Reading about resignation of Tory Minister Iain Duncan Smith, and watching BBC interview with Andrew Marr, well I never, could this be a sign that we have reached peak Crosby Textor, greedy elitist politics?
Cannot see any one in National government having the guts to stand against Key…..except maybe Collins, and that would be greed, not guts.
Maybe we have. Don’t forget Crosby was dispatched by the gang to Ottawa late last year to try and save Harper’s sorry old arse and failed miserably in that endeavour.
“Cannot see any one in National government having the guts to stand against Key…..except maybe Collins, and that would be greed, not guts.”
I can not see the old guard permitting Judith Collins to become Leader.
Too much of a liability given the business activities of her husband Mr Wong-Tung i.e Oravida and the murky goings on Milk-Swamp Kauri-Bottled Water, especially Swamp kauri which there has been a reputed $200 million dollars worth of illegal activities. While there is no proof of any wrong doings by Oravida, there has been plenty of noise in the media. Tarred by association I guess one may say.
Anyone can post an image like that without date stamp, co-ordinates, or verifiable attribution. The internet is one huge information bubble. Bubbles have a tendency to pop.
Wikileaks have helped open a window on this matter, PB:
WikiLeaks Reveals How the US Aggressively Pursued Regime Change in Syria, Igniting a Bloodbath
The cables gave the public a recent window into the strategies and motivations of US officials as they expressed them to each other, not as they usually expressed them to the public. In the case of Syria, the cables show that regime change had been a long-standing goal of US policy; that the US promoted sectarianism in support of its regime-change policy, thus helping lay the foundation for the sectarian civil war and massive bloodshed that we see in Syria today; that key components of the Bush administration’s regime-change policy remained in place even as the Obama administration moved publicly toward a policy of engagement; and that the US government was much more interested in the Syrian government’s foreign policy, particularly its relationship with Iran, than in human rights inside Syria.
A December 13, 2006 cable, “Influencing the SARG [Syrian government] in the End of 2006,”1 indicates that, as far back as 2006 – five years before “Arab Spring” protests in Syria – destabilizing the Syrian government was a central motivation of US policy. The author of the cable was William Roebuck, at the time chargé d’affaires at the US embassy in Damascus. The cable outlines strategies for destabilizing the Syrian government.
Millions of cables are produced, they are not ‘plans’.
BUt what has that got to do with the warcrimes committed by Assad and Russia? Di they justify it?
Did the US create the protests?
Did the US force Assad to respond as he did?
Did the US force assad to support islamist insurgents during the Iraq occupation?
None of this is relevent. That cable does not justify what Assad has done, and what you support.
the fact you front page on this site with thie crap you do, and your support for war crimes, will make it that much harder for us to oppose NZ involvement on whatever the next US president dreams up.
Your complete failure to condemn war crimes has finally made my mind up to abandon this blog.
I’ve gotta say, that when I wander into central Vienna in the weekends the Syrians standing silently with their flags, banners, leaflets and their stories and photos of horrific war crimes are condemning Assad, not the US.
Assad is willing to destroy his country and his people (and clearly he does believe he owns them).
He is a dictator of the worst order.
Russia is not acting as peacemaker, but to to protect its own strategic interests (Russia’s interests are obviously best served by peace – and that means Assad in control until an acceptable transition is in place). This does not make Assad or Putin the nice guys.
Actually every photo I’ve seen of Putin shaking Assad’s hand, Putin looks as if he wants to vomit.
+100
When the rest of us are getting ourselves tied up in knots, along comes Pb and sorts us out. Not only have we seen some good authors disappear, we are losing our best commenters and Pb was up there near the top with felix. Very sad.
+100 CV..it is quite clear USA and friends ( Israel and Saudi Arabia) want Assad out and Syria destabilised …so they can subdivide it up for themselves
Russia went into the conflict at the behest of Assad the democratically elected leader ( unlike USA and friends)
From the link above, the memo makes it quite clear that the US had made a detailed analysis on how to destroy Syria as a country.
And the intervening years show that at least some of these plans were successfully actioned against the Syrian people.
This cable shows that, in December 2006, the top US diplo mat in Syria believed that the goal of US policy in Syria should be to destabilize the Syrian government by any means available; that the US should work to increase Sunni-Shia sectarianism in Syria, including by aiding the dissemination of false fears about Shia proselytizing and stoking resentment about Iranian business activity and mosque construction; that the US should press Arab allies to give access in the media they control to a former Syrian official calling for the ouster of the Syrian government; that the US should try to strain relations between the Syrian government and other Arab governments, and then blame Syria for the strain; that the US should seek to stoke Syrian government fears of coup plots in order to provoke the Syrian government to overreact; that if the Syrian government reacted to external provocations, it proved that the regime was paranoid; that the US should work to undermine Syrian economic reforms and discourage foreign investment; that the US should seek to foster the belief that the Syrian government was not legitimate; that violent protests in Syria were praiseworthy and exemplary; that if Syria is the victim of terrorism and tries to do something about it, the US should exploit that to say that the Syrian government is weak and unstable, and is experiencing blowback for its foreign policy.
Forgotten the name of the city North of Bagdad which was razed by the Americans during the Iraqi war to bring Democracy to the people. No one was allowed in to witness the devastation wreaked by the brave Americans. I expect it would have looked like Pascal’s photos. (Falluja?)
Images tell us nothing. We need history, actions and reactions.
And, no, I’m not a supporter of Assad/Putin. Although in Assad’s case he is the legitimate ruler of Syria and that’s solely a decision of the Syrians via democracy.
What we see in Syria today seems to be a result of the actions of the US in their attempts to forcefully remove Assad via proxies.
ok, so the general consensus is that y’all need more info.
Google can be your friend on that I guess.
However, how about, just for the sake of argument, we assume that areas of Daraya have been hit as hard as that photo suggests. Would your opinions change re Assad and Russia and the legitimacy of what is happening?
What is depressing me, friends, is the clear double standard being displayed on this blog of late.
If that photo was from Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Yemen, how many of you can hand on heart say you would be reacting to it in the same way, and giving the US the benefit of doubt before having something to say?
‘Saudi forces on the run as Houthis close on Taiz’ .. Saudis commanded by retired Australian generals according to a piece I saw at the same site a while ago.
How does the Foriegn Fighters legislation apply to all those NZ army and Australian army types who are now mercenaries/contractors? Maybe Dame Kitteridge could comment on these ( anti) Jihadists. My guess is that as they are motivated by money then they are regarded by the Nat/SIS as being ideologically pure.
Last weekend we were in Mildura. Walked into the info centre, “What’s it like out there?” asks a pleasant woman behind the desk. “About 36 deg” we tell her. “Oh that’s a relief she says, come right down from 46 deg last week!”
THE HEAT IS ON
Maximum temperature at least 4C above average, from March 1 to 4
Temps 8 to 12C above average for most of southeast Australia
Record 39 straight days over 26C in Sydney
Perth had more 40C days this summer than ever before
Melbourne had hottest March night on record, at peak of 38.6C
Canberra had 10 straight days of 30C or more
Echuca, VIC, and Tocumwal, NSW, sweltered through eight straight days of 38C or more in March, breaking records for any month of the year
Temperature records shattered around the world, with this January and February hotter than any other.
(Source: Climate Council)
Yup those inland areas are frying, how long before its too hot to sustain the crops that drive them like citrus, grapes etc.
I thought the murray down around albury, echuca etc were bad enough 20 years but mates still there are looking at tassie now as its simply too hot now.
