Open mike 20/07/2014
Written By:
- Date published:
7:00 am, July 20th, 2014 - 139 comments
Categories: open mike -
Tags:
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
139 comments on “Open mike 20/07/2014 ”
- Comments are now closed
- Comments are now closed
Recent Comments
- Do Landslides Change the Landscape in the Long Run?
It was easy for election night commentators to use the ‘landslide’ trope to describe Labour’s winning of the 2020 election. But the historical record suggests that such landslides may not last long. In 1935, the First (Savage-Fraser) Labour Government won 53 seats in a parliament of 80; National ...2 hours ago - The Debunking Handbook 2020: Prevent misinformation from sticking if you can
This blog post is part 2 of a series of excerpts from The Debunking Handbook 2020 which can be downloaded here. The list of references is available here. Prevent misinformation from sticking if you can Because misinformation is sticky, it’s best preempted. This can be achieved by explaining misleading or ...2 hours ago - Graeme Edgeler: Mandates are not mandatory, but they are also not meaningless
There’s a lot of talk about what the Labour Government’s new mandate is. For a discussion of exactly what that might mean, Graeme Edgeler explores the murky logic of what they can and can’t do, pointing out that ultimately voters decide if this mandate was properly used in three years. ...5 hours ago - Hyping it up over fluoridation
In my time as a scientific researcher, honest scientists used to condemn colleagues who over-hyped their science. To our mind there should have been a special place in hell for scientists who misrepresented their ... 7 hours ago - Don’t fall for the Covid contrarians
As life in Aotearoa gets back to some kind of normal after our latest Covid-19 outbreak, cases in the northern hemisphere are on the rise again and that puts us all at risk. Because no one is safe until we are all safe. This is a tricky virus. We now ...8 hours ago - Liam Hehir: Online abuse and the standard you walk byThere’s a lot of nastiness in the online public sphere, much of it tribal, petty and personal. Political commentator and Twitter enthusiast Liam Hehir has seen too much of it, and explains why he’s going to actively stand up against it. I did a radio interview a little while ...9 hours ago
- Tanzania: elections, neoliberalism and economic diplomacy
Politics in New Zealand is the main focus of Redline, along with supporting liberation movements and anti-imperialist struggles. We have had little material from the African continent, so are pleased to print this submission from a Tanzanian writer on their pending elections. Tanzania will be going to the polls on ...10 hours ago - Governing For All Of Us.
11 hours ago - NZ Politics Daily – 20 October 2020Today’s content Coalition negotiations, shape of government Gordon Campbell: On why the Greens shouldn’t join the government Andrew Geddis (Pundit): What Sort Of Relationship Might Labour And The Greens Agree On? Audrey Young (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern holds preparatory talks with Greens but coalition looking unlikely Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern tight-lipped after ...13 hours ago
- What sort of relationship might Labour and the Greens agree on?
Even without knowing the final election result (because, don’t forget there’s about 500,000 special votes still to count and they very likely will change Saturday’s results), we can say two things for certain about the next government. Jacinda Ardern will be its Prime Minister. And Labour will be at its core. But ...1 day ago - Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – Leftwing euphoria meets realityThe political left has been euphoric since Saturday’s night historic landslide victory for Labour. But political commentators from across the spectrum are united in warning that the new Government isn’t about to be transformative. Instead, we will see more of a status quo administration grappling with a crisis, with very ...1 day ago
- Yes, a mandate for sure… but issues for NZ will be far, far more difficult now
With the NZ General Election and Referendums over for 2020, Jacinda Ardern is to form a Government over the next few weeks, “there are some areas we do want to crack on with, that we will need to expedite”, and talks will begin to form around what the voters ...1 day ago - Labour Party landslide – 2020 Election in review
Jacinda Ardern - Prime Minister of New ZealandThe 2020 General Election has been one of the most interesting in New Zealand’s political history. Not only did we have voters provide the Labour Party with a stratospheric 49.1% mandate to govern, the results also delivered National with a crushing 26.8% defeat ...1 day ago - Be careful what you wish for: Labour's difficult triumph
Labour’s overwhelming victory at the election has been greeted with rousing cheers on the left of New Zealand politics and the start of transformational demands. It’s a multi-generational win for Labour, out-polling the Kirk, Lange and Clark victories. You have to go back to 1938 for a bigger percentage (55.8%) ...1 day ago - A Skeptical Science member's path to an experiment on carbon sequestrationDuring what now seems like another era entirely- back in February of this long year- Skeptical Science regular RedBaron (aka Scott Strough) mentioned in a discussion thread here that he'd been working on an idea for no-till cultivation of vegetables, was seeking to quantify what appeared to be promising results. Scott ...1 day ago
- Jacinda Will Keep Us Moving – To The Same Place.Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes? Not Likely: Though few New Zealanders would express it in such a fashion: Jacinda’s and Labour’s general handling of the Covid-19 crisis proved both to be highly effective defenders of the capitalist status quo. She, and they, kept the lights on. And that, in the absence of an alternative ...1 day ago
- The Greens and Labour
With an absolute majority, Labour can govern in its own right, and doesn't need partners. But while unnecessary, they're a nice-to-have, both as backup and for PR reasons. Ardern has talked about "consensus", and there are obvious benefits for her of having government policy endorsed by as many parties as ...1 day ago - 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #42Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Earth has warmest September on record, and 2020 may clinch hottest year Record warmth in Europe and Asia overwhelms a ...2 days ago
- Josh Van Veen: The Vindication of Winston PetersAn egalitarian spirit is currently being revived in New Zealand, and we should thank Winston Peters for keeping alive that spirit. Josh Van Veen, who once worked with the NZ First leader, pays his tribute. With New Zealand First receiving less than 3% of the vote, critics are happily ...2 days ago
- The Hunt for Red October: Musings on Taieri
So New Zealand has had its general election. Jacinda Ardern has managed a single-party majority government, New Zealand’s first in twenty-six years, and its first since the adoption of proportional representation. I intend to do a comment on that further down the line – my feelings on the Sunday ...2 days ago - Lessons from the Election
This year’s general election has broken new ground – and not just in terms of its outcome, the seats won and votes cast, and – in an MMP environment – the margin of victory. It also suggests that something quite fundamental has changed in New Zealand politics. The outcome is ...2 days ago - The unexpected resultThe people have spoken, and its a Labour majority government. This wasn't meant to happen under MMP, and in fact its exactly what the system was designed to prevent: no majority governments, no elected dictatorships, unless we really, really want it (which at the time seemed unlikely on 40 years ...2 days ago
- Schadenfreude is a dish best served blue
What started out as the largest party in parliament has ended election night scratching the back door of the house of irrelevance. ...3 days ago - 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #42A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Oct 11, 2020 through Sat, Oct 17, 2020 Editor's Choice A FIELD GUIDE TOTHE ELECTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE The presidential election is just weeks away, and climate change has broken ...3 days ago
- Legal Beagle: Election '20: The Special Votes
The 2020 General Election has a preliminary result. For reasons I am unable to really explain, we will not have even a preliminary result for the end of life choice and cannabis legalisation referendums for some weeks (I dropped the ball on that one when the referendum legislation was before ...3 days ago - National rejects tonight’s result as a ‘rogue poll’
National are dismissing tonight’s election result as an “obvious outlier” Half an hour into counting, National Party leader Judith Collins and deputy leader Gerry Brownlee are already dismissing tonight’s election result as a “rogue poll”, saying it’s an incomplete survey with shoddy methodology. Brownlee called an emergency media stand-up just ...3 days ago - Jacinda Ardern ran down four National supporters with her car this morning but due to electoral law ...Dr. Ashley Bloomfield reported at today’s 1pm health briefing that the Coronavirus turns out not to exist, but that information was also withheld on the same grounds. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern began her election morning by ruthlessly driving her car into a family of National supporters just blocks from her ...3 days ago
- Six weird animals that have nothing to do with the electionGet a load of these things! Some of these animals are just crazy. You wouldn’t want a single one of these animals anywhere near your kids. It could ruin them for life. Last thing you’d want is your kid growing up around any of these, and thinking that’s what animals ...3 days ago
- 1pm Covid Health Update for 17th October, 2020What follows is today’s 1pm health update from the Ministry of Health There are 12 new cases of Covid-19 today, six in managed isolation, three escaped, and three are wealthy foreigners so it’s fine. One of these cases is a man in his 50s who visited Auckland sex club Fisting ...3 days ago
- It's Election Day.4 days ago
- National caucus convening to elect new leader for final 2 hours of the campaignThis is a breaking news event, and further updates and clarifications may be forthcoming. With less than three hours to go in the election campaign, The National Party is holding an emergency meeting to elect a new leader, one they hope can turn things around in the final one and ...4 days ago
- Judith Collins asking for two week extension on election due dateCollins says she was “ever so close” to finishing everything up, but a family member died, her computer crashed, and she just needs “a little more time” to get things right. In a late move this evening, Judith Collins has written an urgent letter to the Electoral Commission requesting a ...4 days ago
- The Debunking Handbook 2020: Misinformation is damaging and stickyThis blog post is part 1 of a series of excerpts from The Debunking Handbook 2020. The list of references is available here. Misinformation can do damage Misinformation is false information that is spread either by mistake or with intent to mislead. When there is intent to mislead, it is ...4 days ago
- Not as a Christian, but as a New Zealander: Why I am voting against assisted suicide tomorrow.
I am no stranger to lost causes. And, while there is always hope, it does appear that David Seymour’s “End of Life Choice” law will receive the necessary endorsement of voters to finally legalise assisted suicide in this country. A significant minority of voters will dissent, however.I will be one ...4 days ago - Ardern reassures voters that Greens’ negotiating table will be a tiny, humiliating oneOn the eve of the election, the Prime Minister wants New Zealanders to know the Greens will be given a very small seat at the table, quite literally. In the final hours of the campaign, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made a forceful appeal to the electorate not to be ...4 days ago
- A Waste of Time: The Hundred “Best” Fantasy Books
Time Magazine has put out a list of the hundred best fantasy books of all time: https://time.com/collection/100-best-fantasy-books/ It is bad. Very bad. I get that this is clickbait nonsense, but… really. Time Magazine ought to be ashamed of themselves. Ostensibly, the selection process was as follows: ...4 days ago - Big changes do stickIn one of her last pre-election interviews, Jacinda Ardern tries to defend her policy of doing nothing while in government: Ardern reflected on large changes made by Helen Clark’s government – particularly in education and welfare – that were still part of the system now, saying they prove smaller ...4 days ago
- Polls show regret for not voting Green
I have looked at election polling for last four elections and have noticed a concerning pattern. The Green Party's polling leading up to each election is stronger than what they actually achieve, then the poll immediately afterwards is always considerably higher. For most parties the opposite is generally the case. ...4 days ago - Climate Change: Planning to failLast year, the government passed the Zero Carbon Act, setting short-term and long-term goals for carbon reduction. And they're already saying that they will fail to meet them: Environment Minister David Parker appears to have already given up on the country’s ability to meet the 2030 methane goal set ...4 days ago
- Another issue Labour is ignoring its voters overJacinda Ardern is trying to rule out even discussing a wealth tax if she gets re-elected. But if she gets re-elected, it will be by voters who support one. A Newshub poll shows that nearly half of all voters - and 60% of labour supporters - support a wealth tax: ...4 days ago
- Scholarship PhysicsIt’s that time of year when school students become seriously focused on exams. This year has been messy for student learning, and has affected some students more than others, but the NCEA external assessments and the Scholarship exams are going ahead pretty-much as normal. I’ve taken some interest in the ...4 days ago
- “Fitz” On Cannabis."I Like It!" “Shall I tell you the real reason to legalise cannabis? Because all the stuff I’ve told you, while true, isn’t enough. You should legalise cannabis because you’d like it. No, actually, you’d love it! Cannabis makes food taste better. It turns music into magic. It suppresses pain and nausea ...5 days ago
- Crusher fails to resonate5 days ago
- A flaw in our electoral transparency regime IILast month, we learned there was a flaw in our electoral transparency regime, with the New Zealand Public Party receiving a quarter of a million dollars in donations which will never have to be decalred. And now its got worse,as it turns out they're also explicitly soliciting donations from rich ...5 days ago
- “Entirely separate”When two people whose identities we all know but cannot say publicly due to name suppression were charged with "Obtaining by Deception" over routing donations to NZ First through the NZ First Foundation, Winston Peters claimed his party had been exonerated because "The Foundation is an entirely separate entity from ...5 days ago
- Judith Collins' little green liesNew Zealand is not the United States, thank goodness. We don't have the same level of political partisanship nor public media outlets that blatantly display political bias. However, during the closing weeks of this campaign I do feel an infection of trumpism is evident. Judith Collins and her National Party ...5 days ago
- Which ‘milk’ is best for the environment? We compared dairy, nut, soy, hemp and grain milksMaking eco-conscious choices at the shops can be tricky when we’re presented with so many options, especially when it comes to milk. Should we buy plant-based milk, or dairy? We’ve looked at the evidence to help you choose. Dora Marinova, Curtin University and Diana Bogueva, Curtin University Dairy has the ...5 days ago
- Josh Van Veen: The Psychology of ArdernismJacinda Ardern has made New Zealanders feel safe. Josh Van Veen looks at psychological understandings of leadership to help explain the ongoing success of Labour in this election campaign. Simon Bridges could have been the Prime Minister. Opinion polls in February suggested a close election, with Colmar Brunton giving the ...6 days ago
- Let's Make Jacinda Break Her Promises.6 days ago
- Two days to go, 12 questions still worth asking
One last lap. One last crack. One last chance to boost your own policies or knock down your opponents. Tonight TVNZ hosts the final leaders’ debate and although over a million New Zealanders have voted and much of the policy debate seems to have stagnated around negative attacks, there are ...6 days ago - Possible inter-satellite collision on FridayTwo objects in low-Earth orbit may collide with each other on Friday, in a hyper-velocity impact which would lead to millions of fragments being left on-orbit, each potentially-lethal to functioning satellites. Fingers crossed (not that I am superstitious) that it is a miss, rather than a hit. One local ...6 days ago
- Do Elections Deliver What We Want?
