One day to go before the big meeting in the Auckland Town Hall GCSB bill.
And the leader of the Opposition Labour Party hasn’t made it clear if he will even be there.
Already we know that David Shearer refuses to stand on the podium with every other Opposition Party Leader.
The actions of David Shearer are deliberately undermining the sincere efforts of those who are trying to lobby Peter Dunne and/or any National MPs who have concerns about this bill to vote against it.
How can Peter Dunne or any other Government MP make this weighty decision to change their vote, when they can witness with their own eyes that the Opposition leader David Shearer is standing with the Prime Minister John Key on this issue.
David Shearer’s mealy mouthed words calling for a “review” (something that Peter Dunne has already asked for, and the Prime Minister has already agreed to), Is not enough.
So come on David Shearer. In the best traditions of Labour Party leaders of the past, why don’t you show that you stand with the grass roots of your own party and the rest of the opposition, and the nation. Announce that tomorrow you will be mounting the podium with the other leaders to make your opposition to this bill clear.
If it is beyond you. You don’t have to say anything. Just stand there in solidarity.
Given his name’s on the poster, does anyone other than you seriously doubt his intention to attend? I’m not interested in your opinion, just a link to someone other than you saying it will suffice.
Jenny, I usually do not bother reading or replying to your comments as IMO they contain a lot of ignorance and/or misinformation – sometimes IMO quite deliberately.
On this occasion:
1. Shearer was announced as a speaker at tomorrow night’s public meeting last Tuesday, I think, on The Daily Blog and has been on the poster since then.
2. Your remark that “We already know that Shearer refuses to stand on the podium with every other Opposition Party leader”. Since when? Show us evidence of this statement. Shearer has ‘stood on the podium’ with Norman and Peters on a number of occasions over the last year or so on manufacturing, housing and other issues.
3. After the last public meeting, on 26 July Shearer announced that if he became PM, he would initiate a wider ranging inquiry into all intelligencies agencies, their roles, functions, powers etc on coming into office, with the review to be completed within six months IIRC
I posted the link to this Herald article on TS and seem to remember that you were part of the discussion on this at the time.
As for your comment, nice try, but you do realise that she was posting from Planet Jenny, an alternate universe where everything looks familiar but has a Jenny-esque spin to it that has the unfortunate side effect one making one’s eyes roll.
LOL. Thanks weka. As I said ,I don’t normally respond to Planet Jenny but was not in a good mood when I read the latest dribble first thing this morning. Shaky Wellington is not my favourite place right now as quakes are my biggest phobia/paranoia. But – must be strong as can’t do anything about it! Or about Planet Jenny.
Shearer declared his intention to be one of the speakers earlier in the week since when he’s been on the “list” of speakers. He has emailed members and supporters twice in the past few days urging people to attend.
I thought Shearer was very good on Key’s exclusive NZ Herald GCSB ‘clarification’ when Shearer said that Key didn’t understand his own legislation and was making it up as he went along.
So reads the banner headlline by an article penned by journalist Tracey Chatterton for Fairfax NZ News,
I might like to ask Tracey Chatterton;
So What?
Would a headline reading hand cuffed man shot in the back be more accurate. What if this helpless and unarmed man had been shot in the back by someone other than a police officer?
Would his list of convictions be in the headline? Would that even be seen as relevant?
What is Tracey Chatterton trying to say here?
That the man deserved to be shot in such circumstances because he had a list of convictions?
That people who have convictions are more likely to get shot while being under arrest vulnerable and helpless, than those without previous convictions?
Despite the purposely leading headline, the report itself is less judgemental laying no fault on the arrested man who was offering no resistance at the time when he was shot.
When it comes to bad journalism this example surely must rank at the top.
It’s also very unlikely that a gun would simply just go off. Despite what the movies try to make us believe, guns don’t usually go off by themselves. If the riffle was slung over the officers shoulder, it should have been located at the officers back. Therefore he would have to have been leaning forward away from Iriheke Te Kani Pere for him to be shot. However it was also reported that the unarmed man was being helped to his feet by the officer when he was accidentally shot in the back with a Bushmaster rifle, that should have had it’s safety on. The events as described by the police seem highly implausible.
Could it be that under this government the police feel they have the right to administer their own penalties out to suspected law breakers. This could see a handcuffed suspect thrown off a fence and paralysed or handcuffed then shot in the back. Serco may not like the loss of income from these events but Paula Bennett will be fond of this style of treatment of suspects I’m sure.
The police have always felt that they have the right to administer their own penalties. What changes are the penalties. When a government with some interest in human rights is in power, they scale things down a bit, maybe to the level of grievous bodily harm. With the present government and its absolute contempt for any sort of legalities, the death sentence can be on the table. As a society we give the police enormous powers. We should make equally enormous efforts to hold them to account when they step outside these powers.
So you’re saying the police should just stand there like numpties and allow themselves to be shot? Of course I expect you will probably say they could shoot the perp in an arm or a leg, but that would be to reveal a fatal misunderstanding of how deadly someone with a fire arm can still be or how quickly they can squeeze off a bullet
Not enough time spent training on weapons would be my guess, they fire SFA rounds a year to be current, and I would find it hard to believe they even know how to pull their weapons apart. But surely he answer must be to carry them all the time, that would fix everything when they have no idea how to use them, that seem’s to be the modus operandi of this government?
Also lack of procedural weapons safety discipline, including the very basics…do not point your weapon, loaded or unloaded, at anything you are not willing to kill.
“..Why should dogs die – so humans can get high?..”
(cont..)
(ed:..and of course it would be salutary to see the (totally-justified) outrage at this plan to overdose dogs to death..to test the toxicity of new legal-highs for humans..
..to see this outrage spread to the fact that 270,000 animals are tortured/killed by the vivisectors in new zealand..
..each and every year..
..let that fact sink in…
..and then please start asking ‘why?’…’why are we torturing/killing animals..?
