Open mike 20/07/2020

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, July 20th, 2020 - 172 comments
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172 comments on “Open mike 20/07/2020 ”

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  1. Dennis Frank 1
    20 July 2020 at 6:39 am

    Bomber struggles to get his head around it: "So, ummmmmm." https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2020/07/19/ummm-shouldnt-winston-be-taken-to-task-for-this-outrageous-falsehood/

    Winston a liar?? Surely not! 🤔

    "so on the 7th of July Winston was denying something he now admits to yesterday?" "Folks, Winston can’t just lie to our faces and be allowed to get way with it".

    Strikes me there's a simple explanation that would get Winnie off the moral hook: NZF hired the secret agents after the 7th and before the 18th.

    "It’s also incredibly dangerous to allow social media Brexit manipulators like Arron Banks and Andy Wigmore who used Facebook and Cambridge Analytica to become involved in NZ politics."

    Really?? Buncha snowflakes are we? Can't handle it? However Bomber does pull himself together. He reveals Winston's master plan: angry white men. The thesis is that there's

    "a large number of angry white men who don’t bother voting because they feel culturally alienated by the current paradigms of micro-aggression policing and Millennial sensibilities. This group of males are economically paranoid by their perceived lack of cultural power and whose economic anxiety clashes with being told they are the ones with the privilege."

    Facebook and Cambridge Analytica changed all this. They suddenly had hundreds of data points to know how to precisely push those angry white non voters into rage fuelled voting machines. This manipulation of white male anger become the driving force that saw Trump win, Brexit win and Scott Morrison win.

    With Crusher Collins clearly intending to trigger the same culture war hot buttons NZ First are now actively chasing, the race to trigger angry white men will see a spike in divisiveness aimed at getting a reaction out of woke Green activists which will echo resentment around social media feeds.

    If you are an alienated angry white male, watching that Woke Green activist screaming in your social media feed is all you need to support whatever they are screaming against. Will the NZ Woke take the bait? They sure as fuck will.

    So you see how this can be made to work. Get the left identified in the public mind as shrill wokeists who are totally delusional. Just a question of whether National or NZF stampede those hordes of angry white males into polling booths. Probably both.

    • I Feel Love 1.1
      20 July 2020 at 6:45 am

      The repetitive use of the word "woke" certainly helps the Brexit PR CA guys, why keep perpetrating that? I refuse to and I never hear it anywhere but here on TS & Peters & Collins. To not take the bait, stop using the word or even acknowledge it even means anything.

      • Dennis Frank 1.1.1
        20 July 2020 at 6:55 am

        Disrespectful to BLM, since they invented it! As long as politically-correct folks embrace the term, it will maintain currency. Been in general use so many years now that there's no point trying to close the stable door – the horse has bolted!

        • Sacha 1.1.1.1
          20 July 2020 at 7:32 am

          Where have you heard anyone using it about themselves?

          • Dennis Frank 1.1.1.1.1
            20 July 2020 at 8:07 am

            On it's wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke

            Oxford Dictionaries record early politically conscious usage in 1962 in the article "If You're Woke You Dig It" by William Melvin Kelley in The New York Times and in the 1971 play Garvey Lives! by Barry Beckham ("I been sleeping all my life. And now that Mr. Garvey done woke me up, I'm gon' stay woke. And I'm gon help him wake up other black folk."). Garvey had himself exhorted his early 20th century audiences, "Wake up Ethiopia! Wake up Africa!"

            Earlier, J. Saunders Redding recorded a comment from an African American United Mine Workers official in 1940 ("Let me tell you buddy. Waking up is a damn sight harder than going to sleep, but we'll stay woke up longer.") Lead Belly uses the phrase near the end of the recording of his 1938 song "Scottsboro Boys", while explaining about the namesake incident, saying "I advise everybody to be a little careful when they go along through there, stay woke, keep their eyes open".

            The first modern use of the term "woke" appears in the song "Master Teacher" from the album New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) (2008) by soul singer Erykah Badu. Throughout the song, Badu sings the phrase: "I stay woke." Although the phrase did not yet have any connection to justice issues, Badu's song is credited with the later connection to these issues.

            To "stay woke" in this sense expresses the intensified continuative and habitual grammatical aspect of African American Vernacular English, in essence to always be awake, or to be ever vigilant. David Stovall said: "Erykah brought it alive in popular culture. She means not being placated, not being anesthetized."

            Implicit in the concept of being woke is the idea that such awareness must be earned. The rapper Earl Sweatshirt recalls singing "I stay woke" along to the song and his mother turning down the song and responding: "No, you're not."

            I wonder why his mother rendered that negative verdict. Perhaps the dude was too young at the time to be genuinely self-aware in that sense & his mum knew she had to alert him to the importance of being authentic, not just copying…

            • Sacha 1.1.1.1.1.1
              20 July 2020 at 8:32 am

              "As long as politically-correct folks embrace the term"

              Given we are talking about NZ, some examples of that embrace rather than people slagging others for it would be welcome.

              • Dennis Frank …
                20 July 2020 at 9:01 am

                Good point, since it raises the question of how identity is created in identity politics. I've always seen it as self-created, but it is true that identities are socially-created via labelling.

                Since I lack experience of personal interactions with the minority group in Aotearoa that is being labelled woke by some, I can't testify to the extent to which those who marched in support of BLM here have genuinely performed the cultural appropriation of the woke label. Perhaps others here can?

                  • Dennis Frank …
                    20 July 2020 at 9:14 am

                    Yeah, this bit really took me back into my 1960s self: " A major task of self-development during early adolescence is the differentiation of multiple selves as a function of social context (e.g., self with father, mother, close friends) with an awareness of the potential contradictions."

                    I remember the post-adolescent phase more clearly though. Late teens had me trying to present myself consistently to others and being puzzled that doing so felt inappropriate in some social contexts. I decided to yield to those feelings, and respond to circumstances intuitively instead.

