what follows is my view on Galloway’s utterance… it has nothing to do with Assange. Nor does it in any way suggest that I think Assange is guilty of the claims made against him.
So here we go Mr Galloway…..why do some men think it’s okay to have sex with someone after they’ve said no? And why do some men think that if you’ve already had sex once then you’ve “entered a sex game” which means ‘forced sex’ – hang on – not ‘forced’ because the woman was asleep – is somehow not rape?
Or to put it another way, rape – if you’ve never had sex with the woman before – is ‘real’ rape, but if you’ve already had sex with her before, the next time can’t be ‘real’ rape – even if she said no?
I guess that if you stay in the same bed with someone after saying no, you must have a high degree of trust that the other person will not ignore your wishes and will certainly not force themselves on you when you are asleep. How utterly awful it must be if you are then raped while asleep – and by the very person you trusted.
Those who want to debate shades of grey, simply don’t consider what it’s like from the perpective of the victim. This kind of experience can seriously scar and have awful consequences – maybe years later.
I think it’s very very sad if the man is so drunk he has no self control – but it’s no less damaging to the woman (and possibly to the man’s future), because from the woman’s point of view it’s still rape – and any amount of argument about the definition of ‘rape’ is not going to make a jot of difference to how the woman may be feeling.
I agree with you. I’m interested in who is generally making these assertions that non-consensual sex is not rape (even though it is legally rape here) – that it’s just some sex-game – they seem to be males of a certain age and I wonder why that is. Whatever their reasons, I despise them for their disgusting views.
Could it be because there are men who have a fantasy about awakening to the fuck being given them by (oh, lets go completly cliched) *that* big boobed blonde…or who-ever? Y’know, they reckon it would be a pretty damned good start to the day. And since they have no problem being fucked while asleep and actually quite like the notion, then hell! – how could anyone else possibly find anything objectionable about it?
Hmm. Not too sure about equating the attitudes of Galloway with the pronouncements of Akin. Sure, both sets of attitudes diminish or ‘disappear’ women. But I’d suggest Akin’s diminishing is of a different order in the scale of things.
Akin appears to be saying that rape or (at least some of) its consequences are kind of okay even where all and sundry would agree that rape was inflicted.
Galloway on the other hand appears confused on what might constitute sex and what might constitute rape.
I think they are similar, it’s just that Akin’s line is drawn differently than Galloways. But they both run the line that some rape is real but other rape isn’t. Akin is basically saying that most rape that results in pregnancy isn’t real: in real rape women’s bodies shut down and they don’t get pregnant, therefore any woman who wants an abortion after rape is probably lying and it wasn’t really rape to start with.
Yes, there are degrees of difference within their views, but they’re both basically saying that women don’t have sovereignty over their bodies, that they lie about rape, and both are contributing significantly to rape culture.
This kind of “argument” comes up a lot, Bill – you know, the classic “but I’d be flattered if a hot chick wolf-whistled at me from a car!” “I’d totally be okay with a woman propositioning me in an elevator!” kind of responses to serious discussions about rape culture / misogyny / women’s assumed consent etc.
Of course for some reason it’s always based on “if someone I totally already wanted to fuck”. Wishful thinking, I guess.
I wish we didn’t have to have this conversation. It’s as difficult as it is important.
I just wanted to say that husbands were still legally allowed to force their wives to have sex with them in NZ as recently as 1982. Galloway grew up in a world in which many men felt they had conquest rights over other people’s bodies.
Too many in my mother’s generation had their own potential for sexual pleasure destroyed as they found their husbands claimed their “rights” against their own wishes, when they were exhausted or in pain, when they were sleeping or, or trying to have a bath, or just whenever, with absolutely no regard for their wishes or their sovereignty to their own bodies.
It’s easy to get a rise out of you, Mozza. So you’ve got that in common with Assange, boom tssssh!
Yes, well done, Te Reo. That’s another round to you, my friend.
Anything to say about the substance of the report? Or is it too uncomfortable for you to comment on?
I think Galloway has a big mouth and he’s incapable of thinking before he speaks. His words are ill chosen and insensitive, but I don’t think he’s a rape apologist.
You don’t think this whole “crying rape” thing has any connection with Assange pissing off the most powerful and corrupt institutions and individuals in the world?
You don’t think this whole “crying rape” thing has any connection with Assange pissing off the most powerful and corrupt institutions and individuals in the world?
Certainly. There is a very clear connection between the people who think that Assange is innocent of rape and that the women complainants are liars (they’re the ones using the terms like ‘crying rape’), and the left’s agenda to resist attempts to suppress Assange and wikileaks.
Who needs the CIA when you can wind up the Feminists and point them at your target?
It’s not “the Feminists” who are going after Assange. The Swedish branch of Women Against Rape has issued the strongest possible condemnation of these wild allegations.
Following our complaint Gilligan’s Daily Telegraph blog has changed somewhat. But where is the apology for his slanderous misrepresentation of WAR?
Dear Marcus Warren
Andrew Gilligan’s blog on the Telegraph website “Ken Livingstone loses a few thousand more votes” totally misrepresents Women Against Rape. He says:
“My running-dog thesis is that both the major events of the past week – the arrest of Wikileaks’ Julian Assange on rape allegations, and the student ruck in Parliament Square – were specially arranged by some sort of Tory deity to confuse the Left and make it look stupid.
What else are we to make of the demand by Women Against Rape, no less, that the rape allegations against Mr Assange must not be investigated and the great hero immediately freed?”
We never said or implied any of this. We simply questioned the unusual zeal with which he is being pursued when so many rapists in both Britain and Sweden are not (Guardian letters, 9 December, see below). The figures speak for themselves: 90% of reported rapes never reach court in Sweden; the conviction rate is 6.5% in the UK and similar in Sweden; men accused of rape are routinely granted bail.
We are an independent women’s organisation which has campaigned for rape to be taken seriously and we have been supporting victims of rape for 34 years. We do not take kindly to women’s demand for protection and justice being misused to forward political agendas, which is what Mr Gilligan seems intent on, while rape continues to be neglected at best or protected at worst.
Mr Gilligan’s distortion of what we said misrepresents and undermines what we stand for, and we can only wonder why he is doing that. We stand for justice not for lynch mobs. Where does Mr Gilligan stand?
We would like to know what will be done to rectify his slanderous statement.
