Great to amazon making it's shit TV in good old New Zealand, here is a clip from one of their upcoming delights… prefaced by quite a good comment about the clip, just so you have an idea of what you are letting yourself in for…
"No matter how cynical you might be about propagandistic American media, you are not prepared for how much watching this trailer is like snorting 100% pure John Bolton"
Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish activist who has galvanized young people across the world to strike for more action to combat the impact of global warming, politely reminded them that she was a student, not a scientist – or a senator.
“Please save your praise. We don’t want it,” she said. “Don’t invite us here to just tell us how inspiring we are without actually doing anything about it because it doesn’t lead to anything.
“If you want advice for what you should do, invite scientists, ask scientists for their expertise. We don’t want to be heard. We want the science to be heard.”
In remarks meant for Congress as a whole, she said: “I know you are trying but just not hard enough. Sorry.”
… IN: How do you make sure that workers, and particularly workers of color and women, and other marginalized groups have a seat at the table?
NK: Right. I think it means that the green movement has to be taking on the supposedly green companies that are engaged in union busting, like Tesla, and fighting alongside unions to make sure that green jobs are good, unionized jobs.
It’s also in the text of the AOC, of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ed Markey’s resolution that there should be not only a jobs guarantee, but that workers should be guaranteed to be paid at the same level, same level of salary and benefits in their new jobs as they were in their older jobs. So that’s in the text of the resolution. These are protections that can and must be built into the transition…
…
NK: Right. When you look at polling around the momentum for climate action, it actually hews very closely to how well the economy is doing. So because the kinds of climate policies that have tended to be on the agenda have been these market-based solutions, like a carbon tax for instance, right, or cap and trade or maybe paying a little bit more for renewable energy, right, what often happens is that people will get scared about the science. A film like “An Inconvenient Truth” will come out. There’ll be a sense of “Yes, we have to do this.” And then there’ll be a recession, right. People will be struggling to hold on to their homes, they will be desperately looking for jobs and facing those daily crises in an economic emergency.
And then what happens is that interest in climate action goes down, because as they say in France, the gilet jaunes [yellow vest] movement, “You care about the end of the world. We care about the end of the month,” right. And so that’s what happened during the Obama years. There was this momentum, but as the recession really began to bite, the momentum, climate action came to be equated with a luxury that you couldn’t afford in a time of economic downturn…
…
IN: One passage in the book that particularly struck me was when you talked to a woman protesting, saying, “The hard truth is that the answer to the question ‘What can I, as an individual, do to stop climate change?’ is: nothing.” I wondered if you could talk a little bit more about that, because I think there is a growing tension between individual actions, like cutting out meat and driving less and trying to lobbying for giant corporations and governments to reduce their carbon emissions, even change their whole business models, to protect the environment.
NK: Well, I think that I don’t think anybody is arguing or I mean anybody serious is arguing that we are going to achieve the levels of emission reductions that we need through voluntary lifestyle changes. There’s no doubt that you can lower your own personal carbon footprint, right, by cutting out meat, by not flying, by not driving or driving electric [cars] powered by renewables. Most people don’t have these choices, and in order for this to add up to the level of change that we need, you would need every single person to voluntarily do it.
But that said, if we look at the historical precedence where we have seen massive societal change, whether it is the New Deal or whether it is the transformations of the American economy during the Second World War, it was absolutely critical that there was a perception of fairness. Meaning that it was not only working people who were being asked to make changes, to make sacrifices, that it was also massive corporations who were being dragged kicking and screaming to also make sacrifices, to also make changes, to also abide by new regulations that impacted their profits.
And that perception of fairness was absolutely critical in terms of people accepting the change. What we see in France with the gilet jaunes movement is that it is precisely the double standard, right, of seeing the tax breaks being given to big polluters and multimillionaires whose carbon footprints are sky high, while people who are already facing all of these stresses in a precarious economy are being asked to pay more.
I don’t think anybody serious seriously is saying voluntary lifestyle changes are going to do it. But I do think that you can make a serious argument that it’s important if you can, to change your lifestyle so that you can see and show others that actually it is possible to live well within our carbon budget. And that is an important kind of lived reality to be able to hold up in the face of all of this scaremongering that you’re going to get from the Fox Newses and all of the fossil fuel talking points that this is about just destroying people’s lives and so on, right. There are going to be sacrifices if we design this well.
We’re also going to have way better public transit. We can have better jobs and better working conditions, better services like for health care and education and a care economy. We can have a renaissance in public art. There are things that will improve. And yes, there are some things that will contract. We have to be honest about that.
So many environmental responses have just been minor tweaks to an economy based on endless consumption — take your electric car to the drive-through for an Impossible Burger and a Coke with a paper straw. Of course it’s better than the alternative. But it’s nowhere close to the depth of change required if we hope to actually pull our planet back from the brink. Restricting plastic straws is great. But we also need a ban on those significantly larger cylindrical sucking things. And electric cars are nice, if you can afford them. But what we really need is free, zero emissions public transit with energy-efficient non-market housing and health care steps away. We need new ways of thinking, beyond Trumpian temper tantrums or the dangerous incrementalism of the supposedly serious centrists.
Similar attempts at incrementalism is what makes submitting on consultation processes like Auckland Council's Climate Change framework so dispiriting. The framework itself is self-limiting in what it is looking at, and so, is limited in effective change. Anyone can provide feedback – even non-Aucklanders IIRC.
It's a pity she hasn't been heard from about the disgraceful cover-up that the Government has been running on the activities of their employee in Parliament isn't it?
The first article is basically a rehash of the party line. eg. She never claimed there was any sexual assault and so on.
The latter on, a couple of days ago, was one I hadn't seen. Mau has finally come out on the side of the victims. I hadn't seen this as I don't buy the printed Dom/Post any longer and I don't see everything they print.. It is really the first time though that she has broken her silence though isn't it? However yes I was wrong. She has finally come out of her shell. And about time.
Did you ever consider that the Labour panel might have simply described the truth. So far I haven't seen any evidence that indicates otherwise. For that matter when you read Alison Mau's articles closely, she is very cautious about saying talking about generalities rather than specifics.
Or is it just that you just have a pathological need to think that everyone involved in Labour will always just lie for the hell of it?
I think that your attitude says way way more about you than anyone else. Partisan and quite stupid.
Of course I did. After all I don't know they were told the things the victim says she told them. But if I believed the Party line I would have to believe that Ms Ardern didn't know anything about the claims of assault until a few days ago. No-one told her she says. Hmm.
I would have to believe she didn't even suspect anything might have gone on, despite the blogs have been full of the topic for a month and a half. Hmm.
However, what do I think is the likely situation? I really find it very difficult to accept that the victim was lying, and the Party representatives are telling the truth. Very, very difficult to see that as more than a very high odds. Perhaps more likely that winning Powerball but about on a par with winning Lotto.
Another question you ask is whether I think "Labour will always just lie for the hell of it". Of course I don't think that. They will lie if they think it is their interest to lie. That isn't the same thing. It is merely par for the course with politicians who have screwed things up. Good politicians don't actually lie of course. They just fool you into thinking they said something other than what they really did.
As far as your opinion of my attitude goes. I find your opinion quite silly. But everyone is entitled to some silly moments.
However, what do I think is the likely situation? I really find it very difficult to accept that the victim was lying, and the Party representatives are telling the truth. Very, very difficult to see that as more than a very high odds.
You must have observed politics for some time, right? What is the approved way to lie? After all you only have to look at the experts like Bennett, Farrar, or Collins (and some on the left as well). They prevaricate, obstrufacate, and divert.
What Simon Mitchell and co have done is to not do any of those things. What he said was that he never saw or heard anything to do with sexual assault allegations presented to him from the person who said that they had. He also pointed directly to the documents that he received and saw, apparently the same ones that a complainant referred to.
Good politicians don't actually lie of course. They just fool you into thinking they said something other than what they really did.
So point to something in the simple statement that Simon Mitchell put out as an example – show me the where he has said something that can’t be checked in the forensic record or from the other witnesses present.
Try to see any of the traditional political techniques in there for lying without getting caught. Basically I bet that
1. you haven’t tried.
2. you are probably too timid to do so because it would upset your personal bigotry.
Of course I don't think that. They will lie if they think it is their interest to lie.
So where exactly is Simon Mitchell's interest in lying? A volunteer who has no real economic stake in the Labour party and who lends himself to the thankless task of a volunteer on the NZ Council (and it is a thankless task).
This isn't a politician. Most of the time he runs essentially unopposed and probably secretly wishes some would oppose him.
Nigel Howarth is the same. I've run across him a few times. Mu guess is that he will be happy to get back to academia.
Which is EXACTLY why I think that you are an extremely stupid partisan dimwit who is too stupid to use your brains.
But everyone is entitled to some silly moments.
