Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step right up to the mike…
So Bevan Chuang appears to have wisely backed away from Slater. The money trail would be interesting to see because Slater said he was paying Chuang’s accommodation expenses and I do not believe that Stephen Cook would be doing this out of his perception of what is in the public good.
Is there a frustrated Woman’s day deal in the pipeline? Is Slater’s frustration because the pay day will not now happen?
Mr Wewege had also been involved in the campaign for Simon O’Connor, the National MP for Tamaki.
Others described him as an acolyte of Simon Lusk, a campaign strategist for right-wing political candidates, saying he had attended several of Mr Lusk’s summer camp training sessions.
Summer camps? Youth movements?
Next we’ll be hearing albout the colour of shirts Lusk gets them to wear.
Our New Democratic right wing – New Zealand’s tea party
+1…Greek tragedy….if he hadn’t been so good….. ( at his job defending the ……) ….it wouldnt have been so bad
….many things can be solved with a holiday away from everything to get some perspective and get some insight as to what needs changing, where to go next, how to get balance etc
Agree with both Chooky and Miravox. With a society so focused on the individual and upon performance / success / other pressures, what chance do we have?
As a society / community we are so self obsessed that we don’t look around and take the strain from those who need it. And those in pressure positions guard the gates to their life’s / professions to stay where they are against competitive elements….
And then we all go through the dark moments of the soul, on our own. We don’t need to.
the trouble is that it’s a fine line between being deeply scarred by becoming acquainted with some of the stuff that people do to each other, and becoming defensively calloused.
I was moved, and a little surprised, when I read about these findings the other day. Still, depression (and ill-health, a million ‘obese’ New Zealanders now) are epidemic.
The first comment below the report offers some advice to Brits reading the article.
“He’s an idiot, my advice is enjoy NZs environment while you can before this man and his party destroy it.”
Best quote from the article: “For some reason my political staff don’t think me diving off a bridge screaming would be great footage, in case I ever have a big dip in the polls.”
One would suspect that bungy has dropped, Prime Minister…
…Three of the MPs walked out in protest yesterday after Speaker David Carter first put co-leader Metiria Turei on the naughty step and then turfed her out – without explaining why.
All she had done was to ask a question in which she described the Government’s SkyCity casino deal as “sleazy”. Carter disallowed the question, so Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia asked whether the word – a great favourite on all sides of the House – was now unparliamentary.
Carter said it wasn’t. But when she asked what had been wrong with her question, Carter tersely told her not to challenge his ruling…
…After a series of tetchy exchanges, Carter’s seeming inability to specify the nature of the sin was getting embarrassing. Acting Leader of the House Anne Tolley obliquely tossed him a lifeline, saying she believed Turia’s phrasing of the question had fallen foul of Section 377 (1)(b) of Standing Orders, which forbade using imprecations, invective, sarcasm and the like in parliamentary questions.
But Carter didn’t grab the rope, and after a further polite but unwelcome inquiry from Turia, he threw her out
Yeah, that’s the new version. The old one is deleted. Take a look at the text I copied and the equivalent sentences at the new url.
Clifton’s original piece confused Turei with Turia e.g.
article 1:
“Carter disallowed the question, so Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia asked whether the word – a great favourite on all sides of the House – was now unparliamentary.”
article 2:
“Carter disallowed the question, so Turei asked whether the word – a great favourite on all sides of the House – was now unparliamentary.”
Bit of a big deal for a seasoned political journalist. Does she get someone else to take notes or write her stuff? And why did Stuff just change it without mentioning the edits?
It’s all edited offshore now, yes? Do we suspect a simple spelling error caused the subeditor to add the explanation of who Turia is? That is, Clifton has mistyped ‘so Turia asked…’ instead of ‘so Turei asked…’ and the editor has added the rest thinking they are being helpful…
Maybe. I’d like to blame it on off-shoring the subs.
They should have issued a correction, not deleted and relocated the corrected article without explanation. Bad manners that, and a bad look for Jane Clifton.
Everything You’ve Been Told About How to Eat Is Wrong
How bad science created a misinformed national diet – and did nothing to slow the growth of obesity.
The protein leverage hypothesis
S. J. Simpson & D. Raubenheimer
Summary
The obesity epidemic is among the greatest public health challenges facing the modern world. Regarding dietary causes, most emphasis has been on changing patterns of fat and carbohydrate consumption. In contrast, the role of protein has largely been ignored, because (i) it typically comprises only ~15% of dietary energy, and (ii) protein intake has remained near constant within and across populations throughout the development of the obesity epidemic. We show that, paradoxically, these are precisely the two conditions that potentially provide protein with the leverage both to drive the obesity epidemic through its effects on food intake, and perhaps to assuage it. We formalize this hypothesis in a mathematical model. Some supporting epidemiological, experimental and animal data are presented, and predictions are made for future testing.
Thanks. Reading this I started wondering if Atkins had misread this paper and used it for the basis of his diet. But the Atkins diet was based on a paper done in 1963. Curiously that paper doesn’t seem to have much of a relationship to the high protein, high fat Atkins diet either.
+100%…agree philip ure….all kids should be taught home economics….given the obesity epidemic…how to eat cheaply , healthily and vegetarian and (Vegan)…simple Indian, Thai, Chinese, Mexican etc healthy yummmy recipes also …..all the options!!!!.. (personally I steer well clear of sugar but my partner loves to bake cakes and slices and desserts…certainly better than buying them)
I went to a vege shop recently and bought $60 worth of veges …the young very well built lovely Maori guy behind the counter said that that was an awful lot to spend on veges and seemed impressed…. and then he said brightly that he had spent that much on Friday night eating at McDonalds….he looked very delighted at the memory…I told him his money would have been better spent on the veges…but felt a bit of a school teacher and spoiler
Here are some links on preventing alzheimers naturally ( my friends father …a former professor of commerce and law…died of it recently , so it is no respecter of brain power )…may help or not ….but interesting
But given that the so-called healthy diet that is “low in saturated fats, trans fat, cholesterol, salt, and added sugars, and controls portion sizes” is based on bollocks, I’m sticking with dripping on toast for breakfast.
The report defined obesity as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more, calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres.
So it’s complete bollocks, then. (For the uninitiated: BMI is a crock of shit. Richie McCaw (30.9) and Ma’a Nonu (32) would be counted as “obese” by this “study”.)
+5
Ross’s five fellow Labour candidate for the Whau Local Board also got in.
That gives Labour five of the seven seats on that board.
This is the first time a Labour slate was run there.
For those ouside of West Auckland the Whau rhymes with Clow.
“The Whau Local Board comprises the suburbs of New Lynn, Green Bay and Kelston, Rosebank, Waterview, Avondale, New Windsor and Blockhouse Bay. The name Whau is from the estuarine arm of the Waitemata Harbour, which extends into the area.”
It is predominantly in David Cunliffe’s New Lynn electorate with parts in David Shearer’s Mt Albert and Phil Goff’s Mt Roskill.
i would pronounce Whau as Faa-u, the u pronounced as you without the Y,of course my bones are from Whanga-nui-a-tara where different emphasis might be placed on different letters…
Yes. I think it’s hard to recreate the exact pre-European pronunciation of the Whau area, as the river was largely a transit route and location of seasonal camps used by several iwi.
Older New Lynn residents do pronounce it “Wow”, and it’s possible that for some iwi it did/does rhyme with Clow.
I recall as a 50s kid my mother at the end of her tether loudly exclaiming at the naughty antics of me and my brother – “You’ll have me in the bloody Wow !”
I later understood this to be a reference to a psychiatric hospital in “Avondale” (1950s – whisper whisper – “Oh, so and so’s in Avondale”). Near enough to the Whau. Might in fact have been the later Carrington, part of it now the Mason Clinic.
While we’re on this can just tolerate “Wongaray” used by many of the successive generations of Northland Pakeha – habit etc.
What really gets me as a well intentioned but poor effort is the one used by a member of the Northland Judiciary – “Fongaray”. “Faaarng-are-rare-e”, please !
Maybe it’s also a good thing that most of the old Whau Board are gone. I see Bevan Chuang coordinated/s the New Lynn Night Markets in conjunction with the Whau Board – I think as contract work for her company. The Herald is raising questions about that.
Mr Brown and Mr McKay also refused to say if Ms Chuang had a council contract at the New Lynn market. She claimed to be paid $500 a week by the council as a co-ordinator at the market.
Would Len Brown have anything to do with such local initiatives? Derek Battersby -still on the Whau Board – seems to have had a lot to do with it.
Mr Battersby has met the mayor’s 32-year-old former mistress. Miss Chuang has been the co-ordinator of the New Lynn Night Markets since they first opened in June this year.
Auckland Council spokesman Glyn Walters says Miss Chuang was employed through the Community Development Project and the Whau Local Board was keen to support the markets.
“She would have been appointed a few months ago when the project started,” he says. “It was a normal procurement process for a contractor and there is no evidence to suggest mayoral involvement.”
However Mr Battersby says the initial idea of the ethnic night markets had little support from the board as it had plans for its own Saturday market.
Mr Battersby says they had no choice in the matter. “We accepted it and got on with it. It was a bit tongue in cheek and we weren’t particularly chuffed.”
Mr Battersby says now that Miss Chuang has become a public person she might need review her position.
and to Tom Belford, elected to the HBRC following counting of the ‘specials’ (in by 61 😉 from memory) ; now Four of the Nine councillors a re opposed to the RWSS, :-D. Now, that’s democracy, of sorts.
Look what happens when the whacko pollies powered by that fabulous fuel mix booster Money and Religion get into power. The guy introduced the bill, but wasn’t really serious about it.
A Republican state senator in Idaho has introduced legislation that would require all high school students in the state to read an Ayn Rand novel that has become popular with the Tea Party movement.
State Senate Education Committee Chairman John Goedde (R-Coeur d’Alene) introduced legislation Tuesday that would require the reading of Rand’s 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged by every high school student in the state, and the passage of a test on the book, in order to graduate, The Spokesman-Review reported. Goedde said that he only introduced the bill as a way to send a message to the state over a series of recent decisions, and not to force the reading of Rand’s book
And to show some of the other thinking and events in this country of large historic democracy and huge intellectual and philosophical capability –
Huffington Post side headings –
* 10 Things only women with big boobs can understand.
* Men got us into the shutdown women got us out
* Stenographer removed for shouting on House floor
* Principal raped boy in office while parent was outside: Cops
If they won’t ban Richie Mccaw for persistent cheating at the breakdown, it’ll take a lot more than a few more brain damaged kiwis to halt the game.