While we cannot comment on the allegations against Mr Assange since we do not know the facts of the case, we do not condone attacks against the women who reported him. Whatever the merits of their allegations, it is not them but the criminal justice authorities in both Sweden and England who are responsible for the way in which these allegations are being dealt with. The authorities’ poor record in dealing with rape has given the go-ahead to claims that most women who report rape are liars. In fact, police and prosecutors are often the first to disbelieve women – we are fighting several cases of rape victims being imprisoned for making a false allegation after they reported rape but were disbelieved by the authorities.
In defence of women and girls, and of anyone who has suffered rape or sexual assault, we cannot allow political agendas to pervert our struggle for justice.
When she says “We do not take kindly to women’s demand for protection and justice being misused to forward political agendas, which is what Mr Gilligan seems intent on, while rape continues to be neglected at best or protected at worst” she’s talking about people like you Morrissey, as well as the powers trying to suppress Assange.
More on Women Against Rape’s position on the Assange case:
It’s not “the Feminists” who are going after Assange. The Swedish branch of Women Against Rape has issued the strongest possible condemnation of these wild allegations.
Good point!
What some don’t seem to get, is that we who suspect these particular women of having let’s say, not the purest of motive, are not saying that all women who complain of rape are liars!
My question, weka, is why are otherwise-intelligent people sincerely trying to argue that being charged with rape is Totally The Worst Thing Ever?
We all know that very few rapes get reported, even fewer get prosecuted, an infinitesimal number get convictions, and whenever the accused is a celebrity (reference: any rugby played accused of sexual assault EVER) there is in fact the complete opposite of a negative societal response. Woman’s Weekly covers are practically guaranteed.
Yet we’re meant to believe that the Globalised US Hegemony can’t come up with better shit than rape accusations? At least in Blake’s 7 they had a sufficient understanding of human culture to make it child molestation.
Rape is a perfect character assassination allegation. Remember the goal here is not for the ‘charges to stick’ in a court of law. For instance no charges have to be laid, no session of court held, no finding reached, for Assange to be permanently screwed and permanently placed on the run. Job done.
NB as weka has said, its more than possible for Assange to be fully guilty of the allegations AND for these legal proceedings to be manipulated by international powers for their own advantage. The two are not mutually exclusive.
CV, the goal is to have a man accused of sexual assault face the accusation and defend himself. If Assange’s own behaviour exposes him to the risk of extradition to another country to face unrelated charges, bad luck. That sort of thing happens all the time; eg. a driver gets pulled over for a traffic violation, and gets arrested for a warrant issued on earlier alleged crimes or gets deported for being an illegal immigrant etc.
And, to be clear, if the US has a legally sound case to extradite Assange from the UK or Sweden to face charges that he has broken US law, then he should be extradited to face those charges, too. In saying that, I note that both countries will not extradite if the death penalty is a possible outcome, something I agree with.
If Assange’s own behaviour exposes him to the risk of extradition to another country to face unrelated charges, bad luck.
Extradition to another country to face unrelated charges is completely unacceptable given the specific circumstances:
– That the country in question is likely to be the US
– That relevant charges have already been secretly laid, in the US, via a sealed indictment.
– That Assange’s chances for fair treatment and a fair trial in the US is minimal.
– That permanent incarceration in a military prison like Guanatanamo Bay is tolerable by Sweden etc as it is not the “death penalty”.
– That any such charges would be based as Assange acting as a publisher or journalist, and not as a leaker of secret information (Manning supposedly leaked the information to Wikileaks, Assange’s organisation published it).
Your cavalier attitude (that it’s just “bad luck”) painfully underplays how significant an issue this is for the chilling effect it will have on whistleblowers, journalists and publishers world wide.
You also avoid the topic of deliberate manipulation of the legal system by major powers to achieve political ends other than the provision of impartial justice to victims of crime.
Nope, not even close. The only chilling effect will be on men who can’t take no for an answer, hopefully. And despite your optimism, none of the issues you list prevent Assange’s eventual extradition. And that is as it should be, because the law should not be bent or ignored for the famous. There is no Assange Exemption, just is there is no wealth or power exemption.
I’ve seen plenty of references to Assange’s ‘bravery’ in these discussions. That suggests he knew that what he did at Wikileaks had risks attached, one of which is that publishing the military secrets of a country might tend to be illegal in that country. If you know the risk and go ahead anyway, why complain if it all goes pear shaped?
One irony of this situation is that the UK will probably look to extradite him back from Sweden when his court case there is completed to face charges of skipping bail. If he ever does get sent to the USA, it’ll probably be from the UK then, not Sweden now.
Rape is a perfect character assassination allegation.
Yes, that’s why no one watches Roman Polanski films any more.
[And, just for the record, he unquestionably drugged and raped an underage woman before fleeing the country where he faced prosecution. Which is why everyone took it so seriously.]
is why are otherwise-intelligent people sincerely trying to argue that being charged with rape is Totally The Worst Thing Ever?
One of the core problems with this type of crime is that in our society sex is almost always conducted in private, so in the absence of physical evidence, the case often comes down to ‘he said, she said’. Which cuts both ways; for while this fact will often make it very difficult for a genuine prosecution to leap over the ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ hurdle … it also makes it very difficult for a genuine defendant to dispel the stigma of a false accusation.
I thought the theory was that the charges were a roundabout way of getting Assange exradited to the US, not to get him stigmatised. Rape charges may or may not be useful for creating “the stigma of a false allegation”. As a vehicle for extradition they are less than ideal, and it’s hard to imagine the US couldn’t come up with something much more effective.
But you now seem to be saying that “some” women who complain of rape ARE liars. Thanks for clearing that up. Should make a good topic for discussion at the next branch meeting.
Where indeed are the missing funds? Apparently they have ‘vaporized’, MF Global style. How could the court possibly conclude that Sentinel was not acting in bad faith and did not intend to defraud its customers? If $460 million in customer funds were ‘transferred to a house account’ where they were ‘serving improperly as collateral for loans extended to Sentinel Management Group’, that clearly means they were stolen, respectively ‘misappropriated’.
Oh yes that ‘guess’ blinglish made to ‘balance’ the books which would be considered ‘fraud’ by most reasonable ethical standards if this lot had any.
Wish the MSM would grow a pair and dissect the mongrel over this and the many other fanciful BS rants he’s had on the parliamentary floor in question time.