MMP may deliver a parliament which reflects us, but frequently the government does not. At the heart of my recent history of New Zealand, Not in Narrow Seas, is the interaction between economic and social change. I could measure economic change via the – far from comprehensive – ...6 days ago - Flailing last grasps bring lasting gasps in the NZ General Election…
The last week of the 2020 election here in New Zealand has been an increasingly torrid and venal affair has it not? Many expect the last week of any Election campaign to get considerably more tetchy, everyone is hurrying to nail the last voter down after all. But this ...6 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #41, 2020Zika follows climate Sadie Ryan and coauthors combine what we know about the Zika virus and its preferred regime with modeling to show the pathogen will greatly expand its range during the next few decades. We do have some remaining control over the situation. From the abstract: "In the ...6 days ago
- Does a delay in COP26 climate talks hit our efforts to reduce carbon emissions?Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz Will the delay of the COP26 UN climate negotiations impact ...6 days ago
- Where do the parties stand on open government?The election is in less than a week, so I thought I'd take a quick look at where the parties stand on open government, freedom of information, and the OIA. The short answer is that most of them don't. While Andrew Little has "promised" to rewrite the OIA, there's no ...6 days ago
- The Second Time As Farce: National's Election Campaign Falls Apart.6 days ago
- National's Little Helpers have A Cunning Plan.Keep Your hands Off Of My Stash: Viewed from the perspective of the 2020 General Election as a whole, the intervention of the Taxpayers’ Union against the Greens' Wealth Tax confirms the Right’s growing sense of desperation that the campaign is slipping away from them. With hundreds of thousands of ...6 days ago
- Covid-19: A planetary diseaseLouise Delany* This blog focuses on the underlying environmental causes of Covid-19 (Covid) and the role of international law in tackling both Covid and other planetary crises. I argue that major changes to our relationship with our planet and its creatures are needed and these changes must be supported by ...6 days ago
- Liam Hehir: How to make your mind upIf you’re still on the fence about how to vote, Liam Hehir says it’s probably more important for you to vote on the basis of your principles, and he offers a way to think about how these principles might align with the main party options. Still undecided? Here’s how ...7 days ago
- What else apart from a Wealth Tax? The shape of a Labour-Greens coalition
If you haven’t heard, the Green Party supports a Wealth Tax. Yeah, I thought you might have heard of it. Everyone’s been talking about it on the campaign trail these past few days. It would force the wealthiest six percent of New Zealanders to pay a one percent tax each ...7 days ago - Time is slipping by for the fruit industry to improve wagesThe covid-19 pandemic has meant a lot of changes for New Zealand. Lockdowns, social distancing, a massive shift to working from home and the death of tourism for a start. But the sensible and necessary border closure has also completely cut off the supply of cheap, migrant labour - and ...1 week ago
- A new low in American “democracy”Every US election, we're used to seeing long lines of voters, and reading stories of widespread gerrymandering and voter suppression (including things like flyers falsely telling people their assigned polling place (!) has moved or that voting will be on a different day, and robocalls threatening that people will be ...1 week ago
- A suggestion for Biden’s foreign policy.
I have been thinking about US foreign policy after the upcoming election. My working assumption is that try as he might, Trump will lose the election and be forced from office. There will be much litigating of the results and likely civil unrest, but on Jan 21, 2021 the Orange ...1 week ago - Bleak views of melting Antarctic ice, from above and belowThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk Images from satellites high above the Earth have helped a research team put together a stark visual chronicle of decades of glacier disintegration in Antarctica. Meanwhile, a separate international research team has taken the opposite perspective – studying the ice ...1 week ago
- Five reasons I am voting for National (and why you should too)
Centre right voters have three realistic options this year.- The National Party, which is currently at something of a low ebb but which remains the primary vehicle for conservative and moderate liberal voters; orThe libertarian ACT Party, which is undergoing a temporary boom as National struggles; orThe centre-left Labour ...
1 week ago - Graeme Edgeler: How to vote, and how to think about votingYour choice of who to vote for could make a real difference. Electoral law expert Graeme Edgeler suggests you make an informed choice, and he goes through a variety of different ways to think about your voting options. The New Zealand general election is being held next Saturday, the ...1 week ago
- That School Debate: Tolkien, Shakespeare, and Anti-Stratfordianism
Today, I am responding to one Philip Lowe, who back in August 2019 produced an interesting but flawed piece, looking at the way in which Tolkien viewed Shakespeare: Tolkien and Shakespeare: Counterparts ... 1 week ago - Marching to the ballot boxesToday's advance voting statistics are out, showing that 450,000 people voted over the weekend, bringing the total advance vote to 1.15 million - just 90,000 shy of the 2017 total. So its likely that by the end of today, more people will have advance voted than did in the ...1 week ago
- Hard News: The long road to “Yes”One day in 1985, I came down from the loft where I was working as deputy editor of Rip It Up magazine, looking for lunch, and walked into a scene. There, on the corner of Queen and Darby Streets, a man was in the process of getting two kids to ...1 week ago
- A funny thing for Labour to die in a ditch overOver the weekend, National unveiled its latest desperate effort to try and gain some attention: campaigning hard against a wealth tax. Its a Green Party policy, so its a funny thing for national to campaign against (alternatively, I guess it shows who their true opponents are). But even funnier is ...1 week ago
- The comforting myth of the referendum ‘soft option’
Assuming we don’t count Bird of the Year, last week was my first time voting in a New Zealand election. I’ve been here a while, but for reasons too dull to recount, I didn’t have permanent residence in time for any of the others. Anyway, it’s hardly up there with 1893, ...1 week ago - Election: Equality Network’s Policy Matrix
How will you vote this Election? We suggest comparing the Party policies on addressing inequality: The Equality Network identifies Ten Key Policy Areas that will make a difference: ...1 week ago - Equality Network: Party Policy Star Chart...1 week ago
- A Tale of Two ElectionsAS 2020 draws to a close, two very different countries, in different hemispheres and time zones, are holding elections that are of great importance, not only for their own futures but for the future of the world as well. The USA and New Zealand differ greatly in physical and economic ...1 week ago
- WATCH LIVE: Election Night 2020
...3 days ago - Election Night Speech – Marama Davidson
Kia ora tātou kātoa. Ngā mihi maioha ki a koutou Te Roopu Kakariki, ngā kaitautoko, e aroha ana I te kaupapa mo te taiao me te mokopuna. No reira tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. I am so proud to be standing here tonight, at the end of an ...3 days ago - Election Night Speech – James ShawOn Election Night three years ago I stood up in front of you to say, “We are still here!” Well, tonight, not only are we still here, we are the first support party in MMP history to have started and finished a term in government above the 5% threshold. We ...3 days ago
- Greens only party with plan to meet scale of climate challengeA new report showing that the effects of climate change are already being felt in Aotearoa New Zealand shows the importance of the Green Party pushing for urgent action in the next Government. ...5 days ago
- Green Party commits to stronger urban tree protection and no new mines on public conservation landThe Green Party is the only party in Parliament which is explicitly committing to protecting public conservation land and the indigenous plants and wildlife which live there, from destructive mining. ...5 days ago
- Vote still undecided? Watch this.As of today, over 1.4 million New Zealanders have already cast their votes in this year’s election. While this shows that a huge number of people have already made up their minds about who they want to lead our country, there are many who are still undecided. ...6 days ago
- Labour's 2020 Election ManifestoThe Labour Party understands how important continuity, stability and clarity are for New Zealanders in these uncertain times. That’s why, in our 2020 Election Manifesto, we’re setting out how we will continue to invest in people, jobs, small businesses, infrastructure, and global trade, to set New Zealand up for the ...1 week ago
- Green Party releases tourism policyToday the Green Party’s conservation spokesperson Eugenie Sage went kayaking on Akaroa Harbour to highlight the greater protection achieved for Hector’s and Maui dolphins this term and the Greens’ election commitment to supporting sustainable tourism. ...1 week ago
- National’s false ‘wealth tax’ claims: The “last roll of the misinformation dice”“Collins has warned voters to expect a wealth tax. This is despite the fact Labour has ruled this out a number of times.” – Jason Walls, NZ Herald. “The Labour Party has ruled out implementing the Green Party's wealth tax.” – Henry Cooke, Stuff. “Labour has time and time again ...1 week ago
- Week that was: Counting down to Election DayIt’s getting incredibly close to Election Day now – and over a million people have already cast their vote! ...1 week ago
- Jacinda Ardern's Wellington Rally SpeechJacinda Ardern delivers a rally speech at Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre. ...1 week ago
- Grant Robertson's Wellington Rally SpeechGrant Robertson delivers a rally speech at Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre. ...1 week ago
- Building a vibrant creative sector The Green Party will push for better conditions, more certainty, and greater opportunities for New Zealand’s artists and creatives as part of the next Government, Co-leader of the Green Party, James Shaw said today. ...1 week ago
- Greens promise continued action to reduce mental health waiting timesThe Green Party is committed to reduce the waiting times people in mental distress have to put up with before they receive attention and get treatment. ...1 week ago
- Early voting is openDid you know that early voting is open? That means you can go out and cast your vote right now - whether you've already enrolled or not. Almost 600,000 Kiwis have already voted, and you can join them! ...2 weeks ago
- Greens would go further and faster for kauri protectionThe Green Party says Labour’s commitment to protecting kauri is a good start, but the Greens would go further and faster to keep our kauri standing. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens would bring urban food farms to Auckland CityThe Green Party will invest funding in community agriculture and urban food gardens in places like Auckland city centre. ...2 weeks ago
- Our next steps on climate changeWe’re proud of our record on climate change. Since coming to Government we’ve put climate and the environment at the heart of all of our policies, as they are inextricable from issues like housing, agriculture, waste, energy and transport. ...2 weeks ago
- 10 days out: 10 reasons to vote LabourWith only ten days to go until Election Day, we’re counting down the top ten reasons you should vote Labour this October. Already voted? Share this list with friends and family who haven’t voted yet to encourage them to give two ticks to Labour! ...2 weeks ago
- Greens welcome Labour’s climate commitments, will push for more action to match the scale of the c...The Green Party welcomes Labour’s commitment to reduce climate emissions in the next term of Government, but would go further and faster to address the true scale of the crisis. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens call for independent review of PharmacThe Green Party is calling for an independent review of Pharmac to ensure that there is proper equity around funding for medication for sick New Zealanders. ...2 weeks ago
- Labour’s record on Christchurch and CanterburyFrom investing in health and education to getting key projects built, we’re proud of our record in Canterbury. We know there’s still more to do, but we’ve made a good start, and we’re committed to supporting the region as together, we respond to COVID-19. ...2 weeks ago
- Investing in the South IslandAs part of our COVID recovery plan, we’re investing in shovel-ready infrastructure projects that not only create jobs across the South Island, but also help us build back better. From tackling climate change to strengthening our health system, we’re taking on the long-term challenges while keeping our economy moving. ...2 weeks ago
- National versus Labour: Our record on ChristchurchThe past decade has been tough for our second largest city. Unlike National, Labour’s backing the people of Christchurch so together, we can make it through COVID-19 and build back better. Here’s how National’s record on Christchurch compares to our progress so far. ...2 weeks ago
- National’s economic plan a cruel blow for those on low incomesThe Green Party says National’s economic plan would devastate those earning the least, and further entrench poverty across our communities. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens welcome Labour’s commitment to ban conversion therapy, but want Office for Rainbow Communit...The Green Party is pleased to see Labour commit to a long-standing Green stance of banning gay conversion therapy, as part of its Rainbow policy released today. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party announces plan for net zero energy buildingsIf re-elected, the Green Party would work towards net zero energy new buildings by 2030 in order to accelerate the transition to a low carbon future for Aotearoa and a cleaner, safer planet for our kids and grandkids. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens commit to protecting KauriIf re-elected, the Green Party will focus $50 million of the existing Jobs for Nature package to keep Aotearoa’s iconic kauri forests standing. “Kauri are an incredibly important taonga for Aotearoa and the Greens want to go further and faster to keep them healthy and standing,” said Green Party ...2 weeks ago
- Week that was: Health, housing and early votingIt was a big week of policy announcements as Jacinda and the Labour team hit the road to let New Zealanders know about our plan to keep New Zealand moving. From snow down south to our day of action, here are this week’s highlights from the campaign trail. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens welcome Labour Housing Plan, will push to clear the public housing waiting list in five yearsThe Green Party welcomes the Labour Party’s plan to continue delivering more public houses whilst ensuring more New Zealanders have a chance of owning a home. ...3 weeks ago
- Greens must be at table during RMA reform to protect environmentThe Green Party welcomes Labour’s commitment to reform the Resource Management Act, but says a Green voice is crucial to ensure the environment is not put at risk. ...3 weeks ago
