Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Yet there are people who still care and who are unselfish.
Te Puea marae represents the best of New Zealand.
Uncaring.
The present regime running WINZ and Housing NZ represents the worst.
‘Te Puea Marae steps up to find cancer teen and family a home
Her father, who previously worked as a painter in Hamilton, tried to find his family a home.
“He would go to Winz for appointments, he told them about me having cancer, about us.
“They did nothing. He went to Housing NZ, told them. They couldn’t find us a house. Too full, they said, too full.”
When things at her aunt’s “got really tense”, the family left and had stayed at the marae since.’
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Uncaring and incompetent.
Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett
‘Social housing and community agencies have not yet had approaches from clients wanting to take up a relocation grant, available from today, to move out of Auckland.
The grant of up to $5000 announced last month by Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett will be available from today. The money for relocation costs will not need to be paid back unless the person moved back to Auckland within a year.
Despite the scheme being launched today, the Ministry of Social Development could not tell RNZ News how many Housing New Zealand houses were available outside of Auckland, and where they were.
“It is too soon to answer this question. The grant is available for any vacant housing, including private rentals, or social housing,” the department said in a statement.
At the time she announced the grant, Paula Bennett said there were dozens of empty houses in other parts of New Zealand, such as Lower Hutt where there were 18 state houses ready to let, Palmerston North where there were 15 and Gisborne with four.’ http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/306790/'little-information'-on-grant-to-move-to-regions
or maybe instead of reading the future with the help of tealeaves and bones, they ‘Ministry of Social ‘Welfare” is waiting for Paula Bennett to drop a dump and then they gather around the turd and read the future out of that.
Nor does it say that $ 5000 is the amount anyone who moves is going to get. Firstly, its “up to”…, secondly knowing WINZ they will want quotes for everything, then pay out not a cent more, even if those quotes were a guess. Family and friends helping out won’t get anything for their efforts, but a moving company will.
If anyone hears of (and proves) a case where this offer was taken up and the person given $ 5000 to relocate at their leisure, I will eat my hat.
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Yet there are people who still care and who are unselfish.
Kai for Kids represents the best of New Zealand.
A government that rejected Mana’s Feed the Kids Bill 4 years ago represents the worst.
‘1200 school lunches in under an hour: Porirua community pitches in to help hungry kids
“Attendance is really low on Mondays and Tuesdays because Wednesday is benefit day.”
“Kids don’t come to school because they don’t have any food to bring.”
Two months later, Clifford and her volunteers now make 1200 lunches for a dozen Porirua schools.”
The fucking Herald must be being paid for this shit. It has run a piece on poor Paula as a victim ” I’ Ve been cyber bullied because of my size”. Well stop eating so many fucking pies then !.
its when National decamp from the chamber for Bellamys, as soon as question time in Parliament is over. I doubt they serve pies.
The media are getting irrelevant, from promoting social engineering like bullying ,oh poor me child Max Key, and reading his latest antics of his music video, to children of musico’s complaining they just get sex offers from men because their daddy is famous.
Nationals brighter future is the homeless sleeping in Aucklands Well lite CBD.
Unfortunately it doesn’t matter what large people do, they always attract abuse including in the form of people telling them there is something wrong with them for the way they eat. In other words the problem with fatphobia is that too many people have prejudices about fat.
Call Bennett out on her politics, her meanness and the atrocious government she works for. Plenty of material there without going for the prejudices about fatness.
“Call Bennett out on her politics, her meanness and the atrocious government she works for. Plenty of material there without going for the prejudices about fatness.”
+1
Same goes for Gerry Brownlee too. Call him out on his stubborn bullish authoritarian ways, not his size.
Prejudice against another’s body is unhelpful. We have no right to make judgements or assumptions about people’s diets, especially as we don’t know, and have no right to know their medical history, such as prescription medicine side effects, endochrinological/hormonal disorders and or injuries that prevent exercise that may have contributed to a person’s weight gain. It’s not all about food.
I called her out because she intimated that she couldn’t,t help being that big, I doubt that she has an endocrinological or hormonal problem because that only occurs in a very very small percentage of people, ( but it makes a good excuse for those unafficted ) and she was half that size when she entered politics and got introduced to the trough in all its permutations.
BTW, I’m overweight and I’m that way because I eat too much and if someone calls me fat I have to agree with them.
Your weight is irrelevant Adrian. It’s not about others agreeing whether you are over weight or not. You know that and so what. If you know you eat too much then that’s your buzz, it doesn’t mean EVERY other big person is big for the same reason as you.
Your weight doesn’t give you license to attack others for the same reasons.
Pullya Benefit is a nasty vindictive spiteful person who bullies others by disclosing sensitive and private information so she can put herself in a position of power.
Her size has got nothing to do with it, and we know nothing of her medical history and shouldn’t speculate on it either. That’s her business, not yours or mine.
Rosie I see where you are coming from, but she has been, not so long ago much smaller than she is now, she yo yo’s with her weight but she can obviously get smaller from eating less, so it probably isn’t a hormonal problem. I see it more as an emotional problem as being an eater for comfort because of the stress of her job and/or being out of her depth or just because she over eats because she enjoys her food. What I cannot understand is seeing she is seen as an intelligent women, surely she sees the health issues she is bringing on herself, heart problems and definitely diabetes because of all her “belly fat” which is what the medical profession call it. Its difficult not to criticise when there are many people who can lose weight and keep it off – self discipline plays a part and pride in one’s appearance is another. Now don’t bite my head off please.
Again. Some one else’s size is their own business. Why do we feel we have a right to criticise or even speculate about their supposed issues? What’s it got to do with us? It doesn’t matter if Pullya Benefit’s shape has changed in the time that we have seen her in parliament.
Speaking of “self discipline and pride in one’s appearance” is very much the line fatphobics use. What you are saying is fat people are ugly and lazy. That is highly prejudiced.
Another sign of fatphobia is faux concern for another persons health. And you do realise that not all heart disease is weight related don’t you? My father died at age 54 from heart disease and he was an average size man. Mr Dr tells me the biggest indicator for heart disease is genetics, even above and beyond smoking. Stress is a bigger killer than weight, so why aren’t we hating on all the stressed people? A person can be overweight but still be fit and healthy and live a long life.
Don’t get sucked into the hate Kate. You’re better than that.
I hope the NZ police are keeping an eye on this website, whose readers are celebrating the killing of Jo Cox and looking forward to similar acts here: https://yournz.org/2016/06/19/crusader-rabid/
Not really, I try to see things in a positive light and see no point in trying to bring everyone down with a daily dose of repetition. The sun is shining, it’s the shortest day onward and upwards.
Tarquin, how about the eye of the beholder thing? Winter solstice, I mourn because I love the cold, short dark days of winter – all moody and introspective as they are, yet cosy, safe and warm by the fire.
Like a true former teen goth I celebrate summer solstice as it’s marks the countdown to winter. Until Autumn comes it’s long wait through the drunken violence of summer (other’s, not me), water restrictions, insufferable heat, mozzies and flies, phoning noise control at 1am, and invites to hideous work xmas parties.
Very true, I’ve only just finished moaning about the heat and now I’m wishing it back again. Up here in Northland we don’t get a real winter, maybe a frost or two and it just rains all the time. I had a white Christmas in England a few years ago – that’s how winters should be.
Ha ha. Well you’re living in the right part of the country if you like it warm.
