Yes, you're quite the Russian scholar. However, I note that your carefully considered theory about those evil masterminds controlling the puppet Trump has yet to be backed up with evidence.
President Putin only speaks the truth. The Ukraine was part of the USSR. It's eastern half are Russian speaking. When the Ukraine became independent in 1991 Russia had an historical agreement to use the port of the Crimea. Western Ukraine is nearer to Berlin than Madrid. During WW11 there was a strong fascist group who welcomed the German invaders. The last legitimate government was pro Russian but was toppled by a CIA funded insurrection. If Russia had wanted to it could have taken over the Ukraine in 24 hours. MH17 was shot down by Ukraine fascist forces not the Russians or the independent Russian east of the Country. The Crimea voted democratically to become part of Russia and is now so.
Reoccupied by the same totalitarian Stalinist regime responsible for the genocidal, man-made famines that cost between 4 and 8 million ethnic Ukrainians their lives.
True, but many Ukrainians who had at first welcomed the Nazis, after getting to know them, did actually appreciate being 'liberated'. The lesser of two evils, believe it or not. But rabid anti-communist, pro-Western propaganda always pushes the meme that Stalin was 'worse than Hitler'. To my mind he was equally evil, but in different ways. The Ukraine was an unlucky country, a bit like Poland, which itself was never the ideal democracy for which Britain professed to go to war.. We are lucky to have been born here rather than there, if you are as old as I am..
Have you any evidence of this "CIA funded insurrection"? Comparatively few former Soviet satellites want to return to being Russian clients – something to do with quality of governance.
Austria too had "a strong fascist group who welcomed the German invaders", will you be cheering Putin if and when he decides to annex them, or are they allowed to exercise their democratic franchise without his permission?
It's young Ed…….I humbly suggest DNFTT as I did with Moz upthread.
[Prove that johnm is a sockpoppet of Ed and address the topic instead of guessing the identity of a commenter and playing the DNFTT game; I have warned so many times about leaving sockpoppets to the moderators but it seems to fall on deaf ears. If not, I offer you a three-week ban – Incognito]
I have no problem with people being anti-Russian, Gabby—I'm no fan of Putin and his cronies, either. What I am concerned about is this nonsense about Russians—and those dastardly masterminds the North Koreans as well!— controlling Trump as some sort of Manchurian Candidate. Any outlet that repeats these lies, not just once or twice, but daily, weekly, monthly, every single day since Trump got his disgusting carcass into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue can not taken as a serious or credible news organization.
[Thank you for your most obliging response that avoided any doubt or confusion. Your efforts to lift The Standard to a higher standard are much appreciated and in return, I give the promised three-week ban plus another three for using a language that is not one of the three official languages of Aotearoa-New Zealand – Incognito]
[I checked your history here and it was only early this year that you were given amnesty from a permanent ban. You also seem to have missed out on a three-month ban by Lynn, which somewhat ironically was about bad language: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21-06-2019/#comment-1630221, but I will now correct that oversight – Incognito]
Down the bottom there's a graphic about the motivations to change to electric in different parts of the world. Very little of it is about greenhouse gases and climate change, but air pollution is a big factor along with regulatory compliance. China's economic interest is shown by two of their big motivations being developing an electric vehicle export industry and reducing dependence on oil imports.
Yeah, that better driveability is a big one. Pretty soon people that enjoy driving will be going electric because it's so much better. It'll only be genuine petrolheads that live their lives with an extended middle finger left on the dino-juice.
When it comes to cars, I have zero shame about what I'm seen in and I'm a reasonable bush mechanic, so my usual habit is to buy an oldish car and drive it into the ground. Flash cars just don't do it for me anymore, I scratched that itch once long ago and it's never come back. But jeez I'm getting tempted by an i3.
That cost of ownership will also be a big one. In most US markets, the 5 year cost of ownership for a Tesla Model3 is probably already below cars like Corollas, Camrys Accords etc. Won't be long before the cost of batteries drops enough that the initial purchase price of electric is lower than dino-mobiles.
A bit like here, a mix of federal funding, state and local taxes. There is a federal fuel tax, but it's much lower than here and applies equally to diesel and petrol. The federal fuel tax doesn't come anywhere close to covering the cost of national highways (unlike here), the federal component of funding gets a hefty top-up from other taxes.
There's no RUCs on light vehicles anywhere, but I'm fairly sure there's some kind of system like RUCs for heavy vehicles that varies at state levels. You used to see trucks with many different state number plates (don't remember if that was still the case last time back five years ago).
There was an interesting article on the subject of EV costs on page F3 of yesterdays DomPost.
I can't find a link to it online at the moment unfortunately.
What he suggests is that, if you allow for RUC at the existing rate, and can't get by with charging at home it will cost more to run a Leaf than a Corolla. Even if you can get by with the limited recharge potential and don't pay any RUC it will take you 150,000 km to recover the extra cost. If you include RUC you will have to drive the EV for 500,000 km to save the extra capital cost to drive the thing.
There are other reasons besides saving money for buying an EV. It is the saving in fuel that most people I have talked to seem to rave about though. If RUCs come in, as surely they must there certainly won't be any fuel savings there to justify people paying for an EV though, will there?
Just why do EVs cost as much as they do. Having looked at the motor in a Leaf, and compared it to the beast under the bonnet in a friends new Honda Civic Type R, which costs the same amount, it can't be the motor that costs money. What do the battery packs really cost?
Last article I saw on battery pack costs were that Tesla expected to go under USD100/kWhr at the cell level later this year, then under USD100/kWhr at the pack level next year. Tesla seem to be widely reputed to be way lower in battery costs than anyone else, even the Chinese.
When EVs become widespread, the whole RUC/excise tax heavy/light vehicle cost split really will need to be looked at. There's some petrol cars already on the market where the petrol cost/km is fuckall more than RUCs for light vehicles.
that would appear roughly correct…assuming a newish 1500cc corolla averaging their claimed 4.5l/100k, however as Andre has noted once the EV fleet increases the whole system of RUC (and fuel taxes for that matter) will have to be reviewed…or I guess we could toll roads,or pay 100% from general taxation….whatever way its cut there will be noise.
you don't see as many extension leads on building sites now, so much is battery tools
Also driven by the change in health & safety standards to require electrical cord testing and tagging every few months. Less cost and interruption if you only use batteries.
The H&S aspect isn't all that different to the emissions issue with vehicles, a move to a better environment, I was pretty much over getting lit up regularly, and there’s also that battery tools are as effective, and in a lot of cases more effective, than mains powered gear
Angela Merkel celebrates Klaus von Stauffenberg's plot to kill Hitler in 1944
She called him and his conspirators "true patriots".
I've never seen a leader of a country celebrating an attempt to kill her predecessor. Theresa May hasn't memorialized Cromwell, nor Macron celebrated Sieyes.
The better the democratic structure/environment, the less it has to be pointing out the blindingly obvious to the blind in the hope of improvement, rather than just moving on to the better know how.
Lprent: the site feed is featuring posts from a blog called "An Average Kiwi," which read like the blog should actually be called "An Average Wingnut." Just mentioning it as it doesn't seem like the kind of stuff we'd usually see in the feed.
Yes, I saw those last night shortly after they appeared and left a message for Lynn at the back-end. Could have been written by a regular here who calls themselves a “skeptic of climate alarmism”. Anti-CC and anti-CE messages seem be ramping up and although I’m not a conspiracist it does suggest some kind of coordination behind it.
ISTR "An average kiwi" has been a sidebar regular for a long time. But a look at their site looks like all the old stuff has been deleted since they've gone on this denial binge.
While it's rare, it's not wholely unheard of for someone to be mostly rational, but hold some waaaaayyyyy out there views on some topics. Ken at Open Parachute being an example from the sidebar.
I have no doubt that the Accountant above is talented and knowledgeable. But he delivers his words very fast.
So that persons of my motor speed – maximising at about an illegal 170 Kph on state highway 1, deliberately I slow the car down. While Bernard heads toward supercallerfragerllisticoutterstreaks. He is flying in the Nether Nether Land.
I think he feels that Grant Robertson is not Spending enough money. His words scrabbled.
But Crikey, The Bloody Great Fonterra Building at Lichfield – running on Coal to purify Milk of all things – is in nasty trouble …
Fletchers Mighty Constructions have slunk back to sucking peppermint lollies – and have cancelled any major buildings. I think they might being doing Letter boxes. But there is not much call for those.
Sir John Key is managing Five Big Businesses and unknown numbers of Blonds.
Cadburys have moved off into darkness.
Northland – has decided to stop all work
The Teachers are on the streets begging for $300 a day for 6hrs a day work. For Auckland has very special cars, very special Streets, very special houses, very special water, very special toilets, very special toilet paper, very special alcohol, very special bottoms and so forth.
Their children are on drugs – keeping out of mischief – apparently.
The Farmers are suiciding. But they always have. They blame it on the Cities.
Grant Robertson is holding some Money for a rainy day. He is not a Hickey Lotto Bloke.
In this episode of teleSUR's Days of Revolt, Chris Hedges interviews economist Michael Hudson on the history of classical economics and explores Marx’s interpretation of capitalism as exploitation
In this episode of Days of Revolt, Chris Hedges continues his discussion with UMKC economics professor Michael Hudson on his new book Killing the Host: How Financial Parasites and Debt Bondage Destroy the Global Economy. Hedges and Hudson expose the liberal class’ allegiance to the predatory creditors on Wall Street and their indifference to real economic justice.
One could hope that the Chairman has been testing the meeting of the political waters with his gavel, and has deemed all three coalitions parties' flows to be clean, free of toxins, wadeable, even swimmable, and yea, perhaps potable.
Ardern says the Government has made some moves in their direction – the families package, for instance.
"But I accept there are people who feel those policies may not have touched them in the same way. We know there's that constant pressure on them. It's something as a Government that we're giving continual thought to."
In other words, they have no ideas as yet. But I see Jacinda is using the old families package line again, although it is wearing rather thin considering the increase in hardship.
"It's something as a Government that we're giving continual thought to."
Continual, Chairman: "continuing indefinitely in time without interruption"
That's clearly what's required and what Ms Ardern said the Government was doing, yet your re-wording tells a different, your (rhymes with Eeyore), story. Pure dark-cloud speculation on your part. As usual.
If they had an idea of what they were going to do they wouldn't still be thinking about it (ie giving it continual thought) they would be announcing it, Robert.
So you propose, seemingly unable to factor-in some quite simple factors such as; incomplete data, test results pending, advice yet to be received, etc. It's little wonder people here tease you for being one of the Soggy Bottom boys, Chair!
I see that Ron Mark is proposing that our leader really shouldn't be using the old Air Force 757s and should charter planes. Out of curiosity I had a look at what it would cost to charter Peter Jackson's private jet, a Gulfstream. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12251315
There was an estimate that it would cost just over $90,000 to take 10 people on a 2 day trip from Wellington to Fiji. That is about the same distance and time of Ardern's trip from Auckland to Mebourne.
