Because they are led by blind Fossil Fuel Fanatics who dragged naive National Party Ministers in their wake…..
Simon Power, State Owned Enterprises Minister at the time, wrote to Solid Energy chairman John Palmer that ”Ministers are encouraged by the vision of Solid Energy” in developing the plan, acknowledging the work that had gone into the proposals.
The Government had not released the proposals which Solid Energy put to it, but Key was adamant the documents backed his claims.
”In the end the paperwork speaks for itself, they want to have a national resources company, there was actually some logic in what they were saying, it was a big and audacious plan,” he said
However despite the support of the overawed, starry eyed Ministers, the plans of Solid Energy were completely unrealistic and out of touch with the global realities of fossil fuel use.
Solid Energy approached the Government with a $27 billion plan to turn itself into a New Zealand resource giant.
Documents released by the Beehive minutes before John Key was due to face the media today, show that in 2010 the state owned mining company wanted to take over Crown-owned oil and gas permits as well as move into iron sands.
This was part of a plan to become a national resources company (NRC).
As well as coal mining, the company wanted to move into lignite conversion, unconventional gas.
Treasury documents show officials believed it would require $2-$3 billion in investment, with total investment of $27 billion.
How crazy is that?
And the National Government went for it, hook line and sinker.
So why did presumably rational Government Ministers fall for this fantasy?
The fossil fuel fanatics at Solid Energy entertained visions of the huge profits to be made from fossil expansion which they put before the Ministers. It was this vision of a fantastic El Dorado presented to them which gave rise to them to leave to their senses. Shunting niggling concerns about climate change (which could affect such grandiose plans) to the back of their minds.
Like all victims of a scam their greed overcame their common sense. The Nats should have taken heed of the old saying “If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.”
It took treasury to inject a bit of rationality back into the debate:
The Treasury report on the proposal recommended against it because it used an ”aggressive” set of assumptions about the future oil price, claimed there was a narrow window of opportunity, that ”supernormal” – extremely high – profits would come from the plan which could not be captured through other means.
Our world is dying. That is the reality of fossil fuel use and expansion.
Blinded by visions of wealth and power the Nats chose to forget this fact.
They have not been the first, and all the indications are, that they will not be the last, to make this fatal error.
Actually ‘the fossil fuels fanatics’ at Solid Energy as you describe them did not push ‘climate change’ to the back of their minds,
The fossil fuels fanatics at Solid Energy were taking positive steps in the capture and sequesture of industrial amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere at the production stage of it’s planned diversification,
To achieve this capture and sequesture from the atmosphere of industrial amounts of CO2 Solid Energy was investing in the technology with the Australian firm CO2CRC,
Seeing as the Government has now effectively financially kneecapped Solid Energy we will probably never know if it is possible to produce, (as i assume Solid Energy was attempting), fossil fuels whereby such fuels are in effect carbon neutral by way of the producer withdrawing by an industrial means the same amount of carbon that would be produced in the production and burning of the particular fossil based fuels being produced…
… we will probably never know if it is possible to produce, …, fossil fuels whereby such fuels are in effect carbon neutral by way of the producer withdrawing by an industrial means the same amount of carbon that would be produced in the production and burning of the particular fossil based fuels being produced…
But we already know that’s simply impossible.
It might be possible to susbstantially reduce the amounts of carbon being expelled into the atmosphere from a given amount of burned fossil fuel. But that would mean extracting even more fossil fuels because efficiencies are necessarily reduced by any capture process. And anyway, since we are talking about cumulative totals of atmospheric carbon, reducing rather than eliminating emmissions ultimately serves no useful purpose.
”But we already know that that’s simply impossible”,????
Do we??? from what i have read it is highly feasible, using renewable energy such as wind/hydro to fuel the means of extracting from the atmosphere industrial amounts of CO2 is highly feasilbe and is being studied and put into practice as we speak,
Putting aside for the moment the fact that there are ‘different sorts’ of CO2 it is not necessary to capture X CO2 from the point of it’s emission which in effect is the ‘impossibility’
Industrial amounts of CO2 can be extracted from the atmosphere in places of high air movement where the CO2 is effectively brought to the means of extracting it from the atmosphere by such air movement,
If the same amount of CO2 is being captured and withdrawn from the atmosphere at say for arguments sake the Cook Strait,(an area of high air movement) as what is being produced across the whole country then you have in effect a carbon neutral economy…
PS,”But we already know that that’s simply impossible” is not a debate, where is the science that definitively shows this impossibility,???
There is very little that is ‘impossible’ and according to British engineers they can even pull CO2 from the atmosphere and using much the same machinery of refinement as what is used now refining oils to petrol turn that air/CO2 into a petrol product…
It’s just the basic laws of physics. If you are capturing all of the carbon then you cannot be using the carbon to produce energy for purposes other than capturing the carbon. And that’s not going to be 100% efficient. Can’t be – physics again.
As for the atmospheric carbn being captured and converted to fuel – yeah, I vaguely recall reading some tosh in one of the UK broadsheets. Took upwards of a year to produce a smidgeon of fuel. And all the energy inputs required for the process….?
Who is talking about being 100% efficient, it will cost obviously, one ‘theoretical study’ i have read is that that cost will be around 13 cents a tonne if the carbon capture and sequesture is of an industrial scale,
And, it is YOU that now puts forward some claim as if to say that i insinuate that all the carbon capture will or need be turned into fuel so as to enable the carbon capture to occur which is not what i have said at all,( but it’s always easier to debunk a point of debate that has not been made than one that has right)…
Oh YAWN, where have i been discussing such things, i have been pointing out that CO2 can be extracted from the atmosphere and used in fuel or in the manufacture of other products/chemicals,
i have at no point suggested that as much or more energy will be gained from doing so as what is expended upon the original extraction of that CO2 from the atmosphere,
What i am suggesting is that IF such extraction were conducted upon an industrial scale using solar/wind energy to fuel such extraction with sale-able products as a by-product of the CO2 extraction then it (the extraction) is more likely to occur AND will cost less than would simply extracting the CO2 from the atmosphere and sequestering that CO2…
JFW bad. Look, it’s a really simple request. Will you provide a link to the stuff you’ve read or not? I’m not really interested in wasting time arguing whether you said *this* or *that* in relation to *whatever* or not. People reading the thread can discern that kind of stuff for themselves. I just want some links to the stuff you’ve been writing about is all.
Oh YAWN, where have i been discussing such things, i have been pointing out that CO2 can be extracted from the atmosphere and used in fuel or in the manufacture of other products/chemicals,
i have at no point suggested that as much or more energy will be gained from doing so as what is expended upon the original extraction of that CO2 from the atmosphere,
Now, the energy in a litre of fuel is somewhere in the vicinity of a hell of a lot and the energy used to refine oil is somewhere around not a hell of a lot. What we want to know is where the extra energy is coming from.
Where is capturing vast amounts of atmospheric carbon by technological means being put into practice? And where are the vast storage facilities located? The only somewhat sizable project I’m aware of is in Norway where one of their N. Sea oil rigs is designed to pump carbon back into the space created when oil is extracted. But that’s small cheese and doesn’t involve re-capturing atmospheric carbon.
I vaguely recall a solar power one extracting atmospheric carbon.
Basically, it is the basic law of physics that creating fuel from air needs an energy input, be it from solar, wing or hydro. Which means we should probably regard hydrocarbon fuel in this case as an energy-dense battery, rather than a new energy source.
It’s not my thing, but any such technology would need to of course extract meaningful amounts from 400ppm carbon air. Although I forget my 6th form chemistry what is needed to calculate how much air is required to give a kilo of octane based on atomic weights.
Yeah you are onto what is being explored by the scientists through either wind or solar power there is produced a usable fuel which in effect stores the sunlight or wind in the liquid fuel much as a battery stores electricity,
Of course the danger of reliance upon CO2 extracted from the atmosphere as a fuel is that we would then extract too much of it and we would then be in the same climate position that we are now,
And then along comes someone with the smarts to be able to do the same less the heavy metals,
Modified microbes turns carbon dioxide into fuels,
phys.org/news/2012-03-microbes-carbon-dioxide-liquid-fuel.html
Of course at the point of Methanol being produced their is no need to continue on to fuel production as Methanol is heavily used in the production of plastics which have a long life so would ‘fix’ the CO2 extracted from the atmosphere for a far longer period of time than simply creating fuels would do,
I was reading this article from the NYTimes earlier, about gassifying coal and storing the CO2 underground. My questions: How could CO2 leakage be controlled – and what happens in a major earthquake? Coal’s new technology
“Then there are the questions about what happens to all that CO2 once it’s pumped underground. “We have confidence that large-scale CO2 injection projects can be operated safely,” a study on the future of coal by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded. But since our experience with large-scale injection is so limited, no one knows for sure what the risks are. CO2, which is buoyant underground, can migrate through cracks in the earth and around old wellheads, pooling in unexpected places. This is troublesome because CO2 is an asphyxiant — in concentrations above 20 percent it can cause a person to lose consciousness in a breath or two. In theory, you could enter a basement flooded with CO2 and, because it’s an invisible, odorless gas, you would never know it’s there. “
Yesterday, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported that journalists and experts are bullshitters, nearly to the last one.
Some background. One unambiguous Israeli victory in its attack on Gaza last November, journalists and experts widely concurred, was the performance of its ‘Iron Dome’ missile defence shield in shooting down projectiles fired from Gaza. The BBC’s Jonathan Marcus reported on the “remarkable” progress in missile defence technology represented by Iron Dome, evidenced by its “recent success” in the field. His colleague, Mark Urban, described Iron Dome’s “impressive” performance, while the Guardian‘s Harriett Sherwood reported Iron Dome’s “considerable success”. “The naysayers now are few”, observed the New York Times‘s Isabel Kershner—or non-existent, to judge by the number quoted in her article. The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg was satisfied that Iron Dome “is doing a very good job”, though he quoted a “friend… who knows a great deal” fretting that Iron Dome might, if anything, be too effective. The experts, too, seemed to agree. For dovish Israeli academic Ron Pundak Iron Dome was a “game changer”; for Shashank Joshi of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) it “represent[ed]… a major shift for Israel”; for the respected International Crisis Group, “the success of… Iron Dome” was not in doubt. The Council on Foreign Relations’ Max Boot spoke for most when he wrote:
“The latest Gaza war is only a few days old, but already one conclusion can be drawn: missile defence works”.
This expansive edifice of journalistic and expert analysis, pontification and reportage was based on a single source: official Israeli government statistics, which claimed a success rate for Iron Dome of approximately 84 per cent. The BBC’s Mark Urban was unusual in noticing that this was a not entirely disinterested authority—Israel’s government being “anxious to dismiss the impression that it has not [sic] been humiliated by Hamas”—but he proceeded to rely on its data regardless. Most reported Israel’s official line uncritically.
With surprising speed, the accumulating media and expert consensus on the success of Iron Dome became self-reinforcing, its existence taken as evidence of its own accuracy. Thus Max Fisher informed readers of the Washington Post that Iron Dome is, “by every appearance, a remarkable success”—”every appearance” being useful journalistic shorthand for “every regurgitation of the exact same set of official Israeli data”.
This is hardly news. Of course they couldn’t admit what their real purpose was, to to use the Gaza prison test the Muslim Brotherhood Cairo regime’s loyalty to the Sadat agreement not to open the Gaza border. They got the answer they wanted.
We picked it up http://redrave.blogspot.co.nz/2012/12/the-arab-revolution-meets-nato-zionism.html
…… I read Bill McKibben’s Eaarth, in which he argues that our familiar Earth has vanished and that we now live on a new planet, Eaarth, with a rapidly changing ecology. He writes that without immediate action, our accustomed ways of life will disappear, not in our grandchildren’s adulthoods, but in the lifetimes of middle-aged people alive today. We don’t have 50 years to save our environment; we have the next decade.
Jenny, its most likely about right, we probably don’t have 50 years to turn it around, its is not already too late!
If people want to make an instant, positive impact, and do something useful for the environment, they need to research and focus their efforts on halting geo-engineering.
Failing to get the modification stopped is going to provide a much faster conclusion, that the capitalist sponsored destruction can ever dream of!
It requires a multi faceted approach though, so the deniers need to stop crying conspiracy, and start paying attention!
Not that we are doomed. Just that the market economy is doomed. And that’s no bad thing when the resultant prospect of freedom ( eg, the development of substantive democratic systems for governance, production and distribution) is taken into account.
And the sooner we take the necessary steps, the less onerous the environment where our freedom can be expressed.
No. we are doomed. If we wait for capitalist society to collapse, it will be to late.
It is also possible, that the collapse of society as we know it, will remove the resources and organisation we need to make the global effort to halt climate change.
From Granny’s piece about the TAB closing it’s Ellerslie phone betting centre down….”plus “prohibitive” future costs for removing asbestos and other work.”
so It’s OK for workers to be in an environment with known asbestos then, thought that was a big no no.
Yeah, the TAB get the ‘Bastards of the Week’ award for such callous behavior, along with the issue of ‘asbestos’ the TAB invested in a betting system which did not work and lost the TAB $14 million dollars,
It would be interesting to see what sort of pressure has recently been applied to the TAB from Slippery’s National Government for increased returns to the Government from that organization and/or directions for the TAB to raise it’s level of borrowings…
so It’s OK for workers to be in an environment with known asbestos then…
Yup. Christchurch. It was absolutely okay for workers and inhabitants, obviously including children, to live in the midst of – and daily inhale – asbestos laden dust blowing through the city post quake and for said contamination to be spread further as it was simply scooped and transferred through the city to dumping sites (Lyttleton Harbour?)
‘..currently the labour party is still too wedded to its’ past mistakes..both economic and political..
(for labour going to war in afghanistan at the behest of america being a political whopper of a mistake..and their serious drinking of the neo-lib economic-kool-aid for those decades is still weighing them down..
..and with most of the actors in that farce/lurch to the right..still in control of the labour party..)
..and most of the union movement are still just lurking in their self-interest-bunkers..
..and something they need to look hard at is their history of standing by and saying/doing nothing..as those neo-lib labour/national regimes kicked the crap out of the weakest/poorest..for all those years..
I really struggle to understand these violent people – is it just that they can’t stand being told what they can or can’t do even if they never listen anyway.
The poll of 1000 randomly selected people was undertaken by Curia Market Research for advocacy group Family First.
Respondents were asked whether the anti-smacking law should be changed to state that “parents who give their children a smack that is reasonable and for the purpose of correction are not breaking the law”.
Of those asked, 77 per cent said yes, the law should be changed. Asked whether they thought the anti-smacking law had had any effect on child abuse, 77 per cent of respondents answered no.
They were also asked whether they would still smack their child to correct behaviour, despite the law.
Two out of three respondents, or 68 per cent, said they would.
77% of respondents are fucken arseholes and 68% are controlling violent bastards. Children are not dimwitted small possessions – they are young people that deserve respect and protection and value for their unique attributes.
Don’t forget to include the jackboots of the State – the only organisation empowered to utilise physical sanction to achieve its ends. For balance of course.
And perhaps something about historic use of physical sanction in previous societies. Just to see whether the current situation is out of kilter with history. Helps with that balance eh.
I made Child Abuse and Neglect an area of focus in my degree papers on Human Development, Abnormal Psych, Community Psych and Rehabilitation (the latter of which I received a personally addressed commendatory letter from the HOD) let’s call CAN a personal area of “expertise”; apologies for the immodesty.
From what I recall, the WINZ notifications are probably a better source than hospital admissions for overall CAN because it takes a lot and needs to be obvious for a clinician to definitively diagnose abuse as a cause of injury (the percentage going around the traps is less than half of actual admissions), but the admissions are probably a good indicator of amount of serious physical harm.
“We’re so sorry Uncle Albert
We’re so sorry but we haven’t done a bloody thing all day
(but if anything should happen
We’ll be sure to give a ring) ”
“Measured objectively, what man can wrest from Truth by passionate struggle is utterly infinitesimal. but the striving frees us from the bonds of the self and makes us comrades of those who are the best and the greatest.
There is no place in the new kind of physics both for the field and the matter for the field is the only reality. The field is the sole governing agency of the particle.