- 100 reasons to vote LabourSoon, people across New Zealand will get to decide who they want to see leading our country through the next three years. We’ve always believed that putting people and our shared futures at the heart of everything we do is the only way to run a Government, and we want ...3 weeks ago
- Labour’s fiscal plan: responsible, balanced and fully costedWe’ve released our fiscal plan for next term, and it shows how we’ll continue to manage the Government books responsibly if re-elected on October 17th. ...3 weeks ago
- Jacinda Ardern takes out Newshub debateJacinda Ardern nailed it in this week’s Newshub debate, holding Judith Collins to account on National’s shambolic economic plan and outlining our plan to keep New Zealand moving. ...3 weeks ago
- Greens announce plan to close digital divide and support high-tech industriesThe Green Party has today outlined plans to address the digital divide and support New Zealand’s high-tech sectors. ...3 weeks ago
- NZ announces a third P-3 deployment in support of UN sanctions
The Government has deployed a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea, announced Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “New Zealand has long supported ...1 day ago - Pacific trade and development agreement a realityPacific regional trade and development agreement PACER Plus will enter into force in 60 days now that the required eight countries have ratified it. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker welcomed the announcement that the Cook Islands is the eighth nation to ratify this landmark agreement. “The agreement represents ...5 days ago
- Securing a pipeline of teachersThe Government is changing its approach to teacher recruitment as COVID-19 travel restrictions continue, by boosting a range of initiatives to get more Kiwis into teaching. “When we came into Government, we were faced with a teacher supply crisis,” Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. “Over the past three years, we ...1 week ago
- Border exceptions for a small number of international students with visasThe Government has established a new category that will allow 250 international PhD and postgraduate students to enter New Zealand and continue their studies, in the latest set of border exceptions. “The health, safety and wellbeing of people in New Zealand remains the Government’s top priority. Tight border restrictions remain ...1 week ago
- First COVID-19 vaccine purchase agreement signedThe Government has signed an agreement to purchase 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccines – enough for 750,000 people – from Pfizer and BioNTech, subject to the vaccine successfully completing all clinical trials and passing regulatory approvals in New Zealand, say Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods and Health Minister Chris Hipkins. ...1 week ago
- International statement – End-to-end encryption and public safetyWe, the undersigned, support strong encryption, which plays a crucial role in protecting personal data, privacy, intellectual property, trade secrets and cyber security. It also serves a vital purpose in repressive states to protect journalists, human rights defenders and other vulnerable people, as stated in the 2017 resolution of the ...1 week ago
- Ministry of Defence Biodefence Assessment releasedThe Ministry of Defence has today released a Defence Assessment examining Defence’s role across the spectrum of biological hazards and threats facing New Zealand. Biodefence: Preparing for a New Era of Biological Hazards and Threats looks at how the NZDF supports other agencies’ biodefence activities, and considers the context of ...1 week ago
- New Approaches to Economic Challenges: Confronting Planetary Emergencies: OECD 9 October 2020New Approaches to Economic Challenges: Confronting Planetary Emergencies: OECD 9 October 2020 Hon David Parker’s response following Thomas Piketty and Esther Duflo. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, wherever in the world you might be. I first acknowledge the excellent thought provoking speeches of Thomas Piketty and Esther ...1 week ago
- Kaipara Moana restoration takes next stepA Memorandum of Understanding has been signed today at Waihāua Marae between the Crown, local iwi and councils to protect, restore and enhance the mauri of Kaipara Moana in Northland. Environment Minister David Parker signed the document on behalf of the Crown along with representatives from Ngā Maunga Whakahī, Ngāti ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand and Uruguay unite on reducing livestock production emissionsAgriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Uruguayan Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries Carlos María Uriarte have welcomed the launch of a three-year project that will underpin sustainable livestock production in Uruguay, Argentina, and Costa Rica. The project called ‘Innovation for pasture management’ is led by Uruguay’s National Institute of Agricultural ...2 weeks ago
- 3100 jobs created through marae upgradesHundreds of marae throughout the country will be upgraded through investments from the Provincial Growth Fund’s refocused post COVID-19 funding to create jobs and put money into the pockets of local tradespeople and businesses, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta have announced. “A total ...2 weeks ago
- Health volunteers recognised in annual awardsHealth Minister Chris Hipkins has announced 9 teams and 14 individuals are the recipients of this year’s Minister of Health Volunteer Awards. “The health volunteer awards celebrate and recognise the thousands of dedicated health sector volunteers who give many hours of their time to help other New Zealanders,” Mr Hipkins ...2 weeks ago
- Community COVID-19 Fund supports Pacific recoveryThe Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio says a total of 264 groups and individuals have successfully applied for the Pacific Aotearoa Community COVID-19 Recovery Fund, that will support Pacific communities drive their own COVID-19 recovery strategies, initiatives, and actions. “I am keen to see this Fund support Pacific ...2 weeks ago
- Community benefits from Māori apprenticeshipsUp to 50 Māori apprentices in Wellington will receive paid training to build houses for their local communities, thanks to a $2.75 million investment from the Māori Trades and Training Fund, announced Employment Minister Willie Jackson today. “This funding will enable Ngāti Toa Rangatira Incorporated to provide its Ngā Kaimahi ...2 weeks ago
- Training fund supports Māori jobseekersRapidly growing sectors will benefit from a $990,000 Māori Trades and Training Fund investment which will see Wellington jobseekers supported into work, announced Employment Minister Willie Jackson today. “This funding will enable Sapphire Consultants Ltd. to help up to 45 Māori jobseekers into paid training initiatives over two years through ...2 weeks ago
- Ruakura Inland Port development vital infrastructure for WaikatoThe Government is investing $40 million to develop an inland port at Ruakura which will become a freight super-hub and a future business, research and residential development for the Waikato, Urban Development and Transport Minister Phil Twyford, and Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The funding has been has ...2 weeks ago
- Appointments made to Defence Expert Review GroupDefence Minister Ron Mark announced today the establishment of an Expert Review Group to review a number of aspects of the New Zealand Defence Force’s (NZDF) structure, information management and record-keeping processes. The Expert Review Group’s work arises out of the first recommendation from the Report of the Government’s Inquiry ...2 weeks ago
- No active community cases of COVID-19There are no active community cases of COVID-19 remaining in the country after the last people from the recent outbreak have recovered from the virus, Health Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “This is a big milestone. New Zealanders have once again through their collective actions squashed the virus. The systems ...2 weeks ago
- Clean energy upgrade for more public buildingsMore public buildings will be supported by the Government to upgrade to run on clean energy, the Minister for Climate Change James Shaw announced today. Minister Shaw announced that Lincoln and Auckland universities will receive support through the Clean-Powered Public Service Fund to replace fossil fuel boilers. Southern, Taranaki, and ...2 weeks ago
- Schools back donations scheme for the second yearMore schools have opted in to the donations scheme for 2021, compared to 2020 when the scheme was introduced. “The families of more than 447,000 students will be better off next year, with 94% of eligible schools and kura opting into the scheme,” Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. “This is ...2 weeks ago
- Ruapehu cycle trails gets PGF boostThe spectacular Mountains to Sea cycle trail in Ruapehu District will receive $4.6 million in funding from the Provincial Growth Fund for two additional trails, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This is an exciting development for the local community, and one that will provide significant economic opportunities ...2 weeks ago
- Update to air border order strengthens crew requirementsAdditional measures coming into effect on Monday will boost our defence against COVID-19 entering New Zealand through the air border, Health Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “As part of our precautionary approach and strategy of constant review, we’re tightening the requirements around international aircrew,” Chris Hipkins said. The COVID-19 Public ...3 weeks ago
- A true picture of Māori business activityA better picture of the contribution Māori businesses make to the economy will be possible with changes to the way information is collected about companies and trading enterprises. Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash have announced a new option for Māori enterprises who are part ...3 weeks ago
- PGF funding for Taranaki projectsThe South Taranaki museum, a New Plymouth distillery and a Pasifika building firm will benefit from a Government investment totalling more than $1 million, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says. The $1.05m in grants and loans from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) will help the recipients expand and create ...3 weeks ago
- Fijian Language Week 2020 inspires courage and strength during COVID-19 pandemicThe Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio says the theme for the 2020 Fijian Language Week reflects the strong belief by Fijians that their language and culture inspires courage and strength that is strongly needed in times of emergencies, or through a significant challenge like the global COVID-19 pandemic ...3 weeks ago
- Trades training builds on iwi aspirationsAn investment of $2.025 million from the Māori Trades and Training Fund will support Māori to learn new skills while making a positive difference for their communities, announced Employment Minister Willie Jackson today. “K3 Development Limited Partnership will receive $2,025,000 for its Takitimu Tuanui apprenticeship programme, which will support the ...3 weeks ago
- Conservation Minister plants two millionth tree in Raglan restorationA long-term conservation project led by the Whaingaroa Harbour Care group in the western Waikato reaches a significant milestone this week, with the planting of the two millionth tree by the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. “Planting the two millionth tree crowns 25 years of commitment and partnership involving Whaingaroa ...3 weeks ago
- Seniors – our parents and grandparentsInternational Older Persons Day is a chance to think about the individual older New Zealanders we know and to confront ageism, Seniors Minister Tracey Martin said today. “What happened around COVID-19 is a reminder that our over-65s are a very large and diverse group of people and we need to ...3 weeks ago
- What happens if electorate candidates are tied after the election
It's never happened before, but if an electorate ends up with the candidates tied, the Electoral Commission "must determine by lot which of those candidates is to be elected". ...37 mins ago - Another building-site death adds to demands for industrial manslaughter laws
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bobbie Oliver, Honorary Research Fellow, Humanities, University of Western Australia The death of 23-year-old apprentice Jonnie Hartshorn on a Perth university building site is the 23rd workplace fatality among construction workers in Australia in 2020. Hartshorn was killed on October 13 after ...1 hour ago - Voting for first time at 37 years old: 'I felt really good after it'Inspired by the work Labour has done in Bay of Plenty, 37-year-old Chris Graham cast a vote for the first time on Saturday. ...1 hour ago
- New Zealand's new LGBTQ MPs make Parliament most rainbow in worldEleven LGBTQ people won seats in the weekend's election - that's 9.16 percent of the 120 MPs. ...2 hours ago
- View from The Hill: Morrison says he wants to run full term, and there are good reasons to believe h...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra We don’t have to credit Scott Morrison’s claim at Tuesday’s Coalition joint party room meeting that an election is the furthest thing from his mind, but we can take at face value his indication he ...2 hours ago
- Parliament still packed with lawyers – but is that a bad thing?Analysis - The new Parliament might be the most diverse in history, but some things remain the same, including the high number of lawyers who have just been elected, Craig Stephen writes. ...2 hours ago
- Māori Party's Rawiri Waititi arrives at Parliament in styleThe Māori Party's Rawiri Waititi - donning a white cowboy hat - touched down at Parliament today for the first time since winning the Waiariki electorate. ...3 hours ago
- My best worst film: dubbed a crass Adam Sandler comedy, Click is a deep meditation on relationshipsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jo Li Tay, Lecturer, School of Design and the Built Environment, Curtin University In a new series, our writers explore their best worst film. They’ll tell you what the critics got wrong – and why it’s time to give these movies another ...3 hours ago
- Defending state abuse: Follow the money
The cost to the Crown of fighting claims by victims of abuse in state care is finally revealed before a Royal Commission. Aaron Smale calculates where most of the money went As Deep Throat would say, follow the money. There were likely to be a few people gagging as they ...3 hours ago - As the Queensland campaign passes the halfway mark, the election is still Labor’s to loseSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Williams, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities, Griffith University We’re at the mid-point of the Queensland election campaign. Pre-polling opened on Monday, with about two million Queenslanders expected to vote before election day on October 31. But with just 12 days to ...4 hours ago
- Tofiga isn’t sorry about it
Tofiga Fepulea’i is back on stage with some comedic relief in a truly dismal year. Tofiga Fepulea’i cracks up as we discuss some of the trends he’s clicked onto.First, there’s the fitness buzz. Anyone who follows the Laughing Sāmoans comedian online will have seen the videos he posts of he ...5 hours ago - Two High Court of Australia judges will be named soon – unlike Amy Coney Barrett, we know nothing ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joe McIntyre, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of South Australia Many Americans were riveted last week by the at times absurd confirmation hearing for US Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett. The death in mid-September of Ruth Bader Ginsburg thrust the ...5 hours ago
