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7:00 am, December 19th, 2019 - 106 comments
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The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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After learning of yet another rise to minimum wage I want to extend my congratulations to superannuitants on getting their base rate benefit drastically increased.
Please don't crow too loudly lest the severely disabled and their families (the ONLY group who do not benefit from increased wages via linked benefits, iwtc or actual wages) hear you and realise the injustice the system has delivered yet again.
Oh, hey look…good work. I still expect super to remain the superior benefit and have no faith at all that the gap between benefits will be bridged.
The part of the article that talks about yearly increases is incorrect as CPI linked increases were never that big.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/budget/113093347/budget-nz-2019-benefits-will-follow-wage-growth-in-historic-change
Why is the fact that those with disabilities are not getting enough, linked with super?
The fact is, disability support should be raised, by taxing the wealthy more, not by buying into right wing memes, attacking our one remaining, successful universal benefit.
All eyes on the white house, it's going to be a massive day. The debate has begun and should finish in around 6 hours time.
Live stream link here…
No no Cinny, I've got too much to do today. Oh well, I'll just watch a teensy weensy bit. 😡
Hehehehe, work was quiet today so I was lucky enough to be able to listen/watch a good chunk of it. Found it absolutely fascinating.
Partisan hypocrites.
https://twitter.com/ABCWorldNews/status/1207371985606434816
With the latest polls showing Hillary Clinton remains likely to win the election on Tuesday, Republicans are preparing for the possibility of a second Clinton White House by promising to make the next four years a living hell. Some lawmakers are talking openly about refusing to approve any Supreme Court nominees until a Republican is elected president, the F.B.I. is investigating both the Clinton Foundation and the former secretary of state’s use of a private e-mail server, and House Republicans have vowed to launch additional investigations of their own. Now, a growing number of conservatives are warning that there could be a “constitutional crisis” if Clinton is elected, and threatening her with impeachment.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/11/republicans-are-already-talking-about-impeaching-clinton
'Murica, where a corrupt, racist, lying, serial rapist is just like the Rabbi Yeshua
https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1207378548337598464
edit:
https://twitter.com/rutiregan/status/1207379842582372353
Then-and-nows of every single Repug that had a public profile in 1998 and now are just as stark.
There's always an old tweet or interview …
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/12/donald-trump-impeachment-nancy-pelosi-bush-interview.html
https://twitter.com/wolfblitzer/status/1207375509698596867
One moment a Messiah, the next, a fucking military base
https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1207386979744116736
Hold it over him, adding articles by the day. Sounds good.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the second-ranking lawmaker in the House, said Wednesday that Democrats must discuss a last-ditch gambit to delay sending articles of impeachment to the Senate and prevent the Republican-controlled chamber from summarily discarding the case against President Donald Trump.
“Some think it’s a good idea. And we need to talk about it,” Hoyer said just as the House began debating articles of impeachment that charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/18/trump-impeachment-trial-steny-hoyer-087319
Cheers for posting all of those awesome links Joe
Pictures speaking words. Govt TV welcomes Chump: https://www.thedailybeast.com/russias-state-tv-calls-trump-their-agent
Headline in Aussie news: A law unique to New Zealand means the surviving White Island victims and their families will not receive proper compensation, legal experts say.
Suing lawyer complains NZ legal system unfairly discriminates against
suing lawyerspeople who sue.What a wretched excuse of an article that is.
Where 'proper' compensation means lawyers making out like bandits.
As expected from the house of murdoch…..look over there anywhere but what scomo's up to and that your country's becoming too hot in parts to sustain humanity.
Lump of coal anybody ? Piece of the reef maybe ?
Part of the linked article –
He also said there was an important psychological element — that is, that the lack of legal accountability promotes a more lax safety culture.
“This is not always empirically measurable, but it’s pretty basic psychology. If you’re the owner of a business and you know you cannot be sued for negligent conduct, you may adopt a cavalier safety approach.”
Finally, he said it fails the economics test.
“No-fault schemes typically become financially unsustainable,” he said. “The ACC has moved from one financial crisis to the next since it was drawn up in the 1970s.”
He makes confident assertions that can be questioned. However he may be correct when he says, 'the lack of legal accountability promotes a more lax safety culture.'