It’s the high night time temps that are the killer. When it’s midnight and still > 30 degC for days on end, or it’s still > 26 degC at 6am you just don’t get any respite or proper sleep. After 4 -5 nights I’m definitely starting to lose the plot.
Aircon becomes mandatory. Which of course only makes the root cause worse.
Still it’s amazing how much water they can keep pumping out of the Murray; the place was the most green I’ve seen over here in ages. The big new crop in the past few years is almonds. Endless km of them.
Believe it or not but that sort of temperature in Mildura really isn’t that bad.
The very high temperatures in Victoria are associated with very, very low humidity.
The wind just comes south across Australia, getting hotter and hotter, but drier and drier as it does so.
I am not saying it is pleasant but 46C in Mildura is easier to tolerate than 34C in Singapore or 38+C in Sydney. That is my opinion of course but I have experienced them all. The hard part is 30+C at night. You can’t sleep.
So Nick Smith has made yet another FU with his Kermadec marine reserve. I really can’t think of anything this professional trougher has achieved in his decades on an MPs salary.
Yep Smith is hopeless. Total lack of consultation on the end to fishing rights for Maori in the proposed marine reserve-off to Court they go.
Loved Key on Morning Report this morning saying that the Kermadec’s haven’t been fished for over 10 years. Then the Maori guy comes on and says they fish there every year. Another lie for the Blip list.
When is the Maori Party going to realise that the Gnats are riding roughshod over their rights?
Nats get marine reserve then it’s open slather for commercial (non-maori) vessels to come in and fish the hell out of the area after bypassing maori rights
Yep Smith is hopeless. Total lack of consultation on the end to fishing rights for Maori in the proposed marine reserve-off to Court they go.
Māori didn’t have any fishing rights there as they never settled the Kermadecs and thus it doesn’t come under Ti Tiriti. Can’t be considered traditional.
From admitted limited personal knowledge, I understood that māori land rights were more than the rights of residence.
Particular land rights could be issued for different uses. ie. one tribe might have seasonal fishing rights, while another had the right of residence or agriculture.
There are many tribes that had seasonal visits to particular locations for food gathering, fishing etc.
Just because it was not used as a residence, does not mean that it was not used.
History is that it was used as a stop on journeys by many peoples but no one settled there. If we were now to extend fishing rights to peoples who once fished there before annexation by New Zealand then we’d have to extend them to the entire Pacific. Even the US would have a reasonable claim under those conditions as their whalers once used the place as a stop as well. The sanctuary would never come into being.
Personally, I’m more in favour of the sanctuary than trying to find out if anyone once fished there.
Simple fact of the matter is that no one claimed the Kermadecs in any way until the British did during WWI which was then subsequently transferred over to NZ thus it was not part of the promises made in Ti Tiriti.
Lots of places in NZ had no permanent settlement but were still part of local Iwi and Hapū’s rohe. Many places were lived at seasonally rather than settled. I don’t think lack of settlement is relevant. There is also an issue of what rights Māori have in decision making beyond traditional use.
As always the MSM doesn’t know how to report the complexities of issues that involve Māoridom. To be informed we would need to know what the fisheries trust objections are (they appear to be around lack of consulation), and who the Iwi were that Smith is claming supported the sancturay and what their perspectives are. Is that clear yet? I only read the article linked yesterday.
Lots of places in NZ had no permanent settlement but were still part of local Iwi and Hapū’s rohe.
The Kermadecs weren’t part of NZ until 1918. This is actually important as they’re making a Ti Tiriti claim.
The point is that no one claimed them but many people used them. Usually as a source of food/water on their journeys from A to B. There are no particular rights to any particular people.
And New Zealand didn’t exist until the Crown established that it did. I’m asking what the Māori perspectives are, and those are independent of the State or Eurocentric ideas about claims and entitlement.
Maori were given a decent slice of NZ’s existing commercial fisheries in the 90s through the Treaty. Also the Treaty gives them rights over NZ’s total fishery. I think that gives them the right to be involved in decision making where existing fisheries are to be made into sanctuaries. They may not have used the Kermadecs much in the past, but I think this is more about the present day Maori involvement.
” Even the US would have a reasonable claim under those conditions”
That reminds me of the fate of the kumara in the Waitangi Tribunal claim 262.
Maori claimed intellectual property rights to, among other things, all kumara sold in New Zealand. Unfortunately DNA evidence submitted to the tribunal showed, according to the scientist who did the analysis.
“The modern commercial crop was based on three cultivars: the beauregard, a recent import, the toka toka gold, a 19th-century import, and the owairaka red.
“There is no link between commercial lines and any varieties assumed to have been present in New Zealand pre-contact,” Dr Gould said.”.
Forest and Bird have been intensively lobbying the government for seven years to secure environmental protection in the Kermadec’s.
They say it “will go down in the history of Forest and Bird as one of our greatest
moments, the result of a seven year public campaign that will protect one of the most complex and pristine deep sea habitats left on earth”
“This monumental decision expands the amount of marine protection in New Zealand waters from an insignificant 0.5 percent to 15 percent”
Forest and Bird, issue 358, summer 2015 pg.8.
Maybe best to take it up with Forest and Bird, WWF New Zealand and the Pew charitable trusts, who worked so hard on this campaign that “Nick Smith even said he was getting sick of having Forest and Bird’s postcards coming across his desk, and complimented us on a textbook campaign”
Don’t go all poohie on me because I rang nicky, I was bored sh*tless, I have no friends, you don’t pick up the fu*king phone. Anyway I’m not attracted to nicky, he isn’t my type.
Julie need not worry, I’ve already told them the website will be up in June. I already have my website material – just need to brush it up a bit. Then I will save my pennies all of May. If I say I’m going to do something I will.
All i’m saying is that it doesn’t matter who you vote for (national or labour) you end up with the same 5-10 years down the track (they’re all bought out before the election starts), illuminati anyone?
Is this the same Fonterra that was, to stay competitive requesting from its suppliers to extend the time that they get paid, request discounts or to be paid “normally” to give a prompt payment discount. http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11604140
And now we get this “Forsyth Barr analyst James Bascand expects the co-operative’s normalised earnings before interest and tax to leap 83 per cent from $376 million to $687 million, and for an increased interim dividend to 18.5c from 10c, reflecting lower inputs and a big turnaround in the business.” And for many out their “normalised profits” are what many senior execs have part of their bonus calculated on.
This defies belief, and any resemblance of being a good corporate citizen. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11608977
The short-sightedness of putting your major suppliers or services under cash-flow stress to compensate for your own flawed decision making is just more of the same.
Have they not considered that they may be putting their own business under further stress when those necessary suppliers and service providers go to the wall?
I can’t help but remark on the irony of this stance. By Smith’s own account, the field of economics is experiencing an empirical revolution. Unlike the past, it has become necessary to test theories against reality. That places the field of economics many decades behind the field of evolution and numerous fields in the human social sciences that have been rigorously evidence-based all along. Earth to the economics profession: Welcome to Science 101!
As I’ve noted for sometime now. Economics has become delusional as it’s completely divorced itself from reality.
More trade, more consumption has been the cry of politicians and economists for more than 200 years.
We have a failed economic system because it:
1. Makes being rich the sole goal of economics
2. Dismisses the fact that resources are limited
3. Dismisses the fact that we do actually need the environment in good working order
We need to change this and fast. Unfortunately, National and other greedy bastards are standing in the way of rational action.
Do you actually know anything about economics and have you ever studied the subject?
Your rant here would indicate that you haven’t and are entirely ignorant on the subject.