                • Sacha …
                  20 July 2020 at 9:11 am

                  So you are citing an 'embrace' for which you have no actual evidence? Noted.

                  • Incognito …
                    20 July 2020 at 9:16 am

                    You’ll see it when you believe it.

                  • Dennis Frank …
                    20 July 2020 at 9:16 am

                    Only insofar as no evidence of repudiation has shown up in the media. If that minority feels they aren't woke, they need to start saying so!!

                • greywarshark …
                  20 July 2020 at 11:05 am

                  The fact that NZ adopts memes from overseas which are probably spread through social media fastest to the young ones means that overseas usage has a quick uptake here, 'woke' included.

                  Also cis – that is used as part of identity trashing.

            • McFlock 1.1.1.1.1.2
              20 July 2020 at 1:18 pm

              So you have provided a link that disproves your assertion BLM "invented" the term "woke".

              Cheers. Politically correct is one thing, but you are not factually correct in that instance.

              • Dennis Frank …
                20 July 2020 at 1:57 pm

                Yes, I learnt that from the wiki. They recycled lingo that had become historical. So we live & learn, as usual…

                • McFlock …
                  20 July 2020 at 2:49 pm

                  They recycled lingo that had become historical.

                  "They" being "Erika Badu" using lingo from a few decades previously, well before BLM was a thing.

                  • Dennis Frank …
                    20 July 2020 at 3:03 pm

                    Well, if a sociologist wanted to establish a causal link, he/she would ask them, eh? BLM are just as likely to report cultural transmission as the gospel according to Badu.

                    • McFlock …
                      20 July 2020 at 3:16 pm

                      BLM are just as likely to report cultural transmission as the gospel according to Badu.

                      This would be another evidence-free assertion that assumes no crossover of any note between an album you've never heard and a movement you've got no idea about?

        • I Feel Love 1.1.1.2
          20 July 2020 at 11:01 am

          Oh right, Collins, Peters et al are addressing the BLM movement here in NZ, all clear now.

        • weka 1.1.1.3
          20 July 2020 at 11:28 am

          Disrespectful to BLM, since they invented it! As long as politically-correct folks embrace the term, it will maintain currency. Been in general use so many years now that there's no point trying to close the stable door – the horse has bolted!

          Pretty sure I explained this to you already. 'Woke' has a specific meaning in US black communities. It has a different meaning in NZ. In NZ it is now almost always used as a pejorative or tool of mocking or dismissal.

          Collins and co are using it to foster dissent and taunt the left. Lefties might be using it as shorthand but I think the word meaning is still in transition here and like others I think it's better to avoid using it at all, unless one knows how to use it in reference to BLM, which I almost never see in NZ. I don't see many lefties/liberals/progressives using it to describe themselves now, some used to.

          Haven't read Bomber's piece today, but he generally uses it to position himself and his argument in conflict with other left wing people. You might want to ask why he does that and whether it's useful.

          • Dennis Frank 1.1.1.3.1
            20 July 2020 at 11:58 am

            Lefties might be using it as shorthand but I think the word meaning is still in transition here

            Since language evolves. Clearly context ought to guide usage of labels.

            Gordon Campbell: “Ngati Woke” March 2020

            But he was citing Shane Jones. Sourcing the term in 19th century usage as the wiki does (re freeing slaves) suggests that to do transformational social change, one must first awaken from habitual acceptance of the status quo.

            In that sense woke as a current term does signal a generic usage outside BLM. So any attempt to limit usage is probably doomed to failure. I do agree that usage to demonise leftists is problematic – but I expect it to escalate. Group labelling is integral to identity politics. Leftists calling Trump racist fueled that fire, so no surprise rightists have called their bluff…

      • mauī 1.1.2
        20 July 2020 at 7:19 am

        Stay woke.

        • woodart 1.1.2.1
          20 July 2020 at 8:18 am

          I just woke up, but wouldnt have a clue what a woke is?some buzzword that somebody invented, that means nothing to the vast majority. use it and feel part of the crowd, or use it and feel like a tool…

        • SPC 1.1.2.2
          20 July 2020 at 9:31 am

          The righties in America use the term woke as they once used unAmerican (leftie fellow traveller/not a Christian or not white in their thinking – supporting civil rights in the south).

          Stay woke indeed.

          • Herodotus 1.1.2.2.1
            20 July 2020 at 10:01 am

            The meaning of words evolve, why should woke meaning remain constant, or as a few wish it to be ?
            look at a word like gay, todays usage of the word has little to do with how it was in past used.

            • Drowsy M. Kram 1.1.2.2.1.1
              20 July 2020 at 10:52 am

              Word evolution is great – those using 'woke' as a slur are asleep at the wheel.
              #ReclaimWoke

      • Nic the NZer 1.1.3
        20 July 2020 at 8:24 am

        I did find criticism of Nationals front benches ethnic composition strange. Its clearly the parties business who it puts on its front bench, but Muller etc handled this poorly. Collins seems to have killed it off.

        This kind of reaction (rejecting the framing) to baseless criticisms should be kept in mind as the way to go.

      • Robert Guyton 1.1.4
        20 July 2020 at 9:06 am

        Talkback hosts have been pumping "woke" for some time now, with such repetitious intensity that it's clear they are trying to embed the word in the minds of their listeners so that when it's needed, the single word will trigger anger with those who become furious believing they understand exactly what the word refers to, where in fact their response is emotional and Pavlovian.

        • Sacha 1.1.4.1
          20 July 2020 at 9:15 am

          Just another tiresome import from the US righties by their unoriginal local counterparts.

          • Robert Guyton 1.1.4.1.1
            20 July 2020 at 9:20 am

            Judith Collins has used it already.

            • Robert Guyton 1.1.4.1.1.1
              20 July 2020 at 9:22 am

              Yesterday, Winston claimed his party is the only true Green party in Parliament.