Also the limitations of what ACC is able to assist with for tourists with long-term affects from their trauma has been a criticism from those disappointed at returning home with some bodily damage that no insurance covers. I can't give details, but remember a few past cases.
And the lawyers' chagrin would change to a grin if they could sue for those extravagant amounts that the USA allows. I remember in the Simpsons that Bart was trying to cash in on that, dashing out in front of slow-moving cars and pretending to get knocked down. Homer, I think came along and accepted a small payment in lieu of starting an expensive Court case. Which is as moral as the real thing when they go full hog there.
What he forgets/omits is that suing is not the only form of legal accountability.
The OSH outcome on this is going to be pretty severe, I suspect.
Yes there are big holes in his argument. Comes from a self-interest POV. Needs more learning, that young fellow.
Workers on the ground, are pretty motivated to make sure they come home safe.
Since Royal Caribbean was part of the process of getting their passengers on the tours to White Island, they may end up getting sued in an American court.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/12/white-island-eruption-us-lawyer-considers-legal-action-against-royal-caribbean-cruises.html
Will be very interesting how far that goes. New Zealand is very popular with the international cruise operators because of our "no fault" laws. Less chance of getting sued. The cruise operator gets a very solid commission on the ashore activities their passengers undertake, likely making more profit out of them than the activity operators. Showing a separation of liability in court could be tricky.
The enquiry into the complaints of sexual harassment, bullying and a serious sexual assault in the Labour Party have all but disappeared from stuff, radio NZ and the herald. You have to go searching to find them.
this story stayed in the media for days when it first broke and I believe cost Jacinda and labour in the polls.
i take wekas point last night about rape culture. I also take the point that absence of evidence doesn’t mean something didn’t happen. However allegations of sexual assault are about as serious as it gets. And given that the complainants evidence of the night contained critical errors, that her messages on fb and text on the months around the alleged assault do not reflect her allegations, and that evidence doesn’t verify she sent an attachment to labour officials about the sexual assault, we need to give the accused the benefit of the doubt and assume it didn’t happen.
also the reports of bullying and sexual harassment weren’t substantiated either, although there was an admission by the alleged offender that he could be aggressive and he did make two sexiest remarks.
i am at a bit of a loss to know what’s is going on here. All I know is that there are multiple victims, and that Paula b used these young people to make political capital and it worked.
Just looked through Herald online and can find not a word re the report released yesterday. Considering the heavy handed accusations and innuendo levelled at Jacinda and the Labour Party you would expect a correction of some sort. Shame on you Herald.
On Morning Report this morning around 8:15am Jane Patterson gave her views on the report and its likely effect on the Labour Party. She believed the matter is now behind the Party and she didn't think the outcome would have any lasting impact on them. She went on to say that it is wrong for people to claim it was part of a pre-Xmas dump because it was only received a day or two ago and yesterday was the first opportunity to release it. She pointed out it was imperative for them to get it out of the way by Xmas and not hanging around into the new year.
All fair points imo.
I would link to the item but it hasn't appeared online.
Edit: two items under politics ianmac.
Thanks Anne. True the articles were somewhat buried well down the page on the Herald.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/oceania/ardern-staffer-abuse-claims-thrown-out-20191218-p53l4v.html
Here's what the Sydney Morning Herald had to say. Very different to the local press who IMO gave it a very different slant.
The Jane Patterson – Corin Dann segment on Morning Report has been up online at RNZ's website for a couple of hours, Anne. It was exactly where I expected to find it on the Morning Report section for today’s programme. Here it is
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018727629/labour-party-alleged-assault-victim-reportedly-stands-by-her-version-of-events
Like you, I thought it was a well reasoned summary without some of the "heat" of some other commentary on the report etc including some of that here on TS on last night's Daily Review.
Thanks vv. They took their time putting the item online. It wasn't there around 9:30. Looked in MR of course.
Some slightly dubious semantics in play last night on this site. 🙂
"we need to give the accused the benefit of the doubt and assume it didn’t happen."
I don't. I'm good with assuming I don't know what happened.
"However allegations of sexual assault are about as serious as it gets"
I rate being raped as more serious than being accused of rape.
