN Indonesia. This year (2019), the West Papuan Democracy Index (IDI) was 57.62, even dropping lower from 2018 when it was 58.29 points. Based on data from the ...
This week’s 75th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with 250,000 killed and many more suffering terrible effects on their health, is a sombre reminder of the appalling destruction of nuclear weapons and should spur international efforts ...
Analysis - Can we postpone this year's election? We've ended up with a campaign focused on scandal, personality and leadership, with a policy void that's worse than usual. ...
We seek the indulgence of readers of a delicate disposition to bear with us for a moment as we dip into what some call crude soldiery and examine some important aspects revealed in the Arnold-Palmer report into Operation Burnham. We know this concerned the NZ Special Air Service in actions ...
At an event at the controversial Cloud Ocean bottling plant in Christchurch today, The Opportunities Party said governance of water could not be any worse than how it is now. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Odette Best, Professor, Nursing, University of Southern Queensland Recently announced Closing the Gap targets aim to improve the health and well-being of Indigenous people. But if that’s to happen, we need to provide health advice suitable for First Nations Australians. That includes ...
The Ombudsman's report to Parliament on the children's ministry's taking of babies is scathing of its misuse of the law and treatment of families caught in its routine use of 'uplifts'. Tim Murphy reports. The latest damning inquiry into Oranga Tamariki finds that in 100 percent of cases investigated by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liz Giuffre, Senior Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology Sydney Review: Paul Kelly: The Man, the Music and Life in Between (Hatchette) Stuart Coupe’s new biography of Paul Kelly takes many known elements of Kelly’s story and rouses them again. Paul Kelly: ...
This was the last week of Parliament before the election and departing politicians had the opportunity to offer final thoughts in their valedictory speech. The stark contrast between the careers and speeches of two Labour ex-Ministers, Hon Ruth Dyson ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Money as an Unfortunate Metaphor for CostKeith Rankin. Especially but not only in election years, when any new policy is proposed by a major party, a ubiquitous refrain follows: “what will it cost?”; “where will the money come from?”. The context is that cost ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Can we postpone this year’s election? Quite frankly, the political parties don’t seem ready for it, and aren’t about to offer voters the necessary policy choices for the unprecedented times we’re in. We’ve ended up with a campaign focused ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip Gibbons, Professor, Australian National University Most people probably associate the Australian Alps with skiing and snow. Others might think of the Man from Snowy River legend or the engineering feats of the Snowy Hydro-Electric Scheme. But few people know the region’s ...
The Serious Fraud Office has welcomed a court decision confirming the confidentiality of material that was inadvertently disclosed by the agency to the defendants in the National Party donations case. The material was disclosed recently during the course ...
The Cancer Society is pleased to see the new vaping legislation passed with general cross-party support as it will help protect people from the harms of e-cigarettes and nicotine addiction while also supporting those who use vaping to quit smoking. ...
Imperial Brands says it is excited that a new law will allow it to sell vapes but is disappointed that the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill has made vapes harder to get than cigarettes. Imperial Brands spokesperson Kirsten ...
A loader driven by former miner Russell Smith at the time of the Pike River Mine explosion has now been recovered from 1581m up the 2.3km drift access tunnel. The recovery of the loader went smoothly and to plan. Pike River families were able to ...
The removal of a 20 tonne loader that has blocked the Pike River drift since the day the mine exploded marks the start of the forensic recovery of a crime scene that has been locked away for ten years. Russell Smith was driving the loader when the ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Mitchell Pham, founder of Augen Software Group.If the last century was the American ...
At this year's general election, the public will also be asked to cast a referendum vote on the End of Life Choice Act 2019. Here is an explainer on the Act, who is eligible and how we got here. ...
Ngāti Tūwharetoa has just become the first iwi to be approved under the Resource Management Act to take over certain council duties. Here’s why that matters.In 1991, the Resource Management Act (RMA) allowed councils to transfer any of their functions to local iwi. Now, almost 30 years after that act ...
The Public Service Association strongly opposes allowing privately-run quarantine facilities to open for international travelers, and the union says it would put all New Zealanders in danger. PSA members work in the government agencies spearheading ...
Catherine Woulfe reviews Upstream on the Mataura, a memoir by Gore flyfisherman Dougal Rillstone chronicling his journey along the Southland river.Dougal Rillstone is some guy you’ve never heard of, who grew up in Gore and is in love with a river. He also loves to fish for trout. He’s in ...
Oranga Tamariki-Ministry for Children has been using its powers to remove newborn pēpi from their parents under a without notice Court order more by routine than exception, says Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier. Mr Boshier today released He Take ...
A hairdressers casual approach to conversation allows for a story to be told in an authentic fashion. This approach allows Political Cutz to create unique discussions with the intent of communicating important subjects. We have been producing pop up ...
Oranga Tamariki-Ministry for Children has been using its powers to remove newborn pēpi from their parents under a without notice Court order more by routine than exception, says Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier. Mr Boshier today released He Take ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Gray, Associate professor, Jumbunna Insitute for Indigenous Education and Research, University of Technology Sydney The Conversation is running a series of explainers on key figures in Australian political history, looking at the way they changed the nature of debate, its impact ...
This Town is being billed as 2020’s feel good Kiwi comedy movie, but Amanda Thompson finds it a gentle romcom with a heart of surprisingly confronting darkness.Movies about rural New Zealand are going to be funny, either intentionally or unintentionally. It’s a funny place and we’re funny people, and New ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Aroney, Professor of Constitutional Law, The University of Queensland There is a theory that despite all the commotion, religious freedom faces no significant threat in Western democracies like Australia. Therefore, the argument goes, we do not need a federal Religious Discrimination ...
The Government has announced it will test run the CovidCard contact tracing system in Rotorua, Marc Daalder reports The plan to give every New Zealander a Bluetooth-enabled CovidCard for contact tracing is one step closer to fruition. On Thursday, Health Minister Chris Hipkins and Government Digital Services Minister Kris Faafoi ...
The joint campaign to push the Government to commit to safer staffing levels in aged care continues around the country with two North Island actions. E tū members and delegates will be holding two photo opportunities in Gisborne on Thursday to ...
6 August 2020: We have written to the chief executives of public organisations with 30 June balance dates about the extended reporting time frames for 2020. Kia ora koutou katoa As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the amount of work that will be ...
On the Rag meets two women advocating for the legalisation of cannabis to hear why they’re voting yes in this year’s referendum.The prevailing image of weed users in the media might be Seth Rogen and men who look like Seth Rogen ripping epic bong hits in front of a Bob ...
The Motor Trade Association says the Government has failed independent service station operators and missed the opportunity to create to truly competitive fuel market. “Sadly for New Zealand motorists, the Bill passed last night is not going to make ...
Evening Report Live: This week in A View from Afar with Paul G. Buchanan and Selwyn Manning, we examine the Beirut explosion and what is going on behind the headlines. We also debate how leaders around the world are using authoritarianism as a mask to cover their weak handling of ...
Though the COVID-19 pandemic has been the death knell of New Zealand immigration as we know it, it also presents a much-needed opportunity for improvement. What might the new immigration system look like? Aaron Martin , principal lawyer at New Zealand ...
When they weren’t distributing money to an array of projects and programmes that met with their approval, our ministers were busy braying about the new laws they have promoted to improve – we hope – our wellbeing. Megan Woods was chuffed about two news laws passed into law on her ...