- Covid-19 has changed New Zealand forever. The experts explain howSome of the smartest people in the country examine the effects of the pandemic on Aotearoa’s future in 400 words or fewer. There are few corners of society that Covid-19 has not touched. From healthcare to the economy, education to professional sport, the pandemic has changed the way we interact with ...5 hours ago
- Anti-poverty Groups To Labour: Election Results Mean No More Excuses
Child Poverty Action Group, ActionStation and Auckland Action Against Poverty are calling on the new government to follow through quickly on their plan of raising income support so people receiving benefits are no longer locked into poverty. "Labour ...5 hours ago - ‘I wrote The Pōrangi Boy for kids like me’: Shilo Kino on her debut novelThe Marae TV journalist tells the origin story of her debut novel, a young adult book releasing this week.Patricia Grace wrote a story called “It used to be green once” and every year my Pākehā teacher would pull it out in English class and everyone would laugh at the poor ...6 hours ago
- Election night 2020: All the misery, all the tumescent joyA long election campaign finally ended in one five-hour period on Saturday, October 17. José Barbosa was there. This is what he saw.I forgot how covering an election is a lot of fun. My last working election was well over a decade ago, and there’s always this breathlessness that accompanies ...6 hours ago
- Ousted National MP Jo Hayes takes on role with Wairarapa iwiJo Hayes failed to win the seat of Mana and missed out on getting back as a list MP because of her party's big election defeat. ...6 hours ago
- When and how should the Victoria-NSW border reopen? Is fishing allowed in Victoria? When can I trave...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, La Trobe University Victoria recorded one new case of COVID-19 on Monday, another fantastic result that suggests the coronavirus outbreak there is now being well controlled. Premier Daniel Andrews said on Tuesday the state was “well placed this ...6 hours ago
- Hard to spot, but worth looking out for: 8 surprising tawny frogmouth factsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Les Christidis, Professor, Southern Cross University The tawny frogmouth is one of Australia’s most-loved birds. In fact, it was first runner-up in the Guardian/BirdLife Australia bird of the year poll (behind the endangered black-throated finch). Tawny frogmouths are found throughout Australia, including ...6 hours ago
- Finance Minister’s Commitment To WEAG Recommendations WelcomeWelfare advocate and former Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) member Kay Brereton says she is pleased to hear Finance Minister Grant Robertson describe the WEAG report as the “blueprint” for their welfare policy. “The comments made by Grant on ...6 hours ago
- The budget promises jobs, but does little for workers in the gig economySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nat Kassel, PhD Candidate, Griffith University Treasurer Josh Frydenberg promised a federal budget focused on “jobs, jobs, jobs”. In one sense he didn’t disappoint. His budget speech mentioned jobs 37 times – an average of about once a minute. “This budget is ...7 hours ago
- Judith Collins speaks after National Party caucus meeting: 'Onwards and upwards'Judith Collins is giving a media briefing after the National Party's first caucus meeting since the election, which returned their worst result in years. Watch live here. ...7 hours ago
- What this election means for PasifikaNational’s Pacific MPs are gone, the Greens have their first, and Labour’s Pasifika caucus is now its biggest ever. But will any of this make any real difference to our communities? Do you reckon Moses could have parted the red sea on Saturday night? Because even the bluest, most conservative seats in ...7 hours ago
- Judith Collins speaks after National Party caucus meetingJudith Collins is giving a media briefing after the National Party's first caucus meeting since the election, which returned their worst result in years. Watch live here. ...7 hours ago
- You’ve probably heard of the Green New Deal in the US — is it time for one in Australia?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Crowley, Associate Professor, Public and Environmental Policy, University of Tasmania After the 2008 global financial crisis, Green New Deals were proposed in various countries as a way to pick up the pieces of the economy. The general idea is to create ...8 hours ago
- On the Rag: What is imposter syndrome and how do we destroy it?Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey, Leonie Hayden and a lineup of incredibly successful New Zealand women as they confront their imposter syndrome once and for all. For some it appears as a constant whisper, for others it’s a screeching megaphone in the face at the most inopportune of moments. Many of ...9 hours ago
- Peters and Mark remind us they still have ministerial work to do as governmental caretakers
Hey – look whose names appeared on the only press statement to be posted on The Beehive website yesterday, two days after Election Day and the first statement to be posted on the site since October 15. The names are those of Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister ...9 hours ago - Allbirds is launching a new T-shirt – and it’s partly made from crab shellsAfter years of specialising in low-carbon footwear, Allbirds has introduced a new line of sustainable apparel made from an unconventional yet innovative source.In April, when Allbirds announced it would be the first fashion label to introduce a sticker that measured the carbon footprint of each one of its products, it ...9 hours ago
- Government Must Lead Uncomfortable Conversations About SuicideInformation gained in the Key to Life Charitable Trust’s 1,000 Letters Report must be a part of the Government’s preventative measures to tackle suicide prevention in New Zealand – people’s lives depend upon it. “Our hope is that with the ...9 hours ago
- PETA Sends Duncan Garner Vegan GoodiesAs Auckland-based radio host Duncan Garner prepares to begin his new life as a vegan, making good on his promise to go vegan for a year if Labour won the 2020 election, animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) ...10 hours ago
- Injecting real change in NZ – Greens must not shy away from mandateANALYSIS: By Selwyn Manning, editor of EveningReport.nz There is a mood circulating among some New Zealand circles that it would end badly for the Green Party in 2023 should it negotiate a part within a now-powerful Labour-led government. The argument goes: that should the Greens negotiate roles within the new ...10 hours ago
- US law officials brace for the contingency of Trump refusing to accept election defeatUS law enforcement agencies from the FBI down are preparing contingency plans in case of violence after the November 3 presidential elections. These have been triggered by President Donald Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful exit from office, arguing the election results will be “rigged” because of his opposition ...10 hours ago
- With clear mandate, Labour must decide what it really stands forOpinion - A pandemic can change a society's foundations. But if this happens in New Zealand over the next three years, it will be for reasons beyond the control of the sixth Labour government. ...10 hours ago
- Biofouling Measures Approved For Naval VesselsNew measures to prevent biofouling will reduce the risk of Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) vessels introducing marine pests and diseases to New Zealand without creating any undue restrictions on naval operations. Biosecurity New Zealand and the RNZN ...10 hours ago
- 'Fighting every step of the way' – New Green MPNew Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March is ready to "fight tooth and nail" for his communities including rainbow and migrant groups. ...10 hours ago
- COVID-19 Outbreak On A Live Export ShipWhile New Zealand is gearing up to lift a temporary ban on live exports, 25 crew have tested positive for COVID-19 on the livestock carrier Al Messilah, which is docked at Fremantle Port in Western Australia. The ship, which was due to be loading ...10 hours ago
- A world beyond our feet: Rethinking our relationship with where we grow our kaiThe health of our soil is intrinsically linked to the health of our people, and a new book aims to centre matauranga Māori in the quest to stop treating our soil like, well, dirt.We hardly ever think about it, even though it’s literally under our feet. But in the coming ...11 hours ago
- Papua’s Asmat shut off following eight confirmed covid-19 casesPacific Media Centre Newsdesk Asmat regency in Papua has decided to limit access to and from the area for 28 days, starting last Sunday, after eight people in the regency’s capital Agats tested positive for covid-19 on Saturday, reports The Jakarta Post. Acting Asmat regent Triwarno Purnomo said the administration ...11 hours ago
- Election Delivers High Expectations For Working PeopleE tū congratulates the Labour Party and the Green Party for their respective victories after the preliminary results of General Election 2020. While the official count is yet to come, Labour have won enough votes to govern alone, and the Greens are ...11 hours ago
- Week in memes: Tōfā soifua to 19 National MPsToo much news? Here’s the only political round-up you need.I spent Saturday evening reporting from the Act Party election event and witnessed a crowd of Act supporters mumble halfheartedly through Sweet Caroline despite the DJ’s increasingly desperate words of encouragement. I tell you this only to give an indication of ...11 hours ago
- Duncan Garner Will Be Vegan For A YearThe AM Show's Duncan Garner said in July that if Labour won the election, he would go vegan. The Vegan Society is delighted to see a Labour government and we feel confident that after a year of being vegan, reaping the health benefits such as having more ...12 hours ago
- Op-Ed: Enhanced social protection an opportunity Asia Pacific must graspOpinion by By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana and Chihoko Asada Miyakawa Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). In the fight against COVID-19, success has so far been defined by responses in Asia and the Pacific. ...12 hours ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – October 20 2020Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. Today’s content Coalition negotiations, shape of government Gordon Campbell: On why the Greens shouldn’t join the government Andrew Geddis (Pundit): What Sort Of Relationship Might Labour And The Greens Agree ...12 hours ago
- Labour’s Small Business Plan A Contradictory Mess“Labour’s plan for small businesses is a contradictory mess”, says ACT’s small business spokesperson and Nelson employer Chris Baillie. “Labour is piling new costs and red tape on SMEs with one hand and giving handouts with the other. ...12 hours ago
- Trump took a sledgehammer to US-China relations. This won’t be an easy fix, even if Biden winsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hui Feng, ARC Future Fellow and Senior Research Fellow, Griffith University Few would have thought a US-China relationship marked by relative stability for half a century would be upended in just four years. But US President Donald Trump’s privileged tour of the ...13 hours ago
- If we have the guts to give older people a fair go, this is how we fix aged care in AustraliaSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joseph Ibrahim, Professor, Health Law and Ageing Research Unit, Department of Forensic Medicine, Monash University This article is part of our series on the future of aged care. In the face of the harrowing findings of the Royal Commission into Aged ...13 hours ago
- WHO reform: a call for an early-warning protocol for infectious diseasesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Gluckman, Director of Koi Tū, the Centre for Informed Futures; former Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, University of Auckland The World Health Organization (WHO) has come in for its share of criticism for its handling of ...13 hours ago
- Fewer flights and a pesticide-free pitch? Here’s how Australia’s football codes can cut their ca...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hutchins, Professor of Media and Communications Studies, Monash University Australian sport’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been remarkable. Major leagues reorganised with impressive speed to keep games going. Schedules dissolved, seasons were compressed and players relocated. And the once unthinkable ...13 hours ago
- This is how universities can lead climate actionSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabi Mocatta, Lecturer in Communication, Deakin University, and Research Fellow in Climate Change Communication, Climate Futures Programme, University of Tasmania Universities are vital hubs of research and teaching on climate change. As large organisations, they also have significant emissions, which contribute to ...13 hours ago
- Beyond the police state to COVID-safe: life after lockdown will need a novel approachSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meg Elkins, Senior Lecturer with School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, RMIT University As second-wave outbreaks of COVID-19 around the world demonstrate, it’s a tricky transition from hard lockdowns to more relaxed, but still effective, measures. The responses of different nations (Sweden ...13 hours ago
- Five things to know about the AntichristSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip C. Almond, Emeritus Professor in the History of Religious Thought, The University of Queensland In the history of the West over the last 2000 years, there has never been a time when someone hasn’t been predicting the end of the world. ...13 hours ago
- National MPs say goodbye as caucus dissects what went wrongNational's caucus will today begin the task of trying to pick up the pieces, at its first meeting following the weekend's crushing defeat. ...13 hours ago
- Live Updates, October 20: Remaining National MPs head to Wellington after election defeatWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 20. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz7.40am: Election 2020 – what’s next?Election day might be over, but there’s still a lot of developments still to come.The newly re-elected prime minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday held ...13 hours ago
- The Bulletin: System springs into action on Port Covid caseGood morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: System springs into action on Port Covid case, Labour opens up initial talks with Greens, and New Zealand travellers creating headaches for Aussie states.A clarification on the new case of Covid-19 announced on Sunday – it was not in fact ...14 hours ago
- Business & Investing: Demand high for medical cannabis
Shares in 'green' company highly sought after, green light for Metlifecare takeover ...14 hours ago - Why voters rejected conspiracy theorists
Political hopefuls peddling conspiracy theories have been rejected by New Zealand voters. ...15 hours ago - MediaRoom: TVNZ wins election ratings, NBR wins in court
TVNZ wins election night ratings TVNZ cruised to a comfortable ratings win over Three but, Mark Jennings reports, advances in streaming are creating opportunities for other media. Both TV networks reached over a million viewers with their election night coverage but their days of dominance are starting to dwindle. Stuff’s ...15 hours ago - Simon Sweetman vs Stuff
Simon Sweetman on the death of a critic (himself) I wasn’t there for the start of music journalism in New Zealand – but I was there for the death of it. Some would say I was part of the reason. But you should never read the comments. All I ...15 hours ago - What is Turkey’s President Erdogan up to in Armenia?