It's a given that National are opportunistic dirty politicos.
What concerns me here is the tying of Labour's wellbeing to lines that the complainents lied. This is unnecessary, and also, Labour's wellbeing is tied to how they handle things when they go badly. I think Labour did relatively ok this time, I'm guessing argely thanks to JA, and I can see some areas where they still need to up their game.
This is ok though, because it's ok to make mistakes, it's what one does after the mistake that matters. This is the antidote to macho politics and it paves the way to unravel rape culture. A position that trades of sexual abuse survivors for political gain both enforces macho politics and perpetuates rape culture.
People will believe what they want to believe. I'm talking about how the situation gets framed and used politically. I think the higher priority here is to pushing back against rape culture.
I completely accept that is how you see it Weka. I think most of us will form an opinion about what happened and of course we will never know for sure. Just like the Christchurch Creche case in which I think there could be some similarities. Or the Bain family murders.
I believe Labour took a hit in the polls for this as did Jacinda.
We don’t know for sure how Labour handled it because the second report into that hasn’t come out. But getting the thorough report from Maria Dew was a good thing to do.
I note from her summary virtually none of the complaints were upheld other than some aggressive behaviour and I think two sexiest comments made by the alleged offender. He apologized for both. Is this o.k.? Of course not. But the claims of bullying were not found. I think it was five incidents over 13 months.
Aggression is never o.k., but I am inclined to think it is likely rampant in politics. this is not to condone it.
I got the feeling after a quick read of the report on the alleged sexual misconduct, that it was a personal matter of relationship discontent, and the spat had been elevated to a formal complaint as a retaliation and punishment because of the soured relationship.
Labour has to ensure that those that wish to join Young Labour are there for the good of the Party, and advancing the ideals of the politics of the left into practice, and not just to meet the opposite sex and interesting people doing something to pass the time.
"…it was a personal matter of relationship discontent, and the spat had been elevated to a formal complaint as a retaliation and punishment because of the soured relationship…."
I agree grey though we can only guess I guess. Still as the names are withheld there should be no real problem for the complainants even though they were the ones who created the publicity in the first place. Anyway I guess there it lies and fades into the distance.
Old scandals never die, they just lie and fester?
The discussion yesterday about ongoing viability of class analysis is germaine in respect to the durable alliance between middle & lower class on the left side of politics, in western countries following WWII through social democracy then neoliberalism. But culture wars have rended that alliance in recent years, so I was interested to see this take on the Brexit election from Mike Treen on TDB:
"Unfortunately, this advance in electoral support was largely reversed in the recent election with a drop to 32.2%. This came about because the right and centre of the party locked Corbyn into a position of supporting a second referendum on Brexit – leaving the European Union. This was seen by many Labour supporters who supported Leave as an attempt to overturn the democratic decision already made. Many voted Tory for the first time in their lives to ensure the decision was respected." https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/12/19/for-a-green-new-deal-with-peoples-power/
This notion that the remainers (urban liberals) within Labour were so disrespectful to the verdict of the people that they wanted to overturn it via a second referendum rings true. His thesis seems to be that Labour's middle class retain sufficient influence in the party to hamstring Corbyn despite the Blairite exodus.
Makes sense if they do have the numbers (but only an insider would know). It explains the large defection and abstention of working class Labour voters. It raises the spectre of a tribal divide between the two classes within UK Labour.
That theory might be correct if Labour supporters had voted Tory rather than stayed at home. They didn't.
I'm seeing sufficiently evidence of workers voting Tory. This analysis from Vox puts the shift around 6% in working class electorates…
"Educated urban professionals have drifted left and the working classes have tiled right, a shift that social scientists attribute to the rising importance of immigration and identity issues in European politics. In Britain, Brexit supercharged this long-running process, as highly educated city dwellers tended to oppose Brexit (making them more likely to vote Labour) while rural and less educated voters tended to support it (making them more likely to vote Conservative)."
"The 2019 election results reflected the post-Brexit realignment. Labour was absolutely devastated in its traditional working class constituencies (the UK equivalent to congressional districts), with the Conservatives — long caricatured as the parties of the rich — making historic inroads. “The resounding Conservative victory was driven by a dramatic swing of working-class support away from Labour,” as the Financial Times put it in a post-election data analysis."