Over lockdown, mental health hotlines saw a massive spike in calls and texts from distressed New Zealanders. Their numbers still haven’t returned to normal, and growing research suggests demand won’t be going away anytime soon. In April and May, Lifeline experienced a 25% increase in calls and texts from people in ...
The Smokefree Environments (Vaping) Amendment Bill passed into law last night will help keep people smoking cigarettes, and caves into big tobacco interests, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . Union spokesman Jordan Williams says, “The vaping ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk A medical authority has warned that the spike in covid-19 cases in Papua New Guinea is to be expected and could reach thousands between September and December, reports The National today. Professor Glen Mola had predicted early last month, when the number of cases of infection ...
The government’s new freshwater laws, signed off this week, have the potential to create significant unnecessary costs for ratepayers, farmers and entire communities, Federated Farmers says. "We all want good water quality, that’s why farmers ...
Roughly 11,000 people lost their jobs from Covid-19, and 10,000 of them were women. But as Leonie Morris from Auckland’s Womens Centre writes, this shows the need to address industrial patriarchy and create opportunities for women where they’re needed most.Just as predicted, Covid-19 has affected unemployment and under-employment rates for ...
The Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner says the government needs to do more to ensure women aren't left behind after employment figures showed they were disproportionately affected. ...
Political heavyweights took the immediate headlines, but Auckland's economic summit was broad and deep with business and community leaders predicting the return of good things from some time between late 2021 and 2024. Tim Murphy reports The call that 'we need to have a conversation' about almost anything in public ...
Disabled people and their families have been returned the right to complain to the Human Rights Commission or seek redress through the Courts about discriminatory family funding policies they may face. Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero said ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom (AJF) has called on the Malaysian government to desist its current investigation of Al Jazeera English as the current methods of investigation are an attack on free, independent journalism. If the Malaysian government takes issue with Al Jazeera’s work – or ...
Whānau and families will sleep better at night knowing their homes can’t be taken away from them without good reason thanks to the new residential tenancies law, says the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). "Worry about keeping a roof over their ...
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill introduces a range of regulations that will be phased in over the next two years. ...
The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill is now law. Mark Todd, long-time landlord and founder of Ockham Residential, welcomes the new legislation – and says hysterical critics need to get a grip.Hell hath no fury like the landlord lobby trying to thwart some fairly innocuous legislation that’ll help tenants feel a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Huaiyu Yuan, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Macquarie University Far beneath the city of Dongshen in northern China, we have discovered what may be the 2 billion-year-old birthmarks of Earth’s first supercontinent. An ancient dipping structure in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liam Smith, Director, BehaviourWorks, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University With new rules restricting Victorians’ activities and movements to try and stem the second wave of coronavirus cases comes the question of whether people will actually stick to them. There are at ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elin Charles-Edwards, Senior Lecturer in Population Geography, The University of Queensland In the early stages of COVID-19, much of the focus of demographers – who study populations – has understandably been on mortality and morbidity. But as the pandemic rolls on, attention ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claire Breen, Professor of Law, University of Waikato With COVID-19 vaccine developers reporting promising results, it is probable we will one day face a major public health question: can the government compel New Zealanders to be vaccinated? Just as inevitably, some people ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Smith, Associate Professor in Disaster and Emergency Response, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University Melburnians have now been wearing mandatory face coverings in public for two weeks. Yet Premier Daniel Andrews yesterday announced another grim milestone in Victoria’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Russell McGregor, Adjunct Professor of History, James Cook University Under the first coronavirus lockdowns, birdwatching increased tenfold in Australia, with much of it done in and near the watchers’ own backyards. And as Melbourne settles into stage 4 restrictions, we’ll likely see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Garcia, Lecturer in Student Learning and Communication Development, University of Sydney University life comes with its share of challenges. One of these is writing longer assignments that require higher information, communication and critical thinking skills than what you might have been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Theodore Connell-Variy, Lecturer, School of Property, RMIT University We’ve heard a lot about what the present crisis will do to homeprices, less about what it will do to commercial property prices. Commercial properties include office buildings, shopping centres, hotels and warehouses. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dawn LaValle Norman, Research Fellow, Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry, Australian Catholic University Phil: What would you do if you were stuck in one place, and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered? Stage ...
Welcome to Election Live for August 6, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other breaking news. For key dates in the election season click here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Policy launching soon. Get in touch ...
Brooke van Velden – newly-minted Deputy Leader of the Act Party – spoke at a community event last Monday night in Epsom, Auckland, which was attended by several Euthanasia-Free NZ supporters. Unfortunately Ms van Velden’s presentation was heavy ...
“Labour’s plan is to win the election at all costs by politicising the border and keeping New Zealanders in a state of fear,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “It’s putting politics above people by locking the border and wrecking the economy ...
Open mike 16/09/2015 
Open mike is your post.
Hello all. Judith here to talk about how National are going to take the election in September. The National Party prides itself its unity and cohesion. We are working together to deliver for New Zealanders. First of all, ee are a strong team. We are a very strong team. Our ...6 hours ago
Parliament has just begun the adjournment debate, signalling the effective end of this Parliament. So it seems like an appropriate time to assess Labour's term in office. Unfortunately, its a pretty dismal assessment. Labour campaigned on one thing: change. Not just a change in who got the top jobs and ...9 hours ago
That was clearly a huge explosion. Just after the explosion, we see a cloud of ‘fog’ moving outwards at high speed. This is a shockwave, rather similar to that which causes a sonic boom. The ‘fog’ is caused by water condensing from the atmosphere in areas of intense low pressure ...11 hours ago
Can we postpone this year’s election? Quite frankly, the political parties don’t seem ready for it, and aren’t about to offer voters the necessary policy choices for the unprecedented times we’re in. We’ve ended up with a campaign focused on scandal, personality and leadership, with a policy void that’s worse ...12 hours ago
13 hours ago
13 hours ago
by Don Franks This talk was given to the Wellington Anti Capitalist Alliance, fifteen years ago. The ultimate weapons of mass destruction so far seen on this planet have been used just twice, 60 years ago this month. August 6 and August 9 1945 witnessed the US atomic bombing ...18 hours ago
100 Articles Physical science of global warming & effects Analyzing the Arctic Feedback Mechanism between Sea Ice and Low-Level Clouds Using 34 Years of Satellite Observations Observations of global warming & effects Sea‐Level Rise Driving Increasingly Predictable Coastal Inundation in Sydney, Australia (open access) The recent state and variability ...21 hours ago
After I noticed that my name had been taken yet again in vain by my friendly antagonist Tom Hunter over at No Minister, I went over to see what the fuss was about. Nothing much, but then I discovered a post about the Operation Burnham Inquiry by Psycho Milt. I ...1 day ago
As polling day in the American presidential election draws closer, things are looking bad for Donald Trump. The polls show that he is tracking well behind his Democrat rival. Most people assume that the President will be striving might and main to avoid what looks increasingly likely to be a ...4 days ago
Our health professionals do an amazing job. Image credit: Wikipedia – Cardiac surgery. Finally, I have got back to these rankings. A long period in hospital and computer problems meant the June 2020 rankings were abandoned. Now, with a new personal defibrillator implanted in my chest and a new hard ...5 days ago