Why can't she simply travel, in Business Class to be sure, instead of having to pretend that we need our own pretend version of an Air Force 1? If the PM is going somewhere where there are only very limited commercial flight taking an Air Force jet. Auckland to Melbourne is just a joke. There are any number of flights available and we commoners don't really smell that bad that she can't travel in the same plane surely?
Peter Jackson should provide at least a couple of jets gratis to the government, considering a large part of his wealth springs from that shabby blackmail deal that his Warner Bros. controllers foisted on us.
I'm quite sure that Ron Mark thinks it is appropriate to use the Air Force as private transport for pollies.
After all his Boss, Tsar Winston has also got into the habit. How long do you think Ron would survive if he said it was a total waste of money? Doesn't it make it sensible or a good way of spending the taxpayers money though, does it?
The Boss if the Hon Ron Mark is, as I am sure you are very well aware, The Right Hon Winston Peters.
Do you realise that Winston Peters, or Tsar Peters as those familiar with him say, is the only person in the current New Zealand Parliament who is a member of the Privy Council? That is the group of advisors to the person who is our Head of State. He is the only one.
He may, in theory, be responsible to Ms Ardern but in practice he, and the other Ministers in the New Zealand First Caucus, are beholden only to Winston.
Seriously, can you really imagine Jacinda sacking him without Winston's say-so? If you do I would have to say that you are dreaming.
So no, I would have to say I am not. I have had quite a lot of dealings with him in the past but I certainly wasn't a close friend.
I'm not quite sure what the right word would be but it isn't "familiar" when I consider the definition. I certainly wasn't one of his mates at after working hours visits to the Green Parrot.
I see. I am, although not an Initiate of the Peters cult, using some of the things reserved for those of you who are? That nickname is reserved for his closest friends, drinking buddies and for members of his racing partnerships I take it.
Or is it like the Russian use of diminutives for names, where the name used by strangers differs from the one used by very close friends of very close relatives?
Or am I releasing the secrets of the Lodge. Is use of the nickname like someone learning and using the secret handshakes used, at least apocryphally by Masons. Whatever the cause does it upset you that I am using nicknames that I am not supposed to?
Or is it perhaps something as simple as people who get upset by references to the Prime Minister as Jacinda, rather than The Right Honourable Jacinda Ardern MP?
Alwyn, despite your attempts to deflect, the fact is that only you use this term and I, for one, would be quite pleased if you stopped it. IMO, it is on par with the sloppy use of the (denigrating) terms “woke” or “simple Simon”, for example. Just saying.
But Alwyn, this is Open Mike where everybody is free to join in. Of course, Muttonbird could have asked your permission to join in but instead gave their unsolicited opinion. I think we should update the policy to make it a bannable offence to respond to a comment or post for that matter without explicit permission or personalised invitation. What are people thinking? How rude!
The 757s aren't just for ferrying vips around. We use them for disaster response, as well. Not often, but we need them occasionally. Especially the sorts of jobs where the charterer might go "you want to take our plane where? OK, but the danger money is $$$".
So then the question is "if we have the pilots and the plane anyway, surely the 'cost' is largely an internal accounting issue".
economically it only makes sense to charter if you earn over $60m per year. So if you can load up a plane with $60m in salaries then go for it. Otherwise it would make more sense to travel business class. If you can’t Justify air travel then your using the same amount of carbon on an one way to Melbourne than the average person accumulates in a year which is a waste.
Flying a charter works out to be about 3hrs of saved time by not having to go through customs, baggage handling, stop overs ect. Y'know at $6kp/h or $60mp/a this is where it starts to make sense to charter. So first you need the 60m salary and have traveled more than 200hrs a year to justify a buy a Global 7500 business jet with 14hr flight times and upto 18 passengers or just lease.
I'm surprise they haven't charted an AirNZ Airbus for such Flt's across the ditch? Be a lot cheaper than a B757 Flt and some free PR for AirNZ or take a leaf out of the Queen/ Royals who fly's in the odd BA aircraft.
If you charter a plane you have to pay with it in a way that shows up in the Government accounts. Then people can see how much they are wasting just to give them a boost to their ego. That way they can pretend they are like the Donald.
Using one of the Air Force planes is covered up as being training and they would have done the flight anyway in order to keep the flight crew current on their flying time. Thus they pretend it is free.
Of course if you really believe that line of b*s I have a bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn that I am sure you will be interested in buying.
Lets hope they get it right this time around, ensuring they put in place a vast pay increase in core benefit rates. Especially for those deemed to be in long-term need, such as the ill and disabled.
"The Newshub-Reid Research poll had the worst outlook for National, slipping to a 14-year-low of 37.4 percent – well behind Labour, who leapt to 50.8."
Crikey, Chair! Time to celebrate!! Pin on your Labour Party rosettes and let's party!
Chair, this "wot wosn't in the Green feed" is the weakest ploy from you yet, and there have been a number that have been dishwater-feeble. I'll not even bother, but regarding the stale poll, Labour, 50.8!!
News like that never gets old! 3 chairs for Labour!!
“Three Chairs for Labour” – love it. Here are three quotes that will no doubt bring a tear to The Chair's one eye.
"we just want them to go, like Maureen Pugh is ***king useless" – Simon (I forget his surname, but he's the current leader of the opposition National party)
"It dawned on me, ‘I know this script, I helped write this script.’ At that point, I felt bad for what I did to Todd. But that’s the modus operandi of the National party – when people become a liability you push them out the door." – Jami-lee Ross, former National party senior whip (Oct 2018)
"I felt that the National party deployed everything they possibly could to stop me and they turned dirty and nasty. They were doing all they knew how to with the skill set that they had." – Jami-lee Ross (Feb 2019)
Dirty Politics: How attack politics is poisoning New Zealand’s political environment
It's good to see that you, even based in the deep South, seem to be able to keep so up to date on the news.
You did notice, I hope, that because of the prevailing Southerlies and therefore the very cold weather we have been having over the last couple of months the story you link to was from about six weeks ago? Carrier pigeons really don't like having to hasten through cold winter storms do they.
Does it really take so long for information to get to you? Perhaps in another month or so you will see something from the same time about another poll from TV1 which disagreed with your story. May the Blizzard be with you in the meantime.
Snap. While I was typing this I see The Chairman responded in a similar vein
I didn't notice that, Alwyn, leaving me looking a right duffer! Never mind, I was only playing with the Chair. As for the delay we experience in getting live news, it's a blessing really; I wonder who the next POTUS will be: I've tired a little with Obama.
You could look at the TV1 Poll from the same day. Of course I doubt if you really want to see National having risen and Labour having dropped and National back in the lead. It would probably put you right of your feed.
I am tempted to tell you but I hate to spoil your anticipation as you follow the 2016 Presidential Campaign. I'll give you a hint though. It isn't another Bush. As Barbara Bush said. Two is enough. Past that I will not go. You are just going to have to wait.
Digging your daft hole deeper, Chair? You seem to lack self-awareness but worry not, help is at hand; we'll tell you when you stray into trite territory, make a Wally of yourself and flog that dead horse of your own creation too far. You're claiming that something that doesn't exist "sends the wrong message". Given that there are an infinite number of things that don't exist, your head must be ringing with wrong messages – hang on! I've cracked it, your malady; a head-full, wrong messages clamouring for your attention! No wonder you can't think straight.
No need for any thank-yous, Chair, just be kind to yourself, press your inner reset button and have another go tomorrow when you're feeling rested.
It's not just something that doesn't exist, Robert. It's coverage of an important news item (that's meant to be leveraging pressure on the Government) that is actually missing on their own news feed. So, of course it sends the wrong message.
They are either slack at updating their news feed or they don't see it as being that news worthy.
This is even more outrageous than when it was simply absent; no wonder you've your knickers in a painful twist!
I only hope, for the sake of your circulation, the newsfeed isn't empty again, later today! Three-times as empty as when you first declared it empty! I doubt The Greens have any chance at all now, of being part of the next Government! Three times empty!!
I have to commend you, Chair, you certainly have an eye for empty and an ability to fluff-up something from nothing! You're the King of Empty, in my book, the Great Vacuum, the Viceroy of Void.
I wonder what else you'll discover isn't there, oh Dedicated Supporter of the Left?
Yes and I apologise to anyone who might have tried to follow the descent into the void; I take full responsibility for giving The Nothing any oxygen at all. My final word on the non-matter
Ouch! The true Left and ‘more left than most’ collectively seem to regard you as a “frickin clown”, according to their spokesperson. One wonders what they’d call you when you not just not disapprove of the (absent) newsfeed of the Green Party but also not raise some really serious concerns about their perceived abysmal PR and communication on core issues; the mind boggles.
And we on the left consider core benefit increases a major issue.
Therefore, compounded by the fact it took so long for the Greens to break their silence on this issue, not covering it on their own news feed is another slap in the face for their support base on the left.
They aren't even doing enough to show their own support base that they care, let alone putting pressure on Labour.
And supporters like you commenting as you are don't do them any favours. In fact, I was just asked by a visitor (who looked at your comments) who is this frickin clown.
Your favourite word, sam! Oh how you love to use it. It's well and truly a cliche now; perhaps you like to use an equivalent, or at least define what exactly it is you mean by "woke"? Then you might find we can understand what you are attempting to convey; words are like that; they need to be understood by both deliverer and receiver.
The woke over inflate Green polling by at least 1%. Come election results there true power is revealed – It's all spin, bullshit, virtue signal, bluster, genital issues, depression, mental illnesses, economic illiteracy, so on and so fourth.
i [sic] just don’t think the woke have nearly as much support as they claim. [my bold]
Then you say:
The woke over inflate Green polling by at least 1%.
So far, I’ve only seen claims by you and I still don’t know whom you’re talking about.
Yesterday, another commenter got quite shitty with me when I asked to back-up their comment and it ended with that commenter taking a break from the site. It is tiring to have to ask people repeatedly to back-up their statements of fact or to make it clear that they are making up their opinions on the fly because to refuse so would be dishonest at best.
No. That the Greens consistently poll higher than their election results needs as much explaining as NZFirst polling consistently lower than there election results. It's so common you'd have to be a genius to be able to ignore it.
So, you cannot back-up your claims and you now appeal to common sense, which is a weak rhetorical tool at the best of times. It wasn’t even entertaining this time; what a waste of my time 🙁
The polls consistently get the Green vote correct to within about 1%? That must be a byproduct of single to low teen populerity levels, given that it's not unusual to for different polls for the 35-50% parties to have 6-9% between them.
Even so, I'm impressed at how accurate the polling of the Greens "consistently" is, according to Sam.