“In seats with high shares of people in low-skilled jobs, the Conservative vote share increased by an average of six percentage points and the Labour share fell by 14 points. In seats with the lowest share of low-skilled jobs, the Tory vote share fell by four points and Labour’s fell by seven,” the FT said in its analysis. “The swing of working class areas from Labour to Conservative had the strongest statistical association of any explored by the FT.” https://www.vox.com/world/2019/12/13/21004755/uk-election-2019-jeremy-corbyn-labour-defeat
so Brexit…..although the reported widespread dislike of Corbyn (the personality) may have contributed. Will be interesting to see how the Labour party deal with such a fundamental conflict
Interesting, thanks. Wasn't the overall swing higher than 6%?
"General election results 2019 – national swing
Labour to Conservative: 4.70%
Conservative to Lib Dem: 1.36%
Labour to Lib Dem: 6.06%"
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/who-won-general-election-2019-21067495
The 6% who deserted Labour for the LibDems are presumably remainers…
Also worth considering: "How did Labour come to squander the promise of its unexpectedly good result in 2017? A central part of the explanation was dither and delay on Brexit, which meant that Labour lost ground with both leavers and remainers. Some early analysis from Datapraxis suggests that nearly half of the Labour seat losses could be attributed to losing more remainers to other parties than the size of the Tory majority in leave seats. By attempting to triangulate, Labour convinced leavers it was for remain and remainers that it was for leave. The party looked cynical and opportunistic, as if it were playing games on Brexit to secure electoral advantage, rather than sticking to its principles or standing up for the national interest." https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/16/labour-2017-2019-corbyn-brexit-election
This one is more explicit on the class divide within Labour, and provides historical context to document the trend: "This was not the first election in which more working class voters backed the Tories rather than Labour. They did so in 1983—the year of Margaret Thatcher’s landslide victory—and in 2017. But the gap was just two points in both elections. This time there was 15-point gulf: Conservative 48 per cent, Labour 33 per cent. The Tory lead among middle-class voters was less: 12 points."
"However, as with Labour’s heartland decline, last week’s election accelerated a long-term trend. In 1970, when Edward Heath led the Tories back to government, the Conservatives enjoyed a 45-point lead among middle-class voters, while Labour led by 22 per cent among working-class voters. Combining the two figures, the “class gap” was 67 points (45 plus 22). Nine years later, when Thatcher came to power, the class gap had fallen to 47 points: a middle class Con lead of 36 per cent, compared with a working-class Lab lead of 11 per cent. The class gap slipped to 28 points in Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide and 14 points when David Cameron secured his overall majority in 2015. Last week the class gap was minus three: it had gone into reverse."
https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/five-crucially-important-but-frequently-ignored-facts-about-the-2019-election-labour-conservatives-brexit-corbyn-johnson
Interesting that 1983 result…it will have been around the time of increased industrial action in UK. I am assuming that the unions functioned much the same in the UK as here in that period and there was always a significant proportion of National voting union members here,' shy Tories ' although some not so shy, and their numbers grow during protracted industrial action as the lack of income bites. It is one reason why compulsory union membership is not the panacea its often painted as.
As big Norm Kirk once put it, “paralysis by analysis”.
People are still dealing with the debris but the result is clear.
As many a losing general has done you assess the landscape post-battle, husband your resources, seek allies and opportunities, and strategise the next campaign.
https://duckduckgo.com/l/?kh=-1&uddg=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.historynet.com%2Fsecond-punic-war-hannibals-war-in-italy.htm
[With the assumed understanding and agreement of the commenter, I have changed the user name and e-mail to the ones we had settled on (I thought); https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19-12-2019/#comment-1674546 – Incognito]
Owen Jones in the Guardian gets it right:
"Voters didn’t defect from Labour because they felt the top 5% were paying enough tax, or because they thought our privately run railway system was a shining success, or because of their affection for sky-high tuition fees…. In January, YouGov asked why voters with previously favourable opinions of Corbyn had changed their mind. About three-quarters of the responses were linked to Brexit, which dominated all political discourse after 2017 and smothered discussion of Labour’s popular domestic policies. Labour was tortured about how to keep its 2017 coalition of remain and leave supporters together, and was paralysed as a result."
