I think that a short video series could be made about The Standard, under a different name of course such as Mattenklopper (carpet beater – but sounds funkier). It would be a mixture of Red Dwarf and the Time & Space approach seen in S&S. There are certainly plenty of characters to include, could even add aspects of Douglas Adams.
… those were the days before the arrival of the 'pc plus' (plus for exaggerated preciousness) brigade. Sure, there was a lot wrong with society that needed to be corrected but, by and large, people could be themselves without fear of being called out for some imagined slight towards a person/persons on what imo are often spurious grounds.
A good photo of Bob Hawke when young with Sir Peter Abeles, of trucking firm TNT in Australia, an advisor and experienced businessman.
Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Abeles …led the devastation left by World War II, and moved to Australia. After doing small business by selling books and clothing,[2] he quickly befriended George Rockey, a fellow Hungarian immigrant. The pair bought two trucks, which they named “Samson” and “Delilah,” and set up a transport company, “Alltrans.” In 1967, Alltrans merged with Thomas Nationwide Transport, and the combined companies became TNT Ltd…
In 1979 Abeles entered into an agreement with media mogul Rupert Murdoch to take over Ansett Transport Industries. He served as chief executive and joint managing director from 1982 until 1992. In September 1992 he left TNT to concentrate his efforts on the ailing Ansett, but just two months later he stepped down from the airline as well.
In addition to his work for TNT and Ansett, Abeles served on the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia, and was chairman of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation.
Abeles was friends with Bob Hawke and during Hawke’s time as Prime Minister, Abeles was Hawke’s witness to the Kiribilli Agreement of 1988 in which he agreed to hand over the Prime Ministership to Paul Keating if and after Hawke had won the 1990 election.
This "good bloke" came to New Zealand in 1980 and expressed amusement at and contempt for our Saturday trading laws, which had not yet been "liberalized" like Australia's. That was an inkling that he was, despite being the head of ACTU, anything but a friend and ally of working people.
His cowardly and craven behaviour five years later, as Australian Prime Minister, after the Rainbow Warrior bombing, showed he was no friend of human rights protestors either.
Compare the wages of Australian and New Zealand workers, then tell us which political leaders have been their friends and allies over the last few decades. Tripartite bargaining initiated by Hawke is a huge part of that. He contributed far more than any armchair warrior.
It seems that every western political leader gets the privilege of having their history whitewashed and their legacy's rehabilitated, just look at Reagan, or more recently McCain…
I also believe that the start of Sunday trading was the single worst loss of workers rights in NZ IMO.
honestly Morrissey, you are the most pedantic [person] on the internet.
are you saying Saturday trading shouldn’t be allowed? When do students work? After they’ve finished their studies each night?
Bob hawke oversaw the greatest advancement of workers rights and wage growth since the 50’s for the average worker in Australia. And all you can do is sniff about the fact he laughed at our fortress New Zealand antiquarian weekend trading laws.
I haven’t voted labour in a while. And I never will if you have anything to do with what labour should look like.
[deleted] oxygen thief. [deleted] All sensation and no substance
I also "sniffed" about his cowardice and depravity, viz. his failure to support New Zealand after the French state attacked us in 1985, and his support for U.S., British, French and Israeli nuclear terror.
Neochristian option looks better. Remember christians are born unhappy. Flagellation. Hair shirts. Original sin. Join Alfred & co!
So the best way to compete in the political arena is to morph the holier than thou traditional elitist stance into unhappier than thou. Winner gets to be closest to God, and unhappiest…
One of the greatest 'gifts' my parents gave me was to state that "we just want you to be happy." If satisfaction, endurance and being useful bring you happiness, then go for it.
The Stoics differentiated between 'good', 'bad', and 'indifferent' things. The good things include the cardinal virtues wisdom, justice, courage, and self-discipline. The bad things include the opposites of these virtues, namely the four vices folly, injustice, cowardice, and indulgence.
Edit : #8 Amor Fati – Love Everything that Happens That is very bold. It would require taking on everything and accepting it with some resignation as ‘that’s life, you win some you lose some’ sort of thing. Which would take some gumption. I think there might be a good market for gumption if someone finds out how to bottle it.
As I have said before I don't normally recommend books as we all have our different tastes but I found this book a bit of a fun thing to read. "The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck" by Mark Manson
"Since last Friday, Honduras has been rocked by growing strikes and demonstrations by teachers, health care workers, high-school and university students and their supporters against legislation that facilitates budget cuts, mass firings and the privatization of public education and the healthcare system.
The government of Juan Orlando Hernández (known as JOH) —a continuation of the regime installed by a US-backed coup in 2009— mobilized riot police to repress protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets and beatings.
Since the 2009 coup, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the Honduran military budget has tripled, to a proportion of the GDP not seen since 1990. This doesn’t include hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid from the Pentagon, which uses its military bases in Honduras as a launching platform for interventions across the region.
María Dilia Paz, a teacher demonstrating in Tegucigalpa on Monday, described her conditions to TeleSur, “We do everything we can to make ends meet. You know how the electrical service is, and if you are late one day they cut you off. Our children at times go with little food. They don’t get snacks because we don’t have any.”
The 65,000 teachers in the country get paid hourly wages at poverty levels—between $2.70 and $3.80 per hour of classes.
The think-tank on external debt Fosdeh has calculated that debt servicing will exceed 45 billion lempiras (US$1.85 billion) this year. This would amount to nearly a third of the total government budget.
The Finance Secretariat, calculates that business tax exemptions will amount to 37 billion lempiras ($1.5 billion) this year. Meanwhile, the average salary for the 132,000 workers making clothes, auto parts and other products at maquiladoras is $40 per week.
In other words, in the most unequal country of the Americas, billions are transferred each year from the wealth created by the working class to the financial and corporate elites through debt payments and tax exemptions, while more than 60 percent of the population lives in poverty."
The government of Juan Orlando Hernández (known as JOH) —a continuation of the regime installed by a US-backed coup in 2009— mobilized riot police to repress protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets and beatings.
I'm sure we'll see repeated screenings of the riot police on the TV News tonight, like they do for anything involving Venezuela. /sarc
Exactly right, it is of little wonder that there is so little buy in most main stream media, especially in respect to their international news, their selective narrative often ends up turning into straight out lies.
Poor kids are often trouble-makers. In "the 2017 Honduran general election … Hernández was declared the winner by a narrow margin (0.5%), after a reelection campaign widely criticized as fraudulent".
"In late 2012, 1540 persons were interviewed by ERIC in collaboration with the Jesuit university, as reported by Associated Press. This survey found that 60.3% believed the police were involved in crime, 44.9% had "no confidence" in the Supreme Court, and 72% thought there was electoral fraud in the primary elections of November 2012. Also, 56% expected the presidential, legislative and municipal elections of 2013 to be fraudulent." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honduras
So Honduras & Venezuela seem similar in respect of cursory incorporation of democratic processes – failure to make them operate in an authentic efficient manner.
I think it was an Oliver Stone movie, El Salvador, back in the eighties that made it all super-vivid. Those American nuns being raped & murdered by regime thugs (happened some years earlier in real life). But I read the Wikipedia page on Honduran politics earlier today and discovered the country has been run by two establishment parties since the 19th century. They even have proportional representation!
After apparent failures with the Conservatives, the new conservatives, the new new conservatives, the blue-greenish (not really) party, National are having another go at creating a puppet party to pretend they have friends
So, another 0.1% polling ACT party with a gifted seat (assuming the good people of Botany show their sheep mentality and vote as their corporate masters ask them)
And looks like Ngaro will resign from the National Party, National won't invoke the Waka Jumping bill, Ngaro will create his new party and then stand in Botany next year at the election.
Bob McCoskrie supports the new party, with such glowing praise as:
…they may need to hold their noses and vote for a candidate who they normally wouldn't vote for.
You know you are onto a winner, when someone who should be a very enthusiastic supporter describes you as one would a turd…
Good analysis & I agree Vernon Tava's enterprise can be reasonably described as blue-green (not really) since perceptions prevail over reality nowadays.
"Family First's Bob McCoskrie has shared a podium with Ngaro on a number of occasions, as recently as this week. He says there's definitely a gap in the choice facing the voter wanting to cast their ballot for a morally conservative party."
I guess they'll be considering inviting Israel Folau to cross the ditch. John Key would be keen to support anyone called Israel, so it'd just be a question of which electorate to stand him in. Epsom?
I reckon the moral conservative vote is a goer – but would it pass the 4% mark set by the last such option? Ngaro taking Botany does of course negate the necessity to achieve the MMP threshold. McCoskrie ought to stand with him to demonstrate that he's willing to put his money where is mouth is. Fundies in parliament would be a source of inanities that could make the Nat leader look good by comparison.
Israel the name, Ngaro says he is a Zionist; young Israel is good looking, brown, sporting hero, appears to have integrity and appeals to the Real Man phalanx, would appeal to the diatribe (literally )of eager-beaver Brian T and his followers, appear to be a voice for the poor brown cuzzies not being offered much by Labour Coalition and feeling disillusioned, that's if they had previous illusions anyway – yes there are possibilities there.
Yeah, ticks all the boxes, eh? Someone ought to ask him if he wants to be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond (Jesus called himself a fisher of men).
Good fishing theme there. He might have to watch that he doesn't get filleted by those Gnats. And we should beware that there isn't an evolution to piranha biting into our body politic.
If someone is trying to make a decent point in an utterly ridiculous manner, is it still a decent point?
Yes, satellites are extremely vulnerable. If conflict does break out in space, Kessler Syndrome is a very real possibility that could make many of the most important orbits unusable.
It would be easy to launch a satellite-killer rocket to create massive clouds of debris, or launch an EMP nuke. Hell, North Korea is just one of many states that probably have the capability for both right now, even Rocket Lab has the launch capability but not the nuke. The time between launch and the shit seriously happening is mere minutes. Then there's all the opportunities for cybermalice against satellites.