              Stealing the self-labling of those you oppose is a common strategy nowadays.

              • Mista Smokey …
                20 July 2020 at 9:36 am

                Ahhh, Winnie, my favourite Charlatan

                • Robert Guyton …
                  20 July 2020 at 9:40 am

                  Shane Jones must rate alongside, Mista Smokey? He's slick and loud.

                  • Mista Smokey …
                    20 July 2020 at 10:21 am

                    Daresay. Maybe.

                    But who's the classy one, Robbie G?

                    • Robert Guyton …
                      20 July 2020 at 10:35 am

                      Winston is crimped and coiffured, it's true!

                    • Tricledrown []
                      20 July 2020 at 10:01 pm

                      Winston maybe a handbrake vote from National supporters as they continue to implode.

                      Collins dodgy past and corroberators in Dirty politics are still players in the shadows.

                    • Mista Smokey …
                      20 July 2020 at 10:50 am

                      Now, this comes to mind, from a fair way back:

                      Helen Clark saying, "Every three years, Winston pops up like Rumpelstiltskin."

                    • Robert Guyton …
                      20 July 2020 at 11:43 am

                      It ended badly for ol' Rumpy, as I recall.

              • Stuart Munro …
                20 July 2020 at 2:20 pm

                Winston is green the way the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is democratic.

            • Incognito 1.1.4.1.1.2
              20 July 2020 at 9:23 am

              And Winston, of course 😉

          • Anne 1.1.4.1.2
            20 July 2020 at 10:52 am

            Yet another example of a word or phrase that is forced down the throats of the population and means different things to different people. It is used by self proclaimed, trend setting leaders of political discourse who have an agenda to push which can be either Left or Right.

            As far as I can see it is mainly a tool of the Right in NZ and is being used to denigrate the Left in a DP context.

            • Sacha 1.1.4.1.2.1
              20 July 2020 at 11:22 am

              It is used by self proclaimed, trend setting leaders of political discourse who have an agenda to push which can be either Left or Right.

              I'm still waiting for an example of the term being used in NZ except to describe others..

          • joe90 1.1.4.1.3
            20 July 2020 at 1:44 pm

            Appropriated African American vernacular used as an insult.

            Says it all, really.

            While Black folks are routinely dismissed and discriminated against because of our hairstyles and AAVE in personal and professional settings, white people profit off of our styles, wear dreads and awkwardly co-opt our words and cadences for cool-points.

            Meanwhile, white millennials will play the word on their Scrabble boards and laugh as they collect points for a word they do not use properly. People will buy “stay woke” cocktails with Red Bull, and tweet that you should “stay woke” in reference to the unfairness of the C minus they got in trigonometry. Woke will lose its Blackness, it will fade into whiteness–the same whiteness which assumed the term was just misconjugated verb, and now thinks that it makes a great descriptor for their Corgi who is nice to Black people.

            https://web.archive.org/web/20170709055948/https://wearyourvoicemag.com/identities/race/white-people-ruined-on-fleek-woke

            edit: this too

            https://www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu/2018/06/dear-white-people-woke-requires-work/

        • tc 1.1.4.2
          20 July 2020 at 9:46 am

          Here we go. Collins will lead a well funded campaign using all the latest tools.

          Manufacturing consent, dissent and whatever it takes to get a bigger vote.

        • Gabby 1.1.4.3
          20 July 2020 at 12:00 pm

          They've worn out 'social justice warrior' and 'snoflake'.

      • SPC 1.1.5
        20 July 2020 at 9:33 am

        You must have never gone to the Daily Blog or Kiwblog. It’s used in a dispargaging way for the liberal left at both sites. At Kiwblog its just their new term for PC, at the Daily Blog its a term for those who deplatform others on social media (so the site tries to make any one woke as unwelcome as possible).

        • Tiger Mountain 1.1.5.1
          20 July 2020 at 10:29 am

          “Snowflake” and “virtue signaling” were US imports–derisive terms essentially used in one direction only, uttered by reactionaries in regards to those they wished to denigrate, usually perceived as being left.

          “Woke” however has accumulated wider usage and connotations for both left and right, and seems set to hang around longer, as did PC. No one but the out of touch, uses “PC” any more except in an ironic way perhaps. “I know its not PC…but…” does remain a BBQ favourite though for bigots about to blather some more offensive shit.

          “Woke” is offensive to me when used in the same way as “PC” was. Where perfectly just causes and actions are corralled under one label as being on the margins rather than something the mainstream need to concern themselves with.

          • SPC 1.1.5.1.1
            20 July 2020 at 10:46 am

            Sure the awake to injustice, rather than unaware of it, or comfortable with its continuance.

            Disparaging the woke reminds me of someone like Karl Du Fresne in MSM column or Desterre on blog saying criticism of old white male boomers is ageist, racist and sexist and they will deplatform or not vote for such people (young, coloured and female).

            One could go back to JFK's book Why England Slept (not being awake to the white racist nation's fascist threat to peace/world order) to whom on the right would be wary of the woke and why.

            • AB 1.1.5.1.1.1
              20 July 2020 at 11:37 am

              Woke.

              When used by those on the left it is a disapproving term for other people on the left who exhibit a vehement response to identity-based slights and injustices – but have no underlying structural analysis of how those slights and injustices arise. (Put simply: it's Marxists criticising identity politics)

              When used by those on the right, it is a generalised disparagement of everyone on the left who is annoyed by any form of injustice and has the impertinence to speak up about it with force or passion. As has been said above, it now replaces 'political correctness' and is mostly an expression of how irritated the right is by hearing anything from unimportant people who don't really count in their internalised hierarchies of humans

              When used by ordinary people – it is just fatigue at having one’s language policed by zealots looking for hidden signs of impure thoughts. Rather like post-modernist literary critics, even the faintest linguistic cloudiness can be ‘problematized’ into a thing that deserves extensive commentary leading to denunciation.