Yes – but you seem to have them all of the time when it comes to anything left-wing. You ever ask yourself why you believe such stupid ideas – because you are a simpleton bigot, Or are you just too lazy to think. Or just too stupid…
Or all three?
The only person I see lying around here is you – and I suspect that you’re mostly lying to yourself. It is cowardly and quite pathetic.
I do too, in life you come to realise that many things are often very simple but some can be elevated, or develop, into something more than they were. In work, business or family slight mismanagements, actions or misunderstandings can either reach good outcomes or outcomes, estrangements and divisions that can never, or often rarely, can be undone. Some media play that up for their own reasons and the National Party are relying on it as almost their only path back to government at this time.
Oh yes. I imagine the first time I met a Prime Minister was before you were born.
"Simon Mitchell". I believe he, and the other people on his panel did, to the best of their ability, do what they were supposed to. Find that nothing happened in other words. If he didn't happen to see something I don't believe that he would have hunted for it. That might have meant being forced to see something he didn't want to.
"(and it is a thankless task)".
Of course it is. However he will now find out the worst. The only thing that matters is to keep attention of the Leader. If you fail at that you will discover that you are expendable. I imagine that is what he is discovering now.
He doesn't really matter of course. The politicians thast have power matter and they are finding it very hard to escape scrutiny.
"The only person I see lying around here is you – and I suspect that you’re mostly lying to yourself. It is cowardly and quite pathetic."
Frankly I give a damn what you think. I don't see the world the way you do and therefore you are striking out with all your impotent rage.
McGregor too was found to have defamed Craig and had instituted her own legal proceedings against him.
The decision says this:
"The disputes between Mr Craig and Ms MacGregor were actually resolved in a confidential settlement in May 2015, with the help of two senior lawyers. That settlement was undone in material part by the involvement of a Mr Williams and a Mr Slater, both of whom have also been engaged in defamation proceedings with Mr Craig.
The defamation case raised the harrasemnt all over again
However Craig offered to settle with McGregor
"During 2018 he did make a number of open offers that both parties withdraw their claims and his last offer included an offer to pay $30,000 on account of costs. Ms MacGregor declined those offers.
Dont see the any reality for a 'poor woman dragged through the Courts' at all.
Dont see the any reality for a 'poor woman dragged through the Courts' at all.
Oh she was. In the cases with Craig against Williams it was perfectly evident that she didn't want to be there and had been compelled to be there.
Go and dig out the reports and the transcripts from the time.
As the Mau article stated…
In 2015, MacGregor had good reason to think the pain might be over. She had settled her sexual harassment case against Craig at the Human Rights Commission. The settlement was confidential, and MacGregor expected to be able to put the whole sorry experience behind her. No chance.
Craig went on to hold two media conferences, publish a pamphlet that went to 1.6 million Kiwi homes, and be interviewed in a sauna on the subject. It's those actions, and MacGregor's response to Craig's original harassment, that formed the nub of the High Court trial last year.
Effectively this particular episode has been through at least 5 legal rounds so far (not counting this one reported), and effectively only the first was initiated by McGregor – the one to the human rights about employment.
The rest of it has been by three complete arseholes – Craig, Williams and Slater using her as a witness pawn in their political and legal games. The High court case just concluded (and maybe its inevitable appeal) was a direct result of Craig breaking his previous agreement after Williams used material held by him in trust for safe-keeping.
Do you think that Craig could be trusted not to drag her into court again? He would in a heart beat as far as I can see. I wouldn’t trust any assurance from him – he doesn’t appear to be particularly aware of the concepts of having personal ethics or morals.
Reading that article, I think that the real problem was that she hadn’t been paid for months during the election campaign and that the Craig had loaned her money rather than paying her. Do you think that was a reasonable behaviour for an employer…
Perhaps you should try reading the articles you link to.
What you have to remember is that the only reason that this came to light again was because that despicable arsehole Jordan Williams gave documents that he was holding in trust for her to Cameron Slater to attack Colin Craig.
This has been well -established across multiple court cases. Perhaps you should try reading rather than playing with yourself and writing your misogynist grunts here.
He's leaving the option open that he could be dictated to by someone else. A political consultant, for instance. A suitable female with political aspirations may see the opportunity to become the power behind JT's throne as mayor. Acquiring whip & fishnet stockings, she may offer her services – to issue instructions in bondage sessions. A traditional lifestyle even before Lou Reed sang about it in the Velvet Underground (firstly in mid 1965, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_in_Furs_(song)).
Yeah, I know, bit of a stretch. Only normal for upper-class Englishmen. But you never know – stranger things have happened.
Chris Trotter giving John Tamihere his day in the court of outraged opinion over his Seig Heil riposte. Foolish and makes him appear to be all mouth and no trousers!
"Godwin has stated that he introduced Godwin's law in 1990 as an experiment in memetics." It worked: "In 2012, "Godwin's law" became an entry in the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary."
"Coined by Leo Strauss in 1953, reductio ad Hitlerum borrows its name from the term used in logic, reductio ad absurdum (reduction to the absurd). According to Strauss, reductio ad Hitlerum is a form of ad hominem, ad misericordiam, or a fallacy of irrelevance. The suggested rationale is one of guilt by association. It is a tactic often used to derail arguments, because such comparisons tend to distract and anger the opponent."
So when a bunch of commentators here were busy likening Trump to Hitler (as recently as the year before last), I bet they didn't know they were exhibiting a syndrome identified more than sixty years ago!
fuck godwins law – and the faux-prohibition it attempts..
(and i say 'faux' because ti my mind it is bullshit..)
a nazi is a nazi..end of story..
and if the direct comparisons cannot be made between germany under hitler – and what trump is doing to immigrant families/children – clearly not enough attention is being paid..
and if you don't compare the barbaric behavior of trump – to the works of hitler..?
Won't disagree – I had the same stance all thro the '70s, all thro the '80s, all thro the '90s. Problem with growing old (with an open mind) is you gradually acquire a tolerance of other views. If empathic, you even end up seeing things from other points of view too.
So my generation of rebels called govts fascist (regardless of whether they were Labour or National, Democrat or Republican) when they acted accordingly, which was most of the time. Police brutality was normal, for instance. Left & right both enjoyed eliminating the civil rights of cannabis smokers – target a minority group, the establishment gets off on that shit.
So demonising Trump, who comes across as a clown rather than a fascist, seems more like missing the point to me. I don't defend his immigration policy, just point it out when folks misrepresent it. He's just doing what he was elected to do. Democracy.
But is it the same today> Everything warps over time and I guess that a syndrome does too, after all it's "a characteristic combination of opinions, emotions, or behaviour."
Hitler seems much closer now than 60 years ago and we understand from the numerous studies of 1930 – 1940s how he found his wormhole to power. I don't think that Godwin's law can be thrown at every mention of that name; perhaps we should update it and replace it with 'Douglas', I have thought that the moustache had a certain familiarity.
"So when a bunch of commentators here were busy likening Trump to Hitler (as recently as the year before last), I bet they didn't know they were exhibiting a syndrome identified more than sixty years ago!"
Except that Trump is trying to create a fascist state. There's been a large amount of political analysis of this. That's not invoking Godwin's Law. A commenter calling another commenter a Nazi is.
You really believe that? Must be a generational thing. Those of us who have had to live much of our lives threatened by the spectre of fascism know it when we see it.
As I pointed out last time this topic was seriously raised, Roger Donaldson would not have made Sleeping Dogs if it hadn't been in our cultural ambience at the time. But Muldoon merely talked tough. He didn't actually do fascism via govt policy. Where is the Wanganui computer now? Trash heap? I recall when it was promising us Orwell's 1984 made real in Aotearoa.
I get that Trump's style is Muldoon a little (but with a dose of LSD & speed thrown in, not to mention Alice in Wonderland). People have a right to see others as a threat, that's human nature, but it's a big political mistake to assume others will see it similarly.
Bolton got fired the other day. Too hardline, apparently. If Trump really was fascist, he wouldn’t have felt that way. To him, his political allies are as disposable as his political enemies. My way or the highway. Makes him more like Stalin than Hitler. But don’t let that comparison tempt you. The Don hasn’t shot anyone. Nor even employed thugs to eliminate irritants. Media libs would have been doing outrage about it if it had happened…
Did. Agree the connection to Roger Stone is worth knowing. "At a televised Trump rally in Miami, Florida, on February 18, 2019, Tarrio was seated directly behind President Trump wearing a "Roger stone did nothing wrong" tee shirt." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Stone
Violent fellow-travellers only, so far. Potential threat, sure. Only 3 years into it, so yet to withstand the test of time. Anti-porn & masturbation is the key – mental/emotional self-discipline as part of group ethos does make guys tough. One to watch…
For me, the big thing was the separation of kids with no intention of ever returning them to their parents. And the deaths in custody. If the deaths were a bureaucratic error, there would be bureaucracy for eventually reuniting the kids and the parents. But the system doesn't even regard immigrants as highly as livestock these days.