Like wise, in winter in the southern hemisphere can you pull off an alright mid winter xmas, minus the snow unless you live somewhere really cold. I’ve done some good solstice parties over the years, around the fire.
As for Paul. What he is posting is politically and socially relevant. It IS the depressing truth. It’s really hard to jazz up our reality in any way that makes it palatable. Because of that I find it a bit much early in the morning myself so flick through. However I always read Paul’s posts he posts separate to the early wake up morning cup of depression. I guess we all have ways of expressing our anger and grief over our witnessing of our country going to the dogs.
You sound very much like National’s ex-party president Michelle Boag, who was on the panel of Q&A last Sunday. She appeared to be oblivious of the strive people were going through in this country, apparently in her eyes all was rosy;-)))
Funny how John Key only has time for a few minutes before 8am to be interviewed on RNZ.
By the time he blusters and confuses the issue under questioning the time pips sound. End of story.
Wonder if he chooses the time for the interview?
Guyon could record an interview that went past 8am and play the balance after 8.
Hone’s interview by Guyon would be more interesting but his attempt at humour, trying to be the ‘comeback kid’ in an analogy to a band with singers and bass players etc. is about as silly as his artificial dote com fiasco.
German Foreign Minister Steinmeier says NATO should not be inflaming the situation with Russia
Berlin (AFP) – German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has criticised NATO for having a bellicose policy towards Russia, describing it as “warmongering”, the German daily Bild reported.
Steinmeier pointed to the deployment of NATO troops near borders with Russia in the military alliance’s Baltic and east European member states.
“What we should avoid today is inflaming the situation by warmongering and stomping boots,” Steinmeier told Bild in an interview to be published Sunday.
“Anyone who thinks you can increase security in the alliance with symbolic parades of tanks near the eastern borders, is mistaken,” Germany’s top diplomat added.
“It seems like we have waves of momentum, and then gaps. What can we do to fill the gaps or at least tide us over?”
Probably best if someone who has been in a leadership in activism for decades to answer this curly one. However my 2 cents worth centres around socialising. Yes, socialising, on and off line.
Personally though, I prefer the off line version. In meeting new people and growing bonds with those we know, in person, we don’t miss out on all the subtle non vocal expressions that create a depth to the relationship. We can create intellectual relationships on line and they can be enhanced as we, as a collective (I”m talking about the wider world, not us on TS necessarily) create and ride a wave, but energy falls a bit flat during the troughs does it not? EG, look at online conversation pre and post general elections.
Although, in saying that, I noticed the opposite on the Bella Caledonia site post Scottish indyref – the talk was flat out, soul searching, expressing feelings etc. They even had a guest post by a psychologist to analyse the results and fall out. Their response could be down to different cultural approaches to communication – The Scots might be better communicators than NZer’s, I don’t know. (but the Scots I know and have met are great talkers and listeners)
So, I see advantages in socialising as in holding momentum during trough periods. During these times we build loyalty, maintain bonds, maintain solidarity, and maintain the flow of ideas. New ideas can be discussed and existing ones reworked. The group’s mutual interest remains a living thing rather than it being sucked into a vacuum of loss. Socialising keeps an interest alive and when the time comes to ramp up activism the platform is stable and the group is already in synch to go to work on a project or campaign.
Wow, that is such a great comment Rosie, I wasn’t expecting it to go in that direction.
I completely agree. I’ve been in online communities where there is more relationship building than happens here or on places like FB or twitter, and so that social thing where you have something solid happens more. But still I agree that the place it needs to happen most is in the physical world. I don’t know how to make that happen in my own life because most people I know are really focussed on life outside of political realities. I guess that’s why I come here.
But it reminds me of something that Naomi Klein said last year, when asked how she keeps going, she said it’s really important to get in a room with people who are doing the same kind of work, struggling with the same kind of things. I think you’ve really nailed it there, where it needs to happen within normal community interactions if it’s going to be stable and resilient (maybe Klein was talking about something else).
I empathise with your situation of not being physically around others who are focused on political issues/emerging social realities. It’s the same for me.
I do believe group social meeting is what we are going to need, to strengthen us for the next election, just for starters, as we have far bigger ongoing threats to our very existence, in climate change, as well as maintaining momentum and influence.
I think a while back Bill set up a regular meeting in Dunedin, where people met in a park. Hows that going people? Is there a way for Standardista’s to meet in person in their regions?
As I thought about socialising being a key thing to strengthening a group committed to a similar goal I received mail in my inbox from the Labour Party gen sec. He was asking if you were a 20 – 30 something professional interested in socialising. A great move I thought, along the lines of what I’d been thinking about. If that wasn’t your thing, age wise or work wise there was a survey to fill in with your thoughts about doing something similar.
I would be interested to see how many people turn up to a party AGM compared to how many people turn up to a party social gathering, especially if it’s a low cost thing. $ is a barrier for some of us.
Personally, in light of the Lab/Green MOU, I’d like to see a seasonal social get together, to build solidarity and to forge ties at the grass roots, where it really counts.
I think a while back Bill set up a regular meeting in Dunedin, where people met in a park. Hows that going people? Is there a way for Standardista’s to meet in person in their regions?
Unconnected to the Standard, there are a few interested politically aware Dunedinites meeting in the next week as part of a Matariki event. I haven’t been involved in the organisation of the event but I would expect there to be 20-30 very politically interested minds show up.
In general terms I agree that face to face, in person political socialising is crucial to our future.
Endless war, endless greed: The Pentagon is lining its pockets with taxpayer dollars
Obama now plans to rebuild America’s nuclear weapons cache, the latest in a series of military enrichment schemes
Trump’s lies aren’t unique to America: Post-truth politics are killing democracies on both sides of the Atlantic
Voters no longer value truth, and Donald Trump and Boris Johnson are dangerously exploiting the new paradigm
You’ve been pretty harsh with a couple of my comments last couple day so i’m bringing it here to open it up and sort it.
Yep I made a couple boo boo’s, I retaliated too this
[deleted as irrelevant]
[lprent: This isn’t a negotiation, it is an observation of a continued pattern of behaviour and a demand for a permanent modification of some of those behaviours from a moderator. There is no point in various moderators continuing to point out deficiencies in your behaviour if you are too damn lazy or too thick or too self-entitled an arsehole to modify those behaviours.
1. Read the policy again. It is clear you haven’t understood it.
2. How you feel about it has absolutely no relevance and I suspect you don’t have sufficient experience with operating a blog to even be able to offer it. You are a guest on this site, your host is telling you to shape up or ship out.
This is a heart wrenching article. And in our back doorstep. Why do not NZ take the Nauru refugees – it is hard to see how these detention centres can be considered legal under human rights legislation – in particular for the unaccompanied children committing suicide.
“The worst I’ve seen – trauma expert lifts lid on ‘atrocity’ of Australia’s detention regime
Exclusive: In his 43-year career, Paul Stevenson has worked in the aftermath of the Bali bombings and the Boxing Day tsunami but says nothing he witnessed was as bad as the treatment of asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus”
How many people out there think mental illnesses equate to a lower intellect, or reduced mental capacity?
I have found here some resistance to my points of view based on the fact I am mentally ill.
I am in fact B-Polar, and I have an IQ of over 160 according the 2 of the Psychologists who treated me through Hep C treatment.