Protection from all of that cannot come from military countermeasures against a launched rocket. It's simply not physically possible. It can only come from international agreement and co-operation. That is the reality that makes the idea of a "Space Force" for protecting satellites utterly ridiculous.
The Point In Time Count, organised by the Housing First Collective one night last September, spanned from Wellsford in the north, across to Waiheke Island and south to Waiuku.
Its findings show of the 800 people estimated to have been living without shelter that night, nearly 43 percent of were Māori, with a similar number of Māori living in temporary accommodation. Māori make up just 11 percent of Auckland's population.
I remember the closing of an Auckland caravan park because there were too many low income people who were taking drugs and involved in minor crime. Authorities have for too long not taken steps to ensure that the 'strugglers' have a place they can go to at night and be safe. Even if it was extremely simple but was a place where they would be safe, and they need to have their own room. Otherwise they can be attacked by their fellows while under the influence of whatever. It is too late for some of them to be restored to normality, but should be given consideration and experienced social workers able to keep an eye out for their conditions and opportunities.
Truly, the moment of clarity is when one searches for oneself only to find nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing
I've just been looking at Simone de Beauvoir talk about philosophy. She would probably find that very meaningful?
Actually she was talking about man's purpose in the world and ended up sounding just like Ayn Rand as she said that his purpose is to find his purpose and make his life. Or I think she said that.
Oz election tomorrow not looking good for ScoMo: "As for the polling, the Liberal/National coalition that governs Australia has been behind in pretty much every two-party poll against the Labor opposition throughout his tenure. You might recall, falling behind Labor in repeated polls was why the Liberals got rid of the last guy too. Among the minor parties, the Greens are looking at around a 10% share, and One Nation around 5%, under two variations of a single transferable vote system. That could get either the few seats needed to chip a coalition partner over the line." https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/17-05-2019/will-it-be-scomo-or-shorten-what-to-watch-for-in-tomorrows-aussie-election/
"The racism in this election campaign has been more muted. Sydney Uni professor Mary Crock told RNZ that it might actually be that the Christchurch attacks have led to the wildly xenophobic rhetoric being toned down."
"Strangely for Australia, climate change and the environment has emerged as a major issue for many voters. Of course, parts of the country are in the grip of the worst droughts in living memory, the boiling hot bits of the country are getting even hotter, there are crazy floods, wildfires, big cyclones, the Great Barrier Reef is dying, and all the rest of it. But still, it’s unusual for Australia to actually notice that the land is trying to kill them – they’re just so used to it."
"And another climate change denying former PM, Tony Abbott, is facing defeat in his previously safe seat of Waringah. He might lose to a former Olympic skier called Zali Steggall, who is running as an independent largely on environmental issues."
You were saying about forestry interests wiping out normal farming and the communities that exist rurally. I thought of you this morning when the interview was about that. Did you hear it?
Nz farmers can not compete against foreign buyers buying up our farm land so they can keep polluting. The irony is ove heard farmers are not allowed to plant their own trees on their own land to offset their emmisions.
Tell me more bw. What prevents them – is it Council rles, regional economic agency rules, is it no tax exemptions for land not profitable? I don't understand.
Good work these two. Great to see intelligent and socially minded farmers doing their bit and leading the way for their less caring and smart brethren.
Farmers need to avoid ego and arrogance if they want to keep their social licence to operate as they come under increased pressure to reduce their environmental impact.
Dealing with that impact was hurting the industry, award-winning farmer Adrian Ball told dairy farmers at Waikato Federated Farmers' dairy section annual meeting.
"It's us letting ourselves down. It's almost a little bit of a touch of arrogance – if we own the land, we have the right to do it – we don't."
Adrian and wife Pauline run Dennley Farms near Tīrau and were supreme winners of this year's Waikato Farm Environment Awards. He outlined how they had transformed their farm business from a highly intensive dairy operation to a dairy, beef and finishing farm over the past 16 years.
Yes good, from what you say mm widening out in the business they know about. Still with cows, but in a more sustainable manner. And they say they were highly intensive dairying so hope that is in the past for their dairying now. Come back to a system where the cows are cared for animals not just money on hooves.
Any excuse for USA to meddle in other country's affairs. Shades of having to invade because of the production of Weapons of Mass Destruction. What are they trying to protect though – their own country is going to rack and ruin. Way to go world!
And that saying about the old grey men being generals sending the young ones off to be injured and die to further the schemes for advantage of the old.
as many as they can sign up and if that does not work anymore they call the draft.
simple as that.
And chances are they have no issue going there. In saying that Senator Cotton of Arkansas – in my opinion someone who is very dangerous/smart/outwardly evangelic religious creep who might have a chance at the golden throne when the orange turd gets dispatched by the republican party (they will only keep him for as long as he serves their purpose) – said that it would need only two strikes, the first one and the last one.
Nukes, overwhelming air power, and every time someone says peep drop some more bombs.
no soldiers needed. none what so ever cause the bombs can be directed with a joy stick from anywhere.
He served in Iraq, he is a senator. He is not smoking, and he is deadly serious.
this is the thing with the current administration, everyone only focuses on teh orange shitshow, they do not focus on the men the orange fuckwit has surround himself with, the members of the senate that will sign any thing so as long as it serves them and 'owns' the libs and they have wanted to go to war with iran since Ayatolla Khomeni overthrew Mohammad Reza Sha Pahlavi and send him packing into exile. I watched that stuff go down life on TV, it was riveting.
And honestly they will drop a few bombs, and may i remind you that the only country to ever have used nukes is the US, and the orange turd asked why the US does not use them darn nukes. Also oil. Also elections. Also the tiny mushroom shaped penis needs something to feel big.
Yes i know who this muppet is, he is dreaming if airpower alone can win a land warfare and it can't no matter what you throw at it including a few cans of instant sunshrine then no one really wins unless you are into grow in the dark glass.
When I was still in the RAAF i did 3 papers at the RAAF Airpower Centre and where i upset a few silver spoons/Kunckle Heads/ knob jockeys who think like this clown that Land Base Airpower alone can win a war at Sea or on the Land and it can't as you still need boots on the ground or ships on the sea to exploit the opening that either Land or Sea based Airpower has achive. In other words Airpower is enabler which allows both Land and Sea power the room for freedom of maneuver to get on with the job.
Yes the Yanks have been waiting a long time to have a crack at Iran after what old mate did to their mate and especially the storming of the embassy and, what happen during their cock up with Op Eagle Claw.
I think "shit show" is going to an under statement by a country mile. No sure if you have seen my comments on this?
If you want a betting tip? start buying Oil Futures and Gold etc as i think the return is going to a awful lot better than the Stockmarket and also watch the rate of inflation go up with the price of oil (remember the two oil shocks). Remember what Winnie said during the last election about a possible down turn in the global economy next's term of government? Well looks like he was on the money.
they could not win korea, vietnam, iraq and they will not win iran.
but they can wreak havoc, poison this planet, upset 1.5 billion muslims and fling all shit all over the planet and mike live misery for a few billion here and there. .
I am not the betting kind, and i am not an investor. I am lucky to have few wants, not many needs and had a good life so won't be missing much when the shitshow starts.
Peer to Peer they will shitted it in, but if the side hits the US weak points aka body bag count etc and goes to ground then we well see a rerun of Nam, Iraq and the Gan because they can't fight a COIN type of warfare and they really still haven't fully understood it either from top down. As they only know how to fight a Peer to Peer war and the way that dump takes advice they won't have a hope in hell. I think Phase 1 and possibly Phase 2 of the conflict would go according to plan, but after they have kick the door in then would get rather interesting to see if they have learnt anything IRT COIN warfare from Iraq and the Gan.
As Von Moltke the elder once said "No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength" or in lay mans terms "No plan survives first contact with the enemy" and this less known one "Strategy is a system of expedients"
If they can't clear the house, but only clear a few rooms or only a few floors then they are screwed and god only knows what that means for the rest of us long term?
I'm sorry for throwing my betting tips (my black humor coming out hence why i'm back in PTSD ward again here in Sydney) in for a giggle when the RWNJ types start complaining about inflation and the cost of fuel etc.
I just hope the team can get the troops out of the MER including the UN members quickly if the shit hits the fan and say the training team mandate ends on the 30th of June. The sooner the better the Aus and NZ troops are out of that shit hole the better.
Yes, we are now living in interesting times and you are right about the muslims, they are going to go off like runaway .50cal HMG or like chain reaction in a nuclear weapon system going off aka the gift that keeps on giving as we called it on the CBRND Recon cse which i did about 10yrs ago.
Whatever he's been smoking has gone to his head or destroyed a few more brain cells that's if he any from the start with.
Anyway someone needs to tell this muppet (he actually reminds me of one the muppets) he is dreaming if all thinks that he just needs 120k troops to knock off Iran! He's going to need about 5x that number as kicking in the door is one thing, but holding on to the house is another thing.
Remember the Iraq war folks when the Yankie coalition invaded Iraq with too few troops during the invasion and during post invasion?
If this attack/ invasion into Iran does go ahead, its going to make Iraq and the Gan like a walk in the park. Remember the last time some joker decided to invade Iran and look what happen to him or poor old Jimmy after Op Eagle Claw.
This is a stunning turnaround, with an increase of almost 2000 on the last census, and we believe our method of calculation is one that could be spread out right across the country.
We have based our calculations on scientific analysis of volumetric data obtained via our sewerage plants, and extrapolated our pile of information to come up with an incredibly accurate and definitive population assumption.
Although the methodology described would actually be workable, if one could factor in changing gastroenteritis levels or increased fibre in the average diet.
"In a stern statement, the bank's board, headed by former prime minister Sir John Key, comes under fire for attesting to something which was not correct. "
ANZ called the issue a "mistake", and expressed disappointment.
"Once the mistake was discovered, ANZ New Zealand promptly escalated the matter to its board and reported the issue to the Reserve Bank," ANZ said in a written statement.
Financial regulators are as much part of the industry as the financial institutions themselves…
Auditors and consultancies who operate in a compliance function are also part of the industry. They are paid by the banks to perform compliance functions…
Was that the interview I heard which was a normal interview until the interviewer asked some questions to which Sepuloni said that that wasn't what she had come on to be interviewed about or had not agreed to be interviewed about?