What humanity owes to the personalities like Buddha, Moses and Jesus ranks for me higher than all the achievements of the enquiring and constructive mind.
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.
If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.
The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.
I maintain that the cosmic religiousness is the strongest and most noble driving force for scientific research. (sadly now it’s War, Hubris and Money mainly)
Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe- a spirit vastly superior to that of man.
The divine reveals itself in the physical world.”
now to Werner; “What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning’ ($)
I have never found it possible to dismiss the content of religious thinking as simply part of an outmoded phase in the consciousness of mankind, a past that we shall have to give up on from now on.”
and Uncle Pauli; “I consider the ambition of overcoming opposites, including a synthesis embracing both rational understanding and the mystical experience pf unity, to be the mythos spoken or unspoken of our present day and age.”
to conclude with Werner, (not F.)
“The first gulp from the glass of the natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass, God is waiting for you.” (both Kuhns prism)
anyway, the secularists have heard about our godlessness, and they are on there way; freakin Dawkins, talk aabout throwing your prayer beads out of the cot and going on a crusade.
“and the joker man and the sailor man were searching everyone!”
I don’t think anyone has to be a theologian, just sensitive and responsive to the ‘majesty’ of reality (i.e., it’s bigger than us – it really is, so stop all the trying to ‘get it’ and just act accordingly).
I remember reading that the difference between the philosophy of Heidegger and that of Wittgenstein was that the former, at base, responded to the world with a question mark. The latter responded with an exclamation mark (i.e., even the movement to a question was too hubristic and meant you weren’t seeing reality clearly – ‘perspicuously’ – and encountering it directly).
Wittgenstein’s final words, supposedly, were: “Tell them I’ve had a wonderful life.” – not bad for someone who had very dark moods, a passionate temper, possibly attempted suicide several times and lived an austere and spartan life, despite being born into one of the wealthiest families in Vienna.
Wittgenstein could not be religious (in the ordinary sense of the word) because he realised that religiosity was not about knowledge or belief – just a particular way of meeting the world, and going on in it (which he thought he lacked – more fool him).
The truth really mattered to him, which was why knowledge could never be enough (always partial, as we all ‘know’). Hence the quotes from the physicists saying pretty much the same thing – they’ve all been down that particular rabbit hole.
Pretty simple stuff, really. Nothing complicated (cf Heidegger). Which is why it’s hard for many people to get. They often think that ‘it’ (i.e., ‘the answer’ to some Heideggerian question mark) has something to do with metaphysics, or some obtuse, labyrinthine ‘understanding’, or whatever. It hasn’t.
I think the big ‘fail’ with many religious people is that their ‘spiritual’ world (heaven, the after life, ‘being with God’, etc.) is just a paler, lighter and more translucent – and incoherent – copy of the material world. Casper the Friendly Ghost stuff or perhaps an image of beatific calmness – all-in-all, the ‘other world’ you have when you don’t have an ‘other world’ (so you make a copy of the one we have – with a kind of wispy, washed-out water-colour effect).
A bit sad really, though I guess if it does the trick … Personally, I’m happy with just the one world. It seems pretty spiritual to me – everywhere I look. And pretty material (thank God!) with all the unsatisfying ‘messiness’ that entails.
I think ghostrider888 is playing the ‘joker god’ – it’s a very fine tradition of spiritual pranksterism, quite well-suited to today’s entertainment-beguiled world. And it’s very serious stuff.
Don’t know much about that. After reading philosophy for a few years with extremely variable knowledge transfer, I threw up my hands and adopted the Decent Fellow philosophy: if I’m a decent fellow or near enough, and god/karma/the universe is decent or near enough, sweet. If g/k/tu is a bit of a “my way or the highway” dick that plays hard to get, then there’s nothing I can do about that, since I cannot know which precise flavour of religion or philosophy is the correct one. If they exist at all.
And out of that flows a lack of expectation, shit is what it is, just relax and roll with it. If you’re rolling along and see a nice place to be that you can roll to, do that. But if you miss it, fair enough, wait for the next on to come along.
I’ll assume that the figures for child abuse have trended down since this law came to pass..
Anecdotally greater awareness was the reason notifications trended upwards following the repeal of s59 with a resulting increase in substantiated abuse.
I would like to suggest a new weekly game called “Count John Key’s Lies.”
It would make great entertainment as we all try to spot the snake eyes when he realises he has to lie, then when he actually lies, and again when he has to jump up and down and all around to explain the things that don’t add up around the lie. The snake eyes have it – it’s all there in open glory for lie-spotters to go crazy over.
There may be helpful information to farmers suffering dry up of pasture in this NZ Grasslands piece.
http://www.grassland.org.nz/
NZ Grassland Association
14 March 2013
Planning, pasture management and recovery after drought, pasture renovation decisions
If what’s been falling on Wellington since last night is also falling on the pastures with a soil moisture deficit in places further north it’ll fix what ails the farmers, (can’t have them sitting round on the dole for too long they might become work shy and welfare dependent),
Steady and soft this rain will not run off into the waterways the thirsty soil will soak it up and the grass will grow,
Wont help Wellingtons acute shortage of water, but that’s down to one of the big dams at Te Marua being out of action for earthquake strengthening as much as it is drought conditions…
Also hope those over the hill in South Wairarapa also have received this soft rain. It was quite handy receiving such a gentle almost continuous drizzley shower from around 2pm yesterday, steady soft falls throughout the night and what looks to be more substantial rain today
The ground around here has soaked up the rain nicely, theres no pooling of water and most importantly it hasn’t gone straight into the stormwater drains, which it would have done, had we just had heavy falls straight away.
Haven’t ever seen a metservice forecast refer to the day ahead as gloomy though. If this is gloom then lets embrace it and rejoice
“Like a bat out of hell into darkness. Knowing what I’ve known all along: That it is God who creates our tragedies. But it is the Devil who makes us care. When I finally escaped Hell, I brought the Devil with me. It just doesn’t get anymore (right) than that.”
This was the highest proportion of all the main centres in Wellington. It means the Kapiti transport network doesn’t need to carry large numbers of people into Wellington for work. There is no new information available to suggest this has changed.
Put simply, there is no evidence to back up the constant messages that a four-lane expressway is needed for the future.
This is not to deny that some improvement will be necessary. The question is whether a high speed four-lane expressway is what is needed, or will even be helpful.
My own research has found that even NZTA officers believed the best option for such a road through Kapiti was along the existing SH1 and railway corridor. This was in line with NZTA’s own urban design panel review of the options, a review that was discounted by the board of inquiry.
So, why is it that our government seems determined to build these over-priced boondoggles?
Yes you are right, the facts do not support the ‘more motorways philosophy’, the facts would tend to suggest that in a situation of little overall rises in traffic from Kapiti to Wellington 3 billion dollars of new motorway is a ridiculous expense,
When the carparking at the Paraparaumu rail station was extended, effectively doubling it’s size it was full within a week effectively taking off the road system 100 more vehicles a day,
For a 10th of the 3 billion dollars of the Transmission gully white elephant which will serve to create grid lock at the Ngaraunga interchange at peak times park’n’ride could be extended along the Kapiti rail line by the erection of parking buildings at Waikanae,Paraparaumu,Mana,Paremata,Porirua and Tawa thus removing from the road system 1000s of vehicles a day,
All of the park’n’ride facilities at all of those rail stations are at present full to capacity every day…
I cringe when people try to tell me how great park and ride is. It has it’s place but the option that needs to be put in place is to have buses doing short loops feeding into the rail station. It would remove most of the cars from the road – if the rail service could cope with it but that would just mean more planning and double tracking.
Yup the ‘thinking’ around that is cars off the roads full stop, which does not actually occur for a number of reasons, one of the main ones being that people cannot be arsed walking to the bus stop in the rain and then walking home from the bus stop in the rain after 8 or 10 hours pushing the heavy wheel of capitalism, plus much of what you call ‘short loops’ to the rail aint in any way ‘short’ which simply encourages the use of cars,
In Wellington both the Kapiti rail line and the Hutt Valley rail line are double tracked, all the available car parking at all of the stations along these rail lines are full on every working day and the provision of parking buildings which connect directly to the rail stations on the lines would take 1000’s of vehicles a day off the motorway system…
the provision of parking buildings which connect directly to the rail stations on the lines would take 1000′s of vehicles a day off the motorway system…
While tying up more land and resources in cars.
It’s this misunderstanding of resources that means that people fail to understand the economy. All they see is the money and all the politicians and economist talk about is the money – completely ignoring the economy.
plus much of what you call ‘short loops’ to the rail aint in any way ‘short’ which simply encourages the use of cars,
I’m thinking no longer than ten minutes and probably free.
Putting aside for the moment your ‘idealized economy’ which you make up in your head for any given situation i wont even ask you who then will pay for the ‘free ride’,
And for those who live more than a 10 minute bus ride for a rail station???…
Hear what you saying re putting on buses to do short loops feeding into the rail station as an alternate option to park and rides. We do have bus connections in those flatter more outlying suburbs where the buses can negotiate the streets easily but as the train heads further south towards the city you get into the steep hill suburbs. Some of these streets are only one car width in places, have blind corners and corners that a bus can’t actually get around. (Some steets however might be able to accomodate those little mini buses?) Maybe the idea in those areas is for neighbourhood residents to organise car pooling to the park and ride at the station. I’ve heard of folks that do this but I don’t know if its its a formal initiative.
Sounds like something along the lines of what i believe Wellington City should attempt in conjunction with it’s proposed ‘bus hubs’,
Such a system would work far better if at peak times a number of passenger vans where circulating the various suburbs picking people up and dropping them at these bus hubs,
The thinking there is commuters could be picked up from their gate by waving at the drivers and dropped at the bus hubs with the cost included in the actual bus fare…
I’m with ya there bad12. Peak time mini buses, pick up at gate. Would work really well on J’ville line too at Churton Park, Ngaio and Khandallah, especially on steep eastern hill side of the tracks.
Redwood and Tawa would benefit from such a system on the Kapiti line.
Re your walk home from the station after long work day point above: I’ve noted buses around here are chocka during summer but almost empty in winter. Its an example of folks wanting to use public transport but having their limits. Lucky me, bus stop right outside!
Lolz whinge, ha ha, who’s a little sensitive today???, in point the point i make about park and ride for the Kapiti and Hutt rail corridors i am addressing the need for parking at rail stations,
In the point i am making about about the proposed Wellington City bus hubs i am talking about Wellington City suburban commuters, as different as chalk and cheese…
Lolz whinge, ha ha, who’s a little sensitive today???
You are. You really don’t like being questioned about the stuff you put forward as the saviour of man only to have it pointed out to you that it probably isn’t. I’ve noticed this before.
in point the point i make about park and ride for the Kapiti and Hutt rail corridors i am addressing the need for parking at rail stations,
And I was pointing out that buses running short routes in conjunction with the parking spaces would be a better option.
In the point i am making about about the proposed Wellington City bus hubs i am talking about Wellington City suburban commuters, as different as chalk and cheese…
So different that it’s exactly the same concept that I put forward. Buses (a van carrying passengers is a bus) running running short loops to a central location.
Will the Novopay system manage to fire all the people that should have been held to account for it’s implementation in the first place despite them not actually being on the payroll?
The Magic 8-Ball poll has a margin of error of 0%. Unlike other polls, the non-responses and don’t-knows are factored in to give a far more accurate snapshot of the electorate.
“Minecraft chat-rooms are full of inane CRAP!”
Another irony-free edition of The Panel
Radio New Zealand National, Monday 11 March 2013
Jim Mora, Charlotte Graham, Nevil “Breivik” Gibson, Chris Wikaira
JIM MORA: Okay it’s quarter to four, and Charlotte Graham is here, with what the wo-o-o-o-o-o-orld’s talking about! What have you got for us today?
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM: Well, first up is this story about a mobile phone that costs just one pound.
MORA: One pound?
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM:[betraying slight irritation] Yes.
MORA: Mmmm-kay. What else?
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM: Well there’s this curious story of an e-mail bug—
MORA: One of the dubious legacies of Hugo Chávez!
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM: Yes, e-mails are circulating with bugs in them.
MORA: And he’s being embalmed, is he?
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM: Yes, he’ll get the full Lenin treatment and will be embalmed for decades, which is delightful!
MORA:[suddenly thoughtful, serious] Who is embalmed? Eva Perón?
NEVIL “BREIVIK” GIBSON: Stalin. And the Kims are pretty good at it.
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM: Mummification, which in the case of is a terrifying thought! [chuckles]
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Indeed! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Okay, anything else?
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM: Yes, this one is about Kate Middleton. She’s been criticized for having no opinions..
MORA: Is there still a place for the smiling royal bride, do you think, Nevil Gibson?
BREIVIK GIBSON: Ooooh yeah.
MORA: Well, there’s certainly a lot of opinions going to be expressed on The Panel today! Back after the news!
………4 o’clock News……….
MORA: Okay, on The Panel today are Nevil Gibson and Chris Wikaira. Nevil Gibson, you love the movies don’t you!
BREIVIK GIBSON: I do, and I’ve been watching all the movies that were nominated for the Academy Awards.
MORA: Which one was your favorite?
BREIVIK GIBSON: I thought Zero Dark Thirty was the best film of the year. Although it suffered a bit of a backlash.
MORA: It did a bit!
BREIVIK GIBSON: Though Argo was a good popular film.
MORA: But it got its facts wrong didn’t it.
BREIVIK GIBSON: It did. It was hard for Ben Affleck to get everything right.
MORA: Okay. Do you think John Key should have gone to the funeral of Hugo Chávez? [snickers nervously]
BREIVIK GIBSON: Oooooh, I think there are two groups in South America. We are NOT in that one!
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Okay, onto the Novopay debacle. You two have both got excellent political antennae. Any thoughts on this?
BREIVIK GIBSON: Maybe they should have stuck with the bulk-funding.
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
CHRIS WIKAIRA: Ha ha ha ha ha!
BREIVIK GIBSON: Which was abolished by the Labour government.
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha! Thank you Nevil Gibson! All right, next up is an allegedly racist speech by Bill Rayner of Grey Power. What do you think? Should we be able to TALK about these issues?
WIKAIRA: Of COURSE we should be able to talk about it! Kapai, Bill!
MORA: Can we have an open conversation without the “racist” epithet being flung around? Okay, Bill Rayner joins us now.
BILL RAYNER: Good afternoon, Jim and good afternoon to the Panelists.
MORA: Okay, so you’re talking about assimilatible integration, yeah? Are you the same as Tariana Turia?
BILL RAYNER: Yes. Pakeha New Zealanders are discriminated against in their own country. Dual passports are unavailable to traditional New Zealand people.
MORA: You say the old people are finding it hard to cope. Why?
BILL RAYNER: Once again it’s cultural linkage. The council is canceling the lease of the Takapuna Croquet Club to build a four-story block of flats.
MORA: But, but surely—-
BILL RAYNER: I’m the least racist person in New Zealand. I’m part-Maori myself. It’s difficult when you’re accused of being racist.
MORA: I’ve gotta go, Bill. Time for the news.
…….4:30 News and Weather……..
MORA: Okay, it’s time to hear what our Panelists have been THINKING ABOUT. Chris Wikaira, what’s on your mind?
WIKAIRA: I’m concerned about the intellectual standard of Minecraft discussions on the YouTube bulletin boards.
MORA: Really?
WIKAIRA: Have either of you ever read the Minecraft discussion boards?
MORA: No I don’t think I have!
BREIVIK GIBSON:[with disdainful gravitas] N-n-no.
WIKAIRA: Well, I have, and I assure you, it is inane C-R-R-R-RAP! [An uninteresting ramble follows for several minutes.]
MORA: Mmmm-kay. [awkward silence] Nevil Gibson, anything on YOUR mind?
BREIVIK GIBSON: Yes, I am concerned about the shops not being open on Queen Street on Sundays. …..
But, but but Fender!!!!! Jum’s SUCH a noice man aye – frend of all, desperate for approval. How can you cast scorn on such a man of integrity, principle, and ouright FOREskin of the English language. The new Max Cryer, the new Selwyn Toogood, the new RINSO man!, the unbiased equal opportunist whose fair and balanced approach to PSB has him giving equal tunety to JK and DS alike. I wank over the thought of him every night FFS!