Youd have had to have skulled hard on the kool aid to have so much confedience in popularity polling after BREXIT, Trump, May, Balsinaro (The Brazilian President) Australian Labour. There are so many examples of pollsters drinking there own Kool aid and you just want to drink more. Pfft
what ever. The Greens went from 10% to 6% and they don't have an electorate seat or the brains to do a deal for an electorate seat.
Well I never said Winston was done. In fact apart of my claim that National had no mates was obvious when John Key started ruiling out a coalition with NZFirst.
Based on US Fed Res actions I thought the gold price would halve, stocks would rally and Obama would be the first black president. And that NZFirst had a lot of dry powder. I wouldn't rule out Labour stepping aside in Northland to give NZFirst a clean run in the Northland electorate. Wish the Greens had the brains for something like that.
And [deleted and your last warning – Incognito] off silky
What did your mentor call me once. He was trying to make some sort of computer programming joke out of me by claiming I was a some sort of dildo. Y'know I'll make this real simple for you incognito. [deleted] off hypocrite.
" all spin, bullshit, virtue signal, bluster, genital issues, depression, mental illnesses, economic illiteracy, so on and so fourth".
He's slandering/bad-mouthing supporters of The Greens and Labour here with seeming impunity, getting away with it because few would want to engage with his menacing persona (Muttonbird's, "What's wrong with you?" summed up the discomfort Sam's comments create; what is wrong with Sam?
Good morning, Robert. I assume that comment was (mainly) for me?
Do you have a link to the quoted text by Sam? I could find it myself but if you have it, handy that would be handy.
I cannot comment on what is wrong with Sam but I do know he can be a tricky customer commenter and (some) people react to his comments like a bull to a red flag; this doesn’t help.
I’m not happy either about the discomfort Sam might be creating here but it would set a very low bar if moderators would act upon this, wouldn’t you agree?
On this note, there are a few other commenters who regularly create a bit of ‘an atmosphere’ but as long as they don’t break the site’s policy rules we’ll have to learn to live with them – ignoring can be a good and often the best (!) course of action.
I'm not suggesting Sam be banned at all, just trying to define the nature of his comments for the sake of greater understanding.
I see you've placed him on "final warning" and that's appropriate, I reckon. Being a tricky customer, Sam'll do something with that, no doubt. Perhaps he'll woke up
When I used the word/verb “act”, I didn’t mean “ban”. I see banning as the last resort of moderation when (all) other options for modification of behaviour and self-moderation have been exhausted or when the Moderator’s patience has run out. There are exceptions, of course, such as deliberately putting the site at (legal) risk and blatant violations of the policy, which can result in an instant and permanent ban.
Indeed, in this instance (with Sam) it is really about clarification of meaning, purpose, and intention of his comments. That was my original angle and I was acting as a commenter rather than a Moderator. However, others object to his use of the term “woke” in a disparaging way. I stepped in/up as a Moderator when Sam started to swear again despite having been warned about that by MS earlier that day. That was what my “last warning” was about.
In the end, I gave him a chance to chill down and come to his senses; his use of “woke” is obviously not going to change and sooner or later he might be pulled up for that, just like he got pulled up for swearing, but I rate as relatively low on the scale of ‘offences’ and more as a ‘nuisance’ rather IMHO.
I hope this makes some kind of sense. BTW, I’m speaking for myself and not for the other Moderators who may have very different views …
See. It does not hurt to acknowledge basic assumptions. We assume many things. We assume we speak the same language. We assume New Zealand is 1200ks in length. We assume many things so we don't have to knit pick and disrespect people by demanding they search for bleeding fucking obvious facts and basically doing your homework for you.
Assumptions are often implicit and rarely checked and validated.
We may think we speak the same language but that still leaves many interpretations, which is a beauty and a curse of language. Unfortunately, some people feel the need to re-define or twist words.
What might be an obvious fact to one may be a complete surprise to another. Often ‘facts’ are, in fact, factoids or even just opinions. Fact checking is crucial in order to separate wheat from chaff.
It shows good faith, respect, and honesty to oblige when asked to reveal one’s assumptions and sources for one’s facts. When one makes claims, it is only natural that one backs them up when asked. If one becomes defensive, aggressive, or outright abusive when challenged it creates a bad atmosphere that spoils it for others. This, in turn attracts the attention of moderators.
Yknow the Standard authors team are like top 4, I don't think any one would place them lower, most likely 3rd. Yknow really knowledgeable, really smart on a bunch of stuff. And lots of commenters that are really cleaver Y'know. So I'm not going to win pretty against them, it's not going to happen.
Me personally if I was outside of myself watching what I was saying I'd be shocked at what I'd be able to say. So I just want to say a couple things. Y'know I do think that political correctness leads to communism which is a totally failed left wing project. The other thing to me is that when people say the correct things, to me. That people recognize in particular, they recognize the intensity of the struggle and really that's the one. That people recognize how much of a struggle it is for both me and who ever says no I'm incorrect for this or that reason.
Now this is what I really want to talk about. There's a relatively small group of people that talk about the left and they talk about me. For the most part when people talk about it it doesn't really bother me unless you're actually the Prime Ministers or some one really noteworthy. I just feel that the debating community is for fighters and winners. And the thing that just sickens me is when people complain, and whine, and talk about land, people and politics, and they speak about these things in away that embodies a type of weakness that just makes me sick.
So for example when people (when woke people) try and talk about The Greens and try and box it in, and try and imply that The Greens shouldn't fight till the end. That to me is sickening.
You're given an opportunity on this planet to fight until death rips you from this planet, and everything is a metaphor, politics is a metaphor. It's a metaphor for how you want to live your life. Y'know certain people may want to live by certain rulz or codes but in the end all that maters is survival. I promise you you will survive if you want to fight and this is what we see in the debating chamber. You see people use fighting words until they are ripped out of there.
So when I see people of a certain caliber, people who have authority, a bit of power, people who've created a body of work and a reputation. When I see these woke people imply that you shouldn't go to the line or imply that you shouldn't do everything humanly possible to win, it makes me want to puke.
Just consider this. Jacinda Ardern is reaching as many if not more people than the All Blacks. We are a population of 4 million and some social media accounts of her views at 10, 20 million or more. John Key started the social media PM and Jacinda kept it up. So it's a reality, the debating community is a reality, it's about fighting till the end. There is nothing cowardly about any debating technique. There's nothing cowardly about making a comment. The only thing cowardly is not being proud of your country and refuse to fight for it.
Y'know I'm convinced that all political correctness does is make people feel in touch with themselves. The thing is internal experiences do not manifest in reality. So this rant is just for the voices that Iv heard. Not often do I get words of support from members of the standard, it happens but it happens more else where, this rants for you. You're not actually going to die in the debating community for real, let it teach you.
That was indeed quite a rant, Sam. You seem to be saying that you have a physical reaction to what you read here, which explains the nature of some of your comments. Sometimes, your comments are great, but other times you get carried away with hostile and aggressive comments.
I think very highly of authors and commenters here; they are a bunch of good people who are generally, but not always, considerate and respectful of others. I also think that not many come here to ‘fight and win’, but some do. Quite a few come here to debate in good faith, learn, find common ground with others, have a bit of a joke and a laugh, share good, bad, and sad stories, ask for advice, et cetera. At least, that is how I see it.
Asking you to back up your claims and challenging you is not saying you are incorrect or fighting you, it is not about winning, but that is what you think it is and that is how you respond. And then people react to your fighting words and win-lose attitude and before you know, we have ‘fisty cuffs’ here. It turns off many people, which is a problem.
You talk a lot about fighting for a (good?) cause, which I find hard to reconcile with your other comment today @ 7:15 PM in which you said that you couldn’t be bothered to put any effort into your comments and that you’re only interested in mocking us; your overuse and abuse of “woke” is a case in point.
You’re a conundrum, Sam, and I cannot decide whether you fit into the TS community or whether you’re a disruptor. Which shall it be, Sam?
Nah, I stopped putting any effort into writing up comments on the standard when Lynn and other authors moved my comments into open mic for attacking the author or some shit.
you see when I see the opinion piece and then the proceeding comments are overwhelmingly to one side like with the great free speech war or the great Russia gate war. That's when I like to bring it with the facts bring it with the facts and so on. And Lynn especially simply doesn't like it when I do that so I just don't bother anymore. Now I'll just moch you remorselessly for being low IQ, lo low energy, low intellect, as well as being physically and emotionally challenged.
When you attack an author, you usually receive a ban instead of just being moved to OM. The latter is more for OT comments.
If you “stopped putting any effort into writing up comments on the standard” and you “just don’t bother anymore” because of some treatment in the past by Lynn and you just show up here to mock us “remorselessly for being low IQ, lo low energy, low intellect, as well as being physically and emotionally challenged” then why come here at all? Why don’t you do yourself a favour and go somewhere else where you don’t have that ‘burden of the past’?
Out of curiosity where is the lady now? And did she ever pay back the money she defrauded from the taxpayer? I seem to remember she promised she would do so but I fear that promises from politicians, even disgraced ones, are seldom honoured.
That reminds me that you still have to provide an adequate response as to why you criticised and complained about Weka’s previous comments and moderation & banning of you with regards to your incessant questioning about the Electorate Offices of the Green Party.
Days after the Greens got sworn into a coalition government Golriz goes and outs Andrew little for braking some law. That was the Greens first move as a coalition partner in a government. They are woke, inclusional, and they lost there bloody co-leader weeks out from an election. So, let's not shine warm fuzzy rainbows up each other. The Greens have a lot of appeasing to there base to do. Y'know there's like 3000 permaculture members, even less vegans, even less radical lefties and even less trannies. The rest are main fucking stream climate adapters. And I could care even less about free fucken speech or cunt, or even how delusion large your national campaign footprint is relative to the puny number of voters being signalled too. Y'know the big fucken green vote goes to the one who will literally go into bare knuckle fight, win while cleaning plastics and planting trees okay? Not fucken rainbows up everywhere.
So, you voted for the Greens in 2017 and will do again in 2020? I like it when somebody nails their colours to the mast in such an eloquent and unequivocal way.
While AAAP hold these clinics regularly, the queues are growing. Just as they are at food banks.
Moreover lots of people that need help getting their full entitlements aren't getting it without AAAP help, which was also meant to change.
Metiria Turei's speech saw the Greens go up in the polls. Their management of it was their downfall. Things were uncovered that weakened their position.
Indeed they did, like sharks in chummed-up water, their dead eyes fixed on their prey, their bellies aching with Righteous hunger. Oh, how they whipped themselves into a furious fever! Oh, how their long-held suspicions were confirmed. Best weeks of their lives, they just KNEW she was no good! Alwyn's heart still races at the memory
You haven't said what you thought of Turei's speech. I have to assume you agreed with what she said and that it was a good idea to say it. After all, she was batting for the very people you claim to bat for.
