Interesting comment re the riots in England from a scotish and welsh perspective: why are the riots being reported as UK or British when they relate only to a few cities in ENGLAND
Maybe this sort of sentiment is assumed:
“With gratitude for the past and confidence in the future we range ourselves without fear beside Britain. Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand.”
Meh, my Scottish and Irish mates are laughing their asses off at the English falling apart
đ That’s why I have a problem with Scottish and Irish people – especially the Irish. Schadenfreude is their thing! (My Scottish-descended mother made my English father’s life hell – I used to pray that he would divorce her, when I was a child. Not to mention her constantly rubbing in that she came from a higher social class than he did)
Vicky, I am a Scot; whenever a Scot wins a medal at the Olympics, they are a Brit, when they are English, they are, simply, English.
If Andy Murray ever wins Wimbledon, he’ll be British, but as he continues to flop, he’ll continue to be Scottish.
Whenever England football fans riot, they are British, when they behave they mysteriously become British.
It should also be noted that generally speaking the first ‘cannon fodder’ in both world wars were from where?
Had to laugh my arse off the other day when I read the Labour Party in Scotland (having been trounced in recent Scottish elections for being out of touch and arrogant….jeez, that’s a familiar refrain for Labour Parties that, innit?) was having a go at the SNP for daring to point out that the riots were English. Not Scottish. Not British. Just English. And further, that Scottish society was very different to English society.
As a commentator in one of the Scottish papers pointed out (paraphrasing) the underclass in Scotland …or any class, bar the public school class of whatever year class… would baulk at being seen to be taking directions from English sources.
Hi Pete just a brief summary from the Wiki article on teenage pregnancy.
How about you have a read and then get back on the notion of âresponsibilityâ…
1. Poverty is associated with increased rates of teenage pregnancy
2. Women exposed to abuse, domestic violence, and family strife in childhood are more likely to become pregnant as teenagers, and the risk of becoming pregnant as a teenager increases with the number of adverse childhood experiences
3. Studies have also found that boys raised in homes with a battered mother, or who experienced physical violence directly, were significantly more likely to impregnate a girl
4. Studies have also found that girls whose fathers left the family early in their lives had the highest rates of early sexual activity and adolescent pregnancy. Girls whose fathers left them at a later age had a lower rate of early sexual activity, and the lowest rates are found in girls whose fathers were present throughout their childhood
5. Low educational expectations have been pinpointed as a risk factor.
6. Teenage pregnancy is also attributed the occurrence of adolescent pregnancy to a breakdown of communication between parents and child and also to inadequate parental supervision
7. Foster care youth are more likely than their peers to become pregnant as teenagers.
8. Teens exposed to the most sexual content on TV are twice as likely as teens watching less of this material to become pregnant before they reach age 20
9. More than 80% of teen pregnancies are unintended
10. There is little evidence to support the common belief that teenage mothers become pregnant to get benefits, welfare, and council housing. Most knew little about housing or financial aid before they got pregnant and what they thought they knew often turned out to be wrong
11. A UK study found that 70% of women who gave birth in their teens had experienced adolescent domestic violence.
12. Teenage girls who are pregnant or mothers are more likely to commit suicide than girls who aren’t pregnant or mothers
13. One study in 2001 found that women who gave birth during their teens completed secondary-level schooling 10â12% as often as those who didn’t, and pursued post-secondary education 14â29% as often as women who waited until age 30 to have children.
14. Teenage Motherhood may actually make economic sense for young women with less money, some research suggests. For instance, long-term studies by Duke economist V. Joseph Hotz and colleagues, published in 2005, found that by age 35, former teen moms had earned more in income, paid more in taxes, were substantially less likely to live in poverty and collected less in public assistance than similarly poor women who waited until their 20s to have babies
15. What appears crucial to success is that adolescents know where they can go to obtain information and services, can get there easily and are assured of receiving confidential, non-judgmental care, and that these services and contraceptive supplies are free or cost very little. In addressing high rates of unplanned teen pregnancies, scholars agree that the problem must be confronted from both the biological and cultural contexts.
Iâm sure there is plenty more ‘real’ research out there, if you were interested in looking, but I guess your prejudices suit you just fine.
Thanks, Puddlegum. A diverse lot aren’t we? (women who have children while teenagers, that is).
I can’t believe I forgot the one that got me started on the whole ‘responsibility’ thing…
A review of California’s 1990 vital statistics found that men older than high school age fathered 77 percent of all births to high school-aged girls (ages 16â18), and 51 percent of births to junior high school-aged girls (15 and younger). Men over age 25 fathered twice as many children of teenage mothers than boys under age 18, and men over age 20 fathered five times as many children of junior high school-aged girls as did junior high school-aged boys. A 1992 Washington state study of 535 adolescent mothers found that 62 percent of the mothers had a history of being raped or sexual molested by men whose ages averaged 27 years
Anyway, I guess this post has gone in the into PeteG’s ‘do not reply’ bucket.
The best way to mitigate teenage pregnancy is to ensure that those at risk are properly engaged in the school system rather than fall through the cracks.
In addition, it might piss off the god botherers (their way only causes misery and hatred) , but having increased access to contraceptives and abortion on demand can help here as well. Bob McCroskie can jump of a bridge for all I care.
For those that do make mistakes, funding teen parent units in every school, and alternative schools for those unsuited to the mainstream system would be good as well.
The school system needs to play a big part here. IMO they are too busy trying to attract international students and focusing on their top students to give a shit about those at the bottom.
It’s not getting any better for the Murdochs as the reporter jailed for admitting hacking members of the Royal family dobs in the former NOW editor Andy Coulson and leaves the Murdochs’ evidence in Parliament looking weak at best and outright lies at worst.
The whole edifice is rotten. The rotten Murdochs will be called to answer to a rotten parliament. Credibility minus for all parties…..more riots to come in reaction to further rotten powers given to a rotten police force.
Today, from the UK, comes another shining example of what happens when you privatise strategic assets such a power companies.
Note the comment further down the article from RWE npower’s Cheif Commercial Officer Kevin Miles
Miles pointed out that npower’s price increases were significantly below the tariff increases of between 10% and 19% on gas and electricity introduced by its rivals .
Of course, all of it’s so called rivals are also privately owned.
And behind the privatised state assets are the rich, the ma and pa investors and the pension fund owners who live amongst us…all holding shares in our servitude. We rub shoulders with our malefactors daily.
Anybody know what the ‘unnamed bill’ is? http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/82682/parliament-in-urgency
Newstalk ZB this morning: Simon Power’s office refuses to say what it is, other that it is not related to new policy. Newstalk understands it as being ‘sensitive’ and correcting legislation passed by former Labour Govt…
Dame Lesley Max on “Eight Months to Mars”
Afternoons with Jim Mora, Monday August 15, 2011
Take yourself back two and a half years. You’re listening to NewstalkZB, around 11.30 p.m., on Sunday, January 4th, 2009. The internationally condemned Israeli assault on Gaza is at its bloodiest point, and the host Oliver Driver has, unusually for a radio talkback host, been making some intelligent comments about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Showing what happens if there’s a host with a few clues, the standard of talkback this evening has been of an exceptionally high standard. But at 11:30, the calibre, temper and tone of the discussion plummet catastrophically.
A particularly harsh and adamant woman, identifying herself as “Lesley”, is on the line. She is having none of this namby-pamby so-called sympathy for the victims.
LESLEY: These people are terrorists and they deserve everything that is happening to them. I’ve just come back from Israel, and I can tell you the Arabs are happy. These people in Gaza are terrorists! OLIVER DRIVER: But the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations say the people killed are almost entirely women and children. LESLEY: Nonsense! I’ve just come back from Israel. OLIVER DRIVER: Human Rights Watch and B’tselem have condemned Israel, and they unequivocally call it a massacre. LESLEY: Absolute nonsense! I have just come back from Israel, and I saw NOTHING that suggested there was ANY trouble at all! OLIVER DRIVER: So let me get this right, Lesley. You’re saying that the Red Cross, and all of the the U.N. observers, and Human Rights Watch, and Doctors Without Borders, and the doctors and nurses from the hospitals in Gaza, and all those reporters—they’re all wrong? LESLEY: [snarling] Yes they are WRONG! All of them! You see, these people are TERRORISTS….
Cue ten minutes more of uninterrupted hateful ranting. Finally, the host decides enough is enough….
OLIVER DRIVER: Okay. Thank you very much for your call, Lesley.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Oliver Driver, clearly shaken and disturbed by that call, gave no indication that he knew the identity of “Lesley”. He would no doubt have been surprised to learn that she was in fact a prominent member of the Auckland social scene, and a recipient of royal honours for her charity work with disadvantaged children.
The caller was none other than Dame Lesley Max, who lives a bizarre double life, balancing out the good work she does—urban tree-planting and running a children’s charity—by obsessively monitoring talkback radio and barking out intolerant rants as in the example above. If you suffer from insomnia some time, tune in to NewstalkZB or Radio Live for a few minutes: chances are pretty good that you’ll hear Dame Lesley shouting her crazed and unconditional support for Israel over the airwaves.
Late-night and early-morning talk radio is not her only outlet, though. In January 2002, during another time of escalated Israeli aggression, this time in the occupied West Bank, Dame Lesley was the guest of Chris Laidlaw on his Sunday morning show. Throughout the interview, she refused to call the victims “Palestinians”, and insisted on calling them “terrorists”—in fact, she managed to use the word “terrorists” no less than TWENTY times. (I counted.) Laidlaw never once pulled her up, or challenged her use of language.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It was with considerable interest, therefore, that I learned Monday’s guest for the “Eight Months to Mars” segment on Jim Mora’s programme was to be Dame Lesley Max. “Eight Months to Mars” is supposed to be whimsical and lighthearted, but I just knew that Dame Lesley would not forsake the opportunity to slip in a little pro-Israel propaganda if she could possibly get away with it. And in the affable and indulgent Jim Mora, she had the perfect vehicleâŚ.