The recent flare-up of fighting in the south Caucasus is nasty. After the break up of the Soviet Union, Armenians and Azerbaijanis fought an unpleasant war over the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh with casualties of around 100,000 and one million displaced. Armenia prevailed then. Now Azerbaijan, with the help ...15 hours ago - RBNZ to protect notes and coins for the vulnerable
As banks take the opportunity to close down branches and ATMs in the Covid-19 lockdowns, the RBNZ moves to stop cash disappearing entirely. ...16 hours ago - The roots of National's fall
The National Party is still alive despite a crushing loss, but is it in a state to regrow? ...16 hours ago - Ex-UN climate chief praises PM, urges greater action
The world is running out of time, but in the nick of time, on climate change, Christiana Figueres tells David Williams In December 2015, US President Barack Obama hailed the Paris climate agreement, hammered out between almost 200 countries, as a potential turning point for the world. “The targets we’ve ...16 hours ago - A political fairytale gone wrong
The coming months will be crucial for Boris Johnson, the EU, the British economy – and for the future unity of the United Kingdom. ...16 hours ago - Progress report: NZ's 3 World Cups in 3 years
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: New Zealand will host three World Cups over the next three years, kicking off with rugby in 2021, followed on by cricket in 2022 and topped off with football in 2023. All three major events are at different stages of planning and delivery, but all are progressing on ...16 hours ago - Peters' fight and court bills will go on
Outgoing deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has yet to overturn a $317,000 award against him for legal costs and has another outstanding case to fund. Tim Murphy reports Winston Peters is about to lose his $334,000 salary and staff - but still has unfinished business and bills for two court actions he ...16 hours ago - Labour could out-green the Greens
With Covid we've taken the approach, go hard or go home. We need to go hard on transformative environmental change too – there’ll be no home to go to. ...16 hours ago - A consistent and worrying failure
Despite links to mental ill health and suicide, the government* has failed to progress a recommendation from its own mental health and addiction inquiry to take a stricter regulatory approach to alcohol. Experts have described the lack of action as a missed opportunity. Oliver Lewis reports. Doug Sellman is exasperated. ...16 hours ago - Will Labour swipe right on the Greens to govern?With the government set to take shape in the next few weeks, Labour and the Greens will have to decide on the nature of their relationship for the next three years. Andrew Geddis takes us through the options at hand. Without even knowing the final election result (there are about 500,000 ...16 hours ago
- Jacinda Ardern and transforming the would-be transformerThe self-proclaimed governors of transformation have not so far infused the ‘wellbeing’ idea they trumpeted into everyday speech. Do they dare do so now, asks Colin James.Jacinda Ardern claimed a “mandate” on election night to “accelerate our response [to Covid] and our recovery”. Does that portend the “government of transformation” ...16 hours ago
- Siouxsie Wiles: Don’t fall for the Covid contrariansA small but vocal movement calling for the end of lockdown restrictions is gaining steam globally. Dr Siouxsie Wiles explains why such an approach would be a bad idea.As life in Aotearoa gets back to some kind of normal after our latest Covid-19 outbreak, cases in the northern hemisphere are ...16 hours ago
- The Swedish strategy
Are Swedes really conquering Covid with their out-of-the-box thinking on dealing with the pandemic? Another deadly wave of coronavirus is sweeping through Europe, leading to strict lockdowns and states of emergency. But Sweden is sticking to its no-lockdown strategy of voluntary social distancing. Today The Detail looks why millions ...16 hours ago - From ‘beacon of hope’ to ‘incompetent’: world media on Jacinda Ardern’s big election winThe common theme in international media is the Labour leader as antithesis to Donald Trump – but not everyone is bowled over.A landslide win for the New Zealand Labour Party saw the acclamation flow abroad for Jacinda Ardern. Similar plaudits were forthcoming for Jacinta Ardern, Jacinda Adern and Jacinta Adern.I ...22 hours ago
- 'Yo-yo MP' Maureen Pugh not counting on bounce from special votesThis is the third time National's Maureen Pugh has been caught in limbo - she's waiting to see if special votes will mean she's out of Parliament. ...1 day ago
- New modelling finds investing in childcare and aged care almost pays for itselfSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Janine Dixon, Economist at Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University In the absence of an official analysis of the impact of the budget by gender the National Foundation for Australian Women has this morning published its own gender analysis of the budget, ...1 day ago
- Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Leftwing euphoria meets realityAnalysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. The political left has been euphoric since Saturday’s night historic landslide victory for Labour. But political commentators from across the spectrum are united in warning that the new Government isn’t about to be transformative. Instead, we will see more of ...1 day ago
In a team concerns are taken up with the people involved, there is no going to the media to backstab the party leader and sabotage the presentation of a united front.
This ratbag is a nasty piece of work.
If the Labour Party is to flourish in the future people like this will have to go from caucus.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/10287781/Skiing-holiday-puts-Cunliffe-on-slippery-slope
@ spc..what is interesting/telling about that one..
..is that the mp’s named and cited/praised by this ‘unknown’ mp…as ‘hard-working mp’s’..
..are goff/king/shearer..(!)
..which does tend to lean toward it being a fully paid-up abc-er..who is this ‘unknown-mp’..
..and i’m nominating ‘chippy’ hipkins..as the moaner..(he needs to be asked:..’was it you?..’..)
(mind you..i also think it stoopid that cunnliffe decided that now was a good time for a skiing-holiday-
..and a skiing-holiday in that centre of social-deptivation..queenstown..
..’what ho..!..chaps..!’..
..and way to go to get the struggling masses you are trying to entice to relate to you..eh..?..)
Chippie is my local MP … when I read it I thought this was Mallard at work.
As for Cunliffe, if the wife and kids are going skiing – does he not spend time with his family?
What makes you think that there is an insider?
I think that this is just misinformation designed to denigrate Cunliffe in the eyes of the public. Audrey Young is a likely conduit for Crosby-Textor style malicious misinformation which is designed to pollute our democratic system. I call her out as a biased “journalist” . She should have to write a disclaimer at the end of any of her pieces.
@ spc..’chippy’..or ‘ducky’…
..or any other one of those rightwing-ratbags..
..stick their pics on the wall..and throw a dart..
..they are all much of a muchness..
..the neo-lib hang-nail in labour..
I just E-Mail Moira Coatsworth over this continual undermining of Labour by the (Fab4) of wastrels, of my time, and Taxpayers money.
Does she reply?
not yet but i’ll let you know.
when those labour volunteers were freezing their arses off running around putting up billboards..?
..yesterday morning..
..where was their leader..?
..wd snug and warm in q-town cover it..?
..he should have been out also whacking up billboards..
..and preferably in auckland..
..he wd have received wide media coverage had he done that..
..but he didn’t..and he didn’t…
Phillip, before you start f…..g spouting off you mouth, find out the facts. Otherwise you are no better than those jonolists, ABCers, and others who are out to criticise and bring down Cunliffe and let Key remain in power.
Cunliffe WAS out whacking up billboards yesterday. Here is a photo of him doing so – taken by none other than Patrick Gower (that great Cunliffe supporter not) and posted on Gower’s Twitter account.
http://t.co/zsWoze48z9
it doesn’t alter the fact cunnliffe shouldn’t have gone on holiday..
(for tactical-reasons..the normal black-hole for media-coverage is in hawaii..
..so why the f… is cunnliffe not filling that gap/telling his/labours’ story..?
..labour moan about how little media-coverage they get..
..and they piss this golden opportunity up against the wall..?
..eight weeks out from an election..?
..really really hard to see the/any logic in that one..eh..?)
..and he should have been putting up those billboards in auckland…
..thus guaranteeing wide-coverage..
..only stalkers like gower wd b bothered tekking down to q-town..to watch cunnliffe at play..
..like i said..tactically that all both sucks and blows..
He WAS putting up billboards in Auckland – not Queenstown.
And the first day you could legally put them up was yesterday (Sat) and that is what he was doing.
the ..holiday…was..a..bad..idea…
Actually no.
Three days, two of which he had flu, versus Key 10 days in Hawaii.
First duty of leadership is to yourself and to your family. No matter what.
Key understands that principle of leadership, and so does Cunliffe.
spare me the crocodile-tears..eh..?
..mp’s have the best holidays..bar none..
..(that’s that one of their key ‘principles’ already well taken care of..eh..?)
..and once every three years they actually have to do some graft..
..end of story..
..and they need yet aother feckin’ holiday..?..to prepare..?
.for those 8 weeks of ‘graft..?
..cry us a fucken river..eh..?
PU
Why are you incapable of admitting your error in this instance? Being an IMP supporter doesn’t mean you have to dis Labour at every opportunity. Save some bile for the Tories.
Also; could you at least be consistent with your idiosyncratic punctuation. Most people, including myself, use ellipses [ie; …] to denote a missing portion of a quote. You use twin-dots [..] and double spacing for some gonzo reason that seems like a good idea to you. Could you please stick to that? Otherwise it seems you are haphazardly missing chunks out of your rants – eg:
Phillip-you are trolling for the right now I am convinced. Pathetic.
How can you equate 3 days skiing in NZ where Cunliffe would have been among and talking to voters with Key swanning around in Hawaii for 2 weeks.
whrs my chq…?
Phil lets facts get in the way as much as the Black Knight lets his wounds hold him back:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhEw7nD9C4
“Phillip, before you start f…..g spouting off you mouth”
Too late, and just more of the same old tired anti Labour/Greens bollocks.
Odd how a supporter of a 1.5% party knows what the major left parties should be doing.
I’m calling it the little boy who cried bacon.
Lolz, little pig, little pig, i had a couple of slices of one of the little pigs backsides with my tea last night, delicious,
From amidst the dripping bacon fat i did spare a thought for the little pig that died as it was born to do providing me with a varied diet…
my very major regret is that the pig was probably not provided with livable conditions during the months it was alive, for the sole reason of fattening up the bottom line.
Dude
that was just fXXking weak (Bad not CV)
your coming off like nasty little child now………..
This is a good place to hang my ire at Petrick Gair (as he calls himself) creaming his jeans over Labour’s absurdly low figures on the 3 News/Research poll. I used to work for Reid’s on the phones with that poll, so I know how biased the questions are.
Vicky
I’d say it’s either Mallard or some NAct black bag operative. Neither would surprise me.
Dimpost’s article is worth a read.
Extract…
“I think what’s happening here is that Cunliffe is signalling that he’ll stay on as leader after the election. ‘Helen Clark lost an election and stayed, and look how that turned out.’ His mechanism for doing so is to bring allies into caucus using the party list. So his enemies – who are electorate MPs – are cheerfully sabotaging their party’s campaign to prevent any new list MPs coming in.
What really gets me about this is that there are hundreds if not thousands of Labour volunteers around the country who are giving up time with their families to go doorknocking or leafleting or staff call centres for the Labour Party because they believe in it and its values, and all that work is being pissed away by the actual MPs, who obviously don’t.”
http://dimpost.wordpress.com/2014/07/20/strategic-defeat/
Paul, I thought Goff should have stayed leader after the defeat in 2011. The party was going to overhaul itself and he should have remained until the party had a process for selecting his replacement.
If that had occurred, then whomever was selected – Shearer (when more experienced) or Cunliffe or Jones etc would have had a chance in 2014, and if creditable in their performance another go in 2014. And without all the drama and disunity.
It was the experienced old guard in caucus who got this all wrong and then they resent the party for imposing another choice of leader on them.
@ spc..
..nooo..!. to yr first line..
..and yeesss!!! to yr last..
..and who to blame for the dragging of the party back to the right..?