Brexit, the mendacious and continuous right-wing media attacks on Corbyn (especially the anti semitic rubbish) and a poorly focused campaign was why Labour lost.
IMO it's as much about the qaulity of their advisers and strategists then the front person who often doesn't get to set the agenda.
Tories were laser focused, labour all over the place with JC tasked to deliver it.
Yep-the Tories seem to have got the nice simple message and back room strategy together better than Labour.
This must be the case because, as Gwynne Dyer says, the Labour Red Wall seats were turkeys voting for xmas.
Brexit was go in to happen, or be stopped by…. ..well Labour. So Corbyn decided to do nothing, instead of accepting the decision of the people and stopped fighting. That's just staggering in heinsight. Given he could of, after accepting half of his pro exit party decision, he then offered a referendum on full integration, drop the pound, to assuage his remainers. no, instead he vacilated and lost. He should of resigned but Labour just doesn't do leadership anymore.
There's a good in-depth analysis here: https://quillette.com/2019/12/13/britains-labour-party-got-woke-and-now-its-broke/
"A friend of mine was standing as the Conservative candidate in Newcastle upon Tyne North, where the Labour incumbent won a 10,000 majority two years ago, and I knocked on a few doors for him last week. Every person I spoke to said they were going to vote Tory. In some cases, it was because they wanted to “get Brexit done,” which has been the Conservatives’ endlessly repeated campaign slogan over the past six weeks, but in others it was because of their visceral dislike for Labour’s leader.
“Most people I know who used to be staunch Labour are now saying no way Jeremy Corbyn,” said Steve Hurt, an engineer. “It’s not our party any more. Same label, different bottle.”
"According to the activist I was with, that had been the reaction wherever he went. He had knocked on 100 doors in a council estate earlier that day and all but three people he’d spoken to told him they intended to vote Conservative—and this in a city where 26 per cent of the population are among the most deprived in England. I asked why, if these electors disliked Corbyn, they didn’t simply abstain? Why were they planning to brave the elements on a cold day in December to vote for a party led by an old Etonian toff? “Because they hate Corbyn that much,” he said. “The biggest message they can send to him is to elect a Tory government.” It’s the same story across England—working class electors deserting Labour en masse."
I recommend First Dog On The Moon's awards if you have a spare moment – sorry can't link from this wretched device.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/18/the-greta-thunberg-lovely-award-for-driving-bitter-old-white-men-apoplectic-goes-to-
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/11/theres-an-unprecedented-environment-catastrophe-and-the-greens-still-cant-get-votes
😎
Tnx
Read it Stuart-thanks for the tip. Excellent.
Post-campaign analysis from Lord Ashcroft's Conservative Home.
"Labour’s civil war is set to get worse before it gets better."
https://www.conservativehome.com/leftwatch/2019/12/labours-civil-war-is-set-to-get-worse-before-it-gets-better.html
Would you like me to change the other comment that you posted as Agora to the correct user name and e-mail address or shall I move it to the Trash folder?
I'm glad to see you are in good form. I was worried you may be some kind of AI or bot. Please go ahead.
Which option do you prefer? I’m doing this as a service to the site.
Thanks Incognito – did I wish you Merry Christmas? If already, then feel free to have double.
I’m doing this as a service to the site.
Thank you for your efforts. You bring a lot of patience to your moderation, in fact the patience you display in consistently treating Paaparakauta/Agora/etc as though he weren't an obnoxious arsehole sets a standard I'd never have a chance of meeting.
Thank you 🙂
My ‘philosophy’ is that we tend to see only the tip of the iceberg when people comment here in terms of their overall personality. By analogy, some people transform into frothing maniacs brimming with (road) rage when they crawl/climb behind the wheel.
I don't think this is right. There is certainly no appetite in the UK Labour party to go back to Blairism.
A new younger woman leader*, the end of the Brexit debate and more focussed communication of basically the same policies will see Labour sweep home in 5 years time after the public has found Boris out.
*though Kier Starmer is very good. Deputy leader?