Which means his dehumanisation of immigrants wasn't just rhetoric, it was policy he was happy to watch implemented.
As far as he thinks about policy (which isn't much) Dolt45 is an isolationist nazi-adjacant. Bolton is an imperialist. That's why they were at odds. Hard line in different directions.
That he's trying to create an authoritarian state? Yes. Whether that will look like historical fascism or not I don't know. But it's not about my beliefs, there are plenty of people with experience in either studying and writing about fascism and how it arises, or with direct experience of fascism who are making these critiques about Trump. Including Jewish people btw.
"Makes him more like Stalin than Hitler. But don’t let that comparison tempt you. The Don hasn’t shot anyone. Nor even employed thugs to eliminate irritants. Media libs would have been doing outrage about it if it had happened…"
There was a point at which Stalin hadn't shot people yet, so I don't know what you are trying to say there. That the US isn't a fascist state in 2019? Sure, I'd agree with that. Fascism doesn't just spring up one day, so I'm more interested in what the process is.
Having owned and read at least two biographies of Stalin, my guess is that the point he hadn't yet shot anyone was when he was in the seminary, studying to be a priest, prior to his career in the Tsar's secret police.
Fascism is an ideology, historically, more than a behaviour. Trump has no evident ideology (too mercenary). It requires an organisation to give it political form and impact. The USA lacks that. The authoritarian state in that federation has been under attack from the right for a long time – he uses it as an operational convenience to achieve a suitable historical legacy.
As such, I see no evidence that he's any more than a conservative narcissist playing the radical (to steer the establishment away from global elite control).
Definitely. He was quite popular with conservatives in western democracies right up until the invasion of Poland. Even that only thinned out the numbers – took another couple of years for him to get beyond the pale.
"left wingers" who would vote for a guy who hated immigrants. Yeah nah.
He won because he was the loudest fuckwit in an uninspiring pool of primary candidates, and people tried to fight (and report) him like he was a competent politician. All the lying the repugs have done since the 1990s – ken starr, WMD, tea party – bit them in the arse and their anointed blandity (Bush 3) still tried to keep one foot in reality.
People need to figure out how to fight a reality vacuum. Calling it out in contempt seems to do better against bojo than tryinhg to debate with him like he’s a normal huiman being.
No, he's still doing both. I agree re Hitler not taken seriously. Don't agree re your denial of global elites &/or Trump's leading the rightist charge to rout them. Try learning from Brexit.
Try making a damned point about them, rather than just using random incantations.
If drumpf was such an opponent of the "global elites" (depending on how you even define that term), why are the career repugs fucking their own grandmothers' corpses to keep him in power?
Why aren't US billionaires (real ones) pulling funding from the repugs?
If he really is just playing "a conservative narcissist playing the radical (to steer the establishment away from global elite control)", he's not having much success at steering the "establishment". They're not doing anything they don't want to do. He's shitting golden turds for them – neutering the EPA, boosting drilling, firing money into the prison-industrial complex, selling weapons, and making immigrants more scared, powerless, and exploitable. That's why they like him.
As such, I see no evidence that he’s any more than a conservative narcissist playing the radical (to steer the establishment away from global elite control).
You missed one crucial word – “incompetent” is also one of his outstanding qualities. There are several others to do with his inability to work with competent people and his attraction for syncopathic vermin.
the only thing stopping trump from going ballistic against his own are the checks and balances on u.s. system..
but i have said before that trump hasn't invaded anyone (yet)..unlike his nobel peace prize winning predecessor – who was wasting libya about now in his presidency..
(one for those saying trump is no different to those who came before him..
it comes from the same source as his addiction-info – from a writer on the apprentice and the celebrity apprentice..(who i follow on twitter..)
'Trump in reality is far worse than most imagine. He has done horrible things over many decades to many victims. What he is doing to the US will be no different. It’s like living next door to Dahmer and ignoring the smell.'
Ah, I see my reply went into moderation limbo, probably too much quoting from Wikipedia. This bit from Trotter is worth pointing out: "Tamihere, in blurting “Sieg Heil to that”, wasn’t signalling his membership of some perverse right-wing fraternity. All he was doing was signalling his membership of something much less acceptable – the Maori working-class of West Auckland."
I suspect JT is actually making a play for rightist voters – if only to demonstrate that their own side are failing to front impressive contenders – but he could easily pull in all those offended by pc-conformism as well. Speaking the lingo of the land does actually produce a resonance of authenticity in folks' minds (not just `the Maori working-class of West Auckland').
I don't go along with this light attitude to Trump you take DF. Whether he is going to exhibit the right spots to enable the disease to be firmly stated to be fascism or not, what he is doing is serious.
So not a subject for learned unpicking or idle conjecture.
Bush Jr seemed worse. Reagan much worse. Nixon, very much worse. What do you call serious? His attitude on climate change? True, that's a serious problem. Would the USA do any different under a Democrat? Doubt it. History says no.
And Obama has gone down in history as achieving the largest arms trade deal ever. Just google Obama largest arms trade deal in history, you get plenty of sites reporting his track record. Pretty cool for the dude that won the Nobel Peace Prize.
I wasn't running a book on Trump v anybody. He is part of a filmset that has strayed from its desert setting with wide open spaces to roam and gone to the more mannered cityscape, and the actor-in-chief hasn't been tamed yet. Quite unsuitable for his task. I wonder when the people will realise that they are losing stuff they never appreciated and pull back?
Would I be right to say that our Immigration Department is full of white ants that are eating out the heart of NZ enterprise? Its lack of acumen and sensible targetting and systems affecting our businesses – in this case the harvesting of food which must be dealt with in timely fashion which can't wait until some squirts in Immigration and their anally retentive managers and CEO get wise to what we need and the applicants for entry deserve, is affecting our earnings and our standing in the world.
Immigration and social welfare seem to have captured all that is negative and backward in this country, transmogrified it, and turned it into sausages that pass as 'civil servants' up with the ways of the modern world.
I see the white ants among growers, who for decades have been getting cheap imported labour, without ever once even being asked to come up with a plan for harvesting their crops without bending the law. Why is that not part of a resource consent?
If immigration was anything like social welfare, the growers would be asked to come up with an action plan to end their dependence on the state, even a medium term one would do. But,…, nothing,….ever.
Nothing is to be done until it is an emergency. That is how NZ acts and manages isn't it – all else is like communism trying to plan ahead and stifle imagination and opportunities. The freemarket must reign and be bailed out when all the little businessmen and women who imagine themselves gods of business, rather than just beyond being bourgeois, need to have the road swept for them where it has become stony.
So to protect them and their businesses, they can blackmail government because we already have a slowdown in the economy. We neeNothing is to be done until it is an emergency. That is how NZ acts and manages isn't it – all else is like communism trying to plan ahead and stifle imagination and opportunities. The freemarket must reign and be bailed out when all the little businessmen and women who imagine themselves gods of business, rather than just beyond being bourgeois, need to have the road swept for them where it has become stony.
So to protect them and their businesses, they can blackmail government because we already have a slowdown in the economy. We need to help them now and do that other thing you mentioned Augustus. What was it? Plan for future requirements, resource management inadequacy, action to improve situation here – train and transport NZs, set them firmly into a seasonal workforce that pays adequately, enables them to keep their earnings and go back on the dole if that is where they are at (they need to be match-fit to do the seasonal work though). And the NZ seasonal workforce would merge with a Pacific Island one with permanent quotas so they can earn money here to enable improvements back home.
A win-win situation that would be cheered as an adept move better than a sporting maneouvre. And perhaps there should be a sporting fixture, with the visitors, a real friendly with no concussions etc if that is possible, before they go home and they can take half of the proceeds back with them plus goodwill.
Ms Dyson said Ms Barry's behaviour was particularly stark compared to what was an otherwise improving culture in Parliament.
Ms Barry is looking stressed. She feels deeply about not getting her own way in the euthanasia debacle which is so important because she knows she is right, and is backed up by a large number of pigeons who can be relied on to keep pecking at the 'No' door. Spoiler – snide remark coming up – the old saying about watching out or the wind will change Ms Barry and your lines and bags will get locked in place, applies.
(someone pointed out/i agreed) – the problem with the pro-euthanasia is that if people want to end their own lives – there are many ways to do this – (and you can't be prosecuted for it..)
so why must the state be brought into it..?..
why must the insistance be that someone else do it..?
..and with all the inbuilt potential for abuse by greedy relatives/benificiaries of any estate..
I'm confused by the pro-euthanasia crowd – I mean if they want to kill themselves – why don't they. No one is stopping them – no one. But like Phillip ure you gotta wonder why they want to bring the state in, and create situations where avarice becomes the new normal.
You really have to question why the pro-euthanasia crowd think it's OK to undermine the trust in doctors, ignore and put down disabled people's concerns, and generally bash anyone who opposes them.
But hey, why deal with underlying economic problems in society – when the baby boomers are jumping up and down demanding somthing for themselves again.