My illness caused a chemical imbalance in my brain which causes me to have periods of massive empathy/depression and periods of manic/sleepless, fast thinking, impusiveness.
if untreated.
Currently outlooks for Bi-polar people are good, it does take time to find the right chemicals and once a balance of chemicals has been restored we live completely normal lives.
I recently found the right medication , for me it was Effexor, I snapped out of depression in the time it took for the pill to get into my blood stream and have been stable for over two months now.
Comments from LPRENT such as..
“I really can’t be bothered dealing with commenter’s mental issues over and over again and having them disrupting a reasonably rational debate. I suspect you don’t understand yourself well enough to understand your own issues and therefore are unlikely to be able to control yourself. So any ban that I am forced to issue will be for some time”
and the other day you insulted me and my mental health just like someone who knows absolutely nothing and is predjudiced.
I am shocked at the way you talk to and treated me, uses my disabilty and mental health to question my intellect and integrity.
Hi Richard. I can’t comment on the exchange you’ve had with LPrent.
I can, whole heartedly support you in your recovery from depression and your belief (or what I see as fact) that mental illness is in no way related to intelligence.
I’m someone who struggles with depression and chronic insomnia to the point where I can no longer work/ or find suitable part time work, so I’m thrilled to hear you’ve found a medicine that works. That can be a really liberating feeling.
Thanks Rosie, after so many years trying it was super liberating to not dive into depression whenever a saw a animal run over or bad news.
I have 2 months of stress less life now and i’m chilling back out daily. I feel the tension relax and everyday gets better without having to worry if I was about to swing in moods.
Prozac, citalopram, epillim by the truckload, they give you the antidepressants and assume you’ll be fine come back in a month they say, it never did squat, they even thought I was lying and putting it on after all the tablets didn’t do much, it took me over ten years of that and a Hep C treatment that has side effects of making you suicidal, to find a brilliant new Dr who took me over from my old Dr and she cured me in one med change.
I had given up, never give up if the meds aren’t working change them don’t linger on non active antidepressants Rosie is all I can say.
Awesome to hear you’re doing so well Richard after years of suffering. That really is a breakthrough. Well done you! It’s a good feeling, I find, to be back to one true self and feeling safe and well.
It is hard for people in a clinically depressed state to cope with problems, bad news, and upsetting sights. You become sensitised to things and it spirals down. I’ve had to work with being overly empathetic to animal suffering but deal with it in different ways now.
I’m fine and dandy on the paroxetine now but still an insomniac. I use sleeping pills about 3 times a week to get by. I also try to keep a different future in mind too. Once the clouds lift you can see there are good things that ARE going on.
I’ve had to deal with acute depression a number of times in my life, and seem to have quite a few friends and family with various mental aliments – including bigotry. I expect to help and deal with issues to do with it as and when I need to.
But what I was referring to was your attitude and actions on this site. Here I’m not interested in dealing with, protecting or helping you. I’m interested in protecting and helping this site as a place for debate. The way we do to deal with bad behaviour for WHATEVER cause, is to warn about behaviour and (if required) to remove the ability to write comments.
The proportion of people commenting or authoring on this site with various afflictions (mental, physical, bigotry or addictive) probably isn’t that too dissimilar from society at large. However most of them manage to control their behaviour to the level that I don’t notice them. I can’t see any reason that I should treat you differently to them.
There are limits to the amount of time that I (or any other moderator or author) can be expend on this site. And after more than 8 years of doing it, I tend to push so that I don’t have to spend too much time dealing with someone acting like an arsehole. I find it is less of a problem to whack hard once so I don’t have waste time to play whack-a-mole with dickheads.
Respect Lprent, sorry you had too crack out the sledgehammer , but I respect your doing it, now that we had a chance to one to one, vs catching each other on a thread, and distracting from the thread.
Some of the odd comments were tongue in cheek and I have learned humour often gets taken literally here if your not super careful to announce how your inferring a comment.
My comments should tidy up as a I get more familiar with the morally accepted peer standards here.
Thanks again for posting this and allowing me to relate my concerns and have them answered.
Kind regards
Richard
[lprent: Ok, the warning has been heard. Removed from moderation. We will see how it goes. ]
Some of the odd comments were tongue in cheek and I have learned humour often gets taken literally here if your not super careful to announce how your inferring a comment.
Humour, more often than not, simply doesn’t come across in text. To indicate that you’re being humorous usually means that you have to add smileys and/or tags.
Humour, more often than not, simply doesn’t come across in text. To indicate that you’re being humorous usually means that you have to add smileys and/or tags.
Yes. I learnt the hard way in earlier days. Tongue-in-cheek comments were taken too literally by some and I ended up on the receiving end of a few unpleasant barbs. Even adding emoticons or plain language tags is not always a guarantee. Best to confine oneself to such comments when the post itself is humorous and/or satirical in content.
C’mon Stuart Munro. Just because we have a teeny wee bit of fun doesn’t mean we don’t feel strongly for those who are the victims of this heartless and horrible government. Some of us have even been there in one form or another.
There’s still room to lighten up and maybe even have a laugh at ourselves.
Yes… except that with a pretty vacuous and actively biased MSM there is little or no channel for normal outrage. A not too politically interested person who gets their news from TVNZ, stuff, and the Herald could be forgiven for thinking that Nick Smith was vaguely competent or Paula Bennett compassionate.
There is a need to roundly damn this government, in adition to dispassionately discussing alternatives. The trolls never sleep, and never miss an opportunity to paint this vicious and dysfunctional kleptocracy as marginally competent and technically human.
I agree that that part of Lynn’s statement was a form of prejudice in terms of mental health and I wish he hadn’t made it. I hope you can pull back a bit anyway, because I like your contributions on ts in general, and I think you bring perspectives that we don’t otherwise have and I find that valuable. There are rules though, and if you break them too often it’s easier for the site to give you time out.
I do think you are stepping over the bounds a lot at the moment, and you will get moderated for that. Different moderators have different ways of approaching that.
fwiw, Lynn is an equal opportunity moderator and will be abusive to everyone pretty much equally if they piss him off as a moderator. That’s the bit to understand, it’s not a personal thing so much as what is seen with a moderator hat on. It takes time to moderate, there is more involved than in just making a comment. And that time is time we don’t get to spend doing other things. One of Lynn’s trigger points is where he finds he is having to use a lot of time on one person when they’ve already been warned.
My own is people derailing threads (you’ve noticed I’m sure) either by posting off topic or by posting things that are inflammatory.
I’m really happy to explain where I think you are overstepping the bounds if that’s helpful. It is good to reread the Policy, and they still need to be understood in the context of the culture of ts. Lots of people don’t get that, and some of those people end up with bans.
Moderation has changed a bit in the last 6 months, and IMO there has been an improvement in the debate culture. There is less tolerance for bickering and troll derailments. Shutting them down early on keeps discussions much more focussed on the topic of the post, which is the point of the site.
I’d see two main things happening with you at the moment. One is taking personal grudges across multiple conversations. It just disrupts thread, so if you can let it go, or keep it in the thread it originated in if it’s appropriate, that’s going to cause less disruption and get less moderator attention. If all else fails, do what you have done today and take it to Open Mike.