“allocation of scarce resources”
That is the entire focus of the discipline.
Every economist considers it on every topic.
Just above you claimed “yes I do and yes I have” about learning Economics.
Just 11 minutes later you demonstrate that, even if you may have attended some classes, you failed to learn anything.
“Associate Minister of Tourism Paula Bennett said she was determined to stop a company from using sexually provocative slogans on the sides of its camper vans.”
Now where are the anti-PC crowd calling Nanny State about this overreaction?
What even more hilarious is that it was the front page of the Sunday Herald!! Oh my what a lovely world we must be living in, if this is considered such a scoop by MSM.
Bad signage of the camper vans is front page news, and as well our Paula ‘trougher’ Bennett and climate change minister – is defiantly doing to do something about it!!
Finally an issue she feels she can handle as a minister.
I anxiously await Part 2, of this Herald investigation and government crack down!
Wicked are the more visible end of the sleeper van / freedom camping market that is currently shitting in it’s own nest. The enforcement of freedom camping standards is left to local councils, so ratepayers have to wear it for no return, DOC tries to provide facilities which are overwhelmed and which the campers won’t pay for.
So the operators cream it by socialising their, and their customer’s expenses.
Once again, our brighter future…
Of note from the second link,
“In 2005, the Government established the $11 million tourism demand subsidy scheme, which subsidised water and wastewater projects in popular tourist areas such as Hanmer Springs and Franz Josef.
That’s unacceptable for sure but it is not the role of the government to legislate to protect people from offence surely? The free market will work it’s magic!
nanny state alright
how about some new ones
if you don’t pull up the ladder they will see up your skirt paula
if you don’t have your little firemans helmet on , you’ve got the wrong hat
pullya benefit to please yourself
TPPA to pullya pud away
john key loves nz (cant get much more offensive than that)
fucking national if it was one of their cronies it would be different
“It won’t be a witch hunt. I get the feeling that the current licensing regime works – the majority of gun owners are law abiding citizens who follow the rules – and my concern is not with recreational hunters and sporting folk, but rather the criminal element of society.”
As long as he leaves semi-autos alone it’ll be all good but more importantly Labour could do a lot worse then to look at Stuart Nash after they suffer another embarrassing election loss
@ Puckish Rogue National are so short on talent maybe they should recruit Stuart Nash themselves as future PM? They are a much better fit!
Wasn’t National vowing to do a war on P crimes as part of their government? What tends to follow drugs, are guns. Surprise surprise. More P imports, more Gun imports.
In true neoliberal style it sounds like the police resources were diverted into marijuana seizures so they could seize the owners assets rather than actually cracking down on the criminal activity of P and guns, being bought into the country. (Maybe those MAF layoffs checking imports, were not a good idea after all?)
Another great neoliberal idea, similar to police being used to issue speeding tickets instead of solve burglaries or protect dairy owners?
Or political harassment of Hager rather than police day jobs? Didn’t police even prosecute the messager aka du Plessis-Allan case who showed how easy guns were to get under current laws.
“du Plessis-Allan case who showed how easy guns were to get under current laws.”
She didn’t use a loophole to purchase the rifle, she broke a number of laws to obtain said rifle, all she demonstrated was how easy it is to purchase a rifle if you’re prepared to break a number of laws
How many rifles were found to have been illegally purchased in the way she demonstrated…none, she highlighted a problem that doesn’t exist
She should have been prosecuted because she knowingly broke the law, it wasn’t bringing up a loophole and it all really does is show how feeble our firearms laws are or rather the enforcement of the laws
A good starting point would be the strict enforcement of all laws pertaining to firearms
It just bugs me though that this will be used by those who’re convinced we’re in the USA that the best way to deal with this is ban all weapons or at the very least ban all MSSA weapons even though most crimes are done with normal rifles and shot guns
Well considering we have no ability to track individual firearms in this country, and neither party to the dodgy transaction is going to incriminate themselves, hardly surprising.
Sorry, but it defies logic to think that HDPA and her producer sat down and looked at the form and thought “Oh, we’ll just make it up and she’ll be sweet”. They knew it would go straight through, that’s why they did it.
The question you need to answer is how did they know it was going to work?
Sorry, but it defies logic to think that HDPA and her producer sat down and looked at the form and thought “Oh, we’ll just make it up and she’ll be sweet”. They knew it would go straight through, that’s why they did it
– Actually it doesn’t, it sounds like they had a heads from Greg O’Connor for whatever reason
if they had any brains they would be taking all guns off farmers , the way they have treated them, we wouldn’t want one to lose it and do something crazy(not to himself, the govt of course)
An extremely sad tale and nothing the courts decide will bring the child back but hopefully, if the punishment is harsh enough, it’ll cause some dick smack parents to go to doctor earlier
“It did not jump out at me that he was that seriously ill,” she told court, according to the Lethbridge Herald.
She did suggest, however, that he could have viral meningitis, and told Collet to seek medical help.
“I think you should take him to see a doctor,” Meynders testified, according to CBC.
– First suggestion to see a doctor
“You need to tell the lady to take the child to emergency right away,” the naturopathic doctor, Tracey Tannis, told an employee on the phone with Collet.
“I think you should see a medical doctor,” the employee, Lexie Vataman, relayed to Collet, according to court testimony.
– Second suggestion to see a doctor
By the time the Stephans drove to the naturopath to pick up the tincture a day or two later, however, Ezekiel’s body was so stiff from his illness that he couldn’t sit in his car seat, according to an interview – played in court – the couple gave to Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Instead, the couple put a mattress in the back of their vehicle to take him to the naturopath.
– I’m not a doctor (obviously) but I’d suggest that if your kid is so stiff you have to put him on a mattress then you really should be taking him to hospital
I guess I’m really suggesting that if your child is ill you take them to the doctor, if you’re child is so stiff you can’t sit them down then you take them to the hospital
What you don’t do in a first world country is rely on placebo (homeopathy) when your child is sick
My suggestion is that if you think your child has meningitis, phone your doctor and/or the hospital, don’t take your child to a waiting room full of sick, contagious and immunologically vulnerably people (unless it is an emergency). Meningitis is contagious. If you think it’s bacterial meningitis, you shouldn’t be waiting for a GP appointment, you should be acting immediately.
They didn’t rely on placebo. I’ve read about this case elsewhere and there is a huge amount of misinformation on all sides. And assumptions being made, including ignorant ones like yours regarding homeopathy and the parents’ intentions and motivations.
For every child that dies from this kind of mishandling of a situation (whether from neglect or ignorance) there are children that die from medical misadventure. It’s not as simple as saying take your child to a doctor. Plenty of people successfully use alternative medicine at home. You are conflating use of alternative medicine with ignorance around risk assessment and action.
You go right ahead and assume that. Apparently asking for actual evidence to support your assumptions is some sort of paradigmatic bullying by an epistemological reductionist.
I’m sure the distinction isn’t lost on the dead kids.
have to agree PR (im punching myself in the head as I write)
there are some fucked up parents around(if they were kiwis they would probably vote united)
Just spotted this myself. Part of me wonders if Turnbull hasn’t just done a Muldoon.
With the polling numbers heading south for the Coalition, there was every reason for Turnbull to pull the pin early, but my instinct is that it could backfire badly.
So many question will never be asked. Pity. (Wonder what happens to the $8,000 raised.)
“Bradley Ambrose decided to take Mr Key to court over the Prime Minister’s comments, which included comparing Mr Ambrose’s actions to the discredited News of the World newspaper.