We are failing to think though the interdependencies in an economy. We miss economist Bryan Philpott (1921-2000). I miss him personally – we used to have such great discussions – but this column is about how the nation misses his economic experience and wisdom. We tend to ...6 days ago
TUESDAY AUGUST 4Grand Designs UK (Three, 7.30pm). ...1 week ago
Most of the claims made by anti-fluoride propagandists are simply wrong. Image source: Fluoridation and the ‘sciency’ facts of critics Anti-fluoride propagandists continually cite studies from areas of endemic fluorosis in their arguments against ... 1 week ago
. . For the mainstream media, today (22 July) was even a better day than yesterday. More Sex. More Politics. More Sex AND Politics. Yesterday, the msm dealt with Andrew Falloon. The obscure backbench MP had been found to have sent pornographic images to at least four women. The woman’s ...1 week ago
Kia orana and kia ora koutou katoa. It is a privilege to be able to speak in this adjournment debate and to mark and acknowledge the fact that we are now two years and 10 months into the conclusion of a parliamentary term that has been extraordinary in so many ...7 hours ago
The Green Party is celebrating the passing of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill, calling it a win for people who rent. ...1 day ago
New Zealand needs to be more aggressive in pursuing economic opportunities and resist the short-term thinking affecting some of its major industry, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says. Mr Peters told Wellington Chamber of Commerce members this morning that the planned closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter will have ...2 weeks ago
Getting low-emission trucks on the road is a step closer with investment in infrastructure to support hydrogen vehicles, the Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods has announced. The Infrastructure Reference Group has provisionally approved $20 million for New Plymouth company Hiringa Energy to establish a nationwide network of hydrogen-fuelling stations. ...7 hours ago
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Indonesia’s West Papua province has again been recorded as having the worst democracy index in the republic, reports CNN Indonesia. This year (2019), the West Papuan Democracy Index (IDI) was 57.62, even dropping lower from 2018 when it was 58.29 points. Based on data from the ...1 hour ago
...3 hours ago
The government is spending over a billion dollars from its Covid-19 recovery fund on the Transport Agency, to make up for a drop in revenue. ...4 hours ago
We seek the indulgence of readers of a delicate disposition to bear with us for a moment as we dip into what some call crude soldiery and examine some important aspects revealed in the Arnold-Palmer report into Operation Burnham. We know this concerned the NZ Special Air Service in actions ...6 hours ago
The Ombudsman's report to Parliament on the children's ministry's taking of babies is scathing of its misuse of the law and treatment of families caught in its routine use of 'uplifts'. Tim Murphy reports. The latest damning inquiry into Oranga Tamariki finds that in 100 percent of cases investigated by the ...7 hours ago
Ngāti Tūwharetoa has just become the first iwi to be approved under the Resource Management Act to take over certain council duties. Here’s why that matters.In 1991, the Resource Management Act (RMA) allowed councils to transfer any of their functions to local iwi. Now, almost 30 years after that act ...9 hours ago
The Government has announced it will test run the CovidCard contact tracing system in Rotorua, Marc Daalder reports The plan to give every New Zealander a Bluetooth-enabled CovidCard for contact tracing is one step closer to fruition. On Thursday, Health Minister Chris Hipkins and Government Digital Services Minister Kris Faafoi ...11 hours ago
Political heavyweights took the immediate headlines, but Auckland's economic summit was broad and deep with business and community leaders predicting the return of good things from some time between late 2021 and 2024. Tim Murphy reports The call that 'we need to have a conversation' about almost anything in public ...13 hours ago
Corporate bludgers.
Serco doesn’t pay its fines.
http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/72068231/Serco-let-off-100k-razor-fines
That needs an inquiry into it as it stinks of corruption.
Beneficiary bludger.
Harry Windsor costs NZ over 4 million dollars for 9 day paid holiday.
http://i.stuff.co.nz/life-style/72000007/prince-harrys-visit-cost-nz-taxpayers-426000
well, change the flag and to a republic at the same time then.
except we’re not doing that.
You mean 0.4 million dollars, right?
Yes that was a mistake
Paul, you are such a hater and you are wrong.
“Prince Harry’s visit cost NZ taxpayers $426,000”
I don’t respect wealthy bludgers.
You do.
I don’t respect any bludgers
Are you going to acknowledge that you are wrong about the cost of Harry’s visit?
he already did – you had almost an hour to read two comments up (2.2.1).
Or did you misread that?
The real threat to security in the UK.
Not Jeremy Corbyn .
Arms traders.
The creators of refugees.
And best mates with Cameron’s Etonian clique.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/the-more-appalling-the-human-rights-record-the-better-the-customer-at-londons-arms-fair-today-10500389.html
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/14/dsei-weapons-fair-authoritarian-regimes-descend-on-london
The Herald is obsessed with the trivia surrounding the Key family.
Journalists? What a miserable excuse for the 4th estate this rag has become.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11513568
A business article turns into Max pashing his girlfriend. Hopefully this is the end days for the herald, distorted reality mirroring what’s happening in government and capitalism in general.
A quarter of kids in poverty.
‘Responding to the bleak statistic that almost a quarter of all New Zealand families with children experience income poverty (2014 Child Poverty Monitor), Social Justice Week this year is focused on family poverty and what it would take for all Kiwi families to flourish.
An annual awareness-raising campaign, the week is set aside by the Catholic Bishops of New Zealand and runs from 13-19 September this year. The aim in 2015 is to increase awareness and understanding of the challenges struggling families face today in Aoteraoa New Zealand, while also inspiring people to take action.
This year Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has produced a short documentary – ‘Kiwi Families: It’s Our Story’ – featuring four community groups across the country and the families they support.’
Yes, the Herald sees this as less important than Max Key’s new ‘job’.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1509/S00126/social-justice-week-addresses-family-poverty-in-new-zealand.htm
So long as Key and the nasty Nats remain in power we will have poverty.
Democracy has failed Aotearoa. The RWNJS control the media and use it dupe the masses.
I am not advoting violence but the only answer is a violent if necessary revolutionary coup to force change! Private property will then be banned, a Maori Upper House set up in according to Te Tiriti O Waitangi, all ties to the fascist state of Isreal destroyed, and everyone giving according to their ablities and getting according to their needs. All equality! No poverty!
no democracy has not failed Aotearoa. Democracy is an idea of participation in the political process. What has failed Aotearoa are the Men and Women that have voted for high house prices (yei! us too are rich!!) and nothing else, that have voted for beneficiary bashing as they are not yet beneficiaries, the ones that have voted for the dismantling of our school system, our health system, our public service sector because they will never need to use it again or at least don’t want to fund it, the ones that will vote for greed and themselves cause when history will judge them they are dead.
Greed, stupidity and short shortsightedness is failing Aotearoa, and if you only need to look at the current flag debacle / farce to see that it afflicts people of all stripes and political affiliation.
Those “Men and Women” are the wrongful majority. How can the rightful minority gain power in a democracy against a wrongful majority? For democracy to work the majority participating in it must at least have a brain!!!
the right full minority could have voted, all 1 million non voters of them, they could have worked together and forced their parties to vote together. But they did not. They voted for ‘their party’ ‘their candidate’ and sadly they are still arguing for ‘their party’ and ‘their candidate’ as if it were to make a difference. They don’t.
No National won, because 1 million people want to associate with them and have no issues with poor kids, poor parents, crap housing, high unemployment and under employments, crap work safety and so on and so on because it serves them well.
Then National won, because the opposition parties did not work together, they did not show spine and guts, they fiddled and sadly they are still fiddling, but hey, we got a new Labour Leader, and the Greens had the victory of a cycleway somewhere of national importance, and Winston won Northland, and Hone is retired.
Then National won, because 1 million people could not be asked to vote, a lot of them white middle aged men cause no one does anything for them. A lot of them women on a benefit, cause no one does anything for them too. A lot of the young ones that just got the right to vote, cause why bother we are screwed anyways.