Dude, I don't support euthanasia. But at least I can see why in some cases a patient might need someone else to end the patient's life because the patient is unable to do so, or provide expert assistance while the patient does so. I just think that bureaucratising the process will be worse than the current situation. Think about it. Coma, some sort of locked in situation, fearful and anxious dementia, or constant pain and immobility leading to a 99.9% chance of a long but painful death… these are valid scenarios in this days and age that can be planned for in advance with living wills.
Just saying they can kill themselves is a mischaracterisation of the problem so gross that, if intentional, I think the description "straw man" could well apply.
FFS stop being sanctimonious the pair of you – reread how I said what I said. Let me lay it out for you – I was having a go at pro-euthanasia people for being sanctimonious – too soon?
As for sickening, you went to a real sick place with the comment
" or constant pain and immobility leading to a 99.9% chance of a long but painful death"
Just more of the usual dismissing the concerns of disabled to prove your point. People can live with constant pain, I have for 35 years, and diminishing mobility, so I'm going to die slowly and painfully – news flash – life is hard and dying is awful.
Here the thing – bugger this euthanasia bill and all the muppets supporting it, when people are living in cars, kids are getting preventable diseases and the bottom 30% keep getting poorer.
They end up being a bunch of sanctimonious prats who have no moral compass.
I did read the comment and quoted the bit I was referring to, which was the same argument as Phillip Ure's: that people supporting voluntary euthanasia legislation are promoting a state-run murder service for people too scared or too lazy to commit suicide. That's a blatant straw man, for the fairly obvious reason that McFlock pointed out above: it's actually for people who are no longer capable of committing suicide.
I didn't address your other point, that it's wrong to consider private member's bills before the government's achieved the goals you're interested in, because it's a silly point.
Why should the 'greedy relatives etc' be brought into the consideration. It is another matter entirely. The law should be straightforward so that the person leaves clear information about their wishes re property etc. The relatives are always interested in dealing with the artifacts of the person's life and that will be covered under what has been already considered and drawn up and used by people who have gone ahead without waiting for the pathetic bunch of pollies who want to wield power, but make only decisions that give them and their mates a boost in the pocketbook.
Some of you people who write here are so distant from the reality of what is needed in a well-run polity that you might as well be on your own island or planet.
I think you shouldn't make ridiculous statements about something you clearly don't have the facts on, so I suggest you read the bill and educate yourself a little.
I don't care whether you respond, or not, it won't stop me posting. If you want to admit defeat in advance, so be it.
The bit about ad homs is amusing considering your reply to PM above. Innocent victim you aint. lol
Its great to see The Rugby World Cup in Asia Japan.
Eco Maori lives with discrimination every day.
That's awesome to see hundreds of thousands of tangata in Australia joining The Climate Change strike today Kia Kaha to everyone around the Papatuanuku who joined in the strike.
That’s the way Andrew thanks for backing our youth to get to vote Ka pai.
Mullens tangi was today it looks like its a hakare for someone of his great Mana. It takes a great man to rise a good whanau in Te Maori Papatuanuku. He gave me a sore face quite a few times he will be missed in Aotearoa.
The more PEE getting taken off our streets is great the shit is poisoning Te tangata whenua.
Smart Environment solutions to monitoring our Wai show great innovation its great to see tangata caring for our Taonga Wai.
Its excellent to see the Wellington tangata supporting Te Reo Maori place names in Wellington.
The Rugby World Cup in Asia Japan is starting in a hour Ka pai. I tryed to sort my free subscription for the Rugby World Cup I could not get it sorted I think someone is stuffing with my subscription as my email address would not load up WTF.
Kia Kaha to all the Tangata Protesting to protect OUR FUTURE'S climate. THE NEANDERTHAL WILL learn to listen to our Rangatahi
Across the globe, millions join biggest climate protest ever
Young and old alike took to the streets in an estimated 185 countries to demand action
Millions of people demonstrated across the world yesterday demanding urgent action to tackle global heating, as they united across timezones and cultures to take part in the biggest climate protest in history.
In an explosion of the youth movement started by the Swedish school striker Greta Thunberg just over 12 months ago, people protested from the Pacific islands, through Australia, across-south east Asia and Africa into Europe and onwards to the Americas.
For the first time since the school strikes for climate began last year, young people called on adults to join them – and they were heard. Trade unions representing hundreds of millions of people around the world mobilised in support, employees left their workplaces, doctors and nurses marched and workers at firms like Amazon, Google and Facebook walked out to join the climate strikes.
Global climate strike: Greta Thunberg and school students lead climate crisis protest – as it happened
In the estimated 185 countries where demonstrations took place, the protests often had their individual targets; from rising sea levels in the Solomon Islands, toxic waste in South Africa, to air pollution and plastic waste in India and coal expansion in Australia.
But the overall message was unified – a powerful demand for an urgent step-change in action to cut emissions and stabilise the climate.
The demonstrations took place on the eve of a UN climate summit, called by the secretary general, António Guterres, to inject urgency into government action to restrict the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C, as agreed under the 2015 Paris agreement.
That's is. Cool the carved waharoa gifted to Japan for the Rugby World Cup.
The International Monetary Fund is correct Aotearoa is doing great. Our governments management of our economy is fine.
Some farmers are going to kick up a stink no matter what Our Coalition government does WHY because they are South Island national supporters.
Ka pai Te Papatuanuku biggest strike for OUR futures Climate Ka pai yes the pollies will have to bend the knee to the intelligent tangata striking for our future.
Hue great mahi helping native trees grow in Hinewai. I research that planting native trees they need to planted in a canopy to protect them from frost when they are young. We are going to plant Te Totara trees they grow fast no need to be treated easy to carve. Ka kite Ano
Cool that the Fisheries Minister has promised to look after the far north 90 mile Tangaroa shores environment to Te tangata whenua. I think tangata whenua need to be included in the mahi and wealth of the industry shear the lollies.
That's is not on its a breach of human rights locking 1200 people who have not been charged with a crime.
Using tangata whenua art to help heal tangata with mental health issues is a good idea Ka pai.
I… Henry we only get one body so it's correct that you took time off to let your injuries heal Kia Kaha.
I think it's great that Soap for Society Organisations are asking for sanitary products donations so they can give them to people who can not afford them
My alarm didn't go for the Allblack delayed game and I miss the 3 pm replay We were moderafiying our Wind Turbine.
That's is a good way to show how much Papatuanuku Warming is a Reality. The Swiss having A Tangi for their taonga Glacier Poziol it has lost 80 % of its mass
.Spark did its best to prove A good service. Its not there Fault that companies in other Countries dropped the BALL. Some people will use anything for leverage. This is all the more reasons to roll out 5 G Services.
Tangata Mental health wellbeing is a big thing as not everyone can figure out weather they have a problem or not. I think some educational program should be interduced to our tamariki about how their thought process actually works. I say the SURGE in Aotearoa mental health problems and rising suercide rates can be directly linked to A surge in PEE use over the last 20 years
Kume Amnesty International is a great organisation highlighting the problems around Papatuanuku the biggest problem we are going to face Human Caused Climate change.
The difference between Aotearoa is we have A Coalition Government that knows Climate change is Reality not like some pollies denies Global warming trying to gain putea. Kia Kaha to all the Tangata strikeing for Our future climate.
Aotearoa is a great position to mitergate climate change. We have a climate that has the fastest tree growth in the world. We have 80 % renewable energy already we have the best clean Sky for Solar power we actually get 20 % more power out of Solar than the manufacturer Stats. We have one of the Tawhirimate places on Papatuanuku great for Wind Turbine.We have great Geothermal resources that can provide back up power for Green Energy as well A Hydro power that can be used as back up power for Green Energy. The only reason why our Emissions have climb is because we have just kicked out a carbon pro Government that did everything to boost our carbon use. Big moterways canning Rail canning planned Wind turbine construction . Changing laws to alow the Cutting down of heaps of trees. ECT.
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, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
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 ...
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The Department of Conservation is in greater need of a commissioner than Health NZ, a veteran scientist says The post The risks and rewards of remaking DoC appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Great to amazon making it's shit TV in good old New Zealand, here is a clip from one of their upcoming delights… prefaced by quite a good comment about the clip, just so you have an idea of what you are letting yourself in for…
"No matter how cynical you might be about propagandistic American media, you are not prepared for how much watching this trailer is like snorting 100% pure John Bolton"
hilarious
Certainly illustrates the swinging door between the Pentagon, the CIA and Hollywood
Kid has more nous in her little finger than an entire legislature put together has.
https://twitter.com/Independent/status/1174367982107189248
Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish activist who has galvanized young people across the world to strike for more action to combat the impact of global warming, politely reminded them that she was a student, not a scientist – or a senator.
“Please save your praise. We don’t want it,” she said. “Don’t invite us here to just tell us how inspiring we are without actually doing anything about it because it doesn’t lead to anything.