The Dismal-crats and their ridiculous outlet MSNBC are paving the way for another term of Trump.
Leading Dismal-crat analyst Donny Deutsch in the house! That's Zbigniew Brzezinski's awful daughter nodding her head gravely and vacantly as he rants….
I did think twice about commenting on this, and another article a day or so ago on reports the MCC will review the laws which played such a significant part in this remarkable game.
I thought twice about it because the other day you'd got a bit upset that people might question the outcome. You then went off on some sob story about starting from nothing and having nothing now. I didn't want to upset you further.
Still, this is a major development and you are acting like a middle England twat again so I'm glad I did.
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announcedKāinga Ora would be stripped of ...
This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealand’s apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
It may have been a short week but there’s been no shortage of things that caught our attention. Here is some of the most interesting. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt took a look at public transport ridership in 2024 On Thursday Connor asked some questions ...
The East Is Red: Journalists and commentators are referring to the sudden and disruptive arrival of DeepSeek as a second “Sputnik moment”. (Sputnik being the name given by the godless communists of the Soviet Union to the world’s first artificial satellite which, to the consternation and dismay of the Americans, ...
Hi,Back on inauguration day we launched a ridiculous RFK Jr. “brain worms” tee on the Webworm store, and I told you I’d be throwing my profits over to Mutual Aid LA and Rainbow Youth New Zealand. Just to show I am not full of shit, here are the receipts. I ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump over Gaza and Ukraine.Health expert and author David Galler ...
In an uncompromising paper Treasury has basically told the Government that its plan for a third medical school at Waikato University is a waste of money. Furthermore, the country cannot afford it. That advice was released this week by the Treasury under the Official Information Act. And it comes as ...
Back in November, He Pou a Rangi provided the government with formal advice on the domestic contribution to our next Paris target. Not what the target should be, but what we could realistically achieve, by domestic action alone, without resorting to offshore mitigation. Their answer was startling: depending on exactly ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guest David Patman and ...
I don't like to spend all my time complaining about our government, so let me complain about the media first.Senior journalistic Herald person Thomas Coughlan reported that Treasury replied yeah nah, wrong bro to Luxon's claim that our benighted little country has been in recession for three years.His excitement rose ...
Back in 2022, when the government was consulting internally about proactive release of cabinet papers, the SIS opposed it. The basis of their opposition was the "mosaic effect" - people being able to piece together individual pieces of innocuous public information in a way which supposedly harms "national security" (effectively: ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Coates, Program Director, Housing and Economic Security, Grattan Institute Marlinde/Shutterstock Most Australians can look forward to a comfortable retirement. More than three in four retirees own their own home, most report feeling comfortable financially, and few suffer financial stress. But ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The weekend byelection in the outer suburban seat of Werribee saw the widely-anticipated slap-in-the-face to Victorian Labor, which is absolutely on the nose. The question is: to what degree were electors venting against federal Labor ...
Mediawatch -Trump's alarmed the world with trade tariffs, turning off aid and proposing to take over Gaza. But New Zealand's had diplomatic drama in the news too - with the media in the middle of it. ...
By Rachel Helyer Donaldson, RNZ News journalist New Zealand should be robust in its response to the “unacceptable” situation in Gaza but it must also back its allies against threats by the US President, says an international relations academic. Otago University professor of international relations Robert Patman said the rest ...
A Christchurch man who lost 55 relatives in three Israeli airstrikes on Gaza says his remaining family will never leave, despite a US proposal to remove them. ...
Asia Pacific Report A national Palestine advocacy group has hit back at critics of its “genocide hotline” campaign against soldiers involved in Israel’s war against Gaza, saying New Zealand should be actively following international law. The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) dismissed a “predictable lineup of apologists for Israel” for ...
ACT Party leader David Seymour said he wrote to police about the treatment of Philip Polkinghorne because it's an electorate MP's job to pass on the concerns of their constituents. ...
MEDIAWATCH:By Colin Peacock, RNZ Mediawatch presenter By the time US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on China and Canada last Monday which could kickstart a trade war, New Zealand’s diplomats in Washington, DC, had already been deployed on another diplomatic drama. Republican Senator Ted Cruz had said on social ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown says New Zealand is asking for too much oversight over its deal with China, which is expected to be penned in Beijing next week. Brown told RNZ Pacific the Cook Islands-New Zealand relationship was reciprocal. “They certainly did ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Byelections occurred on Saturday in the Victorian state seats of Prahran and Werribee. The Liberals gained Prahran from the Greens by a ...
A long time ago, Brian Turner wrote a poem in which, among the mountains, as he slept on a river flat … My speechless ancestors played like mice among my dreamsand he woke to the river running over my bed of stone. I have come to know that where a ...
Pacific Media Watch President Donald Trump has frozen billions of dollars around the world in aid projects, including more than $268 million allocated by Congress to support independent media and the free flow of information. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has denounced this decision, which has plunged NGOs, media outlets, and ...
Otago University professor of international relations Robert Patman says New Zealand should provide a robust response to Donald Trump's Gaza plan, and also "should stop tip-toeing" around Trump. ...
The new minister of transport has opened the door for public consultation on at least some of the speed limit changes the government said would be automatic. ...
Officially, they’re called ‘memecoins,’ but Kōura Wealth founder Rupert Carlyon says the crypto world has another name for them: ‘shitcoins’.In digital finance, that phrase is used for tokens that have no true value – in essence, a money-grab.A few days before his inauguration, US President Donald Trump launched his own ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. Guy Williams has made a whole show off the joke that he is a “volunteer” journalist. So getting publicly owned by David Seymour while trying to act as a journalist is a good and timely reminder not to underestimate the nuance and ...
Many of Sāmoa’s beloved dishes are the result of cultural collaboration, writes Madeleine Chapman. All photos by Jin FelletIf you ever find yourself at a barbecue in a Sāmoan home, there’s 99% chance that sapasui (chop suey) will be on the table. For the past century, sapasui has ...
The funnyman takes us through his life in television, including Jono and Ben mayhem, live Telethon flubs, and funnelling all those experiences into his new comedy Vince. There’s an inciting incident in Three’s new comedy Vince where morning television presenter Vince Walters (Jono Pryor) is visiting sick kids in hospital ...
People often claim they just want Waitangi Day to be a celebration. At Waitangi, away from the headlined political acrimony and the marae ātea, celebrating is what most people are doing. The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous ...
Is there anything more fashionable than a Māori get together? One of the best things about Northland is that nobody cares what they look like — probably because they’re all naturally more stylish than the rest of us, famously. Māori from the Far North, especially. In 27 degree heat, wearing ...
I’ve been in love with him since last July, but it’s only now in this tepid hotel room that I find myself wondering why. The first thing he does when we arrive is smoke a cone in the bathroom – he emerges, hacking up a lung, fists thrust into his ...
MONDAY“Name,” barked a representative of the lower orders.I regarded him with a look of stern disapproval, and told him from up high, “May I remind you that I have name suppression. I shall also thank you to ask with more respect as befits a former president of the Act Party, ...
Books of Mana: 180 Māori-Authored Books of Significance, edited by Jacinta Ruru, Angela Wanhalla and Jeanette Wikaira has just been released by Otago University Press. In this essay, Books are Taonga, Jeanette Wikaira explores her personal relationship to books and their value.For me, books are taonga. The knowledge ...
Get to know Tara, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Tara’s human for their support! Dog name: Tara Age: Two Breed: Mostly Border Collie and a little bit Catahoula Leopard dog If dog ...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...
Gail Duncan, Chairperson of the St Peter’s on Willis Social Justice Group, one of the organisations invited to submit on the Bill, says the Government’s actions are unprecedented. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amani Kasherwa, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland In late January, a rebel group that has long caused mayhem in the sprawling African nation of Democratic Republic of Congo took control of Goma, a major city of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yee-Fui Ng, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University An ad falsely depicting independent candidate Alex Dyson as a Greens member.ABC News/Supplied The highly pertinent case of a little-known independent candidate in the Victorian seat of Wannon has exposed a gaping ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Nik/Unsplash You might have heard that eating too many eggs will cause high cholesterol levels, leading to poor health. Researchers have examined the science behind this myth again, and ...
Everything you missed from the third day of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard four hours of oral submission. Read our recaps of day one of the hearings here, and day two here. Parliament was quiet on Friday for the third day of hearings on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Jeffries, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, Western Sydney University Tijana Simic/Shutterstock The news last week that three people in Sydney were hospitalised with botulism after receiving botox injections has raised questions about the regulation of the cosmetic injectables industry. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jens Blotevogel, Principal Research Scientist and Team Leader for Remediation Technologies, CSIRO Mino Surkala, Shutterstock Lithium-ion batteries are part of everyday life. They power small rechargeable devices such as mobile phones and laptops. They enable electric vehicles. And larger versions store ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edith Jennifer Hill, Associate Lecturer, Learning & Teaching Innovation, Flinders University Netflix Netflix’s new limited series, Apple Cider Vinegar, tells the story of the elaborate cancer con orchestrated by Australian blogger Annabelle (Belle) Gibson. The first episode opens with Gibson’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dee Ninis, Earthquake Scientist, Monash University Greece’s government has just declared a state of emergency on the island of Santorini, as earthquakes shake the island multiple times a day and sometimes only minutes apart. The “earthquake swarm” is also affecting other ...
Why settle for just Crimea? Looks like Pootee might be setting the stage for a grab at the rest of Ukraine.
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/world/putin-russians-ukrainians-are-one-people/ar-AAEC5Q8?li=BBqdg4K&ocid=mailsignout
Yes, you're quite the Russian scholar. However, I note that your carefully considered theory about those evil masterminds controlling the puppet Trump has yet to be backed up with evidence.
Продолжайте в том же духе, мой друг!
Моррисси это пизда и берет это задницу от коз……..ох как весело !
Вы упомянули коз….
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/COyv96HWsAAxx5z.jpg
On an Allegro….mon dieu !
President Putin only speaks the truth. The Ukraine was part of the USSR. It's eastern half are Russian speaking. When the Ukraine became independent in 1991 Russia had an historical agreement to use the port of the Crimea. Western Ukraine is nearer to Berlin than Madrid. During WW11 there was a strong fascist group who welcomed the German invaders. The last legitimate government was pro Russian but was toppled by a CIA funded insurrection. If Russia had wanted to it could have taken over the Ukraine in 24 hours. MH17 was shot down by Ukraine fascist forces not the Russians or the independent Russian east of the Country. The Crimea voted democratically to become part of Russia and is now so.
Ukraine was invaded by the Soviets.
TIFIFY
Liberated from German Nazi occupation by the Soviets. Re- FIFY.
Reoccupied by the same totalitarian Stalinist regime responsible for the genocidal, man-made famines that cost between 4 and 8 million ethnic Ukrainians their lives.
