The US Justice Department will phase out use of privately owned prisons, citing safety concerns.
Contracts with 13 private prisons will be reviewed and and allowed to expire over the next five years.
“They do not save substantially on costs and … they do not maintain the same level of safety and security,” Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates said explaining the decision.
The majority of US prisoners are held in state-run prisons.
On Wall Street, the stocks of private prison companies declined sharply after the news was announced.
By Thursday afternoon, Corrections Corp stock had plunged by nearly 50%.
An Inspector General’s report released this month found that private prisons saw higher rates of violent incidents and rule infractions in comparison with government-run institutions.
In November 2009, an expanded panel of 9 judges of the Israeli Supreme Court ruled (in an eight to one decision) that privately run prisons are unconstitutional.
As usual NZ is playing catch up with other nations who have tried and failed with turning state agencies into private ones. We obviously are too arrogant and think we can do it when others have failed. Ideology is failing us in every direction in this country from education to health and corrections.
A snippet which offers hope. Nats should take note.
‘U.S. Justice Department says it will end use of private prisons
The Justice Department plans to phase out its use of private prisons after they were determined to be less safe and less effective that government facilities, The Washington Post reports.’ http://thehill.com/
Helen said something like..’Only the democratically elected state has a mandate to incarcerate people- not commercially motivated private companies or individuals.’
If even the US now realizes this axiom, how long will it take the English/Key cabal to catch up with what the civilized world already knows.
This is a comment particularly for Anne; here is a recent video on how long term climate change is now affecting the specific day to day and week to week weather system behaviours that we are now seeing in the world.
Thanks again CV. I was transported back to a former life. He also did a cracking good job explaining what Climate Change actually is for the uninitiated.
NZ Women at Rio : seems to me that we have quite a few women winning medals – has anyone done a count of how many medals the men have won, and how many the women have won ? Would be interested to know ……
What I like, as opposed to some of the coverage coming in from overseas, is that we give proper dues to our female athletes whereas in places like the USA mens performances are glamourised over their female counterparts.
Coca-Cola’s second largest bottling plant in India has been shut down
The bottling plant in Hapur has been under scrutiny by the National Green Tribunal India’s ‘Green Court ‘ since 2015, and a number of inspections by government regulators have found the plant to be flouting environmental laws in India, and also operating without valid licenses, or No Objection Certificate (NOC).
The Indian govt seems to be doing some interesting things,
Monsanto is losing millions on failed GM cotton. The company illegally pushed a form of Bt cotton into India and Africa more than a decade ago, but farmers are now pushing back by planting their own indigenous seed.
Monsanto is accused of writing laws and then breaking them to enter the market in India, but after more than 300,000 farmer deaths between 1995 and 2013, many of them attributed to Monsanto, the company is finally paying for their misdeeds. The corporation’s greed is linked to farmer suicides throughout Maharashtra, considered the ‘Cotton Belt’ in India.
The Indian government is now actively promoting the use of indigenous seed, and has called Monsanto out for profiteering illegally on Bt cotton seed.
Monsanto has already lost nearly $75 million in royalties this year (5 billion rupees) due to the change in seed choice by farmers. Sales in India have fallen by 15 percent, and though this is a relatively small market share, it is still making a huge impact on the company’s bottom line.
A question from me after reading the Mother Jones story I linked to above:
Why are prisons sex segregated? Spanish prisons allow conjugal visits every 4-8 weeks. They are experimenting with family cells to keep families together if both parents are in jail and they have children under three, Spanish prisons have separate mens and womens wings, but the inmates mix in work and sometimes even marry,
Now, thinking about it, if a man is convicted of a domestic violence crime why do we send him to a all-male, hyper-aggressive environment? How will that challenge his attitudes towards woman? Surely, strictly supervised interaction with women in prison (for example, in anger management sessions wouldn’t it be handy to have a few women inmates there to describe how they feel when assaulted?) would be much better? Surely, allowing sexual activity via conjugal visits would have a major impact on sexual assault inside prisons?
My views on this are similar to posh, single sex private schools. Is sending your kids to an all white, decile 10, mono cultural, single sex school really the best way to prepare them for lives in a multi cultural society? Or is it just a way to try and preserve class based advantage for a clearly identifiable social minority? I am pretty sure it is for the latter. Personally, I would abolish all single sex and private schools completely and make it a requirement that schools reflect as accurately as possible the socioeconomic and ethnic mix of a 10km radius.
And if I reason like that for schools, why then would I reason any differently about prisons?
Girls schools emphasis seems to be at the 40th percentile. Boys schools emphasis seems to be at the 90th percentile (and sports stars).
It means more girls pass, but boys fill the top spots.
If your boy is top-notch academically send him to a boys schools, if he is top-notch at sport send him to a boys school, if he is neither send him coed.
Well CV , I finally have found something I disagree with you on(apart from Trump by a landslide – there just aren’t enough redneck white males to get him there).
I think boys need the interaction with females to grow up as better balanced citizens.
I have taught at both a boys and a coed and I know which I prefer. In an all boys school Sport is paramount and used as bribery.
I think Sanctuary’s comments re schooling are spot on.
The hypocrisy and vacuousness of the right wing National Party member mind is something to behold …….
We have the steel suppliers who were all happy with the free market at play in the Chch rebuild when they made gold out of their steel through demand and supply driving prices from around $2-3 kg up to $7-8 kg.. oh yay they went, smiling all the way to the bank, driving around in new utes, buying new boats, aint it great this unfettered free market …
… yet when supply from China drives those prices back down to where they used to be there is all manner of wailing and gnashing of teeth and crying to mummy in the government for some help..
… pathetic
Same with employers in the regions making their wares and voting for the free market and voting for the free market National Party ….
… yet when they need a component for their business, namely labour, all semblance of the free market is abandoned for more crying and tears….. instead of paying more for what they need…
… pathetic
its called the free market business people, the free market. You voted for it. Man up and live with it, you are pathetic with your whingeing
“It makes no sense that the government is continuing to push the TPPA legislation through Parliament even though it would add huge costs from extending copyright from 50 to 70 years and strengthening patent rights. The benefits will go to big foreign corporations – New Zealand innovators and consumers will lose out.
The research and evidence on TPPA is shoddy, with superficial analysis written or commissioned by MFAT to support their position. This contrasts with more thorough reports done in the US by the International Trade Commission that found virtually no economic benefit for the US, and a recent draft report by the Australian Productivity Commission that concluded the TPPA provisions would inhibit innovation and raise costs.
In New Zealand, a series of expert peer-reviewed papers have raised serious questions about the TPPA, and highlighted the economic costs and problems such as restrictions on the government’s right to regulate (see https://itsourfuture.org.nz/tppa-research/).
The TPPA is in big trouble in the US, and there is a huge majority of the public against it, as well as the two leading Presidential candidates. There is time for New Zealand to re-think its involvement in the TPPA and undertake proper research. The more we find out about this agreement, the more concerns that it raises. When we see the objective evidence, the government will have to agree with the majority of the public and reject the TPPA.
Or if they don’t, the voters of New Zealand will have their chance at the next election to support political parties that reject the TPPA and similar agreements, and get rid of the provisions in exising treaties that allow foreign investors to sue our government.”
These are the full prepared remarks from Trump a couple of days ago. He was relentlessly on message, regretting his more offensive remarks, nailing his rationale hard:
“How Bloomberg spun their own poll data to make Clinton seem inevitable”
Clinton 6 points ahead of Trump said the Bloomberg headline.
(Except when you look at the four way data between Clinton, Trump, the Libertarians and the Greens, Clinton was actually only 2 points ahead i.e. in a statistical tie with Trump).
Yeah, that’s happened a number of times over the last week or two. Headlines based on the two-way rather than four-way data, thus exaggerating Clinton’s lead.
Similar in the UK – in the last couple of days, there’s been some dodgy reporting of a BMG Poll on Corbyn vs Smith as Labour leader. Among people who voted Labour in 2015, Corbyn beats Smith marginally (by 4 points – 52% vs 48%). But among people currently intending to vote Labour at the next General Election, Corbyn wins by a massive 32 points (66% vs 34%).
A number of UK media outlets (along with prominent poll analyst-twitters with strong anti-Corbyn tendencies) have focussed solely on the 52/48 split, strongly implying that these are the figures for current Labour supporters.
Dunno but the DNC CEO, chair, communications director and CFO all resigned in disgrace over it, so they were all involved in screwing the scrum against Bernie.
well, bad-mouthing the fuck out of him in emails to each other. A bit like how that general lost his job after badmouthing the president when the embedded rolling stone journo was in the room.
Didn’t affect the number of votes Sanders got in the primaries, though.
Oh I see McFlock. The DNC’s cheating doesn’t count as cheating unless it affected things on the ground?
Well, for starters it lends credence to Sanders supporters complaints that from the very start that voter registration and polling booth management was slanted against them.
You haven’t demonstrated any cheating. A lot of griping and unprofessional emails, but nothing that affected the election.
It doesn’t “lend credence” to anything, unless D W-S was personally handling voter registrations or managing a polling booth. Do the parties even have anything to do with polling booth management or voter registration? Because at least some seem to be run by state boards of elections.
Trump campaign has curtained off most of this large convention hall in Charlotte for this rally: pic.twitter.com/x7uuPl3icp— Jenna Johnson (@wpjenna) August 19, 2016
Hillary doesn’t really need to do another rally. She’s already won. If big numbers at rallies was the decider, Bernie Sanders would have won the Democrat nomination, because he sure packed ’em out. But, in the real world, it’s votes that count and most voters make their mind up via their favourite media, not down at the town hall. The big rallies to come will really be aimed at maxing out the win. That’s about Democrat senators, congressman and governors. The real victory will be winning back control of the house and senate and taking the governorships in states that haven’t been democrat in years. That’ll be Trump’s legacy; handing the Democrats near total control of the political apparatus.
I suspect you’re going to very quiet in November, oh great sage. But I for one won’t be rubbing it in when you do reappear. We all make mistakes. The point is to not repeat them too often or too publicly.
From the Washington Post, about the top revelations from the DNC emails:
1) Targeting Sanders’s religion?
On May 5, DNC officials appeared to conspire to raise Sanders’s faith as an issue and press on whether he was an atheist — apparently in hopes of steering religious voters in Kentucky and West Virginia to Clinton. Sanders is Jewish but has previously indicated that he’s not religious.
2) Wasserman Schultz calls top Sanders aide a “damn liar”…
On May 17, after controversy erupted over the Nevada state Democratic convention and how fair the process was there, Wasserman Schultz herself took exception to Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver’s defense of his candidate’s supporters.
3) … and says Sanders has “no understanding” of the party
That wasn’t the only time Wasserman Schultz offered an unvarnished opinion about the Sanders operation. And in one late-April email, she even questioned Sanders’s connection to the party.
4) A Clinton lawyer gives DNC strategy advice on Sanders
When the Sanders campaign alleged that the Clinton campaign was improperly using its joint fundraising committee with the DNC to benefit itself, Clinton campaign lawyer Marc Elias offered the DNC guidance on how to respond.
5) Plotting a narrative about how Sanders’s campaign failed
On May 21, DNC national press secretary Mark Pautenbach suggested pushing a narrative that Sanders “never ever had his act together, that his campaign was a mess.”
After detailing several arguments that could be made to push that narrative, Paustenbach concludes: “It’s not a DNC conspiracy, it’s because they never had their act together.”
6) Mocking Sanders for his California debate push
One of the chief complaints from Sanders and his supporters was a lack of debates. They said the fact that there were so few was intended to help Clinton by reducing her opponents’ exposure and their chances to knock her down.
7) Wishing Sanders would just end it
Many of these emails came as it was clear Clinton was going to win — which makes the apparent favoritism perhaps less offensive (though Sanders supporters would certainly disagree).
But it’s also clear that there was plenty of cheerleading for the race to simply be over — for Sanders to throw in the towel so that Clinton could be named the presumptive nominee. The party, of course, was still supposed to be neutral even though the odds and delegate deficit for Sanders looked insurmountable.
8) Calling an alleged Sanders sympathizer a “Bernie bro”
The term “Bernie bro” — or “Berniebro,” depending on your style — over the course of the campaign became a kind of shorthand for the worst kind of Sanders supporter. These were the supporters who couldn’t be reasoned with and verbally assaulted opponents, sometimes in very nasty ways.