The interviewer persisted and persisted while Sepuloni peripherally answered some bits and repeated saying it wasn't what she was there to answer questions on.
Sepuloni didn't come across as arrogant and evasive. She came across as naive. She should have repeatedly said she wasn't answering any question at all about the matter.
The interviewer was rude and arrogant. Ministers must be accountable but having protocols and working out what's reasonable and what's just smart-arse opportunism is obviously beyond you.
When the interviewer repeatedly asked what said she said she wouldn't talk to, Sepuloni should have either hung up or told the interviewer to fuck off. Then you would have been on here bitching about her being arrogant and evasive and calling for her to be sacked.
I agree with your opinion of Lisa Owen, the interviewer. I have scant respect for her. However, substandard journalists are a fact of life, and a competent politician has to be able to interact with them without making herself look incompetent—or, as you rightly put it in this case, naive.
I thought her refusal to answer the questions of the importuning Owen did make Sepuloni look both arrogant and evasive; she lacked the panache to put Owen in her place with authority.
Thinking about the Ministry for Vulnerable Children and Young People, Teenagers and their Families -Oranga Tamariki. Why does it have a Maori name? Is it supposed to seem friendly and culturally understanding to Maori? Why isn't it just a Ministry for Children as all are vulnerable when young? Is it meant to convey that parents and children do not receive any support unless they are classified as vulnerable? And why is that they are behaving in such a frightening way to Maori? If government want to provide a wrap-around service to help those who need it, then if they do their job properly, there would be no taking of babies away from mothers.
The Chief Executive, Grainne Moss is Irish-born, UK, New Zealand. She was a champion swimmer. Fits my bias against sports people in areas where an understanding is required of the needs of large numbers of people who will be affected by executive decisions.
Mrs Moss will become the acting Chief Executive of the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki from 5 September 2016, initially part-time then full-time from 10 October 2016. She will then become Chief Executive for a five year term once the Ministry is formally established on 1 April 2017.
Mrs Moss doesn't seem to have trained or worked with children and is not from our culture. She has had a father who was a prison Governor. She has had the generic business background to manage a large department. But there is a need to actually have an interest and knowledge of social work and how to work with young people from impoverished backgrounds.
I hope her Catholic upbringing in Ireland will not lead to seeking the efficiency that was found suitable for those not proving acceptable to society who worked at the Magdalena laundries system which operated in the Irish social system right up till 1996.
An authoritarian background, on the austere side perhaps. 3. What did your parents teach you?
A very strong work ethic. Mum was head of a Catholic nursing home where I worked from age 16. She worked me pretty hard and showed no favouritism.
My father was governor of a prison with lots of IRA prisoners. As a Catholic working for the government, he had high security. At one point he had a bomb-alarmed car and bulletproof vest. But he had a reputation for very fair adjudicating. It didn't matter if you were a Catholic or a Protestant prisoner, you'd get exactly the same treatment for the same behaviour. I grew up in Ireland very conscious of people's religion. What's fascinating in New Zealand is I don't have that thought.
NZs would rather employ someone from overseas with generic qualifications than a trained NZr.? 4. How did you wind up working in forestry in Tokoroa?
New Zealanders are much more interested in your transferable skills than in the UK. I'd put my CV out and a bank offered me a job. I'd never worked in a bank but they said: "You've managed teams, budgets, significant projects and you've got a track record of delivery. That's 90 per cent of the job, the other 10 per cent you'll pick up." My eyes were completely opened. I'd always worked in health and never realised working in a different sector was possible. I wanted to develop my commercial skills so I went to Carter Holt Harvey.
Smart and firm, and good with systems and people management and logs.
6. By the age of 32 you were head of forestry operations for the central North Island. What was your toughest challenge?
The relationship between the Kinleith Pulp and Paper mill and forestry had been completely toxic for years, with both parties trying to get one over the other. So for about six months they were absolutely horrible to me. They sent me nasty emails and called me names. I was a monkey and they wanted to talk to the organ grinder. I'd go to meetings and there would be 15 of them and one of me but I just kept turning up and being nice. It's hard to fight someone who doesn't want to fight back, so eventually they had to change their behaviour.
Interesting. How the people with money work hard, and get their creds.
7. You then went to Switzerland to do an MBA with honours. Was it worthwhile?
It cost me $100,000 but it was worth every penny. It helped my confidence to be benchmarked with the best in the world. It's disappointing that I needed that, but I think subconsciously I did. Interestingly, there weren't many women on the course but they never put less than three women in a group. Research shows that if you have one woman in a group she becomes the princess, two women will collaborate or compete with each other, whereas three will result in normal group dynamics.
The mother of four runs Bupa (aged care homes till 2015) the country's largest aged-care home provider….
Sort of a rhetorical question. The government likes to think of Maori as being the big problem in NZ and pakeha and others being occasional problems. Of course they are bigger than their proportion of the popn.
Acc is not the same organisation it used to be it no longer put the people need first it puts it ballance.
The Australian elections was lost by Labour they were looking like winning for months and all ready counted his chicken not good.
The $320 million to combat domestic violence is a great start to fixing all the tamariki lives fixed. Poverty of THESE people is the driver behind domestic violence that's it but this is another ambulance at the bottom of the hill.???????? scenario.
Shane just because you are winning in this system what about the 80 %, of your whanau struggling is this system providing a good life for them its OKs you can put on your big hakari.
I watched all the Game of Thrones series its a Awsome movie series.
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28 April 2025 Mournfor theDead FightFor theLiving Every week in New Zealand 18 workers are killed as a consequence of work. Every 15 minutes, a worker suffers ...
The world is trying to make sense of the Trump tariffs. Is there a grand design and strategy, or is it all instinct and improvisation? But much more important is the question of what will ...
OPINION:Yesterday was a triumphant moment in Parliament House.The “divisive”, “disingenous”, “unfair”, “discriminatory” and “dishonest” Treaty Principles Bill, advanced by the right wing ACT Party, failed.Spectacularly.11 MP votes for (ACT).112 MP votes against (All Other Parties).As the wonderful Te Pāti Māori MP, Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke said: We are not divided, but united.Green ...
The Pacific Response Group (PRG), a new disaster coordination organisation, has operated through its first high-risk weather season. But as representatives from each Pacific military leave Brisbane to return to their home countries for the ...
The Treaty Principles Bill has been defeated in Parliament with 112 votes in opposition and 11 in favour, but the debate about Te Tiriti and Māori rights looks set to stay high on the political agenda. Supermarket giant Woolworths has confirmed a new operating model that Workers First say will ...
1. What did Seymour say after his obnoxious bill was buried 112 to 11?a. Watch this spaceb. Mea culpac. I am not a crookd. Youse are all such dumbasses2. Which lasted longest?a. Liz Trussb. Trump’s Tariffsc. The Lettuced. Too soon to say but the smart money’s on the vegetable 3. ...
And this is what I'm gonna doI'm gonna put a call to you'Cause I feel good tonightAnd everything's gonna beRight-right-rightI'm gonna have a good time tonightRock and roll music gonna play all nightCome on, baby, it won't take longOnly take a minute just to sing my songSongwriters: Kirk Pengilly / ...
The Indonesian military has a new role in cybersecurity but, worryingly, no clear doctrine on what to do with it nor safeguards against human rights abuses. Assignment of cyber responsibility to the military is part ...
The StrategistBy Gatra Priyandita and Christian Guntur Lebang
Another Friday, another roundup. Autumn is starting to set in, certainly getting darker earlier but we hope you enjoy some of the stories we found interesting this week. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday we ran a guest post from the wonderful Darren Davis about what’s happening ...
Long stories shortest:The White House confirms Donald Trump’s total tariffs now on China are 145%, not 125%. US stocks slump again. Gold hits a record high. PM Christopher Luxon joins a push for a new rules-based trading system based around CPTPP and EU, rather than US-led WTO. Winston Peters ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics and climate, including Donald Trump’s shock and (partial) backflip; and,Health Coalition Aotearoa Chair ...
USAID cuts and tariffs will harm the United States’ reputation in the Pacific more than they will harm the region itself. The resilient region will adjust to the economic challenges and other partners will fill ...
National's racist and divisive Treaty Principles Bill was just voted down by the House, 112 to 11. Good fucking riddance. The bill was not a good-faith effort at legislating, or at starting a "constitutional conversation". Instead it was a bad faith attempt to stoke division and incite racial hatred - ...
Democracy watch Indonesia’s parliament passed revisions to the country’s military law, which pro-democracy and human rights groups view as a threat to the country’s democracy. One of the revisions seeks to expand the number of ...
The StrategistBy Linus Cohen, Astrid Young and Alice Wai
Australia should follow international examples and develop a civilian cyber reserve as part of a whole-of-society approach to national defence. By setting up such a reserve, the federal government can overcome a shortage of expertise ...
A ballot for three Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Life Jackets for Children and Young Persons Bill (Cameron Brewer) Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Restrictions on Issue of Off-Licences and Low and No Alcohol Products) Amendment Bill (Mike Butterick) Crown ...
Te Whatu Ora is proposing to slash jobs from a department that brings in millions of dollars a year and ensures safety in hospitals, rest homes and other community health providers. The Treaty Principles Bill is back in Parliament this evening and is expected to be voted down by all parties, ...
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has repeatedly asserted the country’s commitment to a non-aligned foreign policy. But can Indonesia still credibly claim neutrality while tacitly engaging with Russia? Holding an unprecedented bilateral naval drills with Moscow ...
The NZCTU have launched a new policy programme and are calling on political parties to adopt bold policies in the lead up to the next election. The Government is scrapping the 30-day rule that automatically signs an employee up to the collective agreement when they sign on to a new ...
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te must have been on his toes. The island’s trade and defence policy has snapped into a new direction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. The government was almost ...