And Dear Jum is showing us how Neshnool Radio is ekshly National Radio – and it “sounds like US”.
(Besides … it’s not about Jum, it’s about YOU)!
Why even David Slack is on The Panel sometimes – even volunteerily!
This Jum you refer to …..
Sage!
Unbiased!
Friend of the People!
Proven Credentials and Credibility!
Just the NICEST of men!
Understanding!
Caring’
SHARING!
Informing, Educating and Entertaining!
No no no – Fender … you’ve got it all wrong!
And now here are a few things I’ve written about Graham Bell’s legendary guest appearances on The Panel. I’m sure others have done better, more complete analyses than I have, but in my solipsistic way, I’ve chosen the ones written by this writer, i.e., moi….
Could be a mistake in the write-up above but assuming this was actually from last Monday then at that point the plan was for him to be embalmed. They have come out since then to say that they won’t as the process would involve the body being sent to Russia for 7-8 months.
If this was from today then yes they should have known better.
No, Chris, there was no mistake in my transcription. But as you say, the programme was broadcast last Monday, so they were all quite justified in their belief that he was going to be embalmed.
felix is one of the funniest commentors around this joint!
so, the new Novopay Nightmare; teachers lined up for termination by the machine, April 21st, no fooling; 111 staff in one overnight sampling
Drought; 2B (30% off annual growth predicted) ; Dairy sector provide 25% of income; how’s that for diversification, or desertification…
Snapper numbers suffer as their environment is under continuing threat, oh wait, from run-off sediment and pollution; sea grasses destroyed, eg. Kaipara Harbour and three other coastal catchments already.
Long-fin eels at risk and declining, yet commercially caught; MPI deny any decline happening.
A quick skim of an economic commentary in a week-end paper
-share-market up
-property market up
-Exports likely to come off on China and Aus slowdowns
-Interest rate rises predicted
-Inflation?
-Banks likely to come under pressure
Haven’t we been here before? tastes like poission .
In ChCh, if left too long, barren red-zone areas will be recovered in exotic weeds re-establishing; gorse and broom for example
from the Met Service; the further anticipated rain is unlikely to break drought.
Hey Jude…”these men are blemishes at your feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm- shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and up rooted- twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars for whom the blackest darkness has been reserved forever. 12. na
na na nana na na…Hey Jude…
14:2 He whose walk is upright fears the Lord, but he whose ways are devious despises him.
1080 is a shit issue for sure – the possums have to go and the approved way is to poison. I can’t stand the fact that we are keeping that poison factory open in the US just for us and it just seems Kali Yuga-ish to save the environment by poisoning – yet the Northern Rata were so great this year, so beautiful and magnificent. This report disturbs me because of the statement from DOC that
But DOC spokesperson Rory Newsam said there had been a 1080 poison drop planned for months.
“There is a planned 1080 drop on Moehau, up on the Coromandel, but that’s been on the cards for a long time,” he said.
“That’s well-documented. We also don’t know if 1080 has any impact on the frogs.”
umm who cares if it is planned and what has that to do with anything – oh – costs etc
The impact on our endemic species of frogs isn’t known? I find this hard to believe – haven’t they sussed that out even a little?
Friends of the Earth New Zealand Director Tucker said in Hunua’s 1993 1080 drop, 50 per cent of the Hochstetter’s frogs disappeared from the main monitoring site.
Our frogs are so unique with no voice-box and no tadpole stage – we must save and protect them and we must ensure that what we are doing to save other species doesn’t adversely affect them – it is the minimum requirement imo.
Marty, I’m of the opinion that the poisoning the regimes have been effective in all but eradicating bovine TB in my area and over many years I’ve noticed the decline in the number of dead trees in the Ruahine forest park canopy.
And although I’d dearly love to see the implementation of a more robust strategy to mitigate the effects on native fauna we’re in a catch twenty two situation, poisoning and risk losing species or not to poison and guarantee extinctions.
So I can’t really fault DOC for doing what they’re doing but I would like to take to task the arsewipes who’ve diverted funds from programmes looking at ways to mitigate by-kills into funding the eradication of diseases of production, bovine TB.
Fair enough joe as I mentioned I’m slightly conflicted about the debate. Tull Chemicals in Alabama manufactures 1080 I believe and two factories in NZ mix the poison and manufacture the bait – that was the bit I was trying to clarify. As to “not to poison and guarantee extinctions” not sure what species you are talking about there – obviously not the cows. The guarantee is more likely with these frogs I would say but I’m happy to read some links from you about that.
Yes, the frogs and their like Marty.
My beef is that like everything else this mob does there’s been a nod and a wink to concentrate on poisoning programmes that have a cost benefit because to the tory mind funding a frog no matter how significant it is has no demonstrable cost benefit.
The positive outcome for Mr Joyce re Novopay, will be to abolish Novopay and instead start Bulk Funding for every school. Each School will have its own payroll system to make its own errors.
Problem solved.
A long term National aim achieve.
Mr Joyce is a hero!
nailing Rodel;
according to neuro-scientists, the number of possible thoughts a brain could possibly have is- wait for it-
10 to the power of 70 000 000 000 000 (calculated on the number of neural configurations possible)
(apparently there are only 10 to the power of 80 atoms in the entire universe. hmmm)
anyway, 99.9999999999999 %of the world experienced is empty space (a great proportion of it in conservative / tory / racist / bigot intellectual worldviews possibly).
KEEPING THE PRESSURE ON AUCKLAND COUNCIL – $UPERCITY FOR THE 1%!
Explaining to Auckland Councillors at the Performance and Accountability Committee,
(13 March 2013) how Occupy Auckland won the Appeal; asking how much ratepayer monies had been WASTED on legal proceedings; and asking for a review of the performance of Auckland Council’s General Counsel, for ‘fitness for duty’ (and more….
I presume that Shearer forgot that he had the account and was not hiding it.
But what leader of the left, the poor and dispossessed, the unemployed and the working class would forget that he had $50,000 dollars in an overseas bank account.
His stupidity and his indifference are mind boggling.
I bet that Hone Harawira knows exactly how much are in his accounts.
maybe he forgot maybe he didn’t – either way he is a disgrace and no leader of the left, just a keylite – maybe this will wake up tribal labourites but probably not.
The goes buying power shares with the money that doesn’t exist. being leader on NZL doesn’t pay a living wage.
So key forgets a few nz rail shares and shearer forgets his primary schools post office account.
he has to declare the account if it has $50k or more , im hearing its considerably more than $50k and Shearer should have dealt with accountants to manage his forgotten mill.. i mean who dont ill treat their junior account clerks.
What was the outcome to the New Lynn LEC’s formal complaint to the Labour Council over the treatment meted out to David Cunliffe last year? Has there even been an outcome or has the Labour hierarchy chosen to ignore it?
from the Dom;
The Price of Milk may rise 20% and reach / exceed record highs; poss. $5.75 / 2l. Wow.
(and meat) but don’t worry, a BNZ economist suggests we won’t tip into recession because there is an upturn in retail spending and household borrowing…sigh
Wellington water betrayals? car washes and golf courses.Yep.
Turia submits an OIA request into high executive assistant staff turn-over under Parata; several private secretaries and a senior advisor for starters; “worrying reports of internal tensions” (could not make these piranha analogies up)
from First Union-Employers exploiting migrant workers
-weak penalties
-lack of enforcement
-chronic lack of factory inspectors.
Knife Crime : 8 fatal stabbings this year, already = “high” -Ian Lambie; Assoc. Proff, Clin. Psych.
and member of the Ministry of Justice Independent Group on Youth Offending. (Collins says “greater priorities to deal with” )
The selective outrage of “liberals”
Sounding off about the boogie-man Mugabe?
The Panel, Monday 18 March 2013
Jim Mora, Penny Ashton, Steve McCabe
JIM MORA: Pope Francis seems to be an interesting thoughts about the need for social justice.
PENNY ASHTON: I just can’t believe that ROBERT MUGABE will be going! I didn’t even know he was a Catholic! He certainly doesn’t believe in “Thou shalt not kill.”
One of my pet hates is ignorant people. Another one is hypocritical people. The ignorant and hypocritical Penny Ashton is the epitome of both. I simply had to dash off the following e-mail….
Dear Jim,
Another Catholic who will probably going to the Papal investiture is Tony Blair. He also obviously doesn’t believe in “Thou shalt not kill”. Why is Penny Ashton focusing on Robert Mugabe? Compared to Blair, Robert Mugabe is Albert Schweitzer.
His Affable Smugness doesn’t know there’s a world beyond his few hours of an afternoon. And his panel of in the the main ignorant, unartful, prejudiced, up-themselves, F-list celebs.
In order, those whom I exclude from the above category – Gary McCormick 100%, Edwards 75%, The Boagy Lady 50%.
Julia Hartley-Moore, noted curtain peeper, private dick, and monumentally ignorant know-all – minus 1,000,000 %. She personifies all that is horrific about “The Panel”.
Bugger me……just heard RNZ News making it a headline that Dunny-Brush’s pig of a carpark tax is a “pragmatic” move. Never a pig from the start. Pragmatic.
Julia Hartley-Moore, noted curtain peeper, private dick, and monumentally ignorant know-all – minus 1,000,000 %. She personifies all that is horrific about “The Panel”.
I agree that she’s pretty repellent but there are actually many worse regulars than JHM on The Panel. Off the top of my head, here are just a few of the worst….
JOHN BARNETT When he’s not being an obnoxious bully in his position as chief union-basher in the New Zealand film industry, he comes on The Panel to share his loopy blue-sky projects for the future of public television: put cameras in the National Radio studios and just broadcast it as is. And he was being serious; the poor fellow doesn’t have a humorous bone in his body.
DR. MICHAEL BASSETT One day on the show this fellow said, barefacedly, that Nicky Hager was a Holocaust-denier. Host Jim Mora said….NOTHING. To be fair, Mora probably thought he was imagining things or that Bassett had suffered a brain explosion.
GRAHAM BELL Domineering ex-cop, with a forced, sinister laugh. Not accustomed to being contradicted; was palpably angry when Gordon Campbell challenged and humiliated him after he (Bell) had indulged in a swingeing rant against climate scientists.
JOHN BISHOP The very incarnation of pomposity and self-importance. Perhaps his nadir was reached when he indulged in a ranting, ignorant denunciation of Robert Fisk. Joining him in the attempted hatchet-job was….John Barnett.
JOANNE BLACK Smugness, thy name is that woman!
BARRY CORBETT Back in February 2009, Corbett made the extraordinarily disgusting statement that the teenage victim of a murder in Auckland was asking for it and that he (Corbett) sympathized with the boy’s killer. Later on the same day he had endorsed the killing, he was due to be a guest on The Panel. He wasn’t banned, or even suspended. In fact he laughed loudly and vacuously as always, as if nothing had happened. He never mentioned the boy, and certainly never apologized.
JEREMY ELWOOD AKA Gloomy Gus, AKA Elwood Blues. Apparently likes to say he is a liberal and a left winger, but there have been few guests on the Panel as anxious to roll over and agree with every single word uttered by Graham Bell. Spinelessness, thy name is ELWOOD!
IRENE GARDINER On the day that Tony Veitch was revealed to have knocked a woman to the ground, then kicked her in the spine till he paralyzed her, Irene Gardiner actually said this: “The media are putting the boot into Tony when he’s down.”
GARTH “GAGA” GEORGE No statement is too dishonest or too insane for this bloke to utter. When Dr Michael Bassett tells lies, we know his behaviour stems from pure flinty-hearted malice; with Gaga George, it seems he almost believes his own nonsense.
RICHARD GRIFFIN A few years ago, the Silver Fox casually made a dismissive, ignorant remark about Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. Unluckily for the Fox, however, the other guest that day was …. (you guessed it!)…. Gordon Campbell, who is not in the habit of letting lazy bigots get away with lazy bigoted comments. A swift challenge from Campbell led to the quickest back-down and apology in the history of broadcast radio.
NEIL MILLER Bad enough that he’s a beer bore, but what’s unforgivable about this bloke is his ineffable smugness. Underneath that superficial bonhomie, he’s actually a nasty piece of work.
SIMON POUND Mealy-mouthedness, thy name is this fellow!
CHRISTINE (SPANKIN’) RANKIN Most people already suspected she was insane, after witnessing her (unintentionally hilarious) shenanigans during the protracted, mortifyingly embarrassing forced removal from her position as the worst CEO that WINZ or any other government department had ever suffered. Anyone who has heard her on The Panel will be convinced of it.
….et cetera, ad nauseum, ad absurdum….
The list could be much, much longer. When you assess it honestly, you have to come to the inescapable conclusion: The Panel is a horror show.
Like the list.
Gordon Campbell’s article on Bomber’s ban from the Panel. I quote “this will leave the Mora panel reaching for Chris Trotter as its only token ‘left wing’ balance to the endless stream of right wing guests on the show.”
Lolz who would have thunk it, the carpark tax will not be implemented as Slippery has put Revenue Minister ‘the Hairdo from Ohariu’ Peter Dunne firmly in His place of being the female dog of the National Government Caucus,
Petey tho knows how to use Slippery speak to back down from a National-vote losing tax piling it on in an interview with RadioNZ National a few minutes back…
Yeah, Dunny-Brush testily assuming a false gravitas and saying it was a “pragmatic” move.
Oh Yay – is that cue for “You may admire me now……” ?
Pragmatic ? No, a move made for the reasons he gave: cost of implementation and enforcement, small return and a few others. Not worth the shit of it.
In other words it was a pig from the start. A pig created by Dunny-Brush. A pig from a dog.
I wonder how much money went into that futile little adventure.
I saw that pile of excrement on Prime News, not so cock sure of himself like he was in supporting the asset sales Arseole. The reason why Shokey backed down, was it was not the flavour of the month for his fat cat mates. That’s the only reason why it was rejected.
One other “news item”was about the president of Cyprus telling the Cypriots, Brussells stealing their savings was “best” for the country, I wonder what Swiss Bank Account he is hiding his wealth in.
Lastly, real tragic event. That female who married “what’s” his name got the heel of her shoe stuck in a grate. Great drama the world as we know it nearly ended.
Between 4.50 and 5.00 pm on Aftenoons With Borer Mora today 18 March. Some character name of Philip McAllister, the usual last 10 minutes phone-in oracle. Missed what his particular field of expertise is but think it’s investment advice.
Extolling the virtues of house property investment and pushing the notion that there’s no real problem about getting on the housing property ladder and then advancing to further investment in rental properties. No real problem that getting off your bum and being financially literate won’t fix.
Borer and the other panelists seemed happy with this guy’s authority for what he said which went more or less like this – “we’re seeing lots of people coming in to invest in property……..lots of people”.
Lots of people, lots of people……..? Not a bloody word about poverty. Obviously a wanker who doesn’t even see the existence of lots and lots and lots and lots of people in this country living in poverty or near to.
Why the fuck is RNZ paying for five days a week of Borer’s wank-and-chuckle-fest ?
Sorry, North, I actually missed the second half of today’s show. Had to go out. Your summary sounds about right, though: just what I would have expected.
That jump in use of armed drones resulted from the authorization to use “signature” strikes, which allowed targeting terrorism suspects based on behavior and other characteristics without knowing their actual identity, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity.
So, act like what a USian thinks looks a terrorist acts like and get killed? Oh, goody.
“Getting agreement on the applicability of existing humanitarian law to the new technologies is crucial,” he said, because China and Russia do not endorse applying laws of armed conflict to new military technologies.
Haven’t seen the US doing anything like that either.
Steve Keen’s “Minsky” Kickstarter project crosses the line at US$78,000
Thank you to every one from The Standard who contributed to this success, I know that there were a fair few of you. If we are ever to accomplish our dreams for NZ’s future then it’s not just our politics which require reformation, it’s also (especially?) our economics.
It is getting there. You’ll have the trash function first as that works now. That was a pain to debug because of all of the cases that the old one did not. For instance it won’t allow you to trash a comment that has a reply attached (you have to edit it). If a reply is made to comment that has been trashed then it won’t let you save it. etc etc
Just moved the reply to the right (which is where it should have been in the first place) so I could layout the action controls to its left.
