In terms of holding him accountable for his misdeeds, it means nothing. Because the chances of the senate voting to convict him, or imposing some other sanction short of conviction such as censure, are quite a lot less than your chances of winning Powerball.
In terms of his behaviour, unlike you or I that would find it quite a chastening experience, he will no doubt find it invigorating. You think it's been a shitshow so far? Hold on to your buttocks, you ain't seen nuthin yet.
Is there anyone left in the Republican Party who isn't either self-serving, corrupt or cowardly? Or an exciting blend of all three? Because they seem utterly vile almost to a man. Justin Amash at least had the moral fortitude to leave the GOP and stand as an independent. He must be feeling very lonely these days. Mitch McConnell and friends seem to have quite brazenly indicated they don't give a toss about the Constitution or the wishes of the American people. Their Orange Messiah has manufactured his own reality with its own rules, and those are the rules by which they're determined to play.
There are no absolutes anymore. Reality is the perpetually morphing domain of those who can lie most frequently and most shamelessly.
The dayglo swampzilla has spent the last five years thrashing around like a bull in a china shop with a taser lodged up its ass, and now Pelosi makes a mild attempt to rein him in. But you're suggesting the coming eruptions are Pelosi's fault?
I recently read "And the War came: The North and the Secession Crisis, 1860-61" by Kenneth R. Stamp (formerly Professor of History at Berkeley) about events leading up to the US Civil War and evolution of northern public opinion. Trump could have walked out of its pages.
I'm still interested in your answer to the question below. I've asked you at least four times before, you evaded it the first time and ghosted the rest.
Do you think it's OK for the president to withhold Congress approved and taxpayer funded aid to try to extort a foreign country into smearing a political opponent of the president?
If I can push in here..I think there are people who would say its not an egregious enough accusation to warrant the risk of leaving Trump even more electable.
I would also question why, if the accusations are true, not to mention 'Russiagate' Pelosi etc are so willing to tick off Trumps latest military spending requests.
Let alone his laws around increased surveillance.
I guess Trump and Pelosi etc have some common ground..
<blockquote>
If Republicans are supposed to worry about the United States bankrupting itself with social-welfare spending, aren’t Democrats supposed to worry about the United States bankrupting itself with military spending? Not anymore. In the run-up to the deal, Nancy Pelosi’s office fired off an email to House Democrats proclaiming that, “In our negotiations, Congressional Democrats have been fighting for increases in funding for defense.” Chuck Schumer’s office announced that, “We fully support President Trump’s Defense Department’s request.” Not all congressional Democrats voted for the budget agreement: <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/115-2018/h69" rel="nofollow ugc">Thirty-eight percent of Democrats</a> backed it in the House and <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/115-2018/s31" rel="nofollow ugc">76 percent</a> did in the Senate. But even those who voted no mostly did so because they were upset about its lack of protection for immigrant “dreamers”—not because they oppose a higher defense budget. Last year, in fact, when Democrats were offered a standalone vote on big increases in military spending—in the form of <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/14/house-passes-defense-policy-bill-240561" rel="nofollow ugc">House</a> and <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2017/09/18/us-senate-passes-budget-busting-700-billion-ndaa/" rel="nofollow ugc">Senate</a> defense authorization bills—large majorities in both bodies voted yes.
</blockquote>
Russian interference came from Russia. Members of the dolt45 campaign tried to collude in that, but failed because they were incompetent. And it all happened before he was president, and nobody other than the Russians were using state resources or authority.
While the Ukraine thing is a clear case of an elected official using their public powers in order to obtain private political favours from a foreign power. No grey area, no complexity about servers or analytics: dolt45 withheld state aid to the Ukraine and requested a sham investigation against his political opponent before he released the funds. By his own admission, and the admission of multiple administration officials with direct or documentary knowledge of the conversation.
The Mueller report couldn't establish a conspiracy between Trump-Russia. There are no ifs or buts about it.
The Ukraine thing is even more tenuous as one of the star witnesses himself agreed with the Trump transcript and the other one admitted it was his own assumption there was a quid pro quo without evidence of one.
Do you think it's OK for the president to withhold Congress approved and taxpayer funded aid to try to extort a foreign country into smearing a political opponent of the president?
The Mueller report couldn't establish a conspiracy between Trump-Russia. There are no ifs or buts about it.
How does that contradict what I wrote?
The Ukraine thing is even more tenuous as one of the star witnesses himself agreed with the Trump transcript and the other one admitted it was his own assumption there was a quid pro quo without evidence of one.
Have you read the transcript of the July call? The one where Zelensky asks about getting Javelins for defense, and the orange piece of shit says "I would like you to do us a favor though" and starts requesting the Ukrainians open an investigation ranging across a number of issues, including that Guiliani will be his representative to the Ukrainians and "There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great."
And that's the whitehouse's own transcript. But you still regurgitate no evidence of quid pro quo.
It sounds like you're saying there was attempted collusion, and I'm just letting you know the investigation into it couldn't find any.
The bulk of the Ukraine transcript is centred on the goings on and the investigating of Ukraine. The javelins are mentioned once and I think the Bidens are too. To make a case that it is actually about doing a deal on either of those things when they are mentioned in passing is quite frankly stupid.
It's the tRump White House version of a phone call they rushed to bury in highly classified storage usually reserved for information about covert operations and other sensitive intelligence actions, not a transcript.
re: attempted collusion: yeah, nah. These guys said it better at the time. There were multiple attempts by the orange oaf's campaign to get electoral assistance from the Russians.
And if I say "do what I say or I kill your dog", even once, that's still a crime. The dude was literally asked about the congress-assigned military aid and answered with a request for a personal "favour". Even if he only did it once (lol) it's still a crime.
The A to Z framing is cheesy and limiting it to 26 means a lot has been left out. But it's still a useful reminder of how much the Mango Mugabe has gotten away with and almost certainly won't be held accountable for.
Are you coming to or travelling through Motueka these holidays? Us locals have a couple of unwritten rules…..
Don't turn right into High Street – You'll be waiting for ages.
If you see someone struggling to cross the road or exit a drive way, please stop for them and let them pass. You'll be rewarded with friendly waves and smiles and you'll still arrive at your destination on time. Thanks 🙂
Someone intoning about safety on the roads on radio this morning (in a foreign accent – Canadian I think one less job for a born NZer). Realistic xenophobia!