JIM MORA: And who, Dame Lesley Max, would you like to accompany you on this voyage to Mars? DAME LESLEY MAX: Oh! There are so MANY! Let me see. I would have Lady Diana Cooper, Bill Clinton (LOVE that Southern accent!), Theodore Dalrymple— MORA: Oh yes! Isn’t he amazing! DAME LESLEY: He’s just lovely! I spent a simply entrancing afternoon with him once. [1] MORA: He’s just a brilliant man! DAME LESLEY: I would also have to have along with me Dr Zoe During, Charles Dickens, Kathryn Ryan! MORA: Oh yes. Ha ha ha ha ha! DAME LESLEY: Boris Johnson, Stephen Fry, and Richard Burton—as long as he doesn’t bring along his cigarettes! MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha! But what a voice he had! DAME LESLEY: What I like about these people is the breadth of their minds, and the wit of their conversation. Did you see Boris Johnson on Who Do You Think You Are?, Jim? MORA: No.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MORA: Let’s talk about you, now. What makes you such a humanitarian worker? DAME LESLEY: My mother was very empathetic. MORA: You had a happy, idyllic North Shore childhood? DAME LESLEY: I was a voracious reader. So I knew early on that all the world was not like my home in Milford, I was fully aware that children get killed. I guess that desire for protecting the vulnerable is just embedded in me, in my DNA. I dunno. MORA: Interesting you’d take Dalrymple to Mars because he laments the providential role of the state. DAME LESLEY: Mmmmmm. MORA: So you are trying to AWAKEN the human spirit. DAME LESLEY: Mmmmm. Definitely. MORA: And what keepsakes would you take with you? See, these are the little things that fascinate me.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MORA: If an alien asked you to describe the planet Earth, what would you say? DAME LESLEY: Oh, I would say that it was full of plenty, beauty, happiness, starvation, misery, oppression. [2] All of those things. MORA: What would you miss about Earth? DAME LESLEY: Gardens, trees [3], grass, water [4], hills. MORA: What would you be glad to leave behind? DAME LESLEY: News of babies being kicked to death. Distortion and malice arising from journalistic malpractice. I’m thinking here of those poor, defamed Israeli victims of the earthquake. MORA: You’re finding anti-Semitism everywhere, more and more? DAME LESLEY: [carefully] No, I wouldn’t like to call it anti-Semitism. But there was an unholy glee in the media. It was like a cat bringing a dead mouse into the house and batting it about to see if it can get a bit more out of it. MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha! That’s a GREAT analogy! All right, let’s go to your last musical choice. DAME LESLEY: This is Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti singing a duet from Rigoletto. MORA: All the best with your work, Dame Lesley. It’s SO important.
Tell Jim Mora (politely but clearly) what you think of his providing an uninterrupted forum to people like Dame Lesley Max. His email address isâŚ. afternoons@radionz.co.nz
Iâve made a point to email Jim to ask him for more people like Lesley to appear on his show in future.
I have no problem with him talking to anybody, even a canting hypocrite like Dame Lesley Max. What I object to is his failure to challenge or to even demur at some of the outrageous and offensive things people like her say.
In this case, it was Mora himself who made the ridiculous and cranky charge that investigating Israelis is anti-Semitism. Dame Lesley was smart enough to resile from the statement, and make herself seem sensible and restrained.
She must have been very pleased that Mora had done the crude defamatory work for her, and let her, on this occasion, seem to rise above it.
It won’t be a problem Lower standard Joyce will privatize it to so we will hear only what they want us to hear no independent point of view .Fox news i suspect oh no my emails are being hacked as we speak
I sent a short but polite email off to afternoons@radionz.co.nz after Monday’s panel. The complete fabrication of data they discussed regarding the Iowa Straw Poll is a telling portent of our coming Election. Perhaps, just perhaps if the community presents them with requests for the most basic journalistic integrity, then they will at least reduce the fabrication, even if it does not lead to any more balance in the content.
I include the email below
I would sincerely accept criticism or comment as a basis towards understanding viewpoints of National Radio broadcasting standards at this time, especially leading up to is expected to be the most socially radical and economically pivotal election in decades.
” To whom it may concern
I have been increasingly worried by many of the views recently
expressed on the panel. It is a rare day i hear anything attempting to portray a factual, an
honest or even a balanced view of the current political and financial
situation in New Zealand or abroad.
Today though i was simply disgusted by the tragically innacurate
statements made earlier regarding the Iowa Straw Poll. That later
paled with the arrogant and ignorant comments broadcast by a panelist
in regards to food costs. I respectfully ask that you please remind
your panelists 3/4 of New Zealand do not live in Auckland. Not
everyone has access to a farmer’s market.
The elitist attitude being fomented by your panel is progressively
costing you listeners. I have been a listener of the show for many years and I personally
know a dozen people or more who no longer listen and i find myself not
listening more often. More basic research, honest journalism and less
parroting of press releases might go a long way to reversing the
trend.
As a State-owned broadcaster, there are responsiblities aligned
with your privilidged positions, the most demanding must be to
accurately broadcast information.
I posit you are failing your responsibilties
In the meantime, mik e, you should tell Jim Mora (politely but clearly) what you think of his providing a propaganda forum for the likes of Dame Lesley Max. His email address isâŚ. afternoons@radionz.co.nz
Yeah he’s lets his guests waffle on about any thing they like but he also has Bernard Hickey Cris Trotter Bomber Bradbury .But he is a right whinger because soon as they have finished he denigrates them ever so subtlely.
I have stopped listening to Jim Mora these days, he just gets on my nerves more and more!
Well then, you need to tell him that, politely of course. You might like to mention your disgust at the way he encourages people like Dame Lesley Max and Stephen Franks and Dr. Michael Bassett, instead of challenging them…. afternoons@radionz.co.nz
Lesley Max has a chapter all to herself in a book on the New Zealand Jewish community published a few years back. Needless to say, she spends an inordinate amount of space on New Zealanders’ supposed “misconceptions” about “poor old Israel”.
In your RNZ rendition (above), she appears wonderfully ignorant of not only ‘Theodore Dalrymple’s’ strong criticism of Israel (and of Conrad Black’s bias in this regard), but also of Stephen Fry’s membership of the British Independent Jewish Voices – a group, of course, strongly critical of mainstream Jewry’s Israel-Right-Or-Wrong default setting.
…she spends an inordinate amount of space on New Zealandersâ supposed âmisconceptionsâ about âpoor old Israelâ.
She’s a fanatic, and that’s exactly what we would expect of her.
The really disturbing thing about her appearance on Mora’s show was when Mora asked her, in apparent seriousness: “Youâre finding anti-Semitism everywhere, more and more?”
That’s nonsense, of course, and Mora knows it perfectly well. But he still said it. He therefore released Dame Lesley from her fanatic’s duty of saying just that, and allowed her to pose as a moderate: “No, I wouldn’t like to call it anti-Semitism…”
Of course she wouldn’t like to call it anti-Semitism—she didn’t have to, because her infinitely obliging and understanding host did it for her.
It’s irresponsible and a betrayal of his listeners.
You, and others who care about decency and standards, should email Jim and tell him what you think of his behaviour…. afternoons@radionz.co.nz
“Finance Minister Bill English said he had not seen the detail of the sale yesterday and it was yet to be seen if the cost to the Government would increase further.
”We have been focused very much on reducing cost to tax-payers through this whole exercise,” he said. ”
quick question Bill, how does one focus on something one has no details of?
I don’t think he’s moved to the right in his own head, but he has grown intellectually flabby. I think he’s like Jim Mora in many ways—in spite of his misgivings, he bends over backwards to be “impartial”. That means he lets right wing callers have their say, and he will usually try to find common ground with them. I noticed on last Sunday night’s show that he was repeating idiotic far right slogans about the London riots, and didn’t seem to have the courage to say what he no doubt really thinks.
A few years ago, crazed callers like “Lesley” (actually Dame Lesley Max) would at least know they were in for an argument with Oliver, but now, sadly, he seems to have been tamed by the NewstalkZB machine.
Thats the only way you can get a job on talk back these days!being a redneck jerk
You mean, I think, “being a bigoted jerk.” Please don’t use the term “redneck” as a substitute for “bigot”. That’s a slur on working people and farmers. The worst, most pitiless bigots in this country are not “rednecks” but pampered, privileged, complacent businessmen (think Alisdair Thompson) and right-wing commentators (Stephen Franks, Garth George, Paul Holmes, Michael Laws, Christine Rankin, Leighton Smith).
The Press has a story on New Zealand’s own Leonardo da Vinci … the artist formerly known as John Key.
You know that guy in your office who has a job title and a suit and a desk, but you find yourself wondering what he does all day? Apparently, “he does a lot of doodles” …
While David Cameron and co. attempt to pin the recent London riots on some slide in morality, they ignore the historical background – as outlined in this highly illuminating article – that this city has been the traditional site for radical protest and rioting by the English poor for centuries:
Â
“The âLondon mobâ has been an object of fear for Londonâs wealthy almost since the city was founded. The size and nature of London made it repeatedly open to radicalization. Large groups of people lived and worked together and developed ideas against authority in a way which there was much less opportunity to do in rural areas or small towns. As a seat of government, London was the natural centre of protest against monarchy and then parliament.
The Peasantsâ Revolt of 1381 ended in London when the citizens opened the gates of the capital and allowed tens of thousands of peasants led by John Ball and Wat Tyler to enter (and ransack) the City. They burnt down John of Gauntâs palace at the Savoy and executed the Lord Chancellor as part of their protest at the poll tax. They broke open the most notorious prisons in the City. Then, as now, some innocents (in this case Flemish cloth traders perceived as commercial rivals) were victims. The peasants forced the King to grant them their freedom until the leaders of the revolt were tricked by Richard II and routed at Smithfield. But the revolt burnt itself into the mind of the aristocracy and the poll tax was effectively abolished….”
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Once again, an item about expensive lambs being killed by hypothermia on NZ farms… The thing is, it happens every year! And every year the news media come over all surprised…. I don’t know why lambing always takes place in winter, and why NZ farmers don’t keep livestock in barns, and afaik never have! When my father came here in 1951, he had been told that NZ was “tropical” – he soon learned different! (It’s got colder every year, yet the farmers pretend surprise as every year their lambs die.)
I’ve recently bough the album ‘Infected’ by The The ($7.99 in the bargain bin at The Warehouse) – my emphasis on notable lines!
Considering this was released in the early 1980’s, how poignant are the lyrics of the song Heartland to the UK riots?
Beneath the old iron bridges, across the victorian parks,
& all the frightened people running home before dark,
Past the Saturday morning cinema–
that lies crumbling to the ground,
& the piss stinking shopping centre in the new side of town.
I’ve come to smell the seasons change, & watch the city,
as the sun goes down again.
CHORUS
Here comes another winter, of long shadows & high hopes,
Here comes another winter, waitin for utopia,
waitin for hell to freeze over.
This is the land, where nothing changes, the land of red buses & blue blooded babies, This is the place, where pensioners are raped,
& the hearts are being cut, from the welfare state, Let the poor drink the milk, while the rich eat the honey, Let the bums count their blessings, while they count the money.
So many people, can’t express what’s on their minds,
Nobody knows them & nobody ever will, Until their backs are broken & their dreams are stolen, & they can’t get what they want, then they’re gonna get angry! Well it ain’t written in the papers, but its written on the walls The way this country is divided to fall,
So the cranes are moving on the skyline–
Trying to knock down–this town
But the stains on the heartland, can never be removed,
from this country, that’s sick, sad, and confused.
CHORUS
The ammunition’s being passed, and the lords been praised,
But the wars on the televisions will never be explained,
All the bankers gettin sweaty, beneath their white collars,
As the pound in our pocket, turns into a dollar.
This is the 51st state–of the U. S. A.