Yeah it will for people in NZ because I turned cloudflare off and you’re now talking directly to a server inside NZ. But there is some irony in this.
It costs $20 per month for cloudflare. Normally this sends NZ traffic out to their servers which appear to be all offshore. It then caches the site so efficiently that we have a massive drop in the traffic at our main server, because we’re really only providing data to cloudflare to disperse. Nett effect is that our main server traffic is down to a trickle and most of it apart from admin is overseas traffic. Meanwhile everyone reading our site from NZ is picking up something like 250GB per month mostly over the Southern Cross cable.
So why do I do this? Well the rationing system for the Southern Cross cable is at the NZ servers. We have a ration of about GB of overseas traffic on our main dedicated server. Most plans are 20-25GB, ours is a bit larger. Almost all of our overseas traffic is bots. Searchbots and RSS are legit and wanted, and we run a persistent war against other types of bots. However we currently get charged $2/GB for anything over our ration. This in most months is at least $100. In bad months it has been known to go up and be more than the base cost of the server.
So it saves us a lot of money to increase the traffic over the southern cross using cloudflare by forcing our readers to read the site from overseas servers. We do this to reduce the excessive charging for overseas traffic at our server that we mostly don’t want. Perverse eh?
It’d be nice if cloudflare had a server inside NZ. But they won’t because the overseas data charges would be too high.
Such is the life with a monopoly supplier of bandwidth.
Cloudflare will be going back on as soon as I have chance to debug it. In the couple of months it has been on it, it has cost $40 and has saved us something like $300. It has probably cost the country a damn sight more.
But in reality it is going to be simpler to just move the main servers back offshore and get out of this bloody silly charging nightmare. There I can hire servers with massive caps that the site cannot exceed for less than we pay for here. The alternative is to run a much cheaper virtual server with cloudflare keeping the CPU down at the server.
I need to bank the deposit slip that provides a symbolic amount to The Standard.
I have been carying that bit of paper in my wallet for a while, forgetting to drop by the bank during lunchtime 🙂
It is the recognition that means a lot in this lonely life waiting for the internet to resume in its full flood… 🙂
Finally got to talk to a chorus tech. It looks like there isn’t a way to communicate a simple message from Orcon to Chorus like I need a ADSL filter taken out at the apartment blocks switchboard, and the building manager is only here for a few hours in the week. Just like I couldn’t book a move because the my tenant leaving hadn’t booked a move order. *sigh* I guess that it is still frigging ICMS – sounds like a RPG type problem. But now I have talked to an tech – friday morning!
No e-mail for a few days. My mail server is offline….
I would think not. I suspect that the problem was with some kind of minifying the CSS that resulted in not having ANY CSS from the site. So you saw the site without the makeup 🙂
Sorry but why would you use he most buggy version of Internet Exploder?? FF is the only thing I use in here, and yesterday was a little problematic. But apart from that I usually have no problems.
Because IE6 was the most secure of MS browsers, last release I could lock down & know it was safe. Never found it particularly buggy, still use it occasionally when I need ActiveX which FF doesn’t support. It also renders fonts on some sites better than FF. Bit dated now, crashes on the likes of Paypal, but I refuse to use the later versions of IE which are a security nightmare IMO.
Most people had trouble with IE because they didn’t know how to use it.
Ok I will have a look at work (haven’t set up the usual web development environ’s on this computer yet). And I’m running on my cellphone at home right now.
Waiting for Chorus at home to put my link back on. Was meant to be last night – didn’t happen (which was interesting – loading too much work on them?). And that is just at the exchange. They’re going to have to come here to remove a ADSL splitter at the apartment’s block board – had to cut the lines and remove the hole in the floor when we polished the concrete.
Not looking forward to that because I have to get a time when both the building manager and the tech actually get here at the same time and take time off work. In the meantime half of my home systems are down.
It’s nice to have the Standard back.
For those unable to access through firefox, I just bounced over from ‘idle thoughts of an idle fellow’ (always worth a read). And presto the site is restored to normality.
Under the general license, which will remain in effect until October 5, 2012, an NGO can transfer funds up to $300,000 during the 45-day period to Iran to be used for humanitarian relief and reconstruction activities related to the earthquake response,” the Treasury said.
“NGOs interested in transferring more than $300,000 during the 45-day period may apply for a specific license.”
“It is important to note that the general license specifically forbids any dealings or involvement with individuals or entities designated for support for the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or terrorism,” the Treasury said.
Just had to remember to insinuate Iran has WMD’s, and sponsors “terrorism”. You wouldn’t want people to forget those crucial “facts” amongst the “charity” of lifting sanctions!
Just had to remember to insinuate Iran has WMD’s, and sponsors “terrorism”. You wouldn’t want people to forget those crucial “facts” amongst the “charity” of lifting sanctions!
America fcuk yeah…..
Governments like those in NZ and UK say they shouldn’t pick winners, shouldn’t invest directly in the country, should not plan but leave the market to decide, seem to act differently when it comes to Olympic sport where we see record investment, ruthless targeting and rigorous planning.
Good article on this (UK-based, but relevant here too):
Defamation, distortion and disinformation
Murdoch turns his guns on Ecuador
Wednesday 22 August 2012
Of course, it comes as no surprise that Ecuador’s heroic president is now the object of the scorn and fury of the U.S. and U.K. governments.
Over the last few days, we’ve looked at how British state TV and state radio, and “liberal” papers like the ridiculous but loyal Grauniad have faithfully served as an unquestioning conduit of government black propaganda, no matter how fanciful and wild it might be.
But, really, the leaders in this sort of thing are still the Murdoch outlets. From the illiberal but well-bred ideologues at the Times right through to the mouth-breathing dolts and giddy loons of Fox News, one thing you know the Murdoch empire will deliver is consistency.
This morning on TV3, I watched Rachel Smalley adopt her gravest expression to introduce an outrageous item from Murdoch’s British Sky TV. Dominic Waghorn, in tones of the deepest sincerity, tried to show how the “defiant” Ecuadorian prime minister, while appearing to protect a journalist, is in fact stomping all over press freedom.
Viewers are treated to these words by right wing Ecuadorian journalist Jorge Ortiz: “I think Correa is fooling the world. He uses very wisely the media to present himself as a leader that respects and promotes free press which is not true. We’re very worried, very worried indeed we know that he is killing the right of journalists to express themselves. I’m sure that within two or three years there will not be any free press in Ecuador.”