The message is that proposals and actions to bring the 'road toll' down must take a holistic approach, not just acting on one aspect. Cinny brings up the courtesy approach, the realisation that there are other people out there trying to do things too. Taking a community of the road approach would be very helpful in reducing stress when getting around. Pedestrians understand that they need to do what we used to teach toddlers to do, look right, left, then right again, and perhaps give a wave to drivers who stop. Drivers could slow more often when they observe others near the road, could toot to alert people who aren't paying attention. They could slow when approaching a narrow piece of road, to ensure safe transit in each lane, and give a wave as acknowledgment to other thoughtful and careful drivers.
We all tend to feel like 'King of the Road' and busy with our own duties, ignoring other drivers. So we could act graciously like the Kings and Queens we’ve observed, smiling and waving when appropriate. And find it appropriate on a regular basis.
We are having to slow to 80 km with the roads are jammed with traffic, which is also the same speed that the behemoth trucks can travel at so driving may involve staring at the rear of a truck for the whole journey. Or at another passenger vehicle with windows at a higher level, so they too will block out most of the view ahead. So we had better keep safe distances behind because you lose your opportunity to 'read' conditions ahead and so be forced to brake hard and fast in reaction to the moving wall ahead of you.
No worries though deaths and injuries will go down as soon we will have so many people on the roads we'll be in an eternal queue lucky to move forward at 20 kmh.
"Someone intoning about safety on the roads on radio this morning (in a foreign accent – Canadian I think one less job for a born NZer). Realistic xenophobia!"
Really, Grey? You think we should sack our Associate Minister of Transport, Julie Anne Genter, because she is American-born and replace her with someone NZ born?
Really? Who do you think should replace her? Yourself?
I am 99% sure you are referring to JAG's interview with Kathryn Ryan on RNZ Nine to Noon at 0908 this morning on the Government's new multi-billion dollar road safety plan aimed at cutting road deaths by 40 per cent by 2030. Genter announced the plan, called Road to Zero, yesterday. Earlier in the week she announced roadside drug testing would be rolled out from 2021.
Regardless of where she was born, I would rate Genter's past experience and qualifications light miles ahead of yours – or most other people's including other MPs of whatever hue, birthplace, or political party – for the job of Minister or Associate Minister for transportation generally, and in particular economically sustainable and environmental friendly roading and road safety.
Genter would be our most qualified Transport minister in decades. They train em well in that US of A. Glad to have one of their citizens contributing here rather than just buying up land.
Funny thing is on the Kapiti main road they sometimes closed down the passing lanes when traffic was heavy. Surprisingly the traffic flowed more evenly and accidents were fewer. I accept that motorways built for heavier traffic can flow at say 120kph safely. The 3 lane highway from Dubai to El Ain has a fast lane without interruption where locals travel at speeds greater than 150kph. (Limit supposed to be 120kph.)
Looks like the Spanish are flying under the radar, having become the world's leading practitioners of postmodern politics without getting the credit for it. I read what No Right Turn reported on the EU contradicting Spain's govt, did a hunt through likely websites to discover what that govt actually is, and found that the actual existence of that govt seems to depend on which source of info you read. Another Schrodinger's Cat situation.
Anyway, the baddies are the social democrats (or, socialist workers) who have been preventing an elected Catalan from taking his seat in the European parliament. Why would anyone expect a bunch of leftists to respect the will of the people? Postmodern thinking rules, and state compulsion is very addictive.
Re. "Why would anyone expect a bunch of leftists to respect the will of the people ?"
Having hitched around Spain the year before Franco died and seen the Gardia Civil in full riot gear marching away from an overwhelming crowd of Basque men and women in San Sebastian I am confident that "a bunch of leftists" would probably respect the will of the people. Catalonia has its own troubled past with forensic archaeologists now re-examining old sites.
A new generation should be left to resolve their own problems in peace rather than succumb to a patronizing antipodean analysis.
The formation of a government in Spain is almost complete.
PSOE and Podemos have already agreed a deal and a government with a majority in parliament is likely to be agreed before xmas, though it is possible this might be delayed until January.
Power tends to corrupt etc. I noticed that Ms Dalziel was revealed as being prepared to get more than a 'little help from my friends'. John Minto keeps an eye out for this sort of thing. He stood for Mayor himself didn’t he?
Her husband was in question about some matter a few months back. Being a lawyer, or being close to one of the right sort, seems to be important to modern politics. The age of people fired with dreams of a better country and better living conditions and opportunities for the people saw action men and women step up and look to the country. Now pollies sit in a circle and play Pass the Parcel and watch each other for cheating, and sneaking goodies, on the sly, out of the Parcel while passing.
I met a lawyer I know and asked him how he was, told him not to work too hard (he takes on difficult criminal cases), and said don't be like Greg King. He admitted he had a bad spell after one case. That's not the sort of lawyer I referred to above. Rumpole of the Bailey dealing with the hoi polloi isn't generally where the money and power is.
"Now pollies sit in a circle and play Pass the Parcel and watch each other for cheating, and sneaking goodies, on the sly, out of the Parcel while passing."
Up to 100 litres of wastewater and raw sewage a second is pouring into the Wellington harbour after a wastewater pipe collapsed in the CBD.
Listening to Australia's sudden jump into Climate Change horror, it would pay us to taihoa somewhat and perhaps sack our politicians, and set up an emergency government of scientists and leaders with lists of needs which then would be prioritised and costed, and amortised over ten years, and reviewed and done. Treasury could be asked for how our position in the world financial system could be held stable and our currency gradually deflated by a constant stream of carefully picked negative news. Economic advice would come from BERL and another. We might also set up a visa system for entry to this country, and ensure that all tourists should at least be a positive return to the country if not a profit. Dairy farmers would be taxed on each animal, that money to go towards remediation of waterways. Obviously the heavily stocked would have to pay more. Etc. We might get somewhere on our plan for survival under 'best practice' instead of having this political theatre of the absurd we have paraded every day.
Seems sensible and wise by the NZ authority. But wait, there’s more. Too much wisdom isn’t allowed any more, in our society with an unregulated zeitgeist.
After much declaration of the reliability and safety of the practice established in NZ of babies lying flat this is the final sentence:
‘The Unsafe Goods Notice will remain in force for the next 18 months.’
"With this slavish commitment to the automobile, the country’s political class has demonstrated its near-total moral incapacity. New Zealand’s claim to be taking Climate Change seriously stands exposed as utter bullshit."