True, but many Ukrainians who had at first welcomed the Nazis, after getting to know them, did actually appreciate being 'liberated'. The lesser of two evils, believe it or not. But rabid anti-communist, pro-Western propaganda always pushes the meme that Stalin was 'worse than Hitler'. To my mind he was equally evil, but in different ways. The Ukraine was an unlucky country, a bit like Poland, which itself was never the ideal democracy for which Britain professed to go to war.. We are lucky to have been born here rather than there, if you are as old as I am..
President Putin only speaks the truth.
I was pretty sure the rest of your comment wouldn't be able to top that for obvious wrongness, but it was a surprisingly close-run thing.
Have you any evidence of this "CIA funded insurrection"? Comparatively few former Soviet satellites want to return to being Russian clients – something to do with quality of governance.
Austria too had "a strong fascist group who welcomed the German invaders", will you be cheering Putin if and when he decides to annex them, or are they allowed to exercise their democratic franchise without his permission?
It's young Ed…….I humbly suggest DNFTT as I did with Moz upthread.
[Prove that johnm is a sockpoppet of Ed and address the topic instead of guessing the identity of a commenter and playing the DNFTT game; I have warned so many times about leaving sockpoppets to the moderators but it seems to fall on deaf ears. If not, I offer you a three-week ban – Incognito]
If it's Ed he's learned to be a bit less over the top, which is all he needed to do.
You fed me, and you fed me well, me ol' cobber!
Many many countries yearn for warm embrace of Mother Russia comrade morpisski. Is only matter of time.
I have no problem with people being anti-Russian, Gabby—I'm no fan of Putin and his cronies, either. What I am concerned about is this nonsense about Russians—and those dastardly masterminds the North Koreans as well!— controlling Trump as some sort of Manchurian Candidate. Any outlet that repeats these lies, not just once or twice, but daily, weekly, monthly, every single day since Trump got his disgusting carcass into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue can not taken as a serious or credible news organization.
See my Moderation note @ 4:30 PM.
اذهب يمارس الجنس مع نفسك
[Thank you for your most obliging response that avoided any doubt or confusion. Your efforts to lift The Standard to a higher standard are much appreciated and in return, I give the promised three-week ban plus another three for using a language that is not one of the three official languages of Aotearoa-New Zealand – Incognito]
[I checked your history here and it was only early this year that you were given amnesty from a permanent ban. You also seem to have missed out on a three-month ban by Lynn, which somewhat ironically was about bad language: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21-06-2019/#comment-1630221, but I will now correct that oversight – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 22:23 PM.
An interesting look at electric vehicle production scale-up around the world.
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/07/19/european-electric-car-market-news-triple-the-number-of-models-more-battery-factories/
Down the bottom there's a graphic about the motivations to change to electric in different parts of the world. Very little of it is about greenhouse gases and climate change, but air pollution is a big factor along with regulatory compliance. China's economic interest is shown by two of their big motivations being developing an electric vehicle export industry and reducing dependence on oil imports.
There was one, or maybe two, options missing off that list of motivations,
The focus on mandated change is a bit ICE centric, the switch will happen because electrics are better vehicles on so many practical grounds.
Just like you don't see as many extension leads on building sites now, so much is battery tools now.
Yeah, that better driveability is a big one. Pretty soon people that enjoy driving will be going electric because it's so much better. It'll only be genuine petrolheads that live their lives with an extended middle finger left on the dino-juice.
When it comes to cars, I have zero shame about what I'm seen in and I'm a reasonable bush mechanic, so my usual habit is to buy an oldish car and drive it into the ground. Flash cars just don't do it for me anymore, I scratched that itch once long ago and it's never come back. But jeez I'm getting tempted by an i3.
That cost of ownership will also be a big one. In most US markets, the 5 year cost of ownership for a Tesla Model3 is probably already below cars like Corollas, Camrys Accords etc. Won't be long before the cost of batteries drops enough that the initial purchase price of electric is lower than dino-mobiles.
Quick search shows EVs in US are exempt from VED (currently)…the lifetime cost comparison calculation is impacted by that fact
A bit like here, a mix of federal funding, state and local taxes. There is a federal fuel tax, but it's much lower than here and applies equally to diesel and petrol. The federal fuel tax doesn't come anywhere close to covering the cost of national highways (unlike here), the federal component of funding gets a hefty top-up from other taxes.
There's no RUCs on light vehicles anywhere, but I'm fairly sure there's some kind of system like RUCs for heavy vehicles that varies at state levels. You used to see trucks with many different state number plates (don't remember if that was still the case last time back five years ago).
The government needs to signal when rucs will be put on evs. It will have to happen eventually so why not decide now .
they have i believe…2021 I think but that may change depending on uptake…I think there is a fleet percentage tipping point
yes apologies …after asking the question a quick search revealed the answer….hence the change of comment.
Not that it changes many of the advantages of EVs but it should be remembered that current running cost calculations will not continue to apply
There was an interesting article on the subject of EV costs on page F3 of yesterdays DomPost.
I can't find a link to it online at the moment unfortunately.
What he suggests is that, if you allow for RUC at the existing rate, and can't get by with charging at home it will cost more to run a Leaf than a Corolla. Even if you can get by with the limited recharge potential and don't pay any RUC it will take you 150,000 km to recover the extra cost. If you include RUC you will have to drive the EV for 500,000 km to save the extra capital cost to drive the thing.
There are other reasons besides saving money for buying an EV. It is the saving in fuel that most people I have talked to seem to rave about though. If RUCs come in, as surely they must there certainly won't be any fuel savings there to justify people paying for an EV though, will there?
Just why do EVs cost as much as they do. Having looked at the motor in a Leaf, and compared it to the beast under the bonnet in a friends new Honda Civic Type R, which costs the same amount, it can't be the motor that costs money. What do the battery packs really cost?
Last article I saw on battery pack costs were that Tesla expected to go under USD100/kWhr at the cell level later this year, then under USD100/kWhr at the pack level next year. Tesla seem to be widely reputed to be way lower in battery costs than anyone else, even the Chinese.
When EVs become widespread, the whole RUC/excise tax heavy/light vehicle cost split really will need to be looked at. There's some petrol cars already on the market where the petrol cost/km is fuckall more than RUCs for light vehicles.
that would appear roughly correct…assuming a newish 1500cc corolla averaging their claimed 4.5l/100k, however as Andre has noted once the EV fleet increases the whole system of RUC (and fuel taxes for that matter) will have to be reviewed…or I guess we could toll roads,or pay 100% from general taxation….whatever way its cut there will be noise.
Also driven by the change in health & safety standards to require electrical cord testing and tagging every few months. Less cost and interruption if you only use batteries.
The H&S aspect isn't all that different to the emissions issue with vehicles, a move to a better environment, I was pretty much over getting lit up regularly, and there’s also that battery tools are as effective, and in a lot of cases more effective, than mains powered gear
Interesting, especially the fact that China is going to dominate world EV battery production by 2023 with Europe and the USA far behind.
Angela Merkel celebrates Klaus von Stauffenberg's plot to kill Hitler in 1944
She called him and his conspirators "true patriots".
I've never seen a leader of a country celebrating an attempt to kill her predecessor. Theresa May hasn't memorialized Cromwell, nor Macron celebrated Sieyes.
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-merkel-commemorates-hitler-assassination-plot-75-years-after-operation-valkyrie/a-49660510
Angela Merkel has class.
She's going to be sorely missed after 2020.
The better the democratic structure/environment, the less it has to be pointing out the blindingly obvious to the blind in the hope of improvement, rather than just moving on to the better know how.
Lprent: the site feed is featuring posts from a blog called "An Average Kiwi," which read like the blog should actually be called "An Average Wingnut." Just mentioning it as it doesn't seem like the kind of stuff we'd usually see in the feed.
Looked at the three posts earlier and thought, "Rubbish!"
Leighton Smith? Sean Plunket? John Banks? Mike Hosking?
The Four Riders?
(Of the pig's back, not the Apocolypse).
both adjective and proper noun
Yes, I saw those last night shortly after they appeared and left a message for Lynn at the back-end. Could have been written by a regular here who calls themselves a “skeptic of climate alarmism”. Anti-CC and anti-CE messages seem be ramping up and although I’m not a conspiracist it does suggest some kind of coordination behind it.
ISTR "An average kiwi" has been a sidebar regular for a long time. But a look at their site looks like all the old stuff has been deleted since they've gone on this denial binge.
While it's rare, it's not wholely unheard of for someone to be mostly rational, but hold some waaaaayyyyy out there views on some topics. Ken at Open Parachute being an example from the sidebar.
Ta, good to know that the ‘system’ hasn’t been hijacked then.
"An average kiwi" may have been hijacked or suffered a substantial blow to the head. But I don't think it's a sign of a problem at The Standard.
Oh, right – I saw there were only a few posts on there and figured it was a new arrival on the feed.
About Bernard Hickey
I have no doubt that the Accountant above is talented and knowledgeable. But he delivers his words very fast.
So that persons of my motor speed – maximising at about an illegal 170 Kph on state highway 1, deliberately I slow the car down. While Bernard heads toward supercallerfragerllisticoutterstreaks. He is flying in the Nether Nether Land.
I think he feels that Grant Robertson is not Spending enough money. His words scrabbled.
But Crikey, The Bloody Great Fonterra Building at Lichfield – running on Coal to purify Milk of all things – is in nasty trouble …
Fletchers Mighty Constructions have slunk back to sucking peppermint lollies – and have cancelled any major buildings. I think they might being doing Letter boxes. But there is not much call for those.
Sir John Key is managing Five Big Businesses and unknown numbers of Blonds.
Cadburys have moved off into darkness.
Northland – has decided to stop all work
The Teachers are on the streets begging for $300 a day for 6hrs a day work. For Auckland has very special cars, very special Streets, very special houses, very special water, very special toilets, very special toilet paper, very special alcohol, very special bottoms and so forth.
Their children are on drugs – keeping out of mischief – apparently.
The Farmers are suiciding. But they always have. They blame it on the Cities.
Grant Robertson is holding some Money for a rainy day. He is not a Hickey Lotto Bloke.
Onya Grant ! You are sane ! Thank Heavens.
In this episode of teleSUR's Days of Revolt, Chris Hedges interviews economist Michael Hudson on the history of classical economics and explores Marx’s interpretation of capitalism as exploitation
In this episode of Days of Revolt, Chris Hedges continues his discussion with UMKC economics professor Michael Hudson on his new book Killing the Host: How Financial Parasites and Debt Bondage Destroy the Global Economy. Hedges and Hudson expose the liberal class’ allegiance to the predatory creditors on Wall Street and their indifference to real economic justice.