Though a precedent has been set with the motorbikers and acc levies, or did the government capitulate? I can’t recall, and it has nothing to do with heading a football.
I played for years, explains a lot…head knocks and all that. That was a lot more dangerous than riding a bicycle, which I am forced to wear a stupid bloody helmet on. Who will save me from meddling “safety” commissars from OSH and ACC?
Ennui, you do know that wearing helmets in American football only makes that game MORE dangerous, indeed lethal? Certainly rugby is terribly dangerous, and there is no one thing in sport more dangerous than a rugby scrum, but wearing helmets is NOT the way to go…..
Sleaze oil – making friends and influencing people wherever he goes. From the (now Slaterless Truth, yesterday:
[…] Fact: Slater’s father John was also on Palino’s campaign staff.
Fact: Slater (junior) has a hard on of hate for Brown.
Fact: Slater (junior) is calling on Brown to resign from the mayoralty.
Fact: ACT Leader John Banks has been ordered to stand trial for electoral fraud.
Fact: Instead of lambasting him, Slater (junior) has patted him on the back for resigning from his Ministerial Portfolios, saying Banks has “more integrity” than Brown.
Question: If Brown is expected to resign from the mayoralty then, by the same standards set by Slater (junior), should Banks resign from Parliament?[…]
We know the true-blue Slaters, er … dislike lefty Len Brown* and are, as a family, great friends of John Banks, whom Mr Brown so robustly defeated for the first Auckland ‘super city’ mayoralty three years ago (and who, it was announced today, will stand trial on charges of [allegedly] filing a false electoral return. Tsk.)
We shouldn’t, I guess, be surprised that the fetid swamp that is Slater junior’s hate blog will never, ever get around to ‘reporting’ (gag) — with or without affidavits — a pattern of night-time disturbance (‘No, this isn’t the right apartment’) which apparently so miffed Jenny Shipley back in the days her Wellington apartment was in proximity to that of one of her Parliamentary colleagues.
No, of course not. There are lines that shouldn’t be crossed.
Well this just proves that Slater is the victim of an attack campaign. And it’s even worse that he first thought, with tentacles reaching far beyond the entire Herald staff.
Either that or he’s just a gutless horrible worm and no-one has any time for him. Who knows?
That’s the trouble if the line gets crossed, politicians private lives are now fair game.
We should try and not descend to that level.
Except of course in the case of Nick Smith . He needs an extension to his wardrobe for all those skeletons 🙂
He’s actually having a serious go at Auckland’s Mad Right. Watch out Rudman ! The elephant without a trunk (well, some say not when he’s up to HIS “fun”), SlaterPorn that is, he and his ilk never forget a slight.
Glad that Rudman is fronting up. There are precious few in the media have the opportunity, ability or will power…Note also according to todays business ‘news’ or that funky little bs gossip section that Bridges is a National hero for taking it to John Campbell.
True. I saw/heard that somewhere too Newsense. About which I don’t give a shit because THEY would. They’d stoutly maintain all sorts of kaka to maintain the “born to rule” psychosis. That’s the way it is in these days of ShonKey Python’s “higher standards”.
Cleverly, you just deny. If hard pressed you just forget. Never mind. Ugly I know but have pity. They’re just consoling themselves in the niggling knowledge that the Great Feet are now the Clay Feet. Truth is most of the canned laughetr behind him have never picked up such fat salaries. Greedy little wannabee Geckos are shitting. Seriously.
Thing is Wee Simon didn’t look good in the eyes of those who’ve not sipped the KoolAid. Shouty little Mini-Matthew Hooton. A very shouty little boy minister.
It’s ANOTHER intimation of how fucked and spiralling down is the ShonKey Python Flying Circus. Just like the early 60s bodgie the “Out Of His Depth Mr Speaker Carter”. He exemplifies it. ShonKeyness.
This government is a bunch of tired, dying, malevolent, incompetent, fucks.
Labour MP’s are now openly ‘toying’ with the House Speaker during the Parliament’s Question Time, the Speaker,(snigger, in my honest opinion), is having trouble differentiating His political leanings form His duty as Speaker to deliver impartial rulings from within the Parliaments Standing Orders,
Metiria in the face of a Government who to all extents and purposes are all functional idiots either by design or birth, has taken to openly giggling at the stupidity contained in answers being given in the Chamber by Government Ministers,
If there is one thing that the stuffed shirts of the right cannot abide by it’s having their own views of themselves as the ‘power’ in the land being openly laughed at…
Winston Peters telling unintended funnies via RadioNZ National news this morning, it’s ‘Conference time’ for NZFirst this weekend and Winston appears to be G-ing up the troops with a rousing declaration that NZFirst will decide who the next Government will be, balance of power stuff and all that,
On another planet He also goes on to declare NZFirst will double it’s numbers in the House after November 2014,
The first of course would depend entirely on the second as far as coming to pass is concerned and as NZFirst has largely become an irrelevancy in the last few months as a resurgent Labour has hogged all the political airtime just getting across the 5% thresh-hold for NZFirst is likely to become to big an ask,
Given the latest Roy Morgan, NZFirst’s very survival after 2014 may depend upon it being able to show in the Parliament that it can work in a Labour/Green coalition…
I’m actually picking that next year will be the last election that WP will contest. If he doesnt get tipped out (this depends on the political climate this time next year), he will retire in 2017.
marsman, i suggest you read the link in Penny Bright’s comment at 16 for background.
The S-G was requested to take over the case by McCready and co in June; but deferred a decision on this until the case was committed for trial. Hence the S-G is now considering taking over.
Back in june IIRC Penny provided a link to the formal request for the S-G to take over, but I don’t have time to find that link. It will no doubt be somewhere on the blog site of the link at 16, but the Archives list doesn’t seem to include June 2013.
I also have concerns that if the S-G takes over the case that this could lead to bias or cover-up , Karol.
However, it was McCready who formally requested that the S-G take over the case back in June in line with legal provisions for this to happen IIRC. (Haven’t had time today to track down McCready’s formal request to verify the reasons, legal provisions etc – but it will be there somewhere on the blogsite Penny linked to). Legal costs obviously would be a major reason as stated/implied in McCready’s latest release on Penny’s link.
I don’t really understand the system but does the SG have any power to refer this back to the Police who then shove Banks onto diversion or something similar.
something wrong with our parliament when the speaker cannot give the reasons for his rulings.
The present speaker is probably representative of all the lightweights populating the national party caucus but the country expects more than petulant bullying from the supposedly objective officials.
time for national to pick up its money pack up its tent and piss off.
Great links Joe – the only ‘f’ word we should be concentrating on is fracking. I wonder how long before we see the same thing here – blockades, confrontation – so far most of it is below the radar but the time is drawing near where there will have to be more visible action to stop the exploiters. We have shown with the tour that people will stand up and fight when they want to and overseas many examples of brave people are there. We either stop them or we stop them – no other choice on this one. Kia kaha.
1) It apparently came after a vague reference to Len Brown and “Asian beauties” in a WO post during the last week of the council elections.
How would the text sender know that WO was referring to Chuang?
2) The sender seems to be certain that Chuang has been talking “to the Slaters”.
And yet, according to Chuang, it was Luigi that was pressuring her and he had said that he had people set up to go with the story. And Chuang says she only decided to agree to signing an affadavit after the election results came out on the Sunday.
Why did the text sender seem certain that Chuang had been talking to the “Slaters” (plural) before voting ended for the elections?
Those texts to Chuang and others did not ‘compute’ to me from my first hearing of them – and still don’t.
IMO the sender is probably an ‘insider’ within the Slater/Luigi et al camp to put further pressure on Chuang in a perverse/reverse manner to reveal all – and at the same time setting up a red herring as to who else knew. The timing of the texts is too coincidental to WO’s post about Asian beauties. Probably a cheap prepay phone thrown away once the texts had been sent.
But something else that does not now compute to me that popped into my head as I was writing the above:
– Slater senior supposedly also received a text from the same number as Chuang last week;
– but he has also claimed that he knew nothing about the affair until WO informed him an hour or two before WO released his substantive post with the full details this week.
There was a time when nothing happened inside the National Party or its local body shadow, the Auckland Citizens and Ratepayers organisation, without Mr Slater’s knowledge. Not any more.
This week, after the Len Brown scandal erupted forth from his son Cameron’s blog, Mr Slater confessed to the Herald that his very own, hand-made Frankenstein had not bothered to consult him beforehand about it, or the ongoing dirty tricks campaign to try to bring Mayor Len Brown to his knees.
[…]
Which does beg the question, if Mr Palino can’t even keep track of what his tiny campaign team are up to, what does it say about his ability to keep on top of a business employing more than 8000 staff and an annual budget of $4.5 billion?
Martyn Bradbury is suggesting that some Brown allies sent the texts after getting wind of how much of a smear campaign Luigi, slaters et al were trying to run.
Bradbury can be spot on sometimes. i think that post on Wewege is based on some stuff he’s getting in his tip line. In that post, though, I think he takes to much notice of Hooton’s spin.
Slater Jnr says the txt to his father was too vague about who was involved for him to really be clued in to what was going on. OTOH, apparently Chuang’s father also got one of the threatening txts, which makes it seem like they came from someone closer to Chuang.
Unknowable. Burner phone so it all comes down to character of the various actors I guess, and people will make their own judgements about who was most likely.
things aren’t looking good for team dirty tricks in that regard I suspect.
it is interesting that John (my hands are off this ) Key said (on 3News) “is not pushing for” Len’s resignation and “he’ll be back on the horse as soon as he possibly can”.
why are the anti-people party, the burn the barn to
make a profit, eat several Earths party, one might
say future murderers and pillage party, the most likely to
fear the prison population will vote. Are they putting innocent
people in prision, planning to? Well duh, I mean if you believe
you’ve stolen wealth, then obviously you want to do everything
to stop the opposition taking you to rights, so you create
a cult and culture of removing and extinguishing those rights.
Protest on the seas, be locked up, and denied the vote at the
election. Its a pincher, increase crimes and decrease rights,
has historically been motivated by illegitimate governments
and power blocks.
It once signaled the close relationship/brother-sisterhood between Australians and New Zealanders – empathy, compassion, co-operation et al.
The pollies love it. For me its becoming a label the politicians can use at will to piss on my ancestors’ graves.
The Howard 2001 law changes that see contributing NZers living in Australia disadvantaged and ineligable for some pretty basic ‘services’ and benefits available to Australians living in NZ.
– doesn’t seem very compassionate or cooperative to me.