(Repeat and fade.)
the U.S. continues its odd and long history of flowing all economic gains
to corporations and the very rich and basically none to the average hour worked.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that we are facing weak demand. For 30 years to the year 2000, consumers compensated for their lack of progress in hourly wages partly by working harder and longer and in greater numbers (i.e., a higher participation
rate) and partly by borrowing. But in the 10 years after 2000, the participation rate in the workforce has dropped dramatically (see Exhibit 2) and hours worked per person has flattened so that the only way for individuals to grow their consumption more recently was by borrowing even more and, to some extent, by speculating in housing.
…
Today the artifi cial sugar-coating of increasing debt has been removed and we must live with the reality that an average hourâs work has not received a material increase for 40 years (see Exhibit 3). Without increased debt and without gains in hourly wages, how can there be sustained broad gains in consumption? Only Chanel suits, Hermes scarves, BMWs, and their ilk have very strong sales, and these top-end items are just too small a fraction to carry the day.
You might have heard that Hosni Mubarak’s trial is no longer going to be broadcast. He’s being tried for corruption and violence against the protesters in Tahrir Square and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The consequences of justice not being done in this case are significant, but there are bigger implications to what is essentially state control of the media…
Just thought I would mention this; I had morning tea with Tama Iti this morning. What a thoroughly pleasant and respectful bloke.
Â
Listened to a Tuhoe presentation on how they want to improve their community, which was totally clear, whanau focused and thinking long term. I hope many of their people stand for Mana.
A woman who has lived in New Zealand for four years and left her abusive husband has been denied residency because of his convictions for crimes against her.
The plight of Charmain Timmons and her children, who are now illegal immigrants, has outraged Women’s Refuge, which says the Paraparaumu family should not have to suffer twice because of his cruelty.
“It’s wrong in so many ways,” said refuge chief executive Heather Henare. “She is being punished. She is someone who has come over here with the best of intentions to have a better life…and now she’s going to be sent back because she was unfortunate enough to be a victim of domestic violence.”
Timmons, 37, has been granted the rights of a resident by some government departments, as she has had legal aid, a benefit and is enrolled to vote.
and
The couple needed to send in their passports and a $1050 fee but Timmons left her husband before the process was completed. As a result, she and the children were illegal immigrants, and she was told she had to leave the country.
“I decided I had to get out of the relationship because it was becoming violent and abusive and it was psychologically and emotionally very damaging,” she told the Sunday Star-Times.
He left New Zealand for eight months before returning this year on a two-year visitor’s permit.
She said moving back to England would be a huge upheaval for the children, now aged seven and nine, who regarded themselves as New Zealanders.
“They don’t want to be anywhere else. They know of England but their roots are here now. I haven’t done anything wrong. I just want to provide a safe, secure environment for my children.”
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Why has it taken so long to act? A genuine question.
And, why did Wilkinson claim in Parliament that the government would be waiting till after the Commission concluded to act on staffing of mines inspectors but knew at the time that a departmental review was looking into staffing and would report back prior to the Commission announcing its findings?
And, why won’t Wilkinson admit that abolishing the mines inspectorate in the late 90s was a bad idea.
Anybody who gives a damn about the environment should have a read of Idiot/Savant’s latest blog @ NRT. National is purposefully fucking the ETS up by overallocating subsidies. Effectively the public is paying polluters to pollute more, and thus discrediting the scheme entirely. Pisses me right off!
France and Germany Propose Joint Financial Transactions Tax
Surprise surprise high frequency bot traders and big banks don’t like it. I hope Merkel and Sarkozy push it through against the financial sector, and that this is not just a distraction or a feint.
So, Judith Collins has done a Facebook rant about climate change, peddling the same shit National has been shovelling for the past twenty years: the impacts are overstated, there's no need to do anything about it, and its too hard anyway (oh, and its so unfair that people who peddle ...
I came across this song quite by accident. If it isn't one of Greta Thunberg's favourites - it should be.Video courtesy of YouTube.This post is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
Last month, NZDF's shoddy coverup of what it knew about civilian casualties in Operation Burnham began to fall apart, with the revelation that a report on the matter, which NZDF claimed not to have, had been sitting in an NZDF safe for the past nine years. Yesterday, the man responsible ...
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING MYTH 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate. FACT: The HadCRUT3 surface temperature index, produced by the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, shows warming to 1878, cooling to 1911, ...
For the past week, Extinction Rebellion has been peacefully protesting in London to demand action on climate change. The British government's response? Ban their protests:Police have banned Extinction Rebellion protests from continuing anywhere in London, as they moved in almost without warning to clear protesters who remained at the movement’s ...
When they were running for election, Labour promised to overhaul the Employment Relations Act and introduce fair pay agreements to set basic pay and conditions on an industry level, preventing bad employers from undercutting good ones. They followed this up by establishing a working group, which reported back in January ...
A list of indicators of bad science – many of these are found in articles promoted by anti-fluoride activists. Anti-fluoride activists have been pouring money into a scaremongering campaign warning pregnant women not to drink fluoridated water. They claim fluoride will lower the IQ of their future child. Fluoride ...
Nothing Left To Say: Labour's pollster, Stephen Mills, remains swaddled-up in the comforting myths of the 1980s. As if the experience of Roger Douglas’s genuinely radical post-Muldoon policy agenda was literally a once-in-a-lifetime thing – as much as the party could possibly absorb for at least the next 50 years.MEMO ...
The Royal Commission on abuse in care is very significant for the disability community. For many decades last century, thousands of disabled children, and adults who managed to survive, were locked away from families and communities. This was not for anything they had done, but for the perceived threat their ...
With an unfair voting system, uneven electorates and an un-elected upper house, the UK's "democracy" is barely worthy of the name. But now the government wants to make it worse:The government has been accused of suppressing voters’ rights with the potential disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of people after plans ...
Back in the 90's and early 2000's, the building industry was building leaky homes which should never have been granted consent. Now it turns out they've been building dodgy office blocks as well:New imaging technology has revealed hundreds of major buildings nationwide have defective or missing concrete or reinforcing steel. ...
Local body election results were released over the weekend, to joy or despair depending on where you live. In Auckland, Phil Goff trounced John Tamihere, who is muttering darkly about running for Parliament again (but which party would want him?) Wellington is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Weta Workshop, except ...
Two years have now gone by since the Friday afternoon when my university-student son and I headed out of our Barcelona flat to a nearby primary school, designated as a polling station for the vote that was to be held the following Sunday: the referendum on Catalonia’s independence from Spain ...
Overruled: The joint decision of Finance Minister, Grant Robertson (Labour) and his Associate Minister, David Parker (Labour) arguably the two most powerful ministers in Jacinda Ardern’s government, to grant OceanaGold the consents which Land Information Minister, Eugenie Sage (Greens) had earlier denied them, offers bitter proof of how hard fighting ...
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...
A Statement on Abortion Law Reform by the Council of Disobedient Women On the eve of bringing an end to antiquated, anti-women abortion laws Green MP Jan Logie intends to write women out of the Bill. With a stroke of the pen, the woke are aiming for total erasure ...
Musings continue apace about “the experienced businessman!” soon to be taking up a National Party MP position. Or to be more accurate, being parachuted into a seat to shut down their former MP Jamie-Lee Ross, who despite his own shortcomings shed at least some more light on the inner workings ...
The Ugandan government wants to murder gay people:Uganda has announced plans to impose the death penalty on homosexuals. The bill, colloquially known as “Kill the Gays” in Uganda, was nullified five years ago on a technicality, but the government said on Thursday it plans to resurrect it within weeks. The ...
Freedom Of Speech? The Säuberung (cleansing by fire) was the work of the German Student Union which, on 10 May 1933, under the watchful eye of the Nazi Reichminister for Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, consigned 25,000 books to the flames in a ritual exorcism of “un-German thought”. According to the logic of the ...
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...
New Zealand’s media is doing its part in Japan, reassuring those in the path of the storm that they won’t miss any rugby while away from their flooded homes. New Zealand sports reporters stationed in Japan for the Rugby World Cup have had the rare and heartwarming opportunity to inform ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones is the only Cabinet member in favour of putting it all on green. As Finance Minister Grant Robertson finds himself with an enormous $7.5 billion surplus, the Government has begun intense, at times contentious conversations about whether to put the money on red or black at ...
by Susanne Kemp At the start of September close to 100,000 school teachers went on strike in Jordan. They demanded a 50% pay rise. A pay rise actually agreed to by the regime back in 2014. In early October, however, in the face of government repression and threats, the teachers’ ...
Back in 2011, journalist Nicky Hager published Other People's Wars, an expose on NZDF's activities over the previous decade of the "war on terror". NZDF didn't like this, and especially didn't like the fact that it was base don leaks from their own. So, they had the SIS investigate him ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is due back from select committee in two weeks, and will likely pass its final stages in November. So naturally, farmers are planning a hate-march against it. But they're not just demanding lower methane targets so they can keep on destroying the planet; they're also demanding ...
Last year, California burned. This year, to stop it happening again (or rather, to stop themselves from being found liable if it happens again), Pacific Gas and Electric is cutting power to half the state for a week:Schools are closed. Traffic lights down. Tunnels dark. Businesses unopened. Hospitals running on ...
The Best Way: Missing from the on-line voting debate is any reference to the voting system that produces turn-out figures ranging from 77 to 93 percent of registered voters. The voting system used to collect and count the votes cast in our parliamentary elections. The system that involves citizens making ...
Among the great new bunch of political friends we have been making recently is the excellent Australian-based Marxist gender-critical site, Freer Lives. So we asked the comrade who set up that blog to write something for Redline on the blog, himself, his analysis of the rise of gender politics and ...
by Don Franks The Auckland City Mission is struggling with a 40 percent increase in demand for food parcels this year. A total of 23,020 were needed by June. Last month Missioner Chris Farrelly told the Herald the “cupboards are bare” and without an emergency food drive, he can’t see ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Massey Wellington Student Association had a sit-in today. Imagine a sit-in. On a campus. Against a women’s rights meeting. Did the ’60s really happen or did we fucking dream it? They gathered in the student square, an echo chamber. Sitting on soft pillows ...
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...
First, almost a score of Labour MPs seem to have sent a letter to the EU basically begging them to accept a deal - any deal - just so Britain can get the Heck on with Brexiting instead of being trapped in limbo:
by Phil Duncan In 2016 the National-led government suspended the Parent Visa Category, through which migrants were able to bring their parents into New Zealand. Since then over 5,700 people have been in immigration limbo, stuck on the visa wait list. Labour is now bringing back the scheme. Well, sort ...
The following was released yesterday (Tues, October 8) by the women’s liberation organisation Speak Up for Women. On 23 September Speak Up For Women announced that we would be holding an event at the Massey University Theaterette in Wellington. The event is called Feminism 2020. The intention of the event ...