9) Criticizing Obama for lack of fundraising help — “That’s f—ing stupid”
While the Sanders emails have gained the most attention, some of the more interesting emails involve a peek behind to curtain of how party officials talk about fundraising and major donors — and even President Obama.
In one email on May 9, DNC mid-Atlantic and PAC finance director Alexandra Shapiro noted that Obama wouldn’t travel 20 minutes to help the party secure $350,000 in donations.
“He really won’t go up 20 minutes for $350k?” Shapiro wrote. “THAT’S f—ing stupid.”
10) 10) Flippant chatter about donors
In a May 16 exchange about where to seat a top Florida donor, Kaplan declared that “he doesn’t sit next to POTUS!” — referring to Obama.
“Bittel will be sitting in the sh—iest corner I can find,” responded Shapiro. She also referred to other donors as “clowns.”
Funny list, none of which expplains why Sanders didn’t win the nomination. It does explain the resignations, though – especially ripping shit out of Obama. Very similar to McChrystal.
Itemised response below, but TL:DR – all can be answered with some combinations of “In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email?” and “Did it effect the primary?”
1) Targeting Sanders’s religion?
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email? Did it effect the primary?
2) Wasserman Schultz calls top Sanders aide a “damn liar”…
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email? Did it effect the primary?
3) … and says Sanders has “no understanding” of the party
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email? Did it effect the primary?
4) A Clinton lawyer gives DNC strategy advice on Sanders
Did it effect the primary?
5) Plotting a narrative about how Sanders’s campaign failed
Did it effect the primary?
6) Mocking Sanders for his California debate push
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email? Did it effect the primary?
7) Wishing Sanders would just end it
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email? Did it effect the primary?
8) Calling an alleged Sanders sympathizer a “Bernie bro”
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email? Did it effect the primary?
9) Criticizing Obama for lack of fundraising help — “That’s f—ing stupid”
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email?
10) 10) Flippant chatter about donors
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email?
Um, if you win a two option democratic election, you are, by definition, the popular candidate. Sanders has got over it and showed that he understands the process and the real threat facing the people of the States (and the rest of us). You, on the other hand, not so much …
Repeating already forgotten attack lines doesn’t change the simple fact that Hillary Clinton won the nomination. More people voted for her than for her opponent. She campaigned and won. You’d better get used to that, because it’s going happen again in a couple of months.
No wonder the Clinton machine had to work so hard to exclude independent voters from their primaries.
Read and weep status quo supporting bros.
Right now the poll averages reported by both Real Clear Politics and the Huffington Post show Sanders with an average 11 percent lead over Trump, and Clinton ahead of Trump by a much narrower margin of 3 percent. The four latest polls that compare Sanders and Clinton all show Sanders ahead with margins of 12, 13, 13, and 4 percent.1 Clinton, in contrast, is ahead by 3, 2, and 6 points in three of the four polls and behind Trump by 3 points in the latest of the four; together these four polls produce an average Sanders lead of 10.5 points and a Clinton lead of 2 points.
cv why are you bringing up bernie – you support trump – are you really saying you’d have flip flopped between sanders and trump – that seems hardly credible.
Spotted at Trump's rally in Charlotte, NC: Man holding a "Citizen's Rule Book" and an 8-pointed star w/ 'Muslim': pic.twitter.com/62AcuuFEji— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) August 19, 2016
First thing that springs to mind is why are you linking to a story over a week old?
I think cannabis reform is inevitable and there is a huge appetite for more open access to medicinal cannabis right now.
If anyone is having a bob each way it is of course John Key who intimated during the week that cops ‘kind of’ turn a blind eye to recreational possession already. He worries about sending the wrong message through decriminalisation but isn’t the slightest bit concerned about sending the wrong message by stating cops currently enforce the law (or not) as they see fit.
I think we can all guess which type of person cops are likely to throw the book at…
If that’s the beat up from last week I understood perfectly clearly where Labour stand. They will move on medical csnnsbis as soon as in power and they will consider a referendum on general decriminalisation but it won’t be a priority eg not in their first hundred days. Don’t know why some people found that difficult to understand.
Don’t shoot the messenger. I merely put the question out there.
Moreover, Labour don’t require me to paint them as indecisive and contradictory, they’ve done a pretty good job of giving voters that impression themselves. They often grandstand against things, only to later go on and support them, albeit, with a few minor changes.
Don’t tell me. You’ve always voted Labour. As did your father, and your father’s father. Your family has always been Labour, but you can’t bring yourself to vote for them now because Andrew Little doesn’t smile enough.
One finds politicians often come and go. It’s the Party’s agenda that tends to remain. Unfortunately, Labour adopted a neo-liberal agenda long before Little came along and have yet to fully let go.
Therefore, it would be fair to say Labour parted with me. Nevertheless, still hoping they’ll find their Corbyn moment.
While there is no Corbyn in the NZ Labour Party, it doesn’t necessarily mean a Corbyn moment will never develop.
Labour being center left robs the party of that crucial point of difference (not merely fluffing around the edges as they do) while allowing National far greater opportunity to copy policy.
Moreover, it’s helping shift the whole political spectrum to the state now that the Greens are considered by a number to be far left, while reaffirming to voters there is no real alternative but to fluff around the edges. Helping to strengthen and cement in the neo-liberal view.
Additionally, this has disappointed and disenfranchised a number of voters, giving them the impression little changes, there is no brighter future regardless who one votes for. Thus. they no longer partake.
Bringing into question your assertion that we are better served at this point by letting Labour be centre left.
I’m not calling for extreme leftism. But Labour requires to show more of a point of difference. As they did with Kiwibuild, which was widely welcomed by voters.
This highlights voters are open to a more hands on Government where they feel the market is lacking (or, as the cannabis poll highlights, laws are deemed heavy handed and outdated).
I don’t know where you or CV are coming from on this.
While there are some areas where Labour today finds it important to meet a changed world at an appropriate junction, from what I understand the very core Labour values of the past around housing as a right and not a privilege, strong rights and representation for workers, and educational investment in the future for all Kiwis have not been a stronger priority in recent times than under the current Andrew Little lead Labour party.
I think there is a fair amount of Corbyn in Little and despite what the conservative media and blogosphere might have you believe, Little is very consistent on these things mentioned above.
I see socialist values in Little. I just don’t think he is a Corbyn. He has his own attributes though and I think we are better served at this poin by letting Labour be centre left (hopefully moving left), rather than expecting people to be who and what they are not. You can’t manufacture a Corbyn, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other good ways to be.
“While there are some areas where Labour today finds it important to meet a changed world at an appropriate junction, from what I understand the very core Labour values of the past around housing as a right and not a privilege, strong rights and representation for workers, and educational investment in the future for all Kiwis have not been a stronger priority in recent times than under the current Andrew Little lead Labour party.”
Well said. However, I somewhat disagree.
While it is important to meet a changed world at an appropriate junction, Labour have yet to identify that appropriate junction which also brings a significant number of voters along.
It’s good Labour is trying to improve rights and representation for workers but their educational investment falls short. As with their housing policy, it doesn’t go far enough mitigating offshore demand.
So while these may have not been a stronger priority in recent times than under the current Andrew Little lead Labour party, there is clearly more work to be done.
Andrew Little -Qualified Lawyer, -Union president- Labour. Got my vote against I’m relaxed … John -‘no but what I can say’ boy.
It’s interesting how the Nat trolls persist in using multiple questions and repetitive question marks. That’s Amway 101 strategy. (He who asks the questions controls the conversation). Zzzzz
I think it would depend on how they were doing with everything else. Lots of NZers support decriminalisation, but would not be too happy about it being prioritised over other things that are more important. I think the medical cannabis issue is more important and should be dealt with separately. I also think that the L/G govt will need to coax NZ left again not go hard out. Then there is the Peters issue.
btw Little didn’t say what a priority meant for Labour. The example he gave was not in the first hundred days. So you calling the first term a priority is about you not Labour. Just so we are clear.
“I think it would depend on how they were doing with everything else. Lots of NZers support decriminalisation, but would not be too happy about it being prioritised over other things that are more important.”
Hence, to be clear, my suggesting within the first term.
Moreover, surely Labour are capable of doing more than one thing at a time?
Coaxing NZ left again opens Labour up to falling short and looking indecisive. Often resulting in disappointing both the right and left.
Equal rights based on humanity not sexual orientation and the right to take natural substances that aren’t going to get you sent to jail – hmmm both rights to fight for imo and I don’t really see the binary of one verses the other. Your pettiness and privilege and ihatelabour colours are showing again cv and it ain’t pretty.
Labour was quite happy to lead the charge for gay marriage
Actually it was a private member’s bill that received cross-party support. It wasn’t exactly Labour policy. Nor were civil unions, although they were ministerial decisions. Helen Clark was about as committed to “gay marriage” as Litte is for marijuana legalisation.
Because it was the correct thing to do. And I’m sure the Greens, and even half of the nats, were pretty happy about it. They also voted for it. Hell, the most famous speech in support of it was an otherwise unremarkable nat talking about big gay rainbows.
I also liked how you could only respond to facts with a tone argument. Very illuminating.
Little’s and Labour’s priorities have been clearly spelt out several times, Weka. They are (not necessarily in this order) housing, education, good public health, jobs, and being fair to people (not just the 1%) .
“First thing that springs to mind is why are you linking to a story over a week old?”
Merely catching up with some older news.
Yes, there is a huge appetite for more open access to medicinal cannabis right now. Moreover, overwhelming support for a law change around recreational use/possession.
Unfortunately, Little personally doesn’t support a law change. However, he is open to a referendum, but doesn’t believe it’s a priority.
Considering how poorly Labour is polling while keeping in mind the strong support in the poll for a cannabis law change, perhaps Little should reconsider making it a priority?
I think he was referring to something in the previous comment that demonstrated Labour don’t listen (his interpretation). Not aimed at you, and the comment was a reply to yours.
Unfortunately, Little personally doesn’t support a law change. However, he is open to a referendum, but doesn’t believe it’s a priority.
Considering how poorly Labour is polling while keeping in mind the strong support in the poll for a cannabis law change, perhaps Little should reconsider making it a priority?
I’m pretty sure I do show respect, where it’s deserved. However, woman hating, lefty baiting, ableist, conservative misanthropes get very little respect from me at all. Get used to it.
Ah, well. It’s nice that you acknowledge she’s a winner, CV.
Speaking of jumped up authoritarians, hows Donald Trump going? I see he’s lost yet another leader from his team this morning. Maybe you should offer to take Paul Manafort’s place? You’re definitely his kinda guy (see list above).
You telling porkies about some rule I’ve apparently either laid down or adhere to there trp?
tsk-tsk.
Mind you, thanks to the torturous catch 22 that your assertion spawns, you won’t actually have to be self banning for six weeks in the interests of consistency or whatever….I mean, that would’ve been quite a thing, aye? 😉
The truth is the best defence, CV. I’ve never described your unpleasant traits inaccurately. They’re your comments, your opinions. If you don’t like being identified as a misogynist or ableist etc. don’t write the comments that show you to be those things.
No, clearly, you don’t get it. CV. You comment like an unrestrained arse and don’t like being called on it. Your expressed opinions are often deeply offensive to women, the old, unionists, the left and most recently, those you consider to be physically unfit to contribute to society in the way they choose. You don’t get to have it both ways. Express your hate filled opinions freely and get called on it from time to time or moderate your language so it’s not quite so obvious that you are a misanthrope.
You’ll have spotted that plenty of other righties can comment here without being deliberately offensive. Perhaps you can learn from them?
I made a decision. A decision is not a rule. eg – today I decided to put on red socks. That doesn’t mean a rule has been passed or laid down to the effect that red socks must be worn.
You’re behaving like a school yard bully – making shit up with the sole intention of abusing people.
It’s really fucking boring and unpleasant trp – one of the worst types of trolling.
Fair call, Bill. Apologies for getting the terminology wrong. It’s a decision, not a ruling. I respect your decision and will build on the precedent it sets where needed.
Some in Labour and a number of their cheerleaders often don’t like having their position questioned or critiqued. Thus, regularly pull out the old right wing troll line instead of genuinely taking it on board.
The guts of their behaviour is that they are so internally certain they both know more and know better than everyone else. Pretty arrogant for a declining party on track to come in somewhere around the 25% mark.
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Grant PearceThe effects of the current Australian bushfires in New South Wales and Queensland (and also again in California) are devastating and far-reaching. To date, the fires have resulted in several lives being lost and many homes and properties destroyed. Here in New Zealand, the impacts have been only ...