              So it’s all a complete mess

  2. Andre 2
    20 July 2020 at 6:46 am

    The Lincoln Project's tribute to John Lewis.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqZV–6Q2fg

  3. Dennis Frank 3
    20 July 2020 at 7:02 am

    Spinoff reviews NZF campaign launch: https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/20-07-2020/fear-and-loathing-and-john-farnham-at-winston-peters-campaign-launch/

    In the face of electoral oblivion, Peters played the hits. His proposals at the Highbrook Conference Suites may as well have been designed by a random New Zealand First policy generator. Peters argued for a limit on immigration numbers to 15,000 per year, and insisted a New Zealand First immigration minister would be a “bottom line” in any coalition agreement.

    New Zealand First was like a “rock, steadfast against the surging sea,” he said. It would ensure the country didn’t “lurch too far left, or too far right”. Instead it would be safe with Peters, the eye in a storm of attempted progress.

    Fear is a hard sell at the moment though. Most of Peters’ voting base just spent the last 12 weeks in front of the TV being reassured by prime minister Jacinda Ardern. It’s hard to present yourself as a barrier fending off the hordes of political loons when your coalition partner’s biggest selling point is its calm, steady handling of a global crisis.

    The reviewer looks for something more relevant to a brighter future, finds it lacking. I'm inclined to agree that the x factor is missing. Winston's ripe for retirement.

    • Just Is 3.1
      20 July 2020 at 9:58 am

      Winstons trying to lift the parties popularity, at the last poll of under 2% he seems to think it's because of his association with Labour and the Greens.

      I would suggest that it's because he has stymied the efforts of Labour and the Greens in their attempt improve conditions for all, not a few.

      His boasting and denials on Q&A yesterday was directed at his base, the voice of sensibility, he claims.

      • Sacha 3.1.1
        20 July 2020 at 10:05 am

        Winston also trying to persuade a couple of % of Nat voters to switch to him as a handbrake on progress. That's all he needs to do.

        • Just Is 3.1.1.1
          20 July 2020 at 10:46 am

          I wouldn't like to predict the election outcome, but I'm kinda hoping hoping NZF sits the next term on the sidelines.

          • Sacha 3.1.1.1.1
            20 July 2020 at 11:18 am

            As do many of us..

          • Tiger Mountain 3.1.1.1.2
            20 July 2020 at 12:18 pm

            Heh, no shit! You are in good company Just Is. Winston helped a Labour led Govt. assume office as per MMP, then bailed.

            He has often acted more like he was actually in opposition.

      • Adrian 3.1.2
        20 July 2020 at 11:13 am

        Agree whole heartedly. Voters don't like blockers.

  4. OnceWasTim 4
    20 July 2020 at 7:09 am

    Episode 3: BAU – shunt the exploited out of the if possible, as quickly as possible

    RSE workers: ‘Nothing will happen’

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/rse-workers-nothing-will-happen

    Standard operating procedure

    • Adrian 4.1
      20 July 2020 at 8:58 am

      Not really standard OP, most RSEs are well looked after and the arseholes exploiting the minority are getting eliminated.

      In the vineyards the pay is above minimum and in most cases well above that, but the most important thing to remember is someone from Vanuatu and the like earning good money when seen on comparable basis back home are earning more like the PM does here, Marlborough vineyard work has made it possible to build hundreds of houses and start businesses in the islands, and when strife hits the islands locals here are quick to fill containers with building materials and gear and ship it up there with money raised locally.

      It is a form of foreign aid that works both ways.

      • OnceWasTim 4.1.1
        20 July 2020 at 5:00 pm

        Did you actually read the item which btw has been updated since my initial post?

        And did you read the first 2 episodes? I'll concede that in most occasions the RSE workers think they're doing OK IF and WHEN they're treated OK and not as though they're some cheap alternative to local labour that they should be grateful for because some jumped up little gittus and his borderline crim mates think they're royalty who are magnanimously doing a few lesser beings a favour.

        And, when they're not treated with the respect that is their due, AND/OR being paid their entitlements, they have a right to complain – just as anyone else does.

        Their is a history to all this as you possibly well know (if you're claiming expertise in the matter) – going back a while. It doesn't JUST concern RSE workers either.

        Unfortunately, Lees-Galloway (once again) has invited the opposition a few more free hits – which is a shame, because I'm told he's relatively intelligent and a 'nice guy'. Shame he's such a shit judge of character

        • OnceWasTim 4.1.1.1
          20 July 2020 at 5:39 pm

          Krekshun. 'Their is a history………' should read 'There is a history ……..'

          (Brain was going slower than my really phat arthritic fingers – as gorgeous as they are, and frankly, you pissed me off with your comment)

    • Stuart Munro 4.2
      20 July 2020 at 9:08 am

      You could almost be describing the Russian crews stranded in Lyttleton through the delinquency of Grinevich et al. Thirty years on and the only thing that has changed is that the exploitation has moved onshore.

      • Adrian 4.2.1
        20 July 2020 at 11:17 am

        How can earning 10 times the hourly rate back home and working for people who band together and support your community when disaster strikes be equated to Russian crews on Russian ships?

        • Stuart Munro 4.2.1.1
          20 July 2020 at 12:03 pm

          Perhaps you were unaware of how low wages are in Russia – when the first Russian charters began operating in NZ (probably the Fletcher Sovryflot vessels), crew received the princely sum of $2 US per day – vastly more than they could have made at home.

          They were exploited, and illegally of course, with the connivance of both major parties. The vessels were required to be registered in NZ for fisheries purposes (which also sent a bit of work to local dockyards), but this also made them subject to NZ law in its entirety including minimum wage law. This was never enforced of course – both Labour and National MPs being completely onboard with slavery.

          But to answer your question – the Lyttleton vessel crews were in dispute about unpaid wages, and just as reluctant to be repatriated before they their court case was settled as Once Was Tim's RSE workers.