“If you want advice for what you should do, invite scientists, ask scientists for their expertise. We don’t want to be heard. We want the science to be heard.”
In remarks meant for Congress as a whole, she said: “I know you are trying but just not hard enough. Sorry.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/17/greta-thunberg-to-congress-youre-not-trying-hard-enough-sorry
On the topic of climate change, there is a good interview with Naomi Klein on Truthdig.
Naomi Klein also in a video on The Intercept:
"What's in a Trump Straw?"
Similar attempts at incrementalism is what makes submitting on consultation processes like Auckland Council's Climate Change framework so dispiriting. The framework itself is self-limiting in what it is looking at, and so, is limited in effective change. Anyone can provide feedback – even non-Aucklanders IIRC.
NK is very clear and clued up sounding.
Alison Mau is one of a group of women who formed a Trust in 2017, to help Rachel MacGregor meet the legal fees needed for a High Court trial.
Here's her report of the outcome just now published: Rachel MacGregor 1, Colin Craig 0.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/115912281/alison-mau-rachel-macgregors-win-is-one-for-all-workers
Is that what Ms Mau has been up to?
It's a pity she hasn't been heard from about the disgraceful cover-up that the Government has been running on the activities of their employee in Parliament isn't it?
So Alwyn, what is this, then? What cave you've been dwelling in? https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/115751933/labour-was-warned-it-had-a-major-problem-before-summer-camp-scandal?rm=a
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/115801937/when-people-speak-out-why-do-we-find-it-so-hard-to-believe
Alwrong is what hes known for.
The first article is basically a rehash of the party line. eg. She never claimed there was any sexual assault and so on.
The latter on, a couple of days ago, was one I hadn't seen. Mau has finally come out on the side of the victims. I hadn't seen this as I don't buy the printed Dom/Post any longer and I don't see everything they print.. It is really the first time though that she has broken her silence though isn't it? However yes I was wrong. She has finally come out of her shell. And about time.
Did you ever consider that the Labour panel might have simply described the truth. So far I haven't seen any evidence that indicates otherwise. For that matter when you read Alison Mau's articles closely, she is very cautious about saying talking about generalities rather than specifics.
Or is it just that you just have a pathological need to think that everyone involved in Labour will always just lie for the hell of it?
I think that your attitude says way way more about you than anyone else. Partisan and quite stupid.
Good call Iprent
"I think that your attitude says way way more about you than anyone else. Partisan and quite stupid."
Nice one
"Did I ever consider .."
Of course I did. After all I don't know they were told the things the victim says she told them. But if I believed the Party line I would have to believe that Ms Ardern didn't know anything about the claims of assault until a few days ago. No-one told her she says. Hmm.
I would have to believe she didn't even suspect anything might have gone on, despite the blogs have been full of the topic for a month and a half. Hmm.
However, what do I think is the likely situation? I really find it very difficult to accept that the victim was lying, and the Party representatives are telling the truth. Very, very difficult to see that as more than a very high odds. Perhaps more likely that winning Powerball but about on a par with winning Lotto.
Another question you ask is whether I think "Labour will always just lie for the hell of it". Of course I don't think that. They will lie if they think it is their interest to lie. That isn't the same thing. It is merely par for the course with politicians who have screwed things up. Good politicians don't actually lie of course. They just fool you into thinking they said something other than what they really did.
As far as your opinion of my attitude goes. I find your opinion quite silly. But everyone is entitled to some silly moments.
You must have observed politics for some time, right? What is the approved way to lie? After all you only have to look at the experts like Bennett, Farrar, or Collins (and some on the left as well). They prevaricate, obstrufacate, and divert.
What Simon Mitchell and co have done is to not do any of those things. What he said was that he never saw or heard anything to do with sexual assault allegations presented to him from the person who said that they had. He also pointed directly to the documents that he received and saw, apparently the same ones that a complainant referred to.
Good politicians don't actually lie of course. They just fool you into thinking they said something other than what they really did.
So point to something in the simple statement that Simon Mitchell put out as an example – show me the where he has said something that can’t be checked in the forensic record or from the other witnesses present.
Try to see any of the traditional political techniques in there for lying without getting caught. Basically I bet that
1. you haven’t tried.
2. you are probably too timid to do so because it would upset your personal bigotry.
So where exactly is Simon Mitchell's interest in lying? A volunteer who has no real economic stake in the Labour party and who lends himself to the thankless task of a volunteer on the NZ Council (and it is a thankless task).
This isn't a politician. Most of the time he runs essentially unopposed and probably secretly wishes some would oppose him.
Nigel Howarth is the same. I've run across him a few times. Mu guess is that he will be happy to get back to academia.
Which is EXACTLY why I think that you are an extremely stupid partisan dimwit who is too stupid to use your brains.
Yes – but you seem to have them all of the time when it comes to anything left-wing. You ever ask yourself why you believe such stupid ideas – because you are a simpleton bigot, Or are you just too lazy to think. Or just too stupid…
Or all three?
The only person I see lying around here is you – and I suspect that you’re mostly lying to yourself. It is cowardly and quite pathetic.
I echo Ianmac – another good call.
I do too, in life you come to realise that many things are often very simple but some can be elevated, or develop, into something more than they were. In work, business or family slight mismanagements, actions or misunderstandings can either reach good outcomes or outcomes, estrangements and divisions that can never, or often rarely, can be undone. Some media play that up for their own reasons and the National Party are relying on it as almost their only path back to government at this time.
"observed politics for some time, right".
Oh yes. I imagine the first time I met a Prime Minister was before you were born.
"Simon Mitchell". I believe he, and the other people on his panel did, to the best of their ability, do what they were supposed to. Find that nothing happened in other words. If he didn't happen to see something I don't believe that he would have hunted for it. That might have meant being forced to see something he didn't want to.
"(and it is a thankless task)".
Of course it is. However he will now find out the worst. The only thing that matters is to keep attention of the Leader. If you fail at that you will discover that you are expendable. I imagine that is what he is discovering now.
He doesn't really matter of course. The politicians thast have power matter and they are finding it very hard to escape scrutiny.
"The only person I see lying around here is you – and I suspect that you’re mostly lying to yourself. It is cowardly and quite pathetic."
Frankly I give a damn what you think. I don't see the world the way you do and therefore you are striking out with all your impotent rage.
While Craig has been highly unsavoury person.
McGregor too was found to have defamed Craig and had instituted her own legal proceedings against him.
The decision says this:
"The disputes between Mr Craig and Ms MacGregor were actually resolved in a confidential settlement in May 2015, with the help of two senior lawyers. That settlement was undone in material part by the involvement of a Mr Williams and a Mr Slater, both of whom have also been engaged in defamation proceedings with Mr Craig.
The defamation case raised the harrasemnt all over again
However Craig offered to settle with McGregor
"During 2018 he did make a number of open offers that both parties withdraw their claims and his last offer included an offer to pay $30,000 on account of costs. Ms MacGregor declined those offers.
Dont see the any reality for a 'poor woman dragged through the Courts' at all.
https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/cases/craig-v-mcgregor/@@images/fileDecision?r=923.114967511
Oh she was. In the cases with Craig against Williams it was perfectly evident that she didn't want to be there and had been compelled to be there.
Go and dig out the reports and the transcripts from the time.
Effectively this particular episode has been through at least 5 legal rounds so far (not counting this one reported), and effectively only the first was initiated by McGregor – the one to the human rights about employment.
The rest of it has been by three complete arseholes – Craig, Williams and Slater using her as a witness pawn in their political and legal games. The High court case just concluded (and maybe its inevitable appeal) was a direct result of Craig breaking his previous agreement after Williams used material held by him in trust for safe-keeping.
Do you think that Craig could be trusted not to drag her into court again? He would in a heart beat as far as I can see. I wouldn’t trust any assurance from him – he doesn’t appear to be particularly aware of the concepts of having personal ethics or morals.
That poor woman. She has had years of hell due to that vindictive man.
If Colin Craig had paid Ms McGregor more when she wanted it would the situation have run as it has and over so many years?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11708735
Reading that article, I think that the real problem was that she hadn’t been paid for months during the election campaign and that the Craig had loaned her money rather than paying her. Do you think that was a reasonable behaviour for an employer…
Perhaps you should try reading the articles you link to.
What you have to remember is that the only reason that this came to light again was because that despicable arsehole Jordan Williams gave documents that he was holding in trust for her to Cameron Slater to attack Colin Craig.
This has been well -established across multiple court cases. Perhaps you should try reading rather than playing with yourself and writing your misogynist grunts here.
Gee Jimmy you put that so well, you big soft-hearted thing.