The two parties have now reached a settlement, meaning the case will not go to trial. Mr Key says a payment was made, but won’t reveal how much. Mr Ambrose had sued for $1.25 million.”
So Key relies on “GimmeAsMuchAsFixesThis” from public funds. And it all goes away. Which has it follow that it was an entirely public discussion in the first place. Banana Republic happening please !
Over the weekend I watched this Witness documentary about the flourishing Israeli international arms trade, on Al Jazeera. It was an unsettling watch. A military “philosopher” ( as he was referred to) oozed a fascist blood lust, grinning constantly about the efficiency and skill of the IDF. Arms dealers at a trade fair sold their weapons proudly, stating they had been “tested” and that they were the best on the market – testing, meaning they had used them “successfully” on the Palestinians. The narrative of the dealers and military was purely barbaric.
Then in a surreal parallel with our very own abuser PM, a retired IDF general who became involved in the arms trade for all its lucrative gains, filmed attending the trade show, was standing next to a female soldier, and couldn’t help but give her ponytail a violent yank, enough to pull her head back.
It was a few seconds of footage but demonstrated how these war lords view themselves as untouchable and all powerful, with the god given right to abuse.
The sense of entitlement that those in power can have, to do as one pleases, for their own pleasure and entertainment was quite apparent in those few seconds. While Key hasn’t quite reached the status of war lord, he does share the same level of unaccountability and sense of entitlement as anyone in a position to abuse their power. Pure creepy and sick.
….and the arms dealers are often coexistent with the drugs dealers , the other side of the coin, if not one and the same…and the mafia are involved…and it is even more scary when hidden government agencies are involved
…democracy is a fragile thing when these forces are unleashed
Article on the establishment’s approach new Alternative for Germany party, with reference to the Left Party and the relationship with the Social Democrats (Germany’s Labour Party equivalent):
“The Social Democrats hate the Left Party so much (ostensibly because of its links to the old SED communist party which ruled in East Germany, but also because of personal rivalries as the Left Party grew out of a disgruntled SPD faction) that they have refused to work with it at state or federal levels.
In 2013, this led to a further Grand Coalition at the federal level, even though the SPD-Greens-Left party had a majority in the Bundestag – graphically illustrating the depth of ill-feeling towards the Left Party.”
Turkey appears to be stuffing jihadist gangs as faux refugees in one of its own state-run refugee camps (which no outside agencies have access to) in preparation for sending them to attack the Syrian Kurdish fighters. They also appear to be coercing refugee women into prostitution
That’s my feeling Paul. Richie, Dan, blah blah blah, millionaires probably many times over. No offence to them but what’d ya expect ? Rich, white, Tory boys.
Quite buzzes me though that League…….Kiwis and Warriors down, don’t seem to exhibit that shit. Except Old Sir Peter Mad Butcher who couple of times has sailed with salivated tongue disgracefully close to Key’s nethers……..
No comment at all on the fact/fiction balance here but we really are seeing “celeb’s” lashing back…….Hosking ‘cos someone called him an arse licker…….then we got poor Max…….then this lass……the glassing that wasn’t a glassing and three months later less chance of it ever being a glassing.
Always knew the shallow vainglorious bastards wouldn’t give up without a fight. But the fight is there and it’s being fought out this way…….I don’t watch any 5.30-7.30 pm TV anymore. Replicated my switch-off tens, eventually hundreds of thousands of times ? What’s the advertiser think ?
Good job really. Licking licking licking ended up quite the wrong styles didn’t it Gower, Williams, Ralston et al. I know I’ve missed some worthies but they’ll know who they are.
Current themes in the MSM, trolls aimed at ‘celebrities’ (inlcuding media ‘personalities’) & ‘P houses’ – I wonder if there’s some GOVT announcement coming up. I also noticed both Stuff & Herald love ‘thought dead but coming back alive’ stories, maybe John Banks is going to be making a come back?
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Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
“Our exporters should, therefore, be deeply concerned that the Fast-track Approvals Bill was not assessed for consistency with any of our free trade commitments prior to being introduced to the House,” says Gary Taylor, Chief Executive of the Environmental ...
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff is calling on all political parties to support the new Member’s Bill from Labour’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson Camilla Belich MP that would ensure negligent companies are held accountable when their employees ...
A historian with an uncanny track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go very wrong for him. ...
A historian with a track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go wrong for him. ...
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Reading about resignation of Tory Minister Iain Duncan Smith, and watching BBC interview with Andrew Marr, well I never, could this be a sign that we have reached peak Crosby Textor, greedy elitist politics?
Cannot see any one in National government having the guts to stand against Key…..except maybe Collins, and that would be greed, not guts.
Maybe we have. Don’t forget Crosby was dispatched by the gang to Ottawa late last year to try and save Harper’s sorry old arse and failed miserably in that endeavour.
very true, are we on a roll???
“Cannot see any one in National government having the guts to stand against Key…..except maybe Collins, and that would be greed, not guts.”
I can not see the old guard permitting Judith Collins to become Leader.
Too much of a liability given the business activities of her husband Mr Wong-Tung i.e Oravida and the murky goings on Milk-Swamp Kauri-Bottled Water, especially Swamp kauri which there has been a reputed $200 million dollars worth of illegal activities. While there is no proof of any wrong doings by Oravida, there has been plenty of noise in the media. Tarred by association I guess one may say.
Assad -Putin fans got any comments about the images coming out of Daraya?
eg
https://twitter.com/ward_alyafe/status/711328608665600002#tweet_711328608665600002
If you support that, you sure as shit better not have had anything bad to say about Fallujah.
Anyone can post an image like that without date stamp, co-ordinates, or verifiable attribution. The internet is one huge information bubble. Bubbles have a tendency to pop.
Well he’s right there on the internet if you wish to directly call him a liar. Post the link so we can see how you get on.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-besieges-islamist-stronghold-inside-damascus-map-update/
PB: Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar – with help from the US – supplied foreign fighters in Syria with both money and heavy and advanced weapons.
As part of a regime change attempt to depose Assad’s secular government and replace it with Islamist/Jihadi rule.
Not going to happen now.
See, doesn’t he sound just like one of those little Pro-Israel propaganda commenters that swarm onto threads when Palestine is discussed?
At least they get paid.
Wikileaks have helped open a window on this matter, PB:
WikiLeaks Reveals How the US Aggressively Pursued Regime Change in Syria, Igniting a Bloodbath
http://www.truth-out.org/progressivepicks/item/33180-wikileaks-reveals-how-the-us-aggressively-pursued-regime-change-in-syria-igniting-a-bloodbath
What matter.
Everyone knows about that cable, ffs.
Millions of cables are produced, they are not ‘plans’.
BUt what has that got to do with the warcrimes committed by Assad and Russia? Di they justify it?
Did the US create the protests?
Did the US force Assad to respond as he did?
Did the US force assad to support islamist insurgents during the Iraq occupation?
None of this is relevent. That cable does not justify what Assad has done, and what you support.
the fact you front page on this site with thie crap you do, and your support for war crimes, will make it that much harder for us to oppose NZ involvement on whatever the next US president dreams up.
Your complete failure to condemn war crimes has finally made my mind up to abandon this blog.
I’m out.
Sorry to hear that. Just one of your comments is worth more than some people’s entire output.
+1
+1
Sorry to read that Pb. Please reconsider.
I’ve gotta say, that when I wander into central Vienna in the weekends the Syrians standing silently with their flags, banners, leaflets and their stories and photos of horrific war crimes are condemning Assad, not the US.
Assad is willing to destroy his country and his people (and clearly he does believe he owns them).
He is a dictator of the worst order.