          In fact some kind of migrant worker ombudsman office is highly desirable, so that these very common exploitation rorts are carried through the courts to completion even if the complainants are obliged to return home, and the scoundrels responsible face the justice that at present they generally escape.

  5. Red Blooded One 5
    20 July 2020 at 7:45 am

    Road trip to and from Whangarei for me from the Far North today, Mangamuka Gorge closed, so National will probably promise to build a Tunnel through it to go with their promised Bridges /sarc National, Building a Blighted Future

    • Sacha 5.1
      20 July 2020 at 7:53 am

      Drive well. Looks hairy.

      • Red Blooded One 5.1.1
        20 July 2020 at 8:03 am

        Thanks Sacha, SH10 is open and only adds another 10min to a trip so shouldn't be a problem really, but the Gorge road does sound munted and will need a lot of money spent on it. Was really just poking fun at Nationals un-costed yet promised tunnels and bridges. Blue skies and we're drying out here now, fingers crossed.

        • Sacha 5.1.1.1
          20 July 2020 at 8:30 am

          Heard a civil defence guy on radio saying slips and washouts all over the show, warning locals to not assume the road is same as last time they drove it.

        • greywarshark 5.1.1.2
          20 July 2020 at 11:10 am

          Far North might be advantaged from using the flat bottomed coastal shipping that used to be common up there way into last century.

    • Treetop 5.2
      20 July 2020 at 11:31 am

      Do you think the Mangamuka Gorge will suffer the same fate as the Manawatu Gorge?

      As for Collin's 31b road project, the Nats when in government just cleared the slips from the Manawatu Gorge and closed the gorge road for months.

      • Sacha 5.2.1
        20 July 2020 at 3:08 pm

        You mean suffer an expensive alternative route being built? Not enough farmers at either end.

  6. Andre 6
    20 July 2020 at 9:34 am

    As the Dotard of Doltistan and his Banana Republicans do their best to shatter the norms and values of functioning democracy, let's take a moment to be grateful for the relatively healthy state of our own democracy and how minor the rorts and distortions we get fired up about here really are.

    Here there really is no question that the result of the election will be respected, and any subsequent transfer of power will happen in a peaceful and orderly manner. Contrast that with the decomposing jack'o'lantern's tease of refusing to accept the upcoming election results, with the real risk of armed extremists committing violence.

    Here we go to substantial efforts to enable everyone to vote freely and that the final result fairly reflects the electorate's wishes. Contrast that with the partisan dirty tricks that are so prevalent in the US, such as voter suppression, removing polling booths, gerrymandering etc.

    All of that without even starting on the failings of sham democracies such as Russia, Zimbabwe, Syria etc where elections only exist to stoke their ruler's ego and give useful idiots elsewhere talking points to hang false equivalences and other sham arguments from.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2018/jan/21/this-is-how-democracies-die

    https://www.vox.com/mischiefs-of-faction/2018/9/21/17886252/forgotten-majority-norms-democracy

  7. Dennis Frank 7
    20 July 2020 at 10:12 am

    Gordon Campbell explains why journalism was created: http://werewolf.co.nz/2020/07/gordon-campbell-on-the-mainstream-medias-romance-with-judith-collins/

    Forgive the preachy tone, but journalism was given its Fourth Estate privileges in order to discern who benefits from any given public policy, who’s likely to suffer the consequences of it, and what the wider repercussions are likely to be when this or that political direction is taken..

    Don't bother asking Gordon when this happened. It didn't. Only in his mind – he's a leftist, of course. Trawl through the relevant history in search of his origin myth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Estate

    Gordon does make an important point in his footnote, however, and readers ought to check that out! Media responsibilities to the public are imaginal/real…

    • Sacha 7.1
      20 July 2020 at 10:15 am

      You're conflating 'given privileges' with 'being created'. Nice strawman.

    • SPC 7.2
      20 July 2020 at 10:37 am

      when this happened.

      saying something does not exist if it does not have a creation date is spurious.

      Our constitution within parliament system evolved, as did the role of the so called media estate.

      • Dennis Frank 7.2.1
        20 July 2020 at 10:46 am

        Oh, true. I was just reacting to the obvious falsity of his claim. The fourth estate does seem to have become accepted as a de facto component of the privilege system – even if the proof of that remains lacking. Thus my reference to imaginal/real. The social contract, however ephemeral, does condition people, politics, even power…

    • Drowsy M. Kram 7.3
      20 July 2020 at 11:05 am

      Thanks for that link Dennis – interesting footnote from Campbell; perceptive and fun.

      "A disturbing downside of the media air kisses to Collins (for her services to news bulletins past and present) has been the skewing of the news agenda that has come in its wake. On Wednesday PM Jacinda Ardern delivered a major speech on this country’s route of re-engagement with the outside world, including a four part breakdown of the plans for handling the Covid-19 infection outbreaks that Ardern conceded would almost certainly ensue.

      However, this announcement got buried in the blizzard of Collins stories, at least one of which (“The Many Sides of Judith Collins”) consisted of one journalist asking three other journalists to share their perceptions of Collins. Meanwhile, the Australians were treating the Ardern speech as rather big news. The Melbourne Age ran it prominently on its website. So did the Sydney Morning Herald, under the headline: “‘We have a plan’: Ardern says NZ must prepare for virus resurgence.”"

      • greywarshark 7.3.1
        20 July 2020 at 11:15 am

        Could much of our media be regarded as infected with a sort of virus that attacks the 'little grey cells'? Perhaps some should go into isolation and spend it in thinking and reading non-fiction books that aren't Jordan Peterson's.

        • Drowsy M. Kram 7.3.1.1
          20 July 2020 at 11:25 am

          "Perhaps some should go into isolation…" – like your thinking Grey; a gulag would be too good for the worst of them, IMHO. In NZ, however, we'll just have to muddle through with 'a contest of ideas'.

          Wouldn't mind so much, if only it was a fair joust, but one competitor in particular does have substantial recent form for playing dirty.