The other is to focus more on the politics. You have interesting ideas and ones that are challenging to some here, so finding ways to communicate those without having a go at people will work better in the long run. Yes, lots of what happens here is unfair (e.g. someone is rude to you and doesn’t get called on it). But it’s on all of us to act within the rules as much as we can and lower the need for moderation in the first place.
edit, just seen Lynn’s comment above, which is a very clear explanation that behaviour will be moderated no matter what the cause.
I agree that that part of Lynn’s statement was a form of prejudice in terms of mental health…
Only in that I view the type of bigotry that he was displaying as being a type of mental illness. It is pretty damn hard to explain it any other way. I’ve talked to enough bigots on various subjects (including some very intelligent ones) to realize that in some people it appears to be hardwired well below any cognitive layer.
I think it was more just that thing of equating behaviour with mental illness when it’s pretty hard to know how much of anyone’s behaviour comes from that. And people with formal mental health diagnosis like bipolar already get stigmatised more than most, and attributing behaviour to their mental illness tends to make that even more so.
Bigotry is a different thing IMO.
I’m glad you explained what you meant to Richard and that he gets it now. All good.
I don’t know if this has been posted today but its a weak and cowardly position of Andrew Little over this and its even more cowardly and weak of john Key in not picking this up as well
Basically every politician, no matter what party they’re with, that doesn’t support this is a gutless coward
Maryan Street is completely right about this, we at least need to start talking about it
“staunchly prolife” engenders a whole spectrum of political beliefs in of itself, starting with an understanding that life is sacred and it is not man’s place to play God with and take others’ lives.
Yes, for various reasons, I think that any Government Authorised Suicide programme is a bad idea.
There are hundreds of improvements which should be made to the care of terminally ill people before this measure is even considered.
BTW if NZ ended up performing euthanasia at the same rate that the Dutch do, we would have 1,450 Kiwis a year die under a Government Authorised Suicide programme.
Yes, that’s four times NZ’s annual road toll.
And we’d be investigating whether or not the programme should be extended to children under 16 years of age.
I doubt the National Party Board and their major funders consider Joyce as an electable leader for the National Party. So I do not think that he will have any support from that quarter. And without that support, any leadership coup attempt is going nowhere.
I’m just working on the idea that Slater doesn’t give an opinion without an ulterior motive – a comment above suggests that his “Catholic mafia” line could have been aimed at knobbling any number of contenders 🙂
Before you jump to conclusions about the Catholic Mafia you may want to read this interview (plus 2 comments) with Simon O’Connor who is the chairman of the Health Select Committee that is tasked with the inquiry. Mr O’Connor was almost ordained as Catholic Priest.
The fossil fuel industry’s business model is to externalize its costs by clawing in obscene subsidies and tax deductions—causing grave environmental costs, including toxic pollution and global warming. Among the other unassessed prices of the world’s addiction to oil are social chaos, war, terror, the refugee crisis overseas, and the loss of democracy and civil rights abroad and at home.
As we focus on the rise of ISIS and search for the source of the savagery that took so many innocent lives in Paris and San Bernardino, we might want to look beyond the convenient explanations of religion and ideology and focus on the more complex rationales of history and oil, which mostly point the finger of blame for terrorism back at the champions of militarism, imperialism and petroleum here on our own shores.
It’s an interesting history lesson that connects the dots of US imperialism for the last 60+ years.
How nice it would be for the Western Empire to have a Qatari pipeline going through Syria; it would ensure energy supplies to Israel and the EU could access a massive amount of gas while cutting Russia out of the loop.
Damn that Assad for not allowing the use of his country for this project. He’s simply got to go.
Although I went to the trouble of identifying the work and the man portrayed I managed to get myself involved in a rather unpleasant flame war with another blog host when he posted the image below.
But he didn’t seem to be able to understand why some would find the manipulation offensive.
What sort of cultural infant would even think to do that?
And as for the shower curtains!! 😒
I wonder if the descendants have made any representation to these unthinking idiots?
If NZ took a leaf from the yanks’ book we’d make reproductions of moko illegal, and then try to extradite the sellers for “money laundering” because the payments were transferred from one account to another.
I heard it. Not before time, although it took a bit to get him to shut up. Talk about verbal diarrhoea! Never heard Kathryn Ryan so exasperated. Can’t she turn him off or something ?
Key said the intention was not to go beyond two years and the mission would be reviewed in 12 months. At the initial deployment.
really,
Now he extends them for another 18 months.. that’s 18 months on top of the 2 years. Oh btw did he not mention we are at war now or is that coming later.
So John Key , how do you feel about people sleeping under bridges?
JK : We’ve had a bit of a discussion about that and we are quite comfortable with that really, I mean there is no real safety issue here as the vehicles are well above them and being under the bridge they shouldn’t pose a distraction for the motorist. If they want to live under a bridge then be my guest.
Arrr, I was more referring to the homeless problem.
JK: Well I haven’t had any homeless approach me directly about this, but we desperately need more roads and bridges and we are pushing that through so that should produce a win win situation with the extra bridges.
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
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Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Yet there are people who still care and who are unselfish.
Te Puea marae represents the best of New Zealand.
Uncaring.
The present regime running WINZ and Housing NZ represents the worst.
‘Te Puea Marae steps up to find cancer teen and family a home
Her father, who previously worked as a painter in Hamilton, tried to find his family a home.
“He would go to Winz for appointments, he told them about me having cancer, about us.
“They did nothing. He went to Housing NZ, told them. They couldn’t find us a house. Too full, they said, too full.”
When things at her aunt’s “got really tense”, the family left and had stayed at the marae since.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11659501
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Uncaring and incompetent.
Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett
‘Social housing and community agencies have not yet had approaches from clients wanting to take up a relocation grant, available from today, to move out of Auckland.
The grant of up to $5000 announced last month by Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett will be available from today. The money for relocation costs will not need to be paid back unless the person moved back to Auckland within a year.
Despite the scheme being launched today, the Ministry of Social Development could not tell RNZ News how many Housing New Zealand houses were available outside of Auckland, and where they were.
“It is too soon to answer this question. The grant is available for any vacant housing, including private rentals, or social housing,” the department said in a statement.
At the time she announced the grant, Paula Bennett said there were dozens of empty houses in other parts of New Zealand, such as Lower Hutt where there were 18 state houses ready to let, Palmerston North where there were 15 and Gisborne with four.’
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/306790/'little-information'-on-grant-to-move-to-regions
making shit up as they go along.
or maybe instead of reading the future with the help of tealeaves and bones, they ‘Ministry of Social ‘Welfare” is waiting for Paula Bennett to drop a dump and then they gather around the turd and read the future out of that.
Oh look, she had sushi last week for dinner.
Apparently ( according to Tracy Watkins of Fairfax) Bennett was at the Field Days a lot last week.
Too busy to be dealing with the housing crisis…….
Apparently ( according to Tracy Watkins of Fairfax) Bennett was at the Field Days a lot last week.
Too busy to be dealing with the housing crisis…….
I wonder if she realises that $5000 isn’t actually enough to cover the expenses of moving a family.
Nor does it say that $ 5000 is the amount anyone who moves is going to get. Firstly, its “up to”…, secondly knowing WINZ they will want quotes for everything, then pay out not a cent more, even if those quotes were a guess. Family and friends helping out won’t get anything for their efforts, but a moving company will.
If anyone hears of (and proves) a case where this offer was taken up and the person given $ 5000 to relocate at their leisure, I will eat my hat.
+1
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Yet there are people who still care and who are unselfish.