Do you mean that they will try to sweep up the debris of the broken UK? Perhaps they will develop some vitality and enjoyment of life and each other as in the Greeks dancing Zorba in the street and breaking plates. That debris represents all sorts of confusing feelings that probably match the confusing feelings that led to an outpouring of desire for change, any change and the cutting of ties to Europe was chosen.
Greeks breaking plates – It meant that the couple were throwing away their old life and embarking on a new life together. Smashing plates could fool the spirits. It was believed that breaking plates would keep the evil spirits at bay because they would believe the people involved were angry and upset—instead of celebrating. https://holidappy.com/party-planning/Why-do-Greeks-smash-plates-at-weddings
Gwynne Dyer writing from the UK casts a bright light on the doings and faintings there. https://lfpress.com/opinion/columnists/dyer-english-turkeys-vote-for-christmas-with-brexit-election
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwynne_Dyer – Good read!
Back when his column got reproduced in the NZ Herald he was usually accurate. Hasn't lost that faculty: "the English turkeys marched bravely up to the chopping block, confident this would be a Christmas to remember."
"Boris Johnson’s big victory in Thursday’s “Brexit election” was achieved almost entirely with English votes. Only 20 of the 364 seats won by the Conservative Party were in the other three nations of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom will continue to be called that for several years, but this election has sounded its death knell. It was the votes of English nationalists who gave Johnson his victory, and they don’t really care if the U.K. survives. Just as well, because it won’t."
For a while Swordfish came to mind. Both show an addiction to studying the figures for accuracy and truth – crystal balls not allowed.
"More than half of Europeans believe the EU is likely to collapse within a generation, despite support for the bloc hitting heights not recorded in more than a quarter of a century.
In France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Romania, Greece, the Czech Republic and Poland, a majority of people surveyed thought EU disintegration was a “realistic possibility” in the next 10 to 20 years."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/15/majority-of-europeans-expect-end-of-eu-within-20-years
Yes good read-thanks. He is right about Johnson being a hard-right operator hidden under a buffoon act.
I think if Scotland and Northern Ireland leave, which as Dyer says is likely, the English will turn on the Tories for breaking up the union. Labour should be a shoe-in in 5 years time.
Watching the ageing of NZ and people who have been prominent; the cracks start and widen. Those who have concentrated on their personal projects without thinking about ethics and the affects on their own psyche, mental health and the goodness to society of their addictive focus may find eventually they can not slide away unnoticed.
Sir Ron Brierley – arrested. About – https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018727628/brierley-biographer-not-surprised-by-child-porn-arrest
In NZ Herald today – Gloriavale's shame: Second senior member convicted of child sex offending
Eric Watson's Cullen Group in liquidation https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12295218
* Eric Watson's Cullen Group has been moved into liquidation by court order, meaning it might no longer fight a $112 million tax judgment against it….
* Eric Watson loses appeal, can't avoid interest on £43 million payment to Sir Owen Glenn
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/search-results?q=Brierley
Attention: The Chairman
As you know, Moderators draw attention to their moderation notes and to bans in particular. There is an obvious reason for this, which is that moderation, in general, aims to be instructional, to encourage self-moderation and self-correction, and to (slightly) change behaviour on this site. However, the onus is on the commenters to read all the replies to their comments and respond accordingly and appropriately.
FYI, you were informed on 8th Dec: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-30-11-2019/#comment-1671692 and you can see the reasons here: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-30-11-2019/#comment-1669902
Sir Ron Brierley and Eric Watson.
Two of our worst capitalists, ruined.
Great end to 2019 in 1% land.
Shows how corrupting capitalism is in excess.
One so greedy many states want a part of him. And the other caught with kiddy porn – not just any old kiddy porn (sick as that is) – but really violent kiddy porn.
Couldn't agree more.
You have to hope that in February the Court of Appeal (and then the Supreme Court?) upholds the High Court's decision on the Cullen Group. Though this pales into insignificance compared to the $114m tax plus penalties owed by Watson. (Unless this is also subject to appeal-anyone out there know?)
The rich are often (nearly always) not the best of us.
So granting them supreme power isn't a great plan.