"The thing is, we were expecting her commitment to amount to something more than the well-meaning but toothless Zero Carbon Act. Something like announcing a completely new, wider-gauge, electrified, national rail network. An infrastructure programme that would allow New Zealand to replicate the ultra-fast trains that move people around Europe, China and Japan. Something to put the greenhouse-gas pumping road transport industry out to pasture. Something more than a plan to build roads, roads and more roads.
Something to make young and old alike exclaim, at least one more time: “Let’s do this!”
We don't need to convert the current Cape gauge/ 3ft 6" to a wider gauge aka Standard gauge.
What needs to happen to NZ Railways is to fix up the loading gauge (and something else which I've forgotten atm), which will increase the speed and weight of fully loaded trains and for example the old Standard Railcars which operated throughout the Nth Island of which there are about 2-3 left for mainline operations now days can only be used on about 20% to 30% of Nth Island rail network compere to the 1930's until there replacements later on.
Most of the rail network alignment is still built when Steam Loco's were King of the Rails and again fixing up the alignment to for the more modern Loco's would allow for faster and heavily trains on the network.
We only need to look at Qld which is the same gauge as NZ's network at what could be done to NZ's network IRT to freight and High Speed Passenger Tilt Trains for both Regional/ Inter City and Urban networks.
There is so much potential in KiwiRail, even though a lot of land was sold off by Government prior to privatisation and under privatisation which restricted growth in some areas of the network which has hampered further investment.
A lot of people have forgotten there was a petrol ration during WW2 which lasted until the early to mid 50's and just imaging a 15% cut or greater to POL products if a major conflict broke out in the Middle East or in the South China Sea? The only reason that NZ kept producing goods was the Railways and the MN aka Coastal Shipping with the Trucking Firms restricted to the Ports or the various Rail depots to places that weren't serviced by ships or by the railways.
I wasnt overly concerned with the specifics of CTs piece (i.e. wider gauge or high speed) but rather the thrust of the fact we have rhetoric around CC and having just announced a relaxation of BR we are wasting (imo) that infrastructure spend on locking in high carbon infrastructure for the long term,,,as CT bemoans there is a huge gap between the rhetoric and the capability and its only being filled by the PMs personal appeal.
A review of practical coalition politics in respect of aspirations & achievements. No revelations but reassuring inasmuch as they seem sure of themselves and confident looking ahead…
The great social anthropologist Noah Way, at the end of a long and tireless search has found in the USA the remnants of a sect of the ancient Christian religion which has continued to exist in as near to the fount of its beliefs as was possible.
This has emerged from its recent announcement about the depravity of the secular head of the country who, with his cohorts, often espouses religious beliefs in an attempt to hide his false worship of The Golden Calf and Mammon.
Mammon /ˈmæmən/ in the New Testament of the Bible is commonly thought to mean money, material wealth, or any entity that promises wealth, and is associated with the greedy pursuit of gain. … Mammon in Hebrew (ממון) means "money". https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Mammon
The Golden Calf – The story of the golden calf is widely regarded as one of the most disgraceful moments in Jewish history. In Exodus, chapters 31-32, the Torah tells how three months after leaving Egypt, and a mere 40 days after receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, the Jewish people created an idol and worshipped it.
Sorry the Image is too large – but it is Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who is currently a candidate for President. She cravenly was the only Representative to vote "Present" on one of the votes for Impeachment in the House.
Scomo apologises and returns to Oz while confessing his fundamental uselessness by saying "I don't hold a hose". Expect plenty of bluff and hearty but sentimental outpourings from him in coming days. Nothing will be done. That benighted country will have to cook for another decade or two – or at least until there are mass deaths, before the grip of the Scomotypes is loosened.
(A ‘Scomotype’ is the opposite of a prototype – instead of being something you hope will work, it’s something you already know will fail)
What did his hose comment indicate? I thought he would be making jocular statements about all the male politicians rushing out to do their bit on the fires, and sending up women as useless as usual in fire emergencies!
We were discussing this the other day…the past is a foreign country.
We had 2 weeks annual leave, often taken over xmas new year because the business shut down for xmas…we had home ownership savings accounts you needed to be contributing to for years before you could even apply for a mortgage,,credit was difficult and expensive to obtain…mortgages at 20%… old/second hand was typical and expected when young…
Having said that the maximum term of a mortgage was 20 years (except HNZ which did 24 years) and I cringe when I see the size of the mortgages my children are signing up to (for 30 years)..and theres a good chance the house they bought is a going to fall down around their ears or be worthless because its leaky…and the environment wasnt collapsing (well it was but we didnt know)
the past was indeed a different country, where a house was only 3 times the median income and prices were stable. before property investment/ speculation/ hoarding/ rent-seeking became a national religion
yep…not disputing any of that…but am acknowledging I think I can view it from both perspectives…the fact is there are pluses and minuses to both regimes…and its easy to see what makes the whole neo-liberal project so seductive
You must remember I grew up in a world where half the people in my neighbourhood were where white collar and half were blue…the difference was negligible…not so now
That gives time to write into the Honourable Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi and give him some bullet points about your opinions. Enlarge on them below, but then he might not have time to read lots after the hols. k.faafoi@ministers. govt.nz
For groaning under the weight of being force-fed taxpayer subsidy, only the arts and sport get as good a subsidy as broadcasting does here. In terms of nutritious content though it's up there with Frosties.
If they're so intent on handing out public subsidies for non-MSM media, they should start with The Standard and Scoop. The public would then get a better shot at public policy debate than TVNZ and TV3 and MTV put together.
talking to a onetime MP today. They said they never rated the journos. After the nonsensical dead heat between Jacinda Ardern and Bridjizz it seems the right time to do so. How a liteweight like katy bradfod can get away with that defies the imagination. time to get to work on these pin heads who think their own shit doesn't stink.
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Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
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 from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealand’s apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
It may have been a short week but there’s been no shortage of things that caught our attention. Here is some of the most interesting. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt took a look at public transport ridership in 2024 On Thursday Connor asked some questions ...
The East Is Red: Journalists and commentators are referring to the sudden and disruptive arrival of DeepSeek as a second “Sputnik moment”. (Sputnik being the name given by the godless communists of the Soviet Union to the world’s first artificial satellite which, to the consternation and dismay of the Americans, ...