        • Robert Guyton 7.3.1.2
          20 July 2020 at 11:48 am

          Aren't you a "little grey cell", Grey?

          smiley

          • greywarshark 7.3.1.2.1
            20 July 2020 at 10:21 pm

            Keep laughing Robert it's good for the health. And funnily enough being a bit grey gives a number of characters to present, which is privately amusing at times.

  8. Muttonbird 8
    20 July 2020 at 11:17 am

    Tertiary enrolments up! This is a problem for National because it makes attacking fees-free difficult.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/421583/tertiary-enrolments-rise-as-job-opportunities-fall

    Also helps with unemployment figures.

    • Imodium 8.1
      20 July 2020 at 11:37 am

      I think you will find that the Fees Free policy has had very minimal impact on the increased enrolments that the institutions are seeing because the eligibility critera for Fees Free restricts alot of learners who have previouly studied at Level 3 .

      [You have already used at least three different user names here and you don’t need to use a fourth one! We ask every commenter to pick one and stick with it. I have changed yours to the most recent (22 June 2020) user name that you seem to have used here – Incognito]

      • Incognito 8.1.1
        20 July 2020 at 12:11 pm

        See my Moderation note @ 11:37 AM.

      • Muttonbird 8.1.2
        20 July 2020 at 12:37 pm

        You didn't read what I wrote. I said increase enrolments would make it hard for National to attack fees-free. I didn't say increased enrolments are a result of fees-free.

    • Treetop 8.2
      20 July 2020 at 11:40 am

      Good to see free fees working for the older cohort and for potential tradies.

      • Cinny 8.2.1
        20 July 2020 at 3:51 pm

        My sister is in her second year of study to be a early childhood educator, something she had never considered until fee's free. I'm mighty proud of her.

    • Just Is 8.3
      20 July 2020 at 11:41 am

      Nats hate Educating people and hate Educated people

      They'd much rather prefer to import the expertise, saying there's no one in NZ with qualifications

      The FACT is that Education is the BIGGEST LONG TERM INVESTMENT any country can make with huge long term benefits.

      • greywarshark 8.3.1
        20 July 2020 at 1:37 pm

        Just Is What type of education though? I look at what we have and find it facing backwards to the 2Oth century. I just found this 2012 article by George Monbiot commenting on 'the barons', the present young dispossessed from just about everything that we all thought that WW2 fighting was for.

        https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jul/16/barons-in-control-of-britain

        To be young in the post-industrial nations today is to be excluded. Excluded from the comforts enjoyed by preceding generations; excluded from jobs; excluded from hopes of a better world; excluded from self-ownership.

        Those with degrees are owned by the banks before they leave college. Housing benefit is being choked off. Landlords now demand rents so high that only those with the better jobs can pay. Work has been sliced up and outsourced into a series of mindless repetitive tasks, whose practitioners are interchangeable. Through globalisation and standardisation, through unemployment and the erosion of collective bargaining and employment laws, big business now asserts a control over its workforce almost unprecedented in the age of universal suffrage.

        The promise the old hold out to the young is a lifetime of rent, debt and insecurity. A rentier class holds the nation's children to ransom. Faced with these conditions, who can blame people for seeking an alternative?

        But the alternatives have also been shut down: you are excluded yet you cannot opt out.

        This is what I see. So a different sort of education is needed, one that won't just reinforce the above behaviour, one that will help ameliorate the present situation, and will encourage strong, good and kind people to help each other to grow individually to largely follow their own path within the community. They might be like freemen, or husbandmen of medieval times, or guildsmen. There could be the option of leaving school at 13 and going into an apprenticeship with block courses off for learning other subjects, one of which would be humanity and philosophy, but not religion as such.

        Guilds might be the answer for us now. They could be formed on a local region basis to take on apprentices to make things for local use and work up superior types of product for sale in other regions or for export. This would apply to both males and females. https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/guilds.html

        It would pay to read about 'the Estates of the Realm and how society has been ordered in different places and ages. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estates_of_the_realm

        There are trends in treatment and lack of opportunity for women to learn skills apart from domestic work among religious groups at present that are following medieval paths as referred to here:

        … general observations about English peasant women: "A peasant woman's life was, in fact, hemmed in by prohibition and restraint." If single, women had to submit to the male head of her household; if married, to her husband, under whose identity she was subsumed. English peasant women generally could not hold lands for long, rarely learnt any craft occupation and rarely advanced past the position of assistants, and could not become officials.

        For elite woman of the medieval ages, the situation sounds similar to that available to late 20th century women – since then opportunities and conditions have changed under neolib and freemarket strictures:

        Noble women were natural parts of the cultural and political environments of their time due to their positions and kinship. Particularly when acting as regents, elite women would assume the full feudal, economic, political and judicial powers of their husbands or young heirs. These women were never prohibited during the Middle Ages from receiving fiefdoms or owning real property during their husbands' lives. Noble women were often patrons of literature, art, monasteries and convents, and religious men. It was not uncommon for them to be knowledgeable in Latin literature. For the wives of elite merchants in Northern Europe, their roles extended to commercial undertakings both with their husbands and on their own, however in Italy tradition and law excluded them from commerce.

        • Just Is 8.3.1.1
          20 July 2020 at 5:44 pm

          My intent was for just basic high quality teaching from year 1 in all our schools and institutions, access for everyone, smaller classes, proper wages for those who educate.

          We know low decile schools tend to have poor outcomes for many students, is there a way to change that.

          Make sure the school buildings are fit for purpose, safe and healthy.

          Tertiary education Institutes have been commercialized, its all about profit.

          • greywarshark 8.3.1.1.1
            20 July 2020 at 10:25 pm

            But what are we educating for? We are not teaching kids to think. Our lives have changed immeasurably and we don't have the width of learning and practice of analysis to have understanding and influence on what is happening. We have lost the 20th century, and we have had a poor batting average, we must regroup now in education, or we'll be run out. And that isn't cricket, for the oldies to give to the young ones. I have gone all sporty, time to retire for the post game cup of tea.