Russia is not acting as peacemaker, but to to protect its own strategic interests (Russia’s interests are obviously best served by peace – and that means Assad in control until an acceptable transition is in place). This does not make Assad or Putin the nice guys.
Actually every photo I’ve seen of Putin shaking Assad’s hand, Putin looks as if he wants to vomit.
+100
When the rest of us are getting ourselves tied up in knots, along comes Pb and sorts us out. Not only have we seen some good authors disappear, we are losing our best commenters and Pb was up there near the top with felix. Very sad.
Yes, agreed Anne.
A mind I completely respect.
And what an inspired pseudonym!
Bugger.
Hope you come back some time.
PB, don’t bail buddy – I have always appreciated your contributions to debate.
Yet another alienated intelligent voice…
That’s all good eh?
If PB doesn’t like what happens here he knows where the door is?
Nothing wrong with the format or policy then?
Nothing worth discussing. Let’s just move into tomorrow with the newly reduced gene pool.
oh. Sarc.
+100 CV..it is quite clear USA and friends ( Israel and Saudi Arabia) want Assad out and Syria destabilised …so they can subdivide it up for themselves
Russia went into the conflict at the behest of Assad the democratically elected leader ( unlike USA and friends)
http://journal-neo.org/2015/12/20/bashar-al-assad-the-democratically-elected-president-of-syria/
http://217.218.67.231/Detail/2015/09/30/431381/Syria-Russia-air-force-President-Assad-
From the link above, the memo makes it quite clear that the US had made a detailed analysis on how to destroy Syria as a country.
And the intervening years show that at least some of these plans were successfully actioned against the Syrian people.
You might want to read Gwen Dyer on the topic. Personally I’ve always found his moral compass pretty reliable:
http://www.lfpress.com/2016/03/16/russias-syrian-strategy-smart-efficient-effective
Cheers RL.
looks like most of the countries America “visits”
Forgotten the name of the city North of Bagdad which was razed by the Americans during the Iraqi war to bring Democracy to the people. No one was allowed in to witness the devastation wreaked by the brave Americans. I expect it would have looked like Pascal’s photos. (Falluja?)
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2004/11/fall-n17.html
Thanks CV. Would have been horrific to see the aftermath. And today …..?
Images tell us nothing. We need history, actions and reactions.
And, no, I’m not a supporter of Assad/Putin. Although in Assad’s case he is the legitimate ruler of Syria and that’s solely a decision of the Syrians via democracy.
What we see in Syria today seems to be a result of the actions of the US in their attempts to forcefully remove Assad via proxies.
+1, would Russia have even been involved without US destabilisation.
ok, so the general consensus is that y’all need more info.
Google can be your friend on that I guess.
However, how about, just for the sake of argument, we assume that areas of Daraya have been hit as hard as that photo suggests. Would your opinions change re Assad and Russia and the legitimacy of what is happening?
What is depressing me, friends, is the clear double standard being displayed on this blog of late.
If that photo was from Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Yemen, how many of you can hand on heart say you would be reacting to it in the same way, and giving the US the benefit of doubt before having something to say?
Really.
I think Sony Bill Williams is more sincere than you by a factor of about 1000 to 1 Pascals …….
truthfully.
Yeah well, I reckon you couldn’t think of anything to say so just blurted out that peice of irrelevant nonsense. So we’ll call it even I guess.
next?
‘Saudi forces on the run as Houthis close on Taiz’ .. Saudis commanded by retired Australian generals according to a piece I saw at the same site a while ago.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/saudi-forces-run-houthis-closes-taiz/ |
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/retired-british-army-officer-killed-in-yemen/
UAE hiring foreign mercernaries including Blackwater to fight against Yemenis
http://www.forbes.com/sites/charlestiefer/2015/11/26/in-yemen-war-mercenaries-launched-by-blackwater-head-were-spotted-today-not-good-news/#57ec4371bae1
How does the Foriegn Fighters legislation apply to all those NZ army and Australian army types who are now mercenaries/contractors? Maybe Dame Kitteridge could comment on these ( anti) Jihadists. My guess is that as they are motivated by money then they are regarded by the Nat/SIS as being ideologically pure.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiz
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-14/…australian…saudi…/7087726
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/…australian…yemens…/1535612
http://www.middleeasteye.net/…/mercenaries-charge-uae-forces-fighting-yemen- 764309832
http://www.smh.com.au/…/australian-mercenary-reported-killed-in-yemen- 20151209-glja9s.html
Last weekend we were in Mildura. Walked into the info centre, “What’s it like out there?” asks a pleasant woman behind the desk. “About 36 deg” we tell her. “Oh that’s a relief she says, come right down from 46 deg last week!”
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/record-temperatures-for-march-a-warning-of-whats-to-come-say-experts-20160320-gnmkc9.html#ixzz43TIBkjhx
Follow us: @theage on Twitter | theageAustralia on Facebook
Yup those inland areas are frying, how long before its too hot to sustain the crops that drive them like citrus, grapes etc.
I thought the murray down around albury, echuca etc were bad enough 20 years but mates still there are looking at tassie now as its simply too hot now.
It’s the high night time temps that are the killer. When it’s midnight and still > 30 degC for days on end, or it’s still > 26 degC at 6am you just don’t get any respite or proper sleep. After 4 -5 nights I’m definitely starting to lose the plot.
Aircon becomes mandatory. Which of course only makes the root cause worse.
Still it’s amazing how much water they can keep pumping out of the Murray; the place was the most green I’ve seen over here in ages. The big new crop in the past few years is almonds. Endless km of them.
Got up the other morning and it was still 19 C. Cooler than it has been but still bloody warm for that time even for summer.
And yeah, temperatures made sleeping difficult over the summer months here as well.
Pretty sure the Australians are going to invade NZ within the next 20 years.
In many ways we really like it over here. Not hiding from some of the downsides, but the positives are worth embracing and celebrating.
But this sort of thing does prompt me to keep the Plan B option of coming back home very much alive.
Indeed. Once that wet bulb temp consistently surpasses 38 deg C…
“Pretty sure the Australians are going to invade NZ within the next 20 years.”
Why bother invading when we are willingly selling the country to them, piece by piece?
Because they will object to us repossessing the land and not paying them for it…
Why bother invading when we are willingly selling the country to them, piece by piece?
Don’t like it? Get the law changed.
Better still, change the government.
Those temps are unsustainably insane. Will have put the unwell and elderly at risk of death associated with heat stroke too.
When you have seen the horizon blacked out by bushfire on an annual basis you take climate change seriously.
Believe it or not but that sort of temperature in Mildura really isn’t that bad.
The very high temperatures in Victoria are associated with very, very low humidity.
The wind just comes south across Australia, getting hotter and hotter, but drier and drier as it does so.
I am not saying it is pleasant but 46C in Mildura is easier to tolerate than 34C in Singapore or 38+C in Sydney. That is my opinion of course but I have experienced them all. The hard part is 30+C at night. You can’t sleep.
So Nick Smith has made yet another FU with his Kermadec marine reserve. I really can’t think of anything this professional trougher has achieved in his decades on an MPs salary.
Yep Smith is hopeless. Total lack of consultation on the end to fishing rights for Maori in the proposed marine reserve-off to Court they go.
Loved Key on Morning Report this morning saying that the Kermadec’s haven’t been fished for over 10 years. Then the Maori guy comes on and says they fish there every year. Another lie for the Blip list.
When is the Maori Party going to realise that the Gnats are riding roughshod over their rights?