Hi,Back on inauguration day we launched a ridiculous RFK Jr. “brain worms” tee on the Webworm store, and I told you I’d be throwing my profits over to Mutual Aid LA and Rainbow Youth New Zealand. Just to show I am not full of shit, here are the receipts. I ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump over Gaza and Ukraine.Health expert and author David Galler ...
In an uncompromising paper Treasury has basically told the Government that its plan for a third medical school at Waikato University is a waste of money. Furthermore, the country cannot afford it. That advice was released this week by the Treasury under the Official Information Act. And it comes as ...
Back in November, He Pou a Rangi provided the government with formal advice on the domestic contribution to our next Paris target. Not what the target should be, but what we could realistically achieve, by domestic action alone, without resorting to offshore mitigation. Their answer was startling: depending on exactly ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guest David Patman and ...
I don't like to spend all my time complaining about our government, so let me complain about the media first.Senior journalistic Herald person Thomas Coughlan reported that Treasury replied yeah nah, wrong bro to Luxon's claim that our benighted little country has been in recession for three years.His excitement rose ...
Back in 2022, when the government was consulting internally about proactive release of cabinet papers, the SIS opposed it. The basis of their opposition was the "mosaic effect" - people being able to piece together individual pieces of innocuous public information in a way which supposedly harms "national security" (effectively: ...
With The Stroke Of A Pen:Populism, especially right-wing populism, invests all the power of an electoral/parliamentary majority in a single political leader because it no longer trusts the bona fides of the sprawling political class among whom power is traditionally dispersed. Populism eschews traditional politics, because, among populists, traditional politics ...
I’ve spent the last week writing a fairly substantial review of a recent book (“Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism: How we crushed the curve but lost the race”) by a couple of Australian academic economists on Australia’s pandemic policies and experiences. For all its limitations, there isn’t anything similar in New Zealand. ...
Mr Mojo Rising: Economic growth is possible, Christopher Luxon reassures us, but only under a government that is willing to get out of the way and let those with drive and ambition get on with it.ABOUT TWELVE KILOMETRES from the farm on the North Otago coast where I grew up stands ...
You're nearly a good laughAlmost a jokerWith your head down in the pig binSaying, 'Keep on digging.'Pig stain on your fat chinWhat do you hope to findDown in the pig mine?You're nearly a laughYou're nearly a laughBut you're really a crySongwriter: Roger Waters.NZ First - Kiwi Battlers.Say what you like ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Climate denial is dead. Renewable energy denial is here. As “alternative facts” become the norm, it’s worth looking at what actual facts tell us about how renewable energy sources like solar and wind are lowering the price of electricity. As ...
SIR GEOFFREY PALMER is worried about democracy. In his Newsroom website post of 27 January 2025 he asserts that “the future of democracy across the world now seems to be in question.” Following a year of important electoral contests across the world, culminating in Donald Trump’s emphatic recapture of the ...
The Government hasn’t stopped talking about growth since the Prime Minister made his “yes” speech at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce last week. But so far, the measures announced would seem hardly likely to suddenly pitch New Zealand into the fast-growth East Asian league. The digital nomad announcement hardly deserved ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
Officially, they’re called ‘memecoins,’ but Kōura Wealth founder Rupert Carlyon says the crypto world has another name for them: ‘shitcoins’.In digital finance, that phrase is used for tokens that have no true value – in essence, a money-grab.A few days before his inauguration, US President Donald Trump launched his own ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. Guy Williams has made a whole show off the joke that he is a “volunteer” journalist. So getting publicly owned by David Seymour while trying to act as a journalist is a good and timely reminder not to underestimate the nuance and ...
Many of Sāmoa’s beloved dishes are the result of cultural collaboration, writes Madeleine Chapman. All photos by Jin FelletIf you ever find yourself at a barbecue in a Sāmoan home, there’s 99% chance that sapasui (chop suey) will be on the table. For the past century, sapasui has ...
The funnyman takes us through his life in television, including Jono and Ben mayhem, live Telethon flubs, and funnelling all those experiences into his new comedy Vince. There’s an inciting incident in Three’s new comedy Vince where morning television presenter Vince Walters (Jono Pryor) is visiting sick kids in hospital ...
People often claim they just want Waitangi Day to be a celebration. At Waitangi, away from the headlined political acrimony and the marae ātea, celebrating is what most people are doing. The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous ...
Is there anything more fashionable than a Māori get together? One of the best things about Northland is that nobody cares what they look like — probably because they’re all naturally more stylish than the rest of us, famously. Māori from the Far North, especially. In 27 degree heat, wearing ...
I’ve been in love with him since last July, but it’s only now in this tepid hotel room that I find myself wondering why. The first thing he does when we arrive is smoke a cone in the bathroom – he emerges, hacking up a lung, fists thrust into his ...
MONDAY“Name,” barked a representative of the lower orders.I regarded him with a look of stern disapproval, and told him from up high, “May I remind you that I have name suppression. I shall also thank you to ask with more respect as befits a former president of the Act Party, ...
Books of Mana: 180 Māori-Authored Books of Significance, edited by Jacinta Ruru, Angela Wanhalla and Jeanette Wikaira has just been released by Otago University Press. In this essay, Books are Taonga, Jeanette Wikaira explores her personal relationship to books and their value.For me, books are taonga. The knowledge ...
Get to know Tara, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Tara’s human for their support! Dog name: Tara Age: Two Breed: Mostly Border Collie and a little bit Catahoula Leopard dog If dog ...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...
Gail Duncan, Chairperson of the St Peter’s on Willis Social Justice Group, one of the organisations invited to submit on the Bill, says the Government’s actions are unprecedented. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amani Kasherwa, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland In late January, a rebel group that has long caused mayhem in the sprawling African nation of Democratic Republic of Congo took control of Goma, a major city of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yee-Fui Ng, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University An ad falsely depicting independent candidate Alex Dyson as a Greens member.ABC News/Supplied The highly pertinent case of a little-known independent candidate in the Victorian seat of Wannon has exposed a gaping ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Nik/Unsplash You might have heard that eating too many eggs will cause high cholesterol levels, leading to poor health. Researchers have examined the science behind this myth again, and ...