The right full minority, needs to grow a spine, guts, and heart. They need to start working together, they need to start voting, not because someone will do something for them, but because the alternative is a government that will absolutly do nothing for them, be on record about not doing anything for them and be happy about it.
So there, National won, because 2 million people were to occupied to do a nothing, b. to occupied to find fault with the ones that could do something, but hey ….they are not my party.
I don’t recall a Māori upper house being mentioned in Te Tiriti.
Keep Left,
was there no poverty under the Helen Clark lead Labour Governments from 1999-2008? Get real!!!!
I would prefer our current “failed democracy” to anything that you are advocating as our “failed democracy” has law and order – without violence – as its guiding principle.
You may not like our “failed democracy” but t me it seems better than your jungle bunny violence driven model.
Woah!!!
Take a breathe, make yourself a cup of tea and have a sit down.
Hysterical ranting doesn’t do anyone any good. Least of all yourself.
I thought this did a good job explaining it…
If you haven’t already viewed this, you’ll find it extremely interesting.
And to think, Labour wanted to make Kiwisaver compulsory, ha.
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) believes an increase in algorithmic trading would bolster liquidity and create a more efficient market in New Zealand.
http://www.legalbusinessonline.com/news/nz-regulator-push-more-algorithmic-trading/62165
High-Frequency Trader Indicted for Manipulating Commodities Futures Markets in First Federal Prosecution for Spoofing
https://www.fbi.gov/chicago/press-releases/2014/high-frequency-trader-indicted-for-manipulating-commodities-futures-markets-in-first-federal-prosecution-for-spoofing
I’m assuming that you are saying that’s the only answer because you know that will never be voted for by the good people of new Zealand. But nice to see some people on here think that a violent rise up again the wishes of the majority of the country is the way to go. And to think you call right wingers nut jobs.
Pretty sure that one twit (that could even be a right-winger pretending, for troll purposes) doesn’t represent all left wing people.
Ultimately fascism is never put back in its box before there is a certain amount of skirmishing. The last one was called World War Two.
CHANGE OF TOPIC:
I’m starting to look at an interesting line of conspiracy theories regarding the question of “Who owns the Federal Reserve?”
If you “Google” that question, one of the first statements to come up is from the U.S. Government itself; essentially it denies that the Fed is a privately owned operation. To which, a conspiracy theorist might reply “Well they would say that, wouldn’t they!”
http://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/about_14986.htm
Look a bit further down the list thrown up by Google and there’s an interesting article by Ellen Brown who argues that (quote) “The Fed is privately owned. Its shareholders are private banks”:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/10489
Brown is the author of eleven books; her article begins with this quote:
“Some people think that the Federal Reserve Banks are United States Government institutions. They are private monopolies which prey upon the people of these United States for the benefit of themselves and their foreign customers; foreign and domestic speculators and swindlers; and rich and predatory money lenders.”
The Honorable Louis McFadden, Chairman of the House Banking and Currency Committee in the 1930s.
There are also several Youtube videos on the topic including this lengthy but fascinating 3 hour 20 minute effort, published in Oct 2014:
It is accompanied by a couple of quotes:
“We shall have World Government, whether or not we like it. The only question is whether World Government will be achieved by conquest or consent.” ~ Rothschild
“Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes the laws.” ~ Rothschild
There are also shorter versions available on Youtube.
Even if they are only half true, they give the citizens of the world an AWFUL lot to worry about!
And now, both Australia and NZ have prime ministers who formerly worked for the U.S. Banks! Am I getting paranoid in my old age???
+100…thanks…interesting
“Am I getting paranoid in my old age???”
No Murray Simmonds you are not. You are simply waking up to one of the most real realities of our world. More people are waking up to it.
Pre-interweb days it was easier to keep such things on the downlow, but today all information is out in the public arena so people are in fact waking up to the fact that;
One, the US Federal Reserve, which prints all US money, is privately owned.
Two, the printed money brings a return for the private owners equating to the interest rate (pretty good money for doing some printing……..).
Three, all loans by banks, including NZ banks, are created out of thin air – the loan money didn’t exist before it was lent, it is simply printed. . . and all interest paid on that printed loan goes to the bank (pretty good money for doing some printing).
Four, that this privately-owned money system requires economic growth so that the interest can be paid i.e. most all growth in our economies goes to banks, hence why the average Joe’s position is the same as it has always been despite economic growth (and the rich just are spectacularly rich)
Five, that John Key knows all of this full well, and knows that the people don’t know this.
Six, if you think about it, the entire system is a Ponzi scheme incapable of running forever. It is on its last legs imo.
“Pre-interweb days it was easier to keep such things on the downlow, but today all information is out in the public arena …”
And this is why they are seeking to undermine net neutrality, control and log everyones use and denial of anything considered a ‘national security’ issue which is a subjective judgement call left up to politicians.
…and this is why they perceive Dotcom as such a threat
‘Meganet’: Kim Dotcom plans crowdfunded replacement to internet (Ft. Max Keiser) @start_coin’
http://www.maxkeiser.com/2015/06/meganet-kim-dotcom-plans-crowdfunded-replacement-to-internet-ft-max-keiser-start_coin/
I see the Prime Minister gets to decide when he can delete his texts – http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11513398
Are we paying for his phone and all those personal/party texts?
I genuinely cannot believe that Key got away with this, there is no logical reason to be deleting texts in this day and age. Back in the late 1990s or early 2000s when phones only had memory measured in MBs, sure deleting texts would have been necessary but in this day and age with phones that have GBs worth of memory I cannot see any logical reason for it (aside from the obvious – keeping information out of public record).
This is a man who represents the entire country, a man who should be answerable to everyone, yet he gets to pick and choose which conversations are deletable and which are on public record? Give me a break.
Of course there’s a logical reason – when you don’t want people finding out what you said because it’d send you to jail.
I think someone in somebody’s office just read the news. A teacher got sacked and removed from the profession for sexual misconduct evidenced by 8,000 texts.
Just a thought on conspiracy theorists
I received a post on my Facebook page from a conspiracy theorist that claims Hitler was right when he talked about a conspiracy and this is being proved at the present time. I have noticed before that some conspiracy theorists refer to the “Rothschilds” which seemed to have an anti-Jewish flavour. It seems now that some conspiracy theorists who previously have focused on 9/11 etc have now gone full circle in their attempt to save us all from the dangers of the “Illuminati” etc to the point that they are actually in the same camp as holocaust deniers and support the arch conspiracy theorist of all time – Hitler – who exterminated millions of people. Conspiracy theorists can make a useful contribution at times to analysing events and highlighting inconsistencies but recognising irony is not their strong suite. For instance, a good number are deniers of man-made climate change which puts them in the same camp as far right Republican politicians in the United States which they usually see being part of the evil forces they are trying to alert the world to. Going full circle to supporting Hitler’s conspiracy theories is taking irony to a whole other level.
Someone who has access to secret information told me last week that there is a conspiracy to brainwash the unenlightened masses into believing that Conspiracies are not real, and that the people who claim to know about them are nutters.
Perhaps we should adopt the term “lose alliance” to help spot the difference.
dude, what did I just accidentally download?
Simon Lusk’s indiscretions from a few years back… complete with a misspelling of “loose”.
sweet – I generally try to avoid pdfs from strange places – it’s a much more adaptable format than people give it credit for.