..to test cosmetics/dishwashing liquids..?’
‘cos..y’see..there are computer-testing programs that
can replace these hidden horrors..obviate the need for this litany of cruelties/miseries..
..’so why?’..i hear you ask..
..that ‘why’ is the same as for all the other industries that thrive on the miseries inflicted on others (alcohol/tobacco/legal-highs..)
..these animals continue to be tortured because of economic reasons..
..those doing the torturing..and the breeders..
..are locked in a ghastly dance of monetary self-interest..
….so what needs to happen..
..is for a large spotlight to be shone on the practices of this industry..
..and for them to justify the/any compelling need to be doing this to animals..
..until this comes to pass..
..these pieces of shit who garner their gold from torturing defenceless animals all day..
..will just continue inflicting these miseries..
..and it may be a cliche..
..but the animals cannot speak up for themselves..eh..?
..it has to be us..eh..?..
(and irony o.d-alert..!..for many years the spca has sat on the panel ‘approving’ these experiments/tortures on 270,000 animals each and every year..)
..and guess what..?..the spca used to sell/supply animals to the vivisectors..
..and how do i know this..?
..i know this because i once ‘liberated’ a dog from a courier van..
..that dog was enroute from the spca in auckland..
..to vivisectors in wellington..
..she ended up living a long and happy/well-loved life..
..so the next questions for the spca must be:
‘do you still sell/supply animals to the vivisectors..?’
and..’how do you – as an organisation purporting/fund-raising on the premise you help/protect these defenceless animals..
..how do you marry that with ‘approving’ the torture/killing of 270,000 of those ‘defenceless-animals’ you claim to ‘protect’..?
Good grief! (Still gagging) I have just caught a bit of the Nation with bill ralston and somebody else( aided by nodding and smiling smallie) going orgasmic over keys performance on JC Live. How concise and coherent he was and how he spoke to middle nz so that they could all understand his message. And how bad JC was in comparison and labelling him as pretty much politically biased. Did they not read the transcript! As far as I am concerned JCLIve is the only TV programme that is trying to give us ordinay kiwis a say and actually putting the TRUTH out there so we can make an informed opinion. Elsewhere you have Fran,Audrey,John A all using the NZ Herald as their no obstacles vehicle for waving the pom poms for national EVERY WEEK! It’s blatant and it is wrong that we are being fed their infantile drivel under the guise of political commentary. Go John Campbell and boo hiss to the herald.
I feel like that too! Strange (yeah right) that Ralston and Walden never mentioned the big back-down from Key since the interview either, where what he had said turned out to be WRONG – But he’s going to make no written change to the bill and just says that he won’t give the OK to read our mail – Do we really trust Key to keep his word that he won’t read our emails and how would we ever find out if he did? Sorry, I’d need that in WRITING!! This IS a merchant banker talking, don’t forget that!!
Someone on radio said that so much political chatter is about performance instead of substantive matters. It is commentators treating politics as a sports game, and the politicians merely players. Shakespeare understood it (No fear Shakespeare site)
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Hamlet A5/Sc5/5.
Ralston and Walden subscribe to the construct of an Auckland media/political “glitterati”. They cannot be accurately assessed or relied upon without prior disclosure of that comedic self-consciousness. Hitching up to Planet Key provides buoyancy for ascent to the surface of the little pond of Auckland and confirms “glitterati” membership.
Yes, more that just Walden and Ralston subscribe to this, every commentator seems to have jumped on the bandwagon Kerre Mc Ivor (who ever she is), Sean Plunkett, Armstrong, etc…it seems very few commentators will challenge John Key. Not one commentator has brought up John key’s major cock up in the interview, which is amazing. I’m sure your explanation has something to do with it, along with some really savvy media management by the National Party.
On August 17, 1975, U.S. Senator Frank Church appeared on NBC television’s Meet the Press to discuss the results of his full-scale investigation into America’s burgeoning intelligence capabilities. Senator Church revealed startling information and closed with a dire warning to every citizen of the United States:
“American intelligence gathering capability at any time could be turned around on the American people and no American would have any privacy left. Such is the capability to monitor everything: telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn’t matter. (This was before internet.) There would be no place to hide.”
“If this government ever became a tyrant, if a dictator took charge in this country, the technological capacity that the intelligence community has given the government could enable it to impose total tyranny, and there would be no way to fight back because the most careful effort to combine together in resistance to the government, no matter how precisely it was done, is within reach of the government to know. Such is the capability of this technology.”
“I don’t want to see this country ever go across the bridge. I know the capacity that is there to make tyranny total in America, and we must see to it that (the NSA) and all the agencies that possess this technology operate within the law and under proper supervision so that we never cross that abyss. That is the abyss from which there is no return.”
Only took three decades and a couple of collapsing skyscrapers to turn the good results of the Church Committee around. Pumping more money into the corporate/military/industrial/intelligence complex and then allowing a system where individual congressmen have to become more susceptible to money just to get re-elected finished it.
As has been said by several people previously…the US has suffered a slow motion corporate/internal coup d’état over the last 20 years. Five hundred senior officials, a few billionaires, and a couple of hundred corporate board members have more say over the USA today than 250M voters.
My perfect scenario for Question Time in Parliament would be for the Opposition to ask jk a question, sit through the now standard garbage he spews and then on a point of order point out to him that he is WRONG and then sit down. What would his retaliation be? Everyone should just keep saying YOU ARE WRONG and only that. It’s when you go down the rabbit hole with him that you just lose the will to live. He does it all the time, without actually showing any solid proof to his challenge.
The SST also does a good job in its leader today of highlighting the fact that Key does not understand the GCSB Bill and screwed up (or IMO lied) in the John Campbell interview.
Even Colin Espiner, on the same page, says the GCSB Bill is bad law.
Is No Minister really a left wing blog? Sure, it has contributions from Psycho Milt, but he’s being somewhat overwhelmed by the stupid Tories over there. May I suggest some of these as a replacement?