Everything you missed from the third day of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard four hours of oral submission. Read our recaps of day one of the hearings here, and day two here. Parliament was quiet on Friday for the third day of hearings on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Jeffries, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, Western Sydney University Tijana Simic/Shutterstock The news last week that three people in Sydney were hospitalised with botulism after receiving botox injections has raised questions about the regulation of the cosmetic injectables industry. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jens Blotevogel, Principal Research Scientist and Team Leader for Remediation Technologies, CSIRO Mino Surkala, Shutterstock Lithium-ion batteries are part of everyday life. They power small rechargeable devices such as mobile phones and laptops. They enable electric vehicles. And larger versions store ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edith Jennifer Hill, Associate Lecturer, Learning & Teaching Innovation, Flinders University Netflix Netflix’s new limited series, Apple Cider Vinegar, tells the story of the elaborate cancer con orchestrated by Australian blogger Annabelle (Belle) Gibson. The first episode opens with Gibson’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dee Ninis, Earthquake Scientist, Monash University Greece’s government has just declared a state of emergency on the island of Santorini, as earthquakes shake the island multiple times a day and sometimes only minutes apart. The “earthquake swarm” is also affecting other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Western Australian state election will be held on March 8. A Newspoll, conducted January 29 to February 4 from a sample ...
She’s back behind the wheel, and this time, she wants to find out what it is that makes us tick. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. After a prolific career on stage and screen, 83-year-old Miriam Margolyes is on the road again. ...
A new poem by Jordan Hamel. Real Poet Every word earned its place and so did he, so should you. Real poet lives in the capital but writes himself into the Mackenzie country golden hour, man of the paper land, he neglects to mention his pollen ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Understanding Te Tiriti by Roimata Smail (Wai Ako Press, $25) No better time to get ...
The committee has published this list to inform the public about its work, and to give clarity to submitters who have contacted the committee asking if they will be invited to make an oral submission. ...
Alex Casey and Gabi Lardies dissect their Laneway 2025 experience. Gabi Lardies: Hi Alex :))))))) Congratulations on not getting sunburnt. Everyone I talked to at Laneway yesterday was braving the sun for one thing. Charli XCX. How was your brat experience?Alex Casey: We will talk about the rest of ...
The US President's suggestion, which sparked enormous debate globally, has been labelled as a threat, not a proposal, by the Federation of Islamic Associations. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine McCarthy, Senior Lecturer in Interior Architecture, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Interior of Auckland South Men’s Prison.Getty Images Prisons are not colourful places. Typically, they are grey or some variation of a monochrome colour scheme. But increasingly, ...
FICTION1Tree of Nourishment (Kāwai 2) by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)Interesting to note that the author of the biggest-selling New Zealand novel in Waitangi Week is Māori (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tai, and Ngāti Kahungunu).2 Kāwai: For Such a Time as This (Kāwai 1) by Monty Soutar (David ...
Remembering the renowned New Zealand writer, who died on February 5, 2025. The Stopover When the trout rise like compassion It is worth watching when the hinds come down from the hills with a new message it will be as well to listen. – Brian Turner Poet, environmentalist, sportsman, journalist, ...
Survivors can choose to have former High Court judge Paul Davison assess their individual claims to tailor payments to their personal circumstances. ...
Are we too modest when it comes to celebrating our putrid plant life?She’s beauty. She’s grace. She smells like a decaying corpse and lurks in the backrooms of Auckland Zoo, wallowing tragically in a bucket. In recent weeks an Australian corpse plant named Putricia has captured the noses and ...
Politicians from the coalition government received a frosty reception at Waitangi this year, but Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka says the pōwhiri that received so much attention was just one part of many events throughout the week. ...
Happy New Year, and please drive safely during the silly season.
What are the implications of Trumps impeachment ?
Seasons greetings for the coming solstice ☀️
☀️
Good article with everything you need to know
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/trump-impeachment-191217154733957.html
Electorally it's yet to be seen.
In terms of holding him accountable for his misdeeds, it means nothing. Because the chances of the senate voting to convict him, or imposing some other sanction short of conviction such as censure, are quite a lot less than your chances of winning Powerball.
In terms of his behaviour, unlike you or I that would find it quite a chastening experience, he will no doubt find it invigorating. You think it's been a shitshow so far? Hold on to your buttocks, you ain't seen nuthin yet.
Is there anyone left in the Republican Party who isn't either self-serving, corrupt or cowardly? Or an exciting blend of all three? Because they seem utterly vile almost to a man. Justin Amash at least had the moral fortitude to leave the GOP and stand as an independent. He must be feeling very lonely these days. Mitch McConnell and friends seem to have quite brazenly indicated they don't give a toss about the Constitution or the wishes of the American people. Their Orange Messiah has manufactured his own reality with its own rules, and those are the rules by which they're determined to play.
There are no absolutes anymore. Reality is the perpetually morphing domain of those who can lie most frequently and most shamelessly.
"What are the implications of Trumps impeachment ?"
Historians will pinpoint this as the event that led to the Second US Civil War. Pelosi has no idea of the forces she has unleashed.
The dayglo swampzilla has spent the last five years thrashing around like a bull in a china shop with a taser lodged up its ass, and now Pelosi makes a mild attempt to rein him in. But you're suggesting the coming eruptions are Pelosi's fault?
Blaming the woman administering a mild enema for the pent-up shitshow. Jackson Pollock all over the oval office. Cheeseburger art.
I recently read "And the War came: The North and the Secession Crisis, 1860-61" by Kenneth R. Stamp (formerly Professor of History at Berkeley) about events leading up to the US Civil War and evolution of northern public opinion. Trump could have walked out of its pages.
Is that you Brett O'Keefe?
Regrettably no ..
Nothing, it's a partisan Democrat wankfest if you've been following the commentary on this blog.
If anything it's made Trump much more re-electable.
I'm still interested in your answer to the question below. I've asked you at least four times before, you evaded it the first time and ghosted the rest.
Do you think it's OK for the president to withhold Congress approved and taxpayer funded aid to try to extort a foreign country into smearing a political opponent of the president?
If I can push in here..I think there are people who would say its not an egregious enough accusation to warrant the risk of leaving Trump even more electable.
I would also question why, if the accusations are true, not to mention 'Russiagate' Pelosi etc are so willing to tick off Trumps latest military spending requests.
Let alone his laws around increased surveillance.
I guess Trump and Pelosi etc have some common ground..