Dominic Waghorn ends the item with this magnificently sententious peroration: “Julian Assange may be enjoying the full protection of the Ecuadorian state; others who have spoken out against it may not be so lucky.”
Of course, if we want to find an example of leaders who actually do “kill the right of journalists” not only to “express themselves”, but to tell the truth, Mr Ortiz and Mr Waghorn would be intoning grandly (and truthfully, not dishonestly) about Barack Obama and David Cameron.
Most of South America’s media outlets are run by local versions of Murdoch who have supported dictatorships and endlessly promote military intervention against democratically elected governments. If whoever runs the media in Ecuador is anything like Brazil’s Roberto Marinho was, suppressing them is actually working in favour of freedom of the press. I also look at putting Murdoch in prison the same way.
Sadly you are generally right, hence what is needed is a balane of sorts:
This is just a selection that was also largely nver broadcast, esxscept on state media.
We have a media dictatorship in NZ, in Australia and the US, where commercial media is all that counts. The few token indepentend or left leaning journos are a fucking sick joke here. They are rather pre-occupied with some weird lifestyle choices, they do NOT give a damn about the needs and suffering of low waged, of beneficiaries and others down the ladder, they only “abuse” topics about them to get soem stories out that may sell, also in mainstream, of which they often rely for at least additional income.
NZ has NO left, it is devoid of truly independent and left thinking media and so forth, except the rudimentary forums like this perhaps.
NZ is almost a dictatorship of sorts, where the commercial elite control and manipulate the whole media, TVNZ included, daily. There is NO independent reporting, NO real information of substance, it is a DESERT media landscape not to be taken seriously, but to be a truly HOSTILE ground for free thinking and opinion now.
That is my opinon, you may think differently, but you will have to struggle to convince me of otherwise.
It will be welcomed, but make an “effort”, please, as I cannot bother with half wits.
Thanks for the response and link to Giovanni Tiso’s blog yesterday. The comments around third way politics/Tony Blair were interesting. Look where that got the UK. Fail.
It seems I doubled up on what you had previously posted re Deborah Russells article. It was heartening to read her words and like you I hope Richard Long stays away from the “Opinion” column and never comes back. It would be a breath of fresh air to have a columnist with a rational, intelligent and socially minded view featuring in the Dominion Post.
Despite Deborah Russells reassuring words I decided that David Shearers comment was the last straw for me as a Labour voter. Thats a bit sad after all these years.Theres just been too many WTF? moments and there no going back. Hunter S Thompson comes to mind. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro”. I think thats what Labour have done.
No problem re double-up – hope others here also read Deborah’s article and Giovanni’s as imo these are some of the best summations I have seen – and exactly the approach I wish Labour would take. Shearer’s bene bashing has also left me ‘cold’ and there would need to be a lot of change within Labour (parliamentary) for me to continue to vote for them.
PS – how about an update on the new home/garden etc on Weekend Social this week!
You must be a sucker for punishment if you want to hear about rock strata and grass grub:) I owe Joe90 a thank you for his advice on the “wrecking bar” to break the rocks but thats another story for another time…………
Is it just me or is David Cunliffe now sufficiently cowed by his caucus that he is letting David Parker do all Labour’s speeches and articles on the economy these days?
Parker seems to be everywhere, doing a workmanlike job. Hello, Mr Cunliffe?
One has to wonder if Cunliffe’s playing a bit of a long game. Any silence can easily be read as censorship by head office, and Shearer’s blandness and Mallard’s continuing social media fuckups are probably doing far better things for him than continually reminding the ABCs that he’s still over here being all competent and charismatic (thus making them more ABC through irritated spite).
According to this link provided by Craig Glen Eden in the “Joyce’s latest list” thread, David Cunliffe is still giving it 100% in the house despite the empty chamber.
These improvements are changing the transport face of Australia. The poor cousin, freight rail, is now being seen as a serious alternative to the big trucks. The benefits of getting freight from our roads onto rail are obvious. For the everyday motorist, it means safer highways. For the commuter, less congested city streets. And for all of us, cleaner air and a cut to our greenhouse gas output.
…rail.
Talking about transport it appears that Phil Twyford has managed to determine NACTs planning model.
Yes, they should still receive a benefit. When we have close to zero unemployment rates the issue would be different. But while we have an economy that needs to run a higher employment rate, why not let the people that don’t want to work subsist on the dole, and give the jobs to people that want them?
I am assuming of course we are talking about the small numbers of people on the dole who don’t want paid employment and who do no other work whatsoever. Most people I know on benefits do some kind of work that contributes to society, whether that be cash work or voluntary work or raising kids or looking after other family etc.
While we’re at it, please produce some reliable research that demonstrates that ‘people not wanting to work’ is an actual problem in NZ.
I don’t know if it is an actual problem nor is it encumbered on me to to provide anything. I was asking an opinion on something, not arguing an opinion.
But Contrarian your question asserts the existence of those who do not want to work.
When pressed to establish a factual base for your assertion you’re all – “Oh, just asking….”.
Not different from my asking your opinion about Martians eating their children. In a serious exchange the asking of the question necessarily implies belief in the matter asserted.
That’s why it is incumbent on you to establish the matter. Unless you were off in some Monty Pythonesque joyride throughout
Proportionately, 98% of time should be spent on discussing the creation of work for the many tens of thousands who would start a job this afternoon if they were offered one.
And 2% of the time on kicking the ass of any slackers out there.
It seems the Right Wing prefer to do the opposite though
“”She found that only new mothers and teenagers worked less. Mothers with newborns stopped working because they wanted to stay at home longer with their babies, and teenagers worked less because they weren’t under as much pressure to support their families, which resulted in more teenagers graduating. In addition, those who continued to work were given more opportunities to choose what type of work they did. In addition, Forget finds that in the period that Mincome was administered, hospital visits dropped 8.5 per cent, with fewer incidences of work-related injuries, and fewer emergency room visits from car accidents and domestic abuse.[1]””
When benefits were proportionately much higher in NZ and there were plenty of jobs, those choosing not to work were, famously, known by name by the PM.
“Do you think money should be given to those who can but refuse to work?”
As CV states above, its a red herring. If it does exist, then it is a logical reaction.