And when it comes to the New Zealand economy, our situation is seen by many as deeply paradoxical. International economists refer to the “New Zealand paradox” when pointing out that getting the market fundamentals right doesn’t always lead to economic growth.
There’s no paradox at all – the economic fundamentals are wrong and so by getting them right we’ve been damaging our economy.
Economics is and always has been a pseudoscience. It uses mathematics the same way astrologers do. Yes, there are real stars and yes, there are real resources and money, but let’s start studying them in a real scientific manner. Astronomers have been at it for a long time. I invite economists to do the same, any century now – no pressure [gritted teeth].
+1 …I think astrology works better…it does not pretend to be a science…but open to interpretation and imagination.
….economics is similar …depends who does it and what their ideology is and then they get the maths hocus pocus equations to prove it..tweek it here….tweek it there…..and bingo the bankers and wealthy 5% come out on top
………And have any of these economic theories really worked for the majority of people in individual countries , let alone the world?…that is the acid test….’economics’ as a ‘science’ has been an abject failure
@ depends on whether the ‘scientist’ starts with an open mind or not….
…some ‘scientists’ have closed minds and will try and fit the facts/stats/equations to their own predilections and preferred ideologies …as is the case in economics and much less so in astronomy( hard science) …hence economics called a ‘pseudoscience'( accept that some economics is descriptive /phenomenological)
It depends on nothing of the sort. You aren’t taking peer review into account. Scientists must present their findings in public where their worst enemies can pull them to pieces. Looking for the mythical unbiased opinion is a mistake: everyone exhibits bias.
It can take decades for science to progress in any field: Economics is no different.
OAK, indeed, the joke about cosmology told by physicists is that cosmologists put error bars on the exponents. However, it seems economists don’t use error bars at all.
Sciences do progress, and it’s the scientific process not only of peer review but of correlation with other sciences that matters – every chemist is open to review by physicists, but economists still try to be a closed shop. Their fundamental paradigms are jealously guarded from scrutiny and review and are therefore arbitrary (a euphemism for self-gratifying bullshit).
Scientific disciplines advance at different rates in any case. In a couple of centuries, whatever replaces the current pseudoscience of economics may reach the equivalent of Newtonian physics (i.e.., where physics was in the seventeenth century), but it’s nowhere near that position yet.
Yes, and many self-professed experts in Klingon who like to dress up in costumes can pull each other to pieces too – and they do – but I challenge them to engage with real linguists.
No real science is an island, and I’ll take an economist seriously when they are routinely open to review by physicists, tribologists, and herpetologists. If you think that I’m being facetious, I’d like to point out that physics is telling us a lot about palaeontology through biomechanical analysis of skeletons. That’s how real science works, not a cargo cult.
Not facetious at all Rhino, in fact I broadly agree with you that economics can and should learn more from other disciplines, for precisely the reasons you outline.
@ well I dont know about alchemy being a waste of time…Jung seemed to get quite a lot out of it….depends on whether you take it literally or not…maybe it is a metaphor for components/development of the psyche?
In a literary sense, I think that both Jung and Freud have real value and I regard Freud’s essay on the uncanny as a masterpiece of literary and aesthetic criticism. However, “science” is a very precise term, denoting verifiability and consistency. A lot of art and literature is “true” in ways that sciences aren’t, but be that as it may, “economics” as it stands is not a science.
@ Rhinocrates
If you don’t view chemistry as a waste of time, then alchemy wasn’t either; because chemistry arose out of alchemy.
Practical applications of alchemy produced a wide range of contributions to medicine and the physical sciences. The alchemist Robert Boyle[8] is credited as being the father of chemistry.
….. The attempts of alchemists to arrange information on substances, so as to clarify and anticipate the products of their chemical reactions, resulted in early conceptions of chemical elements and the first rudimentary periodic tables. They learned how to extract metals from ores, and how to compose many types of inorganic acids and bases. ~ Wikipedia – Alchemy
The equations used in economic models are not fundamental but phenomenological ie they relate to the process but not to the cause,hence you cannot ask to much of them anyway.
In other words: make-believe, the mere aping of forms and not amenable to empirical tests. Unfalsifiable. Bullshit, to put it bluntly.
Sorry, I have too much experience in both hard disciplines and the humanities to take all of their weasely pantomime seriously. Indeed, the intellectual pretence is offensive.
Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl (German: [ˈhʊsɐl]; April 8, 1859 – April 27, 1938[3]) was a philosopher and mathematician and the founder of the 20th century philosophical school of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic. Not limited to empiricism, but believing that experience is the source of all knowledge, he worked on a method of phenomenological reduction by which a subject may come to know directly an essence.
Have to say I agree – again, straddling the hard professions and the humanities, I think that there can be parallel kinds of truth.
A couple of my degrees, my work and a lot of my publication would not be possible if I didn’t appreciate phenomenology – I’m just aware of the demarcations.
Sorry to be cryptic, but I value my privacy and don’t want to give too much away (someone has already found out who I am and I don’t want that repeated).
Hall and Hitch concluded that businessmen did not generally estimate the elasticity of the demand curves for their products or equate marginal revenue with marginal cost, but instead set prices by means of “full cost pricing” (Lee 1998: 90), which was their terminology for what are now called “administered prices.”
Hall and Hitch found that full cost pricing was determined by the following factors:
(1) direct material and labour costs per unit of output;
(2) indirect costs at an expected level of output, and
(3) a markup for profit. (Lee 1998: 90).
The poor economists, finding out that pricing of goods has absolutely nothing to do with margins.