Kai for Kids represents the best of New Zealand.
A government that rejected Mana’s Feed the Kids Bill 4 years ago represents the worst.
‘1200 school lunches in under an hour: Porirua community pitches in to help hungry kids
“Attendance is really low on Mondays and Tuesdays because Wednesday is benefit day.”
“Kids don’t come to school because they don’t have any food to bring.”
Two months later, Clifford and her volunteers now make 1200 lunches for a dozen Porirua schools.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/81198151/1200-school-lunches-in-under-an-hour-porirua-community-pitches-in-to-help-hungry-kids
http://www.maoritelevision.com/news/politics/feed-kids-bill-looks-doubtful
The fucking Herald must be being paid for this shit. It has run a piece on poor Paula as a victim ” I’ Ve been cyber bullied because of my size”. Well stop eating so many fucking pies then !.
its when National decamp from the chamber for Bellamys, as soon as question time in Parliament is over. I doubt they serve pies.
The media are getting irrelevant, from promoting social engineering like bullying ,oh poor me child Max Key, and reading his latest antics of his music video, to children of musico’s complaining they just get sex offers from men because their daddy is famous.
Nationals brighter future is the homeless sleeping in Aucklands Well lite CBD.
Unfortunately it doesn’t matter what large people do, they always attract abuse including in the form of people telling them there is something wrong with them for the way they eat. In other words the problem with fatphobia is that too many people have prejudices about fat.
Call Bennett out on her politics, her meanness and the atrocious government she works for. Plenty of material there without going for the prejudices about fatness.
“Call Bennett out on her politics, her meanness and the atrocious government she works for. Plenty of material there without going for the prejudices about fatness.”
+1
Same goes for Gerry Brownlee too. Call him out on his stubborn bullish authoritarian ways, not his size.
Prejudice against another’s body is unhelpful. We have no right to make judgements or assumptions about people’s diets, especially as we don’t know, and have no right to know their medical history, such as prescription medicine side effects, endochrinological/hormonal disorders and or injuries that prevent exercise that may have contributed to a person’s weight gain. It’s not all about food.
Drop the fatphobia folks. It’s discrimination.
I called her out because she intimated that she couldn’t,t help being that big, I doubt that she has an endocrinological or hormonal problem because that only occurs in a very very small percentage of people, ( but it makes a good excuse for those unafficted ) and she was half that size when she entered politics and got introduced to the trough in all its permutations.
BTW, I’m overweight and I’m that way because I eat too much and if someone calls me fat I have to agree with them.
You know, there are other reasons for people being fat than “endocrinological or hormonal problem[s]”, or “because [they] eat too much”.
Your weight is irrelevant Adrian. It’s not about others agreeing whether you are over weight or not. You know that and so what. If you know you eat too much then that’s your buzz, it doesn’t mean EVERY other big person is big for the same reason as you.
Your weight doesn’t give you license to attack others for the same reasons.
Pullya Benefit is a nasty vindictive spiteful person who bullies others by disclosing sensitive and private information so she can put herself in a position of power.
Her size has got nothing to do with it, and we know nothing of her medical history and shouldn’t speculate on it either. That’s her business, not yours or mine.
+1
+2
For what its worth, agreed
Noted, pr. I suppose we can all experience life’s little surprises now and then, like you and me agreeing on something 😀
Rosie I see where you are coming from, but she has been, not so long ago much smaller than she is now, she yo yo’s with her weight but she can obviously get smaller from eating less, so it probably isn’t a hormonal problem. I see it more as an emotional problem as being an eater for comfort because of the stress of her job and/or being out of her depth or just because she over eats because she enjoys her food. What I cannot understand is seeing she is seen as an intelligent women, surely she sees the health issues she is bringing on herself, heart problems and definitely diabetes because of all her “belly fat” which is what the medical profession call it. Its difficult not to criticise when there are many people who can lose weight and keep it off – self discipline plays a part and pride in one’s appearance is another. Now don’t bite my head off please.
Again. Some one else’s size is their own business. Why do we feel we have a right to criticise or even speculate about their supposed issues? What’s it got to do with us? It doesn’t matter if Pullya Benefit’s shape has changed in the time that we have seen her in parliament.
Speaking of “self discipline and pride in one’s appearance” is very much the line fatphobics use. What you are saying is fat people are ugly and lazy. That is highly prejudiced.
Another sign of fatphobia is faux concern for another persons health. And you do realise that not all heart disease is weight related don’t you? My father died at age 54 from heart disease and he was an average size man. Mr Dr tells me the biggest indicator for heart disease is genetics, even above and beyond smoking. Stress is a bigger killer than weight, so why aren’t we hating on all the stressed people? A person can be overweight but still be fit and healthy and live a long life.
Don’t get sucked into the hate Kate. You’re better than that.
I hope the NZ police are keeping an eye on this website, whose readers are celebrating the killing of Jo Cox and looking forward to similar acts here: https://yournz.org/2016/06/19/crusader-rabid/
Another day of Pauls impotent whining. Do us all a favour and stay in bed.
Sounds like you make a special effort to read Paul’s comments 🙄
Not really, I try to see things in a positive light and see no point in trying to bring everyone down with a daily dose of repetition. The sun is shining, it’s the shortest day onward and upwards.
desperately looking for that brighter future, eh?
Tarquin, how about the eye of the beholder thing? Winter solstice, I mourn because I love the cold, short dark days of winter – all moody and introspective as they are, yet cosy, safe and warm by the fire.
Like a true former teen goth I celebrate summer solstice as it’s marks the countdown to winter. Until Autumn comes it’s long wait through the drunken violence of summer (other’s, not me), water restrictions, insufferable heat, mozzies and flies, phoning noise control at 1am, and invites to hideous work xmas parties.
Can’t all see the world the same way eh?
Very true, I’ve only just finished moaning about the heat and now I’m wishing it back again. Up here in Northland we don’t get a real winter, maybe a frost or two and it just rains all the time. I had a white Christmas in England a few years ago – that’s how winters should be.
Ha ha. Well you’re living in the right part of the country if you like it warm.
Like wise, in winter in the southern hemisphere can you pull off an alright mid winter xmas, minus the snow unless you live somewhere really cold. I’ve done some good solstice parties over the years, around the fire.
As for Paul. What he is posting is politically and socially relevant. It IS the depressing truth. It’s really hard to jazz up our reality in any way that makes it palatable. Because of that I find it a bit much early in the morning myself so flick through. However I always read Paul’s posts he posts separate to the early wake up morning cup of depression. I guess we all have ways of expressing our anger and grief over our witnessing of our country going to the dogs.
You sound very much like National’s ex-party president Michelle Boag, who was on the panel of Q&A last Sunday. She appeared to be oblivious of the strive people were going through in this country, apparently in her eyes all was rosy;-)))
By the sounds of things you should be the one staying in bed. You obviously need the rest as you’re getting overly stressed-out.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/cyber-bullying/news/headlines.cfm?c_id=1504076
PB oinks about bullying this morning, does anyone else find this ironic?
Funny how John Key only has time for a few minutes before 8am to be interviewed on RNZ.
By the time he blusters and confuses the issue under questioning the time pips sound. End of story.
Wonder if he chooses the time for the interview?
Guyon could record an interview that went past 8am and play the balance after 8.