Alexandria Ocazio-Cortez wants a commission into the separation of families in the UNited States, through their border services:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/20/ocasio-cortez-911-style-commission-migrant-family-separations
We should invite her over here to check the results of the three inquiries we've got going into Oranga Tamariki.
We seem to have had a little glitch.
Testing, 123
Seems all good now.
I’m concerned; you only made it to 3 😉
…without complaining about Labour.
One could hope that the Chairman has been testing the meeting of the political waters with his gavel, and has deemed all three coalitions parties' flows to be clean, free of toxins, wadeable, even swimmable, and yea, perhaps potable.
It's more fun when pronounced, "leetle gleech!".
Here's a good read
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/114328314/when-interest-rates-fall-below-zero-things-could-get-weird
"But I accept there are people who feel those policies may not have touched them in the same way. We know there's that constant pressure on them. It's something as a Government that we're giving continual thought to."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/114369999/jacinda-ardern-has-some-unfinished-business
In other words, they have no ideas as yet. But I see Jacinda is using the old families package line again, although it is wearing rather thin considering the increase in hardship.
"In other words, they have no ideas as yet"
"It's something as a Government that we're giving continual thought to."
Continual, Chairman: "continuing indefinitely in time without interruption"
That's clearly what's required and what Ms Ardern said the Government was doing, yet your re-wording tells a different, your (rhymes with Eeyore), story. Pure dark-cloud speculation on your part. As usual.
If they had an idea of what they were going to do they wouldn't still be thinking about it (ie giving it continual thought) they would be announcing it, Robert.
So you propose, seemingly unable to factor-in some quite simple factors such as; incomplete data, test results pending, advice yet to be received, etc. It's little wonder people here tease you for being one of the Soggy Bottom boys, Chair!
Not at all. But again, if they had done all that ground work they'd be announcing their plan, not still be thinking about it.
Clearly, you fail to see the void batting away a CGT has created. Now they are struggling to fill it.
They will be hard pressed to replace such a revenue generator such as that was going to be.
HA!
A man of constant sorrow, huh 🙂
I'm thinking, Delmar.
I see that Ron Mark is proposing that our leader really shouldn't be using the old Air Force 757s and should charter planes. Out of curiosity I had a look at what it would cost to charter Peter Jackson's private jet, a Gulfstream.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12251315
There was an estimate that it would cost just over $90,000 to take 10 people on a 2 day trip from Wellington to Fiji. That is about the same distance and time of Ardern's trip from Auckland to Mebourne.
Why can't she simply travel, in Business Class to be sure, instead of having to pretend that we need our own pretend version of an Air Force 1? If the PM is going somewhere where there are only very limited commercial flight taking an Air Force jet. Auckland to Melbourne is just a joke. There are any number of flights available and we commoners don't really smell that bad that she can't travel in the same plane surely?
Peter Jackson should provide at least a couple of jets gratis to the government, considering a large part of his wealth springs from that shabby blackmail deal that his Warner Bros. controllers foisted on us.
1: how many people travel with the PM on these trips?
2: Mark seemed to be proposing this because the jets might not be fit for purpose and tend to break down, rather than it not being an appropriate use.
I'm quite sure that Ron Mark thinks it is appropriate to use the Air Force as private transport for pollies.
After all his Boss, Tsar Winston has also got into the habit. How long do you think Ron would survive if he said it was a total waste of money? Doesn't it make it sensible or a good way of spending the taxpayers money though, does it?
Who is the boss of Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence?
The Boss if the Hon Ron Mark is, as I am sure you are very well aware, The Right Hon Winston Peters.
Do you realise that Winston Peters, or Tsar Peters as those familiar with him say, is the only person in the current New Zealand Parliament who is a member of the Privy Council? That is the group of advisors to the person who is our Head of State. He is the only one.
He may, in theory, be responsible to Ms Ardern but in practice he, and the other Ministers in the New Zealand First Caucus, are beholden only to Winston.
Seriously, can you really imagine Jacinda sacking him without Winston's say-so? If you do I would have to say that you are dreaming.
Are you familiar with Winston Peters?
Hmm. When I check the dictionary meaning of the word I would have to say that I did not choose my word wisely.
The dictionary offers, as an adjective
"in close friendship; intimate.
synonyms:close, intimate, dear, near, confidential, bosom"
and as a noun
"a close friend or associate."
So no, I would have to say I am not. I have had quite a lot of dealings with him in the past but I certainly wasn't a close friend.
I'm not quite sure what the right word would be but it isn't "familiar" when I consider the definition. I certainly wasn't one of his mates at after working hours visits to the Green Parrot.
No problem, Alwyn, but in that case you may want to stop referring to the Right Hon Winston Peters as “Tsar Peters”? Just asking.
I see. I am, although not an Initiate of the Peters cult, using some of the things reserved for those of you who are? That nickname is reserved for his closest friends, drinking buddies and for members of his racing partnerships I take it.
Or is it like the Russian use of diminutives for names, where the name used by strangers differs from the one used by very close friends of very close relatives?
Or am I releasing the secrets of the Lodge. Is use of the nickname like someone learning and using the secret handshakes used, at least apocryphally by Masons. Whatever the cause does it upset you that I am using nicknames that I am not supposed to?
Or is it perhaps something as simple as people who get upset by references to the Prime Minister as Jacinda, rather than The Right Honourable Jacinda Ardern MP?
Alwyn, despite your attempts to deflect, the fact is that only you use this term and I, for one, would be quite pleased if you stopped it. IMO, it is on par with the sloppy use of the (denigrating) terms “woke” or “simple Simon”, for example. Just saying.
OK Just for you I'll do it.
Out of curiosity what do you think of phrases like "ShonKey" and "Soiman".
Much appreciated and funny that you need to ask.
Accurate.
Shonkey adj. – not entirely trustworthy, of shady character, ill reputed.
Soimon It's what he calls himself – who are we to argue?
You weren't actually included in this conversation.
Can I refer to you with a variation on your name? It seems appropriate and accurate, given the dictionary definition, to refer to you as "muttonhead".
From https://www.dictionary.com/browse/muttonhead
"noun Informal.
a slow-witted, foolish, or stupid person; dolt."
But Alwyn, this is Open Mike where everybody is free to join in. Of course, Muttonbird could have asked your permission to join in but instead gave their unsolicited opinion. I think we should update the policy to make it a bannable offence to respond to a comment or post for that matter without explicit permission or personalised invitation. What are people thinking? How rude!
Pfft. The 757s will be replaced some time late 2020z. Probably by secondhand AirNZ planes. Wtf are you guys on about?
The 757s aren't just for ferrying vips around. We use them for disaster response, as well. Not often, but we need them occasionally. Especially the sorts of jobs where the charterer might go "you want to take our plane where? OK, but the danger money is $$$".
So then the question is "if we have the pilots and the plane anyway, surely the 'cost' is largely an internal accounting issue".
economically it only makes sense to charter if you earn over $60m per year. So if you can load up a plane with $60m in salaries then go for it. Otherwise it would make more sense to travel business class. If you can’t Justify air travel then your using the same amount of carbon on an one way to Melbourne than the average person accumulates in a year which is a waste.
Flying a charter works out to be about 3hrs of saved time by not having to go through customs, baggage handling, stop overs ect. Y'know at $6kp/h or $60mp/a this is where it starts to make sense to charter. So first you need the 60m salary and have traveled more than 200hrs a year to justify a buy a Global 7500 business jet with 14hr flight times and upto 18 passengers or just lease.
I'm surprise they haven't charted an AirNZ Airbus for such Flt's across the ditch? Be a lot cheaper than a B757 Flt and some free PR for AirNZ or take a leaf out of the Queen/ Royals who fly's in the odd BA aircraft.
If you charter a plane you have to pay with it in a way that shows up in the Government accounts. Then people can see how much they are wasting just to give them a boost to their ego. That way they can pretend they are like the Donald.
Using one of the Air Force planes is covered up as being training and they would have done the flight anyway in order to keep the flight crew current on their flying time. Thus they pretend it is free.
Of course if you really believe that line of b*s I have a bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn that I am sure you will be interested in buying.
How did Sirponyboy travel wally?
On heated seats?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/07/greens-call-out-labour-over-failure-to-increase-benefits.html
Lets hope they get it right this time around, ensuring they put in place a vast pay increase in core benefit rates. Especially for those deemed to be in long-term need, such as the ill and disabled.
Thanks for that – good news and good move by the Green party, wouldn't you agree?
A long awaited move by the Greens and the Government.
AAAP got the ball rolling, the media has run with it, so it was about time the Greens got in there, even the opposition had a go.
Everyone just needs to keep the pressure on.
Yes, it was "a long awaited move", "about time", etc., but that's not what I asked.
Do you, The Chairman, agree that this move by the Green party to apply pressure on the Government (as per your linked news item) is a good move?
Of course. It was a good, long awaited move.
A good move by the Green party – great.
Interesting there is no mention of it on their news feed on their website.
A sign of how important an issue it is to them?
"The Newshub-Reid Research poll had the worst outlook for National, slipping to a 14-year-low of 37.4 percent – well behind Labour, who leapt to 50.8."
Crikey, Chair! Time to celebrate!! Pin on your Labour Party rosettes and let's party!
For a moment there I thought that may have been a new poll perhaps indicating a polling trend.
That was one of two polls at the time with wildly differing results.
Old news, Robert.
Trying to distract from what's absent in the Greens news feed?
Chair, this "wot wosn't in the Green feed" is the weakest ploy from you yet, and there have been a number that have been dishwater-feeble. I'll not even bother, but regarding the stale poll, Labour, 50.8!!
News like that never gets old! 3 chairs for Labour!!
“Three Chairs for Labour” – love it. Here are three quotes that will no doubt bring a tear to The Chair's one eye.
Dirty Politics: How attack politics is poisoning New Zealand’s political environment
It's good to see that you, even based in the deep South, seem to be able to keep so up to date on the news.
You did notice, I hope, that because of the prevailing Southerlies and therefore the very cold weather we have been having over the last couple of months the story you link to was from about six weeks ago? Carrier pigeons really don't like having to hasten through cold winter storms do they.
Does it really take so long for information to get to you? Perhaps in another month or so you will see something from the same time about another poll from TV1 which disagreed with your story. May the Blizzard be with you in the meantime.
Snap. While I was typing this I see The Chairman responded in a similar vein
It is the latest poll. What other information is one supposed to use?
Until the next poll comes out, National are sub 40 and dropping.
Not a great place to be, I'm sure you'll agree.
I didn't notice that, Alwyn, leaving me looking a right duffer! Never mind, I was only playing with the Chair. As for the delay we experience in getting live news, it's a blessing really; I wonder who the next POTUS will be: I've tired a little with Obama.
@Muttonbird.
You could look at the TV1 Poll from the same day. Of course I doubt if you really want to see National having risen and Labour having dropped and National back in the lead. It would probably put you right of your feed.