The government is currently consulting on plans to improve freshwater quality. So naturally, farmers oppose it:South Taranaki farmers are preparing to fight proposed national freshwater changes that some fear will bankrupt them. The Government's proposed National Environment Standard on Freshwater Management, released in September, rated the Waingongoro River as one ...
Yesterday was the last day for (reliably) posting your vote away in local body elections. Turnouts are mostly much lower than the equivalent time last year (Palmerston North is down 2.3%), and so naturally people are pushing their online-voting snake oil again. Because the online census worked so well, lets ...
This essay, on the political legacy of the eugenics movement, by Kenan Malik was originally published in the Observer on 6 October 2019, under the headline ‘The spirit of eugenics is still with us, as immigrants know to their cost’. Birth control. Intelligence tests. Town planning. Immigration controls. It’s striking how ...
Another year, and the government has announced another enormous government "surplus". And just like last year, its nothing of the sort. When we have people homeless and sick and hungry, when we have schools and hospitals still falling down, when we have underpaid public servants and infrastucture unmaintained or unbuilt, ...
James Forsyth at The Spectator (I know, I know) has tapped one of his contacts inside Number Ten for an insight into the Johnson administration's thinking and strategy.It is fascinating, unsettling and quite, quite mad. Some key points:Negotiations have stalled and the Johnson administration are keen to blame the EU: ...
Fatal Contact: With the arrival of captain James Cook in October 1769, the islands of what would become New Zealand ceased to be the preserve of Polynesian navigators and settlers and became a part of both the world’s map and the world’s history.THE MAORI NATIONALIST assault upon the historical meaning ...
Another round of tactical talks about forming a Government of National Unity have come to nothing with the Liberal Democrats still refusing countenance putting Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street:Opposition talks on Monday made little headway over when to try and vote down Boris Johnson's government and who might succeed him as ...
by Nick Rogers The debate around the meaning of sex and gender made an appearance at this year’s British Labour Party conference in Brighton. Women’s Place UK – an organisation that questions the demand that biological males who self-identify as woman should have access to women’s spaces, to all-women shortlists, ...
Yesterday I went down to Wellington to participate in the Extinction Rebellion protest. Its part of the latest global wave of XR actions, with actions happening all over the world. Some of those protests are massively disruptive: in Canada, XR is blocking major bridges, stopping people from getting to work. ...
The Workshop is a charitable trust for public good. The Workshop undertake research to find ways of communicating that will build support for the solutions that work to solve complex social and environmental problems. See their Report on Talking about Poverty and Welfare Reform below. ...
Being and Being Bought (Spinifex Press, 2013) by Kajsa Ekis Ekman A synopsis and commentary of Chapters 1-2 by Daphna Whitmore Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book She opens the discussion with a definition of ...
I make no claims to having much legal knowledge, so I defer to those trained in this area.I am very much enjoying this twitter stream from m'learned friend in Edinburgh, deciphering the legal arguments around the Scottish court challenge to Boris Johnson, based on the charmingly obscure principle of Nobile ...
Ivory Folly? The University of Auckland’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart McCutcheon, upheld the right of the radical nationalist group, Action Zealandia to exercise their freedom of speech – not matter how distasteful that speech might be. A wiser community of students and scholars would have nodded their agreement and moved on. ...
If you are not convinced terrorist Organisation ‘Extinction Rebellion’ is very, very dangerous – watch this video at one of their recent meetings. Not only is this obviously mentally ill Woman begging the other terrorists to promote killing and “eating” babies and children, if you watch carefully other members nod ...
The Ombudsman has been surveying people about their knowledge of the OIA and the right to information. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that widespread:The Chief Ombudsman says too many New Zealanders were in the dark over their right to access official information. Peter Boshier said an independent survey released yesterday on ...
In the wake of last Friday's climate strike, Peter McKenzie had an article in The Spinoff about protest strategies. The school strike movement is "polite" and cooperates with those in power because that's its kaupapa - its led by schoolkids who understandably don't want to risk arrest. But there's more ...
So, the latest ruminations on the gnews from Westminster (Again, sorry; I'll stop making that pun right now). This follows on from, and likely repeats bits of, my last post, on the suggestion that a Government of National Unity (GNU) should be set up and then oversee a referendum before ...
New Zealand likes to think of itself as not a racist country (despite being founded on the racist dispossession and subjugation of Maori). But for years, we've had a racist refugee policy, which basicly excludes refugees from Africa and the Middle East unless they already have relatives here. Now, the ...
Several people have asked me whether a particular repeat litigant could be declared a vexatious litigant, in light of their recent decision to appeal an adverse High Court ruling. My nascent tweet thread was getting ridiculously long, so it became this blog post instead.The short answer is: no. The particular ...
Appealing To The Past: Action Zealandia, like so many of the organisations springing up on the far-Right, across what they call the “Anglosphere”, is born out of the profound confusion over what a man is supposed to be in the twenty-first century and, more importantly, what he is supposed to do.THE STATUE OF ...
The attempts of anti-democratic transactivists to (often violently) disrupt women’s rights organising is largely ignored by those sections of the left most prone to misogyny and authoritarianism in New Zealand. In Britain, however, scores of trade union and left activists added their names to a letter in July, defending ...
The Justice Committee has reported back on the Criminal Cases Review Commission Bill. The Bill would establish an independent, quasi-judicial body to investigate and review potential miscarriages of justice, and refer them back to the Court of appeal if required. It would be a vital backstop to our judiciary, help ...
by The Spark On September 14, a total of 22 drones and cruise missiles struck two oil installations in Saudi Arabia, the Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais oil field. Abqaiq is the largest oil production facility in the world. For a few days afterwards, Saudi Aramco, the Saudi national ...
How much will NeoLiberal irregulation of the building sector and subsequent leaky homes crisis cost us? $47 billion, according to a new book:The total cost to fix all of New Zealand's leaky homes would be $47 billion, probably. The estimate comes from a new book, Rottenomics written by journalist Peter ...
Below is the start of another excellent article on the Freer Lives blog. Click onto the link at the end of this extract to read the full article. The punch-a-terf, kill-a-terf message pervades social media, always righteously delivered, chin held high. By contrast, the dehumanised “terfs” themselves, that is gender-critical ...
The Reserve Bank is currently planning tighter banking regulation, requiring banks to hold enough local capital to survive a 1-in-200 year financial crisis in order to protect consumers. The big Aussies banks, those foreign leeches who suck $5 billion in profit out of our economy every year, don't like that, ...
Its the usual story: a police officer beats a handcuffed suspect so hard they break one of their own fingers. The IPCA investigates and concludes that the use of force was unlawful. And the police refuse to do anything about it:A man punched repeatedly in the face by a police ...
From time to time we add links to our blogroll. The latest blog we have added is Freer Lives. This is a Marxist gender-critical blog, based in Melbourne, Australia. On it you will find a bunch of excellent articles which use the tools of Marxist analysis to critique the rise ...
Last Friday say the largest protest in a generation, as 170,000 people joined the school strike and marched to demand real action on climate change. The demands of the school strike were simple and clear: declare a climate emergency, set a climate target of net-zero by 2040, impose a total ...
Labour is a rather middle of the road capitalist party and earlier this year we discussed how far from being ‘transformative’, Ardern’s government is. An article published this week in the Guardian, by Bryce Edwards (political scientist and commentator at Victoria University), looks at Ardern’s business as usual performance. Where ...
In the hours since my last interminable wittering about the possibility of a Government of National Unity (GNU) in Britain, there has been a slight maybe development:A Corbyn-led caretaker government could then sit for several months while it enacted and delivered a referendum with the support of smaller parties and ...
Jeremy Clarkson says much like Greta Thunberg, Anne Frank “didn’t like what was going on”, but “she didn’t have a tantrum about it.” Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has offered praise to historical figure Anne Frank, comparing her favourably to 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg, who he attacked in ...
Speaking at the Council of Trade Unions' (CTU) biennial conference, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters told unionists that any future attacks on the Government won't work. "Now, we are being attacked by the union movement in this country. You can have your views but I'm here to say standing ...
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...
Defence Minister Ron Mark has used his powers to overrule a noise complaint ruling against Whenuapai airbase on the grounds of "national security". The Environment Court last month released a ruling in favour of a private developer, declaring the Auckland airbase had to comply with noise restrictions when it performs ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has opened fire against "unreconstructed morons" after NZ First MP Shane Jones was photographed on holiday holding an AR-15 rifle. Mr Peters is defending Mr Jones, telling Magic Talk host Peter Williams that his MP was just having fun "like most people do". "The ...
New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau was in attendance during the morning blessing of the Rotorua Lakefront development project. Around 60 people gathered on the shores of Lake Rotorua, including city mayor Steve Chadwick and deputy Dave Donaldson. The Lakefront development is a ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones is considering reining in on conversions of farmland to forestry, and also issued a warning to foreign-owned forestry companies that make up nearly 75 per cent of the industry. He said too many foreign companies had not provided enough access for domestic processors to get timber. ...
Speaking to Radio NZ, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the tightening of the parental category visa is a direct result of the Party’s coalition negotiations with the Labour Party. He said the new changes switch the financial onus from the parent moving to New Zealand to the child ...
The Coalition Government is set to cut red tape in the building and construction sector in an effort to allow more houses to be built, including prefabricated houses. The changes will enable the mass factory production of "high quality" buildings, slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced ...
Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to tackle homelessness and make sure everyone has a warm, dry home. And today, on World Homeless Day, we want to report back and update you on our progress so far. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at National Party leader Simon Bridges who criticized the Coalition Government’s approach to crime, and said that the latter isn't credible in his attack on the Government over gang recruitment. "We've got as massive drug problem in this country. It is ...
New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today in Gisborne an investment of $17.27m into bringing “world-leading” food-growing technology and the creation of more than 100 new jobs in the East Coast city. The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, and included a $15 million loan to LeaderBrand, a ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development More than 100 people in Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga Bay will benefit from two employment initiatives supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. “Tolaga Bay is an incredibly tight-knit community, but one in ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is supporting Gisborne business Leaderbrand to produce salad vegetables year round and create more jobs in the Tairāwhiti region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Our support for Leaderbrand will help them build large greenhouses ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has praised the promise by New Zealand’s biggest banks not to close any provincial branches while the Coalition Government trials regional banking hubs across the country. The Minister said the announce was the “first sign of hope for regional communities”, many of which have ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have delivered an upgrade of the SuperGold Card website and a new smartphone app, which will help unlock the full benefits of the SuperGold Card for 750,000 New Zealand seniors.Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters, ...
Delivering a key election campaign promise, New Zealand First is proud to have accomplished a long overdue upgrade of the SuperGold Card today. At an event in Auckland, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters joined Minister for Seniors Hon. Tracey Martin in unveiling the new website and smartphone app which ...