"Tamihere says he won't be dictated to by the thought police." Often what politicians don't say is more significant that what they do say, and that could be the case here. https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/middayreport/audio/2018713976/midday-news-for-19-september-2019
He's leaving the option open that he could be dictated to by someone else. A political consultant, for instance. A suitable female with political aspirations may see the opportunity to become the power behind JT's throne as mayor. Acquiring whip & fishnet stockings, she may offer her services – to issue instructions in bondage sessions. A traditional lifestyle even before Lou Reed sang about it in the Velvet Underground (firstly in mid 1965, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_in_Furs_(song)).
Yeah, I know, bit of a stretch. Only normal for upper-class Englishmen. But you never know – stranger things have happened.
Chris Trotter giving John Tamihere his day in the court of outraged opinion over his Seig Heil riposte. Foolish and makes him appear to be all mouth and no trousers!
https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2019/09/jojo-tamihere-salutes-herr-goff.html
Godwin's law is almost thirty years old: "Promulgated by the American attorney and author Mike Godwin in 1990, Godwin's law originally referred specifically to Usenet newsgroup discussions. It is now applied to any threaded online discussion, such as Internet forums, chat rooms, and comment threads, as well as to speeches, articles, and other rhetoric where reductio ad Hitlerum occurs."
"Godwin has stated that he introduced Godwin's law in 1990 as an experiment in memetics." It worked: "In 2012, "Godwin's law" became an entry in the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary."
"Coined by Leo Strauss in 1953, reductio ad Hitlerum borrows its name from the term used in logic, reductio ad absurdum (reduction to the absurd). According to Strauss, reductio ad Hitlerum is a form of ad hominem, ad misericordiam, or a fallacy of irrelevance. The suggested rationale is one of guilt by association. It is a tactic often used to derail arguments, because such comparisons tend to distract and anger the opponent."
So when a bunch of commentators here were busy likening Trump to Hitler (as recently as the year before last), I bet they didn't know they were exhibiting a syndrome identified more than sixty years ago!
fuck godwins law – and the faux-prohibition it attempts..
(and i say 'faux' because ti my mind it is bullshit..)
a nazi is a nazi..end of story..
and if the direct comparisons cannot be made between germany under hitler – and what trump is doing to immigrant families/children – clearly not enough attention is being paid..
and if you don't compare the barbaric behavior of trump – to the works of hitler..?
just who do you compare it to..?
(as i said – fuck godwins' law..)
Won't disagree – I had the same stance all thro the '70s, all thro the '80s, all thro the '90s. Problem with growing old (with an open mind) is you gradually acquire a tolerance of other views. If empathic, you even end up seeing things from other points of view too.
So my generation of rebels called govts fascist (regardless of whether they were Labour or National, Democrat or Republican) when they acted accordingly, which was most of the time. Police brutality was normal, for instance. Left & right both enjoyed eliminating the civil rights of cannabis smokers – target a minority group, the establishment gets off on that shit.
So demonising Trump, who comes across as a clown rather than a fascist, seems more like missing the point to me. I don't defend his immigration policy, just point it out when folks misrepresent it. He's just doing what he was elected to do. Democracy.
But is it the same today> Everything warps over time and I guess that a syndrome does too, after all it's "a characteristic combination of opinions, emotions, or behaviour."
Hitler seems much closer now than 60 years ago and we understand from the numerous studies of 1930 – 1940s how he found his wormhole to power. I don't think that Godwin's law can be thrown at every mention of that name; perhaps we should update it and replace it with 'Douglas', I have thought that the moustache had a certain familiarity.
It's not a syndrome if it's a thoughtful, reasoned comparison.
"So when a bunch of commentators here were busy likening Trump to Hitler (as recently as the year before last), I bet they didn't know they were exhibiting a syndrome identified more than sixty years ago!"
Except that Trump is trying to create a fascist state. There's been a large amount of political analysis of this. That's not invoking Godwin's Law. A commenter calling another commenter a Nazi is.
Trump is trying to create a fascist state
You really believe that? Must be a generational thing. Those of us who have had to live much of our lives threatened by the spectre of fascism know it when we see it.
As I pointed out last time this topic was seriously raised, Roger Donaldson would not have made Sleeping Dogs if it hadn't been in our cultural ambience at the time. But Muldoon merely talked tough. He didn't actually do fascism via govt policy. Where is the Wanganui computer now? Trash heap? I recall when it was promising us Orwell's 1984 made real in Aotearoa.
I get that Trump's style is Muldoon a little (but with a dose of LSD & speed thrown in, not to mention Alice in Wonderland). People have a right to see others as a threat, that's human nature, but it's a big political mistake to assume others will see it similarly.
Bolton got fired the other day. Too hardline, apparently. If Trump really was fascist, he wouldn’t have felt that way. To him, his political allies are as disposable as his political enemies. My way or the highway. Makes him more like Stalin than Hitler. But don’t let that comparison tempt you. The Don hasn’t shot anyone. Nor even employed thugs to eliminate irritants. Media libs would have been doing outrage about it if it had happened…
Yeah, look up the "proud boys" and their connections to the repugs some time.
Did. Agree the connection to Roger Stone is worth knowing. "At a televised Trump rally in Miami, Florida, on February 18, 2019, Tarrio was seated directly behind President Trump wearing a "Roger stone did nothing wrong" tee shirt." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Stone
Violent fellow-travellers only, so far. Potential threat, sure. Only 3 years into it, so yet to withstand the test of time. Anti-porn & masturbation is the key – mental/emotional self-discipline as part of group ethos does make guys tough. One to watch…
They're not the only ones.
For me, the big thing was the separation of kids with no intention of ever returning them to their parents. And the deaths in custody. If the deaths were a bureaucratic error, there would be bureaucracy for eventually reuniting the kids and the parents. But the system doesn't even regard immigrants as highly as livestock these days.
Which means his dehumanisation of immigrants wasn't just rhetoric, it was policy he was happy to watch implemented.
As far as he thinks about policy (which isn't much) Dolt45 is an isolationist nazi-adjacant. Bolton is an imperialist. That's why they were at odds. Hard line in different directions.
"You really believe that?"
That he's trying to create an authoritarian state? Yes. Whether that will look like historical fascism or not I don't know. But it's not about my beliefs, there are plenty of people with experience in either studying and writing about fascism and how it arises, or with direct experience of fascism who are making these critiques about Trump. Including Jewish people btw.
"Makes him more like Stalin than Hitler. But don’t let that comparison tempt you. The Don hasn’t shot anyone. Nor even employed thugs to eliminate irritants. Media libs would have been doing outrage about it if it had happened…"
There was a point at which Stalin hadn't shot people yet, so I don't know what you are trying to say there. That the US isn't a fascist state in 2019? Sure, I'd agree with that. Fascism doesn't just spring up one day, so I'm more interested in what the process is.
Having owned and read at least two biographies of Stalin, my guess is that the point he hadn't yet shot anyone was when he was in the seminary, studying to be a priest, prior to his career in the Tsar's secret police.
Fascism is an ideology, historically, more than a behaviour. Trump has no evident ideology (too mercenary). It requires an organisation to give it political form and impact. The USA lacks that. The authoritarian state in that federation has been under attack from the right for a long time – he uses it as an operational convenience to achieve a suitable historical legacy.
As such, I see no evidence that he's any more than a conservative narcissist playing the radical (to steer the establishment away from global elite control).
Forget the "global elite control" bs.
Is there any difference between a "conservative narcissist" and the radical you think he plays, once he's in office?
They're still doing the raids.
He still banned immigrants based on religion.
Right wing thugs are still marching with greater vigour.
And anyway did anyone say the same thing about hitler: that he's not really serious about it all? Probably.
Definitely. He was quite popular with conservatives in western democracies right up until the invasion of Poland. Even that only thinned out the numbers – took another couple of years for him to get beyond the pale.
he was also popular with left-wingers – 'cos of the strong domestic (socialist for want of a better word..) polices he instigated..
those 'family-support' domestic polices were what gained him the strong domestic support he had..
and if read without knowing the origin – many if those policies wd be applauded by current leftwingers..
(he didn't just come to power in a vacuum – there are reasons/explanations for the support he had..)
so contrary to what p.m said – many leftists/intellectuals in the west supported hitler – at first..
"left wingers" who would vote for a guy who hated immigrants. Yeah nah.
He won because he was the loudest fuckwit in an uninspiring pool of primary candidates, and people tried to fight (and report) him like he was a competent politician. All the lying the repugs have done since the 1990s – ken starr, WMD, tea party – bit them in the arse and their anointed blandity (Bush 3) still tried to keep one foot in reality.
People need to figure out how to fight a reality vacuum. Calling it out in contempt seems to do better against bojo than tryinhg to debate with him like he’s a normal huiman being.
No, he's still doing both. I agree re Hitler not taken seriously. Don't agree re your denial of global elites &/or Trump's leading the rightist charge to rout them. Try learning from Brexit.
Try making a damned point about them, rather than just using random incantations.
If drumpf was such an opponent of the "global elites" (depending on how you even define that term), why are the career repugs fucking their own grandmothers' corpses to keep him in power?