Yes business have a series of indicators which indicate how pricing should be achieved, based of course around the level of competition and one other important imperative,
The less competition the higher the price and that is always coupled with that other business tool known as ”coz we can” where in the absence of any real competition prices are fixed by either the individuals involved or by agreement of the Cartels,
The electricity industry is a great indicator of such Cartel price fixing where at a time small consumers have reduced demand for the product competition would indicate that prices would drop in an effort for the different players to attract more custom the opposite is the reality as Cartel price fixing keeps all the players profits rising…
Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) polling at around 12% and the ruling Nea Dimokratia at 28%, give them another year or so and the fuckers could well hold the balance.
Recently, Golden Dawn has signaled it would like to go global, and has opened offices in Germany and Australia. A website has appeared claiming to be the hub for the group’s New York City office.
“Nightline’s” repeated email requests for interviews from Golden Dawn members were met with an angry “No.”
“You can blame your fellow mainstream media cohorts for that, who do nothing but shamelessly slander us,” one email response to “Nightline” said.
But as Georgousis’ film shows, Golden Dawn sees the blame for Greece’s woes spreading far beyond its shores. The party claims the economic crisis in Greece is not just caused by immigrants in Athens, but in Chicago and “especially New York,” Georgousis said.
“They keep posting articles that, ‘it’s the Jewish capital that has brought Greece to this point, which is located in New York,’” he said.
Watched Susan Woods today – I think it will be the last time – she makes me cringe when she interviews foreign visitors (in this case from Iran) with a preconceived propaganda point of view trying hard to be a Christiane Amanpour. Please, please, please take Mrs Woods off politics programs, give her gardening or something else.
The government wants the GST on on-line purchases. The retailers association want it too.
Well I guess they could also chase the corporate tax avoidance rorts that are ripping us all off while they are at it. (That would be billions, and not just a few million).
“Well I guess they could also chase the corporate tax avoidance rorts that are ripping us all off while they are at it. (That would be billions, and not just a few million).”
Yes – its 8pm on a Sunday night. But for those interested before it disappears behind NBR’s paywall – A MUST READ on the effects of the combine GCSB Bill and its companion TICS Bill.
An article on NBR today by Vikram Kumar, former SSC manager and CEO of InternetNZ, now CEO of Mega, giving more – very disturbing – insight into the effects of the TICS Bill.
I am out of my depth here on the tech aspects, but if what Kumar is saying is true, then it is very revealing.
“The government is planning to issue secret orders to service providers when the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Bill (“TICS Bill”) becomes law to force them to create interception capability for surveillance agencies. This has been approved by cabinet and is therefore official Government policy.
What’s not clear is if the mechanism of a Ministerial directive will also be used to gag the service provider? Or is the secrecy merely a guise to allow compliant service providers to pretend they haven’t been forced to create a backdoor for the government?
Either way, the impact on New Zealand online service providers, and New Zealand as a country, could be truly devastating. …”
To read the whole article – and the comments and remarks by the NBR editor at the start of the article – the link is
A Ministerial directive will be used to secretly/confidentially impose an obligation to create interception capabilities by individually named service providers (referred to as “deem-in” but what I call a backdoor) “so as not to publicly announce a lack of capability in a particular service.”
“when X is “deemed” to be Y it is ordinarily conceded that X is not Y, and is known not to be Y”
Legal Fictions and Common Law Legal Theory Some Historical Reflections, Eben Moglen
i’ve only just discovered Richard Wilkinson’s (co-author of The Spirit Level) TED talk about why reducing income differentials in developed democracies really matters.
And it’s pretty hard to see how this could be an oversight, or some sort of mistake.
The list of proscribed ‘luxury items’ would have had to have been produced at some point. And it should have been checked pretty thoroughly after that.
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Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
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One day to go before the big meeting in the Auckland Town Hall GCSB bill.
And the leader of the Opposition Labour Party hasn’t made it clear if he will even be there.
Already we know that David Shearer refuses to stand on the podium with every other Opposition Party Leader.
The actions of David Shearer are deliberately undermining the sincere efforts of those who are trying to lobby Peter Dunne and/or any National MPs who have concerns about this bill to vote against it.
How can Peter Dunne or any other Government MP make this weighty decision to change their vote, when they can witness with their own eyes that the Opposition leader David Shearer is standing with the Prime Minister John Key on this issue.
David Shearer’s mealy mouthed words calling for a “review” (something that Peter Dunne has already asked for, and the Prime Minister has already agreed to), Is not enough.
So come on David Shearer. In the best traditions of Labour Party leaders of the past, why don’t you show that you stand with the grass roots of your own party and the rest of the opposition, and the nation. Announce that tomorrow you will be mounting the podium with the other leaders to make your opposition to this bill clear.
If it is beyond you. You don’t have to say anything. Just stand there in solidarity.
Remember: Actions Speak Louder Than words!
Given his name’s on the poster, does anyone other than you seriously doubt his intention to attend? I’m not interested in your opinion, just a link to someone other than you saying it will suffice.
Not on any poster I have seen. Not on the ones posted on this site.
Oops looked again his name is there my sincere apologies.
When did this happen?
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/08/18/holding-the-prime-minister-to-account-monday-night-auckland-town-hall-7pm/
Jenny, I usually do not bother reading or replying to your comments as IMO they contain a lot of ignorance and/or misinformation – sometimes IMO quite deliberately.
On this occasion:
1. Shearer was announced as a speaker at tomorrow night’s public meeting last Tuesday, I think, on The Daily Blog and has been on the poster since then.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/08/12/speakers-announced-for-next-mondays-stop-the-gcsb-bill-public-meeting/
2. Your remark that “We already know that Shearer refuses to stand on the podium with every other Opposition Party leader”. Since when? Show us evidence of this statement. Shearer has ‘stood on the podium’ with Norman and Peters on a number of occasions over the last year or so on manufacturing, housing and other issues.
3. After the last public meeting, on 26 July Shearer announced that if he became PM, he would initiate a wider ranging inquiry into all intelligencies agencies, their roles, functions, powers etc on coming into office, with the review to be completed within six months IIRC
I posted the link to this Herald article on TS and seem to remember that you were part of the discussion on this at the time.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10903651
To clarify, the above was a response to Jenny’s #1, but went into moderation and somehow ended up as 1.1.1.2.