– the pathetic representations made by Shonkey on NZers behalf
Those ANZAC symbols and totems erected on various bridges and elsewhere are fast becoming meaningless and merely reference points for pollies to draw on nationalism and supposedly feelings of patriotism in order to ease their consciences for doing SFA for veterans welfare, etc.
I’ve just listened to some deekhead called Tarn Yabbit – who apparently has a Koiwoi woifey giving a speech at some Legacy Club in Brissie.
NOT ONCE in all of that speech did the name NZ get mentioned. (Btw … Canada did).
I guess “AAC” would be kid of hard to pronounce.
I find myself having to laugh at times when I see the various trolls that visit here mock Russell Norman – using his birthplace as their justifcation.
In my mind, Norman would have more of an understanding what that “Spirit” is than many.
It seems the right probably just think of CER, Australian vestmint tunetees, flogging off as much turf and assets to transTas cuzzies as possible alongside a few sporting events and Crosby Textor type ‘mateship’.
ANZAC “spirit” indeed! Crapola! The Okkers can’t even spell Labour correctly these days!
Hmmmmmm Commodore Kevin Kent has been found guilty on 5 of 8 charges brought against him, but no sign of anything in Granny Herald as yet, though it is on the Radio N Z and Stuff webpages. Thought the Herald is supposed to be up with keeping us informed, but they seem to be eternally stuck on the Slater, Chuang, Wewege, Brown saga and who sent that text message. I note it was sent in ‘complete’ text, not txt speak.
If you haven’t seen this post from Peter Aranyi, you really owe it to yourself to take a look. The post itself has some good links and makes some good observations. The poster at the end though, is simply unmissable:
In the messages between Bevan and WEdgie, he asked her to tape record conversations. Surely there’s something illegal about that..trying to get someone to do something illegal? Also, surely that’s a story taht should be ripe for exploring – hunt down Wedgie and Palino who have been in hiding ever since the story backfired on them. The journos are hounding Len, so how about appplying their hounding equally
Well what the journalists should really be asking is how “Spray and walk away” Len voted during the sky city deal and was it coincidental he had sexy, fun time at the hotel…
But the journalists won’t of course, they’ll wait to see what Cameron Slater comes up with first and pretend its their work
Let me explain why its not rascist…while the phrase was popularized by a stereotypical asian man that’s not how I’m using it (though I can see how you might jump to that conclusion)
I’m using spray and walk away in reference to his habit of blowing a load on a woman and then leaving like shes some sort of prostitute ie spray (blow the load) and walk away (from the hooker)
PS Dirty Len was the one calling a chinese woman “geisha girl” and “manchu girl” so you might like to consider the rascist or at the very least demeaning aspects of 4/10 Lens personality
“Hey darling”
“Yes dear”
“What would you rate my love making abilities?”
“You spend far too much time on blogging sites and what do you want for dinner?”
“Yes darling and I feel like pasta tonight”
Recordings? Remember that through the US, our govt security services have access to all of the calls and txts between Brown and Chuang. This is what the system is there for.
Had to have a chuckle today. The hard-copy New Zealand Fox News Herald “Business” section has the stock market listings on pages B7 – B9 and, without interruption, the next two pages show the the horse racing events, field and form. Seems apt.
Seen a few tweets from Herald and tv3 journos hinting this is all going to blow up again soon.
Questions they are saying they have an answer to is : ‘Was this all a right wing conspiracy, and how deep, who knew, who lied about knowing, and who’s keeping quiet even though they know quite a bit’
‘The Pearl Fishers Duet’ by Georges Bizet from the Opera “Les Pecheurs De Perles” -Yes it is she the most fascinating and beautiful goddess-who has brought us together….. our fates are linked ? Kiwirail?
saw something a while ago, on kickstarter I think, where some dudes were raising money to make a movie about his epic dungeons and dragons one, playing it straight to the script.
Strange old Chris73 there……..the closer we get to about 7% for the former 62% Man, the PM you’d crow about ’73, and crow and crow and crow………that’s right……. your Cult Cargo ShonKey Python……….your subliminal if not conscious prophet.
Well it’s just that your expressions now are much more general, even as a troll. Suggestive of a mature standing back, an intelligent appraisal. Not into the KoolAid in quite the same way what ? Very nice.
Your well known lower standards and your kupapanui wouldn’t have you a scab on Johnny Boy would they ?
Some of those questions are somewhat irrelevant as we don’t give a shit about the how’s and why’s. What’s more important is who else did he tup and did he make any entries into the probity register or did he just cash them in.
Dave, do you mean the “Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute” and ” Doing Good Fellows” (True title) Wewege as the Founders of these organisations?
Ironical that he took the second organisation’s title a little to the extreme.
This is the same Wewege that is also on the International Youth Council.
His profile -: ” How do you want to get involved ? Connect with other global-minded leaders, Contribute Knowledge and/or Resources. What issues are important to you? Education, Media, Sustainability, Leadership, Partnerships, Policy”
A fine role model and representative of NZ youth to the world ?
Yes and I was being cynical about Wewege and the organisations and businesses he drags down with him.
The 99ers should have removed him too, rightly so!
Wewege one of the elite chosen global top 99 for 2013 “…. a community of some of the brightest and most innovative minds of the time….our third class of 99ers continues to prove to the world the power of breaking traditional models and thinking outside the box for new solutions to old problems. Bring a group of 99ers together in a room, and feel the world shift….. each and every one a gleaming ray of hope … ”
innovative
breaking traditional role models
new solutions for an old problem
His Bio on the Diplomatic Courier says he is. Long, impressive Bio. Shame.
Check Daves ‘google’ cached address above. That page has now been removed from the “Diplomatic Courier” itself
WIMP WALLOPING
Wimp: Jeremy Elwood. Walloper: Nevil Gibson The Panel, Radio New Zealand National, Friday 18 October 2013
Jim Mora, Jeremy Elwood, Nevil Breivik Gibson
JIM MORA: It’s Susan Baldacci, with what the WOOOOOOORLD’s talking about! SUSAN BALDACCI: Well the first story today is a rather sad one. It seems that slavery is still rife around the world. MORA: Slavery? SUSAN BALDACCI: Y-y-yes. And the country with the most slaves is India. MORA: Is it India that has the most slaves? SUSAN BALDACCI:[betraying slight irritation] Mmmmm. …. [Pause]….The country with the highest proportion of slaves is Mauritania. It has five to twenty per cent of the population as slaves. MORA: Five to twenty per cent of the population of Mauritania are slaves?
…..[Pause]…..
SUSAN BALDACCI: Mmmm.
…..Some minutes later….
MORA: Mmmmmmm, mmmmmm! SUSAN BALDACCI: Mmmm, mmmm! JEREMY ELWOOD: Mmmmm! MORA: Mmmmmmm! This is delicious cake! Who brought it in? NEVIL BREIVIK GIBSON: I did! MORA: What, is it your birthday? NEVIL BREIVIK GIBSON: It is. MORA: Happy fiftieth birthday! Ha ha ha ha ha! NEVIL BREIVIK GIBSON: Ha ha. MORA: I mean, happy FORTIETH birthday! Ha ha ha ha! NEVIL BREIVIK GIBSON: Ha ha.
A couple of minutes later, as the music gradually rises to usher in the 4 o’clock news, the Panelists are discussing the stunning revelation that we’ve been lied to for the last hundred years about a crucial historical event….
MORA: So if the band on the Titanic didn’t play “Nearer My God to Thee”, what DID they play? JEREMY ELWOOD: “Sailing”. NEVIL BREIVIK GIBSON: Heeeeeeeeeeeee! MORA: That was the resident comedian on the program, Jeremy Elwood. Back after the news!
……4 o’clock News…..
After the four o’clock news, Mora always drags his hapless guests through a mandatory ritual of introductory or (more commonly) catch-up chit-chat. This would be pretty dull at the best of times, but seeing that he has a small roster of Panelists, this is also (almost always) a wasted seven or eight minutes.
However, these informal chats occasionally reveal some highly interesting aspects of character, or lack of character. Yesterday (Thursday October 17th), for instance, right wing Stuff business editor Ellen Read and that grouchy old hippie-hater and scourge of progressive thinkers, Rosemary McLeod, took the opportunity to boast about all the books they had not read. First of all they dealt to The Bone People, defiantly announcing that they found it boring, over-rated and unreadable. If they had stopped there, their little excursion into book criticism would have been reasonable and unexceptionable. But this pair of Mother Grundys were incapable of stopping there; they couldn’t help themselves. Warming to the task, McLeod announced she would never ever look at anything by Pope or Dryden. Ellen Read warmly endorsed this strident declaration of philistinism.
That, however, was as bad as it got yesterday. For the rest of the program, Read and McLeod were considered and reasonable in their comments. Long-time listeners would have been not only surprised at this, but also a trifle disappointed. Ellen Read has a particularly nasty, acerbic personality and has in the past unloaded both barrels on opponents, or amiable victims like Tim Watkin. So her failure to deliver on yesterday’s program left many listeners sans our fix of righteous right wing raving. Listening to a young lout playing nice and agreeing with everything an old lout says is nobody’s idea of entertainment, surely. If we wanted that, we’d just listen in on Cameron Brewer sucking up to Don Brash.
Many of us sufferers were no doubt hoping that today’s extreme right wing guest would come through with the good stuff, i.e., the crazy stuff. After all, with Nevil Breivik Gibson on board, the probability of a demented comment is extremely high.
Today’s post-four o’clock chat revealed (1) that Jeremy Elwood recently met Dan Marino and Dan Ackroyd, and, more interestingly, (2) that Nevil Gibson has visited Ireland recently. That trip provided the springboard for Gibson to make one of his trademark cock-eyed observations, a paean to the “excellence” of Ireland’s Sunday newspapers. That would have come as a surprise to anyone who has actually read an Irish Sunday newspaper, which to any literate Irish person is a synonym for “crap”.
Still, as Breivik Gibson comments go, raving about the quality of crap Irish papers was pretty mild. More extreme stuff was to come just before the end of the show. Before that, though, there was a bit of excruciating banter with the host….
JIM MORA: Nevil Gibson, happy birthday. That’s a nice cake you’ve brought in for us. Did you bake it yourself? NEVIL BREIVIK GIBSON: No, no, I got it from Hollywood. MORA: You got it imported?!?!???!? NEVIL BREIVIK GIBSON: Heeeeeeeeeeee! Actually it’s the bakery chain! MORA: Oh!
The bulk of the program was pretty run of the mill. There was something about Len Brown, and both Gibson and Elwood made bland contributions for the “Soabbox” segment. It seemed that, apart from Gibson’s endorsement of substandard Irish rags, this was going to pass away into the space-time continuum without leaving a trace.