Auckland’s ongoing rail pain will intensify again from this weekend as Kiwirail shut down the network for two weeks as part of their push to get the network ready for the City Rail Link. KiwiRail will progress upgrade and renewal projects across Auckland’s rail network over the Easter holiday period ...
This is a re-post from The Electrotech Revolution by Daan Walter Last week, UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch took the stage to advocate for slowing the rollout of renewables, arguing that they ultimately lead to higher costs: “Huge amounts are being spent on switching round how we distribute electricity ...
That there, that's not meI go where I pleaseI walk through wallsI float down the LiffeyI'm not hereThis isn't happeningI'm not hereI'm not hereSongwriters: Philip James Selway / Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood / Edward John O'Brien / Thomas Edward Yorke / Colin Charles Greenwood.I had mixed views when the first ...
(A note to subscribers:I’m going to keep these daily curated news updates shorter in future to ensure an earlier and more regular delivery.Expect this format and delivery around 7 am Monday to Friday from now on. My apologies for not delivering yesterday. There was too much news… This ...
As Donald Trump zigs and zags on tariffs and trashes America’s reputation as a safe and stable place to invest, China has a big gun that it could bring to this tariff knife fight. Behind Japan, China has the world’s second largest holdings of American debt. As a huge US ...
Civilian exploration may be the official mission of a Chinese deep-sea research ship that sailed clockwise around Australia over the past week and is now loitering west of the continent. But maybe it’s also attending ...
South Korea’s internal political instability leaves it vulnerable to rising security threats including North Korea’s military alliance with Russia, China’s growing regional influence and the United States’ unpredictability under President Donald Trump. South Korea needs ...
Here are 5 updates that you may be interested in today:Speed kills and costs - so why does National want more of it?James (Jim) Grenon Board Takeover Gets Shaky - As Canadian Calls An Australian Shareholder a “Flake” Billionaire Bust-ups -The World’s Richest Men Are UncomfortableOver 3,500 Australian doctors on ...
Australia is in a race against time. Cyber adversaries are exploiting vulnerabilities faster than we can identify and patch them. Both national security and economic considerations demand policy action. According to IBM’s Data Breach Report, ...
The ever brilliant Kate Nicholls has kindly agreed to allow me to re-publish her substack offering some under-examined backdrop to Trump’s tariff madness. The essay is not meant to be a full scholarly article but instead an insight into the thinking (if that is the correct word) behind the current ...
In the Pacific, the rush among partner countries to be seen as the first to assist after disasters has become heated as part of ongoing geopolitical contest. As partners compete for strategic influence in the ...
The StrategistBy Miranda Booth, Henrietta McNeill and Genevieve Quirk
We’ve seen this morning the latest step up in the Trump-initiated trade war, with the additional 50 per cent tariffs imposed on imports from China. If the tariff madness persists – but in fact even if were wound back in some places (eg some of the particularly absurd tariffs on ...
Weak as I am, no tears for youWeak as I am, no tears for youDeep as I am, I'm no one's foolWeak as I amSongwriters: Deborah Ann Dyer / Richard Keith Lewis / Martin Ivor Kent / Robert Arnold FranceMorena. This morning, I couldn’t settle on a single topic. Too ...
Australian policy makers are vastly underestimating how climate change will disrupt national security and regional stability across the Indo-Pacific. A new ASPI report assesses the ways climate impacts could threaten Indonesia’s economic and security interests ...
So here we are in London again because we’re now at the do-it-while-you-still-can stage of life. More warm wide-armed hugs, more long talks and long walks and drinks in lovely old pubs with our lovely daughter.And meanwhile the world is once more in one of its assume-the-brace-position stages.We turned on ...
Hi,Back in September of 2023, I got pitched an interview:David -Thanks for the quick response to the DM! Means the world. Re-stating some of the DM below for your team’s reference -I run a business called Animal Capital - we are a venture capital fund advised by Noah Beck, Paris ...
I didn’t want to write about this – but, alas, the 2020s have forced my hand. I am going to talk about the Trump Tariffs… and in the process probably irritate nearly everyone. You see, alone on the Internet, I am one of those people who think we need a ...
Maybe people are only just beginning to notice the close alignment of Russia and China. It’s discussed as a sudden new phenomenon in world affairs, but in fact it’s not new at all. The two ...
The High Court has just ruled that the government has been violating one of the oldest Treaty settlements, the Sealord deal: The High Court has found the Crown has breached one of New Zealand's oldest Treaty Settlements by appropriating Māori fishing quota without compensation. It relates to the 1992 ...
Darwin’s proposed Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct is set to be the heart of a new integrated infrastructure network in the Northern Territory, larger and better than what currently exists in northern Australia. However, the ...
Local body elections are in October, and so like a lot of people, I received the usual pre-election enrolment confirmation from the Orange Man in the post. And I was horrified to see that it included the following: Why horrified? After all, surely using email, rather ...
Australia needs to deliver its commitment under the Seoul Declaration to create an Australian AI safety, or security, institute. Australia is the only signatory to the declaration that has yet to meet its commitments. Given ...
Ko kōpū ka rere i te paeMe ko Hine RuhiTīaho mai tō arohaMe ko Hine RuhiDa da da ba du da da ba du da da da ba du da da da da da daDa da da ba du da da ba du da da da ba du da da ...
Army, Navy and AirForce personnel in ceremonial dress: an ongoing staffing exodus means we may get more ships, drones and planes but not have enough ‘boots on the ground’ to use them. Photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories short in Aotearoa’s political economy this morning:PM Christopher Luxon says the Government can ...
If you’re a qualified individual looking to join the Australian Army, prepare for a world of frustration over the next 12 to 18 months. While thorough vetting is essential, the inefficiency of the Australian Defence ...
I’ve inserted a tidbit and rumours section1. Colonoscopy wait times increase, procedures drop under NationalWait times for urgent, non-urgent and surveillance colonoscopies all progressively worsened last year. Health NZ data shows the total number of publicly-funded colonoscopies dropped by more than 7 percent.Health NZ chief medical officer Helen Stokes-Lampard blamed ...
Three billion dollars has been wiped off the value of New Zealand’s share market as the rout of global financial markets caught up with the local market. A Sāmoan national has been sentenced for migrant exploitation and corruption following a five-year investigation that highlights the serious consequences of immigration fraud ...
This is a guest post by Darren Davis. It originally appeared on his excellent blog, Adventures in Transitland, which we encourage you to check out. It is shared by kind permission. Rail Network Investment Plan quietly dropped While much media attention focused on the 31st March 2025 announcement that the replacement Cook ...
Amendments to Indonesia’s military law risk undermining civilian supremacy and the country’s defence capabilities. Passed by the House of Representatives on 20 March, the main changes include raising the retirement age and allowing military officers ...
The StrategistBy Alfin Febrian Basundoro and Jascha Ramba Santoso
So New Zealand is about to spend $12 billion on our defence forces over the next four years – with $9 million of it being new money that is not being spent on pressing needs here at home. Somehow this lavish spend-up on Defence is “affordable,” says PM Christopher Luxon, ...
Donald Trump’s philosophy about the United States’ place in the world is historically selfish and will impoverish his country’s spirit. While he claimed last week to be ‘liberating’ Americans from the exploiters and freeloaders who’ve ...
China’s crackdown on cyber-scam centres on the Thailand-Myanmar border may cause a shift away from Mandarin, towards English-speaking victims. Scammers also used the 28 March earthquake to scam international victims. Australia, with its proven capabilities ...
At the 2005 election campaign, the National Party colluded with a weirdo cult, the Exclusive Brethren, to run a secret hate campaign against the Greens. It was the first really big example of the rich using dark money to interfere in our democracy. And unfortunately, it seems that they're trying ...
Many of you will know that in collaboration with the University of Queensland we created and ran the massive open online course (MOOC) "Denial101x - Making sense of climate science denial" on the edX platform. Within nine years - between April 2015 and February 2024 - we offered 15 runs ...
How will the US assault on trade affect geopolitical relations within Asia? Will nations turn to China and seek protection by trading with each other? The happy snaps a week ago of the trade ministers ...
I mentioned this on Friday - but thought it deserved some emphasis.Auckland Waitematā District Commander Superintendent Naila Hassan has responded to Countering Hate Speech Aotearoa, saying police have cleared Brian Tamaki of all incitement charges relating to the Te Atatu library rainbow event assault.Hassan writes:..There is currently insufficient evidence to ...
With the report of the recent intelligence review by Heather Smith and Richard Maude finally released, critics could look on and wonder: why all the fuss? After all, while the list of recommendations is substantial, ...
Well, I don't know if I'm readyTo be the man I have to beI'll take a breath, I'll take her by my sideWe stand in awe, we've created lifeWith arms wide open under the sunlightWelcome to this place, I'll show you everythingSongwriters: Scott A. Stapp / Mark T. Tremonti.Today is ...
Staff at Kāinga Ora are expecting details of another round of job cuts, with the Green Party claiming more than 500 jobs are set to go. The New Zealand Defence Force has made it easier for people to apply for a job in a bid to get more boots on ...
Australia’s agriculture sector and food system have prospered under a global rules-based system influenced by Western liberal values. But the assumptions, policy approaches and economic frameworks that have traditionally supported Australia’s food security are no ...
Following Trump’s tariff announcement, US stock values fell by the most ever in value terms (US$6.6 trillion). Photo: Getty ImagesLong story shortest in Aotearoa’s political economy this morning:Donald Trump just detonated a neutron bomb under the globalised economy, but this time the Fed isn’t cutting interest rates to rescue ...
The Green Party recognises the extension of visa allowances for our Pacific whānau as a step in the right direction but continues to call for a Pacific Visa Waiver. ...
The Government yesterday released its annual child poverty statistics, and by its own admission, more tamariki across Aotearoa are now living in material hardship. ...
Today, Te Pāti Māori join the motu in celebration as the Treaty Principles Bill is voted down at its second reading. “From the beginning, this Bill was never welcome in this House,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Rawiri Waititi. “Our response to the first reading was one of protest: protesting ...