Nats get marine reserve then it’s open slather for commercial (non-maori) vessels to come in and fish the hell out of the area after bypassing maori rights
Māori didn’t have any fishing rights there as they never settled the Kermadecs and thus it doesn’t come under Ti Tiriti. Can’t be considered traditional.
Thanks Draco-noted.
From admitted limited personal knowledge, I understood that māori land rights were more than the rights of residence.
Particular land rights could be issued for different uses. ie. one tribe might have seasonal fishing rights, while another had the right of residence or agriculture.
There are many tribes that had seasonal visits to particular locations for food gathering, fishing etc.
Just because it was not used as a residence, does not mean that it was not used.
History is that it was used as a stop on journeys by many peoples but no one settled there. If we were now to extend fishing rights to peoples who once fished there before annexation by New Zealand then we’d have to extend them to the entire Pacific. Even the US would have a reasonable claim under those conditions as their whalers once used the place as a stop as well. The sanctuary would never come into being.
Personally, I’m more in favour of the sanctuary than trying to find out if anyone once fished there.
Simple fact of the matter is that no one claimed the Kermadecs in any way until the British did during WWI which was then subsequently transferred over to NZ thus it was not part of the promises made in Ti Tiriti.
I agree a sanctuary is very important.
Lots of places in NZ had no permanent settlement but were still part of local Iwi and Hapū’s rohe. Many places were lived at seasonally rather than settled. I don’t think lack of settlement is relevant. There is also an issue of what rights Māori have in decision making beyond traditional use.
As always the MSM doesn’t know how to report the complexities of issues that involve Māoridom. To be informed we would need to know what the fisheries trust objections are (they appear to be around lack of consulation), and who the Iwi were that Smith is claming supported the sancturay and what their perspectives are. Is that clear yet? I only read the article linked yesterday.
I also don’t trust National on this.
The Kermadecs weren’t part of NZ until 1918. This is actually important as they’re making a Ti Tiriti claim.
The point is that no one claimed them but many people used them. Usually as a source of food/water on their journeys from A to B. There are no particular rights to any particular people.
And New Zealand didn’t exist until the Crown established that it did. I’m asking what the Māori perspectives are, and those are independent of the State or Eurocentric ideas about claims and entitlement.
edited.
I dunno mate.
The relevant thing would be the settlement, no?
If implied or explicit rights to fish there were included in the settlement reached for acknowledged breaches, then there is a right.
The Treaty settlements gave them a quota. They still have that quota.
Maori were given a decent slice of NZ’s existing commercial fisheries in the 90s through the Treaty. Also the Treaty gives them rights over NZ’s total fishery. I think that gives them the right to be involved in decision making where existing fisheries are to be made into sanctuaries. They may not have used the Kermadecs much in the past, but I think this is more about the present day Maori involvement.
I agree the issue seems more about the modern govt/Maori relationship around fisheries governance than about any location-based rights.
Smith’s track record on respecting co-governance is shocking. No surprise whose electorate the whole foreshore and seabed debacle spread from.
Yes
You might find this book interesting – settlers on the Kermadecs in 1878 – it was read to us at school 😉 http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-MorCrus.html
” Even the US would have a reasonable claim under those conditions”
That reminds me of the fate of the kumara in the Waitangi Tribunal claim 262.
Maori claimed intellectual property rights to, among other things, all kumara sold in New Zealand. Unfortunately DNA evidence submitted to the tribunal showed, according to the scientist who did the analysis.
“The modern commercial crop was based on three cultivars: the beauregard, a recent import, the toka toka gold, a 19th-century import, and the owairaka red.
“There is no link between commercial lines and any varieties assumed to have been present in New Zealand pre-contact,” Dr Gould said.”.
Royalties should, one imagine be owing to people in South America from whence these came. Funny that the whole thing was rapidly dropped and the subject forgotten.
From.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10422951
Forest and Bird have been intensively lobbying the government for seven years to secure environmental protection in the Kermadec’s.
They say it “will go down in the history of Forest and Bird as one of our greatest
moments, the result of a seven year public campaign that will protect one of the most complex and pristine deep sea habitats left on earth”
“This monumental decision expands the amount of marine protection in New Zealand waters from an insignificant 0.5 percent to 15 percent”
Forest and Bird, issue 358, summer 2015 pg.8.
Maybe best to take it up with Forest and Bird, WWF New Zealand and the Pew charitable trusts, who worked so hard on this campaign that “Nick Smith even said he was getting sick of having Forest and Bird’s postcards coming across his desk, and complimented us on a textbook campaign”
Don’t go all poohie on me because I rang nicky, I was bored sh*tless, I have no friends, you don’t pick up the fu*king phone. Anyway I’m not attracted to nicky, he isn’t my type.
Julie need not worry, I’ve already told them the website will be up in June. I already have my website material – just need to brush it up a bit. Then I will save my pennies all of May. If I say I’m going to do something I will.
Er, WTF???
Eh?
I figure its a bot.
Right on cue
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/78083367/soft-drink-companies-could-sue-over-uk-sugar-tax
Not quite TPPA But!!
So why has our Government ruled out a sugar tax? Is this like the “chilling” effect outlined in the TPPA Disputes Resolution in the future?
Good point Ian
More than likely.
The Health Minister is clueless got his qualifications out of the Weetbix Packet?
Imagine a coin, one side national, other side labour…still the same coin is it not?
Imagine a coin with a fish on one side and a potato on the other. Still the one coin right?
+1
All i’m saying is that it doesn’t matter who you vote for (national or labour) you end up with the same 5-10 years down the track (they’re all bought out before the election starts), illuminati anyone?
Is this the same Fonterra that was, to stay competitive requesting from its suppliers to extend the time that they get paid, request discounts or to be paid “normally” to give a prompt payment discount.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11604140
And now we get this “Forsyth Barr analyst James Bascand expects the co-operative’s normalised earnings before interest and tax to leap 83 per cent from $376 million to $687 million, and for an increased interim dividend to 18.5c from 10c, reflecting lower inputs and a big turnaround in the business.” And for many out their “normalised profits” are what many senior execs have part of their bonus calculated on.
This defies belief, and any resemblance of being a good corporate citizen.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11608977
that was Fonterra when it was wearing a different hat
The short-sightedness of putting your major suppliers or services under cash-flow stress to compensate for your own flawed decision making is just more of the same.
Have they not considered that they may be putting their own business under further stress when those necessary suppliers and service providers go to the wall?
Crooked business practices?
Earth to Economics: Welcome to Science 101
As I’ve noted for sometime now. Economics has become delusional as it’s completely divorced itself from reality.
More trade, more consumption has been the cry of politicians and economists for more than 200 years.
We have a failed economic system because it:
1. Makes being rich the sole goal of economics
2. Dismisses the fact that resources are limited
3. Dismisses the fact that we do actually need the environment in good working order
We need to change this and fast. Unfortunately, National and other greedy bastards are standing in the way of rational action.
+1 Draco
Do you actually know anything about economics and have you ever studied the subject?
Your rant here would indicate that you haven’t and are entirely ignorant on the subject.
You’re not measurably better.
I could ask the first question of you. Care to answer it?
Yes I do and yes I have. The ignorance is all on the part of the economists and politicians who still think that the economy is about money.
I’ve studied economics, and the basic tenet of economics is allocation of scarce resources. I wish politicians remembered that from time to time…
I wish that the economists would remember that.
“allocation of scarce resources”
That is the entire focus of the discipline.
Every economist considers it on every topic.
Just above you claimed “yes I do and yes I have” about learning Economics.