But then THIS happened……
In the last five minutes, Mora brings up the subject of the Republican extreme right and its determined assault on civic and public life in the United States, AKA “the government shutdown.” Just as I suspected he would, Nevil Gibson takes up the opportunity to deliver one of his crazed homilies—this time on behalf of the Tea Party loons. He embarks on an utterly untrue and fantastical speech, asserting that Ted Cruz and his cronies, far from being thugs and vandals, represent a significant section of the U.S. population. “Don’t they have a right to be heard?” he pleads, his voice croaking with emotion.
Gibson would never have gotten away with such nonsense if the other Panelist were, say, Gordon McLauchlan or Gordon Campbell or Mai Chen. But his interlocutor today is that nice Jeremy Elwood, a man who goes out of his way during his comedy appearances to make it clear he is a concerned and thoughtful liberal thinker. Unfortunately, Elwood has a dismal track record of going out of his way to “find common ground” with people who are philosophically and morally opposite to him. A few years ago Elwood brought down ignominy and contempt on himself after he cravenly voiced agreement with every single thing uttered by the bullying ex-cop Graham Bell during one of Bell’s infamous swingeing rants against liberals, conservationists and young people.
It was always a forlorn hope that Elwood would show a bit of courage and actually argue with Gibson. And so, just as we knew he would, he caved in. Instead of challenging him, Elwood joked lamely that there are huge numbers of Americans that take no notice of the government, and don’t need it in their lives. “They got on just fine during the shut-down,” he snickered. Nevil Breivik Gibson guffawed his approval.
Mercifully, the insistent sound of Carmina Burana wells up. Time to sign off…
JIM MORA: Nevil Gibson, happy birthday. Thank you for bringing in the cake!
Yesterday, I took action, on my own. I went outside the Avondale WINZ office, to do a picket and protest. I held up a sign warning of “hatchet doctors”. There was nobody else, but I know a few others keep up the fight. I only wanted to raise awareness, and was there between 10,20 to 11.30 am on Friday.
Only 10 or 15 minutes into the action I was approached by a security person, one of the WINZ ones, coming out of their office. I had a sign and already handed out a few flyers (all stating the truth). He asked me, after staring at me for a few minutes, whether he could have one of my flyers. I gave him one. Then he disappeared, and I am sure he reported to the manager.
Soon after he came back, he tried to start a nonsensical chat, but held a pen and paper in his hands, and he took notes of the words on my sign. This all happened in a totally public place, on the footpath, which is a fair few steps away from the WINZ office. I had lots of people interested and handed out many flyers.
But what really SCARED ME, was the fact this security guy took record of all, reported to his manager, while I was in a public place. I am disturbed, and also angry, as this country is supposed to be democratic and “free” country. I did nothing wrong, and I also heard of others in the same area, at various WINZ offices being harassed.
Now, I ask you here, as NZers, is this what you condone? Is this what you want your country to be like? I have been out on the street in a few places recently, and while I got a lot of support, I also faced much hostility and frowning. I am afraid now to go out of my place, as my impression is, that this is no longer a free country. We are being persecuted and stigmatised, being beneficiaries, we are apparently hunted down.
Now, dear Labour, where do you stand on this, same on the welfare reforms, I hear little or nothing, and I honestly feel I live in a bloody dictatorship. I come from Europe and wish I had never come back to this horrible place, as I experience it as a beneficiary “bludger”. Better kill me and other, and get rid of us, if you do not like us!
My impression is that NZers have sold their country, are not even caring to fight for it, and thus are a gutless people, not worth of the soil you live on.
If you would all bloody care, you would fight and take a stand, I see NONE of it. David Cunliffe will not deliver what he talks about, I can tell you now, you are all falling for a big fat lie and another disappointment. There is no “true left” in this country, is is just fashionable wannabe stuff, as one real leftist told me long ago. Learn from Chile and other places, as you all need learning lessons, and who by the way, of all of you “bothers” to take to the street these days, I see NONE, cowards!
@X,
It’s not that they sold out so much is that NZers are up against a carefully cultivated climate of suspicion regarding beneficiaries. To give an example at the place where I volunteer I quickly noticed that any new clients we get keep reassuring us that they ARE doing everything they can to get a job, and that they are not like those “other” beneficiaries.
The problem is that the “other” beneficiaries (those that don’t want to work and are sponging ungratefully off the system) don’t appear to exsist outside of the media spin. Since I started a few months ago I haven’t met any of the “others”, just broken and stressed out people trying to get essential needs met.
X doesn’t seem to realize that beneficiaries are the hardest group of people in our society to organize, most are seriously looking for work and the ‘churn’ in the demographic always means that today’s beneficiary is tomorrows worker,
i don’t take kindly to the deliberate insults X has taken to tossing around and have deliberately, having ‘had words’ with that one previously where he/she has gone off the deep end, shrugged off the insults,
If he/she is thrown into a paranoid fear fit over a simple conversation with a WINZ security guard then i would suggest he/she discontinues the activity…
Not to be found in NZ, yet! Mucha forca, mucha forca, wake up, dear people and take action, if you can bother, beyond the “comfort zone”. Maybe life is “too easy” in NZ after all???
Battery farmed cows could be coming to NZ soon. Just a short note to encourage anyone as horrified as I am about these magnificent and sacred beasts being treated this way to make a submission to the Ministry of Primary Industries (address on website below) before December 3rd.
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
NONFICTION 1 The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin, $37.99) 2 The Life of Dai by Dai Henwood and Jaquie Brown (HarperCollins, $39.99) 3 A Life Less Punishing by Matt Heath (Allen & Unwin, $37.99) 4 Waitohu by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $35) ...
So Bevan Chuang appears to have wisely backed away from Slater. The money trail would be interesting to see because Slater said he was paying Chuang’s accommodation expenses and I do not believe that Stephen Cook would be doing this out of his perception of what is in the public good.
Is there a frustrated Woman’s day deal in the pipeline? Is Slater’s frustration because the pay day will not now happen?
Mr Wewege had also been involved in the campaign for Simon O’Connor, the National MP for Tamaki.
Others described him as an acolyte of Simon Lusk, a campaign strategist for right-wing political candidates, saying he had attended several of Mr Lusk’s summer camp training sessions.
All roads lead to Lusk/Slater
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11141900
Summer camps? Youth movements?
Next we’ll be hearing albout the colour of shirts Lusk gets them to wear.
Our New Democratic right wing – New Zealand’s tea party
instead of ‘tea-party’..
..should we call then nzs’ ‘coffee-clutch’..?
phillip ure..
a len brown question..
..if as claimed..sky city was providing on-call/free bonking-rooms to len brown..
..does this..and their obvious knowledge of his extra-marital bonking..
..do both/either of these facts..provide some explanation for why brown supported that pokie-deal..?
..did they already ‘own’ brown..?
..surely not..!
..eh..?
phillip ure..
phillip, just heard on RNZ news that Brown and Key met today at the Skycity Hotel and scoped out the political bonking schedule for the next month.
“exhausted, unwell, disillusioned, depressed and haunted”.
Son, husband, father and by all accounts one of the good guys.
Greg King. A man with all that intellect couldn’t see a way to work through his crisis of values, physical ill-health and depression.
So very, very sad.
+1…Greek tragedy….if he hadn’t been so good….. ( at his job defending the ……) ….it wouldnt have been so bad
….many things can be solved with a holiday away from everything to get some perspective and get some insight as to what needs changing, where to go next, how to get balance etc
Agree with both Chooky and Miravox. With a society so focused on the individual and upon performance / success / other pressures, what chance do we have?
As a society / community we are so self obsessed that we don’t look around and take the strain from those who need it. And those in pressure positions guard the gates to their life’s / professions to stay where they are against competitive elements….
And then we all go through the dark moments of the soul, on our own. We don’t need to.
VERY. We actually need more criminal lawyers like him… not ones who feel nothing about what they do.
aye.
the trouble is that it’s a fine line between being deeply scarred by becoming acquainted with some of the stuff that people do to each other, and becoming defensively calloused.
I was moved, and a little surprised, when I read about these findings the other day. Still, depression (and ill-health, a million ‘obese’ New Zealanders now) are epidemic.
Planet Key
$500 rounds of golf
Helicopter rides
5 start luxury resorts
Yup, just your ordinary kind of guy, John.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/australiaandpacific/newzealand/10382216/John-Keys-Queenstown-My-Kind-of-Town.html
The first comment below the report offers some advice to Brits reading the article.
“He’s an idiot, my advice is enjoy NZs environment while you can before this man and his party destroy it.”
And the response to that comment?
Best quote from the article: “For some reason my political staff don’t think me diving off a bridge screaming would be great footage, in case I ever have a big dip in the polls.”
One would suspect that bungy has dropped, Prime Minister…
Also covered in the Herald today – http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11141801
Nice for some – not ordinary Kiwis.
While John Key witters on in The Telegraph about rich-listers fun in Queenstown, Eleanor Catton has a lovely piece about her NZ in The Guardian.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/17/eleanor-catton-booker-new-zealand
enjoyed the extract I read of her book yesterday. I read today she had a childhood “without a car or television”.
Thanks Andrea Vance for the pap piece on Super Botox Man. Thought by now you’d be chary about piffling on for seedy old hypocrites.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9295606/Banks-comes-out-swinging
Corporate puppet.
As for Jane Clifton…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/9297151/Testing-Speakers-temper-ill-advised
What’s going on there?
Broken link. It’s here.
Hmm – not a broken link – they’ve edited it. Glad I copied it instead of just linking.
Btw, isn’t it meant to be good form to list edits to a published article rather than deleting it and putting up a corrected copy?
The url changed. It’s now under dominion-post/news instead of national.
Yeah, that’s the new version. The old one is deleted. Take a look at the text I copied and the equivalent sentences at the new url.
Clifton’s original piece confused Turei with Turia e.g.
article 1:
“Carter disallowed the question, so Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia asked whether the word – a great favourite on all sides of the House – was now unparliamentary.”
article 2:
“Carter disallowed the question, so Turei asked whether the word – a great favourite on all sides of the House – was now unparliamentary.”
Bit of a big deal for a seasoned political journalist. Does she get someone else to take notes or write her stuff? And why did Stuff just change it without mentioning the edits?
Yes I noticed the appalling errors in the bits you quoted.
Hmmm…. just looked at the scan of today’s Dom Post on Press Display – the glaring Tariana Turia errors are there in print. Jane Clifton
It’s all edited offshore now, yes? Do we suspect a simple spelling error caused the subeditor to add the explanation of who Turia is? That is, Clifton has mistyped ‘so Turia asked…’ instead of ‘so Turei asked…’ and the editor has added the rest thinking they are being helpful…
Maybe. I’d like to blame it on off-shoring the subs.