The Green Party is proud to have voted down the Coalition Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, an archaic piece of legislation that sought to attack the nation’s founding agreement. ...
A Member’s Bill in the name of Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter which aims to stop coal mining, the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill, has been pulled from Parliament’s ‘biscuit tin’ today. ...
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty’s Members Bill to make the law simpler and fairer for businesses operating on Easter, Anzac and Christmas Days has passed its first reading after a conscience vote in Parliament. ...
Nicola Willis continues to sit on her hands amid a global economic crisis, leaving the Reserve Bank to act for New Zealanders who are worried about their jobs, mortgages, and KiwiSaver. ...
Today, the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill has passed its third and final reading, but there is one more stage before it becomes law. The Governor-General must give their ‘Royal assent’ for any bill to become legally enforceable. This means that, even if a bill gets voted ...
Abortion care at Whakatāne Hospital has been quietly shelved, with patients told they will likely have to travel more than an hour to Tauranga to get the treatment they need. ...
Thousands of New Zealanders’ submissions are missing from the official parliamentary record because the National-dominated Justice Select Committee has rushed work on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...
Today’s announcement of 10 percent tariffs for New Zealand goods entering the United States is disappointing for exporters and consumers alike, with the long-lasting impact on prices and inflation still unknown. ...
The National Government’s choices have contributed to a slow-down in the building sector, as thousands of people have lost their jobs in construction. ...
Willie Apiata’s decision to hand over his Victoria Cross to the Minister for Veterans is a powerful and selfless act, made on behalf of all those who have served our country. ...
The Privileges Committee has denied fundamental rights to Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, breaching their own standing orders, breaching principles of natural justice, and highlighting systemic prejudice and discrimination within our parliamentary processes. The three MPs were summoned to the privileges committee following their performance of a haka ...
April 1 used to be a day when workers could count on a pay rise with stronger support for those doing it tough, but that’s not the case under this Government. ...
Winston Peters is shopping for smaller ferries after Nicola Willis torpedoed the original deal, which would have delivered new rail enabled ferries next year. ...
The Government should work with other countries to press the Myanmar military regime to stop its bombing campaign especially while the country recovers from the devastating earthquake. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to scrap proposed changes to Early Childhood Care, after attending a petition calling for the Government to ‘Put tamariki at the heart of decisions about ECE’. ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill today that will remove the power of MPs conscience votes and ensure mandatory national referendums are held before any conscience issues are passed into law. “We are giving democracy and power back to the people”, says New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters. ...
Welcome to members of the diplomatic corp, fellow members of parliament, the fourth estate, foreign affairs experts, trade tragics, ladies and gentlemen. ...
In recent weeks, disturbing instances of state-sanctioned violence against Māori have shed light on the systemic racism permeating our institutions. An 11-year-old autistic Māori child was forcibly medicated at the Henry Bennett Centre, a 15-year-old had his jaw broken by police in Napier, kaumātua Dean Wickliffe went on a hunger ...
Confidence in the job market has continued to drop to its lowest level in five years as more New Zealanders feel uncertain about finding work, keeping their jobs, and getting decent pay, according to the latest Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index. ...
The Greens are calling on the Government to follow through on their vague promises of environmental protection in their Resource Management Act (RMA) reform. ...
The Government’s new planning legislation to replace the Resource Management Act will make it easier to get things done while protecting the environment, say Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop and Under-Secretary Simon Court. “The RMA is broken and everyone knows it. It makes it too hard to build ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay has today launched a public consultation on New Zealand and India’s negotiations of a formal comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. “Negotiations are getting underway, and the Public’s views will better inform us in the early parts of this important negotiation,” Mr McClay says. We are ...
More than 900 thousand superannuitants and almost five thousand veterans are among the New Zealanders set to receive a significant financial boost from next week, an uplift Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says will help support them through cost-of-living challenges. “I am pleased to confirm that from 1 ...
Immigration, maritime safety and a $13.8m Landcare Research programme were on the cards as Winston Peters completed the first leg of his Pacific tour. ...
RNZ Pacific Pacific climate activists this week handed a letter from civil society to this year’s United Nations climate conference hosts, Brazil, emphasising their demands for the end of fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy. More than 180 indigenous, youth, and environmental organisations from across the world have signed ...
When the Blues beat Matatū in their first encounter this season, halfback Tara Turner memorably told Sky Sport afterward that the Blues’ “Mongrel Dogs” had come out to play. Matatū was battered into submission, 28-7. But in late March, the tables turned and Matatū stunned the physical northerners, inflicting the first ...
Penny can see it all from here. The lawn that needs mowing, the gardens, once a riot of colour, her pride and joy she says when she describes it to the book club ladies, is now over-run with dandelions and ragwort. In the paddock beyond, she can see the sheep ...
Wading in among scratchy branches, sticky mud and ocean water might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for Karin Bryan it’s a favourite pastime.Estuaries are her happy place.“I wouldn’t have said that 15 years ago. Fifteen years ago I had never walked in a mangrove in my life,” she ...
The host of David Lomas Investigates takes us through his life in TV, including the power of the Chesdale Cheese ad and his passion for 90s romantic comedies. It’s hard to imagine these days, but David Lomas never actually wanted to be on television. “Oh, I had no ambition to ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. This week I found myself surrounded by collective action in all its forms. I watched the Auckland Philharmonia perform Hans Zimmer’s greatest hits to a packed out Aotea Centre for Art of the Score last weekend. It was incredible and rare to ...
Allegations of sexual assault against Neil Gaiman have led the author to present texts from Scarlett Pavlovich that he says ‘demonstrate’ their relationship was consensual. One woman explains why she sent similar messages to men who hurt her. Sarah Grace is a pseudonym.When the story first broke to my ...
Emma Sidnam debates with herself, and with friends, the value of writing with political purpose versus writing for entertainment.In the first real conversation I had with a friend, who is also a writer, we argued about art’s political power. He said that while an artless world is a depressing one, ...
A bedroom in MosgielSolid information is coming to light that Green MP and stain on the human race Benjamin Doyle wants to infiltrate a crèche so he can subject children to depraved sexual practises.The police need to be warned – and so do parents.A basement in HamiltonI told Mum that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra It takes a bit for Labor not to preference the Greens but on Friday it was announced that in the Melbourne seat of Macnamara, where Jewish MP Josh Burns is embattled, the ALP will run ...
By Layla Bailey-McDowell, RNZ Māori news journalist Legal experts and Māori advocates say the fight to protect Te Tiriti is only just beginning — as the controversial Treaty Principles Bill is officially killed in Parliament. The bill — which seeks to redefine the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi — ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wesley Morgan, Research Associate, Institute for Climate Risk and Response, UNSW Sydney Australia’s relationship with its regional neighbours could be in doubt under a Coalition government after two Pacific leaders challenged Opposition Leader Peter Dutton over his weak climate stance. This week, ...
An additional tariff by the US on New Zealand exporters is harmful and the Minister of Trade has written to his American counterparts to tell them that. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sophia Staite, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Social media is ablaze with reports of kids going wild at screenings of A Minecraft Movie. Some cinemas are cracking down. There are reports of cinemas calling ...
The Treaty Principles Bill has been brutally defeated in Parliament. We have highlights from key speeches, and explain why its demise is so unusual. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hunter Fujak, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management, Deakin University Few issues in Australian sport generate as much media noise or emotional fan reactions as player movement, especially in our major winter codes the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australian Football League (AFL). ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Isabelle Ng, PhD candidate, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University A couple of whip coral goby (_Bryaninops yongei_).randi_ang/Shutterstock Swim along the edge of a coral reef and you’ll often see schools of sleek, torpedo-shaped fishes gliding through the currents, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charles Kemp, Professor, School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Languages are windows into the worlds of the people who speak them – reflecting what they value and experience daily. So perhaps it’s no surprise different languages highlight different ...
A new poem by Daniel Frears. Pale Straw this season’s colour is pale straw a revelatory colour for an oh so special season it might mess with your head, or mine you can rub my belly like I was a dog. all actions are allowed in this .. phase. if ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins (Hay House, $32) “A truly helpful treatise on seeing ...
Tara Ward watches the return of The Handmaid’s Tale and discovers the dystopia of the future now feels all too real. If you like your television so bleak that you need to curl into a ball and rock back and forward afterwards, then clear the floor because I have great ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national YouGov poll, conducted April 4–10 from a sample of 1,505, gave Labor a 52.5–47.5 lead, a 1.5-point gain for Labor ...
Good morning all. Apologies for the delayed OM. Something went technically wrong, it appears.
From the looks of the URL, I'd guess some sort of rupture in the space-time continuum.
Did you ever watch Sapphire and Steel Andre?
I think that a short video series could be made about The Standard, under a different name of course such as Mattenklopper (carpet beater – but sounds funkier). It would be a mixture of Red Dwarf and the Time & Space approach seen in S&S. There are certainly plenty of characters to include, could even add aspects of Douglas Adams.
Just some scar tissue …
RIP Bob Hawke …
Best Labor and labour leader in Australasia.
A true country-transforming giant.
And also looked like he had a great time doing it.
we just don’t see politicians of his calibre any more. A true legend deserving of respect, whether you would of voted for him or not
… those were the days before the arrival of the 'pc plus' (plus for exaggerated preciousness) brigade. Sure, there was a lot wrong with society that needed to be corrected but, by and large, people could be themselves without fear of being called out for some imagined slight towards a person/persons on what imo are often spurious grounds.
https://www.gettyimages.co.nz/detail/news-photo/bob-hawke-president-of-the-actu-left-with-sir-peter-abels-news-photo/539999813
(AUSTRALIA OUT) Bob Hawke, President of the ACTU, left, with Sir Peter Abels, of Thomas National Transport, 26 August 1972.
A good photo of Bob Hawke when young with Sir Peter Abeles, of trucking firm TNT in Australia, an advisor and experienced businessman.