Another busy week, from speaking with world leaders on the world stage about climate change, to equipping our school leavers with everything they need to get ahead in life. ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says Air New Zealand has "an obligation to look after Kiwis", and urged the national carrier not to hike up their prices after Jetstar airline announced their withdrawal from regional flights this week. The Provincial Champion also expressed his disappointment at Jetstar’s decision on ...
New Zealand’s economic strength and resilience has been recognised in a major update on the state of the global economy. The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook released overnight shows a reduced global growth forecast over the next two years as issues like the US-China trade war and Brexit take hold. ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little has today introduced a new Bill to prevent terrorism and support the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill gives the New Zealand Police the ability to apply to the High Court to impose control orders on New Zealanders who ...
A Bill that proposes targeted changes to simplify the processes for Māori land owners when engaging with the Māori Land Court has had its First Reading today. “The approach taken by the Government is to ensure that the protection of Māori land remains a priority as we seek to improve ...
Let me first thank all the new unionists and members in the room. There is nothing more important to improving people’s working lives than people making the decision to care, to get on board and help, to take up the reins and get involved. Congratulations to you. You bring the ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has signed a certificate exempting the activity of engine testing at Whenuapai Airbase from the Resource Management Act 1991. The Act gives the Minister of Defence the power to exempt activities for the purposes of national security. The certificate will mean the recent Environment Court ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced New Zealand will join the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action while attending APEC meetings in Chile. The objective of the 39 member Coalition is to share information and promote action to tackle climate change. It was formed in April this year, in ...
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...
"Let’s start by acknowledging that it has been a huge year. " Police Association Annual Conference James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou katoa. President of the Police Association, Chris Cahill; Members of the Association and ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter welcomes PHARMAC’s move to improve access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). PHARMAC has today announced it will fund the full cost of Mirena and Jaydess for anyone seeking long term contraception, lifting previous restrictions on access to Mirena. “I welcome women having greater choices ...
The Government has approved the next stage of a major redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital, which will deliver new and improved facilities for patients. Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced details of a $300 million dollar project to build a new East Wing at the New Plymouth hospital. It ...
Extra funding will allow Rural Support Trusts to help farming families, says Minister for Rural Communities and Agriculture Damien O’Connor. “I know that rural families are worried about some of the challenges facing them, including the ongoing uncertainty created by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. “Those concerns sit alongside ongoing worries ...
Thank you for the opportunity to be here to present certificates to the 16 graduates who have completed a beekeeping course delivered by the Howard League. Let us start by acknowledging Auckland Prison’s Deputy Prison Director Tom Sherlock, and Acting Assistant Regional Commissioner of Corrections Northern Region Scott Walker - ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson leaves this weekend to attend the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile. Discussions between APEC Finance Ministers at the meeting will include the effects of the current global economic uncertainty, risks for APEC economies and sustainable development of the region. While at APEC Grant Robertson ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says for Pacific people, language can be a source of strength. It can help ground us and give us confidence. When we speak them, our languages provide us with an immediate and intimate access to our identity and our story - and ...
The Coalition Government has announced an action plan to improve the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport. The initiative includes training to develop a workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments, advocacy for fit ...
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through some of the red tape of the Building Act. “Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed further details on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to New Zealand next month. Their Royal Highnesses will visit New Zealand from 17-23 November – their third joint visit to New Zealand and first in four years. They arrive in Auckland ...
Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, heads to Thailand today to attend the final Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting, as negotiations enter their final stages. “The RCEP Agreement would anchor New Zealand in a regional agreement that covers 16 countries, ...
Pacific young people living in the Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Otago regions will have access to support services that have proved successful in helping young people find new earning and learning opportunities. “Tupu Aotearoa is about changing Pacific young peoples’ lives. Our young people are talented, they are smart, they ...
Introduction As the Minister for ACC I thank you all for the work that you do supporting New Zealanders in their literally most vulnerable moments. From those who hold people’s lives in their hands, to the people who research technique, technology and trends, your work is highly valued. A special ...
Notes prepared for speeches in Christchurch – Wednesday 9 October 2019 Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There ...
Minister of Health Dr David Clark and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare say this year’s World Mental Health Day theme is a reminder of why the Government’s work on mental health is so important. “This year the World Federation for Mental Health has made suicide prevention the main theme ...
Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni will represent the government at Australia’s Meeting of Cultural Ministers in Adelaide this week. “This year’s meeting is special because New Zealand is expected to become an International Member of the Meeting of Cultural Ministers at this Australian forum,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “The meeting is an opportunity to ...
The Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service has resolved 608 insurance and EQC claims in its first year in operation, Minister Megan Woods has announced. The government service, which celebrates its first birthday today, provides a one stop shop to help Cantabrians still battling to get their homes repaired or rebuilt ...
Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There has been an increasing amount of attention paid to the outlook ...
The Government is acting swiftly to strengthen NZTA’s regulatory role following a review into the Transport Agency, and Ministry of Transport’s performance as its monitor, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. An independent review by Martin Jenkins has found NZTA failed to properly regulate the transport sector under the previous ...
The Netherlands and New Zealand have a long-standing and close relationship based on many shared interests and values. We value the rule of law, our democracies, and multilateralism. And we value our environment – at home and globally. Right now there are major global challenges in all of these areas – ...
The Government is putting right a decade’s worth of underpayment to nurses, doctors and other health workers, says Health Minister Dr David Clark. Initial sampling of District Health Boards payroll records has found that around $550-$650 million is owed to DHB staff to comply with the Holidays Act. It’s expected ...
A strong surplus and low debt show the economy is performing well, and means the Government is in a good position to meet the challenges of global economic uncertainty. “The surplus and low levels of debt show the economy is in good shape. This allows the Government to spend more ...
New applications from mining company OceanaGold to purchase land in Waihi for new tailings ponds associated with its gold mines have been approved. Minister of Finance Grant Robertson and Associate Minister of Finance David Parker considered the applications under the Overseas Investment Act. Earlier this year, applications from OceanaGold to ...
New Zealanders in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay will witness Māori, Pākehā and Pacific voyaging traditions come together today as the Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla assembles for the first time, Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Minister Kelvin Davis says. “Tuia 250 is a national commemoration and an opportunity for honest conversations ...
Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker leaves tomorrow for Dubai, London and Berlin for a series of meetings to advance New Zealand’s trade interests. In Dubai he will visit New Zealand’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 where construction is underway. There he will meet Minister of State for International Cooperation, Her ...
Confirmation that PHARMAC will fund two new cancer drugs is further evidence of the good progress the Government is making to improve the treatment of New Zealand’s leading cause of death, Health Minister David Clark says. From 1 December PHARMAC will fund alectinib (Alecensa) for ALK positive advanced non-small cell ...
An additional $2.7 million has been announced for the Government Strategy for Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation on the first anniversary of the strategy’s launch. Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson gave the opening address to the first Sport NZ Women + Girls Summit in Wellington today, ...
As part of its work to ensure businesses can get the skilled workers they need, the Coalition Government is re-opening and re-setting the Parent Category visa programme, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. The move will: support skilled migrants who help fill New Zealand’s skills gaps by providing a pathway for ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on outgoing Porirua Mayor Mike Tana to repay money clocked up on his ratepayer-funded fuel card for personal travel. The Ernst and Young report released yesterday reveals that, within less than three ...
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, a new hole-in-the-wall eatery in Auckland dedicated to New Zealand’s favourite snack.Cheese On Toast has unsavoury connotations for a lot of New Zealand music fans, but now you can wash that bad taste out ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Md Arif Hasan, PhD candidate, Victoria University of Wellington CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert ...
There’s an innovation renaissance brewing in post-earthquake Christchurch as multicultural entrepreneurship replaces the old boys’ network. This required a new name, writes Steven Moe.An unusual name that evokes images from Harry Potter is fine by the Ministry of Awesome, because it immediately sets it apart. Founded in the aftermath of ...
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and Ngā Tāngata Microfinance endorse the Salvation Army’s call for tougher regulations on debt collectors and mechanisms to provide forgiveness or waivers for debts to private lenders and Government that are "effectively ...
Cotton On members are currently negotiating a new Collective Agreement with their employer, but despite the company’s repeated claims that they will provide “a pathway to the living wage”, a “people first focus” and a “commitment to ...
Today the Wellington Howard League releases the results of its fourth annual Wellington Howard League prison survey. The survey suggests a variation in the conditions experienced across prisons in New Zealand and an overall decline in most aspects surveyed. This ...
Some people go for a run to let off steam after work, while others try their hand at ballroom dancing or hit up a pub quiz. And some, as Greta Yeoman discovers, throw sharp objects at walls. She gives it a go.An uncoordinated, anxious journalist with terrible aim is probably ...
A move by Australia's financial regulator could be enough to turn the big banks' threat to ditch New Zealand into a reality - or at least see them charge customers more. ...
A staffing survey carried out by the senior doctors’ union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, has found a gaping shortfall of hospital specialists at the Northland DHB. ...
Iain Lees-Galloway has defended granting residency to a man with multiple drink-driving convictions saying the person had been in the country for 20 years and had kept out of trouble for a long time. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Industrial relations Luke Malpass (Stuff): Winston Peters holds the keys to new union laws. Will ...
Yes we fully support Minister of transport plan to use special speed cameras finally catching all speeding trucks, and other vehicles on our narrow single lane roads that are not fit to use as a speedway by any vehicle. ...
This afternoon Fish & Game posted a public statement responding to my email to supporters this morning – specifically rejecting our claim that steel shot is now deemed "enhanced penetration ammunition" and therefore possession of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mandie Shean, Lecturer, School of Education, Edith Cowan University Two-thirds of young people experience levels of exam stress that mental health organisation ReachOut describes as “worrying”. Research shows high levels of exam stress can interfere with attention and reduce working memory, leading ...
The National Party's outrage that the Immigration Minister granted residency to a protected person and recidivist drink driver, entitling them to the same benefits as New Zealanders, has backfired. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Beckett, Lecturer in Media and Communications, University of Melbourne Reports of Facebook moderators’ appalling working conditions have been making headlines worldwide. Workers say they are burning out as they moderate vast flows of violent content under pressure, with vague, ever-changing guidelines. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Lycett, Senior Research Officer, Deakin University; Honorary Fellow, The University of Melbourne, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Three simple factors can predict whether a child is likely to be overweight or obese by the time they reach adolescence: the child’s body mass ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Marshall, Lecturer, Landscape Architecture and Urban Ecology, University of Melbourne You may mock the national anthem by singing “Our land abounds in nature strips” but what you might not know is how true that is. In Melbourne, for example, more than ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University It’s unlikely Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets basketball team, realised he’d be sparking an international diplomatic incident when, on October 4, he tweeted the following Stand with Hong ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pressure on government from unions, mosque attack victim widows turned down for residency, and another Nat eyes safe Botany seat nomination.Pressure is being put on the government to deliver on one of their major promises to the union movement, reports the NZ ...