Must remember to not click on links before looking 😉
Conspiring is one of the most core attributes of human behaviour. People conspire all day every day – it is human nature…
Footy players conspire to beat the opposing footy team
Hunters conspire to kill antelope
Wife conspires to get husband to mow lawns
Business people conspire to get a deal
Children conspire to get lollies
Armies conspire to kill huge swathes of humanity
Politicians … well no, politicians never conspire …………
…
to conspire is to be human
for clarity
verb
make secret plans jointly to commit an unlawful or harmful act.
“they conspired against him”
synonyms: plot, hatch a plot, form a conspiracy, scheme, plan, lay plans, intrigue, collude, connive, collaborate, consort, machinate, manoeuvre, be/work hand in glove;
More
(of events or circumstances) seem to be working together to bring about a particular negative result.
“everything conspires to exacerbate the situation”
synonyms: act together, work together, combine, join, unite, ally, join forces, cooperate;
Also- ‘ working together to bring about a particular result, typically to someone’s detriment’
DETRIMENT is a key concept
Thanks for the clarity Tracey but it was not necessary as a closer consideration of the examples provided will highlight the negative result required for the victim in each case, for conspiracy to exist …
You must have missed it in the haze fog which seems to envelope your eyes with each response to mine
Yes, human sociality is built on shifting alliances and the gossip and network of conversations that individuals and groups of individuals have with each other.
But as Tracy points out, the word ‘conspire’ (when applied to people rather than events) is usually used when the aim is to harm. (The Red Cross doesn’t ‘conspire’ to help in disaster situations, for example.)
I’d actually call conversations involving how best to ‘spin’ a political event as ‘conspiring’ since I believe that attempting to generate a partial and limited understanding of events in the mind of the public is to do harm to the public, whose interest is to know the whole truth and consequences of an event.
The way in which the Tories are currently misrepresenting Corbyn’s words in their video, for example, is a classic, conspiratorial act in my books. They know they are misrepresenting him – but they wish to do that to give the public a false impression of him.
Given that so many thousands of people today make their livings out of these kinds of conversations and spinning efforts I suppose it wouldn’t be ‘good form’ to call them ‘conspiracies’ – more like ‘business’ perhaps? (Reminiscent of Adam Smith’s comment about business people gathered in a room always conspiring against the public.)
Exactly Puddleglum, but no everyday spin merchants should be called out on what they are – conspiracists, conspiring to negative ends…
… on which, you may notice (seems Tracey missed it) that each of my examples involve the ‘negative outcome’ required for a conspiracy…
When does the employment relations amendment act come into effect? There was to be a new provision included that would go some way to protect workers against zero hours contracts.
However I keep reading job ads that still appear to expecting the prospective employee to be on call 7 days a week:
Here’s one example, see what you make of the requirements:
“have full availability across all retail hours – must be able to work 12-3pm weekdays and weekends”
http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=949998029
I read that as you are rostered on for 7 days, 3 hours per day, for 21 hours of work, but then you must be available across “all retail hours”
If I’ve read this correctly you are working 7 days a week and then still expected to be on call when ever they need you at other times. 21 hours + ?
These are shitty hours and this employer must know they are using desperation as a lever
Which is why they will vote National – they know that National will attack beneficiaries and make life far more difficult for the poor so that it will be easier to exploit them.
Revealing Freudian slip from Gower this morning on Paul Henry (paraphrasing):
Paul: “You could be a political strategist Paddy!”
Gower: “I don’t think Lab… I don’t think anyone would want me, Paul!”
[r0b: Please stick with this name / email from now on, It’s a pain for moderators when you change your name all the time because the first comment from every new name gets held for moderation. One name / email – or I’m just going to delete them from now on.]
Did anyone see Henry this morning? The reason I asked, I normally don’t go down that sewer but when I switched the TV on it was tuned to TV3 and I could not avoid hearing Henry as the inspection cover to the sewer was off. Before a managed to change channels I heard that prat say something about Andrew Little should be more respectful to Key or something as it gives a bad impression overseas or something and he will never become a PM or something. What the fuck was that dick on about?
Ensuring he gets his sycophant quota filled whatever way he can.
He was pushing the same line a few of the rw muppets where pushing here about Little not being statesman like with his comment about pitying Australia if the new leader wants to be like key.
He’s got to earn his money some how.
Oh, I thought Henry may have been referring to Little playing hard to get on the flag referendum, Red Peak, etc..
Speaking of giving ‘a bad impression of Key overseas’ it seems Key is managing that all by himself.
Here’s The Economist on the flag debate:
““FARCE” barely describes the process by which New Zealand is deciding whether or not it needs a new flag. John Key, the prime minister, caught everyone by surprise during last year’s general-election campaign when he floated the idea of changing it. He wanted to get rid of the present one, which incorporates Britain’s Union Jack as well as the stars of the Southern Cross, to one that, as he put it to The Economist, “screams New Zealandness”. The immediate reaction was that this was at best an irrelevance, at worst a cynical diversion from the difficult stuff of politics.“
“”Oh, I thought Henry may have been referring to Little playing hard to get on the flag referendum, Red Peak, etc..”
It is a long show so you are possible right I’m sure henry takes any chance available to attack labour.
I was just going on half crown’s comment – I have no idea what Henry said as I have never listened to him.
So you’re first hand account is the one I’d go with.
Sounds like Henry has no sense of humour when it comes to his main man 🙂
James said @ #7 7.52 am
“And to think you call right wingers nut jobs.”
Not all of them James, In fact occasionally we do get one who comes on here with a
very valid argument. Although one may not agree with it, one can see the logic of their point of view.
But that is extremely rare.
Most of the non-nutjob righties have better manners than to come here to stir up trouble.
Thank you
Hey Puckish I say this in jest. As us lefties are all for spending our dollar and banking others dollars, according to a good right wing myth. Please,don’t thank us, buy us something
Regards
An example is David Farrar. We know he is a National Party fan boy and his blogsite is indicative of that, but on the rare occasion he has come here to debate something he is polite and respectful, and he receives politeness and respect in return.
Farrar is a fool, and a liar, and his opinions are nasty. However, his amiable persona means he can get away with a lot. Other lightweight commentators like Jordan Williams could learn a lot from him.
That “amiable” personality only appears if you’re a man. Women to him are slabs of meat. Other RW commentators have indeed learned a lot from him at his “Princess Parties.”
Ooops a daisy! Thank-you Morrissey and rhinocrates for enlightening me. 😯
A friend on Facebook posted a clip of Jeremy Corbyn and said “We are behind you”. I fully support the sentiment but commented that it is better to say “We are beside you”. I think people expect too much of the people they want to be their champions. We can’t expect another individual to take all the heat while we stand behind them. I think this has been a problem for Labour for quite a few years. It votes in another leader and then that person is expected to engage the opposition on their own. Phil Goff seemed to be fighting all by himself in 2011 and there didn’t seem to be much back up support from the rest of the party, especially cabinet members for David Cunliffe. Things seem to be a little bit better for Andrew Little but he still seems to be doing all the heavy lifting by himself. The same principle applies to all progressive parties and organisations. Bob Dylan was right – “don’t follow leaders” – see them as part of a chain that you also are part of as well.
Three hours of Hosking and Henry every morning.
Could New Zealand’s media get any more dismal?
The Mike Hosking Breakfast, NewstalkZB and PAUL HENRY, TV3
Wednesday 16 September 2015
vacuous adj. 1. lacking in ideas or intelligence: a vacuous mind. 2. expressing or characterized by a lack of ideas or intelligence; inane; stupid: a vacuous show.