Peaches – The Presidents of the United States of America (Music Video)
We can do something to help a previous helper who nursed burns victims from Whakaari Island.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/Whakaari-White-Island/405750/whaakari-white-island-nurse-who-helped-victims-sheila-cheng-killed-in-car-crash
A very sad death to add to the toll. Help the helper.
Sheila Cheng was killed in a car accident in the Bay of Plenty on Saturday, and her husband is in Waikato Hospital…
The nurse's friend Amanda Lorin said it is every family's worst nightmare.
A Givealittle page she set up to raise funds for the family has raised over $2000.
…Sheila was an experienced intensive care nurse who had worked in Taiwan, training others, before coming to New Zealand more than two years ago.
…Shelia had just gained a doctorate in nursing and started work at Whakatāne Hospital two months ago."She knew exactly what she was doing and I think they saw her as an angel that was sent because she knew so much about these burns victims."
A Xmas present for the left? Or, at least, the promise of one.
In his speech to parliament yesterday Winstone said NZ First has 'new information' on National Party fundraising and "we're coming for you."
Here's hoping. At around the ten minute mark.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/watch-parliament/ondemand?itemId=210859
What happened with NZF irregularities? Have we forgotten about that now?
It stopped being relevant to National so it got dropped by the media?
Update: "The report determines that “on the balance of probabilities, the emails … did not contain any attached document detailing her allegation of sexual assault by the respondent.” https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/18-12-2019/worst-nightmare-labour-staffer-complainants-respond-to-dew-report/
Most people determine whether or not an email has a file attached. Lawyers apparently prefer to differ. Opine on the balance of probabilities rather than report the fact. They must have learnt the utility of the Schrodinger's cat thought experiment from physicists. However physicists use equations to calculate probabilities, such as whether the cat is alive or dead. They don't just refer to some kind of subjective guess and call it a balance.
“There is no reference in Dew’s report to the email sent to the Labour panel on April 26 which seeks “an update on the investigation” and stresses: “Just adding the seriousness of the situation here, an accusation of sexual assault, manipulation, bullying and emotional abuse.””
“Nor is there any reference to another email, dated June 11, sent to the three members of the investigation panel, in which the complainant directs them to “attached … notes of testimony”. The attached document, as previously reported by The Spinoff, contains clear reference to her allegation: “SEXUAL ASSAULT occurred February 2018”.”
Why would anyone expect a QC to acknowledge evidence? Authority figures are appointed to announce personal opinion as verdict. So the Spinoff journalists saw the file attached to the email, but the QC couldn’t care less. And folks wonder why the justice system is in disrepute…
🍑 on both counts: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Interesting play from Gabbard; voting present instead of yes or no.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/president-donald-trump-impeached_n_5df97044e4b08083dc5b1802
230 – 197 on abuse of power, two Dems voted with all the Repugs, they're from districts Tangerine Tantrump solidly won in 2016.
229 – 198 on obstruction of Congress; the splitter was Jared Golden of Maine 2nd district (heavily rural and solidly for Genghis Don in 2016).
Justin Amash (independent, formerly Repug from Michigan) voted to impeach on both counts.
Gives her a unique selling point for the dems to select on, I guess.
Angling for a talking head gig at Fox or One America News Network?
As a fallback plan that's an idea, but I was still thinking more like "dolt supporters don't hate me because I'm not partisan, so I can beat the orange one".
But I reckon you might be more correct, the way she called the impeachment "partisan".
I can't believe she's so deluded she thinks there's a viable route to the White House. Looks to me like she's keenly aware of who her audience is and is playing them consciously and expertly.
But she must be aware the sum total of convergence moonbats, second-option bias fantasists, alt-lefties etc is tiny. The alt-righters, middle-finger voters, David Dukes and other deplorables aren't going to vote for her while they've still got the waddling spray-tan warning label to vote for. Nor will the tribal Repugs whose only voting criteria is what's got an (R) next to its name, even if it's the mouldering three-weeks-dead corpse of a brothel-keeper.
Interesting times if they expect the badly behaved tenant to depart as instructed.
Nobody is expecting the outcome to be the departure of the Combover Con.
But impeachment still serves a bunch of purposes.