And, my answer is yes, without a doubt, under our current situation money should be given to those who can but refuse to work…a few reasons include:
our poverty producing minimum wage, the 90 day right to fire, abuse of ‘flexibility’ by employers, step down period for benefits, temporary employment contracts, the massive amounts of money that greedy people sit on, the cost of living, education is a commodity, the stigma that is used by WINZ every time a benefit is applied for…and lastly, people are right to give up on trying to find dignified employment, because your ignorant, but supposedly ‘ethical’ perspective, has become normalised.
Yes because:-
a) They probably do some work which is beneficial to the community – it just isn’t for an employer
b) There’s so few of the people who actually don’t do anything that it just isn’t worth spending the time to even find them
c) I recall an article I read a couple of years ago about a couple that won lotto. They didn’t work, their fortune had increased from the $8m that they had won to $10m. These people and people like them are bigger bludgers than than anyone on the benefit
OMG – totally buys into the Right Wing framing. Misses the point that yes workers are taxed too much…because property and assets are not taxed at all!!!
A party that puts Trevor Mallard in its front bench instead of a woodchipper is not one I’m voting for. I thought that the man was a useless, narcissistic troughing sack of shit, but now words fail me.
Now, Is David Shearer going to say anything other than waffle? (Answer: No, of course not) The problem, sadly, is not just Mallard’s terminal dickishness, or Jones’ hissy fits, Robertson’s meaningless fluff, or Curran’s dribbling idiocy – or even the Paganis’ stale Blairism… it’s Shearer’s utter, utter uselessness. He has no ideas, no ideals, no ability to discipline his party. He’s not a leader and this is not a government in waiting; it’s not even an opposition.
I look forward to Shearer’s next newsletter – I need a laugh.
Really though, now, as much as we did in the Depression, we need a real Labour party and instead all we have is some sort of organised rort.
I propose a reform of our democracy at a fundamental level: we let focus groups replace parliament and government itself. That would be pure and honest – and best of all, of course, it would be efficient.
Wow. Interesting that he has so dramatically broken his cover to argue his position on this occasion, albeit in a snide passive-aggressive way.
Jesus “taxed to breaking point”!. Underpaid to breaking point – nah ‘parently not.. Is there any reason other than historical accident that Mallard is not a member of the National Party?
Thanks Trevor. You have helped me make my mind up – Labour will not be receiving my vote at the next election. If I wanted a bunch of dog-whistling cretins to represent me I’d vote National.
Settle down people. Of course high income people use trusts and a pile of rorts to avoid paying their tax. It really pisses me off that people on not much more than the minimum wage sometimes pay more tax than millionaires.
Now, did he just miss the substance of his own dog-whistle, or did he just miss the substance of his own dog-whistle?
And did he forget that on the tax front, those on entitlements get to pay a whopping 80c in the dollar on every dollar earned on anything over (from memory) $80 gross (this is done through reducing the core amount of welfare entitlement paid accordingly) ? And did he also forget that before that $80 limit is reached that some entitlements that are in addition to the core benefit are rebated at 100% on every dollar earned…ie, every one dollar earned = one dollar deducted from the entitlement?
I’ve no argument that poorer paid workers pay ridiculous amounts of tax (eg. student loan repayments plus [in the unlikely event you can afford it] kiwi saver contributions = somewhere in the region of 30% tax)
So, how about calling for higher wages Trevor? And how about you stop sniping at people who, if they did pick up some work, would be losing far and away more from their earnings than anyone else.
Or even better. How about you just leave parliament?
That’s a rhetorical question Mickey, a more plausible one is when is he sane ? please explain as some of us don’t facepalm or twatter etc and if I did he wouldn’t be a friend.
I thought everyone had gotten the memo that Labour are now the party of me-too beneficiary bashers, desperately trying to match National’s record of kicking the vulnerable at every turn.
I put up a post earlier in the day that one of my colleagues, whose views I respect, thought wasn’t helpful. The nice thing about Facebook is that i can choose to delete my own posts. I have.
one of my colleagues, whose views I respect, thought wasn’t helpful.
And Trevor needed to be told it wasn’t helpful? WTF?
Come on, Paganis and Salmond, you’re the self-styled “experts”, tell us again how Trevor is the smart one and the rest of us just don’t get it. Explain us how the likes of us thickies saying “Please STFU” to Mallard and Shearer are wrong, because we can’t understand the brilliance of this “strategy” (is that what you’re still calling it?).
FYI: this story was in the news headlines at 2 pm on Newstalk ZB. That’s what you wanted, right? Well done!
Except (and I’ll have to explain this slowly to you) the headline wasn’t “Labour gets tough, shifts to centre” or whatever fantasy you guys dreamed up. The headline was “Yet another Labour fuck-up” (I paraphrase, but not much).
Blame the media for shooting at Labour? Well, stop loading the fucking cannon.
And interesting comments on the imperator thread, from Deborah who did that awesome Dom Post article trying to change the narrative on beneficiaries. Good on you Anthony for saying you’ll post some extracts and a link here.
Show us these jobs Trevor, put up or shut the f**k up, the EVIDENCE Trevor, why would we bother debating anything with someone who has obviously spent way too long sucking at the teat of the highest form of State entitlement that His brain appears to have turned to mush when what He says lacks the veracity of EVIDENCE,
The EVIDENCE Trevor??? show us the WINZ figures for the number of people in the past 12 months who have been given the kick off of a benefit because they have REFUSED to accept work that has been offered,any work,
Your emotive Bulls**t Trevor is sickening, you cannot show us the EVIDENCE of a body of beneficiaries of any size who have REFUSED any work when work has been offered,
The fact is Trevor, i think with an honestly held belief that you are a Liar if you think that there are any amount of people who when offered a job, ANY JOB, by WINZ or anyone else, have REFUSED to take up that job,
Tell us all the TRUTH for once in your miserable life Trevor, its simple, there are not enough jobs in the economy to employ all those able and willing to work,
My view is that your Party should simply put you out to pasture Trevor, as your use by date has long been exceeded and the contents are beginning to smell like s**t…
The big problem with such simple slogans is that they seem reasonable. It’s not until you really think about them and compare them with reality that you get to see the lies and misdirection that are behind them.