But it made me think, what would Winston want as king maker? I r remember 1996 (unfortunately), when I was convinced href go with Labour. Six weeks of negotiations later he signed with National. Price was a suite of policies they could ask live with. So what would national compromise on this time around? How would labour manage dealing with the greens and nz first on the policy compromise front? Answer-get a lead where you don’t need nz first!
[lprent: adding charts – click on them for full display ]
Lolz,our Roy is a swinging pollster isn’t He, that GCR or F thingy has taken a dive as well, it’s the sort of poll that seems to have a right leaning ‘ah oh if Shearer cant win in 2014 then Cunliffe is going to in 2017’ ring about it…
I r remember 1996 (unfortunately), when I was convinced href go with Labour.
Everybody was and everybody was shocked and disappointed that he went with National. Although, I don’t think anyone was surprised when the agreement collapsed.
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Yesterday, I received a few messages telling me that my article on school lunches was being heavily discussed on Reddit -I was pleasantly surprised it hadn’t been zapped, so took a look.95% of the comments were positive, and many Kiwis appear to feel angry at the ‘free market, public-private enterprise ...
The new report details the effects of unmet dental need and the financial strains, such as incurring debt including large MSD loans. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong story short, I spoke to researcher and campaigner Kayli Taylor in the interview above about her ActionStation Aotearoa report into unmet need ...
Hi,Late yesterday afternoon Webwormpublished a story on our website (www.webworm.co) — which this morning is top of New Zealand reddit, which is nice.But I wanted to get it to your inbox first thing today with a bit of added background.Webworm can report that various health professionals involved in gender ...
Germany had its Federal Election this week, and, well, people are talking about the map: Yes. That looks very much like the old German Democratic Republic (GDR) reborn, aka East Germany. Only this time, rather than Communism, the region has given itself over to the Far-Right (the Alternative ...
Prof Jane Kelsey examines what the ACT party and the NZ Initiative are up to as they seek to impose on the country their hardline, right wing, neoliberal ideology. A progressive government elected in 2026 would have a huge job putting Humpty Dumpty together again and rebuilding a state that ...
So. Farewell thenAndrew Bayly.It’s not easy to imagine something a minister could do in the Luxon Beehive that would be beyond the pale.But youseem to have a knack for finding it.I took the discussion too far and I placed a hand on their upperarm, you said.You sound like the sheriff ...
Back in January, Samoan cabinet minister La’auli Leuatea Schmidt was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. When he refused to resign, samoan prime minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa sacked him - triggering a political crisis. Because a majority of her political party felt that she should have not ...
Hi,Webworm can report that various health professionals involved in gender affirming care in New Zealand have received a threatening legal letter from Wellington law firm Franks Ogilvie.The law firm who sent the letter.The letter was sent on behalf of Inflection Point NZ, an anti-trans lobby group that boasts speakers including ...
Ryman Healthcare last year abandoned plans for a ‘boutique retirement village’ and sold this central Wellington site, after demolishing the former factory (seen here) and leaving it to sit vacant for 14 years. Now it has announced it will slash its building rate and look to dump more of its ...
Yesterday we covered a big part of a recent speech by Minister of Housing and Transport Chris Bishop. One aspect we didn’t cover was about the City Rail Link and his announcement of $200 million towards the removal of level crossings. On the CRL he notes: I’ve been down to ...
Long story short, I interviewed Reserve Bank of New ZealandChief Economist Paul Conway yesterday in the full video above about:the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to cut the Official Cash Rate by 50 basis points to 3.75% last week;the bank’s projection in its Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) for three more ...
Stay where you areYou're not going, just leavingI will sit around, let everybody talkAnd they will say what they knowThey will end up believingI will sit around, let everybody talkAndrew by Fur Patrol.Subscribe to Nick's Kōrero and save 20%Around lunchtime yesterday, I started seeing notifications about Andrew Bayly’s resignation. To ...
Hi,Something interesting has happened in Aotearoa, where one of the country’s most toxic Christian churches has pushed things too far, and properly fucked New Zealand off.As I wrote last week, members of Destiny church protested a Pride event in a library, pushing and punching their way inside.Destiny has always been ...
Allegedly, the defence environment has changed, and New Zealand thus needs to spend significantly more on Defence. The rationale is that China (our main trading partner) has been raising its profile in the Pacific, a region hitherto seen to be our own backyard, and an American lake. The cheek of ...
Germans went to the polls today, in what looks to be their most important election since 1945. The good news is that they seem to have kept the fascists out, with the Putin/Trump/Musk-backed Alternative für Deutschland coming second and effectively excluded from power. Instead, it looks like a Christian Democrat ...
I relaxed myself into the dentist chair first thing this morning. I was back for a quick second filling that couldn’t be done on the last visit because it had to go alongside the one he’d just done.I like the dentist, Geoff, very much. You may recall me mentioning the ...
The Way We Were - And Hoped To Remain: The iconic photograph of Prime Minister Norman Kirk holding the hand of a little Māori boy at Waitangi on 6 February 1973 held out the promise of a future founded upon the uncomplicated and uncontested acceptance of racial equality.WAITANGI DAY commentary ...
Over the weekend, David Seymour announced the government’s plans to “overhaul” the Overseas Investment Act.The Act looks after overseas investments in sensitive assets in New Zealand. Its main purpose is balancing foreign money in our sensitive assets/lands/fisheries/forestries with the risks associated with that.This includes considering New Zealand’s national and economic ...
Last month, David Seymour’s press release on school lunches said:“The [school lunch] programme was reformed to deliver the same outcomes while costing taxpayers less. This was achieved by embracing commercial expertise, using government buying power, and generating supply chain efficiencies…”And while that all sounded fair, the end result is - ...
Here are some thoughts about the hysteria surrounding a Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) flotilla conducting freedom of navigation exercises in the Tasman Sea, including live fire drills. 1) The flotilla has been tracked for over a week by New Zealand and Australian forces. The tracking began when the ...
Insurance premia are already sky high, especially in Wellington and other places deemed high risk, and now another cost of living shock is set to be delivered by a Government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things that stood out to me in our political ...
On Friday, Chris Bishop, the Minister of Housing, Transport, Infrastructure and RMA Reform, gave an absolutely fantastic speech to the Committee for Auckland. As a starter, he really sums up well why we need better cities with this line. I make no apologies for being an urbanist. Well-functioning urban environments ...
You can be amazingYou can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drugYou can be the outcastOr be the backlash of somebody's lack of loveOr you can start speaking upNothing's gonna hurt you the way that words doWhen they settle 'neath your skinKept on the inside and no sunlightSometimes, ...
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton, wagged a metaphorical finger at the National Party on Saturday, and RMA Minister Chris Bishop wagged straight back. A former National Party Environment Minister, Upton was a keynote speaker at the party’s Blue Greens Forum in Methven. His speech went right to ...
A listing of 33 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 16, 2025 thru Sat, February 22, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Several years ago, as an intellectual exercise, I had the fun of ranking the worst Emperors of the Western Roman Empire (https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2020/09/04/the-five-worst-western-roman-emperors/). I even followed it up with a look at Honorius historiography. But there was still a missing piece of the puzzle. I was limiting myself to Emperors from ...
Prof Jane Kelsey examines what the ACT party and the NZ Initiative are up to as they seek to impose on the country their hardline, right wing, neoliberal ideology. A progressive government elected in 2026 would have a huge job putting Humpty Dumpty together again and rebuilding a state that ...
Kia Ora,I was reading about the history New Zealand Timekeeping and I think I may have identified a factual error on this page from 2006:Page 1. Time past - Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand[The rest of the Te Ara article is included for substack readers]In Europe other markers ...
None of the official measures of child poverty improved in the year to June, 2024. Photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories short, the top six things that stood out to me in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty in the week to Sunday, February 23 were:Stats NZreported on Thursday ...
1/ Join community / common cause organisations Find organisations you resonate with. Join them and/or donate. In the fight against the state, it’s critical we pool together in all cases. If you don’t have the financial resources, sign up for information & updates. Knowledge is power. These groups, and the ...
Long story short: Aotearoa-NZ now has to make some difficult and probably expensive decisions about how we work and trade with China and the United States, our two largest trading partners. That’s because Donald Trump just overturned 80 years of certainty about how the US deals with and protects the ...
People killin', people dyin'Children hurt, and you hear them cryin'Can you practice what you preach?And would you turn the other cheek?Father, father, father, help usSend some guidance from above'Cause people got me, got me questioningWhere is the love?Songwriters: will.i.am, Justin Timberlake, Taboo, apl.de.ap, Printz Board, Michael Fratantuno, George Pajon, Jr.Where ...
A Bully in a China Shop?It is a mystery what Donald Trump learned when he did his BA in economics at the University of Pennsylvania in the mid-1960s. The Ivy League college has a good economics reputation, but even had Trump been a top student – unlikely or he would ...
The conflict we can see echoing across the world is being imported directly into New Zealand by outside powers and monetary influences that we don't want in our politics. It makes our politics messy and confusing, but untangling the puppet strings can help make sense of how we got here.This ...
Questions1. The poem that offers the immortal words The boy stood on the burning deck is about what?a. Eskimo Nell’s younger brotherb. The Reichstag firec. One of Napoleon’s shipsd. Christopher Luxon’s first year as Prime Minister2. What happens to the boy in the poem?a. Goes on an absolute bender in ...
I decided not to bother listening to the Reserve Bank’s appearance at FEC yesterday morning. After all, the OCR decision had been much as expected and foreshadowed, the forecast tracks etc hadn’t changed much, and – with all due respect to some new FEC members – how searching was any ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedQuote of the day:Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published“Our primary duty, I believe, is to maintain our water, our lakes, our rivers in a form in nature that supports life, ecosystems, communities, and, indeed, it ...
NZ’s peaceful and historic Hikoi for Maori rights and bottom, London police arrest environmental protestorsPeaceful protesters around the world are being jailed for years for nothing more than turning up or planning a protestAusralian climate change protesters To continue to receive posts like this, consider becoming a free or paid ...
And mama said mmmmh, mmmmhWhy don't the newscasters cryWhen they read about people who dieAt least they could be decent enoughTo put just a tear in their eyesAnd mama saidIt's just make-believeYou can't believe everything you seeSo baby, close your eyes to the lullabiesOn the news tonightSongwriters: Jack Hody Johnson.The ...
Hi,With the United States of America currently going down in a giant ball of flames like the Hindenburg disaster, it seemed like a good idea to get on a blimp. That line is basically meaningless, but it sounded good in my head so I went with it as an opener. ...
(My apologies. The version sent earlier this morning had the audio of last week’s podcast attached. It was good, but not that good. I have now updated with this week’s podcast. This is my error and please accept my apologies.)The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers ...
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:, Helen Clark and on the week in geopolitics, including Donald Trump’s wrecking of the post-WW II politicial landscape; and, ...
Open access notables Long-lasting intense cut-off lows to become more frequent in the Northern Hemisphere, Mishra et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Cut-off Lows are slow-moving mid-latitude storms that are detached from the main westerly flow and are often harbingers of heavy and persistent rainfall. The assessment of Cut-off Lows ...
New Zealand First continues to bring balance, experience, and commonsense to Government. This week we've made progress on many of our promises to New Zealand.Winston representing New ZealandWinston Peters is overseas this week, with stops across the Middle East and North Asia. Winston's stops include Saudi Arabia, the ...
Green Party Co-Leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick have announced the party’s plans to deliver a Green Budget this year to offer an alternative vision to the Government’s trickle-down economics and austerity politics. ...
At this year's State of the Planet address, Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick announced the party’s plans to deliver a Green Budget this year to offer an alternative vision to the Government’s trickle-down economics and austerity politics. ...
The Government has spent $3.6 million dollars on a retail crime advisory group, including paying its chair $920 a day, to come up with ideas already dismissed as dangerous by police. ...
The Green Party supports the peaceful occupation at Lake Rotokākahi and are calling for the controversial sewerage project on the lake to be stopped until the Environment Court has made a decision. ...
ActionStation’s Oral Healthcare report, released today, paints a dire picture of unmet need and inequality across the country, highlighting the urgency of free dental care for all New Zealanders. ...
The Golden Age There has been long-standing recognition that New Zealand First has an unrivalled reputation for delivering for our older New Zealanders. This remains true, and is reflected in our coalition agreement. While we know there is much that we can and will do in this space, it is ...
Labour Te Atatū MP Phil Twyford has written to the charities regulator asking that Destiny Church charities be struck off in the wake of last weekend’s violence by Destiny followers in his electorate. ...
Bills by Labour MPs to remove rules around sale of alcohol on public holidays, and for Crown entities to adopt Māori names have been drawn from the Members’ Bill Ballot. ...
The Government is falling even further behind its promised target of 500 new police officers, now with 72 fewer police officers than when National took office. ...
This morning’s Stats NZ child poverty statistics should act as a wake-up call for the government: with no movement in child poverty rates since June 2023, it’s time to make the wellbeing of our tamariki a political priority. ...
Green Party Co-Leader Marama Davidson’s Consumer Guarantees Right to Repair Amendment Bill has passed its first reading in Parliament this evening. ...
“The ACT Party can’t be bothered putting an MP on one of the Justice subcommittees hearing submissions on their own Treaty Principles Bill,” Labour Justice Spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country. ...
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
As the world marks three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced additional sanctions on Russian entities and support for Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction. “Russia’s illegal invasion has brought three years of devastation to Ukraine’s people, environment, and infrastructure,” Mr Peters says. “These additional sanctions target 52 ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced the Government’s plan to reform the Overseas Investment Act and make it easier for New Zealand businesses to receive new investment, grow and pay higher wages. “New Zealand is one of the hardest countries in the developed world for overseas people to ...
Associate Health Minister Hon Casey Costello is traveling to Australia for meetings with the aged care sector in Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney next week. “Australia is our closest partner, so as we consider the changes necessary to make our system more effective and sustainable it makes sense to learn from ...
The Government is boosting investment in the QEII National Trust to reinforce the protection of Aotearoa New Zealand's biodiversity on private land, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. The Government today announced an additional $4.5 million for conservation body QEII National Trust over three years. QEII Trust works with farmers and ...
The closure of the Ava Bridge walkway will be delayed so Hutt City Council have more time to develop options for a new footbridge, says Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Mayor of Lower Hutt, Campbell Barry. “The Hutt River paths are one of the Hutt’s most beloved features. Hutt locals ...
Good afternoon. Can I acknowledge Ngāti Whātua for their warm welcome, Simpson Grierson for hosting us here today, and of course the Committee for Auckland for putting on today’s event. I suspect some of you are sitting there wondering what a boy from the Hutt would know about Auckland, our ...
The Government will invest funding to remove the level crossings in Takanini and Glen Innes and replace them with grade-separated crossings, to maximise the City Rail Link’s ability to speed up journey times by rail and road and boost Auckland’s productivity, Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Auckland Minister Simeon Brown ...
The Government has made key decisions on a Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) framework to enable businesses to benefit from storing carbon underground, which will support New Zealand’s businesses to continue operating while reducing net carbon emissions, Energy and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Economic growth is a ...
Minister for Regulation David Seymour says that outdated and burdensome regulations surrounding industrial hemp (iHemp) production are set to be reviewed by the Ministry for Regulation. Industrial hemp is currently classified as a Class C controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act, despite containing minimal THC and posing little ...
The Ministerial Advisory Group on transnational and serious organised crime was appointed by Cabinet on Monday and met for the first time today, Associate Police Minister Casey Costello announced. “The group will provide independent advice to ensure we have a better cross-government response to fighting the increasing threat posed to ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will travel to Viet Nam next week, visiting both Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, accompanied by a delegation of senior New Zealand business leaders. “Viet Nam is a rising star of Southeast Asia with one of the fastest growing economies in the region. This ...
The coalition Government has passed legislation to support overseas investment in the Build-to-Rent housing sector, Associate Minister of Finance Chris Bishop says. “The Overseas Investment (Facilitating Build-to-Rent Developments) Amendment Bill has completed its third reading in Parliament, fulfilling another step in the Government’s plan to support an increase in New ...