@Robert.
I am tempted to tell you but I hate to spoil your anticipation as you follow the 2016 Presidential Campaign. I'll give you a hint though. It isn't another Bush. As Barbara Bush said. Two is enough. Past that I will not go. You are just going to have to wait.
I just hope to God they don't elect an idiot.
Ploy you say?
This is no ploy, Robert. Just telling it how it is. The news feed is lacking. And it sends the wrong message.
It took this long for them to comment on the issue and they don't even cover it on their own news feed. Can you believe it?
So much for them putting the pressure on.
Digging your daft hole deeper, Chair? You seem to lack self-awareness but worry not, help is at hand; we'll tell you when you stray into trite territory, make a Wally of yourself and flog that dead horse of your own creation too far. You're claiming that something that doesn't exist "sends the wrong message". Given that there are an infinite number of things that don't exist, your head must be ringing with wrong messages – hang on! I've cracked it, your malady; a head-full, wrong messages clamouring for your attention! No wonder you can't think straight.
No need for any thank-yous, Chair, just be kind to yourself, press your inner reset button and have another go tomorrow when you're feeling rested.
When asked if The Greens actions were good, the Chair was uncharacteristically unequivocal:
"Of course. It was a good, long awaited move."
BUT shortly afterwards, he reverted to type;
"The news feed is lacking.
And it sends the wrong message.
It took this long for them to comment on the issue and they don't even cover it on their own news feed.
Can you believe it?"
That the Chair is Eeyore?
Never doubted it.
It's not just something that doesn't exist, Robert. It's coverage of an important news item (that's meant to be leveraging pressure on the Government) that is actually missing on their own news feed. So, of course it sends the wrong message.
They are either slack at updating their news feed or they don't see it as being that news worthy.
Relentlessly soggy, Delmar.
It's still absent from their news feed, Robert.
https://www.greens.org.nz/media
Why do you think that is? They don't want to rock the boat too much?
Still absent, Chair!!!
This is even more outrageous than when it was simply absent; no wonder you've your knickers in a painful twist!
I only hope, for the sake of your circulation, the newsfeed isn't empty again, later today! Three-times as empty as when you first declared it empty! I doubt The Greens have any chance at all now, of being part of the next Government! Three times empty!!
I have to commend you, Chair, you certainly have an eye for empty and an ability to fluff-up something from nothing! You're the King of Empty, in my book, the Great Vacuum, the Viceroy of Void.
I wonder what else you'll discover isn't there, oh Dedicated Supporter of the Left?
ex nihilo nihil fit
Yes and I apologise to anyone who might have tried to follow the descent into the void; I take full responsibility for giving The Nothing any oxygen at all. My final word on the non-matter
Ouch! The true Left and ‘more left than most’ collectively seem to regard you as a “frickin clown”, according to their spokesperson. One wonders what they’d call you when you not just not disapprove of the (absent) newsfeed of the Green Party but also not raise some really serious concerns about their perceived abysmal PR and communication on core issues; the mind boggles.
Dedicated supporter of the left indeed, Robert.
And we on the left consider core benefit increases a major issue.
Therefore, compounded by the fact it took so long for the Greens to break their silence on this issue, not covering it on their own news feed is another slap in the face for their support base on the left.
They aren't even doing enough to show their own support base that they care, let alone putting pressure on Labour.
And supporters like you commenting as you are don't do them any favours. In fact, I was just asked by a visitor (who looked at your comments) who is this frickin clown.
You direct your visitors to look at your pointless, substance-free comments on a political blog???
What a strange person you are, Chair.
"Quick, Delores, come see what I jus' writ!"
You sound like McTrash, Robert.
You have a finely-tuned ear, Sam.
i just don't think the woke have nearly as much support as they claim.
If you can point to their “claim” of support, maybe then I can figure out whom you’re referring to. As it stands, it all sounds so vague …
Your favourite word, sam! Oh how you love to use it. It's well and truly a cliche now; perhaps you like to use an equivalent, or at least define what exactly it is you mean by "woke"? Then you might find we can understand what you are attempting to convey; words are like that; they need to be understood by both deliverer and receiver.
Soimon's using it too, in radio interviews. That puts him, the confused Sam, and bearded Bomber Bradbury in special company together.
The woke over inflate Green polling by at least 1%. Come election results there true power is revealed – It's all spin, bullshit, virtue signal, bluster, genital issues, depression, mental illnesses, economic illiteracy, so on and so fourth.
You said:
Then you say:
So far, I’ve only seen claims by you and I still don’t know whom you’re talking about.
Yesterday, another commenter got quite shitty with me when I asked to back-up their comment and it ended with that commenter taking a break from the site. It is tiring to have to ask people repeatedly to back-up their statements of fact or to make it clear that they are making up their opinions on the fly because to refuse so would be dishonest at best.
Wonderful comment at 10:14 am (22 July) Robert – top form.
Might I add (humbly): The Sovereign Sultan of Soggy
The Chairman is seemingly imprevious to mockery, and going negative plays to their strength. So go positive, the Ardern way.
I knew the kool aid was strong around here but I didn't know it was this thick.
How about you do your own polling instead of trying to get me to do it for you.
The Greens poll higher than there election results. That's not difficult to do as they're now on 6% support.
What's "woke" and why does its use cause Sam to behave like a sugared-up 5 year-old?
Your wokeness has found some support, incognito. Well done. Green Party polling ought to surge way above there talents now!!! Amazing.
I’m so woke that they made me a Moderator here 😉
Did you the surge in the polls when that happened?
How about you back-up your claims?
No. That the Greens consistently poll higher than their election results needs as much explaining as NZFirst polling consistently lower than there election results. It's so common you'd have to be a genius to be able to ignore it.
So, you cannot back-up your claims and you now appeal to common sense, which is a weak rhetorical tool at the best of times. It wasn’t even entertaining this time; what a waste of my time 🙁
The polls consistently get the Green vote correct to within about 1%? That must be a byproduct of single to low teen populerity levels, given that it's not unusual to for different polls for the 35-50% parties to have 6-9% between them.
Even so, I'm impressed at how accurate the polling of the Greens "consistently" is, according to Sam.
Youd have had to have skulled hard on the kool aid to have so much confedience in popularity polling after BREXIT, Trump, May, Balsinaro (The Brazilian President) Australian Labour. There are so many examples of pollsters drinking there own Kool aid and you just want to drink more. Pfft
what ever. The Greens went from 10% to 6% and they don't have an electorate seat or the brains to do a deal for an electorate seat.
The Greens took a massive hit in the campaign from one decision and still got over the threshold.
The people saying the Greens are in trouble also reckoned NZ1 were done in 2008. Winston isn't the only one who can say "boo".
Well I never said Winston was done. In fact apart of my claim that National had no mates was obvious when John Key started ruiling out a coalition with NZFirst.
what did you think in 2008?
Had he been born in 2008?
Based on US Fed Res actions I thought the gold price would halve, stocks would rally and Obama would be the first black president. And that NZFirst had a lot of dry powder. I wouldn't rule out Labour stepping aside in Northland to give NZFirst a clean run in the Northland electorate. Wish the Greens had the brains for something like that.
And [deleted and your last warning – Incognito] off silky
See my Moderation note @ 10:40 PM.
What did your mentor call me once. He was trying to make some sort of computer programming joke out of me by claiming I was a some sort of dildo. Y'know I'll make this real simple for you incognito. [deleted] off hypocrite.
Drinking the Kool-Aid again? I have never had a mentor.
A dildo named Justin
Well what do you call lprint ? Boss, pal, Lynn. Something.
I call him Lynn or sometimes Sysop; he’s not my boss, pal, or mentor.
You might want to take your finger off that button.
wow
Not a one inch strap on like I just called you.
So you speak calculus as well Alien (sorry if I misspelled your anonymous handle. It doesn't mater that much.)
I'm not anonymous. I am a hideous triumph of form and function.
Incognito asked Sam: "How about you back-up your claims?"
Sam replied, "No".
How rude!
Sam's taking a well-earned break now?
Not yet. I decided to give him a chance to chill down and engage his brain. It’s up to him to push the self-destruct button or not.
Sam defines "woke" as ,
" all spin, bullshit, virtue signal, bluster, genital issues, depression, mental illnesses, economic illiteracy, so on and so fourth".
He's slandering/bad-mouthing supporters of The Greens and Labour here with seeming impunity, getting away with it because few would want to engage with his menacing persona (Muttonbird's, "What's wrong with you?" summed up the discomfort Sam's comments create; what is wrong with Sam?
Good morning, Robert. I assume that comment was (mainly) for me?
Do you have a link to the quoted text by Sam? I could find it myself but if you have it, handy that would be handy.
I cannot comment on what is wrong with Sam but I do know he can be a tricky
customercommenter and (some) people react to his comments like a bull to a red flag; this doesn’t help.I’m not happy either about the discomfort Sam might be creating here but it would set a very low bar if moderators would act upon this, wouldn’t you agree?
On this note, there are a few other commenters who regularly create a bit of ‘an atmosphere’ but as long as they don’t break the site’s policy rules we’ll have to learn to live with them – ignoring can be a good and often the best (!) course of action.
Hi Incognito
Here: 22 July 2019 at 5:26 pm
I'm not suggesting Sam be banned at all, just trying to define the nature of his comments for the sake of greater understanding.
I see you've placed him on "final warning" and that's appropriate, I reckon. Being a tricky customer, Sam'll do something with that, no doubt. Perhaps he'll woke up
Thanks Robert, I value your genuine comment.
When I used the word/verb “act”, I didn’t mean “ban”. I see banning as the last resort of moderation when (all) other options for modification of behaviour and self-moderation have been exhausted or when the Moderator’s patience has run out. There are exceptions, of course, such as deliberately putting the site at (legal) risk and blatant violations of the policy, which can result in an instant and permanent ban.
Indeed, in this instance (with Sam) it is really about clarification of meaning, purpose, and intention of his comments. That was my original angle and I was acting as a commenter rather than a Moderator. However, others object to his use of the term “woke” in a disparaging way. I stepped in/up as a Moderator when Sam started to swear again despite having been warned about that by MS earlier that day. That was what my “last warning” was about.
In the end, I gave him a chance to chill down and come to his senses; his use of “woke” is obviously not going to change and sooner or later he might be pulled up for that, just like he got pulled up for swearing, but I rate as relatively low on the scale of ‘offences’ and more as a ‘nuisance’ rather IMHO.
I hope this makes some kind of sense. BTW, I’m speaking for myself and not for the other Moderators who may have very different views …
See. It does not hurt to acknowledge basic assumptions. We assume many things. We assume we speak the same language. We assume New Zealand is 1200ks in length. We assume many things so we don't have to knit pick and disrespect people by demanding they search for bleeding fucking obvious facts and basically doing your homework for you.