Edit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Abeles
…led the devastation left by World War II, and moved to Australia. After doing small business by selling books and clothing,[2] he quickly befriended George Rockey, a fellow Hungarian immigrant. The pair bought two trucks, which they named “Samson” and “Delilah,” and set up a transport company, “Alltrans.” In 1967, Alltrans merged with Thomas Nationwide Transport, and the combined companies became TNT Ltd…
In 1979 Abeles entered into an agreement with media mogul Rupert Murdoch to take over Ansett Transport Industries. He served as chief executive and joint managing director from 1982 until 1992. In September 1992 he left TNT to concentrate his efforts on the ailing Ansett, but just two months later he stepped down from the airline as well.
In addition to his work for TNT and Ansett, Abeles served on the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia, and was chairman of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation.
Abeles was friends with Bob Hawke and during Hawke’s time as Prime Minister, Abeles was Hawke’s witness to the Kiribilli Agreement of 1988 in which he agreed to hand over the Prime Ministership to Paul Keating if and after Hawke had won the 1990 election.
This "good bloke" came to New Zealand in 1980 and expressed amusement at and contempt for our Saturday trading laws, which had not yet been "liberalized" like Australia's. That was an inkling that he was, despite being the head of ACTU, anything but a friend and ally of working people.
His cowardly and craven behaviour five years later, as Australian Prime Minister, after the Rainbow Warrior bombing, showed he was no friend of human rights protestors either.
Compare the wages of Australian and New Zealand workers, then tell us which political leaders have been their friends and allies over the last few decades. Tripartite bargaining initiated by Hawke is a huge part of that. He contributed far more than any armchair warrior.
What did you think of his support for U.S., French, Israeli and British nuclear weapons?
That they had no effect on workers' wages.
It seems that every western political leader gets the privilege of having their history whitewashed and their legacy's rehabilitated, just look at Reagan, or more recently McCain…
I also believe that the start of Sunday trading was the single worst loss of workers rights in NZ IMO.
honestly Morrissey, you are the most pedantic [person] on the internet.
are you saying Saturday trading shouldn’t be allowed? When do students work? After they’ve finished their studies each night?
Bob hawke oversaw the greatest advancement of workers rights and wage growth since the 50’s for the average worker in Australia. And all you can do is sniff about the fact he laughed at our fortress New Zealand antiquarian weekend trading laws.
I haven’t voted labour in a while. And I never will if you have anything to do with what labour should look like.
[deleted] oxygen thief. [deleted] All sensation and no substance
I also "sniffed" about his cowardice and depravity, viz. his failure to support New Zealand after the French state attacked us in 1985, and his support for U.S., British, French and Israeli nuclear terror.
"Sometimes I use a heuristic rule for some of the research that the material standard of living is only about 10 percent of what makes us happy."
https://www.pundit.co.nz/content/what-do-we-mean-by-wellbeing
That's because happiness is totally overrated.
?
For the life of me, I can't understand what you mean, Ad.
I rate happiness highly. Am I overrating it?
its a societal construct that you need to free yourself from Robert.
Strive for unhappiness?
How might one do such a thing, Tuppence?
Perhaps I need to join the National Party?
Or if that's not enough, sign on to ACT?
Neochristian option looks better. Remember christians are born unhappy. Flagellation. Hair shirts. Original sin. Join Alfred & co!
So the best way to compete in the political arena is to morph the holier than thou traditional elitist stance into unhappier than thou. Winner gets to be closest to God, and unhappiest…
linking happiness to a political party? If that’s happiness just don’t vote
You are.
Endurance and satisfaction are far more useful in life.
Neither necessarily entail happiness.
One of the greatest 'gifts' my parents gave me was to state that "we just want you to be happy." If satisfaction, endurance and being useful bring you happiness, then go for it.
Perhaps stoicism will take us into the future.
The Stoics differentiated between 'good', 'bad', and 'indifferent' things. The good things include the cardinal virtues wisdom, justice, courage, and self-discipline. The bad things include the opposites of these virtues, namely the four vices folly, injustice, cowardice, and indulgence.
I like the ten principles. Ayn Rand can go suck.
https://www.njlifehacks.com/what-is-stoicism-overview-definition-10-stoic-principles/
Edit : #8 Amor Fati – Love Everything that Happens
That is very bold. It would require taking on everything and accepting it with some resignation as ‘that’s life, you win some you lose some’ sort of thing. Which would take some gumption. I think there might be a good market for gumption if someone finds out how to bottle it.
Being happy – wouldn't it be nice if everyone could be happy. But happiness is a daft wish. As Ad says being satisfied is so much more satisfying.
Doris Day has just died. She sang this beautifully.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31ifejRMVvg
Agreed, it would indeed be very nice if everyone could be happy.
Knowing that my daft parents wished me happiness was pretty magical – mind you, they might just have been saying that!
"That's because happiness is totally overrated."
As I have said before I don't normally recommend books as we all have our different tastes but I found this book a bit of a fun thing to read. "The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck" by Mark Manson
"Since last Friday, Honduras has been rocked by growing strikes and demonstrations by teachers, health care workers, high-school and university students and their supporters against legislation that facilitates budget cuts, mass firings and the privatization of public education and the healthcare system.
The government of Juan Orlando Hernández (known as JOH) —a continuation of the regime installed by a US-backed coup in 2009— mobilized riot police to repress protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets and beatings.
Since the 2009 coup, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the Honduran military budget has tripled, to a proportion of the GDP not seen since 1990. This doesn’t include hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid from the Pentagon, which uses its military bases in Honduras as a launching platform for interventions across the region.
María Dilia Paz, a teacher demonstrating in Tegucigalpa on Monday, described her conditions to TeleSur, “We do everything we can to make ends meet. You know how the electrical service is, and if you are late one day they cut you off. Our children at times go with little food. They don’t get snacks because we don’t have any.”
The 65,000 teachers in the country get paid hourly wages at poverty levels—between $2.70 and $3.80 per hour of classes.
The think-tank on external debt Fosdeh has calculated that debt servicing will exceed 45 billion lempiras (US$1.85 billion) this year. This would amount to nearly a third of the total government budget.
The Finance Secretariat, calculates that business tax exemptions will amount to 37 billion lempiras ($1.5 billion) this year. Meanwhile, the average salary for the 132,000 workers making clothes, auto parts and other products at maquiladoras is $40 per week.
In other words, in the most unequal country of the Americas, billions are transferred each year from the wealth created by the working class to the financial and corporate elites through debt payments and tax exemptions, while more than 60 percent of the population lives in poverty."
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/02/hond-m02.html?fbclid=IwAR2zCKf2VDIJcR09lrNVc3du5In0CEpfdQjg4bX6XdbWQT3nXEn_omDYV-0
The government of Juan Orlando Hernández (known as JOH) —a continuation of the regime installed by a US-backed coup in 2009— mobilized riot police to repress protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets and beatings.
I'm sure we'll see repeated screenings of the riot police on the TV News tonight, like they do for anything involving Venezuela. /sarc
Exactly right, it is of little wonder that there is so little buy in most main stream media, especially in respect to their international news, their selective narrative often ends up turning into straight out lies.
The president was born "the fifteenth of seventeen children". "He gained notoriety in Honduras when Liberal leader Rafael Pineda Ponce described him as a "cipote malcriado" (poorly raised kid)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Orlando_Hern%C3%A1ndez
Poor kids are often trouble-makers. In "the 2017 Honduran general election … Hernández was declared the winner by a narrow margin (0.5%), after a reelection campaign widely criticized as fraudulent".
"In late 2012, 1540 persons were interviewed by ERIC in collaboration with the Jesuit university, as reported by Associated Press. This survey found that 60.3% believed the police were involved in crime, 44.9% had "no confidence" in the Supreme Court, and 72% thought there was electoral fraud in the primary elections of November 2012. Also, 56% expected the presidential, legislative and municipal elections of 2013 to be fraudulent." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honduras
So Honduras & Venezuela seem similar in respect of cursory incorporation of democratic processes – failure to make them operate in an authentic efficient manner.
Wondered how long it would take for the "Oh. But Venezuela! " to rear it's head.
Many right wing States around there, which are true totalitarian Dictatorships, and failing, but the media ignores them.
I think it was an Oliver Stone movie, El Salvador, back in the eighties that made it all super-vivid. Those American nuns being raped & murdered by regime thugs (happened some years earlier in real life). But I read the Wikipedia page on Honduran politics earlier today and discovered the country has been run by two establishment parties since the 19th century. They even have proportional representation!
After apparent failures with the Conservatives, the new conservatives, the new new conservatives, the blue-greenish (not really) party, National are having another go at creating a puppet party to pretend they have friends
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12231733
So, another 0.1% polling ACT party with a gifted seat (assuming the good people of Botany show their sheep mentality and vote as their corporate masters ask them)
And looks like Ngaro will resign from the National Party, National won't invoke the Waka Jumping bill, Ngaro will create his new party and then stand in Botany next year at the election.
Bob McCoskrie supports the new party, with such glowing praise as:
You know you are onto a winner, when someone who should be a very enthusiastic supporter describes you as one would a turd…
Good analysis & I agree Vernon Tava's enterprise can be reasonably described as blue-green (not really) since perceptions prevail over reality nowadays.
"Family First's Bob McCoskrie has shared a podium with Ngaro on a number of occasions, as recently as this week. He says there's definitely a gap in the choice facing the voter wanting to cast their ballot for a morally conservative party."
I guess they'll be considering inviting Israel Folau to cross the ditch. John Key would be keen to support anyone called Israel, so it'd just be a question of which electorate to stand him in. Epsom?
I reckon the moral conservative vote is a goer – but would it pass the 4% mark set by the last such option? Ngaro taking Botany does of course negate the necessity to achieve the MMP threshold. McCoskrie ought to stand with him to demonstrate that he's willing to put his money where is mouth is. Fundies in parliament would be a source of inanities that could make the Nat leader look good by comparison.
Israel the name, Ngaro says he is a Zionist; young Israel is good looking, brown, sporting hero, appears to have integrity and appeals to the Real Man phalanx, would appeal to the diatribe (literally )of eager-beaver Brian T and his followers, appear to be a voice for the poor brown cuzzies not being offered much by Labour Coalition and feeling disillusioned, that's if they had previous illusions anyway – yes there are possibilities there.