They should have issued a correction, not deleted and relocated the corrected article without explanation. Bad manners that, and a bad look for Jane Clifton.
so..we have one million people people who are obese..
..next landmark 1.5 mill..?
..and still no reason to reconsider the nz-‘diet’/’food’-marketing practices…?
..and..bacon and saussies for breakfast..?
..a big mac/fries for lunch..?
..a pizza/ice-cream dinner..?
..mmm!!..
..big/blubby fat..!
..eh..?
..and lots of it..
..you do know it’s driving you to an early grave..
..eh..?
..we do all know that that much is not in any doubt..
..eh..?
..so..what to do..?
..over to you..!
..eh..?
..phillip ure..
Not necessarily …
From Alternet.org
Everything You’ve Been Told About How to Eat Is Wrong
How bad science created a misinformed national diet – and did nothing to slow the growth of obesity.
http://www.alternet.org/food/we-dont-know-what-eat
You may be interested in this:
The protein leverage hypothesis
S. J. Simpson & D. Raubenheimer
Summary
The obesity epidemic is among the greatest public health challenges facing the modern world. Regarding dietary causes, most emphasis has been on changing patterns of fat and carbohydrate consumption. In contrast, the role of protein has largely been ignored, because (i) it typically comprises only ~15% of dietary energy, and (ii) protein intake has remained near constant within and across populations throughout the development of the obesity epidemic. We show that, paradoxically, these are precisely the two conditions that potentially provide protein with the leverage both to drive the obesity epidemic through its effects on food intake, and perhaps to assuage it. We formalize this hypothesis in a mathematical model. Some supporting epidemiological, experimental and animal data are presented, and predictions are made for future testing.
https://insects.tamu.edu/REU/ARTICLES/SIMPSON-2005-OBESITY%20THE%20PROTEIN%20LEVERAGE%20HYPOTHESIS.PDF
Thanks. Reading this I started wondering if Atkins had misread this paper and used it for the basis of his diet. But the Atkins diet was based on a paper done in 1963. Curiously that paper doesn’t seem to have much of a relationship to the high protein, high fat Atkins diet either.
this is also relevant..
..and what has also been done here..
http://www.alternet.org/how-fast-food-industry-destroyed-home-ec-hook-americans-processed-crap
phillip ure..
+100%…agree philip ure….all kids should be taught home economics….given the obesity epidemic…how to eat cheaply , healthily and vegetarian and (Vegan)…simple Indian, Thai, Chinese, Mexican etc healthy yummmy recipes also …..all the options!!!!.. (personally I steer well clear of sugar but my partner loves to bake cakes and slices and desserts…certainly better than buying them)
I went to a vege shop recently and bought $60 worth of veges …the young very well built lovely Maori guy behind the counter said that that was an awful lot to spend on veges and seemed impressed…. and then he said brightly that he had spent that much on Friday night eating at McDonalds….he looked very delighted at the memory…I told him his money would have been better spent on the veges…but felt a bit of a school teacher and spoiler
On subject of health : Alzheimers
Here are some links on preventing alzheimers naturally ( my friends father …a former professor of commerce and law…died of it recently , so it is no respecter of brain power )…may help or not ….but interesting
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/turmeric-produces-remarkable-recovery-alzheimers-patients
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2012/january/coconut-oil-touted-as-alzheimers-remedy/
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/13/alzheimers-dementia-treatment.aspx
“so..we have one million people people who are obese..”
[citation needed]
Found one …
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11142268
But given that the so-called healthy diet that is “low in saturated fats, trans fat, cholesterol, salt, and added sugars, and controls portion sizes” is based on bollocks, I’m sticking with dripping on toast for breakfast.
The report defined obesity as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more, calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres.
So it’s complete bollocks, then. (For the uninitiated: BMI is a crock of shit. Richie McCaw (30.9) and Ma’a Nonu (32) would be counted as “obese” by this “study”.)
some more Big Fat Lies (no, not the NZHerald in general, although…)
Congratulations Ross Clow, councilor for Whau – lead has held by 51 votes. Bye bye Raffills.
Final Auckland Council results.
I know little about Clow, but alot about the politics of Raffills, who will not be missed by anyone paying attention, and who cares for men and women.
Bravo!
+5
Ross’s five fellow Labour candidate for the Whau Local Board also got in.
That gives Labour five of the seven seats on that board.
This is the first time a Labour slate was run there.
For those ouside of West Auckland the Whau rhymes with Clow.
“The Whau Local Board comprises the suburbs of New Lynn, Green Bay and Kelston, Rosebank, Waterview, Avondale, New Windsor and Blockhouse Bay. The name Whau is from the estuarine arm of the Waitemata Harbour, which extends into the area.”
It is predominantly in David Cunliffe’s New Lynn electorate with parts in David Shearer’s Mt Albert and Phil Goff’s Mt Roskill.
http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/AboutCouncil/representativesbodies/LocalBoards/Whaulocalboard/Pages/default.aspx
“For those ouside of West Auckland the Whau rhymes with Clow.”
Actually these days it’s usually officially pronounced “foe”. Said to be the pronunciation of local iwi. Though not all people accept that.
i would pronounce Whau as Faa-u, the u pronounced as you without the Y,of course my bones are from Whanga-nui-a-tara where different emphasis might be placed on different letters…
Yes. I think it’s hard to recreate the exact pre-European pronunciation of the Whau area, as the river was largely a transit route and location of seasonal camps used by several iwi.
Older New Lynn residents do pronounce it “Wow”, and it’s possible that for some iwi it did/does rhyme with Clow.
My family always pronounced it “Wow”.
But then they also said “Wockatarny” and “Wongaray” so I wouldn’t put much stock in that.
I recall as a 50s kid my mother at the end of her tether loudly exclaiming at the naughty antics of me and my brother – “You’ll have me in the bloody Wow !”
I later understood this to be a reference to a psychiatric hospital in “Avondale” (1950s – whisper whisper – “Oh, so and so’s in Avondale”). Near enough to the Whau. Might in fact have been the later Carrington, part of it now the Mason Clinic.
While we’re on this can just tolerate “Wongaray” used by many of the successive generations of Northland Pakeha – habit etc.
What really gets me as a well intentioned but poor effort is the one used by a member of the Northland Judiciary – “Fongaray”. “Faaarng-are-rare-e”, please !
Ngunguru is fun for the retired pakeha who have made it home.
And Clow rhymes with Foe!
Oh. I always read Clow as rhyming with Wow. Thanks, Not a PS. Now I will not embarrass myself by mis-pronouncing Clow.
Maybe it’s also a good thing that most of the old Whau Board are gone. I see Bevan Chuang coordinated/s the New Lynn Night Markets in conjunction with the Whau Board – I think as contract work for her company. The Herald is raising questions about that.
Would Len Brown have anything to do with such local initiatives? Derek Battersby -still on the Whau Board – seems to have had a lot to do with it.
Western Leader:
never upset to see a raffills out of politics
and to Tom Belford, elected to the HBRC following counting of the ‘specials’ (in by 61 😉 from memory) ; now Four of the Nine councillors a re opposed to the RWSS, :-D. Now, that’s democracy, of sorts.
At least Mr Brown seems to have paid for the rooms where he was having sex with Bevan.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11141904
NZ’s proudest daily paper of journalism.
NZ’s Journal of Record (toryness).
Salacious sex sells.
One of my grandchildren is covering Brave New World and 1984 at school at the moment… both still as relevant today as they ever were.
Brave New World AND 1984 at the same time? OMG, what are they trying to do to these poor kids? 🙂
A whole lot better than Atlas shrugged, which is apparently on the way in Idaho.
Look what happens when the whacko pollies powered by that fabulous fuel mix booster Money and Religion get into power. The guy introduced the bill, but wasn’t really serious about it.
A Republican state senator in Idaho has introduced legislation that would require all high school students in the state to read an Ayn Rand novel that has become popular with the Tea Party movement.
State Senate Education Committee Chairman John Goedde (R-Coeur d’Alene) introduced legislation Tuesday that would require the reading of Rand’s 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged by every high school student in the state, and the passage of a test on the book, in order to graduate, The Spokesman-Review reported. Goedde said that he only introduced the bill as a way to send a message to the state over a series of recent decisions, and not to force the reading of Rand’s book
And to show some of the other thinking and events in this country of large historic democracy and huge intellectual and philosophical capability –
Huffington Post side headings –
* 10 Things only women with big boobs can understand.
* Men got us into the shutdown women got us out
* Stenographer removed for shouting on House floor
* Principal raped boy in office while parent was outside: Cops
So neo-liberal Randism is a religion now.
The gospel according to Ayn.
No, it was always a religion, from the start. Especially the neocon version.
Probably time to ban rugby. All those ACC claims are killing us taxpayers.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/oct/17/rugby-union-nfl-lawsuit-concussion
If they won’t ban Richie Mccaw for persistent cheating at the breakdown, it’ll take a lot more than a few more brain damaged kiwis to halt the game.
Though a precedent has been set with the motorbikers and acc levies, or did the government capitulate? I can’t recall, and it has nothing to do with heading a football.
I played for years, explains a lot…head knocks and all that. That was a lot more dangerous than riding a bicycle, which I am forced to wear a stupid bloody helmet on. Who will save me from meddling “safety” commissars from OSH and ACC?
Ennui, you do know that wearing helmets in American football only makes that game MORE dangerous, indeed lethal? Certainly rugby is terribly dangerous, and there is no one thing in sport more dangerous than a rugby scrum, but wearing helmets is NOT the way to go…..
Sleaze oil – making friends and influencing people wherever he goes. From the (now Slaterless Truth, yesterday:
And what is this incident that is referred to on the paepae blog yesterday?
Well this just proves that Slater is the victim of an attack campaign. And it’s even worse that he first thought, with tentacles reaching far beyond the entire Herald staff.
Either that or he’s just a gutless horrible worm and no-one has any time for him. Who knows?
That’s the trouble if the line gets crossed, politicians private lives are now fair game.
We should try and not descend to that level.
Except of course in the case of Nick Smith . He needs an extension to his wardrobe for all those skeletons 🙂
Brian Rudman in fine form. Maybe the rights grip on Auckland really is on the slippery slope.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11141823
OOps. Sorry Northshoreguynz. Posted below before reading your post. Saw the same thing. Very funny and shrewd is Mr Rudman.