The new Police marketing campaign starting today, recreating the ‘He Ain’t Heavy’ ad from the 1990s, has been welcomed by Associate Police Minister Casey Costello. “This isn’t just a great way to get the attention of more potential recruits, it’s a reminder to everyone about what policing is and the ...
No significant change to child poverty rates under successive governments reinforces that lifting children out of material hardship will be an ongoing challenge, Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says. Figures released by Stats NZ today show no change in child poverty rates for the year ended June 2024, reflecting ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the most common family names given to newborns in 2024. “For the seventh consecutive year, Singh is the most common registered family name, with over 680 babies given this name. Kaur follows closely in second place with 630 babies, while ...
A new $3 million fund from the International Conservation and Tourism Visitor Levy will be used to attract more international visitors to regional destinations this autumn and winter, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston says. “The Government has a clear priority to unleash economic growth and getting our visitor numbers ...
Good Evening Let us begin by acknowledging Professor David Capie and the PIPSA team for convening this important conference over the next few days. Whenever the Pacific Islands region comes together, we have a precious opportunity to share perspectives and learn from each other. That is especially true in our ...
The Reserve Bank’s positive outlook indicates the economy is growing and people can look forward to more jobs and opportunities, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Bank today reduced the Official Cash Rate by 50 basis points. It said it expected further reductions this year and employment to pick up ...
Agriculture Minister, Todd McClay and Minister for Māori Development, Tama Potaka today congratulated the finalists for this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy, celebrating excellence in Māori sheep and beef farming. The two finalists for 2025 are Whangaroa Ngaiotonga Trust and Tawapata South Māori Incorporation Onenui Station. "The Ahuwhenua Trophy is a prestigious ...
The Government is continuing to respond to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care by establishing a fund to honour those who died in care and are buried in unmarked graves, and strengthen survivor-led initiatives that support those in need. “The $2 million dual purpose fund will be ...
A busy intersection on SH5 will be made safer with the construction of a new roundabout at the intersection of SH28/Harwoods Road, as we deliver on our commitment to help improve road safety through building safer infrastructure, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Safety is one of the Government’s strategic priorities ...
The Government is turbo charging growth to return confidence to the primary sector through common sense policies that are driving productivity and farm-gate returns, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “The latest Federated Farmers Farm Confidence Survey highlights strong momentum across the sector and the Government’s firm commitment to back ...
Improving people’s experience with the Justice system is at the heart of a package of Bills which passed its first reading today Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says. “The 63 changes in these Bills will deliver real impacts for everyday New Zealanders. The changes will improve court timeliness and efficiency, ...
Returning the Ō-Rākau battle site to tūpuna ownership will help to recognise the past and safeguard their stories for the benefit of future generations, Minister for Māori Crown Relations Tama Potaka says. The Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passed its third reading at ...
A new university programme will help prepare PhD students for world-class careers in science by building stronger connections between research and industry, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “Our Government is laser focused on growing New Zealand’s economy and to do that, we must realise the potential ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown has today announced funding of more than $14 million to replace the main water supply and ring mains in the main building of Auckland City Hospital. “Addressing the domestic hot water system at the country’s largest hospital, which opened in 2003, is vitally important to ensure ...
The Government is investing $30 million from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy to fund more than a dozen projects to boost biodiversity and the tourist economy, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. “Tourism is a key economic driver, and nature is our biggest draw card for international tourists,” says ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters will travel to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, China, Mongolia, and the Republic of Korea later this week. “New Zealand enjoys long-standing and valued relationships with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, both highly influential actors in their region. The visit will focus on building ...
Minister for Rail Winston Peters has announced director appointments for Ferry Holdings Limited – the schedule 4a company charged with negotiating ferry procurement contracts for two new inter-island ferries. Mr Peters says Ferry Holdings Limited will be responsible for negotiating long-term port agreements on either side of the Cook Strait ...
Ophthalmology patients in Kaitaia are benefiting from being able to access the complete cataract care pathway closer to home, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. “Ensuring New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare is a priority for the Government. “Since 30 September 2024, Kaitaia Hospital has been providing cataract care ...
Speed limits are being increased on 1,500 Auckland streets, many neighbouring schools, after a council objection failed to sway the government. Auckland Transport has released a list of 1,500 residential Auckland streets, many near schools, where speed limits are increasing by order of the Ministry of Transport.Last year, the ...
New Zealand crime thriller The Gone returns for a second season – with more missing Irish tourists. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. Theo Richter is standing in a hut deep in the New Zealand bush, staring out the window. An animal ...
A new poem by Mikaela Nyman. Moon Dogs Your words chafe days weeks months into a blur. Squinting brings petty relief. See pinpricks of light long lost turn into myriad of tiny chevrons all pointing at this extraterrestrially lonely human squatting between goal posts on an abandoned ...
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 Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins (Hay House, $32) Latest self-help bestseller that is proving controversial out ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Zarmati, Senior Lecturer in Humanities and Social Sciences Education, Faculty of Education, University of Tasmania A fragment of vitrified brain found at Herculaneum.Guido Giordano et al. / Scientific Reports A young man killed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ellen Reeves, Lecturer in Criminology, University of Liverpool Traci Hahn/Shutterstock People experiencing domestic violence are often urged to report their abuse to police. But what if your abuser is a police officer? Our new research, drawing on 17 interviews with victim-survivors ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stefan Korber, Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Shutterstock It might have surprised some people when the United Nations made 2025 the International Year of Cooperatives and praised the “significant role cooperatives play in advancing ...
Alex Casey recaps the last two months of kitchen nightmares. In October last year, David Seymour launched his revamped school lunch programme. At a cost of $3 per meal and reportedly set to save $130 million a year, the meal options included chickpea curry, butter chicken, “Tex-Mex” beans and rice, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney This weekend, Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) continues to trumpet its now annual pilgrimage to open its season in Las Vegas. While it’s only the second year of a five-year ...
By Talaia Mika of the Cook Islands News As concerns continue to emerge over China’s “unusual” naval exercises in the Tasman Sea, raising eyebrows from New Zealand and Australia, the Cook Islands government was questioned for an update in Parliament. This follows the newly established bilateral relations between the Cook ...
Sixty years on from gaining independence, debate is raging in the Cook Islands about its political relationships with other countries.“Cook Islands deal with China takes NZ Government by surprise!”“Is Cook Islands-China deal shipshape?”“Crisis in the region deepens!”“Should New Zealand invade the Cook Islands?”From the questionable ...
Comment: Look, I know – no one really wants to think about the Covid pandemic, particularly in those parts of the world that suffered its worst horrors. We’ve moved on. But hear me out – if there’s one thing we can learn from those dark times it’s to get ready ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ehsan Noroozinejad, Senior Researcher, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University studiovin/Shutterstock Australia is in the grip of a severe housing shortage. Many people are finding it extremely difficult to find a place to live in the face of rising rents ...
Alex Casey talks to Tinā writer and director Miki Magasiva about setting the film in Ōtautahi, and what he learned from the community. The first of many palpable moments in the room at the Christchurch premiere of Tinā came during a phone conversation between the main character Mareta (Anapela Polataivao) ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia We’ve probably all had a moment when we stopped taking the Oscars too seriously. For me, it was when Denzel Washington won best actor for Training Day (2001), a crime ...
Demanding a return to locally produced meals, the Principals Federation says schools have been patient long enough, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Bring back old system, urge principals The NZ Principals’ Federation (NZPF) has urged associate ...
A prominent freshwater ecologist, appearing in a High Court trial, has defended comments made to Newsroom about nitrate pollution “ecocide”.On Thursday, Mike Joy, a senior research fellow at Victoria University of Wellington, gave evidence for Ngāi Tahu in its case against the Attorney-General over freshwater. A key part of the ...
The government has over $140 billion of projects being planned or built, and while cost pressures are put at just one billion, Treasury is not sure about the figure. ...
Giving the opposition more power on select committees is actually a pretty good idea. But is it enough of an extra accountability measure to make up for longer stretches between elections? Fresh off announcing some, shall we say, underwhelmingly received changes to the law governing citizen’s arrests, justice minister Paul ...
Max Johns embarks on a comprehensive tour of the current NZ music landscape. On Monday Independent Music NZ will announce the ten albums shortlisted for this year’s Taite Music Prize, which is traditionally called “the prestigious Taite Music Prize” on first mention. Albums are judged on originality, artistic merit, creativity ...
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Comment: There wasn’t a keffiyeh in sight at the Greens’ State of the Planet public meeting this week.The party’s symbolic stand for Palestine and those in Gaza has been omnipresent, proud and unyielding, and become a prominent part of this Green caucus’ brand. In the House, at public events, formal ...
The country’s broadcasting and streaming landscape is set to shift, with the Government proposing significant changes in a media reform discussion document.Two of the most debated proposals include merging public funding agencies NZ On Air and the New Zealand Film Commission; and introducing a levy on international streaming services like ...
FICTION1Star Gazers by Duncan Sarkies (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)A free copy of the new No 1 bestselling novel in the land is up for grabs in this week’s giveaway contest. Sales were obviously very brisk at the packed launch; interest has been high ever since 2020 when ...
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Why did Solid Energy fail?
Because they are led by blind Fossil Fuel Fanatics who dragged naive National Party Ministers in their wake…..
However despite the support of the overawed, starry eyed Ministers, the plans of Solid Energy were completely unrealistic and out of touch with the global realities of fossil fuel use.
At a time in human history, when, even repressive regimes, not noted for their humanitarian concerns, are ordering cutbacks in fossil fuel, use out of fear of climate change. At this time of international talk of cutbacks and restraint. The lunatics in charge of New Zealand’s Solid Energy, were dreaming of empire building.
How crazy is that?
And the National Government went for it, hook line and sinker.
So why did presumably rational Government Ministers fall for this fantasy?
The fossil fuel fanatics at Solid Energy entertained visions of the huge profits to be made from fossil expansion which they put before the Ministers. It was this vision of a fantastic El Dorado presented to them which gave rise to them to leave to their senses. Shunting niggling concerns about climate change (which could affect such grandiose plans) to the back of their minds.
Like all victims of a scam their greed overcame their common sense. The Nats should have taken heed of the old saying “If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.”
It took treasury to inject a bit of rationality back into the debate:
Our world is dying. That is the reality of fossil fuel use and expansion.
Blinded by visions of wealth and power the Nats chose to forget this fact.
They have not been the first, and all the indications are, that they will not be the last, to make this fatal error.
Actually ‘the fossil fuels fanatics’ at Solid Energy as you describe them did not push ‘climate change’ to the back of their minds,
The fossil fuels fanatics at Solid Energy were taking positive steps in the capture and sequesture of industrial amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere at the production stage of it’s planned diversification,
To achieve this capture and sequesture from the atmosphere of industrial amounts of CO2 Solid Energy was investing in the technology with the Australian firm CO2CRC,
Seeing as the Government has now effectively financially kneecapped Solid Energy we will probably never know if it is possible to produce, (as i assume Solid Energy was attempting), fossil fuels whereby such fuels are in effect carbon neutral by way of the producer withdrawing by an industrial means the same amount of carbon that would be produced in the production and burning of the particular fossil based fuels being produced…
But we already know that’s simply impossible.
It might be possible to susbstantially reduce the amounts of carbon being expelled into the atmosphere from a given amount of burned fossil fuel. But that would mean extracting even more fossil fuels because efficiencies are necessarily reduced by any capture process. And anyway, since we are talking about cumulative totals of atmospheric carbon, reducing rather than eliminating emmissions ultimately serves no useful purpose.
”But we already know that that’s simply impossible”,????
Do we??? from what i have read it is highly feasible, using renewable energy such as wind/hydro to fuel the means of extracting from the atmosphere industrial amounts of CO2 is highly feasilbe and is being studied and put into practice as we speak,
Putting aside for the moment the fact that there are ‘different sorts’ of CO2 it is not necessary to capture X CO2 from the point of it’s emission which in effect is the ‘impossibility’
Industrial amounts of CO2 can be extracted from the atmosphere in places of high air movement where the CO2 is effectively brought to the means of extracting it from the atmosphere by such air movement,
If the same amount of CO2 is being captured and withdrawn from the atmosphere at say for arguments sake the Cook Strait,(an area of high air movement) as what is being produced across the whole country then you have in effect a carbon neutral economy…
PS,”But we already know that that’s simply impossible” is not a debate, where is the science that definitively shows this impossibility,???
There is very little that is ‘impossible’ and according to British engineers they can even pull CO2 from the atmosphere and using much the same machinery of refinement as what is used now refining oils to petrol turn that air/CO2 into a petrol product…
It’s just the basic laws of physics. If you are capturing all of the carbon then you cannot be using the carbon to produce energy for purposes other than capturing the carbon. And that’s not going to be 100% efficient. Can’t be – physics again.
As for the atmospheric carbn being captured and converted to fuel – yeah, I vaguely recall reading some tosh in one of the UK broadsheets. Took upwards of a year to produce a smidgeon of fuel. And all the energy inputs required for the process….?
Who is talking about being 100% efficient, it will cost obviously, one ‘theoretical study’ i have read is that that cost will be around 13 cents a tonne if the carbon capture and sequesture is of an industrial scale,
And, it is YOU that now puts forward some claim as if to say that i insinuate that all the carbon capture will or need be turned into fuel so as to enable the carbon capture to occur which is not what i have said at all,( but it’s always easier to debunk a point of debate that has not been made than one that has right)…
So can you provide links to these studies?
Yeah sure, about the time you provide a link to the science that says ”but we all know that that’s simply impossible”…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_thermodynamics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_transformation
Oh YAWN, where have i been discussing such things, i have been pointing out that CO2 can be extracted from the atmosphere and used in fuel or in the manufacture of other products/chemicals,
i have at no point suggested that as much or more energy will be gained from doing so as what is expended upon the original extraction of that CO2 from the atmosphere,
What i am suggesting is that IF such extraction were conducted upon an industrial scale using solar/wind energy to fuel such extraction with sale-able products as a by-product of the CO2 extraction then it (the extraction) is more likely to occur AND will cost less than would simply extracting the CO2 from the atmosphere and sequestering that CO2…
JFW bad. Look, it’s a really simple request. Will you provide a link to the stuff you’ve read or not? I’m not really interested in wasting time arguing whether you said *this* or *that* in relation to *whatever* or not. People reading the thread can discern that kind of stuff for themselves. I just want some links to the stuff you’ve been writing about is all.
Actually, you did.
Now, the energy in a litre of fuel is somewhere in the vicinity of a hell of a lot and the energy used to refine oil is somewhere around not a hell of a lot. What we want to know is where the extra energy is coming from.
Capiche?
Draco, YAWN, that says no such thing…
Bill, i dont talk in abbreviations, whats JFW??? ”but we all know that that’s impossible” wheres the link specially to the ”but we all know bit”…
Where is capturing vast amounts of atmospheric carbon by technological means being put into practice? And where are the vast storage facilities located? The only somewhat sizable project I’m aware of is in Norway where one of their N. Sea oil rigs is designed to pump carbon back into the space created when oil is extracted. But that’s small cheese and doesn’t involve re-capturing atmospheric carbon.
I vaguely recall a solar power one extracting atmospheric carbon.
Basically, it is the basic law of physics that creating fuel from air needs an energy input, be it from solar, wing or hydro. Which means we should probably regard hydrocarbon fuel in this case as an energy-dense battery, rather than a new energy source.
It’s not my thing, but any such technology would need to of course extract meaningful amounts from 400ppm carbon air. Although I forget my 6th form chemistry what is needed to calculate how much air is required to give a kilo of octane based on atomic weights.