EDIt – did this partly as a test as to whether it went into moderation, which it has. Not sure why, but had the same thing late yesterday.
It’s a known bug (the moderation thing).
As for your comment, nice try, but you do realise that she was posting from Planet Jenny, an alternate universe where everything looks familiar but has a Jenny-esque spin to it that has the unfortunate side effect one making one’s eyes roll.
i see the Arab Spring is going well too. And that’s what she wants to see happen in Syria next. Another “popular revolution”.
civil war in Egypt was predicted following the ousting of Morsi.
LOL. Thanks weka. As I said ,I don’t normally respond to Planet Jenny but was not in a good mood when I read the latest dribble first thing this morning. Shaky Wellington is not my favourite place right now as quakes are my biggest phobia/paranoia. But – must be strong as can’t do anything about it! Or about Planet Jenny.
Heh, Planet Jenny, very appropriate.
Kudos to weka, not me, for that one!
Shearer’s name was NOT there originally. It is not on this poster:
http://gpjanz.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/townhall-bill3-page1-1-424×600.jpeg
Shearer declared his intention to be one of the speakers earlier in the week since when he’s been on the “list” of speakers. He has emailed members and supporters twice in the past few days urging people to attend.
I thought Shearer was very good on Key’s exclusive NZ Herald GCSB ‘clarification’ when Shearer said that Key didn’t understand his own legislation and was making it up as he went along.
It was quick, sharp and to the point
Talking about bad journalism;
“Shot man had lengthy list of convictions”
So reads the banner headlline by an article penned by journalist Tracey Chatterton for Fairfax NZ News,
I might like to ask Tracey Chatterton;
So What?
Would a headline reading hand cuffed man shot in the back be more accurate. What if this helpless and unarmed man had been shot in the back by someone other than a police officer?
Would his list of convictions be in the headline? Would that even be seen as relevant?
What is Tracey Chatterton trying to say here?
That the man deserved to be shot in such circumstances because he had a list of convictions?
That people who have convictions are more likely to get shot while being under arrest vulnerable and helpless, than those without previous convictions?
Despite the purposely leading headline, the report itself is less judgemental laying no fault on the arrested man who was offering no resistance at the time when he was shot.
When it comes to bad journalism this example surely must rank at the top.
It’s also very unlikely that a gun would simply just go off. Despite what the movies try to make us believe, guns don’t usually go off by themselves. If the riffle was slung over the officers shoulder, it should have been located at the officers back. Therefore he would have to have been leaning forward away from Iriheke Te Kani Pere for him to be shot. However it was also reported that the unarmed man was being helped to his feet by the officer when he was accidentally shot in the back with a Bushmaster rifle, that should have had it’s safety on. The events as described by the police seem highly implausible.
Could it be that under this government the police feel they have the right to administer their own penalties out to suspected law breakers. This could see a handcuffed suspect thrown off a fence and paralysed or handcuffed then shot in the back. Serco may not like the loss of income from these events but Paula Bennett will be fond of this style of treatment of suspects I’m sure.
The police have always felt that they have the right to administer their own penalties. What changes are the penalties. When a government with some interest in human rights is in power, they scale things down a bit, maybe to the level of grievous bodily harm. With the present government and its absolute contempt for any sort of legalities, the death sentence can be on the table. As a society we give the police enormous powers. We should make equally enormous efforts to hold them to account when they step outside these powers.
Has there ever been an instance of someone pointing a firearm at a nz police officer and living to tell the tale?
I don’t recall it ever happening.
So you’re saying the police should just stand there like numpties and allow themselves to be shot? Of course I expect you will probably say they could shoot the perp in an arm or a leg, but that would be to reveal a fatal misunderstanding of how deadly someone with a fire arm can still be or how quickly they can squeeze off a bullet
No Pop, I’m not saying any of those things.
Once again you are arguing against your own imagination.
Not enough time spent training on weapons would be my guess, they fire SFA rounds a year to be current, and I would find it hard to believe they even know how to pull their weapons apart. But surely he answer must be to carry them all the time, that would fix everything when they have no idea how to use them, that seem’s to be the modus operandi of this government?
Budget cuts, heightened stress with too few experienced staff around, not enough training and weapons handling time.
The sun, the moon, and the high tide…
Also lack of procedural weapons safety discipline, including the very basics…do not point your weapon, loaded or unloaded, at anything you are not willing to kill.
The last frontier, shoot first ask question later.
Try that is someone is pointing a gun at you
“…bad journalism…”
From memory it’s usually the sub-editor who chooses the headline.
And subs are only a couple of chromosomes away from being cabbages
heh. 🙂
“..Why should dogs die – so humans can get high?..”
(cont..)
(ed:..and of course it would be salutary to see the (totally-justified) outrage at this plan to overdose dogs to death..to test the toxicity of new legal-highs for humans..
..to see this outrage spread to the fact that 270,000 animals are tortured/killed by the vivisectors in new zealand..
..each and every year..
..let that fact sink in…
..and then please start asking ‘why?’…’why are we torturing/killing animals..?
..to test cosmetics/dishwashing liquids..?’
‘cos..y’see..there are computer-testing programs that
can replace these hidden horrors..obviate the need for this litany of cruelties/miseries..
..’so why?’..i hear you ask..
..that ‘why’ is the same as for all the other industries that thrive on the miseries inflicted on others (alcohol/tobacco/legal-highs..)
..these animals continue to be tortured because of economic reasons..
..those doing the torturing..and the breeders..
..are locked in a ghastly dance of monetary self-interest..
….so what needs to happen..
..is for a large spotlight to be shone on the practices of this industry..
..and for them to justify the/any compelling need to be doing this to animals..
..until this comes to pass..
..these pieces of shit who garner their gold from torturing defenceless animals all day..