Why aren't US billionaires (real ones) pulling funding from the repugs?
If he really is just playing "a conservative narcissist playing the radical (to steer the establishment away from global elite control)", he's not having much success at steering the "establishment". They're not doing anything they don't want to do. He's shitting golden turds for them – neutering the EPA, boosting drilling, firing money into the prison-industrial complex, selling weapons, and making immigrants more scared, powerless, and exploitable. That's why they like him.
wot mcflock said..
(‘gplden turds’ comment..)
You missed one crucial word – “incompetent” is also one of his outstanding qualities. There are several others to do with his inability to work with competent people and his attraction for syncopathic vermin.
an adderal/cocaine addiction is also quite distracting..
the only thing stopping trump from going ballistic against his own are the checks and balances on u.s. system..
but i have said before that trump hasn't invaded anyone (yet)..unlike his nobel peace prize winning predecessor – who was wasting libya about now in his presidency..
(one for those saying trump is no different to those who came before him..
it comes from the same source as his addiction-info – from a writer on the apprentice and the celebrity apprentice..(who i follow on twitter..)
'Trump in reality is far worse than most imagine. He has done horrible things over many decades to many victims. What he is doing to the US will be no different. It’s like living next door to Dahmer and ignoring the smell.'
Ah, I see my reply went into moderation limbo, probably too much quoting from Wikipedia. This bit from Trotter is worth pointing out: "Tamihere, in blurting “Sieg Heil to that”, wasn’t signalling his membership of some perverse right-wing fraternity. All he was doing was signalling his membership of something much less acceptable – the Maori working-class of West Auckland."
I suspect JT is actually making a play for rightist voters – if only to demonstrate that their own side are failing to front impressive contenders – but he could easily pull in all those offended by pc-conformism as well. Speaking the lingo of the land does actually produce a resonance of authenticity in folks' minds (not just `the Maori working-class of West Auckland').
You *have to link if you are cutting and pasting from elsewhere. This has been a long standing policy, and I'm getting sick of reminding people.
I was commenting in response to 5.1, where the link was posted…
I don't go along with this light attitude to Trump you take DF. Whether he is going to exhibit the right spots to enable the disease to be firmly stated to be fascism or not, what he is doing is serious.
So not a subject for learned unpicking or idle conjecture.
Bush Jr seemed worse. Reagan much worse. Nixon, very much worse. What do you call serious? His attitude on climate change? True, that's a serious problem. Would the USA do any different under a Democrat? Doubt it. History says no.
History says Obama vetoed the Keystone pipeline, and the orange fuckwit resurrected it.
History says Obama entered into the Paris Accord, while fucko mcliesalot is getting out of it.
And Obama has gone down in history as achieving the largest arms trade deal ever. Just google Obama largest arms trade deal in history, you get plenty of sites reporting his track record. Pretty cool for the dude that won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Nice slide from climate change.
I googled "largest arms trade deal" and got one signed and largely negotiated by the current regime, much larger than the one proposed by Obama.
Play equivalence all you want, in most national interest objectives the current incumbent is one of the worst ever, light years below Obama.
I wasn't running a book on Trump v anybody. He is part of a filmset that has strayed from its desert setting with wide open spaces to roam and gone to the more mannered cityscape, and the actor-in-chief hasn't been tamed yet. Quite unsuitable for his task. I wonder when the people will realise that they are losing stuff they never appreciated and pull back?
Back to real considerations for a balanced left-wing blog!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/399107/growers-say-fruit-will-rot-unless-govt-speeds-up-migrant-worker-decision
Would I be right to say that our Immigration Department is full of white ants that are eating out the heart of NZ enterprise? Its lack of acumen and sensible targetting and systems affecting our businesses – in this case the harvesting of food which must be dealt with in timely fashion which can't wait until some squirts in Immigration and their anally retentive managers and CEO get wise to what we need and the applicants for entry deserve, is affecting our earnings and our standing in the world.
Immigration and social welfare seem to have captured all that is negative and backward in this country, transmogrified it, and turned it into sausages that pass as 'civil servants' up with the ways of the modern world.
I see the white ants among growers, who for decades have been getting cheap imported labour, without ever once even being asked to come up with a plan for harvesting their crops without bending the law. Why is that not part of a resource consent?
If immigration was anything like social welfare, the growers would be asked to come up with an action plan to end their dependence on the state, even a medium term one would do. But,…, nothing,….ever.
Nothing is to be done until it is an emergency. That is how NZ acts and manages isn't it – all else is like communism trying to plan ahead and stifle imagination and opportunities. The freemarket must reign and be bailed out when all the little businessmen and women who imagine themselves gods of business, rather than just beyond being bourgeois, need to have the road swept for them where it has become stony.
So to protect them and their businesses, they can blackmail government because we already have a slowdown in the economy. We neeNothing is to be done until it is an emergency. That is how NZ acts and manages isn't it – all else is like communism trying to plan ahead and stifle imagination and opportunities. The freemarket must reign and be bailed out when all the little businessmen and women who imagine themselves gods of business, rather than just beyond being bourgeois, need to have the road swept for them where it has become stony.
So to protect them and their businesses, they can blackmail government because we already have a slowdown in the economy. We need to help them now and do that other thing you mentioned Augustus. What was it? Plan for future requirements, resource management inadequacy, action to improve situation here – train and transport NZs, set them firmly into a seasonal workforce that pays adequately, enables them to keep their earnings and go back on the dole if that is where they are at (they need to be match-fit to do the seasonal work though). And the NZ seasonal workforce would merge with a Pacific Island one with permanent quotas so they can earn money here to enable improvements back home.
A win-win situation that would be cheered as an adept move better than a sporting maneouvre. And perhaps there should be a sporting fixture, with the visitors, a real friendly with no concussions etc if that is possible, before they go home and they can take half of the proceeds back with them plus goodwill.
Sorry don't know what I did to muck the above up so much. I hope some point shows up as useful.
wot augustus said..
"When has that ever happened though? When has there been a sensible, non-emotional discussion about the right numbers of people in this country?"
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/101732/david-hargreaves-looks-new-temporary-work-visa-proposals-latest-broken-election
Politicians will continue to avoid this conversation like the plague
Naggie Barry [sick].
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/399108/labour-mp-ruth-dyson-accepts-apology-from-maggie-barry
Ms Dyson said Ms Barry's behaviour was particularly stark compared to what was an otherwise improving culture in Parliament.
Ms Barry is looking stressed. She feels deeply about not getting her own way in the euthanasia debacle which is so important because she knows she is right, and is backed up by a large number of pigeons who can be relied on to keep pecking at the 'No' door. Spoiler – snide remark coming up – the old saying about watching out or the wind will change Ms Barry and your lines and bags will get locked in place, applies.
(someone pointed out/i agreed) – the problem with the pro-euthanasia is that if people want to end their own lives – there are many ways to do this – (and you can't be prosecuted for it..)
so why must the state be brought into it..?..
why must the insistance be that someone else do it..?
..and with all the inbuilt potential for abuse by greedy relatives/benificiaries of any estate..
I'm confused by the pro-euthanasia crowd – I mean if they want to kill themselves – why don't they. No one is stopping them – no one. But like Phillip ure you gotta wonder why they want to bring the state in, and create situations where avarice becomes the new normal.
You really have to question why the pro-euthanasia crowd think it's OK to undermine the trust in doctors, ignore and put down disabled people's concerns, and generally bash anyone who opposes them.
But hey, why deal with underlying economic problems in society – when the baby boomers are jumping up and down demanding somthing for themselves again.
I'm confused by the pro-euthanasia crowd – I mean if they want to kill themselves – why don't they. No one is stopping them – no one.
Say, that's a mighty impressive straw man you have there – did you make it yourself?
have another try..eh..?
You'd like me to fight your straw man? That would be silly – it's made of straw.
Ahh the great bullshiter rises his head again, the year ban taught you nothing.
Dude, I don't support euthanasia. But at least I can see why in some cases a patient might need someone else to end the patient's life because the patient is unable to do so, or provide expert assistance while the patient does so. I just think that bureaucratising the process will be worse than the current situation. Think about it. Coma, some sort of locked in situation, fearful and anxious dementia, or constant pain and immobility leading to a 99.9% chance of a long but painful death… these are valid scenarios in this days and age that can be planned for in advance with living wills.
Just saying they can kill themselves is a mischaracterisation of the problem so gross that, if intentional, I think the description "straw man" could well apply.
FFS stop being sanctimonious the pair of you – reread how I said what I said. Let me lay it out for you – I was having a go at pro-euthanasia people for being sanctimonious – too soon?
As for sickening, you went to a real sick place with the comment
" or constant pain and immobility leading to a 99.9% chance of a long but painful death"
Just more of the usual dismissing the concerns of disabled to prove your point. People can live with constant pain, I have for 35 years, and diminishing mobility, so I'm going to die slowly and painfully – news flash – life is hard and dying is awful.