Yeah you are onto what is being explored by the scientists through either wind or solar power there is produced a usable fuel which in effect stores the sunlight or wind in the liquid fuel much as a battery stores electricity,
Of course the danger of reliance upon CO2 extracted from the atmosphere as a fuel is that we would then extract too much of it and we would then be in the same climate position that we are now,
Heres the basic science,
CO2+Pyridnium Catalyst+Platinum Electrode+ Methanol,
phys.org/news/2012-06-startup-carbon-dioxide-fuels.html
And then along comes someone with the smarts to be able to do the same less the heavy metals,
Modified microbes turns carbon dioxide into fuels,
phys.org/news/2012-03-microbes-carbon-dioxide-liquid-fuel.html
Of course at the point of Methanol being produced their is no need to continue on to fuel production as Methanol is heavily used in the production of plastics which have a long life so would ‘fix’ the CO2 extracted from the atmosphere for a far longer period of time than simply creating fuels would do,
The Methanol Industry-Methanol Institute,
http://www.methanol.org>methanolbasics
Awww not again, those links are obviously not going to work, if you Google the heading above the link it should take you to the page…
And, that little equation should read,
CO2 + Pyridnium Catalyst + Platinum Electrode = Methanol…
My bad…
I was reading this article from the NYTimes earlier, about gassifying coal and storing the CO2 underground. My questions: How could CO2 leakage be controlled – and what happens in a major earthquake?
Coal’s new technology
“Then there are the questions about what happens to all that CO2 once it’s pumped underground. “We have confidence that large-scale CO2 injection projects can be operated safely,” a study on the future of coal by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded. But since our experience with large-scale injection is so limited, no one knows for sure what the risks are. CO2, which is buoyant underground, can migrate through cracks in the earth and around old wellheads, pooling in unexpected places. This is troublesome because CO2 is an asphyxiant — in concentrations above 20 percent it can cause a person to lose consciousness in a breath or two. In theory, you could enter a basement flooded with CO2 and, because it’s an invisible, odorless gas, you would never know it’s there. “
Study shows most “journalists” and “experts” are frauds
by Jamie, New Left Project, 10 March 2013
http://www.newleftproject.org/index.php/site/blog_comments/new_study_journalists_experts_are_massive_bullshitters
Yesterday, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported that journalists and experts are bullshitters, nearly to the last one.
Some background. One unambiguous Israeli victory in its attack on Gaza last November, journalists and experts widely concurred, was the performance of its ‘Iron Dome’ missile defence shield in shooting down projectiles fired from Gaza. The BBC’s Jonathan Marcus reported on the “remarkable” progress in missile defence technology represented by Iron Dome, evidenced by its “recent success” in the field. His colleague, Mark Urban, described Iron Dome’s “impressive” performance, while the Guardian‘s Harriett Sherwood reported Iron Dome’s “considerable success”. “The naysayers now are few”, observed the New York Times‘s Isabel Kershner—or non-existent, to judge by the number quoted in her article. The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg was satisfied that Iron Dome “is doing a very good job”, though he quoted a “friend… who knows a great deal” fretting that Iron Dome might, if anything, be too effective. The experts, too, seemed to agree. For dovish Israeli academic Ron Pundak Iron Dome was a “game changer”; for Shashank Joshi of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) it “represent[ed]… a major shift for Israel”; for the respected International Crisis Group, “the success of… Iron Dome” was not in doubt. The Council on Foreign Relations’ Max Boot spoke for most when he wrote:
“The latest Gaza war is only a few days old, but already one conclusion can be drawn: missile defence works”.
This expansive edifice of journalistic and expert analysis, pontification and reportage was based on a single source: official Israeli government statistics, which claimed a success rate for Iron Dome of approximately 84 per cent. The BBC’s Mark Urban was unusual in noticing that this was a not entirely disinterested authority—Israel’s government being “anxious to dismiss the impression that it has not [sic] been humiliated by Hamas”—but he proceeded to rely on its data regardless. Most reported Israel’s official line uncritically.
With surprising speed, the accumulating media and expert consensus on the success of Iron Dome became self-reinforcing, its existence taken as evidence of its own accuracy. Thus Max Fisher informed readers of the Washington Post that Iron Dome is, “by every appearance, a remarkable success”—”every appearance” being useful journalistic shorthand for “every regurgitation of the exact same set of official Israeli data”.
Read more….
http://www.newleftproject.org/index.php/site/blog_comments/new_study_journalists_experts_are_massive_bullshitters
lol Short clip of 13 seconds & one of the reasons people distrust journalists:
This is hardly news. Of course they couldn’t admit what their real purpose was, to to use the Gaza prison test the Muslim Brotherhood Cairo regime’s loyalty to the Sadat agreement not to open the Gaza border. They got the answer they wanted.
We picked it up http://redrave.blogspot.co.nz/2012/12/the-arab-revolution-meets-nato-zionism.html
shades of the “success” of the Patriot missile defense system in Desert Shield/Storm.
.
http://www.alternet.org/visions/wake-our-world-dying-and-were-all-denial?page=0%2C6
http://www.alternet.org/visions/wake-our-world-dying-and-were-all-denial?page=0%2C0
Jenny, its most likely about right, we probably don’t have 50 years to turn it around, its is not already too late!
If people want to make an instant, positive impact, and do something useful for the environment, they need to research and focus their efforts on halting geo-engineering.
Failing to get the modification stopped is going to provide a much faster conclusion, that the capitalist sponsored destruction can ever dream of!
It requires a multi faceted approach though, so the deniers need to stop crying conspiracy, and start paying attention!
Which geo-engineering exactly needs halting?
Hi Murray, hope you’re well
You have a Ph.D don’t you, I’m sure that gives you a few options in the *know where to find things* department.
Here is a clue – Its has been going on for almost 100 years now, and purposefully, for more than 60.
Remember, I used the term, geo-engineering
I’m not well, I have a PhD, and I can’t be bothered looking without a bit more of a hint. Life is too short.
Damned if we do and damned if we don’t then??? the way you have put that would mean that if we do nothing the life we are accustomed to is doomed,
Of course to take the courses of action that you would suggest would mean that the life we are all accustomed to is also doomed,
Pushing a barrow with a lose/lose lead balloon as the freight must be hard work…
Not that we are doomed. Just that the market economy is doomed. And that’s no bad thing when the resultant prospect of freedom ( eg, the development of substantive democratic systems for governance, production and distribution) is taken into account.
And the sooner we take the necessary steps, the less onerous the environment where our freedom can be expressed.
No. we are doomed. If we wait for capitalist society to collapse, it will be to late.
It is also possible, that the collapse of society as we know it, will remove the resources and organisation we need to make the global effort to halt climate change.
From Granny’s piece about the TAB closing it’s Ellerslie phone betting centre down….”plus “prohibitive” future costs for removing asbestos and other work.”
so It’s OK for workers to be in an environment with known asbestos then, thought that was a big no no.
Yeah, the TAB get the ‘Bastards of the Week’ award for such callous behavior, along with the issue of ‘asbestos’ the TAB invested in a betting system which did not work and lost the TAB $14 million dollars,
It would be interesting to see what sort of pressure has recently been applied to the TAB from Slippery’s National Government for increased returns to the Government from that organization and/or directions for the TAB to raise it’s level of borrowings…
Yup. Christchurch. It was absolutely okay for workers and inhabitants, obviously including children, to live in the midst of – and daily inhale – asbestos laden dust blowing through the city post quake and for said contamination to be spread further as it was simply scooped and transferred through the city to dumping sites (Lyttleton Harbour?)
why is this not happening here yet..?
http://whoar.co.nz/2013/why-unions-are-going-into-the-co-op-business-comment-and-when-will-the-new-zealand-union-movement-and-the-labour-party-get-their-shit-together/
‘..currently the labour party is still too wedded to its’ past mistakes..both economic and political..
(for labour going to war in afghanistan at the behest of america being a political whopper of a mistake..and their serious drinking of the neo-lib economic-kool-aid for those decades is still weighing them down..
..and with most of the actors in that farce/lurch to the right..still in control of the labour party..)
..and most of the union movement are still just lurking in their self-interest-bunkers..
..and something they need to look hard at is their history of standing by and saying/doing nothing..as those neo-lib labour/national regimes kicked the crap out of the weakest/poorest..for all those years..
..where was the union movement then..?..’
phillip ure..
I really struggle to understand these violent people – is it just that they can’t stand being told what they can or can’t do even if they never listen anyway.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10871909
77% of respondents are fucken arseholes and 68% are controlling violent bastards. Children are not dimwitted small possessions – they are young people that deserve respect and protection and value for their unique attributes.
I’ll put up a post on this shortly…
Don’t forget to include the jackboots of the State – the only organisation empowered to utilise physical sanction to achieve its ends. For balance of course.
And perhaps something about historic use of physical sanction in previous societies. Just to see whether the current situation is out of kilter with history. Helps with that balance eh.
Please call it what it is…the child protection law….
I’ll assume that the figures for child abuse have trended down since this law came to pass..
No dead, maimed, beaten children in NZ nowadays ???
yes with an if, or no with a but
I made Child Abuse and Neglect an area of focus in my degree papers on Human Development, Abnormal Psych, Community Psych and Rehabilitation (the latter of which I received a personally addressed commendatory letter from the HOD) let’s call CAN a personal area of “expertise”; apologies for the immodesty.
false modesty is a bigger sin
From what I recall, the WINZ notifications are probably a better source than hospital admissions for overall CAN because it takes a lot and needs to be obvious for a clinician to definitively diagnose abuse as a cause of injury (the percentage going around the traps is less than half of actual admissions), but the admissions are probably a good indicator of amount of serious physical harm.
so Ma Kelly’s Greasy Spoon then…
on another note
“We’re so sorry Uncle Albert
We’re so sorry but we haven’t done a bloody thing all day
(but if anything should happen
We’ll be sure to give a ring) ”
“Measured objectively, what man can wrest from Truth by passionate struggle is utterly infinitesimal. but the striving frees us from the bonds of the self and makes us comrades of those who are the best and the greatest.
There is no place in the new kind of physics both for the field and the matter for the field is the only reality. The field is the sole governing agency of the particle.
What humanity owes to the personalities like Buddha, Moses and Jesus ranks for me higher than all the achievements of the enquiring and constructive mind.
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.
If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.
The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere
of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.
I maintain that the cosmic religiousness is the strongest and most noble driving force for scientific research. (sadly now it’s War, Hubris and Money mainly)
Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe- a spirit vastly superior to that of man.
The divine reveals itself in the physical world.”
now to Werner; “What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning’ ($)
I have never found it possible to dismiss the content of religious thinking as simply part of an outmoded phase in the consciousness of mankind, a past that we shall have to give up on from now on.”
and Uncle Pauli; “I consider the ambition of overcoming opposites, including a synthesis embracing both rational understanding and the mystical experience pf unity, to be the mythos spoken or unspoken of our present day and age.”
to conclude with Werner, (not F.)
“The first gulp from the glass of the natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass, God is waiting for you.” (both Kuhns prism)
anyway, the secularists have heard about our godlessness, and they are on there way; freakin Dawkins, talk aabout throwing your prayer beads out of the cot and going on a crusade.
“and the joker man and the sailor man were searching everyone!”
yeah nah you’ve lost me there.
Einstein, Heisenberg, Pauli on, well, on just about everything.
(so the “campus” is a medical one then.) 
I got the physicists’ names, I’m just no theologian
Hi McFlock,
I don’t think anyone has to be a theologian, just sensitive and responsive to the ‘majesty’ of reality (i.e., it’s bigger than us – it really is, so stop all the trying to ‘get it’ and just act accordingly).
I remember reading that the difference between the philosophy of Heidegger and that of Wittgenstein was that the former, at base, responded to the world with a question mark. The latter responded with an exclamation mark (i.e., even the movement to a question was too hubristic and meant you weren’t seeing reality clearly – ‘perspicuously’ – and encountering it directly).
Wittgenstein’s final words, supposedly, were: “Tell them I’ve had a wonderful life.” – not bad for someone who had very dark moods, a passionate temper, possibly attempted suicide several times and lived an austere and spartan life, despite being born into one of the wealthiest families in Vienna.
Wittgenstein could not be religious (in the ordinary sense of the word) because he realised that religiosity was not about knowledge or belief – just a particular way of meeting the world, and going on in it (which he thought he lacked – more fool him).
The truth really mattered to him, which was why knowledge could never be enough (always partial, as we all ‘know’). Hence the quotes from the physicists saying pretty much the same thing – they’ve all been down that particular rabbit hole.
Pretty simple stuff, really. Nothing complicated (cf Heidegger). Which is why it’s hard for many people to get. They often think that ‘it’ (i.e., ‘the answer’ to some Heideggerian question mark) has something to do with metaphysics, or some obtuse, labyrinthine ‘understanding’, or whatever. It hasn’t.
I think the big ‘fail’ with many religious people is that their ‘spiritual’ world (heaven, the after life, ‘being with God’, etc.) is just a paler, lighter and more translucent – and incoherent – copy of the material world. Casper the Friendly Ghost stuff or perhaps an image of beatific calmness – all-in-all, the ‘other world’ you have when you don’t have an ‘other world’ (so you make a copy of the one we have – with a kind of wispy, washed-out water-colour effect).
A bit sad really, though I guess if it does the trick … Personally, I’m happy with just the one world. It seems pretty spiritual to me – everywhere I look. And pretty material (thank God!) with all the unsatisfying ‘messiness’ that entails.
I think ghostrider888 is playing the ‘joker god’ – it’s a very fine tradition of spiritual pranksterism, quite well-suited to today’s entertainment-beguiled world. And it’s very serious stuff.
S/he is also very good at it.
Don’t know much about that. After reading philosophy for a few years with extremely variable knowledge transfer, I threw up my hands and adopted the Decent Fellow philosophy: if I’m a decent fellow or near enough, and god/karma/the universe is decent or near enough, sweet. If g/k/tu is a bit of a “my way or the highway” dick that plays hard to get, then there’s nothing I can do about that, since I cannot know which precise flavour of religion or philosophy is the correct one. If they exist at all.
And out of that flows a lack of expectation, shit is what it is, just relax and roll with it. If you’re rolling along and see a nice place to be that you can roll to, do that. But if you miss it, fair enough, wait for the next on to come along.
a bit of rogue one might say Puddleglum; thank you for the affirmation in what can be a heartless world at times.
I’ll assume that the figures for child abuse have trended down since this law came to pass..
Anecdotally greater awareness was the reason notifications trended upwards following the repeal of s59 with a resulting increase in substantiated abuse.
http://www.cyf.govt.nz/about-us/who-we-are-what-we-do/notifications-requiring-further-action.html
I would like to suggest a new weekly game called “Count John Key’s Lies.”
It would make great entertainment as we all try to spot the snake eyes when he realises he has to lie, then when he actually lies, and again when he has to jump up and down and all around to explain the things that don’t add up around the lie. The snake eyes have it – it’s all there in open glory for lie-spotters to go crazy over.
John Key: “The lying Prime Minister”
+1 Great idea! We could take screen shots of his facial expressions and the SIS could use them to train their operatives to spot deceptive behavior.
We live in a cartoon republic under the NACT, 2 simpsons scenes spring to mind.
1 where sideshow bob states he was elected because poeple secertly yearn to elect someone who lowers taxes, brutalises the poor and rules like a king.
2 where Mayor Quimby tells the crowd they’re pigs to which they say ‘yeah give us hell ‘.
There may be helpful information to farmers suffering dry up of pasture in this NZ Grasslands piece.
http://www.grassland.org.nz/
NZ Grassland Association
14 March 2013
Planning, pasture management and recovery after drought, pasture renovation decisions
PDF
If what’s been falling on Wellington since last night is also falling on the pastures with a soil moisture deficit in places further north it’ll fix what ails the farmers, (can’t have them sitting round on the dole for too long they might become work shy and welfare dependent),
Steady and soft this rain will not run off into the waterways the thirsty soil will soak it up and the grass will grow,
Wont help Wellingtons acute shortage of water, but that’s down to one of the big dams at Te Marua being out of action for earthquake strengthening as much as it is drought conditions…
Also hope those over the hill in South Wairarapa also have received this soft rain. It was quite handy receiving such a gentle almost continuous drizzley shower from around 2pm yesterday, steady soft falls throughout the night and what looks to be more substantial rain today
http://www.metservice.com/towns-cities/wellington/wellington-city
The ground around here has soaked up the rain nicely, theres no pooling of water and most importantly it hasn’t gone straight into the stormwater drains, which it would have done, had we just had heavy falls straight away.