A passing comment in a post the other day about the labour force participation rates of older people prompted me to pull down the fuller data and see what we could see about various participation rates over the decades since the HLFS began in 1986. As it happens, the ...
Distract And Divert: The rise of what we have come to call “Identity Politics” represents the ideological manifestation of the ruling class’s objective need to destroy class politics, and of the middle-class’s subjective need to justify their participation in the process.THE RELIEF of the ruling class can only be imagined. ...
"I saw a newspaper picture,From the political campaignA woman was kissing a child,Who was obviously in pain.She spills with compassion,As that young child'sFace in her hands she gripsCan you imagine all that greed and avariceComing down on that child's lips?" ...
Dr Matt Boyd, Prof Michael Baker, Prof Nick WilsonThe Global Health Security Index which considers pandemic threats has just been published. Unfortunately, NZ scores approximately half marks (54/100), coming in 35th in the world rankings – far behind Australia. This poor result suggests that the NZ Government needs to ...
The Zero Carbon Act is inadequate, with a weak methane target designed to give farmers a free ride. But it turns out it could have been worse: Climate Change Minister James Shaw was so desperate to get National on board, he wanted to gut that target, and leave it in ...
The Herald reprints an Australian story on a couple of tragic deaths in Bali from drinking cocktails that had methanol in them. The story argues that methanol is likely the result of home distillation. But what the young tourists were experiencing was far from a hangover. They’d consumed a toxic cocktail ...
Last month, the police announced a trial of specialist roaming armed units, which would drive round (poor, brown) areas in armoured SUVs, armed to the teeth. When they announced the trial, they told us it was about having armed police "ready to attend major incidents at any time if needed". ...
Spain went to the polls today in the second elections this year, after the Socialists (who had come to power in a confidence vote, then gone to the polls in April) rejected the offer of a coalition with the left-wing PoDemos, and instead decided to gamble n a better outcome ...
A couple of days ago I attended (and spoke at) the University of Waikato’s “LearnFest” event. There were lots of talks and sessions on very diverse aspects of teaching, mostly at tertiary level. One was by Myra Williamson from Te Piringa Faculty of Law here at Waikato, on Contract Cheating ...
There will be a transit of Mercury – the planet Mercury will pass across the face of the Sun – taking place at sunrise in New Zealand on Tuesday, 12th November. It was by observing such an event 250 years ago that James Cook and his scientist colleagues were able ...
Since becoming the world’s first openly transexual mayor and member of parliament, Georgina Beyer has been recognised as a trailblazer for trans rights. Daphna Whitmore talks with her about where she sees the current trans movement We start out talking about legislation the government put on hold that would have ...
If FFNZ really put their faith in “Top Medical Journals” they would now be amending their billboards to recognise new research results. Image from FFNZ but updated to agree with the latest research. ...
National Messiah? Chris Luxon identifies himself as an evangelical Christian. If he is genuine in this self-characterisation, then he will take every opportunity his public office provides to proselytise on behalf of his faith. He will also feel obliged to bear witness against beliefs and practices he believes to be ...
I'm going to make a Reckless Prediction™ that the Tories have 'topped out' in the 'poll of polls' / Britain Elects multipoll tracker at about 38%, and in the next week we will start to see Labour creep up on them.In fact, we might just be seeing the start of ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Lizzie Marvelly: “I may have missed this… has @afterellen gone all terf-y? Or am I reading something incorrectly? “ https://twitter.com/LizzieMarvelly/status/1191840059105742849 After Ellen is a lesbian website that is unashamedly pro-lesbian, as you’d expect. So why is Ms Marvelly so bothered about lesbians having their ...
Did you know there once was a time when it was illegal to be a gypsy (aka Romani) in Britain?That was between 1530, when the Egyptians Act was passed, and 1856, when it was repealed.Amongst other things, the act forbade the entry of 'Egyptians' into England, ordered those already there ...
Some days I sit and think, “what will I write…?” What do you say when you get to 1000 posts? Maybe you just start where you are, diverge to where this all began, then offer a collection of reader’s favourite posts, and a few of your own? (And throw in ...
Counter-Puncher: The “activists” and “radicals” (his own words) from the Indian community who took such strong exception to Shane Jones’ remarks about Immigration NZ’s treatment of arranged marriages, may end up bitterly regretting their intervention. Jones is not the sort of person who turns the other cheek to his critics.SHANE ...
In the spirit of Remember, remember the fifth of November, let's keep this in mind FOREVER.
Oh dear. Extraordinary interview on PM with Andrew Bridgen and @EvanHD just now. Bridgen was defending Jacob Rees Mogg’s Grenfell comments. Evan asked him if JRM had meant to say he would have left ...
Collision Course? In conditions of ideological white-out, the international bankers’ “Woop-Woop! Pull Up!” warning may have come too late to save global capitalism.WHAT DOES IT MEAN when international bankers are more willing to embrace radical solutions than our politicians and their electors? At both the International Monetary Fund and the ...
Pertussis (whooping cough) is a conundrum. It is a disease that was described hundreds of years ago and the bacteria that causes it (Bordetella pertussis) isolated in 1906. We have had vaccines for about 80 years but this disease is defiant in the face of human immunity. I wanted to ...
The Zero Carbon Bill has just passed its third reading, uanimously. In the end, National supported it - but we all know they'll turn around and gut it the moment they regain power. Meanwhile, I guess ACT's David Seymour didn't even bother to show up. I am on record as ...
Dr Lindsay Robertson, Dr Jerram Bateman, Professor Janet HoekMembers of the public health community hold divergent views on how access to vaping products or electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products should be arranged. Some believe ENDS should be as widely available as smoked tobacco and argue for liberal ...
When the Police were trying to cover up for the National Party over Dirty Politics, they went all-in with their abuses of power. They illegally search Nicky Hager's house, violating his journalistic privilege and invading his privacy. They unlawfully acquired Hager's bank records. They did the same to left-wing blogger ...
Last month, in response to a wave of protests by Extinction Rebellion, the British government purported to ban their protests from the whole of London. It was a significant interference with the freedoms of expression and assembly, and another sign of the country's decline into tyranny. But now, a court ...
Last year, the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security reported on significant problems with the intelligence warrant system. While they were unwilling to declare any warrant "irregular" (meaning unlawful) due to the recent law change, they were also not willing to give the system a clean bill of health. Now, they've ...
The National Party has come out in support of encouraging greater vaccination uptake. But it sure isn’t the way I’d do it. National’s suggested docking the benefits of those on benefit whose kids aren’t keeping up with their vaccinations. Some in National have suggested extending that to payments under Working ...
Feeding The Flames: It is simply not enough to demand an end to “corruption”, or “inequality”, or the overbearing influence of the authorities in Beijing. These are just “lowest common denominator” demands: the sort of slogans that pull people onto the streets. They are not a plan.WHERE’S THE PLAN? Across ...
The labour market statistics have been released, and unemployment has risen to 4.2%. There are 115,000 unemployed - 11,000 fewer than when Labour took office. In that time the minimum wage has gone up by $2 an hour, which shows that the right's fears about increases causing unemployment are simply ...
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee has called for submissions on Andrew Little's tyrannicalTerrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill. Normally I encourage participation in the democratic process. I am not doing so in this case. Instead, I encourage all of you to boycott this submissions process, and to post ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzIf tiny concentrations of carbon dioxide can hold enough heat ...
Aviation is one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and within it, one of the fastest sources is elite travel: billionaires flitting around the world in their private jets, spewing excessive pollution into the atmosphere just so they can avoid mixing with us dirty peasants. But in ...
That's what we face if we don't stop climate change, according to a warning from 11,000 scientists:The world’s people face “untold suffering due to the climate crisis” unless there are major transformations to global society, according to a stark warning from more than 11,000 scientists. “We declare clearly and unequivocally ...
by Phil Duncan Here’s just a few of the kind of threats issued day in and day out against gender-critical women – feminists, marxists, etc – overwhelmingly by MEN (albeit men identifying as women). “Kill all Terfs”. “Shoot a Terf today”. “All terfs deserve to be shot in the head”. ...
This is the third of the synopses of parts of the opening chapter of John Smith’s Imperialism in the 21st Century (New York, Monthly Review Press, 2016). The synopsis and commentary below is written by Phil Duncan. Unlike the humble cup of coffee and t-shirt that we looked at in ...
Tom MooreTraditionally a food source and cutting tool, freshwater mussels/kākahi are now widely valued as water filters that help clean our waterbodies and maintain ecosystem health throughout Aotearoa. The improvement they provide in water quality can make it easier for other animals to live in streams and rivers, as ...
And to think he gave all the potential goodwill away with that moronic, cult-like statement (repeated ad nauseam by many National hardliners) that Key is quite simply “the greatest PM we ever had”…Installation complete: this was nothing ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is back in the House today for its second reading. While this isn't the final stage, its still effectively D-Day for the bill. Because today, at around 5pm, is when we're going to find out if it has a majority, whether National will support it or ...
Winston Peters is in court today, suing a bunch of former Minister and civil servants over their pre-election leak of his superannuation repayment. He's characterised the leak as malicious, and said that it is repugnant that his information was passed on to Ministers to use for political advantage. And he's ...
Murray CoxDo I have to finish my favourite genome? That’s an often-asked question. Geneticists generally strive to produce high-quality genomes that sequence every last gene, making full use of the state-of-the-art technologies coming on stream. Sequencing DNA means determining the order of the four chemical building blocks – called ...
Transformative Politics: The idea is to turn each recipient into an unwitting accomplice in their own transformation. From interested observer to hyped-up activist, sharing our messages promiscuously with ‘friends’. You’ll be part of an ever-expanding circulatory system, Jennifer, for the ideas that will win us the election.”JENNIFER SKITTERED her chair ...
The boycott is a fundamental tool of protest. By choosing who we buy from, we can send a message, and hopefully change corporate behaviour. Historically, boycotts have been effective, for example over apartheid in South Africa and Israel, in forcing divestment from Myanmar, and in ending bus segregation in the ...
Jan Rivers spoke at the Abortion Legislation Select Committee in favour of the bill, but in opposition to calls from other submitters to exchange the word ‘woman’ for ‘person’ throughout the bill. Jan is a supporter of the feminist group Speak Up For Women and has recently written an excellent ...
I checked my traffic stats:I was intrigued by 'monica29' - who was this very dedicated individual? I clicked on the link, to be greeted with ...Ho, hum.Spreadin' the word, spreadin' the word. Doesn't matter who hears it, as long as it gets out there. ...
There have been three polls since the election was announced, and I will shamelessly steal YouGov / UK Polling Report's Anthony Wells' summary of them:Survation – CON 34%, LAB 26%, LDEM 19%, BREX 12%, GRN 1% Ipsos MORI – CON 41%, LAB 24%, LDEM 20%, BREX 7%, GRN 3% YouGov ...
The following article is translated from Lutte Ouvrière, the weekly newspaper of the organisation usually known by the same name in France. When, for the second time this year, Chilean President Piñera announced an increase in the price of Metro tickets from 800 to 830 pesos, students in the high ...
Today, a worker contacted me asking if she could go to the police over her employer stealing thousands of dollars from her in unpaid wages. The employer also did not pay this worker’s taxes or student loan which amounts to tax fraud. As a workers rights activist, who founded the ...
Signed, Sealed, Delivered, They're Yours: Is there any person more vulnerable than a jilted lover on the rebound? Or, anything more certain than that the charmer, the predator, the glib spinner of lies and promises will seek such broken people out? Yes, of course, he will love every one of ...
Though Jonathan Romain is a fairly high profile Rabbi, writing in several papers and popping up on TV and the radio, this story doesn't seem to have made it to the Guardian yet, so I'll take the unusual step of linking the Stephen Pollard edited Jewish Chronicle:Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain ...
There's an election afoot, and that is when noted opinion formers such as myself get to make wild fools of ourselves by pretending we have the faintest idea what will happen.So, here is my absurdly optimistic prediction:Labour - 285Conservative - 262SNP - 53Lib Dems - 20PC - 5Ireland - 18 ...
Image Credit:Increase Social Media Traffic & Website Traffic I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your ...
Belinda CridgeI was reading my son a story last night. A great tale of derring-do of five mountaineers scaling the Matterhorn for the first time. One in the party had tried six times previously and failed, this was the last attempt before winter closed another season. They tried a ...