Assumptions are often implicit and rarely checked and validated.
We may think we speak the same language but that still leaves many interpretations, which is a beauty and a curse of language. Unfortunately, some people feel the need to re-define or twist words.
What might be an obvious fact to one may be a complete surprise to another. Often ‘facts’ are, in fact, factoids or even just opinions. Fact checking is crucial in order to separate wheat from chaff.
It shows good faith, respect, and honesty to oblige when asked to reveal one’s assumptions and sources for one’s facts. When one makes claims, it is only natural that one backs them up when asked. If one becomes defensive, aggressive, or outright abusive when challenged it creates a bad atmosphere that spoils it for others. This, in turn attracts the attention of moderators.
If a fact is all that obvious, it shouldn't be difficult to point to it's source.
And links are wonderful things.
Yknow the Standard authors team are like top 4, I don't think any one would place them lower, most likely 3rd. Yknow really knowledgeable, really smart on a bunch of stuff. And lots of commenters that are really cleaver Y'know. So I'm not going to win pretty against them, it's not going to happen.
Me personally if I was outside of myself watching what I was saying I'd be shocked at what I'd be able to say. So I just want to say a couple things. Y'know I do think that political correctness leads to communism which is a totally failed left wing project. The other thing to me is that when people say the correct things, to me. That people recognize in particular, they recognize the intensity of the struggle and really that's the one. That people recognize how much of a struggle it is for both me and who ever says no I'm incorrect for this or that reason.
Now this is what I really want to talk about. There's a relatively small group of people that talk about the left and they talk about me. For the most part when people talk about it it doesn't really bother me unless you're actually the Prime Ministers or some one really noteworthy. I just feel that the debating community is for fighters and winners. And the thing that just sickens me is when people complain, and whine, and talk about land, people and politics, and they speak about these things in away that embodies a type of weakness that just makes me sick.
So for example when people (when woke people) try and talk about The Greens and try and box it in, and try and imply that The Greens shouldn't fight till the end. That to me is sickening.
You're given an opportunity on this planet to fight until death rips you from this planet, and everything is a metaphor, politics is a metaphor. It's a metaphor for how you want to live your life. Y'know certain people may want to live by certain rulz or codes but in the end all that maters is survival. I promise you you will survive if you want to fight and this is what we see in the debating chamber. You see people use fighting words until they are ripped out of there.
So when I see people of a certain caliber, people who have authority, a bit of power, people who've created a body of work and a reputation. When I see these woke people imply that you shouldn't go to the line or imply that you shouldn't do everything humanly possible to win, it makes me want to puke.
Just consider this. Jacinda Ardern is reaching as many if not more people than the All Blacks. We are a population of 4 million and some social media accounts of her views at 10, 20 million or more. John Key started the social media PM and Jacinda kept it up. So it's a reality, the debating community is a reality, it's about fighting till the end. There is nothing cowardly about any debating technique. There's nothing cowardly about making a comment. The only thing cowardly is not being proud of your country and refuse to fight for it.
Y'know I'm convinced that all political correctness does is make people feel in touch with themselves. The thing is internal experiences do not manifest in reality. So this rant is just for the voices that Iv heard. Not often do I get words of support from members of the standard, it happens but it happens more else where, this rants for you. You're not actually going to die in the debating community for real, let it teach you.
That was indeed quite a rant, Sam. You seem to be saying that you have a physical reaction to what you read here, which explains the nature of some of your comments. Sometimes, your comments are great, but other times you get carried away with hostile and aggressive comments.
I think very highly of authors and commenters here; they are a bunch of good people who are generally, but not always, considerate and respectful of others. I also think that not many come here to ‘fight and win’, but some do. Quite a few come here to debate in good faith, learn, find common ground with others, have a bit of a joke and a laugh, share good, bad, and sad stories, ask for advice, et cetera. At least, that is how I see it.
Asking you to back up your claims and challenging you is not saying you are incorrect or fighting you, it is not about winning, but that is what you think it is and that is how you respond. And then people react to your fighting words and win-lose attitude and before you know, we have ‘fisty cuffs’ here. It turns off many people, which is a problem.
You talk a lot about fighting for a (good?) cause, which I find hard to reconcile with your other comment today @ 7:15 PM in which you said that you couldn’t be bothered to put any effort into your comments and that you’re only interested in mocking us; your overuse and abuse of “woke” is a case in point.
You’re a conundrum, Sam, and I cannot decide whether you fit into the TS community or whether you’re a disruptor. Which shall it be, Sam?
Nah, I stopped putting any effort into writing up comments on the standard when Lynn and other authors moved my comments into open mic for attacking the author or some shit.
you see when I see the opinion piece and then the proceeding comments are overwhelmingly to one side like with the great free speech war or the great Russia gate war. That's when I like to bring it with the facts bring it with the facts and so on. And Lynn especially simply doesn't like it when I do that so I just don't bother anymore. Now I'll just moch you remorselessly for being low IQ, lo low energy, low intellect, as well as being physically and emotionally challenged.
When you attack an author, you usually receive a ban instead of just being moved to OM. The latter is more for OT comments.
If you “stopped putting any effort into writing up comments on the standard” and you “just don’t bother anymore” because of some treatment in the past by Lynn and you just show up here to mock us “remorselessly for being low IQ, lo low energy, low intellect, as well as being physically and emotionally challenged” then why come here at all? Why don’t you do yourself a favour and go somewhere else where you don’t have that ‘burden of the past’?
Yo, Sam.
Since you ran down the Greens polling, they have jumped 3%.
Keep it up! 🤣
You sound like a fresh Uni grad day one on the shop floor.
Because woke identitarian fan girls of the Green Party is letting the whole squad down which makes me write, literally commen sense. LMFAO.
You choose disruptor then? Still intent to continue using “woke” in the disparaging way you do?
A sure and short path to martyrdom, Sam, but I’m giving you the choice.
if you feel that way then ban me because that's hella childish and lame. Lmao
If you want to continue along the same lines and self-destruct that is your choice, not mine.
Make wise choices in life, Sam.
Bro. You are. Almost, inspiring. Lmfao.
🙂
No Bro.
You do know the AAAP hold these clinics regularly? There are always queues because lots of people need help with asking for their full entitlements.
Out of interest, what was your take on Metiria Turei's speech and the fallout from it?
Out of curiosity where is the lady now? And did she ever pay back the money she defrauded from the taxpayer? I seem to remember she promised she would do so but I fear that promises from politicians, even disgraced ones, are seldom honoured.
You can be so spiteful, Alwyn.
I wonder why that is?
That's up to WINZ. I'm sure they'll be onto it.
That reminds me that you still have to provide an adequate response as to why you criticised and complained about Weka’s previous comments and moderation & banning of you with regards to your incessant questioning about the Electorate Offices of the Green Party.
In the meantime, here’s a piece for your edification: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/114333975/after-a-dreadful-2017-can-the-greens-do-better-in-2020
And if ever find yourself stranded outside Wellington and you need to contact the Green Party: https://www.greens.org.nz/contact
I read that Stuff piece by Stacey Kirk's replacement, Thomas Coughlan
2017 was the year the Greens made government and are now part of big positive changes for New Zealand.
Swing and a miss, Thomas.
Days after the Greens got sworn into a coalition government Golriz goes and outs Andrew little for braking some law. That was the Greens first move as a coalition partner in a government. They are woke, inclusional, and they lost there bloody co-leader weeks out from an election. So, let's not shine warm fuzzy rainbows up each other. The Greens have a lot of appeasing to there base to do. Y'know there's like 3000 permaculture members, even less vegans, even less radical lefties and even less trannies. The rest are main fucking stream climate adapters. And I could care even less about free fucken speech or cunt, or even how delusion large your national campaign footprint is relative to the puny number of voters being signalled too. Y'know the big fucken green vote goes to the one who will literally go into bare knuckle fight, win while cleaning plastics and planting trees okay? Not fucken rainbows up everywhere.
What is wrong with you, for Christ's sake?
I could ask you the same question. How much prescription medication have you consumed today?
You’re a day out, Sam.
and The Greens have a year to sort there shit out
So, you voted for the Greens in 2017 and will do again in 2020? I like it when somebody nails their colours to the mast in such an eloquent and unequivocal way.
While AAAP hold these clinics regularly, the queues are growing. Just as they are at food banks.
Moreover lots of people that need help getting their full entitlements aren't getting it without AAAP help, which was also meant to change.
Metiria Turei's speech saw the Greens go up in the polls. Their management of it was their downfall. Things were uncovered that weakened their position.
The Righteous Right got riotously het-up over that arrogant solo-mum Maori greenie and gave her the serve she so richly deserved. Aye.
Not at first. Yet, when things were uncovered that weakened her position, indeed they did, Robert.
Indeed they did, like sharks in chummed-up water, their dead eyes fixed on their prey, their bellies aching with Righteous hunger. Oh, how they whipped themselves into a furious fever! Oh, how their long-held suspicions were confirmed. Best weeks of their lives, they just KNEW she was no good! Alwyn's heart still races at the memory
How do you know the queues are growing?
You haven't said what you thought of Turei's speech. I have to assume you agreed with what she said and that it was a good idea to say it. After all, she was batting for the very people you claim to bat for.
That is reflected in the massive increase in the demand for hardship grants and also the massive increase in emergency housing demand.
Personally, I initially thought it was a good speech and it resonated with many, but as I said, it all unraveled when things were uncovered.
Hit Now to see what was going on with Apollo 11 exactly fifty years ago.
https://apolloinrealtime.org/11/
The Dismal-crats and their ridiculous outlet MSNBC are paving the way for another term of Trump.
Leading Dismal-crat analyst Donny Deutsch in the house! That's Zbigniew Brzezinski's awful daughter nodding her head gravely and vacantly as he rants….
Jesus. You really do try and spoil our Sunday evenings don't you?
Please, please come to your senses America. To play with a variation on a 1968 theme. "Dump The Trump".
Oh dear. There are now two asterisks next to England's CWC win**.
One because there was no winner of the game. And the other because the umpires screwed up on ball 298 of 300.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12251485
Two asterisks and a massive bucket of your tear soaked kleenex 😆
I did think twice about commenting on this, and another article a day or so ago on reports the MCC will review the laws which played such a significant part in this remarkable game.
I thought twice about it because the other day you'd got a bit upset that people might question the outcome. You then went off on some sob story about starting from nothing and having nothing now. I didn't want to upset you further.
Still, this is a major development and you are acting like a middle England twat again so I'm glad I did.
Salty tears won't heal your pain. Dry your eyes, mate. 😆
Also, this development has removed your only defence which was ambiguity around what constituted 'the act' beginning an overthrow.
Good times.
And now, time for a music break
Seeing this (link below) on the news tonight reminded me of this guy
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/07/watch-ceo-successfully-jet-packs-across-sydney-harbour.html