      • Halfcrown 8.3.2
        20 July 2020 at 2:39 pm

        +100%

        They don't like educated well-informed people because they will ask questions.

      • Grafton Gully 8.3.3
        20 July 2020 at 6:11 pm

        "The FACT is that Education is the BIGGEST LONG TERM INVESTMENT any country can make with huge long term benefits."

        Including lifelong learning by SELF EDUCATION.

        A sense of self worth and confidence given to children by the people who raise them helps here.

        That requires a stable household income, healthy accomodation and workplaces, available healthcare and and a secure old age.

  9. Just Is 9
    20 July 2020 at 11:32 am

    Bryce Edwards on the AM Show this morning commenting on NZF and Winston

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/07/time-to-start-writing-off-winston-peters-expert-explains-why-nz-first-have-no-hope.html

    Bryce is writing him off, but history suggests that you never know

    Bryce is very supportive of the Nats new leader, no mention of her previous "History" though.

    • Robert Guyton 9.1
      20 July 2020 at 11:49 am

      Bryce! Says it all.

    • swordfish 9.2
      20 July 2020 at 12:45 pm

      .
      I'd agree with Bryce … I think Winston's in real trouble. With inadequate Bridges & Muller in charge of the Nats, there was still an outside chance of a last-minute 2002-style resurrection for NZF (though even then, it would’ve almost certainly been a highly anaemic version of that hefty 02 swing) … but Collins' leadership might just be the final nail in the Winstonista coffin. They're certainly fighting for their electoral lives (hence, the UK Beagle Boys).
      .

      https://twitter.com/swordfish7774/status/1285012897559482368

      .

  10. Muttonbird 10
    20 July 2020 at 11:39 am

    "I've spent much of my career respecting and working for retirees. You seem to want to euthanise them."

    – Winston Peters to David Seymour

    Good contender for political quote of the year.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12349322

  11. Just Is 11
    20 July 2020 at 11:56 am

    Here's some stats for Global management of Corona Virus comparing Male Leaders to Female Leaders, quite interesting

    Just reinforces the fact of just "How Lucky We Are"

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12349101

    • Muttonbird 11.1
      20 July 2020 at 12:01 pm

      I remember Heather Duplicity-Allen had a mini-meltdown on air a couple of months ago about these exact observations.

      Seems she is man's woman.

      • Just Is 11.1.1
        20 July 2020 at 5:49 pm

        I was going to say Women tend to be kinder at heart but then I remembered….Collins

        • I Feel Love 11.1.1.1
          20 July 2020 at 9:50 pm

          I've always held my tongue because there was Thatcher, the shoe collector wife of that leader, Ismeralda? Imelda? Shipley, but not many, and generally, they don't seem to get caught up in sex scandals or sending unsolicited porn…

          • Just Is 11.1.1.1.1
            20 July 2020 at 10:20 pm

            Imelda Marcos, wife of the Phillipines President a decade or so ago.

            There is a difference between strict and downright dishonest

  12. Observer Tokoroa 12
    20 July 2020 at 12:24 pm

    NZFirst

    Even after it's long time in Parliament, NZFirst is in fact a one person Jockey.

    The sought of stallion who knows a lot, produces a few ideas, but does not get the main ideas up and running.

    All words – and no work. Just talk. It's a real pity the Jockey has flopped.

    But then, Winston Peters believes only in himself.

    New Zealanders are not knocking on his door. They are tired. Same old words,

  13. te reo putake 13
    20 July 2020 at 1:30 pm

    I mentioned in the Wellington central post that Martyn 'Bomber' Bradbury appeared to have a tendency toward misogyny. He's promptly confirmed that he genuinely despises women in a childishly immature post on the Daily Blog.

    In this case, the primary object of his hate is the leader of the National Party, with another woman, Fran O'Sullivan getting a backhander too.

    No mention of where the image used came from, and unless I miss my guess, it appears to be something he has composed himself. Presumably while typing one handed.

    To save clicking through, it's a composite of Judith Collin's face under a PornHub header.

    Vile.

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2020/07/20/political-caption-competition-1253/

    • McFlock 13.1
      20 July 2020 at 1:46 pm

      And he called it a "caption competition". Just to encourage the jerkoffs. Fucksake.

      • weka 13.1.1
        20 July 2020 at 2:22 pm

        Fortunately no-one has commented on it, despite 89 views.

        It's a good example of why people, esp men, need to stop using the Karen meme now.

        • weka 13.1.1.1
          20 July 2020 at 2:24 pm

          also thankfully appears not to have gone out on twitter.

          This image strikes me as misogynistic too. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

          https://twitter.com/TheDailyBlogNZ/status/1284593831497924609

          • adam 13.1.1.1.1
            20 July 2020 at 2:57 pm

            So generating death threats against female journalist isn't misogyny?

            Is it just good woke politics?

            • weka 13.1.1.1.1.1
              20 July 2020 at 3:19 pm

              what are you on about adam?

              • adam …
                20 July 2020 at 11:36 pm

                te reo putake hit piece on a female journalist. If you have not read it, ask te reo putake he can give it to you.

                [still no idea what you are on about and I’m not willing to trawl through TRP’s posts to try and figure it out. I warned you yesterday not to do this bullshit innuendo stuff and poking at people without any real intent to communicate. You’re out for a week. Please up your game when you return – weka]

        • McFlock 13.1.1.2
          20 July 2020 at 2:58 pm

          Maybe the "captions" are premoderated, and a certain bloviate didn't approve of the responses.

          • weka 13.1.1.2.1
            20 July 2020 at 3:18 pm

            I'd forgotten they don't publish certain comments.