..will just continue inflicting these miseries..
..and it may be a cliche..
..but the animals cannot speak up for themselves..eh..?
..it has to be us..eh..?..
(and irony o.d-alert..!..for many years the spca has sat on the panel ‘approving’ these experiments/tortures on 270,000 animals each and every year..)
..and guess what..?..the spca used to sell/supply animals to the vivisectors..
..and how do i know this..?
..i know this because i once ‘liberated’ a dog from a courier van..
..that dog was enroute from the spca in auckland..
..to vivisectors in wellington..
..she ended up living a long and happy/well-loved life..
..so the next questions for the spca must be:
‘do you still sell/supply animals to the vivisectors..?’
and..’how do you – as an organisation purporting/fund-raising on the premise you help/protect these defenceless animals..
..how do you marry that with ‘approving’ the torture/killing of 270,000 of those ‘defenceless-animals’ you claim to ‘protect’..?
..and this each and every year..?
..eh..?..
..eh..?..)
phillip ure..
animals are tested on for medical purposes to deal with the effects of…
alcohol
sports
coffee
sugar
drugs
driving
everything.
Good grief! (Still gagging) I have just caught a bit of the Nation with bill ralston and somebody else( aided by nodding and smiling smallie) going orgasmic over keys performance on JC Live. How concise and coherent he was and how he spoke to middle nz so that they could all understand his message. And how bad JC was in comparison and labelling him as pretty much politically biased. Did they not read the transcript! As far as I am concerned JCLIve is the only TV programme that is trying to give us ordinay kiwis a say and actually putting the TRUTH out there so we can make an informed opinion. Elsewhere you have Fran,Audrey,John A all using the NZ Herald as their no obstacles vehicle for waving the pom poms for national EVERY WEEK! It’s blatant and it is wrong that we are being fed their infantile drivel under the guise of political commentary. Go John Campbell and boo hiss to the herald.
I feel like that too! Strange (yeah right) that Ralston and Walden never mentioned the big back-down from Key since the interview either, where what he had said turned out to be WRONG – But he’s going to make no written change to the bill and just says that he won’t give the OK to read our mail – Do we really trust Key to keep his word that he won’t read our emails and how would we ever find out if he did? Sorry, I’d need that in WRITING!! This IS a merchant banker talking, don’t forget that!!
I thought he was just a money trader and general go to boy to do Merrill Lynch’s dirty work. With a smile.
Someone on radio said that so much political chatter is about performance instead of substantive matters. It is commentators treating politics as a sports game, and the politicians merely players. Shakespeare understood it (No fear Shakespeare site)
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Hamlet A5/Sc5/5.
MacBeth
Thanks Rogue That Hamlet I don’t know how he got into the comment.
These corporate shills have a lot to lose.
Remember CL challenged their lack of action in his report on Thursday.
Bill Ralston sold out long ago.
Ralston and Walden subscribe to the construct of an Auckland media/political “glitterati”. They cannot be accurately assessed or relied upon without prior disclosure of that comedic self-consciousness. Hitching up to Planet Key provides buoyancy for ascent to the surface of the little pond of Auckland and confirms “glitterati” membership.
Yes, more that just Walden and Ralston subscribe to this, every commentator seems to have jumped on the bandwagon Kerre Mc Ivor (who ever she is), Sean Plunkett, Armstrong, etc…it seems very few commentators will challenge John Key. Not one commentator has brought up John key’s major cock up in the interview, which is amazing. I’m sure your explanation has something to do with it, along with some really savvy media management by the National Party.
On August 17, 1975, U.S. Senator Frank Church appeared on NBC television’s Meet the Press to discuss the results of his full-scale investigation into America’s burgeoning intelligence capabilities. Senator Church revealed startling information and closed with a dire warning to every citizen of the United States:
“American intelligence gathering capability at any time could be turned around on the American people and no American would have any privacy left. Such is the capability to monitor everything: telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn’t matter. (This was before internet.) There would be no place to hide.”
“If this government ever became a tyrant, if a dictator took charge in this country, the technological capacity that the intelligence community has given the government could enable it to impose total tyranny, and there would be no way to fight back because the most careful effort to combine together in resistance to the government, no matter how precisely it was done, is within reach of the government to know. Such is the capability of this technology.”
“I don’t want to see this country ever go across the bridge. I know the capacity that is there to make tyranny total in America, and we must see to it that (the NSA) and all the agencies that possess this technology operate within the law and under proper supervision so that we never cross that abyss. That is the abyss from which there is no return.”
Only took three decades and a couple of collapsing skyscrapers to turn the good results of the Church Committee around. Pumping more money into the corporate/military/industrial/intelligence complex and then allowing a system where individual congressmen have to become more susceptible to money just to get re-elected finished it.
As has been said by several people previously…the US has suffered a slow motion corporate/internal coup d’état over the last 20 years. Five hundred senior officials, a few billionaires, and a couple of hundred corporate board members have more say over the USA today than 250M voters.
Has John Key’s government done anything to improve New Zealand’s environmental record?
I see nothing doing but maybe somebody can point to something which has improved the situation.
jk has stopped farting in public?
That doesn’t count if he then uses his mouth as an exit for the hot air instead.
My perfect scenario for Question Time in Parliament would be for the Opposition to ask jk a question, sit through the now standard garbage he spews and then on a point of order point out to him that he is WRONG and then sit down. What would his retaliation be? Everyone should just keep saying YOU ARE WRONG and only that. It’s when you go down the rabbit hole with him that you just lose the will to live. He does it all the time, without actually showing any solid proof to his challenge.
points of order aren’t allowed purely on the grounds of disagreeing with contentions made..
phillip ure..
Well they should be.
Rod Oram blasts the government with both barrels. Why aren’t we hearing this kind of coherent narrative from Labour?
Yep excellent piece Pete.