Haven’t ever seen a metservice forecast refer to the day ahead as gloomy though. If this is gloom then lets embrace it and rejoice
(
)
Is that you Roguey? Have you reincarnated?
“Like a bat out of hell into darkness. Knowing what I’ve known all along: That it is God who creates our tragedies. But it is the Devil who makes us care. When I finally escaped Hell, I brought the Devil with me. It just doesn’t get anymore (right) than that.”
Fair Play. Sounds like a yes to me:-)
Facts don’t support expressway
So, why is it that our government seems determined to build these over-priced boondoggles?
Oh, wait.
Yes you are right, the facts do not support the ‘more motorways philosophy’, the facts would tend to suggest that in a situation of little overall rises in traffic from Kapiti to Wellington 3 billion dollars of new motorway is a ridiculous expense,
When the carparking at the Paraparaumu rail station was extended, effectively doubling it’s size it was full within a week effectively taking off the road system 100 more vehicles a day,
For a 10th of the 3 billion dollars of the Transmission gully white elephant which will serve to create grid lock at the Ngaraunga interchange at peak times park’n’ride could be extended along the Kapiti rail line by the erection of parking buildings at Waikanae,Paraparaumu,Mana,Paremata,Porirua and Tawa thus removing from the road system 1000s of vehicles a day,
All of the park’n’ride facilities at all of those rail stations are at present full to capacity every day…
I cringe when people try to tell me how great park and ride is. It has it’s place but the option that needs to be put in place is to have buses doing short loops feeding into the rail station. It would remove most of the cars from the road – if the rail service could cope with it but that would just mean more planning and double tracking.
Yup the ‘thinking’ around that is cars off the roads full stop, which does not actually occur for a number of reasons, one of the main ones being that people cannot be arsed walking to the bus stop in the rain and then walking home from the bus stop in the rain after 8 or 10 hours pushing the heavy wheel of capitalism, plus much of what you call ‘short loops’ to the rail aint in any way ‘short’ which simply encourages the use of cars,
In Wellington both the Kapiti rail line and the Hutt Valley rail line are double tracked, all the available car parking at all of the stations along these rail lines are full on every working day and the provision of parking buildings which connect directly to the rail stations on the lines would take 1000’s of vehicles a day off the motorway system…
While tying up more land and resources in cars.
It’s this misunderstanding of resources that means that people fail to understand the economy. All they see is the money and all the politicians and economist talk about is the money – completely ignoring the economy.
I’m thinking no longer than ten minutes and probably free.
Putting aside for the moment your ‘idealized economy’ which you make up in your head for any given situation i wont even ask you who then will pay for the ‘free ride’,
And for those who live more than a 10 minute bus ride for a rail station???…
Hear what you saying re putting on buses to do short loops feeding into the rail station as an alternate option to park and rides. We do have bus connections in those flatter more outlying suburbs where the buses can negotiate the streets easily but as the train heads further south towards the city you get into the steep hill suburbs. Some of these streets are only one car width in places, have blind corners and corners that a bus can’t actually get around. (Some steets however might be able to accomodate those little mini buses?) Maybe the idea in those areas is for neighbourhood residents to organise car pooling to the park and ride at the station. I’ve heard of folks that do this but I don’t know if its its a formal initiative.
Double tracking on the Kapiti line was completed in 2011
http://www.kiwirail.co.nz/projects/completed-projects/wrrp/kapiti-line.html
Save Kapiti put up one helluva fight against the expressway but well, the govt was hell bent on fulfilling their roading campaign……………….
PS: Save Kapiti is
http://savekapiti.co.nz/
Sounds like something along the lines of what i believe Wellington City should attempt in conjunction with it’s proposed ‘bus hubs’,
Such a system would work far better if at peak times a number of passenger vans where circulating the various suburbs picking people up and dropping them at these bus hubs,
The thinking there is commuters could be picked up from their gate by waving at the drivers and dropped at the bus hubs with the cost included in the actual bus fare…
I’m with ya there bad12. Peak time mini buses, pick up at gate. Would work really well on J’ville line too at Churton Park, Ngaio and Khandallah, especially on steep eastern hill side of the tracks.
Redwood and Tawa would benefit from such a system on the Kapiti line.
Re your walk home from the station after long work day point above: I’ve noted buses around here are chocka during summer but almost empty in winter. Its an example of folks wanting to use public transport but having their limits. Lucky me, bus stop right outside!
So you whinge about my idea and then put forward the exactly the same idea?
Lolz whinge, ha ha, who’s a little sensitive today???, in point the point i make about park and ride for the Kapiti and Hutt rail corridors i am addressing the need for parking at rail stations,
In the point i am making about about the proposed Wellington City bus hubs i am talking about Wellington City suburban commuters, as different as chalk and cheese…
You are. You really don’t like being questioned about the stuff you put forward as the saviour of man only to have it pointed out to you that it probably isn’t. I’ve noticed this before.
And I was pointing out that buses running short routes in conjunction with the parking spaces would be a better option.
So different that it’s exactly the same concept that I put forward. Buses (a van carrying passengers is a bus) running running short loops to a central location.
I’m polling the Magic 8-Ball this morning. Ask it politics-related poll questions here and I’ll post the results.
gogogo
Will the Novopay system manage to fire all the people that should have been held to account for it’s implementation in the first place despite them not actually being on the payroll?
You may rely on it
More poll questions plox
Were trainers and equipment specialists among the 300 military staff made redundant in 2011?
…and will John Key say he’s comfortable with that?
Without a doubt
Another bad result of job cuts, Key will be comfortable with that no doubt !
As I see it, yes
Is anthropomorphic climate change occurring?
It is decidedly so
shall i continue to burn?
It is certain
Can David Shearer inspire the nation to rally together in an effort to release the nation from this most incompetant of governments?
Don’t count on it
In light of ‘don’t count on it’ should other measures be implemented to increase the odds of removing this incompetent govt?
Reply hazy try again
Concentrate and ask later
Better not tell you now
Does Janine from data processing fancy me?
Yes definitely
Will I be pretty? Will I be rich?
The Magic 8-Ball poll has a margin of error of 0%. Unlike other polls, the non-responses and don’t-knows are factored in to give a far more accurate snapshot of the electorate.
That’s quite some thing you have going on there Mr FV.
Another bad result of job cuts, Key will be comfortable with that no doubt !
“Minecraft chat-rooms are full of inane CRAP!”
Another irony-free edition of The Panel
Radio New Zealand National, Monday 11 March 2013
Jim Mora, Charlotte Graham, Nevil “Breivik” Gibson, Chris Wikaira
JIM MORA: Okay it’s quarter to four, and Charlotte Graham is here, with what the wo-o-o-o-o-o-orld’s talking about! What have you got for us today?
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM: Well, first up is this story about a mobile phone that costs just one pound.
MORA: One pound?
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM: [betraying slight irritation] Yes.
MORA: Mmmm-kay. What else?
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM: Well there’s this curious story of an e-mail bug—
MORA: One of the dubious legacies of Hugo Chávez!
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM: Yes, e-mails are circulating with bugs in them.
MORA: And he’s being embalmed, is he?
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM: Yes, he’ll get the full Lenin treatment and will be embalmed for decades, which is delightful!
MORA: [suddenly thoughtful, serious] Who is embalmed? Eva Perón?
NEVIL “BREIVIK” GIBSON: Stalin. And the Kims are pretty good at it.
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM: Mummification, which in the case of is a terrifying thought! [chuckles]
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Indeed! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Okay, anything else?
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM: Yes, this one is about Kate Middleton. She’s been criticized for having no opinions..
MORA: Is there still a place for the smiling royal bride, do you think, Nevil Gibson?
BREIVIK GIBSON: Ooooh yeah.
MORA: Well, there’s certainly a lot of opinions going to be expressed on The Panel today! Back after the news!
………4 o’clock News……….
MORA: Okay, on The Panel today are Nevil Gibson and Chris Wikaira. Nevil Gibson, you love the movies don’t you!
BREIVIK GIBSON: I do, and I’ve been watching all the movies that were nominated for the Academy Awards.
MORA: Which one was your favorite?
BREIVIK GIBSON: I thought Zero Dark Thirty was the best film of the year. Although it suffered a bit of a backlash.
MORA: It did a bit!
BREIVIK GIBSON: Though Argo was a good popular film.
MORA: But it got its facts wrong didn’t it.
BREIVIK GIBSON: It did. It was hard for Ben Affleck to get everything right.
MORA: Okay. Do you think John Key should have gone to the funeral of Hugo Chávez? [snickers nervously]
BREIVIK GIBSON: Oooooh, I think there are two groups in South America. We are NOT in that one!
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Okay, onto the Novopay debacle. You two have both got excellent political antennae. Any thoughts on this?
BREIVIK GIBSON: Maybe they should have stuck with the bulk-funding.
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
CHRIS WIKAIRA: Ha ha ha ha ha!
BREIVIK GIBSON: Which was abolished by the Labour government.
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha! Thank you Nevil Gibson! All right, next up is an allegedly racist speech by Bill Rayner of Grey Power. What do you think? Should we be able to TALK about these issues?
WIKAIRA: Of COURSE we should be able to talk about it! Kapai, Bill!
MORA: Can we have an open conversation without the “racist” epithet being flung around? Okay, Bill Rayner joins us now.
BILL RAYNER: Good afternoon, Jim and good afternoon to the Panelists.
MORA: Okay, so you’re talking about assimilatible integration, yeah? Are you the same as Tariana Turia?
BILL RAYNER: Yes. Pakeha New Zealanders are discriminated against in their own country. Dual passports are unavailable to traditional New Zealand people.
MORA: You say the old people are finding it hard to cope. Why?
BILL RAYNER: Once again it’s cultural linkage. The council is canceling the lease of the Takapuna Croquet Club to build a four-story block of flats.
MORA: But, but surely—-
BILL RAYNER: I’m the least racist person in New Zealand. I’m part-Maori myself. It’s difficult when you’re accused of being racist.
MORA: I’ve gotta go, Bill. Time for the news.
…….4:30 News and Weather……..
MORA: Okay, it’s time to hear what our Panelists have been THINKING ABOUT. Chris Wikaira, what’s on your mind?
WIKAIRA: I’m concerned about the intellectual standard of Minecraft discussions on the YouTube bulletin boards.
MORA: Really?
WIKAIRA: Have either of you ever read the Minecraft discussion boards?
MORA: No I don’t think I have!
BREIVIK GIBSON: [with disdainful gravitas] N-n-no.
WIKAIRA: Well, I have, and I assure you, it is inane C-R-R-R-RAP! [An uninteresting ramble follows for several minutes.]
MORA: Mmmm-kay. [awkward silence] Nevil Gibson, anything on YOUR mind?
BREIVIK GIBSON: Yes, I am concerned about the shops not being open on Queen Street on Sundays. …..
et cetera, ad infinitum, ad tedium….
Chavez ain’t being embalmed. Just sayin’.
No, but it made no difference to those three fools.
Enjoy your ‘Panel’ reviews Morrissey.
Don’t forget to highlight the nasty, mean spirited decriptions of the youth of NZ made by that ex-cop ‘Police 10/7’ host Mora fawns over, please.
But, but but Fender!!!!! Jum’s SUCH a noice man aye – frend of all, desperate for approval. How can you cast scorn on such a man of integrity, principle, and ouright FOREskin of the English language. The new Max Cryer, the new Selwyn Toogood, the new RINSO man!, the unbiased equal opportunist whose fair and balanced approach to PSB has him giving equal tunety to JK and DS alike. I wank over the thought of him every night FFS!
And Dear Jum is showing us how Neshnool Radio is ekshly National Radio – and it “sounds like US”.
(Besides … it’s not about Jum, it’s about YOU)!
Why even David Slack is on The Panel sometimes – even volunteerily!
This Jum you refer to …..
Sage!
Unbiased!
Friend of the People!
Proven Credentials and Credibility!
Just the NICEST of men!
Understanding!
Caring’
SHARING!
Informing, Educating and Entertaining!
No no no – Fender … you’ve got it all wrong!
This is the best compendium of Bell-esqueries ever made….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWCGxYVc9sI
And now here are a few things I’ve written about Graham Bell’s legendary guest appearances on The Panel. I’m sure others have done better, more complete analyses than I have, but in my solipsistic way, I’ve chosen the ones written by this writer, i.e., moi….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-24052011/#comment-333681
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-24022012/#comment-440319
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-10082012/#comment-505179
http://thestandard.org.nz/three-more-kiwi-deaths-in-afghanistan/#comment-510753
Could be a mistake in the write-up above but assuming this was actually from last Monday then at that point the plan was for him to be embalmed. They have come out since then to say that they won’t as the process would involve the body being sent to Russia for 7-8 months.
If this was from today then yes they should have known better.
No, Chris, there was no mistake in my transcription. But as you say, the programme was broadcast last Monday, so they were all quite justified in their belief that he was going to be embalmed.
felix is one of the funniest commentors around this joint!
so, the new Novopay Nightmare; teachers lined up for termination by the machine, April 21st, no fooling; 111 staff in one overnight sampling
Drought; 2B (30% off annual growth predicted) ; Dairy sector provide 25% of income; how’s that for diversification, or desertification…
Snapper numbers suffer as their environment is under continuing threat, oh wait, from run-off sediment and pollution; sea grasses destroyed, eg. Kaipara Harbour and three other coastal catchments already.
Long-fin eels at risk and declining, yet commercially caught; MPI deny any decline happening.
A quick skim of an economic commentary in a week-end paper
-share-market up
-property market up
-Exports likely to come off on China and Aus slowdowns
-Interest rate rises predicted
-Inflation?
-Banks likely to come under pressure
Haven’t we been here before? tastes like poission .
In ChCh, if left too long, barren red-zone areas will be recovered in exotic weeds re-establishing; gorse and broom for example
from the Met Service; the further anticipated rain is unlikely to break drought.
Hey Jude…”these men are blemishes at your feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm- shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and up rooted- twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars for whom the blackest darkness has been reserved forever. 12. na
na na nana na na…Hey Jude…
14:2 He whose walk is upright fears the Lord, but he whose ways are devious despises him.
Francis 1 sure is a hard act to follow.
now, back to a daily telegraph cucumber sandwich.
1080 is a shit issue for sure – the possums have to go and the approved way is to poison. I can’t stand the fact that we are keeping that poison factory open in the US just for us and it just seems Kali Yuga-ish to save the environment by poisoning – yet the Northern Rata were so great this year, so beautiful and magnificent. This report disturbs me because of the statement from DOC that
http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/8419477/1080-drop-fears-for-frogs
umm who cares if it is planned and what has that to do with anything – oh – costs etc
The impact on our endemic species of frogs isn’t known? I find this hard to believe – haven’t they sussed that out even a little?
Our frogs are so unique with no voice-box and no tadpole stage – we must save and protect them and we must ensure that what we are doing to save other species doesn’t adversely affect them – it is the minimum requirement imo.
Marty, I think the 1080 used is made by an SOE in Whanganui.
http://www.pestoff.co.nz/about-us
http://www.pestoff.co.nz/our-products
Thanks joe – I wonder what I was thinking about – got my wires a bit crossed – do you know mate?
Marty, I’m of the opinion that the poisoning the regimes have been effective in all but eradicating bovine TB in my area and over many years I’ve noticed the decline in the number of dead trees in the Ruahine forest park canopy.
And although I’d dearly love to see the implementation of a more robust strategy to mitigate the effects on native fauna we’re in a catch twenty two situation, poisoning and risk losing species or not to poison and guarantee extinctions.
So I can’t really fault DOC for doing what they’re doing but I would like to take to task the arsewipes who’ve diverted funds from programmes looking at ways to mitigate by-kills into funding the eradication of diseases of production, bovine TB.
Fair enough joe as I mentioned I’m slightly conflicted about the debate. Tull Chemicals in Alabama manufactures 1080 I believe and two factories in NZ mix the poison and manufacture the bait – that was the bit I was trying to clarify. As to “not to poison and guarantee extinctions” not sure what species you are talking about there – obviously not the cows. The guarantee is more likely with these frogs I would say but I’m happy to read some links from you about that.
and yes the by-kills are a problem thus my post.