..after that all-to-brief ‘the workers’ flag is deepest red’ moment from cunnliffe..?
..who dun that..?
Irrespective of Labour’s election result now, there is scheduled to be a “confirmation” as per the constitutional changes that were made a couple of years ago.
If caucus really wants to gear up for that, I think they will find the activists geared up to Not Take Shit from the ABC club in any shape or form.
that is good news..
in an event like that, we’ll be taking the fight directly to the ABC’ers.
i have this really really strange feeling that most of those commenting upon the Labour Party this morning view it through some strangely tinted shadze,
The conversation seems to revolve around some magic wand being waved which magically transforms the old Dinosaur,
My first suggestion is that you all ‘define’ Labour’s proposed Finance Minister, who from everything that He has uttered,(and might have wished He hadn’t), is, in my, firm, opinion, wedded firmly in His thinking within the Neo-liberal paradigm,
From that position,(if you agree with the analysis), it becomes far easier to define the Labour Party circa 2014,
Having said all that, i do not propose to do so, put a definition, a label if you will, on the current Labour Party, this close to the election such a debate is both futile and counter-productive to ridding the country of the Slippery little Shyster currently occupying the position of Prime Minister,
(And yes, i have fully canvassed my and other’s thoughts about where that leaves us in terms of ‘a Government of the left’, such thoughts, again, are probably now best left until after the election)…
the harawira/harre/dotcom roadshow hits auckland today..
..@ 2pm this aft..at the kelston community hall..135 awaroa rd..sunnyvale..
..should be fun..!
Paul Little, in the NZ Herald, has ago at Judith Collins. Also some praise for a Labour policy, along with a bit of a back-hander.
Paul Little brings up the Te Reo in Schools subject. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11296233
There is a lot of misinformation about this topic, and I get hoha (fed up) with the deliberate misconstruing of the truth.
What is wrong with this aim? I know that in a very large decile 10 Auckland secondary school of about 1900 students in the 1990’s, those students wanting to learn Te Reo had to do it by correspondence school.
It will (in the long term as teacher numbers allow) be compulsory for schools to OFFER teaching in Te Reo so that any student wishing to learn the language can do so at his/her own school.
I think that people need to get used to the idea of LONG TERM PLANNING, something that has been absent in the last 6 years of Nat govt.
Seen the latest poll comrades?
David Cunliffe really is the best thing that has happened to NZ in a very long time.
Seen the latest ‘wing-nut’ drooling comrades, 🙄 really are the best thing that has happened to the internet for a very long time, 🙄 …
🙄
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/mh17-russia-today-presenter-sara-firth-quits-over-malaysia-airlines-crash-coverage-9615489.html
For all those who think RT is the height of journalistic balance and integrity.
“the height of journalistic balance and integrity.” ?
I for one, have never seen a single person ever state that, anywhere. Nor am I aware of any news agency on the planet that could even try to say that with a straight face.
All coverage considered, it is far more balanced than most Network media out of America and Europe. Not sure what your language gifts are but I am mainly restricted to English language news, so cannot judge News services in other languages as confidently. This may came as a shock Gosman, but most people I know who regularly view RT, treat any story involving Russia with due caution.
News services are just information, to add to all the other information, that you are then meant to consider and deliberate upon to reach your own understanding of events. Even Fox has information on occasion that is actually useful. Granted it is almost as rare as sightings of the Yeti but it happens.
What you may not be aware of is that many viewers watch RT not for their news, but for their current affairs shows and for their excellent documentary screenings. Shows such as Cross talk, Big Picture, Breaking the Set, the Keiser Report, each of them strong well researched informative platforms where reality is allowed a sliver of sunlight. No news service will ever survive on an international platform if it tries to tell the truth about everything all the time. The advertisers would run screaming.
The trick is knowing where each source of information is biased or in other words where it’s conflict of interests are.
RT clearly has a massive conflict of interest on any topic that interests Putin. To reference it directly on such a topic is to insult the intelligence of the listener.
Gos, yes it is great that a journalist resigns rather than tell untruths or have to “spin” stories. If the same were true of the jornos working for the msm in NZ or on CNN tbey would have run out of jornos by now.
This poll crappola really is getting to North Korean style Dear Leader levels. Will the roll of dishonour that is our media back off one wonders before the polls hit 98% for ShonKey?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11296265
i actually have a screenshot from a stuff page from feb with the headline ‘national surge in the polls’, surely they should be at 70+% now if they have been ‘surging’ this whole time?
lol
And they’re “surging” a couple of points lower than the “govern alone” polls two months out from election2011.
Turned out they could only implement their flagship policies with the help of an election fraudster.
That old fart Armstrong from the Herald should not have a job – from yesterday (capitals are mine) –
“Dotcom must now prove FAR BEYOND ANY REASONABLE DOUBT that Key has lied repeatedly when challenged as to when exactly he became aware or was made aware of the former Megaupload mogul’s existence. If Dotcom cannot or will not do that, he should zip it.”
What’s this standard of proof you’ve invented Armstrong ? FAR beyond reasonable doubt ?
What’s that mean you fucking old idiot ? How FAR beyond ? Who says that ‘this’ FAR beyond (piece of string) is FAR beyond enough, or that ‘this’ FAR beyond (piece of string) is not FAR beyond enough ? You ?
Honestly, this is writing reflecting the mental processing capacity of a child. Alternatively it is writing containing this promise – “Unconditionally, I Armstrong will NOT write that Key lied.”
As a journalist is this old fart simply unartful or is he wilfully corrupt ?
between this and Armstrong calling for Cunliffe’s immediate resignation over the 11 year old Liu letter, I think its time that Armstrong gets put out to pasture. That’s all he is good for now.
Just buy him another carton of fags the next time you pass through duty free. His emphysema will get him before Sept 20th.
lol
So Armstrong wants KDC to meet unreasonable levels of doubt? Sounds unbiased 🙂
I got an absurd tome of gibberish yesterday as a leaflet from the CP (conservative party, but also coincidentally; corporal punishment). 8 sides of A4 paper with Craig’s smirking face taking up half of the cover; which must be the only way he’ll ever get a magazine cover photo. The thing is actually glued rather than stapled together! The effect is rather ruined by it having been haphazardly folded to fit in the letterbox slot.
They’re still going with the; “stand for something” slogan, which is still just as terrible. But they at least get specific about four key policies:
1/ Binding Referendums (which I actually sortof agree with, but only if; there is a majority of all enrolled voters not just of those who who cast a vote and if; the questions are far more rigorously defined).
2/ Flat Tax
3/ Hard labour/ longer sentence for Prisoners
4/ Māori bashing
But it is the wording that really gets me:
1/ “Pure Democracy… it’s why wars get started… what else are they looking to ignore? To think they won’t is madness.
2/ “The only other reason [than Mallard’s Moa] we need to pay so much tax is to fund the Government’s vote buying programme… Don’t let anyone tell you we can’t afford a tax cut… Real money in the hands of those who need it and know what to do with it. Letting anyone else spend it is just lunacy.”
3/ “Call us crazy… If we’re elected it’ll be because you wanted us to give the Government a backbone… How loony is that?.. Anything else is just crazy talk?”
4/ “One law to rule us all [one law to find us, one law to bring us all, and in the darkness bind us]… Maori are treated as 2nd class citizens and victims [which] drives us nuts… Maori have been segregated by special laws and separate seats in parliament… Our wild and crazy thought?.. bring closure to the claims process… Nothing loony about that.”
Note the frequent; “I’m not mad”, statements – he literally finishes every policy outline with some variant of that. Protesting too much methinks.
i should start this comment with one of those ”i have supported Colon’s Conservatives for many many years” raves,
Small blessings that Colon and the Conservative view a ‘nationwide’ leaflet drop as not extending South beyond ‘the Tron’
Not getting to partake in Colon’s missive deprives me of the chance to stamp,stomp, spit upon it, with the final act a grand little display of pyromania as i burned it on the front lawn all the while laughing like a loon…
Bad12
I’m in Dunedin, so you may get your chance to defile the wretched thing soon enough.
From the way it was rammed in the letterbox (the layout, printing and binding are all excellent – shame about the words), I assume that it was a commercial delivery subcontracted to some underpaid child rather than a committed volunteer. Maybe they’re waiting for the cheque to clear in your area?
Lolz Pasupial, the letterbox stuffer of note round here at the moment is an old bloke who looks like He might be supplementing His pension via filling everybody round here’s recycle wheelie bins,
i swear its unintentional, but, perhaps Freud might have other ideas, lately i have managed to ‘pop up’ from behind various bushes/the car at the point where He is ramming the junk into the box,
Although i always give Him a ‘Thanks Pal’, totally not meant,(perhaps Sigmund would write an essay on this behavior), He takes one look at me and practically runs off up the street,
Maybe, it being the weekend, the old boy has used His ‘initiative’ and burned the whole stack of Colon’s musings,(something i am sure Freud could have penned a whole tomb on), thus saving His legs for another day and leaving me unsullied from accusations of pyromania…
Pasupial, I didn’t see the pamphlet get delivered but I suspect they hired DX mail, the private mail company set up in opposition to NZ Post, to deliver the Cons pamphlets.
There is no way they have enough volunteers to letterbox the country but they have the money to get a contracted delivery done.
“Small blessings that Colon and the Conservative view a ‘nationwide’ leaflet drop as not extending South beyond ‘the Tron’”.
Oh really? I received a 4 page glossy nut bar rant in the mail, with ET on the cover, from the Cons.
For entertainment on this rainy day I plan to put Colin in make up and jewellery with a speech bubble that will say “Giz a kiss sailor”. He will have pouty lips. This will then go in the green plastic see through WCC recycling bag, facing outwards so his sweet face is there for all the street to see.
Lolz Rosie, sounds like that one would make a good billboard to put up somewhere,(an online version if you know how to get it up on facebook???),
There’s a totally insane, albeit thankfully small strain of thought that has me wishing that ‘the PinHead’ gets into the Parliament,
i should imagine the power-rush to Colon’s head will make what happened to Nick Smith upon His elevation to Deputy Leader under Doctor Dullard Don Brash look like the teddy bears picnic in comparison,
(PS, hows ‘that book’ going)…
Funnily enough there’s a reference to sailors in the pamphlet. Something about the Government spending taxpayers money like “drunken sailors”. I must apologise to the adorable Julian Clarey as that is who Colon ended up looking like after my make over. I was actually going for the Amy Winehouse look.
I don’t have the skills and am not on FB put there is huge potential for a nationwide campaign to lampoon Colon’s pamphlet. I went with his homophobic buzz but there is plenty of other material to produce multiple images of satire.
Haven’t had a chance to continue with Tragedy at Pike River Mine, but hope to do so after I’ve whipped up a big batch of anzac biscuits this arvo.
i will be interested in what you make of the book in the way of ‘conclusions’ Rosie, if you have read the exchange provoked by our last discussion of your ‘read’ i will get around to,
(a), Pointing out Strydom the South African electricians actual evidence which provoked the questions from Commissioner Bell to Him about ‘explosives’
(b) White the mine manager at the time’s evidence surrounding the heavy smell of burned diesel,
(c), the fact that Strydom the South African electrician used English as a second language which made parts of His evidence hard to decypher,
(d),Commissioner Bell queried Strydom vis a vis ‘the smell being cordite’ and ‘the smell being diesel’
What seems here to be an inconsistency in the evidence of Strydom when He describes the smell as being both of those things is in fact not,
The two smells are ‘totally’ consistent with the use of ANFRO explosives which i will explain after you have finished the book,
To understand ‘how’ these two smells, cordite and diesel, remained in the mine, after what we seen as a minute long expulsion from the mine of the ‘explosion’ on our TV’s will require an explanation of what occurs when such an explosion occurs in an open ended ‘tunnel’ or an understanding of where the residue from a discharged firearm ends up as opposed to the fired bullet,
There is much yet to be discussed…
Yes, I did read the “exchange” triggered by raising the Rebecca MacFie book.
And yes, I’ll let you know when I have finished reading and what conclusion I drew from the book as to the cause of the explosion, the first one. As mentioned, so far I can only see it as a disaster waiting to happen, a failure of management H&S of epic proportions to keep their workers safe.
I take it you’re fully aware, after reading the notes from the R. C enquiry (I haven’t) of the consistent failures of management to address the serious and life threatening H&S that staff formally complained of via hazard notices? Serious question, just wanted to clarify.
AS for that particular discussion between yourself, TRP and McFlock, as much as I understood and supported the technical elements they both raised I tend to shy away when things get a bit shouty and testosterone laden. Lols, I have enough problems in real life that raise my blood pressure, I don’t need to add to it.