He’s actually having a serious go at Auckland’s Mad Right. Watch out Rudman ! The elephant without a trunk (well, some say not when he’s up to HIS “fun”), SlaterPorn that is, he and his ilk never forget a slight.
Glad that Rudman is fronting up. There are precious few in the media have the opportunity, ability or will power…Note also according to todays business ‘news’ or that funky little bs gossip section that Bridges is a National hero for taking it to John Campbell.
True. I saw/heard that somewhere too Newsense. About which I don’t give a shit because THEY would. They’d stoutly maintain all sorts of kaka to maintain the “born to rule” psychosis. That’s the way it is in these days of ShonKey Python’s “higher standards”.
Cleverly, you just deny. If hard pressed you just forget. Never mind. Ugly I know but have pity. They’re just consoling themselves in the niggling knowledge that the Great Feet are now the Clay Feet. Truth is most of the canned laughetr behind him have never picked up such fat salaries. Greedy little wannabee Geckos are shitting. Seriously.
Thing is Wee Simon didn’t look good in the eyes of those who’ve not sipped the KoolAid. Shouty little Mini-Matthew Hooton. A very shouty little boy minister.
It’s ANOTHER intimation of how fucked and spiralling down is the ShonKey Python Flying Circus. Just like the early 60s bodgie the “Out Of His Depth Mr Speaker Carter”. He exemplifies it. ShonKeyness.
This government is a bunch of tired, dying, malevolent, incompetent, fucks.
Don’t hold back
I know this is a couple of days old but I aint sure if anyone has covered this:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11141685
Rolinson is 1 class act . NOT
Backed by 1 Jenny Bloxham ex MP ,ex CHCH Independant Councillor hopeful
Both are vile and a friend of mine has some shit on these 2
What is a 12 year old boy doing in a political party???
Labour MP’s are now openly ‘toying’ with the House Speaker during the Parliament’s Question Time, the Speaker,(snigger, in my honest opinion), is having trouble differentiating His political leanings form His duty as Speaker to deliver impartial rulings from within the Parliaments Standing Orders,
Metiria in the face of a Government who to all extents and purposes are all functional idiots either by design or birth, has taken to openly giggling at the stupidity contained in answers being given in the Chamber by Government Ministers,
If there is one thing that the stuffed shirts of the right cannot abide by it’s having their own views of themselves as the ‘power’ in the land being openly laughed at…
Ooops, how did this get here, was supposed to be in the ‘Point of order Mr Speaker’ Post…
A very funny piece by Brian Rudman ties in with the Herald Cartoon.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11141823
The cartoon from (Emmerson?) “I know Nothing.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11141862
Winston Peters telling unintended funnies via RadioNZ National news this morning, it’s ‘Conference time’ for NZFirst this weekend and Winston appears to be G-ing up the troops with a rousing declaration that NZFirst will decide who the next Government will be, balance of power stuff and all that,
On another planet He also goes on to declare NZFirst will double it’s numbers in the House after November 2014,
The first of course would depend entirely on the second as far as coming to pass is concerned and as NZFirst has largely become an irrelevancy in the last few months as a resurgent Labour has hogged all the political airtime just getting across the 5% thresh-hold for NZFirst is likely to become to big an ask,
Given the latest Roy Morgan, NZFirst’s very survival after 2014 may depend upon it being able to show in the Parliament that it can work in a Labour/Green coalition…
I’m actually picking that next year will be the last election that WP will contest. If he doesnt get tipped out (this depends on the political climate this time next year), he will retire in 2017.
FYI
Latest developments with the private prosecution of ACT Leader, MP for Epsom, John Banks.
http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com/corruption/solicitor-general-to-take-over-case/
(Please read carefully Cameron Slater?
‘vexatious’ litigation by Graham McCready?
Can I respectfully suggest that you don’t use words you apparently don’t understand? )
Kind regards,
Penny Bright
Can’t be vexacious if two different judges have seen cause to proceed AND the SG is looking at taking over.
I wondered about the SG taking over, heard it on the news last night. Wonder what the reasoning for that is Tracey?
marsman, i suggest you read the link in Penny Bright’s comment at 16 for background.
The S-G was requested to take over the case by McCready and co in June; but deferred a decision on this until the case was committed for trial. Hence the S-G is now considering taking over.
Back in june IIRC Penny provided a link to the formal request for the S-G to take over, but I don’t have time to find that link. It will no doubt be somewhere on the blog site of the link at 16, but the Archives list doesn’t seem to include June 2013.
I think NRT tweeted that he had some concerns about the SG taking over the prosecution – worried about some bias or cover up to protect Banks.
I also have concerns that if the S-G takes over the case that this could lead to bias or cover-up , Karol.
However, it was McCready who formally requested that the S-G take over the case back in June in line with legal provisions for this to happen IIRC. (Haven’t had time today to track down McCready’s formal request to verify the reasons, legal provisions etc – but it will be there somewhere on the blogsite Penny linked to). Legal costs obviously would be a major reason as stated/implied in McCready’s latest release on Penny’s link.
I don’t really understand the system but does the SG have any power to refer this back to the Police who then shove Banks onto diversion or something similar.
Thanks veutoviper. I share your concern re political interference if the SC takes over.
Penny
When I clicked your link at that site to the decision a blank pdf loaded, no words. Would love to read it.
Works for me. Opens a standard web page.
MORE!!
http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com/corruption/banks-is-going-to-trial/
See today’s NZ Herald editorial?
Good on you Graham McCready!
Cheers!
Penny Bright
something wrong with our parliament when the speaker cannot give the reasons for his rulings.
The present speaker is probably representative of all the lightweights populating the national party caucus but the country expects more than petulant bullying from the supposedly objective officials.
time for national to pick up its money pack up its tent and piss off.
Anti-fracking protests – jackboot response.
http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2013/10/17/elsipogtog-solidarity-is-spreading-across-canada/
#ElsipogtogSolidarity
#Elsipogtog.
#mikmaqblockade
#idlenomore
Great links Joe – the only ‘f’ word we should be concentrating on is fracking. I wonder how long before we see the same thing here – blockades, confrontation – so far most of it is below the radar but the time is drawing near where there will have to be more visible action to stop the exploiters. We have shown with the tour that people will stand up and fight when they want to and overseas many examples of brave people are there. We either stop them or we stop them – no other choice on this one. Kia kaha.
pigs
Camo police: “crown land belongs to the government not to f*cking natives”
https://twitter.com/osmich/status/390846422666715137
http://www.progressive.org/canada-sends-armed-paramilitaries-to-clear-fracking-protesters#.UmAwwz29aBo.twitter
Probably better than than the Parlimentary term…..
Camo police: “crown land belongs to the government not to f*cking [house niggers] “.
The Crown has a history of evil in Canada.
http://rense.com/general92/geno.htm
pigs
Pig. The Pig of Chunky Mark The Artist Taxi Driver.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD4Hk69_7UA
Good for a laugh (and a cry) about Hurrah Henry Cameron’s UK privatisation. Looking after his best man aye ? Low bastard.
chicken-wings
The NZ Herald is trying to draw on the wisdom of the crowd to find out who sent the threatening text to Bevan Chuang.
Two things puzzle me about the text
1) It apparently came after a vague reference to Len Brown and “Asian beauties” in a WO post during the last week of the council elections.
How would the text sender know that WO was referring to Chuang?
2) The sender seems to be certain that Chuang has been talking “to the Slaters”.
And yet, according to Chuang, it was Luigi that was pressuring her and he had said that he had people set up to go with the story. And Chuang says she only decided to agree to signing an affadavit after the election results came out on the Sunday.
Why did the text sender seem certain that Chuang had been talking to the “Slaters” (plural) before voting ended for the elections?
Those texts to Chuang and others did not ‘compute’ to me from my first hearing of them – and still don’t.
IMO the sender is probably an ‘insider’ within the Slater/Luigi et al camp to put further pressure on Chuang in a perverse/reverse manner to reveal all – and at the same time setting up a red herring as to who else knew. The timing of the texts is too coincidental to WO’s post about Asian beauties. Probably a cheap prepay phone thrown away once the texts had been sent.
But something else that does not now compute to me that popped into my head as I was writing the above:
– Slater senior supposedly also received a text from the same number as Chuang last week;
– but he has also claimed that he knew nothing about the affair until WO informed him an hour or two before WO released his substantive post with the full details this week.
On the last point. Brian Rudman today – heh.
I know nuzzink!
I read Rudman this morning but did not notice that bit! So yet another ‘discrepancy’!
Also loved the “I know nothing” cartoon this morning.
Martyn Bradbury is suggesting that some Brown allies sent the texts after getting wind of how much of a smear campaign Luigi, slaters et al were trying to run.
Pity Martyn Bradbury keeps opening his mouth when quite often shut is the best position.
Bradbury can be spot on sometimes. i think that post on Wewege is based on some stuff he’s getting in his tip line. In that post, though, I think he takes to much notice of Hooton’s spin.
Ha. Couldn’t resist:
Slater Jnr says the txt to his father was too vague about who was involved for him to really be clued in to what was going on. OTOH, apparently Chuang’s father also got one of the threatening txts, which makes it seem like they came from someone closer to Chuang.
Perhaps Len had advice of what was going to happen and sent his PR henchmen loose? Just a thought.
Unknowable. Burner phone so it all comes down to character of the various actors I guess, and people will make their own judgements about who was most likely.
things aren’t looking good for team dirty tricks in that regard I suspect.
it is interesting that John (my hands are off this ) Key said (on 3News) “is not pushing for” Len’s resignation and “he’ll be back on the horse as soon as he possibly can”.
why are the anti-people party, the burn the barn to
make a profit, eat several Earths party, one might
say future murderers and pillage party, the most likely to
fear the prison population will vote. Are they putting innocent
people in prision, planning to? Well duh, I mean if you believe
you’ve stolen wealth, then obviously you want to do everything
to stop the opposition taking you to rights, so you create
a cult and culture of removing and extinguishing those rights.
Protest on the seas, be locked up, and denied the vote at the
election. Its a pincher, increase crimes and decrease rights,
has historically been motivated by illegitimate governments
and power blocks.
…. just an observation:
The so-called “ANZAC SPIRIT”.
What has it come to mean now?
It once signaled the close relationship/brother-sisterhood between Australians and New Zealanders – empathy, compassion, co-operation et al.
The pollies love it. For me its becoming a label the politicians can use at will to piss on my ancestors’ graves.
The Howard 2001 law changes that see contributing NZers living in Australia disadvantaged and ineligable for some pretty basic ‘services’ and benefits available to Australians living in NZ.
– doesn’t seem very compassionate or cooperative to me.