Yeah, ticks all the boxes, eh? Someone ought to ask him if he wants to be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond (Jesus called himself a fisher of men).
Good fishing theme there. He might have to watch that he doesn't get filleted by those Gnats. And we should beware that there isn't an evolution to piranha biting into our body politic.
Space pirates!
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ted-cruz-space-pirates_n_5cdcfddfe4b0b4728ba30c72
Yes, this guy really was the GOP's runner-up in 2016.
Cruz was actually trying to make a decent point. Conflict in space is a real possibility, especially considering how vulnerable satellites are.
If someone is trying to make a decent point in an utterly ridiculous manner, is it still a decent point?
Yes, satellites are extremely vulnerable. If conflict does break out in space, Kessler Syndrome is a very real possibility that could make many of the most important orbits unusable.
It would be easy to launch a satellite-killer rocket to create massive clouds of debris, or launch an EMP nuke. Hell, North Korea is just one of many states that probably have the capability for both right now, even Rocket Lab has the launch capability but not the nuke. The time between launch and the shit seriously happening is mere minutes. Then there's all the opportunities for cybermalice against satellites.
Protection from all of that cannot come from military countermeasures against a launched rocket. It's simply not physically possible. It can only come from international agreement and co-operation. That is the reality that makes the idea of a "Space Force" for protecting satellites utterly ridiculous.
Here's a piece that gets into the topic in some detail. (big pdf)
https://media.defense.gov/2019/Jan/16/2002080386/-1/-1/1/190115-F-NV711-0002.PDF
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/389336/maori-make-up-more-than-over-40-percent-of-auckland-homeless-report
The Point In Time Count, organised by the Housing First Collective one night last September, spanned from Wellsford in the north, across to Waiheke Island and south to Waiuku.
Its findings show of the 800 people estimated to have been living without shelter that night, nearly 43 percent of were Māori, with a similar number of Māori living in temporary accommodation. Māori make up just 11 percent of Auckland's population.
I remember the closing of an Auckland caravan park because there were too many low income people who were taking drugs and involved in minor crime. Authorities have for too long not taken steps to ensure that the 'strugglers' have a place they can go to at night and be safe. Even if it was extremely simple but was a place where they would be safe, and they need to have their own room. Otherwise they can be attacked by their fellows while under the influence of whatever. It is too late for some of them to be restored to normality, but should be given consideration and experienced social workers able to keep an eye out for their conditions and opportunities.
Why Many Venezuelans Are Still Chavistas
lprent Did the search function get implemented again? It wasn't working this morning as I tried to search under greywarshark.
Truly, the moment of clarity is when one searches for oneself only to find nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing
I've just been looking at Simone de Beauvoir talk about philosophy. She would probably find that very meaningful?
Actually she was talking about man's purpose in the world and ended up sounding just like Ayn Rand as she said that his purpose is to find his purpose and make his life. Or I think she said that.
“Clarity is bliss, but bias is what we are.”
https://gapingsilence.wordpress.com/2016/05/07/on-bbc-partisanship/
So Zen …
Oz election tomorrow not looking good for ScoMo: "As for the polling, the Liberal/National coalition that governs Australia has been behind in pretty much every two-party poll against the Labor opposition throughout his tenure. You might recall, falling behind Labor in repeated polls was why the Liberals got rid of the last guy too. Among the minor parties, the Greens are looking at around a 10% share, and One Nation around 5%, under two variations of a single transferable vote system. That could get either the few seats needed to chip a coalition partner over the line." https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/17-05-2019/will-it-be-scomo-or-shorten-what-to-watch-for-in-tomorrows-aussie-election/
"The racism in this election campaign has been more muted. Sydney Uni professor Mary Crock told RNZ that it might actually be that the Christchurch attacks have led to the wildly xenophobic rhetoric being toned down."
"Strangely for Australia, climate change and the environment has emerged as a major issue for many voters. Of course, parts of the country are in the grip of the worst droughts in living memory, the boiling hot bits of the country are getting even hotter, there are crazy floods, wildfires, big cyclones, the Great Barrier Reef is dying, and all the rest of it. But still, it’s unusual for Australia to actually notice that the land is trying to kill them – they’re just so used to it."
"And another climate change denying former PM, Tony Abbott, is facing defeat in his previously safe seat of Waringah. He might lose to a former Olympic skier called Zali Steggall, who is running as an independent largely on environmental issues."
bwaghorn
You were saying about forestry interests wiping out normal farming and the communities that exist rurally. I thought of you this morning when the interview was about that. Did you hear it?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/389401/fears-of-catastrophic-impact-of-prime-farmland-being-sold-for-forestry (detailed print report)
Audio: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018695488/forestry-gold-rush-underway-in-wairoa
Nz farmers can not compete against foreign buyers buying up our farm land so they can keep polluting. The irony is ove heard farmers are not allowed to plant their own trees on their own land to offset their emmisions.
Tell me more bw. What prevents them – is it Council rles, regional economic agency rules, is it no tax exemptions for land not profitable? I don't understand.
Good work these two. Great to see intelligent and socially minded farmers doing their bit and leading the way for their less caring and smart brethren.
Yes good, from what you say mm widening out in the business they know about. Still with cows, but in a more sustainable manner. And they say they were highly intensive dairying so hope that is in the past for their dairying now. Come back to a system where the cows are cared for animals not just money on hooves.
He also rejected talk of of the 'urban rural divide' as a media myth, labeling it "a crock of s…."
could not agree more with the guy. it is a media myth driven by some politican and 'stake holders' as it feeds their narrative.
How many young working class men and women are going to die for these crazy idiots in charge in the USA?
Any excuse for USA to meddle in other country's affairs. Shades of having to invade because of the production of Weapons of Mass Destruction. What are they trying to protect though – their own country is going to rack and ruin. Way to go world!
And that saying about the old grey men being generals sending the young ones off to be injured and die to further the schemes for advantage of the old.
I wouldn't mind so much it it were generals doing the sending. At least they lived it, even if they forget.
Bolton was another Vietnam evader, just like dolt45. One of the biggest US hawks for years – but only with other people's blood.
Unless you’ve done the service yourself you should have fuck all to do with starting wars.
The US has been gunning for Iran since the 70’s
Some generals are hawks (LeMay wanted to start WW3), but I have no time for Rambos like Bolton gaggin' for it.
Surprising how many chickenhawk hall of famers are still around.
http://www.awolbush.com/whoserved.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20110604160503/http://www.nhgazette.com/chickenhawks/
as many as they can sign up and if that does not work anymore they call the draft.
simple as that.
And chances are they have no issue going there. In saying that Senator Cotton of Arkansas – in my opinion someone who is very dangerous/smart/outwardly evangelic religious creep who might have a chance at the golden throne when the orange turd gets dispatched by the republican party (they will only keep him for as long as he serves their purpose) – said that it would need only two strikes, the first one and the last one.
Nukes, overwhelming air power, and every time someone says peep drop some more bombs.
no soldiers needed. none what so ever cause the bombs can be directed with a joy stick from anywhere.
https://twitter.com/FiringLineShow/status/1128393270458048512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1128407117487050757&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstory%2F2019%2F5%2F14%2F1857682%2F–Sen-Tom-Cotton-suggests-war-with-Iran-would-be-a-cakewalk
Tell him, he is dreaming and get off the dope as well or whatever he's been smoking.
look him up.
He served in Iraq, he is a senator. He is not smoking, and he is deadly serious.
this is the thing with the current administration, everyone only focuses on teh orange shitshow, they do not focus on the men the orange fuckwit has surround himself with, the members of the senate that will sign any thing so as long as it serves them and 'owns' the libs and they have wanted to go to war with iran since Ayatolla Khomeni overthrew Mohammad Reza Sha Pahlavi and send him packing into exile. I watched that stuff go down life on TV, it was riveting.
And honestly they will drop a few bombs, and may i remind you that the only country to ever have used nukes is the US, and the orange turd asked why the US does not use them darn nukes. Also oil. Also elections. Also the tiny mushroom shaped penis needs something to feel big.
Prepare for a shitshow.
Yes i know who this muppet is, he is dreaming if airpower alone can win a land warfare and it can't no matter what you throw at it including a few cans of instant sunshrine then no one really wins unless you are into grow in the dark glass.
When I was still in the RAAF i did 3 papers at the RAAF Airpower Centre and where i upset a few silver spoons/Kunckle Heads/ knob jockeys who think like this clown that Land Base Airpower alone can win a war at Sea or on the Land and it can't as you still need boots on the ground or ships on the sea to exploit the opening that either Land or Sea based Airpower has achive. In other words Airpower is enabler which allows both Land and Sea power the room for freedom of maneuver to get on with the job.
Yes the Yanks have been waiting a long time to have a crack at Iran after what old mate did to their mate and especially the storming of the embassy and, what happen during their cock up with Op Eagle Claw.
I think "shit show" is going to an under statement by a country mile. No sure if you have seen my comments on this?
If you want a betting tip? start buying Oil Futures and Gold etc as i think the return is going to a awful lot better than the Stockmarket and also watch the rate of inflation go up with the price of oil (remember the two oil shocks). Remember what Winnie said during the last election about a possible down turn in the global economy next's term of government? Well looks like he was on the money.
oh i don't say they can win.
they could not win korea, vietnam, iraq and they will not win iran.
but they can wreak havoc, poison this planet, upset 1.5 billion muslims and fling all shit all over the planet and mike live misery for a few billion here and there. .
I am not the betting kind, and i am not an investor. I am lucky to have few wants, not many needs and had a good life so won't be missing much when the shitshow starts.
We are living in interesting times.