<blockquote>
If Republicans are supposed to worry about the United States bankrupting itself with social-welfare spending, aren’t Democrats supposed to worry about the United States bankrupting itself with military spending? Not anymore. In the run-up to the deal, Nancy Pelosi’s office fired off an email to House Democrats proclaiming that, “In our negotiations, Congressional Democrats have been fighting for increases in funding for defense.” Chuck Schumer’s office announced that, “We fully support President Trump’s Defense Department’s request.” Not all congressional Democrats voted for the budget agreement: <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/115-2018/h69" rel="nofollow ugc">Thirty-eight percent of Democrats</a> backed it in the House and <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/115-2018/s31" rel="nofollow ugc">76 percent</a> did in the Senate. But even those who voted no mostly did so because they were upset about its lack of protection for immigrant “dreamers”—not because they oppose a higher defense budget. Last year, in fact, when Democrats were offered a standalone vote on big increases in military spending—in the form of <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/14/house-passes-defense-policy-bill-240561" rel="nofollow ugc">House</a> and <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2017/09/18/us-senate-passes-budget-busting-700-billion-ndaa/" rel="nofollow ugc">Senate</a> defense authorization bills—large majorities in both bodies voted yes.
</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/02/democrats-defense-spending/553670/" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/02/democrats-defense-spending/553670/</a>
what the heck just ignore all that gobbledygook..
Russian interference came from Russia. Members of the dolt45 campaign tried to collude in that, but failed because they were incompetent. And it all happened before he was president, and nobody other than the Russians were using state resources or authority.
While the Ukraine thing is a clear case of an elected official using their public powers in order to obtain private political favours from a foreign power. No grey area, no complexity about servers or analytics: dolt45 withheld state aid to the Ukraine and requested a sham investigation against his political opponent before he released the funds. By his own admission, and the admission of multiple administration officials with direct or documentary knowledge of the conversation.
The Mueller report couldn't establish a conspiracy between Trump-Russia. There are no ifs or buts about it.
The Ukraine thing is even more tenuous as one of the star witnesses himself agreed with the Trump transcript and the other one admitted it was his own assumption there was a quid pro quo without evidence of one.
Do you think it's OK for the president to withhold Congress approved and taxpayer funded aid to try to extort a foreign country into smearing a political opponent of the president?
How does that contradict what I wrote?
Have you read the transcript of the July call? The one where Zelensky asks about getting Javelins for defense, and the orange piece of shit says "I would like you to do us a favor though" and starts requesting the Ukrainians open an investigation ranging across a number of issues, including that Guiliani will be his representative to the Ukrainians and "There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great."
And that's the whitehouse's own transcript. But you still regurgitate no evidence of quid pro quo.
edit: also, what andre asked.
It sounds like you're saying there was attempted collusion, and I'm just letting you know the investigation into it couldn't find any.
The bulk of the Ukraine transcript is centred on the goings on and the investigating of Ukraine. The javelins are mentioned once and I think the Bidens are too. To make a case that it is actually about doing a deal on either of those things when they are mentioned in passing is quite frankly stupid.
It's the tRump White House version of a phone call they rushed to bury in highly classified storage usually reserved for information about covert operations and other sensitive intelligence actions, not a transcript.
http://archive.li/0KTnn
re: attempted collusion: yeah, nah. These guys said it better at the time. There were multiple attempts by the orange oaf's campaign to get electoral assistance from the Russians.
And if I say "do what I say or I kill your dog", even once, that's still a crime. The dude was literally asked about the congress-assigned military aid and answered with a request for a personal "favour". Even if he only did it once (lol) it's still a crime.
The A to Z framing is cheesy and limiting it to 26 means a lot has been left out. But it's still a useful reminder of how much the Mango Mugabe has gotten away with and almost certainly won't be held accountable for.
https://theintercept.com/2019/12/19/a-z-trump-impeachment/
Are you coming to or travelling through Motueka these holidays? Us locals have a couple of unwritten rules…..
Someone intoning about safety on the roads on radio this morning (in a foreign accent – Canadian I think one less job for a born NZer). Realistic xenophobia!
The message is that proposals and actions to bring the 'road toll' down must take a holistic approach, not just acting on one aspect. Cinny brings up the courtesy approach, the realisation that there are other people out there trying to do things too. Taking a community of the road approach would be very helpful in reducing stress when getting around. Pedestrians understand that they need to do what we used to teach toddlers to do, look right, left, then right again, and perhaps give a wave to drivers who stop. Drivers could slow more often when they observe others near the road, could toot to alert people who aren't paying attention. They could slow when approaching a narrow piece of road, to ensure safe transit in each lane, and give a wave as acknowledgment to other thoughtful and careful drivers.
We all tend to feel like 'King of the Road' and busy with our own duties, ignoring other drivers. So we could act graciously like the Kings and Queens we’ve observed, smiling and waving when appropriate. And find it appropriate on a regular basis.
We are having to slow to 80 km with the roads are jammed with traffic, which is also the same speed that the behemoth trucks can travel at so driving may involve staring at the rear of a truck for the whole journey. Or at another passenger vehicle with windows at a higher level, so they too will block out most of the view ahead. So we had better keep safe distances behind because you lose your opportunity to 'read' conditions ahead and so be forced to brake hard and fast in reaction to the moving wall ahead of you.
No worries though deaths and injuries will go down as soon we will have so many people on the roads we'll be in an eternal queue lucky to move forward at 20 kmh.
"Someone intoning about safety on the roads on radio this morning (in a foreign accent – Canadian I think one less job for a born NZer). Realistic xenophobia!"
Really, Grey? You think we should sack our Associate Minister of Transport, Julie Anne Genter, because she is American-born and replace her with someone NZ born?
Really? Who do you think should replace her? Yourself?
I am 99% sure you are referring to JAG's interview with Kathryn Ryan on RNZ Nine to Noon at 0908 this morning on the Government's new multi-billion dollar road safety plan aimed at cutting road deaths by 40 per cent by 2030. Genter announced the plan, called Road to Zero, yesterday. Earlier in the week she announced roadside drug testing would be rolled out from 2021.
Regardless of where she was born, I would rate Genter's past experience and qualifications light miles ahead of yours – or most other people's including other MPs of whatever hue, birthplace, or political party – for the job of Minister or Associate Minister for transportation generally, and in particular economically sustainable and environmental friendly roading and road safety.
ttps://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018727818/new-road-safety-plan-aims-to-cut-road-deaths-by-40-per-cent
Genter would be our most qualified Transport minister in decades. They train em well in that US of A. Glad to have one of their citizens contributing here rather than just buying up land.
The truck speed limit is 90kph I think.