Reading ‘Open Mike’ today is a slightly quixotic experience, we have Labour activists openly slapping a labour MP,(a well earned slap at that),
And,
National supporters giving it to their Government over their attempt to keep ACT breathing political oxygen in the form of ‘Charter Schools’,
Step to the Left people, as can be seen from the 2 small examples given, there is nothing to the right except empty rhetoric from the empty minds of a failed empty neo-Liberal ism…
I know exactly what it is, but when I read alarmist drivel like the comment below regarding the destruction of PHARMAC I’m given to flights of ridiculing such comments.
Will you be laughing when your taxes are being spent on legal disputes created by transnational companies arguing against policies arrived at democratically?
“TPP would greatly increase the number of investor-state attacks on public interest policies and would expose governments to massive new financial liabilities.”
“The rules that panelists [ICSID] will adjudicate would supersede national laws. Article 12.7 of the TPP, for instance, provides a long list of prohibitions against government actions; under it, laws imposing capital controls (even to ameliorate a crisis), rules governing domestic content of products or any protections of any domestic industry would be illegal…”
When it comes to it, you’d simply break away from the Agreement and join up with other countries who were also bearing the brunt of corporate imperialism.
Well and good CV, however what if such countries are also bearing the brunt of corporate imperialism in their mainstream media too, successfully keeping people sleepy and uninformed?
We are all becoming like the toad that was put in the cool water and slowly heated up. We put up with more and more of this b**shit. Our tolerance is remarkable and for those who have had it bought to their attention its very horrible to watch.
[lprent: Not my style. I’m more likely to use some kind of pincer. 😈 See like this horse…
I did rather like the way that the system decided to moderate you. Your other comment had the wrong e-mail address (I corrected it for you), and this one had a phrase that akismet found offensive. Good picking by the machine. ]
And Australians have a new name for NZers – refugees.
AUSTRALIA is facing a flood of economic refugees. But the big numbers aren’t from the north, they are from the across the Tasman where Statistics New Zealand yesterday announced the biggest exodus to Australia on record.
Woooooooooo! 53,900 economic refugee’s, fleeing NZ, in the year to July. This does equate roughly to the figure often cited of “1000 NZers leaving for Australia every week”, but even more. Economic refugee is a completely apt term.
Aussies must think we are idiots voting twice for a government that drives its own citizens away in droves.
I just want to comment on the Julian Assange and Equador thing.
I don’t know what Assange did or did not do in Sweden with those girls. I don’t know if the USA is behind these charges to get him to the USA.
I understand wikileaks is about speaking truth to power.
My question is how principled is Mr Assange seeking refuge from the President of Equador IF he runs a regime averse to freedom of speech, and imprisons people for speaking truth to power? Self interest rules in the end?
Nelson Mandela went to prison for 25 years, was able to make a stand, retain his principles and came out to an atmosphere which could have resulted in massive bloodshed had he given the word. he didn’t. He chose peace and dignity. He spoke truth to power in many ways.
Julian Assange…
The swedish have refused to interview Assange in the Equador Embassy. I think they should.
Yes Tracy. By edict, Julian can do no wrong and any suggestion to the opposite can only be a dastardly plot by George Bush and Dick Cheney. Those two women are actually male CIA operatives from the Treadstone project, disguised as women in order to trap our dear hero. But Julian has come up with a stunning plan , elegant in its simplicity.
I thought the same thing but the comment thread from 11 on this page (/nz-vs-ecuador/) cleared things up for me on Monday.
Bill convinced me fairly quickly with his links and knowledge, I could stand corrected though.
I just want to comment on the john banks thing.
he asserts that the boorockacsee is being overrun with rationalists who dont beleive in religion abut the john banks knows that God made the world in 7 days 4,300 years ago.
he also designed his hardly davison and the medicine that keeps horrible old men alive.
Some Labour MPs know this is their last term, so they won’t be in power anyway.
Some other Labour MPs believe time is on their side, and that losing the next election will not affect them (as long as they keep their seats).
Somewhere in the middle there may be some other MPs who genuinely do want to win the next election, but for whatever reason, they seem unable to rein in the idiot(s).
If by “Labour” you mean the party membership, outside the cosseted caucus, then the answer is “Yes”. But the MPs don’t seem to care what they think.
Just watching my recording of today’s General Debate.
That politician got amnesia again
From Sue Moroney, delivering some news to John Banks following his contribution to today’s general debate: Banksie apparently predicted that Shearer would be leader of the opposition in the 50th Parliament, and that he (Banks) would be back as an MP in the 50th parliament.
I just watched Banks’ speech (myfreeview recorded it on the end of question time, and started recording the debate in the middle of the general debate).
OMG. He kept referring to the current parliament and the current leader of the opposition in THIS 40th parliament… I checked:
Most Jafas only had one opportunity to vote for Banks, and Len won. I think you could then ascertain that Jafaland became more astute thanks to the consolidation of greater Auckland. So Anne your impression may be misguided !!!!!
Yep. The south and the west voted overwhelmingly Brown. He had a meeting last night where St Heliers and Mission Bay were complaining about rates increases. He was apologetic. He should stick to his guns and tell them to complain to the Government who set super city up.
Besides 90+% of this particular area voted for Banks. Why should Len care?
Yes Len has become the sacrificial goat regarding rates.
The real issue to me is the every increasing debt. This implies to me that to keep rates down the councils utilized debt as a major source to fund councils wishes.(and some smoke and mirrors accounting to CCO’s) Not a very sustainable policy. Unfortunately the next mayor is for an even more stressful time. For Len’s sake coming 2nd at the next election could be a godsend for his family, friends and personally.
Funny how all attention is towards the mayor there are many councillors also accountable.
I suspect that most people who voted for Len knew that the rates were going up. It was, after all, fairly obvious that they would due to Rodney Hides and National’s implementation of the SuperShitty.
I read a book some years ago -one of those organisational improvements books, darned if I can remember what it was called…
basically it said when difficult people start making life unpleasant in an organisation, the traditional approach was to get rid of them , and everything would be peaceful again.
Well, this guy said we should listen to these difficult, annoying people, because they may hold the answer for the improvement of the organisation, will challenge it and come up with different outside the box ideas, ie not yes-men /women
Maybe it’s time Labour realised Cunliffe may not be the problem, he may actually be the solution, and this may be a little uncomfortable for them
General comment on quality of media journalism? (sorry sensationalism)
I listened to a report on RNZ this evening of a tragic motoring accident.