Just before the 8 o’clock news, Sky City and National Party booster Mike Hosking said: “I thought what Andrew Little said yesterday about the new Australian prime minister was CHURLISH.”
After the news, it was time for the weekly “Wednesday Politics” feature…..
MIKE HOSKING: What are your thoughts on Jeremy Corbyn?
STEVEN JOYCE: It’s going to cause them a lot of trouble.
ANNETTE KING: I think it’s a case of wait and see. He’s certainly popular.
JOYCE: Yeah THAT’S true.
HOSKING: Hmmm…. But surely Annette, you couldn’t endorse his positions could you?
KING: I didn’t say that.
HOSKING: He’ll be printing money! Will he even BE there for the next general election?
KING: He’ll be there.
HOSKING: And they’ll LOSE!
JOYCE: He’ll be gone. They’ll wake up and see what they’ve done.
…ad nauseam…
Half an hour later, another Sky City ambassador was winding up his show. Apparently Dame Helen Mirren must have said something that offended Paul “Kill them ALL” Henry, because he snarled about “silly old Helen Mirren” to his guest, then right at the end of the program, he said this:
His slaves Jim Kayes and Hillary Barry looked unimpressed, and frowned in a troubled manner.
The only way this could be better is if Michael Laws is brought in as well
Compared to Hosking and Henry, Michael Laws is a voice of reason and moderation.
“But surely Annette, you couldn’t endorse his positions could you?
KING: I didn’t say that”
Another one from Labour distancing themselves Corbyn’s left wing position.
Why is the Labour Party so afraid of being left?
Apart from members, is there anybody in the Labour Party actually left-wing?
People like Annette King and Josie Pagani are the reason that Labour is at such a low ebb.
I totally agree, Morrissey.
Attitudes like this from Labour merely reinforces the perception that being left is some how bad. Giving their media (clowns like Hosking) and political opponents a larger stick to bash them with.
To be fair to the woman, she was being asked (and hence NZ Labour) to effectively, out of the blue, carte blanche endorse Corbyn’s entire position. I’m glad she didn’t. Hosking’s show is hardly the place for nuance.
I totally disagree, Alethios
Any astute Labour MP should have seen this coming. They are well aware of what has taken place in the UK, thus the repercussions that would be reflected on them.
Moreover, Corbyn’ s monumental victory presented a prime opportunity for Labour here to cement a new position.
She should have stood tall and proud and hammered him with the facts (all the good things) Corbyn stands for.
She coward like a little girl and fell straight into his stratagem.
Labour needs to badly up their political game.
If the need assistance, I can help with that.
Maybe you’re right, but surely she’d need a mandate from, at the very least, caucus first – before personally realigning NZ Labour?
She could have answered from a personal position.
Moreover, an astute Party would have prepared for the possibility.
I agree Alethios.
Everyone has some policy or other that might sound nutty, if only to someone on the other side of the planet.
Hosking, being a nat fanboi, could well have one of those policies or a statement from Corbyn in reserve just in case King did categorically endorse Corbyn – probably a longer rant of the “Hell be printing money” line that he used before he flipped to speculation as to how long Corbyn will last (if morrissey’s ).
I note that when hoaxing asked whether corbyn will see the next election, King said “He’ll be there”. So not blanket about policy specifics, but firm on the stability of UK Labour under Corbyn.
She could have simply said she largely supports his position, highlighting a number of strong points, giving further weight to her last remark, while leaving scope to counter any further challenge from Hosking.
Three commas and a “while” does not “simply” make, not on radio with two opponents and no friends in the discussion.
We all know Annette can handle herself, McFlock.
Indeed.
But live broadcasts, can only handle nuanced responses if the interviewer isn’t an active opponent.
King makes complex response, hosking “simplifies” it, joyce tagteams with mockery of the straw man hosking just raised, King has to debate what she actually meant and so looks defensive.
Interviews with hostile media are holding actions, not advances.
The response I suggested to you was far from complex. Moreover, a well seasoned MP like King knows what to expect and how to counter in kind. As I do with you, McFlock.
Interviews with the media, regardless if they’re deemed hostile (which most are to the left) is where the fight for voters is largely fought. It’s where the larger audience are.
Not too complex for text, where you get to write all you want, whenever you want, are guaranteed to be uninterrupted if it looks like you’re making a good point, and existing for future reference when it’s misinterpreted.
But no good for an interview on mediaworks. Short answers, clear, not being drawn in to rash commitments – that’s what she needed, and that’s what she gave.
As you say, she’s experienced and “well seasoned” enough to know how to deal with different media environments. I suspect that you are not.
Rubbish.
The spoken word is faster than the written word, thus you’re clutching, McFlock.
And that was an example of how one can quickly shutdown a fictitious contention.
She could have hammered Hosking with a few quick points and then swiftly shutdown any contention from Joyce, irrespective of the media setting.
An example that relied on a single bullshit assertion and a complete lack of interruption in delivery of said bullshit. EG:
hammered Hosking with a few quick points which he’d never let her finish without interruption – the technique used to defeat the gish gallop.
swiftly shutdown any contention from Joyce because nact ministers are famous for accepting opposition points without protest, regardless of the points’ merit?
The result of your tactical plan is simply to end up in a shouting match that makes men look strong and women look pushy and alienates the public, adding to the missing million.
A single bullshit assertion? Nonsense. It’s a fact and you know it. The spoken word is faster than the written word.
Clearly, you don’t know how to take control of an interview. One simply shuts down any attempted interruption.
Winston often shows how it’s done, thus generally dominates the debate.
Feel free to keep asserting. I can still read faster than most people talk, especially if they wish to be understood.
And how will you interrupt me? Sure, you can glance over sentences, but there is no way for you to derail or distract me from composing this paragraph as I write it. My full message is guaranteed to be delivered (moderators permitting 🙂 ).
You talk about taking control of an interview as if it is a passive thing. Two other people were attempting to take control of that conversation, too. All three highly experienced at dealing with the medium. Yes, Winston is exceptionally good at it, and even he has his bad days.
“One simply shuts down any attempted interruption.” Lol. One does not simply shut down any attempted interruption. That’s why even Winston only “generally” dominates the debate.
Read faster?
Now where did I assert that?
We were discussing the speed of the spoken word compared to the written.
Therefore, you are now resorting to presenting strawmans. Clearly you have no credible counter.
I don’t need to interrupt you, not that I can online. My counters stand solid, regardless what fictitious crap you write.
There are numerous ways to take control of the spoken medium. Below are several examples.
By being on point. Ensuring the delivery is hard hitting and presented swiftly, robbing opponents of the opportunity to interrupt. This is the quick jab approach.
Highlight the question was put to you. Thus, highlighting their rudeness, thereby getting the audience on your side while gaining back the floor.
Stating excuse me sharply, stunning opponents into silence, thus presenting the opportunity to regain the floor.
Shame and embarrass them for asking a question (or speaking out of turn) and not giving you the opportunity. Again, winning the audience over to your side.
Getting the audience on side in a debate/interview, puts one in the winning position.
Yes, we all have our bad days from time to time, thus the use of the word ‘generally’ above.
Are you now going to conveniently excuse this as one of Annette’s bad days?
You seem to making a lot of excuses for her. She could have performed better and we both know it.
Ah, so the spoken word is “faster” than the written word, but the written word doesn’t need to be read.