As introduced, the Zero Carbon Bill included an expansive secrecy clause, which would have covered virtually all decisions by the Climate Change Commission over our most important policy area. The Ministry for the Environment admitted this was a mistake (or as they put it, an "oversight"), and the select committee ...
Rachael Shaw, Victoria University of WellingtonWhen we think about animals storing food, the image that usually comes to mind is a squirrel busily hiding nuts for the winter. We don’t usually think of a small songbird taking down an enormous invertebrate, tearing it into pieces and hiding these titbits ...
. . NZ First’s success in putting the euthenasia bill to a public referenda may not be the victory they believe it to be. They may even have sounded the death-knell for a second Labour-NZ First-Green coalition. On 23 July this year, NZ First MP, Jenny Marcroft, submitted a Supplementary ...
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Justice New Zealand First is proud that a key Coalition Agreement commitment which will provide for a more transparent and effective criminal justice system has been realised. Legislation to establish the Criminal Cases Review Commission, an independent body focused on identifying and responding to possible miscarriages of ...
"Today we have made a choice that will leave a legacy... I hope that means that future generations will see that we, in New Zealand, were on the right side of history." - Jacinda Ardern, Third Reading of the Zero Carbon Bill ...
Darroch Ball, New Zealand First List MP A Member’s bill has been proposed that would provide income tax exemptions for all New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel while on operational deployment overseas. The Income Tax (Exemption for Salary or Wages of NZDF Members on Active Deployment) Amendment Bill proposed by New Zealand First ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have brought common sense to the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill, which passed its final reading in Parliament today. Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters says months of hard work went into negotiating a balanced ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First has listened to calls to recognise paramedics as registered health professionals under the Health Practitioners’ Competence Assurance Act (the Act).Today, the Coalition Government announced plans for paramedics to be registered as health practitioners under the Act, and the establishment of a ...
We began the week by commemorating the New Zealand Wars and celebrating a major increase in the number of teachers. Then, we were busy supporting offenders into work and getting our rail back on track after years of underinvestment. And that's just the start! ...
In October I was sworn in as the Mayor of Lower Hutt.It’s the privilege of my life to serve Hutt people as their Mayor. There is something really special to be able to serve the community where I was raised, and where I live. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Racing Racing Minister Winston Peters met with Korea Racing Authority Chairperson Nak Soon Kim in Seoul today to discuss closer cooperation between the New Zealand and Korean horse racing industries. As part of the visit to the Seoul Racecourse, Mr Peters witnessed ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $10 million to establish Otago as the centre of New Zealand’s creative digital industry over the next ten years, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “The initiative will bring us closer to the vision of ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)’s skills and employment programme will help young Otago people into long-term forestry careers, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. Te Ara Mahi will invest $63,000 in the 2020 school year to support eight 17 and 18 ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) will support local plans to revitalise and stimulate economic development opportunities in Otago, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The four Regional Economic Development Ministers have approved an in-principle investment of $19.9 million towards the region’s ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is pleased to have received the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) report on the Coalition Government’s Mycoplasma bovis eradication efforts, which shows significant progress in the fight against the disease. New Zealand First Spokesperson for Primary Industries, Mark Patterson, says the report’s findings ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development Hon David Parker, Minister for Trade and Export Growth The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing to support economic growth opportunities for Otago’s engineering and manufacturing sectors, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and Trade and Export Minister David Parker announced today. Almost $20 million ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters and his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, discussed in Seoul today opportunities to work more closely in the Pacific and the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Mr Peters and Minister Kang confirmed New Zealand and the ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development Hon Nanaia Mahuta, Minister for Māori Development The three marae in the historic Parihaka Pa complex in Taranaki have been upgraded to high speed broadband with the support of the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF), Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Connecting the ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence Minister of Defence Ron Mark will today launch the Advancing Pacific Partnerships 2019 Defence Assessment during a speech at Te Papa. The Assessment outlines how Defence will partner with our Pacific Island neighbours and invest in Pacific regional security architecture. The Plan aligns with the Coalition ...
A new Provincial Growth Fund investment could create about 80 new jobs in Gisborne over the next two years, turning a local small business into a “beacon of employment” in the process. Regional Economic Development Parliamentary Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau said the PGF’s Te Ara Mahi funding stream would provide $1.6m ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters will travel to the Republic of Korea and Japan next week. “The Republic of Korea and Japan are two of New Zealand’s closest partners in the region with whom we share common values and ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced today that New Zealand is leading a police support mission in Bougainville as the region prepares to vote in a non-binding referendum on its political future. “New Zealand has accepted an invitation ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is defending Immigration New Zealand (INZ) after it instructed officials to stop granting visas as an exception to instructions. He has also lashed out at immigrant leaders upset with the tightening of the rules, saying they had an “elevated sense of entitlement”. Members of ...
A change to the End of Life Choice Bill was passed in Parliament, meaning if politicians decide to vote for the law it must be approved by the public first. A binding referendum was a condition insisted on by New Zealand First, and Jenny Marcroft’s supplementary order paper (SOP) successfully ...
Groups involved with innovative fisheries research projects are encouraged to apply for government support in the latest funding round from the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures programme. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash says the SFF Futures funding is designed to be flexible enough to support small or large projects across a ...
The Government has fixed an issue affecting how Immigration New Zealand has processed visa applications for culturally arranged marriages, which will now see a consistent process applied which ensures people with legitimate arranged marriages can visit New Zealand while also preventing any rorting of the system. Earlier this year Immigration ...
The Royal Commission into the Attacks on Christchurch Mosques will report back on 30 April 2020 to give it more time to hear submissions and consider information, Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin announced today. The Royal Commission was originally scheduled to report back to Government by 10 December 2019. “There has ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Washington DC today to attend a ministerial meeting focused on defeating ISIS, and to continue pursuing New Zealand’s trade opportunities. Mr Peters will participate in a meeting of Foreign and Defence Ministers from key countries contributing to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. ...
The recently crowned Bird of the Year, the hoiho/yellow eyed penguin, is getting a much needed helping hand alongside more than 168 other community conservation projects announced Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage today. 168 community conservation projects throughout New Zealand are benefiting from $8 million in government grants, including $500,000 ...
Controls on assault rifles and semi-automatic firearms are to be broadened to include some types of pistols, under changes to a bill currently making its way through Parliament. Police Minister Stuart Nash has tabled a Supplementary Order Paper to the Arms Legislation Bill, which is currently before a Select Committee ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark will travel to Singapore today to conduct a counterpart visit and to co-chair the third annual Singapore-New Zealand Defence Ministers’ Meeting with his counterpart, Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen. “Singapore is one of our most important defence partners in the region, and our ...
Nelson’s Salisbury School is to be rebuilt, creating a modern and suitable learning environment for students at the residential special school, Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin announced today. The school for girls aged 8-15, in Richmond, was earmarked for closure by National until the process ...
The panel undertaking a comprehensive review of the Resource Management Act has identified the main issues to be addressed and options for reform and is calling for feedback to inform its final report. In July the Government announced the comprehensive review of the resource management system, including the RMA - ...
An important safety valve has been added to New Zealand’s criminal justice system with the third reading of the Criminal Cases Review Commission Bill today. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) will investigate claimed miscarriages of justice. “We’ve seen how our justice system can very occasionally get things spectacularly wrong, ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters welcomes the tabling of the Racing Industry Transition Agency (RITA) 2019 Annual Report in Parliament today. He says the 2019 Annual Report marks the point when New Zealand’s racing industry’s decline was arrested and a turnaround started. RITA’s 2019 Annual Report recorded an industry net profit ...
The New Zealand Government is today sending 21 firefighters to help fight the ongoing catastrophic Australian bushfires. “The fires in Australia are in some of the toughest, most challenging conditions ever,” says Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin. “As of yesterday morning, there were 100 active bushfire-related incidents across Queensland and ...
More frontline support for schools through a new education agency, as part of a redesigned Ministry of Education More support for principals and school boards including through a new centre of leadership and local leadership advisor roles New independent disputes panels for parents and students Management of school property ...
The Government’s reform of the Tomorrow’s Schools system is a watershed moment in education and an opportunity to create meaningful change for ākonga Māori and their whānau, Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis said today. “Last year through Kōrero Mātauranga | Education Conversation, Māori teachers, parents, ākonga, whānau, hapū and iwi ...
Infrastructure Minister is welcoming the first of many updated project pipelines from the newly established New Zealand Infrastructure Commission today. The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga, has released an expanded pipeline of major capital projects – another crucial step towards delivering better infrastructure outcomes. “The first iteration of the ...
Tougher gun laws designed to improve public safety through firearms prohibition orders are proposed in a new document released for public input. Police Minister Stuart Nash says firearms prohibition orders (FPOs) would give new powers to Police to ensure high-risk individuals come nowhere near firearms. “We have already prohibited the ...
Andy Coupe has been confirmed as TVNZ’s new Board Chair. “Mr Coupe has strong commercial and capital markets experience and TVNZ has benefited from his technical knowledge of business and finance, as well as his extensive governance experience,” the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Kris Faafoi said. Andy ...
Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter today officially opened a separated pathway, following the completion of the Kaiwharawhara Stream bridge, which will improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians along Hutt Road. The $6.8m Hutt Road project provides a separated path for cycling and pedestrians, the replacement of informal parking ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today announced the appointment of career diplomat Si’alei van Toor as New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Russia. “I’m pleased to appoint Ms van Toor to this position. She brings a wealth of experience to the role having previously served as Senior Trade Adviser to the ...
The Treasury’s 2019 Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) will be released on Wednesday December 11, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Coalition Government will publish the 2020 Budget Policy Statement at the same time, outlining the priorities for Budget 2020. Further details on arrangements for the release will ...
A new initiative to better support small businesses through hands-on mentoring and advice has been launched by the Minister for Small Business. The first event in the Kiwi Business Boost series of regional workshops and online tools has been launched in Wairoa by Stuart Nash. “The Business Boost initiative combines ...
The latest Quarterly Connectivity Report shows that more and more New Zealanders are moving to Ultra-fast Broadband (UFB), with Rolleston having the highest uptake at 74 per cent, as at the end of September. “This means that nearly three quarters of Rolleston’s households and businesses have moved to ultra-fast services. ...
The passing of the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill will help ensure a safe planet for our kids and grandkids, the Minister for Climate Change James Shaw said today. The landmark legislation which provides a framework to support New Zealanders to prepare for, and adapt to, the effects ...
The review of Oranga Tamariki practice around the planned uplift of a Hastings baby in May shows significant failings by the Ministry and that the planned and funded changes to shift from a child crisis service to a proper care and protection service need to be accelerated, Children’s Minister Tracey ...
Education Minister Chris Hipkins has wished students the best of luck for this year’s NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship exams which start tomorrow. Around 140,000 students will have participated in 119 NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship exams by the end of the exam period on 3 December. “I want to ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today announced the appointment of Bede Corry as New Zealand’s next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. “The appointment of a senior diplomat to this important role underlines the significance New Zealand places on our relationship with the United Kingdom,” said Mr Peters. “The United ...
An innovative approach to boosting the number of frontline Police has seen 20 new officers graduate from one of the uncommon training wings in Auckland. Police Minister Stuart Nash says the graduation of 20 constables today means that 1,765 new Police officers have been deployed since the coalition government took ...
Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says the 1.2 million hours of community work completed by offenders in the last financial year has helped local communities right across the country. “Community work sentences are a great way for people to pay something positive back to society. There is a massive benefit to ...
"A pathway for Police in leadership with Iwi Māori, to achieve the aspirations of Māori whānau." Police launch of Te Huringa o Te Tai, Pipitea Marae, Thorndon Quay, Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou. Hello everyone, warm greetings to you all. ...
Working New Zealanders are getting more in their back pockets under the Coalition Government’s economic plan. Stats NZ data today shows average weekly ordinary time earnings are up by $83 since the Government took office. This shows that working New Zealanders are getting higher take-home pay, and that employers are ...
The Government is supporting schools to cut down their energy consumption and reduce environmental impacts, with a quarter of all schools having their lights replaced with LEDs, a sustainability contestable fund and a plan to improve the environmental sustainability of all schools in the future. Education Minister Chris Hipkins and ...
Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis heads to China on Friday to lead the New Zealand Government presence at the China-New Zealand Year of Tourism closing ceremony. The ceremony will take place at Canton Tower in Guangzhou on Sunday 10 November. “The Year of Tourism has been mutually beneficial for both New ...
Should we plan for drought or deluge and how is CO2 released from the ocean’s floor? Several climate change projects were given a boost in the latest Marsden Fund investment of $83.6 million, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods said today. “Climate change is long-term challenge that requires out-of-the-box ...
Leaders of 16 countries negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have announced the completion of negotiation on the text as well as agreement on virtually all market access issues between 15 countries. The leaders said they will work with India to resolve its outstanding concerns in a way that ...
Civil Defence Minister Hon Peeni Henare says World Tsunami Awareness Day today (5 November) is a chance for all New Zealanders to learn more about the tsunami risk in our regions and the right actions to take to stay safe. “All of New Zealand’s coastline is at risk of tsunami. ...
New Zealand’s more than 1000 paramedics are to have their role as key frontline health professionals formally recognised and regulated in the same way as doctors and nurses, Health Minister David Clark says. The Government has agreed to regulate paramedics under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. “Paramedic leaders ...
Changes to insolvency law announced by the Government today will include requirements to honour up to 50 per cent of the value of gift cards or vouchers held by consumers, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi says. “When a business is insolvent, these consumers are often left out of ...
Six New Zealanders tonight received medals for their meritorious work in the frontline public service. The Public Service Medal, established by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, is awarded annually. “For the second year this Government has recognised public servants who have made a real difference to the lives of New ...
Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker heads to Shanghai today for the China International Import Expo and meetings focused on reforming the WTO. Over 90 New Zealand companies will be exhibiting at the second China International Import Expo (CIIE), which runs from 5-10 November. “China is one of New Zealand’s ...
Drivers holding a current five-year learner or restricted car or motorbike licence, expiring between 1 December 2019 and 1 December 2021, will receive an automatic two-year extension, Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter announced today. Over 144,000 drivers’ time-limited licences are due to expire in the next two years; 67,000 ...
The fate of RNZ and TVNZ may soon be in the hands of Cabinet ministers; and the chair of the Medical Association says it will be difficult to put safeguards in place to prevent people from being subtlety coerced into euthanasia. ...
New Zealanders now have the casting vote on whether to make euthanasia legal, after Parliament voted 69 votes to 51 in favour of the End of Life Choice Bill. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Euthanasia Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Euthanasia bill proves there’s power in a party-of-one Sam Sachdeva ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sally Wasef, Postdoctoral research fellow, Griffith University These days, not many Aussies consider the ibis a particularly admirable creature. But these birds, now colloquially referred to as “bin chickens” due to their notorious scavenging antics, have a grandiose and important place in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ward, PhD candidate, University of Sydney The ABC has announced it will not provide live radio coverage of the Olympics for the first time in 67 years for budgetary reasons, and because Australians now have the “increased ability to access Olympics ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip Mosley, Research Fellow, Systems Neuroscience Laboratory, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting one in 350 Australians. It’s caused by the loss of cells deep within the brain that produce a neurotransmitter called dopamine. Degeneration ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael James Walsh, Assistant Professor Social Science, University of Canberra The concept of “home” refers to more than bricks and mortar. Just as cities are more than buildings and infrastructure, our homes carry all manner of emotional, aesthetic and socio-cultural significance. Our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lin Crase, Professor of Economics and Head of School, University of South Australia The deal to crank up Adelaide’s desalination plant to make more water available to farmers in the drought-stricken Murray-Darling Basin makes no sense. It involves the federal government paying ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fiona Andreallo, Lecturer in digital culture, University of Sydney When thinking of sexbots, companionship might not be the first word that comes to mind. But sexbot advertising promises more than sex toys. It is also selling emotional intimacy: robots marketed as if ...
Ahead of the 50 Shades of Green march on parliament today, Jon Pemberton – chairman of the Ag Proud NZ Trust – urges members of the rural community to avoid confrontation and focus on rebuilding the relationship with our urban friends. “Ag Proud NZ understands ...
Paula Bennett and Anne Tolley are financially off the hook after Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters accepted they did not leak his private information. ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Another unexpected OCR move, NZ First Foundation donations under scrutiny, and End of Life Choice bill passes pending referendum.Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr seems intent on giving as many surprises as possible with the OCR. After slashing it in August when it was ...
The fate of RNZ and TVNZ may soon be in the hands of Cabinet ministers, with a proposal to disestablish both broadcasters and create an entirely new public media entity. ...
Electricity retailing is about to be changed by artificial intelligence and the move away from fossil fuels. Watch a video interview with Simply Energy's Murray Dyer. ...
Tomorrow the Australian minister for agriculture is in Christchurch to lobby for a ban on words like “milk” and “meat” from the labels of meat and dairy alternatives. Shama Sukul Lee, the founder of alternative meat startup Sunfed, says the campaign is not about the consumer: it’s driven by a ...
It’s setting up a high school and John Key is an investor, but leaked documents show the $380m education startup locks parents into tough contracts worth tens of thousands of dollars.A tutoring company with former prime minister John Key on its board is charging parents as much as $60,000 to ...
"It's highly concerning that Parliament has voted for the End of Life Choice Bill to become law, pending a referendum," says Renée Joubert, Executive Officer of Euthanasia-Free NZ . ...
The End-of-Life Choice Society is pleased MPs have recognised that the majority of voters across a wide spectrum of society want a law change to allow the terminally ill to die free of intolerable pain and suffering, its president Dr Mary Panko said ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brian Oliver, Research Leader in Respiratory cellular and molecular biology at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and Senior Lecturer, School of Medical & Molecular Biosciences, University of Technology Sydney New South Wales and Queensland are in the grip of a devastating ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Toni Noble, Adjunct Professor, Institute for Positive Psychology & Education, Australian Catholic University More than 600 schools have been closed, and some damaged, in recent days as bushfires rage across Queensland and New South Wales. Some students have been urgently evacuated while ...
Early on Thursday NZ time, the Trump impeachment inquiry kicks into high gear, as the previously closed-door proceedings are replaced with televised public hearings. Here’s the lowdown.What’s about to happen?Just over seven weeks since Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grace Moore, Senior lecturer in English, the University of Otago, New Zealand, University of Otago Bushfire writing has long been a part of Australian literature. Tales of heroic rescues and bush Christmases describe a time when the fire season was confined only ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya M Howard, Senior research fellow, University of New England It’s five years since government worker Glen Turner was murdered by a farmer in a confrontation over land clearing laws. Media reporting after his death frequently propagated the image of the “poor ...
The option of requesting assisted dying for people with terminal illness as provisioned by the proposed End of Life Choice Bill has all but divided the country. ...
The Deputy Prime Minister's case against two top civil servants, two former ministers, and a ministry has wrapped at the Auckland High Court, with the judge is reserving his decision. ...
The extension of the Royal Commission report to 30 April 2020 means all other government responses to the mosque attack should be equally delayed, according to the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO). ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rick Sarre, Professor of Law and Criminal Justice, University of South Australia Australians woke to the news last weekend that a 19-year-old Warlpiri man had been shot and killed by a police officer in Yuendumu, 300km north-west of Alice Springs. A confrontation ...
Excessively stringent freshwater policies that won’t achieve significantly better water quality outcomes will cost New Zealanders more than $80 billion over the next thirty years, says DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle. “The water quality limits ...
Yesterday the government announced their reform of 1989’s Tomorrow’s Schools legislation. Claire Amos, a school principal in Auckland, reflects on what it all means. When the first draft of the Tomorrow’s School Report landed back in December 2018, I reflected that “the only real concern is that we are not brave enough ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University It has been called “the robbery of the century”. Martin Shields and Nicholas Diable, two British investment bankers, are on trial in Germany for helping structure a massive tax evasion scheme, known as cum-ex ...
A group of about a dozen MPs from Labour and National have addressed a last-minute protest at Parliament, on the day the End of Life Choice Bill is due to pass its final reading. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Mathews, Professor, School of Law, Queensland University of Technology Two judges in the High Court of Australia this morning referred Cardinal George Pell’s application for special leave to appeal his convictions to a full bench of the High Court. While not ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has opened for submissions on Supplementary Order Paper No 408 to the Arms Legislation Bill. Submissions can be made online and close on Friday 29 November 2019 at midnight. Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) 408 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stanley Shanapinda, Research Fellow, La Trobe University Yesterday, New South Wales and Queensland issued fire warnings classified as either “catastrophic”, “severe” or “extreme” – and these conditions will remain in the coming days. The Bureau of Meteorology’s fire danger rating for Wednesday, ...
Newly launched carbon offsetting company Carbonclick want to make it easier for businesses and consumers to save the planet. CEO Dave Rouse and CPO Jan Czaplicki explain that while carbon offsetting isn’t the solution to global warming, it’s necessary.We have pumped our skies full of greenhouse gases for over 200 ...
Premiering tonight on TVNZ DUKE, Tara Ward explores the salty depths of Spiky Gold Hunters. Spiky Gold Hunter is Country Calendar for hard arses. DUKE’s new documentary series follows six Kiwis as they search the Foveaux Strait for kina, a job with great financial reward but huge risk. These divers work ...
The Reserve Bank announced on Wednesday that it hold the Official Cash Rate at 1 percent when bank economists had widely predicted and recommended a 25 basis point cut. ...
It’s time for our leaders to harness their power to take action on meaningful and sustained welfare policy changes, so that all children can have the opportunity to live good lives and to experience a happy, healthy childhood, says Child Poverty ...
Winston Peters' lawyer appears to have accepted in the High Court that two former National ministers he is suing for $450,000 for breaching his privacy were not the source of the leak or responsible for it. ...
Artist Lema Shamamba highlights the threads that connect cellphone use to violence and exploitation in the Democratic Republic of Congo in her first solo exhibition at Auckland’s Objectspace. Embroidered into a purple and yellow dress, a woman has one baby slung on her front and another on her back. Looking at ...
Gloria Steinem speaks to On the Rag about what she has learned from over 50 years of feminist activism. In this very special episode of On the Rag, we are joined by journalist, author, activist and feminist hero Gloria Steinem ahead of the launch of her new book The Truth Will ...
A law change that would allow assisted dying in certain select cases is coming up to a final reading in parliament tonight. Here are some of the many views on the matter we’ve published.As the End of Life Choice bill has made its way through parliament, it has become clear ...
The National Party is floating the idea of replacing the tertiary fees-free policy with a scheme like KiwiSaver to pay for University or polytechnic courses; and the Crown says Winston Peters claim his privacy was breached falls away entirely when held up against the law. ...
Malcolm Harbrow, at No Right Turn, has picked up on an important governance issue which our web search (a brief one, we acknowledge) suggests was missed by the mainstream media. The Referendums Framework Bill was due back from Parliament’s Justice Select Committee yesterday. Harbrow would have been monitoring its progress because he was one of around ...
The State Services Commission has shut down the inquiry into how Budget sensitive information was accessed from the Treasury website, because a key member failed to declare a conflict of interest. ...
Taxpayers deserve a stronger commitment from National to scrap the fees-free policy, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “On one hand, National correctly called fees-free an ‘expensive failure’. ...
In this chapter from journalist Frances Cook’s guide to getting your finances sorted, she finally comes to terms with her attitudes and behaviour around money. They say the first step is accepting you have a problem. One of the first things I had to accept was that I was guilty of ‘lifestyle ...
Pioneering conservationist Richard Henry’s crucial contribution to saving our endangered native birds is remembered today, 13 November 2019, the 90th Anniversary of his death. ...
State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes has today terminated the investigation into how Budget-sensitive material was accessed at the Treasury and appointed a new inquirer. ...
One journalist’s quest for a silly answer leads to a desperate search for the truth behind the most bizarre news story. A woman was reading a book, her husband was driving, and their son was asleep in the back seat when an axe flew through the windscreen. The short-handled axe – ...
The Earthquake Commission’s Annual Report 2018-19 has been tabled in Parliament today. The Annual Report summarises progress being made on EQC’s mission “to reduce the impact on people and property when natural disasters occur.” ...
Open mike 19/08/2016 
Open mike is your post.