Hone’s interview by Guyon would be more interesting but his attempt at humour, trying to be the ‘comeback kid’ in an analogy to a band with singers and bass players etc. is about as silly as his artificial dote com fiasco.
We have enough clowns in parliament already.
enough clones also
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11659634
A new, to me, Herald news summary online with visuals. Like TV I guess.
German Foreign Minister Steinmeier says NATO should not be inflaming the situation with Russia
https://www.yahoo.com/news/germany-slams-nato-warmongering-russia-115515814.html?ref=gs
So weka, back to answer your question, you raised here:
http://thestandard.org.nz/kiaora-matariki-puaka/#comment-1190406
or at least attempt to.
“It seems like we have waves of momentum, and then gaps. What can we do to fill the gaps or at least tide us over?”
Probably best if someone who has been in a leadership in activism for decades to answer this curly one. However my 2 cents worth centres around socialising. Yes, socialising, on and off line.
Personally though, I prefer the off line version. In meeting new people and growing bonds with those we know, in person, we don’t miss out on all the subtle non vocal expressions that create a depth to the relationship. We can create intellectual relationships on line and they can be enhanced as we, as a collective (I”m talking about the wider world, not us on TS necessarily) create and ride a wave, but energy falls a bit flat during the troughs does it not? EG, look at online conversation pre and post general elections.
Although, in saying that, I noticed the opposite on the Bella Caledonia site post Scottish indyref – the talk was flat out, soul searching, expressing feelings etc. They even had a guest post by a psychologist to analyse the results and fall out. Their response could be down to different cultural approaches to communication – The Scots might be better communicators than NZer’s, I don’t know. (but the Scots I know and have met are great talkers and listeners)
So, I see advantages in socialising as in holding momentum during trough periods. During these times we build loyalty, maintain bonds, maintain solidarity, and maintain the flow of ideas. New ideas can be discussed and existing ones reworked. The group’s mutual interest remains a living thing rather than it being sucked into a vacuum of loss. Socialising keeps an interest alive and when the time comes to ramp up activism the platform is stable and the group is already in synch to go to work on a project or campaign.
Hope that makes sense.
Wow, that is such a great comment Rosie, I wasn’t expecting it to go in that direction.
I completely agree. I’ve been in online communities where there is more relationship building than happens here or on places like FB or twitter, and so that social thing where you have something solid happens more. But still I agree that the place it needs to happen most is in the physical world. I don’t know how to make that happen in my own life because most people I know are really focussed on life outside of political realities. I guess that’s why I come here.
But it reminds me of something that Naomi Klein said last year, when asked how she keeps going, she said it’s really important to get in a room with people who are doing the same kind of work, struggling with the same kind of things. I think you’ve really nailed it there, where it needs to happen within normal community interactions if it’s going to be stable and resilient (maybe Klein was talking about something else).
Take it from a pro, Naomi Klein would know. 😀
I empathise with your situation of not being physically around others who are focused on political issues/emerging social realities. It’s the same for me.
I do believe group social meeting is what we are going to need, to strengthen us for the next election, just for starters, as we have far bigger ongoing threats to our very existence, in climate change, as well as maintaining momentum and influence.
I think a while back Bill set up a regular meeting in Dunedin, where people met in a park. Hows that going people? Is there a way for Standardista’s to meet in person in their regions?
As I thought about socialising being a key thing to strengthening a group committed to a similar goal I received mail in my inbox from the Labour Party gen sec. He was asking if you were a 20 – 30 something professional interested in socialising. A great move I thought, along the lines of what I’d been thinking about. If that wasn’t your thing, age wise or work wise there was a survey to fill in with your thoughts about doing something similar.
I would be interested to see how many people turn up to a party AGM compared to how many people turn up to a party social gathering, especially if it’s a low cost thing. $ is a barrier for some of us.
Personally, in light of the Lab/Green MOU, I’d like to see a seasonal social get together, to build solidarity and to forge ties at the grass roots, where it really counts.
That should read “Naomi Klein’s a pro, she would know”. Just so there’s no confusion about who the pro actually is. 😀
Unconnected to the Standard, there are a few interested politically aware Dunedinites meeting in the next week as part of a Matariki event. I haven’t been involved in the organisation of the event but I would expect there to be 20-30 very politically interested minds show up.
In general terms I agree that face to face, in person political socialising is crucial to our future.
That’s really good to hear CV. Off the keyboards and exercising the vocal chords instead of the fingers. Hope it’s a fruitful event 🙂
Endless war, endless greed: The Pentagon is lining its pockets with taxpayer dollars
Obama now plans to rebuild America’s nuclear weapons cache, the latest in a series of military enrichment schemes
http://www.salon.com/2016/06/18/the_pentagon_is_soaking_us_all_partner/
Trump’s lies aren’t unique to America: Post-truth politics are killing democracies on both sides of the Atlantic
Voters no longer value truth, and Donald Trump and Boris Johnson are dangerously exploiting the new paradigm
http://www.salon.com/2016/06/19/trumps_lies_arent_unique_to_america_post_truth_politics_are_killing_democracies_on_both_sides_of_the_atlantic/
_LPRENT
You’ve been pretty harsh with a couple of my comments last couple day so i’m bringing it here to open it up and sort it.
Yep I made a couple boo boo’s, I retaliated too this
[deleted as irrelevant]
[lprent: This isn’t a negotiation, it is an observation of a continued pattern of behaviour and a demand for a permanent modification of some of those behaviours from a moderator. There is no point in various moderators continuing to point out deficiencies in your behaviour if you are too damn lazy or too thick or too self-entitled an arsehole to modify those behaviours.
1. Read the policy again. It is clear you haven’t understood it.
2. How you feel about it has absolutely no relevance and I suspect you don’t have sufficient experience with operating a blog to even be able to offer it. You are a guest on this site, your host is telling you to shape up or ship out.
3. Your only viable alternative to changing your behaviour here is contained in the last section of the about.
4. The only reason I’m bothering with this tedious exercise is because you haven’t been a particularly obnoxious
pestguest until recently.5. I really don’t care what you decide to do. So I won’t waste any more time on it. ]
This is a heart wrenching article. And in our back doorstep. Why do not NZ take the Nauru refugees – it is hard to see how these detention centres can be considered legal under human rights legislation – in particular for the unaccompanied children committing suicide.
“The worst I’ve seen – trauma expert lifts lid on ‘atrocity’ of Australia’s detention regime
Exclusive: In his 43-year career, Paul Stevenson has worked in the aftermath of the Bali bombings and the Boxing Day tsunami but says nothing he witnessed was as bad as the treatment of asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus”
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/jun/20/the-worst-ive-seen-trauma-expert-lifts-lid-on-atrocity-of-australias-detention-regime
How many people out there think mental illnesses equate to a lower intellect, or reduced mental capacity?
I have found here some resistance to my points of view based on the fact I am mentally ill.
I am in fact B-Polar, and I have an IQ of over 160 according the 2 of the Psychologists who treated me through Hep C treatment.
My illness caused a chemical imbalance in my brain which causes me to have periods of massive empathy/depression and periods of manic/sleepless, fast thinking, impusiveness.
if untreated.
Currently outlooks for Bi-polar people are good, it does take time to find the right chemicals and once a balance of chemicals has been restored we live completely normal lives.
I recently found the right medication , for me it was Effexor, I snapped out of depression in the time it took for the pill to get into my blood stream and have been stable for over two months now.