Peer to Peer they will shitted it in, but if the side hits the US weak points aka body bag count etc and goes to ground then we well see a rerun of Nam, Iraq and the Gan because they can't fight a COIN type of warfare and they really still haven't fully understood it either from top down. As they only know how to fight a Peer to Peer war and the way that dump takes advice they won't have a hope in hell. I think Phase 1 and possibly Phase 2 of the conflict would go according to plan, but after they have kick the door in then would get rather interesting to see if they have learnt anything IRT COIN warfare from Iraq and the Gan.
As Von Moltke the elder once said "No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength" or in lay mans terms "No plan survives first contact with the enemy" and this less known one "Strategy is a system of expedients"
If they can't clear the house, but only clear a few rooms or only a few floors then they are screwed and god only knows what that means for the rest of us long term?
I'm sorry for throwing my betting tips (my black humor coming out hence why i'm back in PTSD ward again here in Sydney) in for a giggle when the RWNJ types start complaining about inflation and the cost of fuel etc.
I just hope the team can get the troops out of the MER including the UN members quickly if the shit hits the fan and say the training team mandate ends on the 30th of June. The sooner the better the Aus and NZ troops are out of that shit hole the better.
Yes, we are now living in interesting times and you are right about the muslims, they are going to go off like runaway .50cal HMG or like chain reaction in a nuclear weapon system going off aka the gift that keeps on giving as we called it on the CBRND Recon cse which i did about 10yrs ago.
Whatever he's been smoking has gone to his head or destroyed a few more brain cells that's if he any from the start with.
Anyway someone needs to tell this muppet (he actually reminds me of one the muppets) he is dreaming if all thinks that he just needs 120k troops to knock off Iran! He's going to need about 5x that number as kicking in the door is one thing, but holding on to the house is another thing.
Remember the Iraq war folks when the Yankie coalition invaded Iraq with too few troops during the invasion and during post invasion?
If this attack/ invasion into Iran does go ahead, its going to make Iraq and the Gan like a walk in the park. Remember the last time some joker decided to invade Iran and look what happen to him or poor old Jimmy after Op Eagle Claw.
David Seymour gets nasty and personal with Golriz, and Judith Collins calls him out:
https://twitter.com/JudithCollinsMP/status/1129150240718696453
numerology and methods of mass contractions.
This is a stunning turnaround, with an increase of almost 2000 on the last census, and we believe our method of calculation is one that could be spread out right across the country.
We have based our calculations on scientific analysis of volumetric data obtained via our sewerage plants, and extrapolated our pile of information to come up with an incredibly accurate and definitive population assumption.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/southland-top-stories/112795610/we-prefer-our-own-pile-of—-information
Sounds like just another farming smartarse from a small area with a large level of medium competence.
Although the methodology described would actually be workable, if one could factor in changing gastroenteritis levels or increased fibre in the average diet.
… or figs
"In a stern statement, the bank's board, headed by former prime minister Sir John Key, comes under fire for attesting to something which was not correct. "
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/112033446/reserve-bank-censures-anz
the audacity…5 fucking years!
'
ANZ called the issue a "mistake", and expressed disappointment.
"Once the mistake was discovered, ANZ New Zealand promptly escalated the matter to its board and reported the issue to the Reserve Bank," ANZ said in a written statement.
Financial regulators are as much part of the industry as the financial institutions themselves…
Auditors and consultancies who operate in a compliance function are also part of the industry. They are paid by the banks to perform compliance functions…
God-DAMN it, who made this fool a Cabinet minister?
RNZ National, Friday 17 May 2019, 5:54 p.m.
Just heard a disastrous interview with Carmel Sepuloni on RNZ National. She came across as arrogant and evasive.
Was that the interview I heard which was a normal interview until the interviewer asked some questions to which Sepuloni said that that wasn't what she had come on to be interviewed about or had not agreed to be interviewed about?
The interviewer persisted and persisted while Sepuloni peripherally answered some bits and repeated saying it wasn't what she was there to answer questions on.
Sepuloni didn't come across as arrogant and evasive. She came across as naive. She should have repeatedly said she wasn't answering any question at all about the matter.
The interviewer was rude and arrogant. Ministers must be accountable but having protocols and working out what's reasonable and what's just smart-arse opportunism is obviously beyond you.
When the interviewer repeatedly asked what said she said she wouldn't talk to, Sepuloni should have either hung up or told the interviewer to fuck off. Then you would have been on here bitching about her being arrogant and evasive and calling for her to be sacked.
I agree with your opinion of Lisa Owen, the interviewer. I have scant respect for her. However, substandard journalists are a fact of life, and a competent politician has to be able to interact with them without making herself look incompetent—or, as you rightly put it in this case, naive.
I thought her refusal to answer the questions of the importuning Owen did make Sepuloni look both arrogant and evasive; she lacked the panache to put Owen in her place with authority.
Thinking about the Ministry for Vulnerable Children and Young People, Teenagers and their Families -Oranga Tamariki. Why does it have a Maori name? Is it supposed to seem friendly and culturally understanding to Maori? Why isn't it just a Ministry for Children as all are vulnerable when young? Is it meant to convey that parents and children do not receive any support unless they are classified as vulnerable? And why is that they are behaving in such a frightening way to Maori? If government want to provide a wrap-around service to help those who need it, then if they do their job properly, there would be no taking of babies away from mothers.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/389285/not-enough-mental-health-support-for-families-whose-children-are-taken-by-the-state
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/389007/mother-s-day-hui-to-discuss-oranga-tamariki-s-removal-of-newborn-babies
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018694569/children-s-commissioner-whole-of-nz-infected-with-racism
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/386072/oranga-tamariki-will-need-extra-resources-to-care-for-kids-longer
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018688988/oranga-tamariki-two-years-on-what-s-changed
The Chief Executive, Grainne Moss is Irish-born, UK, New Zealand. She was a champion swimmer. Fits my bias against sports people in areas where an understanding is required of the needs of large numbers of people who will be affected by executive decisions.
http://www.ssc.govt.nz/media-release-ministry-vulnerable-children-oranga-tamariki-chief-executive-appointed
Mrs Moss will become the acting Chief Executive of the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki from 5 September 2016, initially part-time then full-time from 10 October 2016. She will then become Chief Executive for a five year term once the Ministry is formally established on 1 April 2017.
Mrs Moss doesn't seem to have trained or worked with children and is not from our culture. She has had a father who was a prison Governor. She has had the generic business background to manage a large department. But there is a need to actually have an interest and knowledge of social work and how to work with young people from impoverished backgrounds.
I hope her Catholic upbringing in Ireland will not lead to seeking the efficiency that was found suitable for those not proving acceptable to society who worked at the Magdalena laundries system which operated in the Irish social system right up till 1996.
An authoritarian background, on the austere side perhaps. 3. What did your parents teach you?
A very strong work ethic. Mum was head of a Catholic nursing home where I worked from age 16. She worked me pretty hard and showed no favouritism.
My father was governor of a prison with lots of IRA prisoners. As a Catholic working for the government, he had high security. At one point he had a bomb-alarmed car and bulletproof vest. But he had a reputation for very fair adjudicating. It didn't matter if you were a Catholic or a Protestant prisoner, you'd get exactly the same treatment for the same behaviour. I grew up in Ireland very conscious of people's religion. What's fascinating in New Zealand is I don't have that thought.
NZs would rather employ someone from overseas with generic qualifications than a trained NZr.? 4. How did you wind up working in forestry in Tokoroa?
New Zealanders are much more interested in your transferable skills than in the UK. I'd put my CV out and a bank offered me a job. I'd never worked in a bank but they said: "You've managed teams, budgets, significant projects and you've got a track record of delivery. That's 90 per cent of the job, the other 10 per cent you'll pick up." My eyes were completely opened. I'd always worked in health and never realised working in a different sector was possible. I wanted to develop my commercial skills so I went to Carter Holt Harvey.
Smart and firm, and good with systems and people management and logs.
6. By the age of 32 you were head of forestry operations for the central North Island. What was your toughest challenge?
The relationship between the Kinleith Pulp and Paper mill and forestry had been completely toxic for years, with both parties trying to get one over the other. So for about six months they were absolutely horrible to me. They sent me nasty emails and called me names. I was a monkey and they wanted to talk to the organ grinder. I'd go to meetings and there would be 15 of them and one of me but I just kept turning up and being nice. It's hard to fight someone who doesn't want to fight back, so eventually they had to change their behaviour.
Interesting. How the people with money work hard, and get their creds.
7. You then went to Switzerland to do an MBA with honours. Was it worthwhile?
It cost me $100,000 but it was worth every penny. It helped my confidence to be benchmarked with the best in the world. It's disappointing that I needed that, but I think subconsciously I did. Interestingly, there weren't many women on the course but they never put less than three women in a group. Research shows that if you have one woman in a group she becomes the princess, two women will collaborate or compete with each other, whereas three will result in normal group dynamics.
The mother of four runs Bupa (aged care homes till 2015) the country's largest aged-care home provider….
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11492534
Why shouldn't it? Other ministries do.
Sort of a rhetorical question. The government likes to think of Maori as being the big problem in NZ and pakeha and others being occasional problems. Of course they are bigger than their proportion of the popn.
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
https://youtu.be/94dBVPpymac
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU
Kia ora Newshub.
Looks like a carbon pro government elected in Australia.
If you ignore a problem it goes away even though it is still unsolved Paddy.
Wow huge tornado in Missouri Nebraska and Kanzas that's global warming.
Rail is the most efficient way to to transport most goods less carbon and cost.
That's a cool exabishion of Scots base in Antarctica I'm taking a big interest in history now cool.
Ka kite ano
Kia ora The AM Show.
Acc is not the same organisation it used to be it no longer put the people need first it puts it ballance.
The Australian elections was lost by Labour they were looking like winning for months and all ready counted his chicken not good.
The $320 million to combat domestic violence is a great start to fixing all the tamariki lives fixed. Poverty of THESE people is the driver behind domestic violence that's it but this is another ambulance at the bottom of the hill.???????? scenario.
Shane just because you are winning in this system what about the 80 %, of your whanau struggling is this system providing a good life for them its OKs you can put on your big hakari.
I watched all the Game of Thrones series its a Awsome movie series.
Ka kite ano