The SST also does a good job in its leader today of highlighting the fact that Key does not understand the GCSB Bill and screwed up (or IMO lied) in the John Campbell interview.
Even Colin Espiner, on the same page, says the GCSB Bill is bad law.
+1
Is No Minister really a left wing blog? Sure, it has contributions from Psycho Milt, but he’s being somewhat overwhelmed by the stupid Tories over there. May I suggest some of these as a replacement?
I had a look at it too (yesterday) J, and asked myself the same question! Short answer NO! or no longer.
Selwyn Manning asks some interesting questions about the consequences that the GCSB Bill may have for NZ’s relationship with China
Special Feature: For China Is The GCSB Bill One Insult Too Many?
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/08/18/special-feature-for-china-is-the-gcsb-bill-one-insult-too-many/
“Get off the Grass”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business-editors-picks/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501981&objectid=10912950
(bright light that Shaun Hendy).
Down the Publons on a wet Sunday
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10912868
“We’re caught in a trap…”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10913571
“…with Suspicious Minds”
Quoting Get off the Grass:
There’s no paradox at all – the economic fundamentals are wrong and so by getting them right we’ve been damaging our economy.
Reality doesn’t conform to their carefully crafted and mathematicised parallel universe of economics? Who wudda thunkit?
Economics is and always has been a pseudoscience. It uses mathematics the same way astrologers do. Yes, there are real stars and yes, there are real resources and money, but let’s start studying them in a real scientific manner. Astronomers have been at it for a long time. I invite economists to do the same, any century now – no pressure [gritted teeth].
+1 …I think astrology works better…it does not pretend to be a science…but open to interpretation and imagination.
….economics is similar …depends who does it and what their ideology is and then they get the maths hocus pocus equations to prove it..tweek it here….tweek it there…..and bingo the bankers and wealthy 5% come out on top
………And have any of these economic theories really worked for the majority of people in individual countries , let alone the world?…that is the acid test….’economics’ as a ‘science’ has been an abject failure
The same could be said of pre-Hubble telescope Cosmology, but that doesn’t mean said Cosmology was a waste of time.
All science progresses more by debunking failed dogma than by genius insights. It progresses nonetheless.
@ depends on whether the ‘scientist’ starts with an open mind or not….
…some ‘scientists’ have closed minds and will try and fit the facts/stats/equations to their own predilections and preferred ideologies …as is the case in economics and much less so in astronomy( hard science) …hence economics called a ‘pseudoscience'( accept that some economics is descriptive /phenomenological)
It depends on nothing of the sort. You aren’t taking peer review into account. Scientists must present their findings in public where their worst enemies can pull them to pieces. Looking for the mythical unbiased opinion is a mistake: everyone exhibits bias.
It can take decades for science to progress in any field: Economics is no different.
@ + 100 Poission and Rhinocrates….
Knucklehead ….who said I was looking for the mythical unbiased opinion?….it is a sliding scale
OAK, indeed, the joke about cosmology told by physicists is that cosmologists put error bars on the exponents. However, it seems economists don’t use error bars at all.
Sciences do progress, and it’s the scientific process not only of peer review but of correlation with other sciences that matters – every chemist is open to review by physicists, but economists still try to be a closed shop. Their fundamental paradigms are jealously guarded from scrutiny and review and are therefore arbitrary (a euphemism for self-gratifying bullshit).
Scientific disciplines advance at different rates in any case. In a couple of centuries, whatever replaces the current pseudoscience of economics may reach the equivalent of Newtonian physics (i.e.., where physics was in the seventeenth century), but it’s nowhere near that position yet.
their worst enemies can pull them to pieces.
Yes, and many self-professed experts in Klingon who like to dress up in costumes can pull each other to pieces too – and they do – but I challenge them to engage with real linguists.
No real science is an island, and I’ll take an economist seriously when they are routinely open to review by physicists, tribologists, and herpetologists. If you think that I’m being facetious, I’d like to point out that physics is telling us a lot about palaeontology through biomechanical analysis of skeletons. That’s how real science works, not a cargo cult.
Not facetious at all Rhino, in fact I broadly agree with you that economics can and should learn more from other disciplines, for precisely the reasons you outline.
Well fingers crossed then, if not for our generation, then the ones to come, because it’s a science we need.
Alchemy was a waste of time, chemistry isn’t.
@ well I dont know about alchemy being a waste of time…Jung seemed to get quite a lot out of it….depends on whether you take it literally or not…maybe it is a metaphor for components/development of the psyche?
In a literary sense, I think that both Jung and Freud have real value and I regard Freud’s essay on the uncanny as a masterpiece of literary and aesthetic criticism. However, “science” is a very precise term, denoting verifiability and consistency. A lot of art and literature is “true” in ways that sciences aren’t, but be that as it may, “economics” as it stands is not a science.
@ Rhinocrates
If you don’t view chemistry as a waste of time, then alchemy wasn’t either; because chemistry arose out of alchemy.
economic fundamentals are wrong
The equations used in economic models are not fundamental but phenomenological ie they relate to the process but not to the cause,hence you cannot ask to much of them anyway.
not fundamental but phenomenological
In other words: make-believe, the mere aping of forms and not amenable to empirical tests. Unfalsifiable. Bullshit, to put it bluntly.
Sorry, I have too much experience in both hard disciplines and the humanities to take all of their weasely pantomime seriously. Indeed, the intellectual pretence is offensive.
On phenomenology:
Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl (German: [ˈhʊsɐl]; April 8, 1859 – April 27, 1938[3]) was a philosopher and mathematician and the founder of the 20th century philosophical school of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic. Not limited to empiricism, but believing that experience is the source of all knowledge, he worked on a method of phenomenological reduction by which a subject may come to know directly an essence.
Have to say I agree – again, straddling the hard professions and the humanities, I think that there can be parallel kinds of truth.
A couple of my degrees, my work and a lot of my publication would not be possible if I didn’t appreciate phenomenology – I’m just aware of the demarcations.