Definitely Rosie, i fully understand the intricacies of ‘what happened’ at Pike River right form the point of the original ‘test drilling’ at the mine site,
This test drilling, accomplished via an above-ground drilling rig helicoptered into the National Park where the depth and actual make-up of the coal seams was ‘discovered’ by taking ‘core samples’ from various depths being the genesis of the actual mine was also not ‘up to industry standards’,
Whether there was any ‘deliberation’ in this ‘not up to industry standards’ test drilling will probably never be known, but, far far fewer test bores and samples were drilled and taken from the proposed mine than is the industry standard practice,
The above, the samples taken, lead the investors to believe that there was a far greater amount of highly valuable quality coking coal to be mined from there than was in fact present, and, from that point the litany continued on until the day of the first explosion,
As i pointed out in our previous discussion on the mine, by the day of the explosion,and, on days too numerous to count befor-hand, that mine was an actual Bomb, simply waiting for a spark to be struck in the wrong time and place,
i do not believe for an instant that ‘Management’,(in all its hues), could have failed to have known the above fact,
The fact that that mine was a ‘Bomb’ is i believe why in its short operational lifetime there were 5 statutory mine managers,(including Whittal), all of whom spent an inordinately short period of time holding that position,
(The Statutory Mine Manager carries the ‘legal can’ if something goes ‘wrong’, like an explosion, in the mine),
My question here of course, the same as asked in our previous discussion, is, considering ‘who’ must have known the dangerous state of the mine, did they get tired of waiting for the inevitable to occur???,
i have plenty of experience with test drilling/core sampling/drilling as a labourer for a well known firm of specialist drillers/pilers here in Wellington,
i have plenty of experience with explosives through work as a farm labourer many years ago and work as a labourer for a well known demolition firm here in the capital,
i could even tell you the recipe for making ANFRO explosives,(which in a family friendly show like this i wont), its qualities, its efficiencies, and, more important why i believe Strydom the electrician described to the Commission the smell of both Cordite and ANFRO,
”The smell is yes with explosives” unquote,
Until i read the evidence of Strydom the electrician i like most other people believed that the initial explosion at Pike River was one of Methane Gas,
Now i question that, again with the question asked above, ”did person or persons unknown get tired of waiting for the inevitable to occur”…
Thanks for taking the time. Looks like we both have the same awareness of the mine’s history and issues – up to the point where you question who knew of the dangerous state of the mine and whether they wanted to hurry up the inevitable. (Yes, as per previous discussion)
I still can’t entertain this idea, mass murder an’ all BUT you do have a working knowledge of explosives and know about the evidence given by the S.A electrician. I don’t.
But I will come back to it. Right now, I have that book waiting by the fire and a hot cuppa waiting…………
Lolz Rosie, always interested in discussing this with other people, if anything i put forward as ‘fact’ isn’t how you see it from your readings feel free in future discussions to point this out,
There are also a number of ‘things’ that to me make Strydom the SA electrician ‘ a person of interest’,(and i use that phrase with deliberation), that i will try and canvas in any future discussion,
In His 28 years of mining, He had been at the scene of 6 mine explosions, and, it is His evidence initially to the Police which leads me to the belief that the initial Pike River explosion was in relative terms ‘small’,
He describes in His evidence his ‘confusion’ as to whether or not there had been an actual explosion in the mine because of the fact that in ‘large’ mine explosions in South Africa all the fire hoses, set out with spacing along the tunnel walls, were blown off the walls,
At Pike River, all the fire hoses remained firmly in their allotted places on the tunnel wall, indicating the blast had been relatively small…
*ANFO
dont argue with ‘morans’ f.
they drag you down to their level and then beat you with experieince.
Yep, a more clear set of initials would read ANDO,(and i would rather not be giving away any more of what that leads to for obvious reasons, although i am sure extreme inquiring minds wont have any trouble following the now obvious trail)…
Bad, it’s probably the most well-known backyard explosive in the world. The recipe is two clicks away from anyone who cares to know.
You’re not guarding the chamber of secret wisdom, buddy.
felix, definitely not, But, how would you feel if someone put 6042 plus a zillion together came up with a number called i am a dumb fuck, slapped together the recipe, did a whole pile of damage and then said they got the idea off of a discussion here….
If you were really concerned about that you wouldn’t have brought it up here at all.
Hi, Rosie, testosterone point noted. It’s hard to be restrained in dealing with idiots, particularly ones who piss on the graves of the dead. And, yes, homophobes in particular do set me off, so sorry if it got messy. at the end.
Bad, just to touch on a couple of today’s misunderstandings, can I ask you have a look at a map of the mine? It’ll help you understand why Pike cannot be described as an open ended tunnel or why fire hoses a km or more away from the blast site and close to the entrance were relatively unscathed.
And as for claiming Strydom is a ‘person of interest’, why don’t you go to the cops if you have any evidence he was involved in mass murder? In fact, why not spell out the evidence for us now?
The fact is, you ain’t got no facts.
Hey Te Reo Putake. No need to apologise 🙂 Testosterone laden arguments are a given at times on this site.
One of the other reasons I want to be restrained in my language and withhold speculations around Pike River, is for the exact sentiment you raise, The Dead. I want to have some respect for their memory and also to anyone of their friends, family or partners who may happen to be reading.
I’m getting many questions answered by reading MacFie’s book and appreciate that her writing style is sensitive to the weight of loss the community suffered.
Laugh out loud, who would have thunk the liar in chief Te Reo Putere would have slunk belatedly into the conversation spewing abusive accusations,
The same Liar who carved out of Commissioner Bell’s questions at the Royal Commission 3 words from a question Bell asked and then deliberately falsely attributed those 3 words to Strydom the South African electrician simply so Putere the stranger to the truth could pretend ‘it’ had evidence that i was not telling the truth,
And this POS has the gall to upbraid me with claims of disrespect to the Pike River Families,
As far as the blast at the mine goes Putere, i am simply quoting from the evidence of Strydom the South African electrician, you have read this evidence so stop trying to spread bullshit among the readers,
If you want to dispute Strydoms reasoning as to why the fire hoses were not blown off the wall, feel free. but,
Unlike you, a pathetic wanker sitting behind a computer screen Strydom the South African electrician had 28 years mining experience which included being at the scene of 6 explosions in South African mines,
What’s your comparable experience Putere, wanking on endlessly on your computer…
Boring, boring, boring. Just put up some evidence, why doncha?. ps, still waiting for you to apologise for inventing a quote or failing to provide the second quote from the manager, whose name, for the time being escapes you. Go on, try being a grown up, it doesn’t hurt.
Pike river was the biggest, most transparent enquiry into an industrial accident in kiwi history, with a clear case decision on cause and effect, and responsibility clearly sheeted home. It was notable for the quality and quantity of the expert evidence and the candour of the mineworkers and other local witnesses. All those people, none of whom has ever suggested anything as astonishing as deliberate mass murder versus one sad fuck. I’m with the miners and their families. You’re on your own, fool.
🙄 🙄 🙄 i usually reserve them for ‘wing-nuts’ Putere(to the truth), must mean you have elevated yourself to the level of scum with your pathetic abuse…
PS, a hint for you: how many of those who gave evidence went into the mine after it had exploded, only one, Strydom the South African electrician,
i dare say the two who survived were not in much a of a fit state to be making notes of their surroundings as they staggered down the drift to safety…
Sorry, bud, you’re clearly beyond self awareness. All the best with the fantasy. Ciao.
Don’t call me bud Putere(to the truth), i despise cynical LIARS and you proved to me that you are one the other day by deliberately carving from a question by Pike River Commissioner Bell 3 words from that entire question which could not be mistaken for anything but a question about EXPLOSIVES which Bell was addressing to Strydom in a pathetic effort to point score against me,
That Putere(to the truth) is what i would class as disrespecting the Pike River families, everyone with links to those families and the Royal Commission,
Here’s some FACT for you Putere, the whole question from Bell to Strydom You carved those 3 words from,
Q, ”I mean Cordite to me isn’t a diesel smell, its more a smell to do with explosives, would–is that because of your South African experience with explosives” unquote Commissioner Bell,
And the words you carved out of Commissioner Bell’s question which you falsely attributed to Strydom trying to make a liar out of me which simply proves you to be the LIAR,
”Isn’t a diesel smell” Lies from Putere unquote,
Here’s the first part of Strydom the SA electricians answer to Commissioner Bell just in case anyone missed it,
A,”The smell is yes with Explosives” unquote Strydom the SA electrician to Pike River Commissioner Bell…
Bad12 I appreciate the passion but you seem to attack people who are not of the right. TRP is solid working class left and PU is distinct but has a world view that should be respected.
MS, you have your opinion i have mine, said in dark black writing by you or LPrent i will take a hint,
However, it is not me that butted into a conversation on the Pike River Mine explosion the other day it was Him and He was directly calling me a LIAR and then engaging in the behavior i outlined above which is simply cynical lying and using the Pike River Royal Commissioners questions to make up His cynical lies,
If you think that that is ‘solid left’ behavior well good for you, and my question is such behavior rife within the Labour Party probably wont go down to well,
Phillip Ure is another story, and your opinion of Him is noted, again, if the opinions you have so far expressed are writ in black writing i will obviously have to if i wish to keep commenting here take note,
Other than that MS, i will ignore your comment as it looks from where i sit to be an attempted censorship of me without addressing the equal behaviors of those i joust with in the comments,
TPR had no need to enter the discussion i was having tonight making the accusations he already made a couple of days ago, when he stops making such accusations i will stop responding to them…
Cheers, MS. Obviously, I’m not going to stop pointing out the homophobe fantasist’s bullshit, despite his using the bullying Netanyahu line. Luckily, the facts speak for themselves.
🙄 🙄 🙄 what your latest little tirade of abuse deserves, a whole page full of them…
“Not getting to partake in Colon’s missive deprives me of the chance to stamp,stomp, spit upon it, with the final act a grand little display of pyromania as i burned it on the front lawn all the while laughing like a loon…”
I had the fun of doing pretty much that, and also with the others that blew out of letterboxes all the way down the road.
How much did he spend on all this?
Lolz Vicky32, my sense of deprivation deepens, Colon’s ‘we are not fucking loonies you hear’ Conservatives have blown a bundle i should imagine,
i think the total war chest is around 2.5 million with Colon dropping a reputed 2 million into the pot, what it actually cost to print up and distribute a nationwide leaflet drop i couldn’t even begin to address,(bucket-loads is my best guess),
Lolz big ups on keeping your neighborhood ‘clean'(if i catch the letterbox stuffer going about His lawful trade polluting the hood i might offer Him at least a used tenner for His whole pile)…
@ Pasupial 10.14
I’m not mad’. Craig appealing to the daft opinionated who are agin’ everything and presenting himself as a Messiah going to usher in a new age of commonsense, government bashing a la usa fundamentalists and somehow more money for the deserving (not those others who are lazy and have warts) – and for the sensitive PCs I have warts!.
Lolz, a cross between Peter ‘the Hairdo’ Dunne and Doctor Dullard Don Brash would perhaps adequately describe the politics of Colon ‘i am not fucking insane’ Craig then,
The short form of the above description being, 🙄 🙄 🙄 ….
There’s an old saying which goes something like this:
If you think you’re mad then your’re not. But if you are convinced you’re not mad then you are.
Philip you are on a permanent dreadlock holiday.
Cunliffe has a family and has spent his money and time in his own country whilst HawaiiKey is spending his money and time is his home country.
gee tricle..it didn’t feel like ‘dreadlocked-holiday’ when i started working this morn..@ 5.00am..eh..?
(and this is what i have done since then.. http://whoar.co.nz/ ..some ‘holiday’..eh..?..)
..and do you have anyone who cd initiate you into the mysteries of the reply-button..?
What did Chester Borrrow? Whatever, I think he has had it long enough and should give it back. It didn’t work for him. He always seems unimpressive, and the latest about Coroners funding doesn’t inspire.
Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish was born and grew up in a Gaza refugee camp, worked hard and received a scholarship to study medicine in Cairo, gained a diploma in obstetrics and gynecology specialising in fetal medicine and a master’s degree at Harvard and despite the daily humiliation of border control he went on to become one of the first Gazan doctors employed in Israeli hospitals.
In January 2009, during Operation Cast Lead, three of his daughters and his niece were dismembered in their bedroom by an Israeli artillery strike.
Izzeldin Abuelaish has since lived and worked in Canada and doesn’t seek revenge or retribution, he writes seeking peace and reconciliation. .
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/18/father-children-gaza-bloodshed-palestinians-israelis
http://daughtersforlife.com/devdfl2013/our-story/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izzeldin_Abuelaish
Interesting column in the sst today by Nick Hager.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/510500/Nats-secret-advisers-accused-of-dirty-tricks-in-Aussie
Be interesting if any other news media picks it up. I suspect not.