Recently more than 150 post-graduate students and young scientists presented an open letter to the Green Party via The Spinoff, encouraging them to reconsider their position on genetic modification. Their target is tackling climate change issues.[1] Can any party continue to be dismissive about genetic modification (GM) contributing to ...27 mins ago
by Deirdre O’Neill Under Thatcher and then Blair and continuing up until our contemporary moment, the working class has seen its culture slowly and progressively destroyed. The change from an industrial society to a service society produced a marked shift in focus from the working class as the backbone of ...14 hours ago
Since 2013, the Australian government has detained refugees without trial in Pacific gulags, where they are abused, tortured, and driven to suicide. The policy is not just an abuse of human rights and possible crime against humanity; it has also had a corrosive effect on the states Australia uses as ...18 hours ago
It seems fair to say that we currently live in a problematic political moment in world history. Democracies are in decline and dictatorships are on the rise. Primordial, sectarian and post-modern divisions have re-emerged, are on the rise or have been accentuated by political evolutions of the moment such as ...19 hours ago
by The Council of Disobedient Women In her excellent oral submission to the Abortion reform select committee on 31st October on behalf of Otago University’s Department of Public Health, historian and public health researcher Hera Cook stated: “We would ask that the committee not use the term ‘pregnant persons’ and ...2 days ago
Distract And Divert: The rise of what we have come to call “Identity Politics” represents the ideological manifestation of the ruling class’s objective need to destroy class politics, and of the middle-class’s subjective need to justify their participation in the process.THE RELIEF of the ruling class can only be imagined. ...2 days ago
2 days ago
If FFNZ really put their faith in “Top Medical Journals” they would now be amending their billboards to recognise new research results. Image from FFNZ but updated to agree with the latest research. ... 4 days ago
And to think he gave all the potential goodwill away with that moronic, cult-like statement (repeated ad nauseam by many National hardliners) that Key is quite simply “the greatest PM we ever had”…
Installation complete: this was nothing ... 1 week ago
Today, a worker contacted me asking if she could go to the police over her employer stealing thousands of dollars from her in unpaid wages. The employer also did not pay this worker’s taxes or student loan which amounts to tax fraud. As a workers rights activist, who founded the ...2 weeks ago
Image Credit: Increase Social Media Traffic & Website Traffic I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your ... 2 weeks ago
. . NZ First’s success in putting the euthenasia bill to a public referenda may not be the victory they believe it to be. They may even have sounded the death-knell for a second Labour-NZ First-Green coalition. On 23 July this year, NZ First MP, Jenny Marcroft, submitted a Supplementary ...2 weeks ago
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Justice New Zealand First is proud that a key Coalition Agreement commitment which will provide for a more transparent and effective criminal justice system has been realised. Legislation to establish the Criminal Cases Review Commission, an independent body focused on identifying and responding to possible miscarriages of ...24 hours ago
"Today we have made a choice that will leave a legacy... I hope that means that future generations will see that we, in New Zealand, were on the right side of history." - Jacinda Ardern, Third Reading of the Zero Carbon Bill ...6 days ago
Groups involved with innovative fisheries research projects are encouraged to apply for government support in the latest funding round from the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures programme. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash says the SFF Futures funding is designed to be flexible enough to support small or large projects across a ...14 hours ago
New Zealand’s MPs yesterday stepped towards history as they debated the bill, which would hand the final decision on assisted dying to the public. ...9 mins ago
The fate of RNZ and TVNZ may soon be in the hands of Cabinet ministers; and the chair of the Medical Association says it will be difficult to put safeguards in place to prevent people from being subtlety coerced into euthanasia. ...14 mins ago
New Zealanders now have the casting vote on whether to make euthanasia legal, after Parliament voted 69 votes to 51 in favour of the End of Life Choice Bill. ...24 mins ago
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
Ahead of the 50 Shades of Green march on parliament today, Jon Pemberton – chairman of the Ag Proud NZ Trust – urges members of the rural community to avoid confrontation and focus on rebuilding the relationship with our urban friends. “Ag Proud NZ understands ...42 mins ago
New Zealand baggage handling equipment maker Glidepath has been sold to a French company. ...58 mins ago
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Another unexpected OCR move, NZ First Foundation donations under scrutiny, and End of Life Choice bill passes pending referendum.Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr seems intent on giving as many surprises as possible with the OCR. After slashing it in August when it was ...2 hours ago
Philip Matthews celebrates two remarkble - and remarkably different - portraits of the great Colin McCahon. ...2 hours ago
Electricity retailing is about to be changed by artificial intelligence and the move away from fossil fuels. Watch a video interview with Simply Energy's Murray Dyer. ...3 hours ago
Arranged marriages where partners had the freedom to say no may not be included under a new partnership visa fix. Dileepa Fonseka explains. ...3 hours ago
National's education plans has some good stuff, but the promises that will resonate most could have come from Labour. ...3 hours ago
Elite female sporting events will ultimately speak for themselves to fans who need convincing they are worthwhile watching. ...3 hours ago
David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill won over Parliament where other MPs had failed - but the real fight may just be beginning. ...3 hours ago
The University of Auckland's Dr Louise Humpage makes a plea to Jacinda Ardern to ban private fireworks once and for all. ...3 hours ago
A new Māori policing strategy, designed to get reoffending numbers down, has been met with skepticism. ...4 hours ago
Despite its best efforts to lower power prices, the Government might see a retail rate hike just six months before next year's election. ...14 hours ago
The price of avocados has been smashed to their lowest in almost three years, and the price of other fruit and veges are also falling. ...18 hours ago
The Reserve Bank announced on Wednesday that it hold the Official Cash Rate at 1 percent when bank economists had widely predicted and recommended a 25 basis point cut. ...19 hours ago
The Reserve Bank has held the Official Cash Rate steady at a record low 1 percent. ...19 hours ago
Winston Peters' lawyer appears to have accepted in the High Court that two former National ministers he is suing for $450,000 for breaching his privacy were not the source of the leak or responsible for it. ...19 hours ago
An undeclared conflict of interest has seen the initial Budget leak probe abandoned, an a new investigation launched. ...19 hours ago
The recent outbursts by Shane Jones about Indian migration should be strenuously rejected. ...20 hours ago
The National Party is floating the idea of replacing the tertiary fees-free policy with a scheme like KiwiSaver to pay for University or polytechnic courses; and the Crown says Winston Peters claim his privacy was breached falls away entirely when held up against the law. ...20 hours ago
Malcolm Harbrow, at No Right Turn, has picked up on an important governance issue which our web search (a brief one, we acknowledge) suggests was missed by the mainstream media. The Referendums Framework Bill was due back from Parliament’s Justice Select Committee yesterday. Harbrow would have been monitoring its progress because he was one of around ...20 hours ago
Infratil has reported a profit drop after making large investments, including buying a half stake in telecommunications company Vodafone. ...22 hours ago
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37124183
In November 2009, an expanded panel of 9 judges of the Israeli Supreme Court ruled (in an eight to one decision) that privately run prisons are unconstitutional.
As usual NZ is playing catch up with other nations who have tried and failed with turning state agencies into private ones. We obviously are too arrogant and think we can do it when others have failed. Ideology is failing us in every direction in this country from education to health and corrections.
Big big call in the US.
But has time run out on Obama to close Guantanamo?
Obama legacy shopping…but it is both a good and surprising move
A snippet which offers hope. Nats should take note.
‘U.S. Justice Department says it will end use of private prisons
The Justice Department plans to phase out its use of private prisons after they were determined to be less safe and less effective that government facilities, The Washington Post reports.’
http://thehill.com/
Well, well, well. How interesting to find that private operators of prisons do not do it all that well ! As if some of us ever thought they could.
Helen said something like..’Only the democratically elected state has a mandate to incarcerate people- not commercially motivated private companies or individuals.’
If even the US now realizes this axiom, how long will it take the English/Key cabal to catch up with what the civilized world already knows.
A background piece of outstanding journalism from Mother Jones…
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/cca-private-prisons-corrections-corporation-inmates-investigation-bauer
This is a comment particularly for Anne; here is a recent video on how long term climate change is now affecting the specific day to day and week to week weather system behaviours that we are now seeing in the world.
Thanks. Will watch later today. 🙂
Thanks cv – will also watch when time permits.
Thanks again CV. I was transported back to a former life. He also did a cracking good job explaining what Climate Change actually is for the uninitiated.
very welcome, Anne.
NZ Women at Rio : seems to me that we have quite a few women winning medals – has anyone done a count of how many medals the men have won, and how many the women have won ? Would be interested to know ……
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/83337433/rio-olympics-2016-recordbreaking-games-for-new-zealand-as-medal-tally-reaches-14
I’m not sure why its interesting but ok
Men have won three golds and women have won one
Men have won one silver and women have won seven silvers
Bronze have been equally shared one each
Probably more to come of course
What I like, as opposed to some of the coverage coming in from overseas, is that we give proper dues to our female athletes whereas in places like the USA mens performances are glamourised over their female counterparts.
Coca-Cola’s second largest bottling plant in India has been shut down
The Indian govt seems to be doing some interesting things,
Monsanto is losing millions on failed GM cotton. The company illegally pushed a form of Bt cotton into India and Africa more than a decade ago, but farmers are now pushing back by planting their own indigenous seed.
Monsanto is accused of writing laws and then breaking them to enter the market in India, but after more than 300,000 farmer deaths between 1995 and 2013, many of them attributed to Monsanto, the company is finally paying for their misdeeds. The corporation’s greed is linked to farmer suicides throughout Maharashtra, considered the ‘Cotton Belt’ in India.
The Indian government is now actively promoting the use of indigenous seed, and has called Monsanto out for profiteering illegally on Bt cotton seed.
Monsanto has already lost nearly $75 million in royalties this year (5 billion rupees) due to the change in seed choice by farmers. Sales in India have fallen by 15 percent, and though this is a relatively small market share, it is still making a huge impact on the company’s bottom line.
http://www.ecosnippets.com/environmental/farmers-in-india-rebel-cotton-seed/
All Monsanto are good for now is selling themselves into corporate parts.
They’ve been on the block for a while and vastly overestimating their price to suitors.
Very interesting as the US has been pressuring India to open its domestic market up to large US corporates more and more.
Very heartening after such brutal corporate control of India’s farmers
A question from me after reading the Mother Jones story I linked to above:
Why are prisons sex segregated? Spanish prisons allow conjugal visits every 4-8 weeks. They are experimenting with family cells to keep families together if both parents are in jail and they have children under three, Spanish prisons have separate mens and womens wings, but the inmates mix in work and sometimes even marry,
Now, thinking about it, if a man is convicted of a domestic violence crime why do we send him to a all-male, hyper-aggressive environment? How will that challenge his attitudes towards woman? Surely, strictly supervised interaction with women in prison (for example, in anger management sessions wouldn’t it be handy to have a few women inmates there to describe how they feel when assaulted?) would be much better? Surely, allowing sexual activity via conjugal visits would have a major impact on sexual assault inside prisons?
Good points Sanctuary. We need new thinking and ideas about social issues, and then pilot programs to see if they work.
My views on this are similar to posh, single sex private schools. Is sending your kids to an all white, decile 10, mono cultural, single sex school really the best way to prepare them for lives in a multi cultural society? Or is it just a way to try and preserve class based advantage for a clearly identifiable social minority? I am pretty sure it is for the latter. Personally, I would abolish all single sex and private schools completely and make it a requirement that schools reflect as accurately as possible the socioeconomic and ethnic mix of a 10km radius.
And if I reason like that for schools, why then would I reason any differently about prisons?
Boys do better in single sex schools, so they should be kept, especially given how disadvantaged males are in the public education system today.
Girls schools emphasis seems to be at the 40th percentile. Boys schools emphasis seems to be at the 90th percentile (and sports stars).
It means more girls pass, but boys fill the top spots.
If your boy is top-notch academically send him to a boys schools, if he is top-notch at sport send him to a boys school, if he is neither send him coed.
Well CV , I finally have found something I disagree with you on(apart from Trump by a landslide – there just aren’t enough redneck white males to get him there).
I think boys need the interaction with females to grow up as better balanced citizens.
I have taught at both a boys and a coed and I know which I prefer. In an all boys school Sport is paramount and used as bribery.
I think Sanctuary’s comments re schooling are spot on.
well, i started by saying Trump by landslide, I’ve ratcheted that back down to Trump by easy win 🙂
Yes boys need interaction with females, thats what going to a coed for the final year is for 🙂
The Emperor has no Balls
Donald Trump Sculptures, real live and all are popping up all over the US.
http://gothamist.com/2016/08/18/naked_donald_trump_statue.php#photo-1
oh dear, someone please fetch me some pearls to clutch and a cup o tea 🙂
LUV IT LUVIT!!!