– the pathetic representations made by Shonkey on NZers behalf
Those ANZAC symbols and totems erected on various bridges and elsewhere are fast becoming meaningless and merely reference points for pollies to draw on nationalism and supposedly feelings of patriotism in order to ease their consciences for doing SFA for veterans welfare, etc.
I’ve just listened to some deekhead called Tarn Yabbit – who apparently has a Koiwoi woifey giving a speech at some Legacy Club in Brissie.
NOT ONCE in all of that speech did the name NZ get mentioned. (Btw … Canada did).
I guess “AAC” would be kid of hard to pronounce.
I find myself having to laugh at times when I see the various trolls that visit here mock Russell Norman – using his birthplace as their justifcation.
In my mind, Norman would have more of an understanding what that “Spirit” is than many.
It seems the right probably just think of CER, Australian vestmint tunetees, flogging off as much turf and assets to transTas cuzzies as possible alongside a few sporting events and Crosby Textor type ‘mateship’.
ANZAC “spirit” indeed! Crapola! The Okkers can’t even spell Labour correctly these days!
SlaterPorn’s brood. Not cute !
Hmmmmmm Commodore Kevin Kent has been found guilty on 5 of 8 charges brought against him, but no sign of anything in Granny Herald as yet, though it is on the Radio N Z and Stuff webpages. Thought the Herald is supposed to be up with keeping us informed, but they seem to be eternally stuck on the Slater, Chuang, Wewege, Brown saga and who sent that text message. I note it was sent in ‘complete’ text, not txt speak.
If you haven’t seen this post from Peter Aranyi, you really owe it to yourself to take a look. The post itself has some good links and makes some good observations. The poster at the end though, is simply unmissable:
http://www.thepaepae.com/i-think-its-outrageous-that-poor-simon-lusks-name-gets-dragged-into-these-dirty-shabby-venal-nasty-political-schemes-time-and-time-again-how-must-he-be-feeling/32938/
You’re welcome.
hhahahha! Young Nat poster! Man how we all change with age!
And, as we are on Luigi & McCully, this.
In the messages between Bevan and WEdgie, he asked her to tape record conversations. Surely there’s something illegal about that..trying to get someone to do something illegal? Also, surely that’s a story taht should be ripe for exploring – hunt down Wedgie and Palino who have been in hiding ever since the story backfired on them. The journos are hounding Len, so how about appplying their hounding equally
Jared Savage at the NZ Herald has also been looking at Wewege.
Well what the journalists should really be asking is how “Spray and walk away” Len voted during the sky city deal and was it coincidental he had sexy, fun time at the hotel…
But the journalists won’t of course, they’ll wait to see what Cameron Slater comes up with first and pretend its their work
Of course they’ve asked that.
Love the way this issue has allowed righties to think it’s now OK to take their inner racist out for walkies. Very revealing.
true enough
only Skin Deep
I like how they can’t think of nicknames so they use ones they’ve heard people call John Key.
like Fu-
Let me explain why its not rascist…while the phrase was popularized by a stereotypical asian man that’s not how I’m using it (though I can see how you might jump to that conclusion)
I’m using spray and walk away in reference to his habit of blowing a load on a woman and then leaving like shes some sort of prostitute ie spray (blow the load) and walk away (from the hooker)
PS Dirty Len was the one calling a chinese woman “geisha girl” and “manchu girl” so you might like to consider the rascist or at the very least demeaning aspects of 4/10 Lens personality
Let’s face it Chris. You bloody dream of being a 4/10.
Let me check:
“Hey darling”
“Yes dear”
“What would you rate my love making abilities?”
“You spend far too much time on blogging sites and what do you want for dinner?”
“Yes darling and I feel like pasta tonight”
Sorry its a bit inconclusive
lol
You wanting to apply broadcasting standards to sexual partner pillow talk now, c73? Talk about nanny state!!!
Naughty nanny state perhaps 🙂
And, of course, WO’s right on to Banks’ corruption trial, and digging to find every bit of dirt on that. Not waiting for the journalists…. 🙄
You don’t think hes a little busy at the moment?
Recordings? Remember that through the US, our govt security services have access to all of the calls and txts between Brown and Chuang. This is what the system is there for.
‘
Had to have a chuckle today. The hard-copy New Zealand Fox News Herald “Business” section has the stock market listings on pages B7 – B9 and, without interruption, the next two pages show the the horse racing events, field and form. Seems apt.
What an excuse for journalism.
Seen a few tweets from Herald and tv3 journos hinting this is all going to blow up again soon.
Questions they are saying they have an answer to is : ‘Was this all a right wing conspiracy, and how deep, who knew, who lied about knowing, and who’s keeping quiet even though they know quite a bit’
awwwwkwaaard.
TV3 saying to watch The Nation 2moro. Clever move. Gives WO time to sweat and type and type and sweat.
Sounds like TV3 are going whale hunting with whale-seeking harpoon missiles 😀
underground railguns
Awesome…with neutronium projectiles…
ha ha! get you you card.
On the subject of rails, saw a great ad on tv just now (do not miss ads though) for kiwirailscenic.co.nz, passenger service.
“Take A Train”.
Yes RT saw it earlier. Backgrounded with an aria from Puccini’s Madam Butterfly? Someone will correct me if I have the wrong opera. 🙂
‘The Pearl Fishers Duet’ by Georges Bizet from the Opera “Les Pecheurs De Perles” -Yes it is she the most fascinating and beautiful goddess-who has brought us together….. our fates are linked ? Kiwirail?
Goodness me. That was a wrong call. Must refresh my operatic knowledge. Whatever, it is a truly beautiful aria, and a perfect foil for the Ad.
Yup, that’s one of the most beautiful tenor-baritone duet and it is from Bizet’s Pearl Fishers (Act One, Scene IV).
Oui, c’est elle!
C’est la déesse qui descend parmi nous!
Son voile se soulève et la foule est à genoux!
(And correctly translated by ‘Not Another Sheep’.)
I don’t recognise the singers but a quick search reveals Youtube stating they are our local folks, Moses MacKay and Pene Pati.
And Moses and Pene are having fun here, with Pene’ brother, Amita:
You are certainly Not Another Sheep.
Could be a black sheep..hahaha….
Love the other link Jim Nald. Talented lads and a crack up trio here. I wasn’t sure who performed the backing music.
Bradbury reckons we “won’t see this twist coming”….. ?
Word from Russell Brown is; Palino knew.
Tomorrow morning’s Herald may shed considerable light on this issue, if not with respect to Slater Snr, then certainly wrt John Palino.
http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-everybodys-machiavelli/?p=298505#post298505
Isn’t it exciting, I can’t wait to see what happens next
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ShockingLenBrownTwist
How cool would it be if Len Brown was Cthulhu…
Probably not very cool at all actual. We could only pray to be eaten first.
http://www.rubbersuitstudios.com/ptcct.htm
I spent a good part of a night going through all his comics…probably the closest you can get to trippin’ without drugs
Mind you he doesn’t use this one anymore, its so wrong on so many levels (yes even more than his others) so be warned its quite heavy going:
http://jackchick.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/chick-tract-review-lisa/
fucking hell. the dude is seriously fucked up.
saw something a while ago, on kickstarter I think, where some dudes were raising money to make a movie about his epic dungeons and dragons one, playing it straight to the script.
Strange old Chris73 there……..the closer we get to about 7% for the former 62% Man, the PM you’d crow about ’73, and crow and crow and crow………that’s right……. your Cult Cargo ShonKey Python……….your subliminal if not conscious prophet.
Well it’s just that your expressions now are much more general, even as a troll. Suggestive of a mature standing back, an intelligent appraisal. Not into the KoolAid in quite the same way what ? Very nice.
Your well known lower standards and your kupapanui wouldn’t have you a scab on Johnny Boy would they ?
Sorry what?
“Word from Russell Brown is; Palino knew”
His fiancee is/was friends with Bevan, plus ‘friends’ with his campaign advisor. Hard to see how he didn’t at least have an inkling.
A possible pick the texts… if Team Palino thought it had lost control of the situation.
What was it Tucker used to say? Never become the story?
Oops.
That, and fuckity fuck fuck.
Some of those questions are somewhat irrelevant as we don’t give a shit about the how’s and why’s. What’s more important is who else did he tup and did he make any entries into the probity register or did he just cash them in.
“we”
laugh.
Bluee Mountain Charcoal
Yes. Sorry to see that.
Lol @ John Key’s freudian slip on checkpoint tonight.
He’s got NZFirst on the brain.
Luigi Wewege is in trouble.
Original page
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:pOHs5asHZLoJ:www.diplomaticourier.com/lists/top-99-under-33/2013/1761-luigi-wewege+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=nz&client=firefox-a
New page
http://www.diplomaticourier.com/lists/top-99-under-33/2013/1761-luigi-wewege
Dave, do you mean the “Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute” and ” Doing Good Fellows” (True title) Wewege as the Founders of these organisations?
Ironical that he took the second organisation’s title a little to the extreme.
This is the same Wewege that is also on the International Youth Council.
His profile -: ” How do you want to get involved ? Connect with other global-minded leaders, Contribute Knowledge and/or Resources. What issues are important to you? Education, Media, Sustainability, Leadership, Partnerships, Policy”
A fine role model and representative of NZ youth to the world ?
I mean yesterday they removed Wewege from the top 99 under 33 list.
Yes and I was being cynical about Wewege and the organisations and businesses he drags down with him.
The 99ers should have removed him too, rightly so!
Wewege one of the elite chosen global top 99 for 2013 “…. a community of some of the brightest and most innovative minds of the time….our third class of 99ers continues to prove to the world the power of breaking traditional models and thinking outside the box for new solutions to old problems. Bring a group of 99ers together in a room, and feel the world shift….. each and every one a gleaming ray of hope … ”
innovative
breaking traditional role models
new solutions for an old problem
He sure does that ! Wonder if the IYC know too?
Wow!
do you mean the “Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute” and ” Doing Good Fellows” (True title) Wewege as the Founders of these organisations?
Read somewhere today that the AYLI have said he isn’t a member let alone a founder
His Bio on the Diplomatic Courier says he is. Long, impressive Bio. Shame.
Check Daves ‘google’ cached address above. That page has now been removed from the “Diplomatic Courier” itself
WIMP WALLOPING
Wimp: Jeremy Elwood. Walloper: Nevil Gibson
The Panel, Radio New Zealand National, Friday 18 October 2013
Jim Mora, Jeremy Elwood, Nevil Breivik Gibson
JIM MORA: It’s Susan Baldacci, with what the WOOOOOOORLD’s talking about!