My bad, picked it up from twitter, column is from 2008.
Good info thanks Northshoreguynz – good to remind us all of what is behind these media attacks and Key’s image.
Here is another one (from July 2013):
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2013/jul/19/lynton-crosby-david-cameron-tobacco-australia-lobbyist-mark-textor
Interesting…..i wonder if Crosby Texter have hidden journalist stringers?…ie hidden paid manipulators embedded in the MSM?
Thank you Otago Daily Times, for the search terms.
“…The naming in Australia this week of a high-profile Otago man whose identity was suppressed in the Dunedin District Court earlier this year – when he was discharged without conviction on an indecency charge – raises questions about the effectiveness of such court orders in the internet age. Timothy Brown reports…”
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/309904/digital-era-subverts-suppression
slater will publish the name
by that I meant slater must have published it ages ago
The case raises the issue of grooming. Thus a danger to name suppression (as the former AB involved is old enough to be on super there is no real livelihood issue).
Do some men become social friends of married couples and then at a later time make a grope for the women when alone with her – based on the idea that social friends and in particular married women will keep it to themselves.
If she does not tell her partner, and social contact continues and she is unable to prevent being alone with him he tries again.
When discussing this on another site, someone posted this thought
“Many women don’t tell because all too often the male response is firstly ‘what did you do to let him think you were willing’? I’m sure for many it is probably a question asked to try and sort out what happened, but either way it makes the female feel that she must have done something wrong. Rape victims are frequently hounded by guilt that they must have in some way contributed to what happened. That they are too blame – which is a mindset that prevents many from reporting the attack – this is especially so with women (and some males) who are victims of sexual assault in the form of ‘groping’ etc.”
If it is found that the person is a serial offender, (via case and name exposure) then it reduces the isolation (the why me) that the victim has.
Derryn Hinch has written on the case, but says it is illegal for anyone in New Zealand to read what he wrote. I live in Australia, so I read it. It reminded me again why I’ve never been a fan of the All Blacks, and makes me wonder how much of a coincidence it is that rape and rugby both begin with the letter r.
Thanks for that Murray, I’m not in NZ either, so found it and read it too. I’m not surprised in the least.
ODT says it’s not an offence for people in NZ to read the overseas post, but it is an offence to publish it in NZ.
And it does not surprise me – re the name and the rugby connection.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10288851/MH17-Key-calls-on-Putin-to-step-up
John Key tells Vlad how it is…”Go on Vlad, show some leadership! Fess up, it woz you guys!!”
Vlad thinks to himself, “Run away and wet your pants little lapdog!”
Meanwhile the families and friends of 300 mourn their loved ones. None of this is helping their pain and dignity.
ra ra rasputin.
True Ennui, and I wish we had a PM that whould have the guts to say similar to Netanyahu.
But that’s right – NZ is all US-ian in foreign policy now.
In Gaza the killing of innocents and the pain for their families and friends is just as real as in the Ukranian war zone. Al jazeera gives these people names .
Surprisingly coherent article from Rodney Hide in the Herald today: Rodney Hide: Rape culture protects predators
Apart from the obligatory snide opening, it reads like a different author.
Usually only read him if I’m in a particularly balanced mood, and feel as if I can respond rationally to his rants and the comments from his fans. But today didn’t need to do that at all.
it was patronising and reinforces the notion that women have to wait until some wealthy white man considers there is an issue for there to actually be an issue. I was put in mind that slylands might have written a siimilar thing but only after a woman he cared about was impacted.
I think this story is more about nailing David Cunliffe than rape culture.
Check out Whaleoil.
Sounds more like “I’ll co-opt the phrase ‘rape culture’ then re-define it purely so I can attack people I don’t like” than any real understanding of the concept.
SR. it never stops bleeding blubber.
Either way, patronising wealthy white guy epipheny is not what it is. Politics is what it is.
Widow of smoker to get $27b ! Cool bananas!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/10289064/27b-verdict-against-RJ-Reynolds
Well, Kim Dotcom’s 15 Sept Auckland Town Hall meeting gets even more interesting.
The Internet Party Twitter feed has announced that Glenn Greenwald (ex Guardian journalist who has released the Snowden revelations) will be there.
Tweets by InternetPartyNZ
F..k that is interesting!
That is one heavy duty battery journalist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Greenwald
Global surveillance disclosure:
Greenwald was first contacted by Edward Snowden, a former contractor of the U.S. National Security Agency, in late 2012.[65] Snowden contacted Greenwald anonymously and said he had “sensitive documents” that he would like to share.[66] Greenwald found the measures that the source asked him to take to secure their communications, such as encrypting email, too annoying to employ.[65] Snowden then contacted documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras in January 2013.[67]
According to The Guardian, what originally attracted Snowden to both Greenwald and Poitras was a Salon article penned by Greenwald detailing how Poitras’ controversial films had made her a “target of the government”.[66][68] Greenwald began working with Snowden in either February[69] or in April after Poitras asked Greenwald to meet her in New York City, at which point Snowden began providing documents to them both.[65]
Perhaps it’s he that will deliver the oil on the prime minister’s spying regime.
I dont do twitter so thanks veuto
Neither do I, Tracey. In other words, I am not a signed up user, but it doesn’t seem to stop me being able to read various Twitter accounts, and save them to my favorites to read. Or to google them and read them.
This is a real biggie. Armstrong and others who have been deriding KDC as wielding a fizzer, are fucked.
@ c.v..
..i stood on the edge of the stand-up dotcom did with the corporate-media @ the roadshow..
..and they tried that jeering approach..
..and dotcom just shut them right down..
..and was entirely believable/credible..
..leaving me certain he has the ‘goods’ on key..
..and his greenwald news stopped their whining about timing..
..dead in its’ tracks…
..’twas a delight to behold..
the internet/mana roadshow in west ak went off like the proverbial rocket..
..very very cool it was..
..and the takeaway is that glenn greenwald will be one of the international guests at the dotcom ak town hall meeting..
..five days before the election..
..how cool is that..?
..greenwald has been a journalist i have admired since his very early on g.f.c.-warnings..
..and he will be helping dotcom dump on key…
..woo-fucken-hoo..!
..here is my greenwald-archive..
http://whoar.co.nz/?s=greenwald
So what’s your opinion of the Glenn Greenwald who supported the Iraq invasion, said the US is exceptional and different, derided Argentinian ant-war protestors – These are hard-core Communists. Fidel Castro is one of their heroes., and described Venezuela as that country under the repressive thumb of Fidel Castro-copy Hugo Chavez ?.
@ joe 90…
(i’ll let greenwald answer that..)
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/01/30/1182442/-Glenn-Greenwald-Responds-to-Widespread-Lies-About-Him-on-Cato-Iraq-War-and-more#
Brilliant thanks Phillip.
In his own words.
Despite these doubts, concerns, and grounds for ambivalence, I had not abandoned my trust in the Bush administration. Between the president’s performance in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the swift removal of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and the fact that I wanted the president to succeed, because my loyalty is to my country and he was the leader of my country, I still gave the administration the benefit of the doubt. I believed then that the president was entitled to have his national security judgment deferred to,
http://www.democraticunderground.com/100297462
( http://www.bookbrowse.com/excerpts/index.cfm?fuseaction=printable&book_number=1812 )
Distorted media accounts notwithstanding, isn’t it painfully obvious what is going on here? These are hard-core Communists. Fidel Castro is one of their heroes. This has nothing to do with opposition to the war in Iraq or specific free trade agreements. Those are thinly disguised pretexts. These demonstrators hate the United States because they are genuinely opposed to economic freedom and individual liberty, and they seek to impose the collectivist authoritarianism of Fidel Castro onto the entire Latin American continent.
http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.co.nz/2005/11/meet-oh-so-noble-peace-protestors-in.html
As is true in U.S., the Latin American socialist agitators who have captured the attention and affection of the American media are as substance-less as they are inconsequential. They are lovers of Fidel Castro. The insist that the source of their severe economic woes is not their collectivist policies or national character, of course, but the evil economic policies of the U.S. At the same time, of course, they are furious that the evil U.S. is not providing them with greater economic aid.
http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.co.nz/2005/11/reality-of-latin-american-reaction-to.html
Firstly, I think that it is important that you understand that people take time to under go their own political awakenings and maturation. At the time of the second Iraq War, Greenwald was in his 30’s and for the most part, believed in what he had been taught by the MSM to believe – American exceptionalism.
Secondly, I think that you have taken some of his quotes out of context, albeit you have done us a favour by linking through to your source material. With regards to GW Bush’s wars against in Afghanistan and Iraq post 9/11 for instance, Greenwald goes on to say:
Thirdly, Snowden examined in detail Greenwald’s suitability to be the journalist that he would go to. I believe that Greenwald’s conduct to date has proven Snowden’s judgement and trust in Greenwald, correct.
Will Greenwald get a visa?
Good question. Will NZ deny him entry at the border and send him back on a return flight…
If so that will be interesting indeed.
We better hope that Kim can come through for us on Sept 15th.
We’re relying on you Kim, please don’t let us down.
You’r all we have now Kim.
Guaranteed to be irrelevant crap.
Concentrating on a plan rather than mythology would be a good start.
@ lprent..
..u really think so..?
..this will be the snowden nz-drop..
..how is that not interesting..?
..i’m picking labour aren’t too happy about this..
..because the secrets exposed will not show the clark govt in a very good light..
.and int/mana on 2.3% on tv3 poll..
..and they have only just started campaigning..
..and i have been to a few political meetings in my life..
..but this one was the most electric/alive..i have been to..
..there was a lot going on in that room..
..and the chemistry between harawira/harre/dotcom/sykes/minto etc..
..was almost palpable…
.they all really like/respect each other..
,.,that much is very clear…
Three news says Cunliffe not ruling out working with Mana and co is hurting Labour in the polls, no surprises there. How is la la Harry saying she wouldn’t let Dot.Crim into NZ but she is happy to get her nose in the trough and take the proceeds of his crimes.
What does 3 News know about what is hurting Labour in the polls?
Laila Harre wants to change the government. Kim Dotcom wants to change the government. David Cunliffe wants to change the government. Russell Norman and Metiria Turei want to change the government. Winston Peters wants to change the government. More than half of New Zealand wants to change the government. Hope it happens.
3 News asked in the poll if Not ruling out IMP was wrong and about half voted yes.
I think David has said that it is unlikely that IMP would be at the Cabinet Table but wait and see what the electorate decide in September. If Key needed another 2-3% to win would he rule IMP out? They had better not ask!
This has been covered in parliament itself has it not? Cunliffe asking Key to rule out pre election deals if Labour would do the same and Key backing down. News flash – Labour has always said no pre election deals while slippery Key refuses to commit to anything as he is constantly undecided as to what makes him feel most comfortable. Get some of that, Brook Sabin.
I think the electorate is going to be surprised by Internet Mana. David Cunliffe is certainly not committing one way or the other. Our jokey, matey PM however just gives us a nudge and a wink on these things and no-one know where he stands. It’s the politics of confusion. Grey Warbler described it with his Macbeth quotes earlier today.
Also covered by Simon Wilson slapping down National party embedded journalist Brooke Sabin on the Nation yesterday when discussing the same subject.
Funny thing how the support for National is around 50%… and “half voted yes” to the whole not ruling out IMP. I think there may be more than just significant overlap there 😛
Those who want a change from National would accept that deal in a heartbeat if it got rid of John Key.
+1
write her a letter and ask her.
TV3 poll not too bad all things considered. Ignore Gower.
Nats 49.4
Lab/Gr/IMP/NZF 45.7
Given that the Cons vote, 2.7%, is now likely to be wasted a 3% shift to the Left/NZF would be enough.
A 7% shift to Lab/Gr/IMP would give the Left power. I know this sounds a lot but we are in the grip of the ridiculous MSM’s attack on Cunliffe’s brave “man” speech and even Gower is starting to say that IMP is going “up and up” and they have only just started.
This election will go to the wire. I liked Cunliffe’s positive “we will come out fighting” on TV3 News tonight.
Cunliffe I am sorry to be a man comment are at least hypocritical in light of who he had lunch with. I would hope Labour and National could put petty party politics aside and change the law regarding permanent name suppression of those found or pleading guilty to serious sexual offending. This particularly repugnant when it is granted because of an offenders social status and/or political or legal connections.
I is clear many on this blog know the sexual predators name. I am sure I am not breaching and order saying he is not an unemployed Maori.
This is not the only current case. A kiddy fiddling Hawkes Bay lawyer has permanent name suppression. I do not know if I am in contempt by saying the bloody judge is an enabler. I do not really care.
I would also say that all MP who do not vote for a law change on name suppresion are also enablers.