First, if trying to extort a foreign country by withholding congress approved taxpayer funded aid to pressure that foreign country into smearing a domestic political opponent isn't so unacceptable to merit impeaching, then where's the line?
Next, it further helps clarify what a bunch of spineless craven toadies the current crop of Repug senators really are.
For the sake of those on phones that don't want to deal with a massive comment I'll leave it there …
My favourite is if they keep investigating everything, any mismatch between his financial transactions and his tax returns will be made public. And while the repugs can protect him from federal crimes, their reach at a state level varies wildly.
I'm sure NY will be very interested, for example. I really like the idea of him defending completely legitimate fraud charges to his grave.
There's already enough stuff in public that would have buried any other pollie. Like the differences in property valuations he told his lenders and what he told local authorities. I'd be astonished if there weren't already things in progress on those issues. But they won't do anything to constrain his behaviour while he remains in office.
Sad but true.
He's getting worse.
Is there no end to this hysterical, historical sexual accusation witchhunt thing?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12295303
Arthur Allan Thomas, the man pardoned of the infamous 1970 Crewe murders, has been charged with historical sexual offending.
The 81-year-old's case was called today in the Manukau District Court where Judge Charles Blackie ordered his interim name suppression to lapse.
Thomas faces four charges of indecent assault and one count of rape….
The allegations are historical in nature and relate to two complainants, who have automatic name suppression, and recently came forward to police.
Extensive suppression orders, however, remain and prevent the Herald from publishing further details, such as the date and place of the alleged offending.
But Thomas' name is not suppressed. The women have been stewing about this for years and can apparently make a case. But there must be a limit. The justice and rightness together need to be carefully looked at.
It is different about institutions. With institutions, and Catholic or other priests, the institution is also on trial along with its procedures. Has it known and there been a hush-hush acceptance, which needs examination and its lack of responsibility to those under its care.
That 27 year old who has held a woman by the neck for heightened sexual effect, he is still not named is he. And he definitely killed that silly woman, and he is responsible for the force that she died from. Why isn't his name openly available, or has NZ suddenly become too dainty to cope with sexuality? We are a farming nation, and live by procreation. Strange attitudes.
Murdering somebody by forcefully strangling them for at least 5 minutes isn't anything to do with sexuality.
Probably could have worded that better … deliberately murdering someone isn't sexuality.
But there is so much wrong with Grey's post – Psycho Milt and others spell out some of them. I don't think Greywarshark thinks of women as actual people.
Grey I can't believe it. are you really referring Grace Millane as "that silly woman" or I have misunderstood what you are saying? Surely I have misunderstood. If not I think the moderators here need to take a look at this.
The police have taken a case against Thomas based on the evidence the complainants presented. The Crown lawyers must feel there is a case to answer.
No, you haven't misread it. This moran just called an innocent murder victim "that silly woman" 🙄
Moderator please.
No there isn't, and nor should there be, but interesting why you would rape apologise your comment with the use of 'hysterical' and 'witch hunt' to describe sexual assaults and rape.
That 27 year old who has held a woman by the neck for heightened sexual effect, he is still not named is he. And he definitely killed that silly woman, and he is responsible for the force that she died from. Why isn't his name openly available, or has NZ suddenly become too dainty to cope with sexuality? We are a farming nation, and live by procreation. Strange attitudes.
Oh, strange fucking attitudes alright. That is the strangest I've seen for a while.
1. He didn't "hold a woman by the neck," he strangled a woman to death.
2. The heightened sexual effect was for him. What she wanted or didn't want can't be known.
3. Calling his victim "that silly woman" is seriously fucked up.
4. His name isn't openly available because he appealed the dropping of name suppression and NZ has rule of law, not because NZ is "too dainty to cope with sexuality."
5. Murdering someone isn't "sexuality"
6. Murdering someone isn't "procreation," in fact it's kind of the opposite.
As incredulous as posts like that are, and as much as I detest reading bullshit rape culture apologist nonsense, they do at least serve a purpose in letting us know who walks among us.
Job done, but probably not in the way the Nelson nibbler expected.
psycho Milt 100%
"Silly woman" wtf???
Disgraceful comment.
I think its quite neat that you can imPEACH a NUT!