“By being on point. Ensuring the delivery is hard hitting and presented swiftly,” She did that. Corrected hosking when he attributed comments to her that she didn’t make, and said firmly that corbyn will be the labour leaderin the next election. You’re just pissed because she didn’t carte blanch attribute to NZ Labour all the policies of UK Labour and every single personal belief of Corbyn.
“Highlight the question was put to you. Thus, highlighting their rudeness, ” – yadda yadda, all joyce does then is explain how you’re wrong when you’ve barely started answering, then you get into an argument that simply adds to the missing million.
“stunning opponents into silence” – lol yeah, right. Got any clips of that happening to joyce or hosking, ever?
“Shame and embarrass them” – they have no fucking shame. They’re tories. Try another one.
Basically, the only “excuse” I’ve made is to point out that king was in the real world, not in whatever fantasy land you’re picturing.
No. I’m disappointed she was quick to distance herself from his left wing stance. And in doing so fell straight into Hosking’s stratagem,
reinforcing the perception that being left is some how bad.
Not off hand (re clips). Moreover, it was merely a general example – not a specific one.
Have you got any clips to prove it hasn’t worked on them?
To shame and embarrass them to win over the audience. How they feel is of no concern.
And no, you are full of excuses – see your posts above.
What else you got?
cite, pls. Or did you want her to “endorse his positions”, as hosking put it?
You’ve made the assertion that she could have stunned hosking and/or joyce into silence. You’re welcome to provide evidence that that has ever happened.
lol so basically your advice is for king to get the audience on her side. People who tune in to specifically watch hosking. Slight audience bias, there, easily covered by the bluster and confidence joyce and hosking exude.
Oh, sorry, that was a refernce to the real world again, so you’ll probably call it another “excuse”.
Of course not (as Hosking put it) That was most likely also part his stratagem. However, she could have handled far better, as I’ve already explained to you above.
The way she handled it also fell into his stratagem, handing him a larger stick to bash the left.
Therefore, you are now going over covered ground. Clearly, you’ve got nothing new to add
And again, it was a general example – not a specific one. As we also already covered.
You’re the one that specifically named Joyce and Hosking, implying its never worked on them, thus I called you out.
Now your speculating on who tunes in, hence I’m now also calling you on that too.
No, that was an example of you’re amateurish spin, which I just unspun and served back to you.
Too easy. Up your game.
You’ve outlined alternative ways she could have handled it. They were not ways she could have handled it “better”, for reasons I have already explained to you above.
Yes, I specifically named joyce and hosking, for the simple reason that they were the people she was facing. In order for her to deal with something “better” in that situation, it needs to work on them, not just “generally”. Again, a reference to the real world rather than an excuse.
Saying that people who tune in to watch hosking’s programme are tuning in to watch hosking’s programme is not speculation. It’s a statement of the obvious: the “audience” you wanted king to win over choose to tune in to hosking. Hosking is a rabid national party propagandist and I believe a former national party candidate, as well as a fuckwit. You wanted king to appeal to people who choose to tune in to watch that type of person. My speculation is that singing the internationale wasn’t going to do the job.
Yes. I did outline how. And explained why it was an improvement. Moreover, I fully countered your flawed reasoning on every point.
I know you named them. Hence, I called you out on it.
And you still haven’t shown that it wouldn’t have worked on them.
I also gave an example (the quick jab approach) which you conceded has worked on them. King just didn’t apply it well, thus fell into his stratagem.
Therefore, it’s time for you to front up.
You were speculating on the mindset of who tunes in – not the obvious, they’re tuning in to Hosking’s show, as you just spun.
Not everybody that tunes in has the same mindset as you incorrectly implied. I don’t support Hosking, but I tune in.
I wanted King to up her game and not fall into his stratagem, making the left look bad.
Here’s the thing: you reckon she could have done better against hosking and joyce in that conversation. Not some general hypothetical debate, you reckon she should have done better in that specific, precise circumstance.
So maybe you could demonstrate how your suggestions would be “better” in that precise, specific incident against those specific people, rather than pretending that naming the specific people in that specific situation is somehow a dirty trick to “call me out on”.
You talked about how she should have won the audience over in that specific conversation. The nature of that specific audience is therefore a reasonable factor to consider. You watched it. so did morrissey. Big deal. Surely it’s a reasonable assumption to assume the bulk of the audience were fans of the host, rather than frustrated lefties more eager to score points against Labour than the tories?
The one time she followed “your” strategem, you didn’t like the result. There’s no pleasing some people, I guess.
Indeed. We both know she could have done better. And how has been demonstrated/outlined above. She even used an approach I gave as an example. Which you went on to concede worked. However, her execution was flawed.
But this, is once again, all covered ground.
I didn’t say or pretend naming them was a dirty trick. That’s more of your lies and spin
I was calling you out on your claim that another of my examples wouldn’t have (because you implied it never has). Thus I called you on it.
Claiming I’m not in the real world or spinning it proves nothing. You’ re just wasting my time.
How about you cut the crap, front up and substantiate your claim. Or own that you’re wrong
The make up of the mindset of the bulk of the audience is anybodies guess. People may have tuned in because she was airing. Moreover,you went further than just assuming, thus I’m calling you on your claim.
You may be happy with a poor performance and making the left look bad. I know she is cable of better, thus expected better.
Do you work for her? You seem overly keen to defend her.
You want evidence that you live in a fantasy land? How about your repeated claims of what I do and do not know. Not only are those claims without basis, they frequently run contrary to everything I’ve said.
You want to know why I give a shit? I’m not employed by labour, anyone in labour, and I’m not employed to comment here. I give a shit because I think that the eternal bitching by self-loathing labourites is the haemorrhoids on the arsehole of the left. They profess genuine concern and a goodwilled desire for caucus to “improve”, but really they’re just throwing their toys out of the cot. Leadership and caucus can be huge puss-filled pimples on the face of Labour and the left, but some of the tories’ best allies are self-proclaimed lefties who whinge obsessively. In my opinion, anyway.
Well, considering I countered all your points thus far (and you even conceded to a couple) you should very well know. Therefore, your evidence doesn’t really stack up.
As for the rest of your post, it’s merely your opinion. And you know what they say about opinions? They are like assholes, everybody has one. And I just kicked yours.
[lprent: Claiming victory around here is dangerous. I like to exhibit it too. But I have more toolkit and I really don’t care about do the debating bit. I jump to you losing.
If you use anything like a pwned/owned strategy, I will happily demonstrate who always wins. It is the sysop, who has had to clean up too many flamewars caused by jumped up gits playing stupid debating games. Read the policy on flamewars. This is your only warning. Let me know when you have read this. It will be in auto-moderation. ]
OK.
By the way, I posted in a couple of other threads before reading this. Will they now be released? Or will I have to re-post them?
[r0b: released the commments, left automod on for lprent to decide.]
lprent
The OK was in reference to reading your warning.
Here’ my perspective.
You wanted me to engage more, thus I was. Countering points being made (debating).
Nevertheless, it takes two to participate in a so-called flame war. I don’t see McFlock being warned for his participation.
Furthermore, when ones opponent resorts to strawmans, spin and lies to points made, clearly they have no credible counter, thus are losing the debate. Hence, I wasn’t claiming victory, merely stating fact. Which surely isn’t against this site’s policy?
Therefore, now that this has been made clear, I would expect you (if you are balanced and reasonable) to reconsider and revoke the warning made.
[lprent: Don’t try to use strawman arguments on me! Read the warning. Nothing you said here has ANYTHING to do with that warning. I wasn’t talking about the conversation you were having. That was fine. You can argue that all you want.