It’s the end of an era at Three as MAFS NZ and Guy Williams’ new show canceled and 7 Days cut to bone, writes Duncan Greive.A trio of shows which have been amongst Three’s most important local productions are either being canceled or severely cut back, as the channel’s agonising ...
'Joker' expects viewers not only to understand its cruelty, but to understand the justified violence of a white man when the protests of black men and women in the US are regularly met with condemnation, vilification and exclusion. ...
She runs the women's Aussie Rules and netball programmes at one of Australia's oldest sports clubs, so why is Jane Woodlands-Thompson sitting on the Silver Ferns bench? ...
As someone with a severe chronic illness, Hannah McGowan has a vested interest in getting to the bottom of what cannabis can and can’t do for her health. The reality, she discovers, is complicated.Woo [colloq.]: Mystical, supernatural or pseudo-scientific beliefs not backed up by evidence. I crave a well informed, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The last PM shock jock Alan Jones slapped down was Jacinda Ardern. His language was particularly offensive, advertisers deserted his program and he apologised to New Zealand’s leader. But at least Ardern didn’t have to ...
By Michael Andrew and Sri Krishnamurthi The true story of one of the Pacific’s great waka builders and sailor has been captured in a stirring and visually gripping documentary. Loimata: The Sweetest Tears follows the final years of Ema Siope, a Samoan born kiwi who endured a tumultuous past ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Cowie, Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity Around one-third of Australians living with hepatitis C have been cured in the last four years. Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C is ...
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. Image AsiaPacificReport.nz/RNZ.Commentators across the political spectrum seem to agree – the Labour-led Government’s popularity is being damaged by its failure to deliver in Jacinda Ardern’s self-proclaimed “Year of Delivery”. Instead, the delivery of bad news to Labour and the Government has come in ...
Internet Service Providers have cautiously greeted the news that the Government is exploring an internet filter for violent extremist and terrorist content. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Polls Richard Harman (Politik): Ardern now dependent on Peters Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern still standing, but ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Austin, Professor UNSW Canberra Cyber, UNSW This is part of a new series looking at the national security challenges facing Australia, how our leaders are responding to them and how these measures are impacting society. Read other stories in the series ...
Researchers from Lincoln University are investigating how to use nanotechnology in agriculture to increase productivity and reduce environmental impact. ...
The increased presence of anti-trans and white supremacist stickers around the University of Auckland campus is proof that inaction is enabling hate groups, write Anisha Sankar and Max Whitehurst.Anisha Sankar is a Chennai-born, Te Awakairangi-raised, South Indian Tamil studying at the University of Auckland. Max Whitehurst is a transgender Pākehā ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Following the Christchurch mosque shootings, the New Zealand government’s first response was to ban the firearms the alleged gunman had used to murder 51 people. Seven months later, the second tranche of this process ...
The nine members for the next three year term of the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) for Auckland have been appointed by the statutory Selection Body. Their appointments begin on 1 November 2019 and continue to 31 October 2022. Mana Whenua ...
“If we are truly to solve the challenge of poverty within the Te Ao Maori world we must lift our people from the low wage and low skills growth side of the economy. At the same time we must continue to ensure our people, no matter where they are, ...
Alex Casey asks Rose Stewart from Family Planning every single question she can think of about New Zealand’s new free IUDs. Listen up, womb-owners who love free shit and long-term contraceptive options: Pharmac announced that they will be fully funding two new long-lasting, reversible contraceptives in New Zealand from November 1, ...
Patients are increasingly being turned away for treatment and there can be no more excuses from the Government over properly funding district health boards to boost specialist numbers in public hospitals, says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the ...
Today’s Council of Trade Unions’ report, Fair Pay Agreements: A Framework for Fairness , provides a much-needed pathway to fair wages and conditions across several major industries, and the Government must deliver on its promise to introduce FPAs ...
The Speaker has limited the number of questions Simon Bridges can ask in the House as a punishment for the National Party defying Trevor Mallard by not pulling down their attack ads. ...
Sunshine capital? Check. Rich artisan tradition? Check. Incredible sausages? That’s a big check. We’ve put together a list of all you need to know before you explore the truly gorgeous Nelson region this summer. If you’ve got friends or relatives visiting Aotearoa, top of their list should be sorting out their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University In the four years since the Paris climate agreement was adopted, countries have debated the fine print of how emissions reduction should be tracked and ...
The flight drink company 1Above, partly-owned by the high profile, venture capital fund Movac and businessman Gareth Morgan, is in liquidation owing almost $10 million. ...
In recent weeks Responsible Campers Association Incorporated (RCAi) has become involved in some high level discussions about our right to camp. This began out of discussion about the disabled who which to participate in Sport and Recreation activities. ...
In their quest for a cashless society the Japanese have beaten New Zealand to its own next-gen shopping experience.New Zealanders are missing out to the Japanese on a Kiwi technology that is set to eliminate supermarket queues.The first store to implement the SmartCart cashierless shopping system will be in Osaka, ...
If you don’t like Shortland Street, or you’re unconvinced that Michael Galvin actually is a doctor, does that mean all New Zealand television is rubbish? Some say yes. Tara Ward says an emphatic no. The world is our TV oyster, but lately it seems not everyone in Godzone is feeling the ...
The National Party is accusing the Immigration Minister of a "Sroubek 2.0" after revelations he granted residence to a man with multiple drink-driving convictions. ...
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu urges the Crown to ensure that the Establishment Board of the newly formed Institute of Skills and Technology meets its Treaty obligations and addresses the statutory role of iwi as Treaty partners in redesigning the education ...
The top-selling food magazine in New Zealand is closing its print operation. Niki Bezzant, Healthy Food Guide‘s former editor, reflects on the challenges the title faced.The news that after 14 years and 176 issues Healthy Food Guide magazine is closing its print operation came as a shock to some. It ...
A unique deal saw Sky buy the rugby rights and sell some of itself to NZ Rugby. Trevor McKewen breaks down what it all means.The news came thick and fast over a remarkable five-day corporate slugfest, starting last Thursday. First, Spark Sport struck, gobbling up New Zealand Cricket’s domestic broadcasting ...
In what’s thought to be the last piece of writing Peter Wells completed before he died, he wonders about his great-grandfather, and the locket he wore all his life. ‘The Story of a Locket’ is published in part here, and features in the extraordinary collection of essays Queer Objects, released this ...
Relationship expert Holly Dixon explains why the entire Married at First Sight franchise is based on bunk science.As the third MAFS NZ season has come to an end, I thought it relevant to answer the question upon which the entire MAFS enterprise is built: Is it possible to predict attraction and ...
SkyCity Casino workers will be on strike and picketing today as Rob Campbell, the Chair of SkyCity Casino talks to other employers about making pay fair at a “Wellbeing at Work” conference today. ...
He was the prototypical high school nerd, hanging on Don Brash’s every word. Then the financial world turned upside down. This is the story of how Kiwibank’s Jarrod Kerr became a most unconventional economist.In 2008, Jarrod Kerr was working at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia when the global financial crisis ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabriela D’Souza, Affiliate, Monash department of business statistics and econometrics, Monash University For most people the second week in October probably doesn’t hold much promise. Longer days for some, perhaps. But for those is us in the economics profession, come the second ...
Open mike 17/08/2011 
So, Judith Collins has done a Facebook rant about climate change, peddling the same shit National has been shovelling for the past twenty years: the impacts are overstated, there's no need to do anything about it, and its too hard anyway (oh, and its so unfair that people who peddle ...2 hours ago
I came across this song quite by accident. If it isn't one of Greta Thunberg's favourites - it should be.Video courtesy of YouTube.This post is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...2 hours ago
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The Royal Commission on abuse in care is very significant for the disability community. For many decades last century, thousands of disabled children, and adults who managed to survive, were locked away from families and communities. This was not for anything they had done, but for the perceived threat their ...1 day ago
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Interesting comment re the riots in England from a scotish and welsh perspective: why are the riots being reported as UK or British when they relate only to a few cities in ENGLAND
Maybe this sort of sentiment is assumed:
“With gratitude for the past and confidence in the future we range ourselves without fear beside Britain. Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand.”
Meh, my Scottish and Irish mates are laughing their asses off at the English falling apart. They always knew it would happen.
đ That’s why I have a problem with Scottish and Irish people – especially the Irish. Schadenfreude is their thing! (My Scottish-descended mother made my English father’s life hell – I used to pray that he would divorce her, when I was a child. Not to mention her constantly rubbing in that she came from a higher social class than he did)
Vicky, I am a Scot; whenever a Scot wins a medal at the Olympics, they are a Brit, when they are English, they are, simply, English.
If Andy Murray ever wins Wimbledon, he’ll be British, but as he continues to flop, he’ll continue to be Scottish.
Whenever England football fans riot, they are British, when they behave they mysteriously become British.
It should also be noted that generally speaking the first ‘cannon fodder’ in both world wars were from where?
Had to laugh my arse off the other day when I read the Labour Party in Scotland (having been trounced in recent Scottish elections for being out of touch and arrogant….jeez, that’s a familiar refrain for Labour Parties that, innit?) was having a go at the SNP for daring to point out that the riots were English. Not Scottish. Not British. Just English. And further, that Scottish society was very different to English society.
As a commentator in one of the Scottish papers pointed out (paraphrasing) the underclass in Scotland …or any class, bar the public school class of whatever year class… would baulk at being seen to be taking directions from English sources.
Were they responsible in the first place?
Many teenage girls getting pregnant and relying on a benefit have not exactly excelled in self control, self management and responsibility.
Yes, state welfare has to fork out so they can live.
No, it shouldn’t automatically be a free pass with no responsibilities or requirements.
Morning Pete, two consecutive comments so far today that make no sense. Are you going to go for the trifecta?
I hope so. Although the TAB payout is so minimal I should still earn myself a hot chocolate with the bet.
Hi Pete just a brief summary from the Wiki article on teenage pregnancy.
How about you have a read and then get back on the notion of âresponsibilityâ…
1. Poverty is associated with increased rates of teenage pregnancy
2. Women exposed to abuse, domestic violence, and family strife in childhood are more likely to become pregnant as teenagers, and the risk of becoming pregnant as a teenager increases with the number of adverse childhood experiences
3. Studies have also found that boys raised in homes with a battered mother, or who experienced physical violence directly, were significantly more likely to impregnate a girl
4. Studies have also found that girls whose fathers left the family early in their lives had the highest rates of early sexual activity and adolescent pregnancy. Girls whose fathers left them at a later age had a lower rate of early sexual activity, and the lowest rates are found in girls whose fathers were present throughout their childhood
5. Low educational expectations have been pinpointed as a risk factor.
6. Teenage pregnancy is also attributed the occurrence of adolescent pregnancy to a breakdown of communication between parents and child and also to inadequate parental supervision
7. Foster care youth are more likely than their peers to become pregnant as teenagers.
8. Teens exposed to the most sexual content on TV are twice as likely as teens watching less of this material to become pregnant before they reach age 20
9. More than 80% of teen pregnancies are unintended
10. There is little evidence to support the common belief that teenage mothers become pregnant to get benefits, welfare, and council housing. Most knew little about housing or financial aid before they got pregnant and what they thought they knew often turned out to be wrong
11. A UK study found that 70% of women who gave birth in their teens had experienced adolescent domestic violence.
12. Teenage girls who are pregnant or mothers are more likely to commit suicide than girls who aren’t pregnant or mothers
13. One study in 2001 found that women who gave birth during their teens completed secondary-level schooling 10â12% as often as those who didn’t, and pursued post-secondary education 14â29% as often as women who waited until age 30 to have children.