Just 11 minutes later you demonstrate that, even if you may have attended some classes, you failed to learn anything.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/299487/wicked-campers-'overstepped-the-mark‘
“Associate Minister of Tourism Paula Bennett said she was determined to stop a company from using sexually provocative slogans on the sides of its camper vans.”
Now where are the anti-PC crowd calling Nanny State about this overreaction?
@ Arkie
What even more hilarious is that it was the front page of the Sunday Herald!! Oh my what a lovely world we must be living in, if this is considered such a scoop by MSM.
Bad signage of the camper vans is front page news, and as well our Paula ‘trougher’ Bennett and climate change minister – is defiantly doing to do something about it!!
Finally an issue she feels she can handle as a minister.
I anxiously await Part 2, of this Herald investigation and government crack down!
I’m waiting to see how far this goes as well.
Wicked are the more visible end of the sleeper van / freedom camping market that is currently shitting in it’s own nest. The enforcement of freedom camping standards is left to local councils, so ratepayers have to wear it for no return, DOC tries to provide facilities which are overwhelmed and which the campers won’t pay for.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/queenstown-lakes/376833/camp-site-refugee-camp
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/queenstown-lakes/376973/funding-welcome-govt-could-do-more
So the operators cream it by socialising their, and their customer’s expenses.
Once again, our brighter future…
Of note from the second link,
“In 2005, the Government established the $11 million tourism demand subsidy scheme, which subsidised water and wastewater projects in popular tourist areas such as Hanmer Springs and Franz Josef.
The scheme was wound up in 2010.”
I’ll bet you find the following story just as hilarious.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11608971
That’ll put Paula in her place you no doubt think?
That’s unacceptable for sure but it is not the role of the government to legislate to protect people from offence surely? The free market will work it’s magic!
http://pundit.co.nz/content/the-lost-kiwiblog-post-on-wicked-campers
“Zip it sweetie” would be ok on one of these vans maybe? http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8015422/Bennett-tells-Ardern-Zip-it-sweetie
Exactly! I also bristle at the involvement of serial fusspot Bob McCoskrie and his ilk.
nanny state alright
how about some new ones
if you don’t pull up the ladder they will see up your skirt paula
if you don’t have your little firemans helmet on , you’ve got the wrong hat
pullya benefit to please yourself
TPPA to pullya pud away
john key loves nz (cant get much more offensive than that)
fucking national if it was one of their cronies it would be different
http://www.labour.org.nz/growing_gun_use_impetus_for_reforms
“It won’t be a witch hunt. I get the feeling that the current licensing regime works – the majority of gun owners are law abiding citizens who follow the rules – and my concern is not with recreational hunters and sporting folk, but rather the criminal element of society.”
As long as he leaves semi-autos alone it’ll be all good but more importantly Labour could do a lot worse then to look at Stuart Nash after they suffer another embarrassing election loss
@ Puckish Rogue National are so short on talent maybe they should recruit Stuart Nash themselves as future PM? They are a much better fit!
Wasn’t National vowing to do a war on P crimes as part of their government? What tends to follow drugs, are guns. Surprise surprise. More P imports, more Gun imports.
In true neoliberal style it sounds like the police resources were diverted into marijuana seizures so they could seize the owners assets rather than actually cracking down on the criminal activity of P and guns, being bought into the country. (Maybe those MAF layoffs checking imports, were not a good idea after all?)
Another great neoliberal idea, similar to police being used to issue speeding tickets instead of solve burglaries or protect dairy owners?
Or political harassment of Hager rather than police day jobs? Didn’t police even prosecute the messager aka du Plessis-Allan case who showed how easy guns were to get under current laws.
our immigration policy has a lot to do with the P problem, Nazis will never sort that out , so our P problem will never be sorted.
Natzis bringing in triad Asian P Importers as part of its Immigration Policy?
“du Plessis-Allan case who showed how easy guns were to get under current laws.”
She didn’t use a loophole to purchase the rifle, she broke a number of laws to obtain said rifle, all she demonstrated was how easy it is to purchase a rifle if you’re prepared to break a number of laws
How many rifles were found to have been illegally purchased in the way she demonstrated…none, she highlighted a problem that doesn’t exist
She should have been prosecuted because she knowingly broke the law, it wasn’t bringing up a loophole and it all really does is show how feeble our firearms laws are or rather the enforcement of the laws
A good starting point would be the strict enforcement of all laws pertaining to firearms
My god, criminals who break the law to acquire guns? Who would have thought?
Since I’m boycotting TV3 never watched the show.
Heres the thing though she was trying to say it was a loophole, it wasn’t it was breaking the law. To me that’s a big difference.
I don’t blame you: boycotting TV3
Yeah, including proper checking of documentation by dealers.
If they’d checked the documents before they sent the gun out we wouldn’t be having this discussion and HDPA would be looking a bit sad right now.
True that
It just bugs me though that this will be used by those who’re convinced we’re in the USA that the best way to deal with this is ban all weapons or at the very least ban all MSSA weapons even though most crimes are done with normal rifles and shot guns
And I wonder how many times the same stunt had been pulled by those of less honourable intention.
HDPA wouldn’t have been going there with less than 80, probably more like 95% chance of success. I’m picking a pretty well trod path.
Have any firearms found to have been sold illegally by the method she used?
The answer is no
Well considering we have no ability to track individual firearms in this country, and neither party to the dodgy transaction is going to incriminate themselves, hardly surprising.
Sorry, but it defies logic to think that HDPA and her producer sat down and looked at the form and thought “Oh, we’ll just make it up and she’ll be sweet”. They knew it would go straight through, that’s why they did it.
The question you need to answer is how did they know it was going to work?
Sorry, but it defies logic to think that HDPA and her producer sat down and looked at the form and thought “Oh, we’ll just make it up and she’ll be sweet”. They knew it would go straight through, that’s why they did it
– Actually it doesn’t, it sounds like they had a heads from Greg O’Connor for whatever reason
if they had any brains they would be taking all guns off farmers , the way they have treated them, we wouldn’t want one to lose it and do something crazy(not to himself, the govt of course)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/78064003/parents-on-trial-after-death-of-son-whose-meningitis-they-treated-with-home-remedies
An extremely sad tale and nothing the courts decide will bring the child back but hopefully, if the punishment is harsh enough, it’ll cause some dick smack parents to go to doctor earlier
Are you suggesting that if a parent suspects their child has bacterial meningitis they should take it to their GP? Have you thought that through?
“It did not jump out at me that he was that seriously ill,” she told court, according to the Lethbridge Herald.
She did suggest, however, that he could have viral meningitis, and told Collet to seek medical help.
“I think you should take him to see a doctor,” Meynders testified, according to CBC.
– First suggestion to see a doctor
“You need to tell the lady to take the child to emergency right away,” the naturopathic doctor, Tracey Tannis, told an employee on the phone with Collet.
“I think you should see a medical doctor,” the employee, Lexie Vataman, relayed to Collet, according to court testimony.
– Second suggestion to see a doctor
By the time the Stephans drove to the naturopath to pick up the tincture a day or two later, however, Ezekiel’s body was so stiff from his illness that he couldn’t sit in his car seat, according to an interview – played in court – the couple gave to Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Instead, the couple put a mattress in the back of their vehicle to take him to the naturopath.