“One witness said (recording of witness voice “I heard a loud bang and rushed outside. The vehicle was turning left into a church …”)”
Why do we get these sorts of soundbites fed to us as sources of “eyewitness” accounts on so many bulletins these days.
Why do we get these sorts of soundbites fed to us as sources of “eyewitness” accounts on so many bulletins these days.
My son and I call it the ‘nosy neighbour’ phenomenon… It’s like the person who when a meth lab is discovered, or someone is arrested, says “I always thought there was something off about them”. (You don’t hear people say “she was such a nice, quiet woman” any more, fortunately..
And it now appears that we’re going to have to stop calling lying, thieving scum something other than rats as it’s now been proven that they’ve got more empathy and compassion than your average right wing politician.
The free rat, occasionally hearing distress calls from its compatriot, learned to open the cage and did so with greater efficiency over time. It would release the other animal even if there wasn’t the payoff of a reunion with it. Astonishingly, if given access to a small hoard of chocolate chips, the free rat would usually save at least one treat for the captive — which is a lot to expect of a rat.
The researchers came to the unavoidable conclusion that what they were seeing was empathy — and apparently selfless behavior driven by that mental state.
DTB
I thought the rat info was timely. When wouldn’t it be though? That’s amazing but humans don’t need to be shown up in this sort of way. By rats! What next? Spiders make good mothers, carry their babies on their back etc. Really we don’t live up to our brain capacity.
Evening Colin – having searched you on this site, I note that this only your second visit. Your first was on August 10. On both occasions, you targetted Bad12 – are you a stalker and is your age 16?
[lprent: By the same logic then that begs the question – is bad 12? In which case I’d have to hope that censorship act doesn’t apply here bearing in mind HS’s comment to me and my response. ]
Damn i interrupted the importance of a scrabble game to have my rawene upset by a pair of horse’s balls,
Now that could be a double intendre, but, honestly it aint people, how the hell tho did you know what i do for a day job ,
If colon16 had a ounce of intellect in it’s little snippet of spittle i could probably just gather the strength to slide my hand up it’s hole and administer a cholecystectomy, that would teach em to have the gall to address me such…
I think Trevor has upset a lot of sensible left-leaning people. Personally, I think he must be drunk when posting some of the stuff he posts online. Or is he suffering from dementia such that he now thinks he’s Paula Bennett.
This Labour Party needs reaming.of the artherosclerotic plaque that is restricting blood-flow to good leadership. Trevor is a fatty and calcified deposit on the arteries to the left.
With the government’s asset sales plan in free fall, its time for John Key to change his approach. Be bold, and just for once place yourself in the history books, and embrace state capitalism.
Turn the Future Investment Fund into a fully fledged sovereign wealth fund, and transfer ownership of our SOE’s to it — like Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, give it full range to invest in anything and everything, turn it into a balwark of NZ and public ownership, and a companion piece to the NZ Super Fund, and a huge cash cow to fund schools, hospitals, broadband, rail, roads…
If its good enough for Dubai, Kuwait, Norway and Singapore, its good enough for us.
And David Shearer, promise to do that when winning the 2014 election.
Imagine if Roger Douglas and Richard Prebble did it back in ’86, instead of flogging them off to Gordon Gekko-types. They would truly be heroes.
Way too sensible for the likes of Slippery, and, when Dave aint doing His bit to alleviate poverty via a spot of mango-skinned redistribution He’s probably still coming to grips with that overly trite piece of neo-Liberal bulls**t, ”the Government has no business in business”,
Mostly the rest of us can see that as an investment vehicle our Government has the greatest ability to be proactive within the New Zealand economy just as the many countries you have highlighted are,
Add to that list of course China where the State has no problem ‘owning’ the smallest of factory’s producing the easiest of goods to manufacture and we can see that Government does have a role in business on all levels from investment to ownership,
Unfortunately little old us seem still to be stuck in the dark ages…
That sounds like a really stupid idea. Better to just turn the SoEs back into what they were and always should have been – state services run to benefit NZ and not to make a profit.
It may sound a bit dumb to some, but this seems to be the most popular world wide song at present. It even hits tunes in European charts, and it is is highly popular. Bieber move off your top arrogant arse, this is much, much better, leaving you in the shadow.
Suck it up or hate it, your choice, it is interesting. In Brazil it is based on some tunes from certain regions, and it is also rural. It is “popular”.
Reprinted from Jacobinmag by Jane Slaughter and Chris Brooks Almost 50,000 UAW workers are on strike against GM and a two-tier labor system that undermines worker solidarity. But members may need to wage a battle on two fronts — against the company, but also against their own union leadership. Forty-nine ...
Before Jacingrant There Was Gracinda: Grant Robertson and his 2014 running mate, Jacinda Ardern. She stood at his side: loyal and obliging, as she had ever been. The media dubbed this duo “Gracinda” – a sort of political “Brangelina”. The other young people who worked alongside Robertson were also ambitious ...
. . Just when you thought Simon Bridges couldn’t sink any lower – he has. After the March 15th Christchurch terror attack, the (current) Leader of the National Party issued strong committments to support urgently needed gun law reform; “We will be ready and prepared to be constructive and to ...
We all know that bad parents simply don’t care about their children’s education. Most truants have loser parents, and grow up to be involved with crime, or in low paid employment usually like their parents. The nonsense so-called “climate strike” coming up will be attended mostly by the least intelligent ...
Is the terrorist Organisation Greenpeace and the loony Green parties around the World hiring professional internet trolls? I have noticed a trend lately where if you post research, news articles or even comments that show the manmade climate change scam to be just that, you are immediately attacked, often within ...
Today is the first day of the global climate strike. Led by schoolkids, people all around the world are going to protest to demand action on climate change. New Zealand isn't doing it till next Friday (join us!), but if you want to get active early, there's plenty to do ...
The Herald has a story today about the 400 MW of wind power currently under construction. Good news, right? Except that none of it is being driven by policy (instead, its about replacing Contact Energy's Taranaki Combined Cycle gas-fired power plant, due to shut down in 2022), and most of ...
To Protect and Serve: When the Prime Minister finds herself enmeshed in the coils of a full-blown political scandal, her colleagues and party comrades have only one priority: to release her as swiftly – and with as little lasting injury – as possible. Is this what Jacinda Ardern’s colleagues and ...