14. Teenage Motherhood may actually make economic sense for young women with less money, some research suggests. For instance, long-term studies by Duke economist V. Joseph Hotz and colleagues, published in 2005, found that by age 35, former teen moms had earned more in income, paid more in taxes, were substantially less likely to live in poverty and collected less in public assistance than similarly poor women who waited until their 20s to have babies
15. What appears crucial to success is that adolescents know where they can go to obtain information and services, can get there easily and are assured of receiving confidential, non-judgmental care, and that these services and contraceptive supplies are free or cost very little. In addressing high rates of unplanned teen pregnancies, scholars agree that the problem must be confronted from both the biological and cultural contexts.
Iâm sure there is plenty more ‘real’ research out there, if you were interested in looking, but I guess your prejudices suit you just fine.
Now that’s the kind of information people need to know.Â
Good stuff rosy!Â
Thanks, Puddlegum. A diverse lot aren’t we? (women who have children while teenagers, that is).
I can’t believe I forgot the one that got me started on the whole ‘responsibility’ thing…
Anyway, I guess this post has gone in the into PeteG’s ‘do not reply’ bucket.
Jeez, Squirrel boy, thats rather nasty of you…
The best way to mitigate teenage pregnancy is to ensure that those at risk are properly engaged in the school system rather than fall through the cracks.
In addition, it might piss off the god botherers (their way only causes misery and hatred) , but having increased access to contraceptives and abortion on demand can help here as well. Bob McCroskie can jump of a bridge for all I care.
For those that do make mistakes, funding teen parent units in every school, and alternative schools for those unsuited to the mainstream system would be good as well.
The school system needs to play a big part here. IMO they are too busy trying to attract international students and focusing on their top students to give a shit about those at the bottom.
An unnecessary sneer. You were doing well up until then, but I presume you couldn’t resist dishing out some hatred yourself.
I dunno, I quite like that expression – how about happy clappies or fish badge on the car people?
It’s not getting any better for the Murdochs as the reporter jailed for admitting hacking members of the Royal family dobs in the former NOW editor Andy Coulson and leaves the Murdochs’ evidence in Parliament looking weak at best and outright lies at worst.
The whole edifice is rotten. The rotten Murdochs will be called to answer to a rotten parliament. Credibility minus for all parties…..more riots to come in reaction to further rotten powers given to a rotten police force.
Yep. Big mistake letting someone go to prison for you and not honouring the dishonourable agreement you made with him. Big, big mistake.
How can all this be? Old man Murdoch’s apology in front of the committee was so sincere and moving. He had truly seen the light.
/sarc
Their lawyers have turned on them too having been released from the client privilege thingy.
Today, from the UK, comes another shining example of what happens when you privatise strategic assets such a power companies.
Note the comment further down the article from RWE npower’s Cheif Commercial Officer Kevin Miles
Of course, all of it’s so called rivals are also privately owned.
And in a privately owned power system, there are ticket clippers galore.
And behind the privatised state assets are the rich, the ma and pa investors and the pension fund owners who live amongst us…all holding shares in our servitude. We rub shoulders with our malefactors daily.
Does anyone have any idea as to when the plague of locusts might be due?
As soon as NACT gets re-elected.
Anybody know what the ‘unnamed bill’ is?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/82682/parliament-in-urgency
Newstalk ZB this morning: Simon Power’s office refuses to say what it is, other that it is not related to new policy. Newstalk understands it as being ‘sensitive’ and correcting legislation passed by former Labour Govt…
Dame Lesley Max on “Eight Months to Mars”
Afternoons with Jim Mora, Monday August 15, 2011
Take yourself back two and a half years. You’re listening to NewstalkZB, around 11.30 p.m., on Sunday, January 4th, 2009. The internationally condemned Israeli assault on Gaza is at its bloodiest point, and the host Oliver Driver has, unusually for a radio talkback host, been making some intelligent comments about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Showing what happens if there’s a host with a few clues, the standard of talkback this evening has been of an exceptionally high standard. But at 11:30, the calibre, temper and tone of the discussion plummet catastrophically.
A particularly harsh and adamant woman, identifying herself as “Lesley”, is on the line. She is having none of this namby-pamby so-called sympathy for the victims.
LESLEY: These people are terrorists and they deserve everything that is happening to them. I’ve just come back from Israel, and I can tell you the Arabs are happy. These people in Gaza are terrorists!
OLIVER DRIVER: But the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations say the people killed are almost entirely women and children.
LESLEY: Nonsense! I’ve just come back from Israel.
OLIVER DRIVER: Human Rights Watch and B’tselem have condemned Israel, and they unequivocally call it a massacre.
LESLEY: Absolute nonsense! I have just come back from Israel, and I saw NOTHING that suggested there was ANY trouble at all!
OLIVER DRIVER: So let me get this right, Lesley. You’re saying that the Red Cross, and all of the the U.N. observers, and Human Rights Watch, and Doctors Without Borders, and the doctors and nurses from the hospitals in Gaza, and all those reporters—they’re all wrong?
LESLEY: [snarling] Yes they are WRONG! All of them! You see, these people are TERRORISTS….
Cue ten minutes more of uninterrupted hateful ranting. Finally, the host decides enough is enough….
OLIVER DRIVER: Okay. Thank you very much for your call, Lesley.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Oliver Driver, clearly shaken and disturbed by that call, gave no indication that he knew the identity of “Lesley”. He would no doubt have been surprised to learn that she was in fact a prominent member of the Auckland social scene, and a recipient of royal honours for her charity work with disadvantaged children.
The caller was none other than Dame Lesley Max, who lives a bizarre double life, balancing out the good work she does—urban tree-planting and running a children’s charity—by obsessively monitoring talkback radio and barking out intolerant rants as in the example above. If you suffer from insomnia some time, tune in to NewstalkZB or Radio Live for a few minutes: chances are pretty good that you’ll hear Dame Lesley shouting her crazed and unconditional support for Israel over the airwaves.
Late-night and early-morning talk radio is not her only outlet, though. In January 2002, during another time of escalated Israeli aggression, this time in the occupied West Bank, Dame Lesley was the guest of Chris Laidlaw on his Sunday morning show. Throughout the interview, she refused to call the victims “Palestinians”, and insisted on calling them “terrorists”—in fact, she managed to use the word “terrorists” no less than TWENTY times. (I counted.) Laidlaw never once pulled her up, or challenged her use of language.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It was with considerable interest, therefore, that I learned Monday’s guest for the “Eight Months to Mars” segment on Jim Mora’s programme was to be Dame Lesley Max. “Eight Months to Mars” is supposed to be whimsical and lighthearted, but I just knew that Dame Lesley would not forsake the opportunity to slip in a little pro-Israel propaganda if she could possibly get away with it. And in the affable and indulgent Jim Mora, she had the perfect vehicleâŚ.
JIM MORA: And who, Dame Lesley Max, would you like to accompany you on this voyage to Mars?
DAME LESLEY MAX: Oh! There are so MANY! Let me see. I would have Lady Diana Cooper, Bill Clinton (LOVE that Southern accent!), Theodore Dalrymple—
MORA: Oh yes! Isn’t he amazing!
DAME LESLEY: He’s just lovely! I spent a simply entrancing afternoon with him once. [1]
MORA: He’s just a brilliant man!
DAME LESLEY: I would also have to have along with me Dr Zoe During, Charles Dickens, Kathryn Ryan!
MORA: Oh yes. Ha ha ha ha ha!
DAME LESLEY: Boris Johnson, Stephen Fry, and Richard Burton—as long as he doesn’t bring along his cigarettes!
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha! But what a voice he had!
DAME LESLEY: What I like about these people is the breadth of their minds, and the wit of their conversation. Did you see Boris Johnson on Who Do You Think You Are?, Jim?
MORA: No.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
MORA: Let’s talk about you, now. What makes you such a humanitarian worker?
DAME LESLEY: My mother was very empathetic.
MORA: You had a happy, idyllic North Shore childhood?
DAME LESLEY: I was a voracious reader. So I knew early on that all the world was not like my home in Milford, I was fully aware that children get killed. I guess that desire for protecting the vulnerable is just embedded in me, in my DNA. I dunno.
MORA: Interesting you’d take Dalrymple to Mars because he laments the providential role of the state.
DAME LESLEY: Mmmmmm.
MORA: So you are trying to AWAKEN the human spirit.
DAME LESLEY: Mmmmm. Definitely.
MORA: And what keepsakes would you take with you? See, these are the little things that fascinate me.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
MORA: If an alien asked you to describe the planet Earth, what would you say?
DAME LESLEY: Oh, I would say that it was full of plenty, beauty, happiness, starvation, misery, oppression. [2] All of those things.
MORA: What would you miss about Earth?
DAME LESLEY: Gardens, trees [3], grass, water [4], hills.
MORA: What would you be glad to leave behind?
DAME LESLEY: News of babies being kicked to death. Distortion and malice arising from journalistic malpractice. I’m thinking here of those poor, defamed Israeli victims of the earthquake.
MORA: You’re finding anti-Semitism everywhere, more and more?
DAME LESLEY: [carefully] No, I wouldn’t like to call it anti-Semitism. But there was an unholy glee in the media. It was like a cat bringing a dead mouse into the house and batting it about to see if it can get a bit more out of it.
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha! That’s a GREAT analogy! All right, let’s go to your last musical choice.
DAME LESLEY: This is Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti singing a duet from Rigoletto.
MORA: All the best with your work, Dame Lesley. It’s SO important.
[1] Obviously Dame Lesley hasn’t actually READ much of DalrympleâŚ.
http://www.democratsdiary.co.uk/2008/02/enlightenment-or-unreason-william.html
[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wd_1PEtAF8
[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjLGeZ2q6Ac
[4] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qbRSPN3RJg
Tell Jim Mora (politely but clearly) what you think of his providing an uninterrupted forum to people like Dame Lesley Max. His email address isâŚ.
afternoons@radionz.co.nz
I’ve made a point to email Jim to ask him for more people like Lesley to appear on his show in future.
Iâve made a point to email Jim to ask him for more people like Lesley to appear on his show in future.
I have no problem with him talking to anybody, even a canting hypocrite like Dame Lesley Max. What I object to is his failure to challenge or to even demur at some of the outrageous and offensive things people like her say.