The parks department offer stiff opposition:
“NYC Parks stands firmly against any unpermitted erection in city parks, no matter how small,” said Sam Biederman, a parks spokesman.
😀 Thanks for that Sam Biederman! (Hope you don’t lose your job).
The hypocrisy and vacuousness of the right wing National Party member mind is something to behold …….
We have the steel suppliers who were all happy with the free market at play in the Chch rebuild when they made gold out of their steel through demand and supply driving prices from around $2-3 kg up to $7-8 kg.. oh yay they went, smiling all the way to the bank, driving around in new utes, buying new boats, aint it great this unfettered free market …
… yet when supply from China drives those prices back down to where they used to be there is all manner of wailing and gnashing of teeth and crying to mummy in the government for some help..
… pathetic
Same with employers in the regions making their wares and voting for the free market and voting for the free market National Party ….
… yet when they need a component for their business, namely labour, all semblance of the free market is abandoned for more crying and tears….. instead of paying more for what they need…
… pathetic
its called the free market business people, the free market. You voted for it. Man up and live with it, you are pathetic with your whingeing
Angela Merkel surprised by massive protest march against TTIP in Berlin
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-hundreds-of-thousands-protest-in-berlin-against-eu-us-trade-deal-2015-10/?r=AU&IR=T
Injured Aleppo boy in ambulance illustrates Syrian conflict
http://www.newshub.co.nz/world/injured-aleppo-boy-in-ambulance-illustrates-syrian-conflict-2016081821?ref=newshubFB
(Not sure if the world’s media is ready to share images of kids in war by US bomb strikes which are edited out of the world’s media).
message from Barry Coates
“It makes no sense that the government is continuing to push the TPPA legislation through Parliament even though it would add huge costs from extending copyright from 50 to 70 years and strengthening patent rights. The benefits will go to big foreign corporations – New Zealand innovators and consumers will lose out.
The research and evidence on TPPA is shoddy, with superficial analysis written or commissioned by MFAT to support their position. This contrasts with more thorough reports done in the US by the International Trade Commission that found virtually no economic benefit for the US, and a recent draft report by the Australian Productivity Commission that concluded the TPPA provisions would inhibit innovation and raise costs.
In New Zealand, a series of expert peer-reviewed papers have raised serious questions about the TPPA, and highlighted the economic costs and problems such as restrictions on the government’s right to regulate (see https://itsourfuture.org.nz/tppa-research/).
The TPPA is in big trouble in the US, and there is a huge majority of the public against it, as well as the two leading Presidential candidates. There is time for New Zealand to re-think its involvement in the TPPA and undertake proper research. The more we find out about this agreement, the more concerns that it raises. When we see the objective evidence, the government will have to agree with the majority of the public and reject the TPPA.
Or if they don’t, the voters of New Zealand will have their chance at the next election to support political parties that reject the TPPA and similar agreements, and get rid of the provisions in exising treaties that allow foreign investors to sue our government.”
Today, nearly one hundred and fifty-three years after the bloodiest post-Treaty battle on the soil of these islands, the invaders are withdrawing, and Rangiriri pa is being returned to Maori: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/311348/rangiriri-pa-returned-after-1863-invasion
What was the battle of Rangiriri like for the men who fought it? We can get one answer to this question but looking at the beautiful and terrible photographs taken by the man who won a VC at Rangiriri:
http://readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/going-to-war-with-william-temple.html
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/north-island/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503932&objectid=11696970
The rape and plunder goes on, good old free market in action
These are the full prepared remarks from Trump a couple of days ago. He was relentlessly on message, regretting his more offensive remarks, nailing his rationale hard:
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/donald-trump-never-lie-227183
Enjoy! He ain’t out out of this race.
“How Bloomberg spun their own poll data to make Clinton seem inevitable”
Clinton 6 points ahead of Trump said the Bloomberg headline.
(Except when you look at the four way data between Clinton, Trump, the Libertarians and the Greens, Clinton was actually only 2 points ahead i.e. in a statistical tie with Trump).
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-16/how-bloomberg-spun-its-own-poll-data-make-hillary-clinton-seem-inevitable
Yeah, that’s happened a number of times over the last week or two. Headlines based on the two-way rather than four-way data, thus exaggerating Clinton’s lead.
Similar in the UK – in the last couple of days, there’s been some dodgy reporting of a BMG Poll on Corbyn vs Smith as Labour leader. Among people who voted Labour in 2015, Corbyn beats Smith marginally (by 4 points – 52% vs 48%). But among people currently intending to vote Labour at the next General Election, Corbyn wins by a massive 32 points (66% vs 34%).
A number of UK media outlets (along with prominent poll analyst-twitters with strong anti-Corbyn tendencies) have focussed solely on the 52/48 split, strongly implying that these are the figures for current Labour supporters.
in the Bloomberg one they also had to throw in the “lean to” results from the don’t knows to give Clinton her 6 point lead.
If Scott Adams is right at least some of those will have said Clinton because they didn’t want to admit to supporting Trump.
As prepared.
How was his delivery?
Compare the crowd size to Clinton’s campaign events.
didn’t we do the same comparison with Bernie’s crowds? How did that work out?
Bernie lost, the Democrats stabbed him in the back
You mean he didn’t get enough delegates to win.
The more Trump speaks, the more he becomes entertainment rather than presidential material.
No, I mean Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the other leaders of the DNC stabbed Bernie in the back, and had to resign over it.
Uh-huh.
How did their activities affect Sanders’ delegate votes?
Dunno but the DNC CEO, chair, communications director and CFO all resigned in disgrace over it, so they were all involved in screwing the scrum against Bernie.
well, bad-mouthing the fuck out of him in emails to each other. A bit like how that general lost his job after badmouthing the president when the embedded rolling stone journo was in the room.
Didn’t affect the number of votes Sanders got in the primaries, though.
they organised against Sanders. You know, like using his religion against him.
But you don’t know if it’s even likely that this affected the primaries? Were there any indications of ballot-stuffing, or whatever?
How did they organise against him?
Oh I see McFlock. The DNC’s cheating doesn’t count as cheating unless it affected things on the ground?
Well, for starters it lends credence to Sanders supporters complaints that from the very start that voter registration and polling booth management was slanted against them.
You haven’t demonstrated any cheating. A lot of griping and unprofessional emails, but nothing that affected the election.
It doesn’t “lend credence” to anything, unless D W-S was personally handling voter registrations or managing a polling booth. Do the parties even have anything to do with polling booth management or voter registration? Because at least some seem to be run by state boards of elections.
Trump was entertainment during the primaries. Now he’s a very bad horror movie.
My worry is that he learns how to stick to an autocue.
Yuuge….
Looked like a crowd of maybe 5,000 to me. How many at the Hillary campaign rally today?
Oh yeah there wasn’t one.
Hillary doesn’t really need to do another rally. She’s already won. If big numbers at rallies was the decider, Bernie Sanders would have won the Democrat nomination, because he sure packed ’em out. But, in the real world, it’s votes that count and most voters make their mind up via their favourite media, not down at the town hall. The big rallies to come will really be aimed at maxing out the win. That’s about Democrat senators, congressman and governors. The real victory will be winning back control of the house and senate and taking the governorships in states that haven’t been democrat in years. That’ll be Trump’s legacy; handing the Democrats near total control of the political apparatus.
I’ll check back in with your personal fantasy world come November
I suspect you’re going to very quiet in November, oh great sage. But I for one won’t be rubbing it in when you do reappear. We all make mistakes. The point is to not repeat them too often or too publicly.
The aggregate state polling is interesting, albeit still a bit soon to tell 🙂
trp – Hillary won because the Democratic Party shafted Bernie.
How?
From the Washington Post, about the top revelations from the DNC emails:
1) Targeting Sanders’s religion?
On May 5, DNC officials appeared to conspire to raise Sanders’s faith as an issue and press on whether he was an atheist — apparently in hopes of steering religious voters in Kentucky and West Virginia to Clinton. Sanders is Jewish but has previously indicated that he’s not religious.
2) Wasserman Schultz calls top Sanders aide a “damn liar”…
On May 17, after controversy erupted over the Nevada state Democratic convention and how fair the process was there, Wasserman Schultz herself took exception to Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver’s defense of his candidate’s supporters.
3) … and says Sanders has “no understanding” of the party
That wasn’t the only time Wasserman Schultz offered an unvarnished opinion about the Sanders operation. And in one late-April email, she even questioned Sanders’s connection to the party.
4) A Clinton lawyer gives DNC strategy advice on Sanders
When the Sanders campaign alleged that the Clinton campaign was improperly using its joint fundraising committee with the DNC to benefit itself, Clinton campaign lawyer Marc Elias offered the DNC guidance on how to respond.
5) Plotting a narrative about how Sanders’s campaign failed
On May 21, DNC national press secretary Mark Pautenbach suggested pushing a narrative that Sanders “never ever had his act together, that his campaign was a mess.”
After detailing several arguments that could be made to push that narrative, Paustenbach concludes: “It’s not a DNC conspiracy, it’s because they never had their act together.”
6) Mocking Sanders for his California debate push
One of the chief complaints from Sanders and his supporters was a lack of debates. They said the fact that there were so few was intended to help Clinton by reducing her opponents’ exposure and their chances to knock her down.
7) Wishing Sanders would just end it
Many of these emails came as it was clear Clinton was going to win — which makes the apparent favoritism perhaps less offensive (though Sanders supporters would certainly disagree).
But it’s also clear that there was plenty of cheerleading for the race to simply be over — for Sanders to throw in the towel so that Clinton could be named the presumptive nominee. The party, of course, was still supposed to be neutral even though the odds and delegate deficit for Sanders looked insurmountable.
8) Calling an alleged Sanders sympathizer a “Bernie bro”
The term “Bernie bro” — or “Berniebro,” depending on your style — over the course of the campaign became a kind of shorthand for the worst kind of Sanders supporter. These were the supporters who couldn’t be reasoned with and verbally assaulted opponents, sometimes in very nasty ways.
9) Criticizing Obama for lack of fundraising help — “That’s f—ing stupid”
While the Sanders emails have gained the most attention, some of the more interesting emails involve a peek behind to curtain of how party officials talk about fundraising and major donors — and even President Obama.
In one email on May 9, DNC mid-Atlantic and PAC finance director Alexandra Shapiro noted that Obama wouldn’t travel 20 minutes to help the party secure $350,000 in donations.
“He really won’t go up 20 minutes for $350k?” Shapiro wrote. “THAT’S f—ing stupid.”
10) 10) Flippant chatter about donors
In a May 16 exchange about where to seat a top Florida donor, Kaplan declared that “he doesn’t sit next to POTUS!” — referring to Obama.
“Bittel will be sitting in the sh—iest corner I can find,” responded Shapiro. She also referred to other donors as “clowns.”
You missed the bit where the DNC forced people at gunpoint to vote for Hillary against their will. Bastards.
TRP, I think people can read for themselves to see what the self proclaimed “neutral” DMC was all about, when it came to Clinton vs Sanders.
The pro status quo’ers backed Clinton the weaker, less popular, more right wing candidate.
lol
Funny list, none of which expplains why Sanders didn’t win the nomination. It does explain the resignations, though – especially ripping shit out of Obama. Very similar to McChrystal.
Itemised response below, but TL:DR – all can be answered with some combinations of “In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email?” and “Did it effect the primary?”
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email? Did it effect the primary?
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email? Did it effect the primary?
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email? Did it effect the primary?
Did it effect the primary?
Did it effect the primary?
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email? Did it effect the primary?
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email? Did it effect the primary?
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email? Did it effect the primary?
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email?
In public? Or, shock horror, did someone use an unprofessional tone in an internal email?
Um, if you win a two option democratic election, you are, by definition, the popular candidate. Sanders has got over it and showed that he understands the process and the real threat facing the people of the States (and the rest of us). You, on the other hand, not so much …
Repeating already forgotten attack lines doesn’t change the simple fact that Hillary Clinton won the nomination. More people voted for her than for her opponent. She campaigned and won. You’d better get used to that, because it’s going happen again in a couple of months.
Not according to the votes.
No wonder the Clinton machine had to work so hard to exclude independent voters from their primaries.
Read and weep status quo supporting bros.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jerome-karabel/sanders-clinton-electability_b_10106256.html
How did they exclude independent voters?