Yes, the frogs and their like Marty.
My beef is that like everything else this mob does there’s been a nod and a wink to concentrate on poisoning programmes that have a cost benefit because to the tory mind funding a frog no matter how significant it is has no demonstrable cost benefit.
I agree with you joe – good point.
The positive outcome for Mr Joyce re Novopay, will be to abolish Novopay and instead start Bulk Funding for every school. Each School will have its own payroll system to make its own errors.
Problem solved.
A long term National aim achieve.
Mr Joyce is a hero!
If he gets the 100 million back (or 100 million worth of Sydney property) then we could call him a ‘hero’ for a day or two anyway.
nailing Rodel;
according to neuro-scientists, the number of possible thoughts a brain could possibly have is- wait for it-
10 to the power of 70 000 000 000 000 (calculated on the number of neural configurations possible)
(apparently there are only 10 to the power of 80 atoms in the entire universe. hmmm)
anyway, 99.9999999999999 %of the world experienced is empty space (a great proportion of it in conservative / tory / racist / bigot intellectual worldviews possibly).
-The Mystery Experience by Tim Freke
http://www.themysteryexperience.com/
(look deeper) don’t ya just love being free!
KEEPING THE PRESSURE ON AUCKLAND COUNCIL – $UPERCITY FOR THE 1%!
Explaining to Auckland Councillors at the Performance and Accountability Committee,
(13 March 2013) how Occupy Auckland won the Appeal; asking how much ratepayer monies had been WASTED on legal proceedings; and asking for a review of the performance of Auckland Council’s General Counsel, for ‘fitness for duty’ (and more….
MINUTES:
http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/AboutCouncil/meetings_agendas/committees/Pages/accountabilityandperformancecommittee.aspx
FILMED PRESENTATION:
http://www.allaboutauckland.com/video/1979/high-court-victory-countered-by-accountability-chair/
Penny Bright’
Anti-corruptioncampaigner’
Occupy Auckland Appellant (in my own name)
http://www.occupyaucklandvsaucklandcouncilappeal.org.nz/
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate
RSA Animate – The Paradox of Choice
About how choice is bounded by social norms and how having more choice results in less social change.
Go to max resolution and watch it in full screen mode.
kinda like being Lost In The Supermarket
Aaahhh One of my favourite things.
That was interesting and well done but it didn’t answer that guys question as to how much chicken is in chick peas.
Again, ordinary people wear the cost while those with the most dodge their obligations.
http://greece.greekreporter.com/2013/03/16/greece-didnt-collect-99-86-of-big-tax-debts/
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/03/shearer_failed_to_disclose_his_offshore_bank_account.html
This could be interesting for your favourite Leader !
NRT also has a post on this – http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/david-shearers-mistake.html
TV3 News item is at http://www.3news.co.nz/David-Shearer-declares-offshore-account/tabid/1607/articleID/290741/Default.aspx
Ooooh dear!
So it has to be over $50,000 or it dont need to be declared.
How do you forget $50,000 in a personal bank account? FFS !
Did he “forget” to declare the intrest to IRD too?
Quoting 3 news article:
Must be nice to be able to forget your salary.
Just…fuck…
Nice one caucus. Good choice, well done.
Fuck.
Mr Shearer really is the gift that just keeps on giving
+1
Jesus Mary and Fucking Joseph.
I presume that Shearer forgot that he had the account and was not hiding it.
But what leader of the left, the poor and dispossessed, the unemployed and the working class would forget that he had $50,000 dollars in an overseas bank account.
His stupidity and his indifference are mind boggling.
I bet that Hone Harawira knows exactly how much are in his accounts.
maybe he forgot maybe he didn’t – either way he is a disgrace and no leader of the left, just a keylite – maybe this will wake up tribal labourites but probably not.
The goes buying power shares with the money that doesn’t exist. being leader on NZL doesn’t pay a living wage.
So key forgets a few nz rail shares and shearer forgets his primary schools post office account.
Who said he had $50k in his account?
he has to declare the account if it has $50k or more , im hearing its considerably more than $50k and Shearer should have dealt with accountants to manage his forgotten mill.. i mean who dont ill treat their junior account clerks.
more to come , lots more
Shearer missing in action, again.
http://thechristchurchfiasco.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/sarahs-response-to-david-shearer-part-a-leader-of-the-labour-party/
Talking of responses:
What was the outcome to the New Lynn LEC’s formal complaint to the Labour Council over the treatment meted out to David Cunliffe last year? Has there even been an outcome or has the Labour hierarchy chosen to ignore it?
Death Star was an Inside job
from the Dom;
The Price of Milk may rise 20% and reach / exceed record highs; poss. $5.75 / 2l. Wow.
(and meat) but don’t worry, a BNZ economist suggests we won’t tip into recession because there is an upturn in retail spending and household borrowing…sigh
Wellington water betrayals? car washes and golf courses.Yep.
Turia submits an OIA request into high executive assistant staff turn-over under Parata; several private secretaries and a senior advisor for starters; “worrying reports of internal tensions” (could not make these piranha analogies up)
from First Union-Employers exploiting migrant workers
-weak penalties
-lack of enforcement
-chronic lack of factory inspectors.
Knife Crime : 8 fatal stabbings this year, already = “high” -Ian Lambie; Assoc. Proff, Clin. Psych.
and member of the Ministry of Justice Independent Group on Youth Offending. (Collins says “greater priorities to deal with” )
The selective outrage of “liberals”
Sounding off about the boogie-man Mugabe?
The Panel, Monday 18 March 2013
Jim Mora, Penny Ashton, Steve McCabe
JIM MORA: Pope Francis seems to be an interesting thoughts about the need for social justice.
PENNY ASHTON: I just can’t believe that ROBERT MUGABE will be going! I didn’t even know he was a Catholic! He certainly doesn’t believe in “Thou shalt not kill.”
One of my pet hates is ignorant people. Another one is hypocritical people. The ignorant and hypocritical Penny Ashton is the epitome of both. I simply had to dash off the following e-mail….
Dear Jim,
Another Catholic who will probably going to the Papal investiture is Tony Blair. He also obviously doesn’t believe in “Thou shalt not kill”. Why is Penny Ashton focusing on Robert Mugabe? Compared to Blair, Robert Mugabe is Albert Schweitzer.
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
So far, no reply….
You won’t get a reply Morrissey.
His Affable Smugness doesn’t know there’s a world beyond his few hours of an afternoon. And his panel of in the the main ignorant, unartful, prejudiced, up-themselves, F-list celebs.
In order, those whom I exclude from the above category – Gary McCormick 100%, Edwards 75%, The Boagy Lady 50%.
Julia Hartley-Moore, noted curtain peeper, private dick, and monumentally ignorant know-all – minus 1,000,000 %. She personifies all that is horrific about “The Panel”.
Bugger me……just heard RNZ News making it a headline that Dunny-Brush’s pig of a carpark tax is a “pragmatic” move. Never a pig from the start. Pragmatic.
Julia Hartley-Moore, noted curtain peeper, private dick, and monumentally ignorant know-all – minus 1,000,000 %. She personifies all that is horrific about “The Panel”.
I agree that she’s pretty repellent but there are actually many worse regulars than JHM on The Panel. Off the top of my head, here are just a few of the worst….
JOHN BARNETT When he’s not being an obnoxious bully in his position as chief union-basher in the New Zealand film industry, he comes on The Panel to share his loopy blue-sky projects for the future of public television: put cameras in the National Radio studios and just broadcast it as is. And he was being serious; the poor fellow doesn’t have a humorous bone in his body.
DR. MICHAEL BASSETT One day on the show this fellow said, barefacedly, that Nicky Hager was a Holocaust-denier. Host Jim Mora said….NOTHING. To be fair, Mora probably thought he was imagining things or that Bassett had suffered a brain explosion.
GRAHAM BELL Domineering ex-cop, with a forced, sinister laugh. Not accustomed to being contradicted; was palpably angry when Gordon Campbell challenged and humiliated him after he (Bell) had indulged in a swingeing rant against climate scientists.
JOHN BISHOP The very incarnation of pomposity and self-importance. Perhaps his nadir was reached when he indulged in a ranting, ignorant denunciation of Robert Fisk. Joining him in the attempted hatchet-job was….John Barnett.
JOANNE BLACK Smugness, thy name is that woman!
BARRY CORBETT Back in February 2009, Corbett made the extraordinarily disgusting statement that the teenage victim of a murder in Auckland was asking for it and that he (Corbett) sympathized with the boy’s killer. Later on the same day he had endorsed the killing, he was due to be a guest on The Panel. He wasn’t banned, or even suspended. In fact he laughed loudly and vacuously as always, as if nothing had happened. He never mentioned the boy, and certainly never apologized.
JEREMY ELWOOD AKA Gloomy Gus, AKA Elwood Blues. Apparently likes to say he is a liberal and a left winger, but there have been few guests on the Panel as anxious to roll over and agree with every single word uttered by Graham Bell. Spinelessness, thy name is ELWOOD!
IRENE GARDINER On the day that Tony Veitch was revealed to have knocked a woman to the ground, then kicked her in the spine till he paralyzed her, Irene Gardiner actually said this: “The media are putting the boot into Tony when he’s down.”
GARTH “GAGA” GEORGE No statement is too dishonest or too insane for this bloke to utter. When Dr Michael Bassett tells lies, we know his behaviour stems from pure flinty-hearted malice; with Gaga George, it seems he almost believes his own nonsense.
RICHARD GRIFFIN A few years ago, the Silver Fox casually made a dismissive, ignorant remark about Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. Unluckily for the Fox, however, the other guest that day was …. (you guessed it!)…. Gordon Campbell, who is not in the habit of letting lazy bigots get away with lazy bigoted comments. A swift challenge from Campbell led to the quickest back-down and apology in the history of broadcast radio.
NEIL MILLER Bad enough that he’s a beer bore, but what’s unforgivable about this bloke is his ineffable smugness. Underneath that superficial bonhomie, he’s actually a nasty piece of work.
SIMON POUND Mealy-mouthedness, thy name is this fellow!
CHRISTINE (SPANKIN’) RANKIN Most people already suspected she was insane, after witnessing her (unintentionally hilarious) shenanigans during the protracted, mortifyingly embarrassing forced removal from her position as the worst CEO that WINZ or any other government department had ever suffered. Anyone who has heard her on The Panel will be convinced of it.
….et cetera, ad nauseum, ad absurdum….
The list could be much, much longer. When you assess it honestly, you have to come to the inescapable conclusion: The Panel is a horror show.
Like the list.
Gordon Campbell’s article on Bomber’s ban from the Panel. I quote “this will leave the Mora panel reaching for Chris Trotter as its only token ‘left wing’ balance to the endless stream of right wing guests on the show.”
http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2011/10/10/gordon-campbell-on-rnz’s-banning-of-bomber-bradbury/
Looks like we have a little brownshirt army there. Wont be suprised if they go Otara and rough up DPB mothers next.
the ghost does Not haunt afternoon RNZ; only News Reports and Kim, oh Kim…wont you let me in; promise I won’t create Havoc mikey
Thanks Morrissey your comments are borer Morer are needed.
I actually think he does more damage to progressive ideas than most of the RWNJs on ZB.
Lolz who would have thunk it, the carpark tax will not be implemented as Slippery has put Revenue Minister ‘the Hairdo from Ohariu’ Peter Dunne firmly in His place of being the female dog of the National Government Caucus,
Petey tho knows how to use Slippery speak to back down from a National-vote losing tax piling it on in an interview with RadioNZ National a few minutes back…
Yeah, Dunny-Brush testily assuming a false gravitas and saying it was a “pragmatic” move.
Oh Yay – is that cue for “You may admire me now……” ?
Pragmatic ? No, a move made for the reasons he gave: cost of implementation and enforcement, small return and a few others. Not worth the shit of it.
In other words it was a pig from the start. A pig created by Dunny-Brush. A pig from a dog.
I wonder how much money went into that futile little adventure.
I saw that pile of excrement on Prime News, not so cock sure of himself like he was in supporting the asset sales Arseole. The reason why Shokey backed down, was it was not the flavour of the month for his fat cat mates. That’s the only reason why it was rejected.
One other “news item”was about the president of Cyprus telling the Cypriots, Brussells stealing their savings was “best” for the country, I wonder what Swiss Bank Account he is hiding his wealth in.
Lastly, real tragic event. That female who married “what’s” his name got the heel of her shoe stuck in a grate. Great drama the world as we know it nearly ended.
Morrisey, can you help me ?
Between 4.50 and 5.00 pm on Aftenoons With Borer Mora today 18 March. Some character name of Philip McAllister, the usual last 10 minutes phone-in oracle. Missed what his particular field of expertise is but think it’s investment advice.
Extolling the virtues of house property investment and pushing the notion that there’s no real problem about getting on the housing property ladder and then advancing to further investment in rental properties. No real problem that getting off your bum and being financially literate won’t fix.
Borer and the other panelists seemed happy with this guy’s authority for what he said which went more or less like this – “we’re seeing lots of people coming in to invest in property……..lots of people”.
Lots of people, lots of people……..? Not a bloody word about poverty. Obviously a wanker who doesn’t even see the existence of lots and lots and lots and lots of people in this country living in poverty or near to.
Why the fuck is RNZ paying for five days a week of Borer’s wank-and-chuckle-fest ?
Sorry, North, I actually missed the second half of today’s show. Had to go out. Your summary sounds about right, though: just what I would have expected.
Oh Look
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/8439466/Farms-fight-animal-abuse-filming-in-US
no don’t, you’re not allowed
and you are certainly not allowed to play at drones by your own rules
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/as-us-drone-monopoly-frays-obama-seeks-global-rules
“irony” indeed
burning along the new Silk Road
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323415304578366720369282206.html
oh well, gotta – and serve some hungry folk and their children now. Pray for rain, gonna need it.
Quoting second article:
So, act like what a USian thinks looks a terrorist acts like and get killed? Oh, goody.
Haven’t seen the US doing anything like that either.
All heil Skynet!
Steve Keen’s “Minsky” Kickstarter project crosses the line at US$78,000
Thank you to every one from The Standard who contributed to this success, I know that there were a fair few of you. If we are ever to accomplish our dreams for NZ’s future then it’s not just our politics which require reformation, it’s also (especially?) our economics.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2123355930/minsky-reforming-economics-with-visual-monetary-mo/posts/430765?ref=email&show_token=27d79358b60f8a30
Especially the economics needs to change as the theory being used is just wrong</a but, even worse, at the moment they're being used to drive the politics.
My Kingdom for an edit function.
It is getting there. You’ll have the trash function first as that works now. That was a pain to debug because of all of the cases that the old one did not. For instance it won’t allow you to trash a comment that has a reply attached (you have to edit it). If a reply is made to comment that has been trashed then it won’t let you save it. etc etc
Just moved the reply to the right (which is where it should have been in the first place) so I could layout the action controls to its left.
Spotted the latest Roy Morgan, which continues its bouncing-labour up two, nats down four:http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2013/4874/
But it made me think, what would Winston want as king maker? I r remember 1996 (unfortunately), when I was convinced href go with Labour. Six weeks of negotiations later he signed with National. Price was a suite of policies they could ask live with. So what would national compromise on this time around? How would labour manage dealing with the greens and nz first on the policy compromise front? Answer-get a lead where you don’t need nz first!
[lprent: adding charts – click on them for full display ]
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No rush, just give the Red Team and their Leader another 6 months to get settled in bro
Lolz,our Roy is a swinging pollster isn’t He, that GCR or F thingy has taken a dive as well, it’s the sort of poll that seems to have a right leaning ‘ah oh if Shearer cant win in 2014 then Cunliffe is going to in 2017’ ring about it…
Everybody was and everybody was shocked and disappointed that he went with National. Although, I don’t think anyone was surprised when the agreement collapsed.
Definite shock and surprise. Although I think the key determinant of the collapse was that shipley wasn’t up to the job.
As to the poll, only the chicken littles thought the 4% drop was indicative of an actual shift.
Great to hear Mike Williams express his sympathy for Steven Joyce re: Novopay on nine to noon today.
bah.