– I’m not a doctor (obviously) but I’d suggest that if your kid is so stiff you have to put him on a mattress then you really should be taking him to hospital
I guess I’m really suggesting that if your child is ill you take them to the doctor, if you’re child is so stiff you can’t sit them down then you take them to the hospital
What you don’t do in a first world country is rely on placebo (homeopathy) when your child is sick
My suggestion is that if you think your child has meningitis, phone your doctor and/or the hospital, don’t take your child to a waiting room full of sick, contagious and immunologically vulnerably people (unless it is an emergency). Meningitis is contagious. If you think it’s bacterial meningitis, you shouldn’t be waiting for a GP appointment, you should be acting immediately.
They didn’t rely on placebo. I’ve read about this case elsewhere and there is a huge amount of misinformation on all sides. And assumptions being made, including ignorant ones like yours regarding homeopathy and the parents’ intentions and motivations.
For every child that dies from this kind of mishandling of a situation (whether from neglect or ignorance) there are children that die from medical misadventure. It’s not as simple as saying take your child to a doctor. Plenty of people successfully use alternative medicine at home. You are conflating use of alternative medicine with ignorance around risk assessment and action.
When the naturopath says take the child to a doctor, take the child to a doctor.
As for your claimed 1:1 ratio of medical misadventure to medical mishandling, I’m sure you’ve previously linked to a source for that figure…
“When the naturopath says take the child to a doctor, take the child to a doctor.”
Of course (although I still think it’s better not to expose a clinic full of people to meningitis).
It’s not 1:1, it’s far worse. Look it up yourself.
lolright
whatever.
Sweet, I’ll assume you believe that iatrogenesis is equal to or less then parental neglect via healthcare in terms of child deaths.
You go right ahead and assume that. Apparently asking for actual evidence to support your assumptions is some sort of paradigmatic bullying by an epistemological reductionist.
I’m sure the distinction isn’t lost on the dead kids.
have to agree PR (im punching myself in the head as I write)
there are some fucked up parents around(if they were kiwis they would probably vote united)
Aww, FJK missed out on the one mention he desires the most.
How Obama Views the Men and Women Who (Also) Rule the World
A rough guide to the president’s relationships with other leaders
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/03/obama-goldberg-world-leaders/473367/?utm_source=nl__031816
Could be an early election in Australia on 2 July.
Just spotted this myself. Part of me wonders if Turnbull hasn’t just done a Muldoon.
With the polling numbers heading south for the Coalition, there was every reason for Turnbull to pull the pin early, but my instinct is that it could backfire badly.
Still very interesting times over the ditch.
‘Teapot tape’ settlement reached
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/teapot-tape-settlement-reached-2016032113#axzz438VM4zZx
So many question will never be asked. Pity. (Wonder what happens to the $8,000 raised.)
“Bradley Ambrose decided to take Mr Key to court over the Prime Minister’s comments, which included comparing Mr Ambrose’s actions to the discredited News of the World newspaper.
The two parties have now reached a settlement, meaning the case will not go to trial. Mr Key says a payment was made, but won’t reveal how much. Mr Ambrose had sued for $1.25 million.”
Read more: http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/teapot-tape-settlement-reached-2016032113#ixzz43Ukod9Sq
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WT9wONW5UY
Seems appropriate
Tax payers to subsidise electioneering
The Prime Minister’s office confirmed a cash payment would be paid to Ambrose as part of the settlement.
“A small payment towards Mr Ambrose’s costs will be made from the Parliamentary leaders budget.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/78103963/prime-minister-and-bradley-ambrose-settle-over-infamous-teapot-tapes
So Key relies on “GimmeAsMuchAsFixesThis” from public funds. And it all goes away. Which has it follow that it was an entirely public discussion in the first place. Banana Republic happening please !
Over the weekend I watched this Witness documentary about the flourishing Israeli international arms trade, on Al Jazeera. It was an unsettling watch. A military “philosopher” ( as he was referred to) oozed a fascist blood lust, grinning constantly about the efficiency and skill of the IDF. Arms dealers at a trade fair sold their weapons proudly, stating they had been “tested” and that they were the best on the market – testing, meaning they had used them “successfully” on the Palestinians. The narrative of the dealers and military was purely barbaric.
Then in a surreal parallel with our very own abuser PM, a retired IDF general who became involved in the arms trade for all its lucrative gains, filmed attending the trade show, was standing next to a female soldier, and couldn’t help but give her ponytail a violent yank, enough to pull her head back.
It was a few seconds of footage but demonstrated how these war lords view themselves as untouchable and all powerful, with the god given right to abuse.
The sense of entitlement that those in power can have, to do as one pleases, for their own pleasure and entertainment was quite apparent in those few seconds. While Key hasn’t quite reached the status of war lord, he does share the same level of unaccountability and sense of entitlement as anyone in a position to abuse their power. Pure creepy and sick.
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/
+100 thanks Rosie…will watch
….and the arms dealers are often coexistent with the drugs dealers , the other side of the coin, if not one and the same…and the mafia are involved…and it is even more scary when hidden government agencies are involved
…democracy is a fragile thing when these forces are unleashed
Article on the establishment’s approach new Alternative for Germany party, with reference to the Left Party and the relationship with the Social Democrats (Germany’s Labour Party equivalent):
“The Social Democrats hate the Left Party so much (ostensibly because of its links to the old SED communist party which ruled in East Germany, but also because of personal rivalries as the Left Party grew out of a disgruntled SPD faction) that they have refused to work with it at state or federal levels.
In 2013, this led to a further Grand Coalition at the federal level, even though the SPD-Greens-Left party had a majority in the Bundestag – graphically illustrating the depth of ill-feeling towards the Left Party.”
http://bit.ly/25efMc4
Turkey appears to be stuffing jihadist gangs as faux refugees in one of its own state-run refugee camps (which no outside agencies have access to) in preparation for sending them to attack the Syrian Kurdish fighters. They also appear to be coercing refugee women into prostitution
http://www.kurdishinfo.com/akp-places-jihadist-gangs-tent-camp-suruc
Vodafone prepared to fund a waterfront stadium.
I’d prefer it if they’d pay their taxes.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11609365
AIG sponsor the All Blacks.
I’d prefer it if they spent their money fixing homes in Christchurch.
No wonder so many sports players end up as out and out Tories.
The blood money ends up poisoning them.
That’s my feeling Paul. Richie, Dan, blah blah blah, millionaires probably many times over. No offence to them but what’d ya expect ? Rich, white, Tory boys.
Quite buzzes me though that League…….Kiwis and Warriors down, don’t seem to exhibit that shit. Except Old Sir Peter Mad Butcher who couple of times has sailed with salivated tongue disgracefully close to Key’s nethers……..
N. Korea launches missile towards Sea of Japan – reports
https://www.rt.com/news/336397-north-korea-launches-missile/
excellent
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11609120
No comment at all on the fact/fiction balance here but we really are seeing “celeb’s” lashing back…….Hosking ‘cos someone called him an arse licker…….then we got poor Max…….then this lass……the glassing that wasn’t a glassing and three months later less chance of it ever being a glassing.
Always knew the shallow vainglorious bastards wouldn’t give up without a fight. But the fight is there and it’s being fought out this way…….I don’t watch any 5.30-7.30 pm TV anymore. Replicated my switch-off tens, eventually hundreds of thousands of times ? What’s the advertiser think ?
Good job really. Licking licking licking ended up quite the wrong styles didn’t it Gower, Williams, Ralston et al. I know I’ve missed some worthies but they’ll know who they are.
Current themes in the MSM, trolls aimed at ‘celebrities’ (inlcuding media ‘personalities’) & ‘P houses’ – I wonder if there’s some GOVT announcement coming up. I also noticed both Stuff & Herald love ‘thought dead but coming back alive’ stories, maybe John Banks is going to be making a come back?