In this case, it was Mora himself who made the ridiculous and cranky charge that investigating Israelis is anti-Semitism. Dame Lesley was smart enough to resile from the statement, and make herself seem sensible and restrained.
She must have been very pleased that Mora had done the crude defamatory work for her, and let her, on this occasion, seem to rise above it.
It won’t be a problem Lower standard Joyce will privatize it to so we will hear only what they want us to hear no independent point of view .Fox news i suspect oh no my emails are being hacked as we speak
I sent a short but polite email off to afternoons@radionz.co.nz after Monday’s panel. The complete fabrication of data they discussed regarding the Iowa Straw Poll is a telling portent of our coming Election. Perhaps, just perhaps if the community presents them with requests for the most basic journalistic integrity, then they will at least reduce the fabrication, even if it does not lead to any more balance in the content.
I include the email below
I would sincerely accept criticism or comment as a basis towards understanding viewpoints of National Radio broadcasting standards at this time, especially leading up to is expected to be the most socially radical and economically pivotal election in decades.
” To whom it may concern
I have been increasingly worried by many of the views recently
expressed on the panel. It is a rare day i hear anything attempting to portray a factual, an
honest or even a balanced view of the current political and financial
situation in New Zealand or abroad.
Today though i was simply disgusted by the tragically innacurate
statements made earlier regarding the Iowa Straw Poll. That later
paled with the arrogant and ignorant comments broadcast by a panelist
in regards to food costs. I respectfully ask that you please remind
your panelists 3/4 of New Zealand do not live in Auckland. Not
everyone has access to a farmer’s market.
The elitist attitude being fomented by your panel is progressively
costing you listeners. I have been a listener of the show for many years and I personally
know a dozen people or more who no longer listen and i find myself not
listening more often. More basic research, honest journalism and less
parroting of press releases might go a long way to reversing the
trend.
As a State-owned broadcaster, there are responsiblities aligned
with your privilidged positions, the most demanding must be to
accurately broadcast information.
I posit you are failing your responsibilties
sincerely
(name witheld)”
Well done, freedom! Tell your friends to protest by email as well.
In the meantime, mik e, you should tell Jim Mora (politely but clearly) what you think of his providing a propaganda forum for the likes of Dame Lesley Max. His email address isâŚ.
afternoons@radionz.co.nz
Yeah he’s lets his guests waffle on about any thing they like but he also has Bernard Hickey Cris Trotter Bomber Bradbury .But he is a right whinger because soon as they have finished he denigrates them ever so subtlely.
I have stopped listening to Jim Mora these days, he just gets on my nerves more and more!
Just a question – what earthquake was she referring to?
Christchurch, Feb 2011. The Israelis were the suspected Mossad agents.
Oh thanks, I had misunderstood…
I have stopped listening to Jim Mora these days, he just gets on my nerves more and more!
Well then, you need to tell him that, politely of course. You might like to mention your disgust at the way he encourages people like Dame Lesley Max and Stephen Franks and Dr. Michael Bassett, instead of challenging them….
afternoons@radionz.co.nz
Thanks Morrissey, I will!
Lesley Max has a chapter all to herself in a book on the New Zealand Jewish community published a few years back. Needless to say, she spends an inordinate amount of space on New Zealanders’ supposed “misconceptions” about “poor old Israel”.
In your RNZ rendition (above), she appears wonderfully ignorant of not only ‘Theodore Dalrymple’s’ strong criticism of Israel (and of Conrad Black’s bias in this regard), but also of Stephen Fry’s membership of the British Independent Jewish Voices – a group, of course, strongly critical of mainstream Jewry’s Israel-Right-Or-Wrong default setting.
…she spends an inordinate amount of space on New Zealandersâ supposed âmisconceptionsâ about âpoor old Israelâ.
She’s a fanatic, and that’s exactly what we would expect of her.
The really disturbing thing about her appearance on Mora’s show was when Mora asked her, in apparent seriousness: “Youâre finding anti-Semitism everywhere, more and more?”
That’s nonsense, of course, and Mora knows it perfectly well. But he still said it. He therefore released Dame Lesley from her fanatic’s duty of saying just that, and allowed her to pose as a moderate: “No, I wouldn’t like to call it anti-Semitism…”
Of course she wouldn’t like to call it anti-Semitism—she didn’t have to, because her infinitely obliging and understanding host did it for her.
It’s irresponsible and a betrayal of his listeners.
You, and others who care about decency and standards, should email Jim and tell him what you think of his behaviour….
afternoons@radionz.co.nz
New to me.
https://americathegrimtruth.wordpress.com/
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/business/5455771/Cost-of-SCF-collapse-still-uncertain
“Finance Minister Bill English said he had not seen the detail of the sale yesterday and it was yet to be seen if the cost to the Government would increase further.
”We have been focused very much on reducing cost to tax-payers through this whole exercise,” he said. ”
quick question Bill, how does one focus on something one has no details of?
Shame that Oliver Driver has moved to the right. He was an interesting talk back host a few years ago but now his show is not worth listening to.
I don’t think he’s moved to the right in his own head, but he has grown intellectually flabby. I think he’s like Jim Mora in many ways—in spite of his misgivings, he bends over backwards to be “impartial”. That means he lets right wing callers have their say, and he will usually try to find common ground with them. I noticed on last Sunday night’s show that he was repeating idiotic far right slogans about the London riots, and didn’t seem to have the courage to say what he no doubt really thinks.
A few years ago, crazed callers like “Lesley” (actually Dame Lesley Max) would at least know they were in for an argument with Oliver, but now, sadly, he seems to have been tamed by the NewstalkZB machine.
Thats the only way you can get a job on talk back these days!being a redneck jerk
Thats the only way you can get a job on talk back these days!being a redneck jerk
You mean, I think, “being a bigoted jerk.” Please don’t use the term “redneck” as a substitute for “bigot”. That’s a slur on working people and farmers. The worst, most pitiless bigots in this country are not “rednecks” but pampered, privileged, complacent businessmen (think Alisdair Thompson) and right-wing commentators (Stephen Franks, Garth George, Paul Holmes, Michael Laws, Christine Rankin, Leighton Smith).
The Press has a story on New Zealand’s own Leonardo da Vinci … the artist formerly known as John Key.
You know that guy in your office who has a job title and a suit and a desk, but you find yourself wondering what he does all day? Apparently, “he does a lot of doodles” …
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/press-communities/5459157/Spot-the-difference
Enjoy the gallery of Key “originals”.
Obviously, they’re all fakes. If they were genuine they’d have an arrow pointing North with ‘Hawaii this way’ written on it.
While David Cameron and co. attempt to pin the recent London riots on some slide in morality, they ignore the historical background – as outlined in this highly illuminating article – that this city has been the traditional site for radical protest and rioting by the English poor for centuries:
Â
Is that the same squeaky clean David Cameron as on these links?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/camerons-cronies-the-bullingdon-clubs-class-of-87-436192.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6860668.ece
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/08/10/david_cameron_riot_condemnation_bullingdon_club_irony
http://www.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJepgOym09dg&rct=j&q=david%20cameron%20bullingham%20club&ei=RFZLTsDLHcm4rAfey4n9Bg&usg=AFQjCNFvx_SCsdbsmUKhLtNKFhrye-u8HQ&cad=rja
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/may/06/daily-mirror-david-cameron-bullingdon-club
The bloke who was a member of the Bullingham Club, a group of toffs who engaged in riot like pranks? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullingdon_Club
The word hypocrite springs to mind!
Yeah – wonder if he’s ever going to dob himself in for past “misdeeds”. Don’t hold your breath.
Yep and Nick Clegg burnt down a greenhouse or two when he was 16… or did he? Good interview Mr Clifford.
Sympathies, enough said
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10745636
Once again, an item about expensive lambs being killed by hypothermia on NZ farms…
The thing is, it happens every year! And every year the news media come over all surprised…. I don’t know why lambing always takes place in winter, and why NZ farmers don’t keep livestock in barns, and afaik never have! When my father came here in 1951, he had been told that NZ was “tropical” – he soon learned different! (It’s got colder every year, yet the farmers pretend surprise as every year their lambs die.)
I’ve recently bough the album ‘Infected’ by The The ($7.99 in the bargain bin at The Warehouse) – my emphasis on notable lines!
Considering this was released in the early 1980’s, how poignant are the lyrics of the song Heartland to the UK riots?
Jeremy Grantham fund manages over US$100B
And this is what he has to say:
PS this man also gets resource depletion.
http://www.gmo.com/websitecontent/JGLetter_Pt2_DangerChildrenatPlay_2Q11.pdf
Anyone hear Joky Hen in The House today waxing lyrical from his prepared speech about the greatness of our current but retiring Governor General.
Shame he didn’t recognise these qualities in the Gov.Gen. when he played along with Paul Henry’s racism on Breakfast TV last year.
Cue for an Andy Williams 1958 classic here
…Are you sincere, when you say, “I love you?”
Are you sincere, when you say, “I’ll be true?” …
The Trial Will Not Be Televised
You might have heard that Hosni Mubarak’s trial is no longer going to be broadcast. He’s being tried for corruption and violence against the protesters in Tahrir Square and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The consequences of justice not being done in this case are significant, but there are bigger implications to what is essentially state control of the media…
Just thought I would mention this; I had morning tea with Tama Iti this morning. What a thoroughly pleasant and respectful bloke.
Â
Listened to a Tuhoe presentation on how they want to improve their community, which was totally clear, whanau focused and thinking long term. I hope many of their people stand for Mana.
Respectful bloke he may be, but as far as I’m concerned, hell can freeze over before his lot get the Urerewas.
Remember, public ownership of our national parks is a core left issue.
Anyone seen this?
and
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/news/5331696/Govt-tries-to-deport-bashed-wife
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dont-deport-Charmain-Timmons-and-her-children/133369646758117?sk=wall
A messy attempt by Kate Wilkinson to tidy things up before the election.
Why has it taken so long to act? A genuine question.
And, why did Wilkinson claim in Parliament that the government would be waiting till after the Commission concluded to act on staffing of mines inspectors but knew at the time that a departmental review was looking into staffing and would report back prior to the Commission announcing its findings?
And, why won’t Wilkinson admit that abolishing the mines inspectorate in the late 90s was a bad idea.
Have a listen
here
but not for the answers …Â
Anybody who gives a damn about the environment should have a read of Idiot/Savant’s latest blog @ NRT. National is purposefully fucking the ETS up by overallocating subsidies. Effectively the public is paying polluters to pollute more, and thus discrediting the scheme entirely. Pisses me right off!
France and Germany Propose Joint Financial Transactions Tax
Surprise surprise high frequency bot traders and big banks don’t like it. I hope Merkel and Sarkozy push it through against the financial sector, and that this is not just a distraction or a feint.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/44163841
what about no rumpty for randy rugby rooters till the a/b’s bring home the bacon.