What I warned you about was using pwned/owned arguments. That is a specific flamewar starter that I look for, and stomp on hard. You may have noticed that others don’t use it? There is a reason for that.
If you can’t read clear warnings, I will take what I consider is the appropriate action. ]
Additionally, people like me are beneficial to Labour. it allows them to covertly test voter support of their position (or newly considered policy) while gauging potential counters to positions being considered.
Allowing them to better counter things or improve them, before going public.
well, all that was your opinion, I guess.
Do you want to keep monday-morning-refereeing two short comments King made in a panel discussion, or are we done here?
Additionally, Annette is one that is capable of dishing it out. Unfortunately, she decided not too.
yup… when the left quietly aquiecse to the notion that left = bad… what hope?
What hope indeed.
Her response helped seal the perception Hosking was attempting to paint.
And we know Annette (a well seasoned MP) is more capable than that.
Q. – But surely Annette, you couldn’t endorse his positions could you?
Answer: “Why not?”
The questioner then (I think) has no option but to list/rant various ‘outrageous positions’ .
Points can be agreed with, repudiated or ignored and at the end something like “So, we know you certainly don’t endorse him Mike…but that’s no surprise to anyone”, can be thrown in.
Take away confidence, insert fear or uncertainty (a constant state of affairs for the NZ Labour Party, it seems) – and you get something along the lines of what happened.
Jerry Seinfeld, Andrew Dice Clay and Sasha Baron Cohen eat your hearts out:
Here’s another insane right wing “comedian”.
Wayne Rogers used to play the part of Trapper John in the hit television show M*A*S*H. Trapper John was a funny, witty, nice guy. Wayne Rogers, on the other hand, is neither funny nor witty nor nice….
Fox Guest EXPLODES: Will You SHUP UP? You’re a MORON https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZH4xm8_SPw
Just when are farmers going to stop demanding to eat the environment?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/72042704/grasmere-station-owners-doing-everything-humanly-possible-to-limit-lake-pollution
Isn’t it clear that farming has ruined this lake in just the last recent years? Yet he wants to intensify further?
Do these guys have rocks in their heads or something?…. Listen to what the planet and people are telling you mr farmer….stop acting like a child …. stop and listen to what you are being told …..
… the land cannot be irrigated as it is way too sensitive. Stop trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Ffs.
… when will farmers learn to farm within the confines of their farm and their climate? If it is a dry place then farm as a dry place.
ffs, farmers attitudes and approaches drive me nuts with their square-peg-round-hole demands.
edit: whats the bet that the previous owners of this station always used to claim “blah blah we are custodians of the land and want to leave it better for the next generation blah blah”. All farmers do. Yet the evidence shows that farmers have NEVER left the land in a better condition for the future. Never. It is a lie. Proved by their own actions and results.
Yeah that one makes me see red too. I wonder how much is a result of 30 years of neoliberalism socialising people into an overdevelopped sense of entitlement. Adding that to the culture of importance within some farming sectors, plus the banks and farm advisors encouraging all their clients to see the environement in terms of profit, it’s a bad mix.
If you’ve done everything you can to protect the environment and you’re still polluting it, then you just have to stop farming.
edit: whats the bet that the previous owners of this station always used to claim “blah blah we are custodians of the land and want to leave it better for the next generation blah blah”. All farmers do. Yet the evidence shows that farmers have NEVER left the land in a better condition for the future. Never. It is a lie. Proved by their own actions and results.
There are whole systems of farming that address this, broadly called regenerative agriculture and holistic land management. Biodynamics and some organic farms too. The underlying ethos is that all practices have to build health in the land not deplete it ie there is a net increase. There are farmers in NZ already doing this, and there is no reason that we couldn’t be doing this en masse, apart from greed, ignorance, and the control that the banks and Fed Farmers have.
True and the only way that we will get the farmers doing sustainable farming is to legislate for it. The farmers will whinge for awhile but I think that they’d all come around eventually.
I also think we need to limit farming to ~15% of the land mass of the country and to suitable locations.
From the Conservatives youtube channel this morning…
Ah, so the typical lies as can be expected from RWNJs.
An alternative view https://theintercept.com/2015/09/12/accusations-anti-semitism-jeremy-corbyn-nothing-anti-semitism/
a communist nazi saluting anti semite… someones must be quite scared
David Seymour tells students with anxiety and depression to harden up.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/72050421/act-leader-david-seymours-harden-up-line-stuns-wellington-students
For a man who owes his job to the charity of the National party, he shows precious little charity of his own.
he has only just realised that he and his friends had advantages growing up… so one step at a time
The vulnerable are missing out.
Paula Bennett said more money would be pumped into social services if it was needed but she didn’t think funding was the issue.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/72055569/government-needs-to-do-more-than-just-tinker-with-social-services–report
But haven’t reports cited low benefit payments as a contributing factor adding to social, health, and poverty problems? Therefore, isn’t more money needed?
Thoughts?
More money is needed but that means that the rich will have to pay more in taxes and wages and National won’t support that.
Not necessarily, the long-term savings in health and other related areas can offset an increase.
Moreover, there was little public outcry when National recently increase some benefits.
Labour should take note.
funding isn’t the issue if you cut off claims at the pass
National have openly stated they plan to reduce benefit numbers.
A Guardian short address on post capitalism by Paul Mason Journalist and very erudite and experienced observer.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2015/aug/12/paul-mason-capitalism-failing-time-to-panic-video
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Mason_%28journalist%29
(Not the worlds previous fattest man!)
One on Jeremy Corbyn. Everyone knows who he is.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2015/sep/15/jeremy-corbyn-attacks-tory-welfare-bill-during-tuc-conference-video
Please sir Mr Lprent the side bar is only showing the feeds and no comments or replies.
Testing something to fix the feeds. Works in test site. Doesn’t work in actual site….
Ummmm…
From the US Federal Reserve today:
Debt ratios have reached extreme levels across all major regions of the global economy, leaving the financial system acutely vulnerable to monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve, the world’s top financial watchdog has warned.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said the wild market ructions of recent weeks and capital outflows from China are warning signs that the massive build-up in credit is coming back to haunt, compounded by worries that policymakers may be struggling to control events.
“We are not seeing isolated tremors, but the release of pressure that has gradually accumulated over the years along major fault lines,” said Claudio Borio, the bank’s chief economist.
….So, if at all possible people, lower your mortgage, keep your cash savings high, and buckle in for the next really tough ride.
😉
BIS were v concerned right before the GFC hit in late 2007
Mission creep?
More troops to be sent to Iraq?
http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/mp-more-troops-to-be-sent-to-iraq-2015091517#axzz3liP9e8pv
Will Max Key be signing on?
Of course he wont, like the Vietnam war all the fat cats made sure their kids were at College or somewhere to make sure they dodged the draft and did not have to attend that shit.
or John?
He still has contacts in Green, so at the very least, there is some out of schedule training going on similar to Predeployment training.
NZ Herald did a poll on Medical Cannabis, 70% support access to Medical Cannabis under strict conditions. I would take that as a win. Class B drugs by definition are strict anyway…..
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11512929
About bloody time. OK let me add more having now read article. What planet is the Minister on? Evidence, bloody nora, has he not heard of google, or indeed “The American Journal of the Medical Sciences”? What does a minister have to read? It seems not a lot these days.
Australia conducted their first air strikes in Syria.
Australians learned about the first strike via the American military.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/72102727/australia-bombs-islamic-state-in-syria
john keys style of transparency has arrived in oz. good luck cobbers…