Sorry to be cryptic, but I value my privacy and don’t want to give too much away (someone has already found out who I am and I don’t want that repeated).
Short answer: “Yes.”
“Mum’s the Word”
Lee’s Post Keynesian Price Theory: Chapter 4
The poor economists, finding out that pricing of goods has absolutely nothing to do with margins.
fuel and electricty not as inelastic as once held by economic theorists, but then, they may be Living In The Past.
Yes business have a series of indicators which indicate how pricing should be achieved, based of course around the level of competition and one other important imperative,
The less competition the higher the price and that is always coupled with that other business tool known as ”coz we can” where in the absence of any real competition prices are fixed by either the individuals involved or by agreement of the Cartels,
The electricity industry is a great indicator of such Cartel price fixing where at a time small consumers have reduced demand for the product competition would indicate that prices would drop in an effort for the different players to attract more custom the opposite is the reality as Cartel price fixing keeps all the players profits rising…
What has happened to the little colourful square things that used to sit next to our ‘names’? Those made it easier to follow conversations.
Distressed needing help on the street but ignored
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10913776
not sure if someone has already posted this. It seems if you are better dressed, people MIGHT think about helping you a bit faster.
I would have helped the old guy, because that’s what I do. I would have checked on the woman as well.
Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) polling at around 12% and the ruling Nea Dimokratia at 28%, give them another year or so and the fuckers could well hold the balance.
Recently, Golden Dawn has signaled it would like to go global, and has opened offices in Germany and Australia. A website has appeared claiming to be the hub for the group’s New York City office.
“Nightline’s” repeated email requests for interviews from Golden Dawn members were met with an angry “No.”
“You can blame your fellow mainstream media cohorts for that, who do nothing but shamelessly slander us,” one email response to “Nightline” said.
But as Georgousis’ film shows, Golden Dawn sees the blame for Greece’s woes spreading far beyond its shores. The party claims the economic crisis in Greece is not just caused by immigrants in Athens, but in Chicago and “especially New York,” Georgousis said.
“They keep posting articles that, ‘it’s the Jewish capital that has brought Greece to this point, which is located in New York,’” he said.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/greeces-hostile-golden-dawn-party-filmmaker-captures-unguarded/story?id=19948097
(check the comments – auto play video too)
“They keep posting articles that, ‘it’s the Jewish capital that has brought Greece to this point, which is located in New York,’” he said.
That must come as a surprise to the Israelis
Watched Susan Woods today – I think it will be the last time – she makes me cringe when she interviews foreign visitors (in this case from Iran) with a preconceived propaganda point of view trying hard to be a Christiane Amanpour. Please, please, please take Mrs Woods off politics programs, give her gardening or something else.
Indeed! “Suzie’s Garden Show”, then maybe slip her in as a Nactzi Baggie Marry replacement.
Cow really does fancy she’s an Amanpour. What a joke !
Misogynist
What a joke !
The government wants the GST on on-line purchases. The retailers association want it too.
Well I guess they could also chase the corporate tax avoidance rorts that are ripping us all off while they are at it. (That would be billions, and not just a few million).
“Well I guess they could also chase the corporate tax avoidance rorts that are ripping us all off while they are at it. (That would be billions, and not just a few million).”
Can you be specific about these rorts?
Zzzzz
@ logie97….agreed…..
Loretta Napoleoni’s book ‘Rogue Economics- Capitalism’s New Reality’ (2008)…. indicates what is wrong with present day economics
Yes – its 8pm on a Sunday night. But for those interested before it disappears behind NBR’s paywall – A MUST READ on the effects of the combine GCSB Bill and its companion TICS Bill.
An article on NBR today by Vikram Kumar, former SSC manager and CEO of InternetNZ, now CEO of Mega, giving more – very disturbing – insight into the effects of the TICS Bill.
I am out of my depth here on the tech aspects, but if what Kumar is saying is true, then it is very revealing.
“The government is planning to issue secret orders to service providers when the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Bill (“TICS Bill”) becomes law to force them to create interception capability for surveillance agencies. This has been approved by cabinet and is therefore official Government policy.
What’s not clear is if the mechanism of a Ministerial directive will also be used to gag the service provider? Or is the secrecy merely a guise to allow compliant service providers to pretend they haven’t been forced to create a backdoor for the government?
Either way, the impact on New Zealand online service providers, and New Zealand as a country, could be truly devastating. …”
To read the whole article – and the comments and remarks by the NBR editor at the start of the article – the link is
http://t.co/kvhoyJCfse
From the 2012 technical paper:
A Ministerial directive will be used to secretly/confidentially impose an obligation to create interception capabilities by individually named service providers (referred to as “deem-in” but what I call a backdoor) “so as not to publicly announce a lack of capability in a particular service.”
“when X is “deemed” to be Y it is ordinarily conceded that X is not Y, and is known not to be Y”
Legal Fictions and Common Law Legal Theory Some Historical Reflections, Eben Moglen
Someone must have linked or commented on this –
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/revealed-govt-plans-secret-orders-so-service-providers-under-spy-bill-ck-144562
Wildfire !
And just before I hit submit I see Veutoviper has.
Pretty much all isps are refusing to do it.
It isn’t law yet.
i’ve only just discovered Richard Wilkinson’s (co-author of The Spirit Level) TED talk about why reducing income differentials in developed democracies really matters.
http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_wilkinson.html
if you’ve not heard him talk, take a few minutes…. and note where NZ figures in most of the data he presents
Jesus wept.
http://tuliathompson.wordpress.com/2013/08/18/no-paula-bennett-tampons-and-pads-are-not-luxury-items-winz-and-institutionalised-sexism/
And it’s pretty hard to see how this could be an oversight, or some sort of mistake.
The list of proscribed ‘luxury items’ would have had to have been produced at some point. And it should have been checked pretty thoroughly after that.
sometimes, not just lacrimal fluid.