SUSAN BALDACCI: Well the first story today is a rather sad one. It seems that slavery is still rife around the world.
MORA: Slavery?
SUSAN BALDACCI: Y-y-yes. And the country with the most slaves is India.
MORA: Is it India that has the most slaves?
SUSAN BALDACCI: [betraying slight irritation] Mmmmm. …. [Pause]….The country with the highest proportion of slaves is Mauritania. It has five to twenty per cent of the population as slaves.
MORA: Five to twenty per cent of the population of Mauritania are slaves?
…..[Pause]…..
SUSAN BALDACCI: Mmmm.
…..Some minutes later….
MORA: Mmmmmmm, mmmmmm!
SUSAN BALDACCI: Mmmm, mmmm!
JEREMY ELWOOD: Mmmmm!
MORA: Mmmmmmm! This is delicious cake! Who brought it in?
NEVIL BREIVIK GIBSON: I did!
MORA: What, is it your birthday?
NEVIL BREIVIK GIBSON: It is.
MORA: Happy fiftieth birthday! Ha ha ha ha ha!
NEVIL BREIVIK GIBSON: Ha ha.
MORA: I mean, happy FORTIETH birthday! Ha ha ha ha!
NEVIL BREIVIK GIBSON: Ha ha.
A couple of minutes later, as the music gradually rises to usher in the 4 o’clock news, the Panelists are discussing the stunning revelation that we’ve been lied to for the last hundred years about a crucial historical event….
MORA: So if the band on the Titanic didn’t play “Nearer My God to Thee”, what DID they play?
JEREMY ELWOOD: “Sailing”.
NEVIL BREIVIK GIBSON: Heeeeeeeeeeeee!
MORA: That was the resident comedian on the program, Jeremy Elwood. Back after the news!
……4 o’clock News…..
After the four o’clock news, Mora always drags his hapless guests through a mandatory ritual of introductory or (more commonly) catch-up chit-chat. This would be pretty dull at the best of times, but seeing that he has a small roster of Panelists, this is also (almost always) a wasted seven or eight minutes.
However, these informal chats occasionally reveal some highly interesting aspects of character, or lack of character. Yesterday (Thursday October 17th), for instance, right wing Stuff business editor Ellen Read and that grouchy old hippie-hater and scourge of progressive thinkers, Rosemary McLeod, took the opportunity to boast about all the books they had not read. First of all they dealt to The Bone People, defiantly announcing that they found it boring, over-rated and unreadable. If they had stopped there, their little excursion into book criticism would have been reasonable and unexceptionable. But this pair of Mother Grundys were incapable of stopping there; they couldn’t help themselves. Warming to the task, McLeod announced she would never ever look at anything by Pope or Dryden. Ellen Read warmly endorsed this strident declaration of philistinism.
That, however, was as bad as it got yesterday. For the rest of the program, Read and McLeod were considered and reasonable in their comments. Long-time listeners would have been not only surprised at this, but also a trifle disappointed. Ellen Read has a particularly nasty, acerbic personality and has in the past unloaded both barrels on opponents, or amiable victims like Tim Watkin. So her failure to deliver on yesterday’s program left many listeners sans our fix of righteous right wing raving. Listening to a young lout playing nice and agreeing with everything an old lout says is nobody’s idea of entertainment, surely. If we wanted that, we’d just listen in on Cameron Brewer sucking up to Don Brash.
Many of us sufferers were no doubt hoping that today’s extreme right wing guest would come through with the good stuff, i.e., the crazy stuff. After all, with Nevil Breivik Gibson on board, the probability of a demented comment is extremely high.
Today’s post-four o’clock chat revealed (1) that Jeremy Elwood recently met Dan Marino and Dan Ackroyd, and, more interestingly, (2) that Nevil Gibson has visited Ireland recently. That trip provided the springboard for Gibson to make one of his trademark cock-eyed observations, a paean to the “excellence” of Ireland’s Sunday newspapers. That would have come as a surprise to anyone who has actually read an Irish Sunday newspaper, which to any literate Irish person is a synonym for “crap”.
Still, as Breivik Gibson comments go, raving about the quality of crap Irish papers was pretty mild. More extreme stuff was to come just before the end of the show. Before that, though, there was a bit of excruciating banter with the host….
JIM MORA: Nevil Gibson, happy birthday. That’s a nice cake you’ve brought in for us. Did you bake it yourself?
NEVIL BREIVIK GIBSON: No, no, I got it from Hollywood.
MORA: You got it imported?!?!???!?
NEVIL BREIVIK GIBSON: Heeeeeeeeeeee! Actually it’s the bakery chain!
MORA: Oh!
The bulk of the program was pretty run of the mill. There was something about Len Brown, and both Gibson and Elwood made bland contributions for the “Soabbox” segment. It seemed that, apart from Gibson’s endorsement of substandard Irish rags, this was going to pass away into the space-time continuum without leaving a trace.
But then THIS happened……
In the last five minutes, Mora brings up the subject of the Republican extreme right and its determined assault on civic and public life in the United States, AKA “the government shutdown.” Just as I suspected he would, Nevil Gibson takes up the opportunity to deliver one of his crazed homilies—this time on behalf of the Tea Party loons. He embarks on an utterly untrue and fantastical speech, asserting that Ted Cruz and his cronies, far from being thugs and vandals, represent a significant section of the U.S. population. “Don’t they have a right to be heard?” he pleads, his voice croaking with emotion.
Gibson would never have gotten away with such nonsense if the other Panelist were, say, Gordon McLauchlan or Gordon Campbell or Mai Chen. But his interlocutor today is that nice Jeremy Elwood, a man who goes out of his way during his comedy appearances to make it clear he is a concerned and thoughtful liberal thinker. Unfortunately, Elwood has a dismal track record of going out of his way to “find common ground” with people who are philosophically and morally opposite to him. A few years ago Elwood brought down ignominy and contempt on himself after he cravenly voiced agreement with every single thing uttered by the bullying ex-cop Graham Bell during one of Bell’s infamous swingeing rants against liberals, conservationists and young people.
It was always a forlorn hope that Elwood would show a bit of courage and actually argue with Gibson. And so, just as we knew he would, he caved in. Instead of challenging him, Elwood joked lamely that there are huge numbers of Americans that take no notice of the government, and don’t need it in their lives. “They got on just fine during the shut-down,” he snickered. Nevil Breivik Gibson guffawed his approval.
Mercifully, the insistent sound of Carmina Burana wells up. Time to sign off…
JIM MORA: Nevil Gibson, happy birthday. Thank you for bringing in the cake!
Seen this?
Final election results for Auckland Council:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1310/S00694/auckland-council-election-final-results.htm
Cheers!
Penny Bright
Hallo – again
Yesterday, I took action, on my own. I went outside the Avondale WINZ office, to do a picket and protest. I held up a sign warning of “hatchet doctors”. There was nobody else, but I know a few others keep up the fight. I only wanted to raise awareness, and was there between 10,20 to 11.30 am on Friday.
Only 10 or 15 minutes into the action I was approached by a security person, one of the WINZ ones, coming out of their office. I had a sign and already handed out a few flyers (all stating the truth). He asked me, after staring at me for a few minutes, whether he could have one of my flyers. I gave him one. Then he disappeared, and I am sure he reported to the manager.
Soon after he came back, he tried to start a nonsensical chat, but held a pen and paper in his hands, and he took notes of the words on my sign. This all happened in a totally public place, on the footpath, which is a fair few steps away from the WINZ office. I had lots of people interested and handed out many flyers.
But what really SCARED ME, was the fact this security guy took record of all, reported to his manager, while I was in a public place. I am disturbed, and also angry, as this country is supposed to be democratic and “free” country. I did nothing wrong, and I also heard of others in the same area, at various WINZ offices being harassed.
Now, I ask you here, as NZers, is this what you condone? Is this what you want your country to be like? I have been out on the street in a few places recently, and while I got a lot of support, I also faced much hostility and frowning. I am afraid now to go out of my place, as my impression is, that this is no longer a free country. We are being persecuted and stigmatised, being beneficiaries, we are apparently hunted down.
Now, dear Labour, where do you stand on this, same on the welfare reforms, I hear little or nothing, and I honestly feel I live in a bloody dictatorship. I come from Europe and wish I had never come back to this horrible place, as I experience it as a beneficiary “bludger”. Better kill me and other, and get rid of us, if you do not like us!
My response is by these messages from a more cultured society and country:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWlkWPXfvXc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8y_0y-cT5g
My impression is that NZers have sold their country, are not even caring to fight for it, and thus are a gutless people, not worth of the soil you live on.
If you would all bloody care, you would fight and take a stand, I see NONE of it. David Cunliffe will not deliver what he talks about, I can tell you now, you are all falling for a big fat lie and another disappointment. There is no “true left” in this country, is is just fashionable wannabe stuff, as one real leftist told me long ago. Learn from Chile and other places, as you all need learning lessons, and who by the way, of all of you “bothers” to take to the street these days, I see NONE, cowards!
Great way to make friends in low and high places, you should get more sleep…
@X,
It’s not that they sold out so much is that NZers are up against a carefully cultivated climate of suspicion regarding beneficiaries. To give an example at the place where I volunteer I quickly noticed that any new clients we get keep reassuring us that they ARE doing everything they can to get a job, and that they are not like those “other” beneficiaries.
The problem is that the “other” beneficiaries (those that don’t want to work and are sponging ungratefully off the system) don’t appear to exsist outside of the media spin. Since I started a few months ago I haven’t met any of the “others”, just broken and stressed out people trying to get essential needs met.
X doesn’t seem to realize that beneficiaries are the hardest group of people in our society to organize, most are seriously looking for work and the ‘churn’ in the demographic always means that today’s beneficiary is tomorrows worker,
i don’t take kindly to the deliberate insults X has taken to tossing around and have deliberately, having ‘had words’ with that one previously where he/she has gone off the deep end, shrugged off the insults,
If he/she is thrown into a paranoid fear fit over a simple conversation with a WINZ security guard then i would suggest he/she discontinues the activity…
Fascismo Chileno:
Una fuerca revolutionario:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBih0c689cI
Not to be found in NZ, yet! Mucha forca, mucha forca, wake up, dear people and take action, if you can bother, beyond the “comfort zone”. Maybe life is “too easy” in NZ after all???
Battery farmed cows could be coming to NZ soon. Just a short note to encourage anyone as horrified as I am about these magnificent and sacred beasts being treated this way to make a submission to the Ministry of Primary Industries (address on website below) before December 3rd.
http://www.safe.org.nz/Campaigns/dairy-farming/LatestNews/