Here the thing – bugger this euthanasia bill and all the muppets supporting it, when people are living in cars, kids are getting preventable diseases and the bottom 30% keep getting poorer.
They end up being a bunch of sanctimonious prats who have no moral compass.
I did read the comment and quoted the bit I was referring to, which was the same argument as Phillip Ure's: that people supporting voluntary euthanasia legislation are promoting a state-run murder service for people too scared or too lazy to commit suicide. That's a blatant straw man, for the fairly obvious reason that McFlock pointed out above: it's actually for people who are no longer capable of committing suicide.
I didn't address your other point, that it's wrong to consider private member's bills before the government's achieved the goals you're interested in, because it's a silly point.
Why should the 'greedy relatives etc' be brought into the consideration. It is another matter entirely. The law should be straightforward so that the person leaves clear information about their wishes re property etc. The relatives are always interested in dealing with the artifacts of the person's life and that will be covered under what has been already considered and drawn up and used by people who have gone ahead without waiting for the pathetic bunch of pollies who want to wield power, but make only decisions that give them and their mates a boost in the pocketbook.
Some of you people who write here are so distant from the reality of what is needed in a well-run polity that you might as well be on your own island or planet.
'greedy'/impatient relatives is not a bloody minor problem..
it is the major problem as i see it..
and you really can't see the potential for wholesale abuse..?
as killing old people becomes normalised..?
Such ignorance on display 🙄 Have another try
Eligibility criteria in the bill
A person would be eligible for assisted dying if they:
i think there should be the option give them heroin…or heroin and cocaine..
let them enjoy that..
that will postpone thoughts of ending it all..for most..
(b.t.w. allen – this is the last time i respond to you if you include yr usual ad hom..mm-kay..?,,try and lift yr game..
your call…)
I think you shouldn't make ridiculous statements about something you clearly don't have the facts on, so I suggest you read the bill and educate yourself a little.
I don't care whether you respond, or not, it won't stop me posting. If you want to admit defeat in advance, so be it.
The bit about ad homs is amusing considering your reply to PM above. Innocent victim you aint. lol
A Labour MP says the way National's Maggie Barry shouted at her in Parliament was "totally inappropriate"
I guess Maggie mistook Ruth Dyson for one of her staff there for a moment…
Mindsets – mental health; addictions and triggers for prejudice and negative/positive leitmotifs (clowns and their faces bring strong reactions).
Alcohol addiction and its insidious deterioration of society from over-use.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018713955/elizabeth-elliott-fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorders
and
Phobias about things such as seeing clowns/clown faces.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018713961/not-funny-will-it-spawn-more-clown-phobias
it is a proven formula..
if you want to stimulate/'save' an economy – you increase the incomes of the poorest..
'cos they spend it – it feeds straight back into the economy..
cd labour go against their neoliberal-incrementalist ethos..?
(and end/give a serious nudge to poverty at the same time..)
what is not to love about all that..?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/09/economist-suggests-literally-giving-money-to-the-poor-to-save-the-economy.html
Muldoon used the phrase "the velocity of money"
Mark Richardsons question at the end is a real gem. Bless him.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/19/scaling-back-graduate-invents-plastic-alternative-from-fish-waste
Kia Ora Newshub.
Its great to see The Rugby World Cup in Asia Japan.
Eco Maori lives with discrimination every day.
That's awesome to see hundreds of thousands of tangata in Australia joining The Climate Change strike today Kia Kaha to everyone around the Papatuanuku who joined in the strike.
That’s the way Andrew thanks for backing our youth to get to vote Ka pai.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News
Mullens tangi was today it looks like its a hakare for someone of his great Mana. It takes a great man to rise a good whanau in Te Maori Papatuanuku. He gave me a sore face quite a few times he will be missed in Aotearoa.
The more PEE getting taken off our streets is great the shit is poisoning Te tangata whenua.
Smart Environment solutions to monitoring our Wai show great innovation its great to see tangata caring for our Taonga Wai.
Its excellent to see the Wellington tangata supporting Te Reo Maori place names in Wellington.
The Rugby World Cup in Asia Japan is starting in a hour Ka pai. I tryed to sort my free subscription for the Rugby World Cup I could not get it sorted I think someone is stuffing with my subscription as my email address would not load up WTF.
Ka kite Ano
Looks like the nation has been taken over by national supporters . Its not worth watching since Lisa left Ana to kai
Kia Kaha to all the Tangata Protesting to protect OUR FUTURE'S climate. THE NEANDERTHAL WILL learn to listen to our Rangatahi
Across the globe, millions join biggest climate protest ever
Young and old alike took to the streets in an estimated 185 countries to demand action
Millions of people demonstrated across the world yesterday demanding urgent action to tackle global heating, as they united across timezones and cultures to take part in the biggest climate protest in history.
In an explosion of the youth movement started by the Swedish school striker Greta Thunberg just over 12 months ago, people protested from the Pacific islands, through Australia, across-south east Asia and Africa into Europe and onwards to the Americas.
For the first time since the school strikes for climate began last year, young people called on adults to join them – and they were heard. Trade unions representing hundreds of millions of people around the world mobilised in support, employees left their workplaces, doctors and nurses marched and workers at firms like Amazon, Google and Facebook walked out to join the climate strikes.
Global climate strike: Greta Thunberg and school students lead climate crisis protest – as it happened
In the estimated 185 countries where demonstrations took place, the protests often had their individual targets; from rising sea levels in the Solomon Islands, toxic waste in South Africa, to air pollution and plastic waste in India and coal expansion in Australia.
But the overall message was unified – a powerful demand for an urgent step-change in action to cut emissions and stabilise the climate.
The demonstrations took place on the eve of a UN climate summit, called by the secretary general, António Guterres, to inject urgency into government action to restrict the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C, as agreed under the 2015 Paris agreement.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/21/across-the-globe-millions-join-biggest-climate-protest-ever
Kia Ora Newshub.
I will watch the Rugby on TV 1 .
That's is. Cool the carved waharoa gifted to Japan for the Rugby World Cup.
The International Monetary Fund is correct Aotearoa is doing great. Our governments management of our economy is fine.
Some farmers are going to kick up a stink no matter what Our Coalition government does WHY because they are South Island national supporters.
Ka pai Te Papatuanuku biggest strike for OUR futures Climate Ka pai yes the pollies will have to bend the knee to the intelligent tangata striking for our future.
Hue great mahi helping native trees grow in Hinewai. I research that planting native trees they need to planted in a canopy to protect them from frost when they are young. We are going to plant Te Totara trees they grow fast no need to be treated easy to carve. Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Cool that the Fisheries Minister has promised to look after the far north 90 mile Tangaroa shores environment to Te tangata whenua. I think tangata whenua need to be included in the mahi and wealth of the industry shear the lollies.
That's is not on its a breach of human rights locking 1200 people who have not been charged with a crime.
Using tangata whenua art to help heal tangata with mental health issues is a good idea Ka pai.
I… Henry we only get one body so it's correct that you took time off to let your injuries heal Kia Kaha.
Ka kite Ano
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU
Kia Ora The Am Show.
I think it's great that Soap for Society Organisations are asking for sanitary products donations so they can give them to people who can not afford them
My alarm didn't go for the Allblack delayed game and I miss the 3 pm replay We were moderafiying our Wind Turbine.
That's is a good way to show how much Papatuanuku Warming is a Reality. The Swiss having A Tangi for their taonga Glacier Poziol it has lost 80 % of its mass
.Spark did its best to prove A good service. Its not there Fault that companies in other Countries dropped the BALL. Some people will use anything for leverage. This is all the more reasons to roll out 5 G Services.
Tangata Mental health wellbeing is a big thing as not everyone can figure out weather they have a problem or not. I think some educational program should be interduced to our tamariki about how their thought process actually works. I say the SURGE in Aotearoa mental health problems and rising suercide rates can be directly linked to A surge in PEE use over the last 20 years
Kume Amnesty International is a great organisation highlighting the problems around Papatuanuku the biggest problem we are going to face Human Caused Climate change.
The difference between Aotearoa is we have A Coalition Government that knows Climate change is Reality not like some pollies denies Global warming trying to gain putea. Kia Kaha to all the Tangata strikeing for Our future climate.
Aotearoa is a great position to mitergate climate change. We have a climate that has the fastest tree growth in the world. We have 80 % renewable energy already we have the best clean Sky for Solar power we actually get 20 % more power out of Solar than the manufacturer Stats. We have one of the Tawhirimate places on Papatuanuku great for Wind Turbine.We have great Geothermal resources that can provide back up power for Green Energy as well A Hydro power that can be used as back up power for Green Energy. The only reason why our Emissions have climb is because we have just kicked out a carbon pro Government that did everything to boost our carbon use. Big moterways canning Rail canning planned Wind turbine construction . Changing laws to alow the Cutting down of heaps of trees. ECT.
Ka kite Ano