Funny thing is on the Kapiti main road they sometimes closed down the passing lanes when traffic was heavy. Surprisingly the traffic flowed more evenly and accidents were fewer. I accept that motorways built for heavier traffic can flow at say 120kph safely. The 3 lane highway from Dubai to El Ain has a fast lane without interruption where locals travel at speeds greater than 150kph. (Limit supposed to be 120kph.)
As long time residents from the UK, we joke to each other 'must be from UK' whenever a driver shows common courtesy on the road
it's a city thing. Normal to be courteous in the country (can pick the city drivers in the country).
There *are* no rules in Auckland…
https://twitter.com/tina_plunkett/status/1207436620439289856
Looks like the Spanish are flying under the radar, having become the world's leading practitioners of postmodern politics without getting the credit for it. I read what No Right Turn reported on the EU contradicting Spain's govt, did a hunt through likely websites to discover what that govt actually is, and found that the actual existence of that govt seems to depend on which source of info you read. Another Schrodinger's Cat situation.
According to this one, despite two elections this year Spain still doesn't have a govt: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/spain-suffers-235th-day-with-no-government-/1678451
They could do tourism promotion on that basis eh? People would flock to experience the anarchist's nirvana.
Wikipedia says "The current prime minister is Pedro Sánchez, who took office on 2 June 2018. He is the leader of the Socialist Workers' Party." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Spain
The Guardian says he is merely acting: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/12/spain-ruling-socialists-strike-coalition-deal-with-podemos-sanchez
Leftist populists are currently beating rightist populists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_2019_Spanish_general_election
Anyway, the baddies are the social democrats (or, socialist workers) who have been preventing an elected Catalan from taking his seat in the European parliament. Why would anyone expect a bunch of leftists to respect the will of the people? Postmodern thinking rules, and state compulsion is very addictive.
Re. "Why would anyone expect a bunch of leftists to respect the will of the people ?"
Having hitched around Spain the year before Franco died and seen the Gardia Civil in full riot gear marching away from an overwhelming crowd of Basque men and women in San Sebastian I am confident that "a bunch of leftists" would probably respect the will of the people. Catalonia has its own troubled past with forensic archaeologists now re-examining old sites.
A new generation should be left to resolve their own problems in peace rather than succumb to a patronizing antipodean analysis.
The formation of a government in Spain is almost complete.
PSOE and Podemos have already agreed a deal and a government with a majority in parliament is likely to be agreed before xmas, though it is possible this might be delayed until January.
This is why Boris, Trump et al can lie with impunity
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/405888/john-minto-calls-for-investigation-over-christchurch-mayor-lianne-dalziel-political-donations
Power tends to corrupt etc. I noticed that Ms Dalziel was revealed as being prepared to get more than a 'little help from my friends'. John Minto keeps an eye out for this sort of thing. He stood for Mayor himself didn’t he?
Her husband was in question about some matter a few months back. Being a lawyer, or being close to one of the right sort, seems to be important to modern politics. The age of people fired with dreams of a better country and better living conditions and opportunities for the people saw action men and women step up and look to the country. Now pollies sit in a circle and play Pass the Parcel and watch each other for cheating, and sneaking goodies, on the sly, out of the Parcel while passing.
I met a lawyer I know and asked him how he was, told him not to work too hard (he takes on difficult criminal cases), and said don't be like Greg King. He admitted he had a bad spell after one case. That's not the sort of lawyer I referred to above. Rumpole of the Bailey dealing with the hoi polloi isn't generally where the money and power is.
"Now pollies sit in a circle and play Pass the Parcel and watch each other for cheating, and sneaking goodies, on the sly, out of the Parcel while passing."
Sadly that is a very apt description
Edit
There has been a suggestion that reducing cruise ship visits would be helpful for NZ to reduce its pollution and environmental footprint.
Our facilities are already under stress. This from Wellington is shocking.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/405909/sewage-going-into-wellingon-harbour-after-pipe-collapse
Up to 100 litres of wastewater and raw sewage a second is pouring into the Wellington harbour after a wastewater pipe collapsed in the CBD.
Listening to Australia's sudden jump into Climate Change horror, it would pay us to taihoa somewhat and perhaps sack our politicians, and set up an emergency government of scientists and leaders with lists of needs which then would be prioritised and costed, and amortised over ten years, and reviewed and done. Treasury could be asked for how our position in the world financial system could be held stable and our currency gradually deflated by a constant stream of carefully picked negative news. Economic advice would come from BERL and another. We might also set up a visa system for entry to this country, and ensure that all tourists should at least be a positive return to the country if not a profit. Dairy farmers would be taxed on each animal, that money to go towards remediation of waterways. Obviously the heavily stocked would have to pay more. Etc. We might get somewhere on our plan for survival under 'best practice' instead of having this political theatre of the absurd we have paraded every day.
Further to the above – there has been a proactive move to ban inclined sleepers for babies because they are likely to be bad for them, unsafe, and they have caused deaths which were preventable, in the USA.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1912/S00057/ban-on-inclined-infant-sleep-products.htm
Seems sensible and wise by the NZ authority. But wait, there’s more. Too much wisdom isn’t allowed any more, in our society with an unregulated zeitgeist.
After much declaration of the reliability and safety of the practice established in NZ of babies lying flat this is the final sentence:
‘The Unsafe Goods Notice will remain in force for the next 18 months.’
"With this slavish commitment to the automobile, the country’s political class has demonstrated its near-total moral incapacity. New Zealand’s claim to be taking Climate Change seriously stands exposed as utter bullshit."
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/12/20/reconnecting-jacinda-with-her-inner-swashbuckler/
"The thing is, we were expecting her commitment to amount to something more than the well-meaning but toothless Zero Carbon Act. Something like announcing a completely new, wider-gauge, electrified, national rail network. An infrastructure programme that would allow New Zealand to replicate the ultra-fast trains that move people around Europe, China and Japan. Something to put the greenhouse-gas pumping road transport industry out to pasture. Something more than a plan to build roads, roads and more roads.
Something to make young and old alike exclaim, at least one more time: “Let’s do this!”
We don't need to convert the current Cape gauge/ 3ft 6" to a wider gauge aka Standard gauge.
What needs to happen to NZ Railways is to fix up the loading gauge (and something else which I've forgotten atm), which will increase the speed and weight of fully loaded trains and for example the old Standard Railcars which operated throughout the Nth Island of which there are about 2-3 left for mainline operations now days can only be used on about 20% to 30% of Nth Island rail network compere to the 1930's until there replacements later on.