            You could pop over there and test it out 😈

            • McFlock 13.1.1.2.1.1
              20 July 2020 at 3:28 pm

              was tempted, but don't know if they want a legit email 🙂

              • weka …
                20 July 2020 at 3:59 pm

                There didn't used to be any confirm email thingy.

                • McFlock …
                  20 July 2020 at 4:12 pm

                  never actually commented there, I think. Don't read it regularly.

                  • In Vino …
                    20 July 2020 at 7:36 pm

                    I saw the same thing on TDB, and saw Bomber as attacking the Herald's standards of journalism, in pushing Fran's positive promotion of Judith.

                    I think Bomber tends to rush in boots and all, and does not always think about how easy it is for people with different attitudes to misinterpret the bombast that he has thrown forth.

                    I don't see him as a misogynist, only as a naughty, at times over-exuberant propagandist.

  14. francesca 14
    20 July 2020 at 1:46 pm

    TRP
    Your attacks on Assange,with his arms pinned , turned my stomach
    And I was piled on for defending him

    • I Feel Love 17.1
      20 July 2020 at 3:58 pm

      Collins def gets rabid whenever she starts on "those lot at Labour" rants, she's just full of seething anger, I can't think of a counterpart in Labour or Greens. Nicky knows where the bodies are buried, he's seen the emails, I'm glad he's speaking out.

  18. ianmac 18
    20 July 2020 at 2:23 pm

    Wow!

    National MP Andrew Falloon quits amid 'significant mental health issues'

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12349451

  19. Patricia Bremner 19
    20 July 2020 at 2:33 pm

    Andrew Falloon will not stand for National in the Rangitata seat
    Suicides of friends and unresolved grief, for which he has been having counselling given as the reason in a written statement. Get well Andrew.

    (Slow typing)

  20. ScottGN 20
    20 July 2020 at 2:48 pm

    Stuff understands the (National) Party was alerted to some of Falloon’s behaviour, which was “unbecoming of an MP”.

    Wonder if we’ll ever find out what the behaviour was? And call me cynical but ‘mental health issues’ seems to have become a very convenient way for all political parties to shut down a potentially damaging issue.

  21. Corey Humm 21
    20 July 2020 at 2:53 pm

    What are labours policies this election?

    • weka 21.1
      20 July 2020 at 4:02 pm

      Probably making sure lots of people don't die and that we survive the economic recession. After that I expect they will release policy in the lead up to the election.

    • Patricia Bremner 21.2
      20 July 2020 at 4:06 pm

      To battle corona virus and to restart the economy.. Seem to be doing ok. More later..

  22. AB 22
    20 July 2020 at 3:06 pm

    The TMBS lads discuss why "lame liberals" getting excited by the Lincoln Project ads is mostly a bad thing. In short – the Lincoln Project people have power/influence and a horrible agenda.

  23. Ad 23
    20 July 2020 at 5:00 pm

    The Prime Minister and Minister of Finance have today put aside $14 billion in case of a second pandemic wave.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12349475

    I lived through the oil crisis and Think Big 1977-1982, and this government response says we are in a bigger crisis than even that.

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    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    22 hours ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    22 hours ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    23 hours ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts

    Cats, with their independent spirit and beguiling purrs, have captured the hearts of humans for millennia. In New Zealand, felines are no exception, boasting the highest national cat ownership rate globally [definition cat nz cat foundation]. An estimated 1.134 million pet cats grace Kiwi households, compared to 683,000 dogs ...

    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    5 days ago

  • Or is that just they want us to think?
    Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did global warming stop in ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Arguing over a moot point.
    I have been following recent debates in the corporate and social media about whether it is a good idea for NZ to join what is known as “AUKUS Pillar Two.” AUKUS is the Australian-UK-US nuclear submarine building agreement in which … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago

  • No Longer Trusted: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    Turning Point: “What has turned me away from the mainstream news media is the very strong message that its been sending out for the last few years.” “And what message might that be?” “That the people who own it, the people who run it, and the people who provide its content, really don’t ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Mortgage rates at 10% anyone?
    No – nothing about that in PM Luxon’s nine-point plan to improve the lives of New Zealanders. But beyond our shores Jamie Dimon, the long-serving head of global bank J.P. Morgan Chase, reckons that the chances of a goldilocks soft landing for the economy are “a lot lower” than the ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    6 days ago

  • Sad tales from the left
    Michael Bassett writes –  Have you noticed the odd way in which the media are handling the government’s crackdown on surplus employees in the Public Service? Very few reporters mention the crazy way in which State Service numbers rocketed ahead by more than 16,000 during Labour’s six years, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • In Whose Best Interests?
    On The Spot: The question Q+A host, Jack Tame, put to the Workplace & Safety Minister, Act’s Brooke van Velden, was disarmingly simple: “Are income tax cuts right now in the best interests of lowering inflation?”JACK TAME has tested another MP on his Sunday morning current affairs show, Q+A. Minister for Workplace ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Don’t Question, Don’t Complain.
    It has to start somewhereIt has to start sometimeWhat better place than here?What better time than now?So it turns out that I owe you all an apology.It seems that all of the terrible things this government is doing, impacting the lives of many, aren’t necessarily ‘bad’ per se. Those things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Auckland faces 25% water inflation shock
    Three Waters became a focus of anti-Government protests under Labour, but its dumping by the new Government hasn’t solved councils’ funding problems and will eventually hit the back pockets of everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 8:06 am today are:The Government ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Small accomplishments and large ironies
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume VII
    In order to catch up to the actual progress of the D&D campaign, I present you with another couple of sessions. These were actually held back to back, on a Monday and Tuesday evening. Session XV Alas, Goatslayer had another lycanthropic transformation… though this time, he ran off into the ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Accelerating the Growth Rate?
    There is a constant theme from the economic commentariat that New Zealand needs to lift its economic growth rate, coupled with policies which they are certain will attain that objective. Their prescriptions are usually characterised by two features. First, they tend to be in their advocate’s self-interest. Second, they are ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
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