Comments from LPRENT such as..
“I really can’t be bothered dealing with commenter’s mental issues over and over again and having them disrupting a reasonably rational debate. I suspect you don’t understand yourself well enough to understand your own issues and therefore are unlikely to be able to control yourself. So any ban that I am forced to issue will be for some time”
and the other day you insulted me and my mental health just like someone who knows absolutely nothing and is predjudiced.
I am shocked at the way you talk to and treated me, uses my disabilty and mental health to question my intellect and integrity.
Hi Richard. I can’t comment on the exchange you’ve had with LPrent.
I can, whole heartedly support you in your recovery from depression and your belief (or what I see as fact) that mental illness is in no way related to intelligence.
I’m someone who struggles with depression and chronic insomnia to the point where I can no longer work/ or find suitable part time work, so I’m thrilled to hear you’ve found a medicine that works. That can be a really liberating feeling.
Go well and stay well.
Kia Kaha!
Thanks Rosie, after so many years trying it was super liberating to not dive into depression whenever a saw a animal run over or bad news.
I have 2 months of stress less life now and i’m chilling back out daily. I feel the tension relax and everyday gets better without having to worry if I was about to swing in moods.
Prozac, citalopram, epillim by the truckload, they give you the antidepressants and assume you’ll be fine come back in a month they say, it never did squat, they even thought I was lying and putting it on after all the tablets didn’t do much, it took me over ten years of that and a Hep C treatment that has side effects of making you suicidal, to find a brilliant new Dr who took me over from my old Dr and she cured me in one med change.
I had given up, never give up if the meds aren’t working change them don’t linger on non active antidepressants Rosie is all I can say.
Awesome to hear you’re doing so well Richard after years of suffering. That really is a breakthrough. Well done you! It’s a good feeling, I find, to be back to one true self and feeling safe and well.
It is hard for people in a clinically depressed state to cope with problems, bad news, and upsetting sights. You become sensitised to things and it spirals down. I’ve had to work with being overly empathetic to animal suffering but deal with it in different ways now.
I’m fine and dandy on the paroxetine now but still an insomniac. I use sleeping pills about 3 times a week to get by. I also try to keep a different future in mind too. Once the clouds lift you can see there are good things that ARE going on.
Take care. Rosie
I’ve had to deal with acute depression a number of times in my life, and seem to have quite a few friends and family with various mental aliments – including bigotry. I expect to help and deal with issues to do with it as and when I need to.
But what I was referring to was your attitude and actions on this site. Here I’m not interested in dealing with, protecting or helping you. I’m interested in protecting and helping this site as a place for debate. The way we do to deal with bad behaviour for WHATEVER cause, is to warn about behaviour and (if required) to remove the ability to write comments.
The proportion of people commenting or authoring on this site with various afflictions (mental, physical, bigotry or addictive) probably isn’t that too dissimilar from society at large. However most of them manage to control their behaviour to the level that I don’t notice them. I can’t see any reason that I should treat you differently to them.
There are limits to the amount of time that I (or any other moderator or author) can be expend on this site. And after more than 8 years of doing it, I tend to push so that I don’t have to spend too much time dealing with someone acting like an arsehole. I find it is less of a problem to whack hard once so I don’t have waste time to play whack-a-mole with dickheads.
Respect Lprent, sorry you had too crack out the sledgehammer , but I respect your doing it, now that we had a chance to one to one, vs catching each other on a thread, and distracting from the thread.
Some of the odd comments were tongue in cheek and I have learned humour often gets taken literally here if your not super careful to announce how your inferring a comment.
My comments should tidy up as a I get more familiar with the morally accepted peer standards here.
Thanks again for posting this and allowing me to relate my concerns and have them answered.
Kind regards
Richard
[lprent: Ok, the warning has been heard. Removed from moderation. We will see how it goes. ]
Thanks for that.
Humour, more often than not, simply doesn’t come across in text. To indicate that you’re being humorous usually means that you have to add smileys and/or tags.
Yes. I learnt the hard way in earlier days. Tongue-in-cheek comments were taken too literally by some and I ended up on the receiving end of a few unpleasant barbs. Even adding emoticons or plain language tags is not always a guarantee. Best to confine oneself to such comments when the post itself is humorous and/or satirical in content.
Try being humorous on here if you’re seen as a tory 🙂
Right wingers with a sense of humour are usually given credit on this site. Just remember to add the smiley or a humour tag so we know… 😉
Or a /sarc tag so I (and others) don’t take what is said literally.
You have to remember that in this environs we can’t see the puckish smile (wasn’t he a rodent in one of williams plays ?) /sarc .
… we can’t see the puckish smile (wasn’t he a rodent in one of williams plays ?) /sarc .
No, he was fairy. 😀
I played him once in a high school play.
It doesn’t come across as puckish when a policy hurts someone – making a joke of their pain is provocative.
C’mon Stuart Munro. Just because we have a teeny wee bit of fun doesn’t mean we don’t feel strongly for those who are the victims of this heartless and horrible government. Some of us have even been there in one form or another.
There’s still room to lighten up and maybe even have a laugh at ourselves.
Yes… except that with a pretty vacuous and actively biased MSM there is little or no channel for normal outrage. A not too politically interested person who gets their news from TVNZ, stuff, and the Herald could be forgiven for thinking that Nick Smith was vaguely competent or Paula Bennett compassionate.
There is a need to roundly damn this government, in adition to dispassionately discussing alternatives. The trolls never sleep, and never miss an opportunity to paint this vicious and dysfunctional kleptocracy as marginally competent and technically human.
I agree that that part of Lynn’s statement was a form of prejudice in terms of mental health and I wish he hadn’t made it. I hope you can pull back a bit anyway, because I like your contributions on ts in general, and I think you bring perspectives that we don’t otherwise have and I find that valuable. There are rules though, and if you break them too often it’s easier for the site to give you time out.
I do think you are stepping over the bounds a lot at the moment, and you will get moderated for that. Different moderators have different ways of approaching that.
fwiw, Lynn is an equal opportunity moderator and will be abusive to everyone pretty much equally if they piss him off as a moderator. That’s the bit to understand, it’s not a personal thing so much as what is seen with a moderator hat on. It takes time to moderate, there is more involved than in just making a comment. And that time is time we don’t get to spend doing other things. One of Lynn’s trigger points is where he finds he is having to use a lot of time on one person when they’ve already been warned.
My own is people derailing threads (you’ve noticed I’m sure) either by posting off topic or by posting things that are inflammatory.
I’m really happy to explain where I think you are overstepping the bounds if that’s helpful. It is good to reread the Policy, and they still need to be understood in the context of the culture of ts. Lots of people don’t get that, and some of those people end up with bans.
Moderation has changed a bit in the last 6 months, and IMO there has been an improvement in the debate culture. There is less tolerance for bickering and troll derailments. Shutting them down early on keeps discussions much more focussed on the topic of the post, which is the point of the site.
I’d see two main things happening with you at the moment. One is taking personal grudges across multiple conversations. It just disrupts thread, so if you can let it go, or keep it in the thread it originated in if it’s appropriate, that’s going to cause less disruption and get less moderator attention. If all else fails, do what you have done today and take it to Open Mike.