Most of the rail network alignment is still built when Steam Loco's were King of the Rails and again fixing up the alignment to for the more modern Loco's would allow for faster and heavily trains on the network.
We only need to look at Qld which is the same gauge as NZ's network at what could be done to NZ's network IRT to freight and High Speed Passenger Tilt Trains for both Regional/ Inter City and Urban networks.
There is so much potential in KiwiRail, even though a lot of land was sold off by Government prior to privatisation and under privatisation which restricted growth in some areas of the network which has hampered further investment.
A lot of people have forgotten there was a petrol ration during WW2 which lasted until the early to mid 50's and just imaging a 15% cut or greater to POL products if a major conflict broke out in the Middle East or in the South China Sea? The only reason that NZ kept producing goods was the Railways and the MN aka Coastal Shipping with the Trucking Firms restricted to the Ports or the various Rail depots to places that weren't serviced by ships or by the railways.
I wasnt overly concerned with the specifics of CTs piece (i.e. wider gauge or high speed) but rather the thrust of the fact we have rhetoric around CC and having just announced a relaxation of BR we are wasting (imo) that infrastructure spend on locking in high carbon infrastructure for the long term,,,as CT bemoans there is a huge gap between the rhetoric and the capability and its only being filled by the PMs personal appeal.
in addition
http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2019/12/climate-change-planning-for-failure.html
Greens co-leaders sit down for an interview with Herald political reporter Jason Walls: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/video.cfm?c_id=280&gal_cid=280&gallery_id=215281
A review of practical coalition politics in respect of aspirations & achievements. No revelations but reassuring inasmuch as they seem sure of themselves and confident looking ahead…
oh
https://twitter.com/billmckibben/status/1207788960560406528
The great social anthropologist Noah Way, at the end of a long and tireless search has found in the USA the remnants of a sect of the ancient Christian religion which has continued to exist in as near to the fount of its beliefs as was possible.
This has emerged from its recent announcement about the depravity of the secular head of the country who, with his cohorts, often espouses religious beliefs in an attempt to hide his false worship of The Golden Calf and Mammon.
Mammon /ˈmæmən/ in the New Testament of the Bible is commonly thought to mean money, material wealth, or any entity that promises wealth, and is associated with the greedy pursuit of gain. … Mammon in Hebrew (ממון) means "money". https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Mammon
The Golden Calf – The story of the golden calf is widely regarded as one of the most disgraceful moments in Jewish history. In Exodus, chapters 31-32, the Torah tells how three months after leaving Egypt, and a mere 40 days after receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, the Jewish people created an idol and worshipped it.
Having miscalculated the date of Moses’ promised return from the mountain, the Jewish people thought their leader had died. They decided to replace him, and with the help of Aaron, formed a golden calf and worshipped it. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3613047/jewish/What-Was-the-Golden-Calf.htm
There is animated discussion amongst the cognoscenti though as to whether Donald Trump worships the Golden Calf or thinks he embodies it.
/sarc
A beautiful woman. Who is she, I can't keep up?
Sorry the Image is too large – but it is Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who is currently a candidate for President. She cravenly was the only Representative to vote "Present" on one of the votes for Impeachment in the House.
The Image reads:
Scomo apologises and returns to Oz while confessing his fundamental uselessness by saying "I don't hold a hose". Expect plenty of bluff and hearty but sentimental outpourings from him in coming days. Nothing will be done. That benighted country will have to cook for another decade or two – or at least until there are mass deaths, before the grip of the Scomotypes is loosened.
(A ‘Scomotype’ is the opposite of a prototype – instead of being something you hope will work, it’s something you already know will fail)
What did his hose comment indicate? I thought he would be making jocular statements about all the male politicians rushing out to do their bit on the fires, and sending up women as useless as usual in fire emergencies!
he is a fucking hose.
Fantastic letter to Chloe Swarbrick the other day
https://twitter.com/_chloeswarbrick/status/1207084558140637190
We were discussing this the other day…the past is a foreign country.
We had 2 weeks annual leave, often taken over xmas new year because the business shut down for xmas…we had home ownership savings accounts you needed to be contributing to for years before you could even apply for a mortgage,,credit was difficult and expensive to obtain…mortgages at 20%… old/second hand was typical and expected when young…
Having said that the maximum term of a mortgage was 20 years (except HNZ which did 24 years) and I cringe when I see the size of the mortgages my children are signing up to (for 30 years)..and theres a good chance the house they bought is a going to fall down around their ears or be worthless because its leaky…and the environment wasnt collapsing (well it was but we didnt know)
the past was indeed a different country, where a house was only 3 times the median income and prices were stable. before property investment/ speculation/ hoarding/ rent-seeking became a national religion
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EMCDdlZUEAMVKxI.jpg
yep…not disputing any of that…but am acknowledging I think I can view it from both perspectives…the fact is there are pluses and minuses to both regimes…and its easy to see what makes the whole neo-liberal project so seductive
You must remember I grew up in a world where half the people in my neighbourhood were where white collar and half were blue…the difference was negligible…not so now
Broadcasting – decisions touted for new year. Take your time is my hope. I can't believe that National has issued a statement I agree with.
National has already expressed its opposition, saying one super entity would be too dominant a force in the market, including editorially.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12294855 National lays into Govt's broadcasting decision delays
That gives time to write into the Honourable Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi and give him some bullet points about your opinions. Enlarge on them below, but then he might not have time to read lots after the hols. k.faafoi@ministers. govt.nz
For groaning under the weight of being force-fed taxpayer subsidy, only the arts and sport get as good a subsidy as broadcasting does here. In terms of nutritious content though it's up there with Frosties.
If they're so intent on handing out public subsidies for non-MSM media, they should start with The Standard and Scoop. The public would then get a better shot at public policy debate than TVNZ and TV3 and MTV put together.
This from the " peoples government "
Boris Johnson to ‘stop tens of thousands voting’ by making photo ID mandatory at polling stations
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-queens-speech-voter-id-polling-station-a9253386.html
talking to a onetime MP today. They said they never rated the journos. After the nonsensical dead heat between Jacinda Ardern and Bridjizz it seems the right time to do so. How a liteweight like katy bradfod can get away with that defies the imagination. time to get to work on these pin heads who think their own shit doesn't stink.
My initial reaction is that you sound like one yourself.