Isn’t voter registration administered by the states, not the parties?
cv why are you bringing up bernie – you support trump – are you really saying you’d have flip flopped between sanders and trump – that seems hardly credible.
Fox and Trump campaign on the difference between a crowd of 5,000, and one person and their tv:
http://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/08/17/michael-cohen-donald-trump-poll-number-brianna-keilar-sot-tsr.cnn
Them 3 percenters love some Donald.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_Rule_Book
National voters now think they own the colour blue…
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/complaint-over-goffs-blue-billboards-2016081913
Media beat-up or was Andrew Little trying to highlight to voters that Labour can row in different directions all on its own?
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/where-does-labour-stand-on-decriminalising-cannabis-2016081116
Thoughts?
First thing that springs to mind is why are you linking to a story over a week old?
I think cannabis reform is inevitable and there is a huge appetite for more open access to medicinal cannabis right now.
If anyone is having a bob each way it is of course John Key who intimated during the week that cops ‘kind of’ turn a blind eye to recreational possession already. He worries about sending the wrong message through decriminalisation but isn’t the slightest bit concerned about sending the wrong message by stating cops currently enforce the law (or not) as they see fit.
I think we can all guess which type of person cops are likely to throw the book at…
If that’s the beat up from last week I understood perfectly clearly where Labour stand. They will move on medical csnnsbis as soon as in power and they will consider a referendum on general decriminalisation but it won’t be a priority eg not in their first hundred days. Don’t know why some people found that difficult to understand.
Agree. It’s a beat up by those interested in painting Andrew Little and Labour as indecisive and contradictory. See The Chairman.
Don’t shoot the messenger. I merely put the question out there.
Moreover, Labour don’t require me to paint them as indecisive and contradictory, they’ve done a pretty good job of giving voters that impression themselves. They often grandstand against things, only to later go on and support them, albeit, with a few minor changes.
Don’t tell me. You’ve always voted Labour. As did your father, and your father’s father. Your family has always been Labour, but you can’t bring yourself to vote for them now because Andrew Little doesn’t smile enough.
One finds politicians often come and go. It’s the Party’s agenda that tends to remain. Unfortunately, Labour adopted a neo-liberal agenda long before Little came along and have yet to fully let go.
Therefore, it would be fair to say Labour parted with me. Nevertheless, still hoping they’ll find their Corbyn moment.
There is no Corbyn in the NZ Labour Party. Not point in waiting for something that is literally not possible.
While there is no Corbyn in the NZ Labour Party, it doesn’t necessarily mean a Corbyn moment will never develop.
Labour being center left robs the party of that crucial point of difference (not merely fluffing around the edges as they do) while allowing National far greater opportunity to copy policy.
Moreover, it’s helping shift the whole political spectrum to the state now that the Greens are considered by a number to be far left, while reaffirming to voters there is no real alternative but to fluff around the edges. Helping to strengthen and cement in the neo-liberal view.
Additionally, this has disappointed and disenfranchised a number of voters, giving them the impression little changes, there is no brighter future regardless who one votes for. Thus. they no longer partake.
Bringing into question your assertion that we are better served at this point by letting Labour be centre left.
I’m not calling for extreme leftism. But Labour requires to show more of a point of difference. As they did with Kiwibuild, which was widely welcomed by voters.
This highlights voters are open to a more hands on Government where they feel the market is lacking (or, as the cannabis poll highlights, laws are deemed heavy handed and outdated).
I don’t know where you or CV are coming from on this.
While there are some areas where Labour today finds it important to meet a changed world at an appropriate junction, from what I understand the very core Labour values of the past around housing as a right and not a privilege, strong rights and representation for workers, and educational investment in the future for all Kiwis have not been a stronger priority in recent times than under the current Andrew Little lead Labour party.
I think there is a fair amount of Corbyn in Little and despite what the conservative media and blogosphere might have you believe, Little is very consistent on these things mentioned above.
You can tell that there is less Corbyn rather than more Corbyn in Little simply because Labour’s right wing tolerate Little.
Whereas UK Labour’s right wing couldn’t tolerate a self declared socialist like Corbyn.
Well, happy to see you recognise at least some true socialist values in Little even if weka doesn’t.
“Labour’s right wing tolerate Little” lol I think you have been out of the loop too long cv – what a rubbish line you’ve used.
I see socialist values in Little. I just don’t think he is a Corbyn. He has his own attributes though and I think we are better served at this poin by letting Labour be centre left (hopefully moving left), rather than expecting people to be who and what they are not. You can’t manufacture a Corbyn, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other good ways to be.
+100% Muttonbird
“While there are some areas where Labour today finds it important to meet a changed world at an appropriate junction, from what I understand the very core Labour values of the past around housing as a right and not a privilege, strong rights and representation for workers, and educational investment in the future for all Kiwis have not been a stronger priority in recent times than under the current Andrew Little lead Labour party.”
Well said. However, I somewhat disagree.
While it is important to meet a changed world at an appropriate junction, Labour have yet to identify that appropriate junction which also brings a significant number of voters along.
It’s good Labour is trying to improve rights and representation for workers but their educational investment falls short. As with their housing policy, it doesn’t go far enough mitigating offshore demand.
So while these may have not been a stronger priority in recent times than under the current Andrew Little lead Labour party, there is clearly more work to be done.
Andrew Little -Qualified Lawyer, -Union president- Labour. Got my vote against I’m relaxed … John -‘no but what I can say’ boy.
It’s interesting how the Nat trolls persist in using multiple questions and repetitive question marks. That’s Amway 101 strategy. (He who asks the questions controls the conversation). Zzzzz
Weka, do you believe if Labour were to make it (a referendum) a priority (sometime within the first term) it will harm them or improve their support?
I think it would depend on how they were doing with everything else. Lots of NZers support decriminalisation, but would not be too happy about it being prioritised over other things that are more important. I think the medical cannabis issue is more important and should be dealt with separately. I also think that the L/G govt will need to coax NZ left again not go hard out. Then there is the Peters issue.
btw Little didn’t say what a priority meant for Labour. The example he gave was not in the first hundred days. So you calling the first term a priority is about you not Labour. Just so we are clear.
“I think it would depend on how they were doing with everything else. Lots of NZers support decriminalisation, but would not be too happy about it being prioritised over other things that are more important.”
Hence, to be clear, my suggesting within the first term.
Moreover, surely Labour are capable of doing more than one thing at a time?
Coaxing NZ left again opens Labour up to falling short and looking indecisive. Often resulting in disappointing both the right and left.
Labour is happy to lead in a “priority” area like gay marriage, but not on a non-priority area like cannabis decriminalisation.
Equal rights based on humanity not sexual orientation and the right to take natural substances that aren’t going to get you sent to jail – hmmm both rights to fight for imo and I don’t really see the binary of one verses the other. Your pettiness and privilege and ihatelabour colours are showing again cv and it ain’t pretty.
as I pointed out Marty Mars Labour was quite happy to lead the charge for gay marriage but not in decriminalising cannabis. Because not as important.
Actually it was a private member’s bill that received cross-party support. It wasn’t exactly Labour policy. Nor were civil unions, although they were ministerial decisions. Helen Clark was about as committed to “gay marriage” as Litte is for marijuana legalisation.
Yeah but in reality all the Labour MPs speeches on the night the Bill passed into law were so thoroughly triumphant and righteous.
Because it was the correct thing to do. And I’m sure the Greens, and even half of the nats, were pretty happy about it. They also voted for it. Hell, the most famous speech in support of it was an otherwise unremarkable nat talking about big gay rainbows.
I also liked how you could only respond to facts with a tone argument. Very illuminating.
Little’s and Labour’s priorities have been clearly spelt out several times, Weka. They are (not necessarily in this order) housing, education, good public health, jobs, and being fair to people (not just the 1%) .
Thanks Jenny 🙂
“First thing that springs to mind is why are you linking to a story over a week old?”
Merely catching up with some older news.
Yes, there is a huge appetite for more open access to medicinal cannabis right now. Moreover, overwhelming support for a law change around recreational use/possession.
Unfortunately, Little personally doesn’t support a law change. However, he is open to a referendum, but doesn’t believe it’s a priority.
Considering how poorly Labour is polling while keeping in mind the strong support in the poll for a cannabis law change, perhaps Little should reconsider making it a priority?
Concern troll is concerned.
You may have noticed The Chairman that Labour does not have well developed listening skills.
I’m not the Labour Party, CV. Remember Bill’s rule about telling porkies about authors. Six weeks off, as I recall.
I think he was referring to something in the previous comment that demonstrated Labour don’t listen (his interpretation). Not aimed at you, and the comment was a reply to yours.
Unfortunately, Little personally doesn’t support a law change. However, he is open to a referendum, but doesn’t believe it’s a priority.
Considering how poorly Labour is polling while keeping in mind the strong support in the poll for a cannabis law change, perhaps Little should reconsider making it a priority?
Fair call, weka, benefit of the doubt and all that.
I think it was the threading that made it a bit clearer for me.
this ain’t your post TRP, and if you want authors treated with respect you can always try and show us how by example why don’t you.
I’m pretty sure I do show respect, where it’s deserved. However, woman hating, lefty baiting, ableist, conservative misanthropes get very little respect from me at all. Get used to it.
I’ve dealt with plenty of jumped up authoritarians before TRP. Join the list.
Yes, dear. Care to remind us again of the mortal blows you struck against jumped up authoritarian Clare Curran?
Curran’s majority will be under 3,000 next year; she’s totally trashed the almost 11,000 electorate majority that Benson Pope built up.
Ah, well. It’s nice that you acknowledge she’s a winner, CV.
Speaking of jumped up authoritarians, hows Donald Trump going? I see he’s lost yet another leader from his team this morning. Maybe you should offer to take Paul Manafort’s place? You’re definitely his kinda guy (see list above).
You telling porkies about some rule I’ve apparently either laid down or adhere to there trp?
tsk-tsk.
Mind you, thanks to the torturous catch 22 that your assertion spawns, you won’t actually have to be self banning for six weeks in the interests of consistency or whatever….I mean, that would’ve been quite a thing, aye? 😉
That is a good recursive one Bill nice
Boy you dribble out incoherently some days marty mars. And boy am I over you having a go at Colonial Viper.
Take it to the right thread bub.
I don’t care what you think about my interrelationshp with cv – we have been conversing for years.
Bill, it’s your ruling. Peter Swift a few weeks ago. Look it up if it’s slipped your mind.
Are you going to ban yourself now TRP for misrepresenting Bill’s ruling?
Or is it different rules for yourself, than for everyone else?
It’s Bill’s ruling. Lie about an author, get banned. It seems perfectly sensible to me and I’m happy to follow the path he has laid down.
Then feel free to ban yourself for calling me misogynist, ableist, and those other stupid sneers you spout.
The truth is the best defence, CV. I’ve never described your unpleasant traits inaccurately. They’re your comments, your opinions. If you don’t like being identified as a misogynist or ableist etc. don’t write the comments that show you to be those things.
Easy, eh?
OK I get it, your sneering bullshit about another author is the unvarnished honest truth whereas my bullshit about you are merely lies.
Whateva you say, you like being the boss.
No, clearly, you don’t get it. CV. You comment like an unrestrained arse and don’t like being called on it. Your expressed opinions are often deeply offensive to women, the old, unionists, the left and most recently, those you consider to be physically unfit to contribute to society in the way they choose. You don’t get to have it both ways. Express your hate filled opinions freely and get called on it from time to time or moderate your language so it’s not quite so obvious that you are a misanthrope.
You’ll have spotted that plenty of other righties can comment here without being deliberately offensive. Perhaps you can learn from them?
I made a decision. A decision is not a rule. eg – today I decided to put on red socks. That doesn’t mean a rule has been passed or laid down to the effect that red socks must be worn.
You’re behaving like a school yard bully – making shit up with the sole intention of abusing people.
It’s really fucking boring and unpleasant trp – one of the worst types of trolling.
Fair call, Bill. Apologies for getting the terminology wrong. It’s a decision, not a ruling. I respect your decision and will build on the precedent it sets where needed.
Some in Labour and a number of their cheerleaders often don’t like having their position questioned or critiqued. Thus, regularly pull out the old right wing troll line instead of genuinely taking it on board.
The guts of their behaviour is that they are so internally certain they both know more and know better than everyone else. Pretty arrogant for a declining party on track to come in somewhere around the 25% mark.