The other is to focus more on the politics. You have interesting ideas and ones that are challenging to some here, so finding ways to communicate those without having a go at people will work better in the long run. Yes, lots of what happens here is unfair (e.g. someone is rude to you and doesn’t get called on it). But it’s on all of us to act within the rules as much as we can and lower the need for moderation in the first place.
edit, just seen Lynn’s comment above, which is a very clear explanation that behaviour will be moderated no matter what the cause.
Only in that I view the type of bigotry that he was displaying as being a type of mental illness. It is pretty damn hard to explain it any other way. I’ve talked to enough bigots on various subjects (including some very intelligent ones) to realize that in some people it appears to be hardwired well below any cognitive layer.
I think it was more just that thing of equating behaviour with mental illness when it’s pretty hard to know how much of anyone’s behaviour comes from that. And people with formal mental health diagnosis like bipolar already get stigmatised more than most, and attributing behaviour to their mental illness tends to make that even more so.
Bigotry is a different thing IMO.
I’m glad you explained what you meant to Richard and that he gets it now. All good.
Equally understood, Weka, again sorry for the trouble.
I replied to Lprent and the same curtesy and sentiment is given to you.
Nice one Richard, glad you sorted it out 🙂
Rant begins
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/81219380/renewed-calls-for-euthanasia-debate-as-petition-submissions-set-to-break-record
I don’t know if this has been posted today but its a weak and cowardly position of Andrew Little over this and its even more cowardly and weak of john Key in not picking this up as well
Basically every politician, no matter what party they’re with, that doesn’t support this is a gutless coward
Maryan Street is completely right about this, we at least need to start talking about it
Rant over
I’ve seen Whaleoil mention the Catholic Mafia within National as being the main block in the euthanasia debate.
Same probably applies to Labour,
Didn’t think the Catholic Church still had that amount of power today
I’d say Bill English is staunchly prolife.
“staunchly prolife” engenders a whole spectrum of political beliefs in of itself, starting with an understanding that life is sacred and it is not man’s place to play God with and take others’ lives.
So you’d be against euthanasia, CV?
http://thestandard.org.nz/voluntary-euthanasia/#comment-1124288
Yes, for various reasons, I think that any Government Authorised Suicide programme is a bad idea.
There are hundreds of improvements which should be made to the care of terminally ill people before this measure is even considered.
BTW if NZ ended up performing euthanasia at the same rate that the Dutch do, we would have 1,450 Kiwis a year die under a Government Authorised Suicide programme.
Yes, that’s four times NZ’s annual road toll.
And we’d be investigating whether or not the programme should be extended to children under 16 years of age.
Bill English, Michael Woodhouse ,Chris Finlayson, Chester Borrows and probably quite a few others.
Well that’s depressing
Yes, there’s always a chance that joyce might make a tilt at the top job at any time. Slater needs to head that one off at the pass for his mate.
I think Steven Joyce prefers to be the power behind the throne.
as an imminent grease
I doubt the National Party Board and their major funders consider Joyce as an electable leader for the National Party. So I do not think that he will have any support from that quarter. And without that support, any leadership coup attempt is going nowhere.
I’m just working on the idea that Slater doesn’t give an opinion without an ulterior motive – a comment above suggests that his “Catholic mafia” line could have been aimed at knobbling any number of contenders 🙂
Before you jump to conclusions about the Catholic Mafia you may want to read this interview (plus 2 comments) with Simon O’Connor who is the chairman of the Health Select Committee that is tasked with the inquiry. Mr O’Connor was almost ordained as Catholic Priest.
Syria: Another Pipeline War
It’s an interesting history lesson that connects the dots of US imperialism for the last 60+ years.
How nice it would be for the Western Empire to have a Qatari pipeline going through Syria; it would ensure energy supplies to Israel and the EU could access a massive amount of gas while cutting Russia out of the loop.
Damn that Assad for not allowing the use of his country for this project. He’s simply got to go.
horrible misappropriating bastards
http://fineartamerica.com/shop/shower+curtains/lindauer
so culturally wrong but someones got to make money somehow //bangs head on anything…
gosh.
That entire site is Trump-tacky-ular…
shower curtains, I mean bloody hell!!!
Although I went to the trouble of identifying the work and the man portrayed I managed to get myself involved in a rather unpleasant flame war with another blog host when he posted the image below.
But he didn’t seem to be able to understand why some would find the manipulation offensive.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BD0t7ELvUV-/
that one made me sick joe
What sort of cultural infant would even think to do that?
And as for the shower curtains!! 😒
I wonder if the descendants have made any representation to these unthinking idiots?
If NZ took a leaf from the yanks’ book we’d make reproductions of moko illegal, and then try to extradite the sellers for “money laundering” because the payments were transferred from one account to another.
Might even get a helicopter raid on their home…
Am I the only one who heard Kathryn Ryan shout down Matthew Hooton this morning? First good moment in bloody years…
Ah that kind of explains felix’s somewhat obscure tweet today,
https://twitter.com/bsidebeats/status/744673898101248001
Off to have a listen now.
*shock*
I heard it. Not before time, although it took a bit to get him to shut up. Talk about verbal diarrhoea! Never heard Kathryn Ryan so exasperated. Can’t she turn him off or something ?
I wonder – she never stops him normally, but this time she was defending RNZ’s integrity..
I wonder if she has wanted to do the same in the past, but only today did she feel that she would have the backing of her own bosses?
Can’t she turn him off or something ?
That’s what I kept yelling out to her to do. She couldn’t hear me.
Kiwi troops to stay in Iraq for another 18 months. No one saw this coming.. then again I remember various spokespeople from the left saying this is exactly what would happen.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/81265744/kiwi-troop-deployment-to-iraq-has-been-extended-by-18-months
Yep deployment to now extend beyond the next election
Key said the intention was not to go beyond two years and the mission would be reviewed in 12 months. At the initial deployment.
really,
Now he extends them for another 18 months.. that’s 18 months on top of the 2 years. Oh btw did he not mention we are at war now or is that coming later.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11659951
Last line of that article:
Wtf!
Yes, amusing. I don’t know how poor Gerry can sleep at night, knowing that so many swords of Damocles are swaying and hovering above our heads…
vino
The only imminent threat NZ is experiencing is the National party, led by John Key they are doing far more damage to people than ISIL have in NZ.
Sadly that’s actually a fact.
Reminds me of this tweet from the Economist:
My reply:
Nice 1 DTB.
When will John Key speak out against this scofflaw regime?
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/jun/20/the-worst-ive-seen-trauma-expert-lifts-lid-on-atrocity-of-australias-detention-regime
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11660016
Now don’t bust your mouse furiously following this link nor froth so much your unable to offload your love of all things Paula Bennet.
However Barry Soper’s lovely post on PB just popped up and what do you know a comments section on her is open.
Good luck guys let her and Soper know we know, if you know what I mean.
She does not care, she’s a bully, you know the truth.
The $5000 is in part to be given to the removal Company and just $2000 given to the people as a start up grant, they said on Morning report today.
So John Key , how do you feel about people sleeping under bridges?
JK : We’ve had a bit of a discussion about that and we are quite comfortable with that really, I mean there is no real safety issue here as the vehicles are well above them and being under the bridge they shouldn’t pose a distraction for the motorist. If they want to live under a bridge then be my guest.
Arrr, I was more referring to the homeless problem.
JK: Well I haven’t had any homeless approach me directly about this, but we desperately need more roads and bridges and we are pushing that through so that should produce a win win situation with the extra bridges.