When military leaders cover up and lie to elected civilian authorities, the foundation of democratic civil-military relations is undermined because it is those authorities who are entrusted to hold the military accountable to the public that they mutually serve. But this is only true if civilian political authorities take their ...
The Make It 16 campaign to lower the voting age is launching this afternoon, and they have already announced plans to challenge the law in court:The campaign, named "Make it 16" will launch at Parliament on Friday, with plans to take their case to the High Court, testing the rights ...
by Daphna Whitmore The long years of Netanyahu’s reign are drawing to an end. For years he has epitomized reactionary zionism as he oversaw hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers seize land in the West Bank. There are now 700,000 settlers, putting an end to the myth that Israel was ...
BP, Z and Mobil all insist that petrol price hikes are temporary, “in a very literal sense.” The nation’s major petrol providers are trying to allay customer fears over prices, promising that they’ll move to lower them again “immediately” when the Middle East is returned to its formerly peaceful state. ...
South African coach Rassie Erasmus says he has no idea what they’re going to do about the boat. In a highly anticipated press conference this afternoon, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has finally unveiled the team’s boat for its Rugby World Cup 2019 campaign. In a press conference that went ...
The Operation Burnham inquiry continued to question senior NZDF staff today, and their shoddy coverup over their knowledge of civilian casualties continue to fall apart. If you recall, first, we were asked to believe that it was all a series of "mistakes and errors": a senior officer with multiple degrees ...
The Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 2) had part of its committee stage yesterday. its a generally tedious bill about the nitty-gritty of local government reorganisation. But it includes a clause making the Local Government Commission subject to the Ombudsmen Act, and hence the OIA. Great! Except of ...
Yesterday Ihumātao's mana whenua reached a consensus that they would like their land back, and asked the government to negotiate with Fletcher's for its return. The government's response? Try and undermine that consensus, while talking about how doing anything would undermine existing Treaty settlements. The first is just more bad ...
Its Suffrage Day, the 126th anniversary of women winning the right to vote (but not stand in elections) in New Zealand. And to celebrate, the government has bought Kate Sheppard's house in Christchurch:The government has bought Kate Sheppard's former home in Christchurch for more than $4 million. The Ilam villa ...
The UN climate summit is happening in new York next week, and unlike previous years, coal-burners and denier-states are not being invited to speak:Leading economies such as Japan and Australia will not be invited to speak at next week’s crunch UN climate change summit, as their continued support for coal ...
Get Back Jojo! The elation in Mayor Phil Goff’s camp may be easily imagined as they watched social media light up in indignation at challenger John Tamihere’s "Sieg Heil to that" quip. Just when JT’s notoriously right-wing, sexist and homophobic stains were beginning to fade back into his ‘colourful’ past, ...
Patrick Gower is good value when he's high. Not that I've ever, you know, got stoned with him. But in the second part of his documentary Patrick Gower on Weed, he does what you'd expect in a modern weed documentary and immerses himself – first with a doctor, then a ...
We surveyed candidates on their attitudes to issues facing the Western Bay Region, find out what they think: “Closing the Gap” Tauranga, one of the area groups of Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc., has surveyed all candidates in the three local body elections to discover attitudes to some basic issues ...
Please spread widely, and sign, to support science and rationalism over the new irrationalism sweeping universities and institutions. PROJECT NETTIE Sexual reproduction, the generation of offspring by fusion of genetic material from two different individuals, evolved over 1 billion years ago. It is the reproductive strategy of all higher animals ...
Just when I was thinking that Palmerston North's mayoral race (which includes a convicted child molester / public wanker and a convicted child beater) was the worst in the country, Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere opened his mouth:Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere is being slammed for using the words "sieg ...
We reprint below an article from the excellent website the Economics of Imperialism by Tony Norfield This is an update of the statistics for my Index of Power, using data for 2018-19 and discussing what a country’s ranking reflects. The major change is that China’s rank has shifted up and ...
The All Blacks have been, for more than a century, arguably the most successful International sports team in the world. But they are more than that; even for those Kiwis who are immune to the charms of rugby (and there are more than a few), the All Blacks are ambassadors ...
Alone, Alone, All, All, Alone: To argue that the Prime Minister is the victim of her advisers’ failure to keep her informed may offer Jacinda some measure of exoneration – but only at the cost of casting her as a hopeless political ingénue. A star-dusted muppet, whose only purpose is to ...
In times of hysteria about the “World coming to an end” and “rising sea levels” so-called ‘Journalists’ who can barely spell words longer than four letters are having a ball! Though the majority of the Public have worked out that manmade climate change is nothing short of pseudo-science, and the ...
I don't want to give pblicity to certain parts of the internet that are better left to fester in their own irrelevance (I know, a bit like this place) but the listing of Chris Trotter as a 'author' on Cameron Slater's spinoff website, the BFD requires some explanation.Now, I don't ...
The text below is a Twitter thread by Heather Heying that explains the essence of sexual reproduction and it long evolutionary history. She is an evolutionary biologist and a “professor-in-exile” after she and her husband, Bret Weinstein, stood up to supporters of an enforced “Day of Absence” for white staff and teachers ...
With crunch time for new Zealand climate policy approaching, most of the New Zealand media have got on board with a global reporting effort to cover the issue. There's one strand of stories today about polling and what it shows about changing public attitudes to the crisis, but the strand ...
Dangerous Foes: For those readers of Bowalley Road who feel disposed to dismiss any prospect of an Israeli destabilisation of New Zealand politics, the example of the United Kingdom repays close attention. Ever since the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party, the Israelis have sanctioned, funded and ...
Make It 16, the youth-led campaign to lower New Zealand's voting age, is holding an official campaign launch at Parliament this Friday from 16:30. If you'd like to attend, you can register using EventBrite here. ...
by Don Franks It was a lovely sunny Wellington afternoon with blue skies above the beaches. In Courtenay Place, political activists packed out a stuffy upstairs room for an important meeting. The assembled pacifists, anarchists, communists and independent young radicals of Peace Action Wellington felt the need for a mission ...
Current and former NZDF top brass are being publicly grilled this week by the hit and run inquiry over their public responses to allegations of civilian casualties. Previously, they've claimed there were no casualties, a position which led them to lie to Ministers and to the public. Now, they're saying ...
by Rafael D. Quiles (gender-critical gay man from Puerto Rico) The writing on the wall is right in people’s faces and people just don’t see it or don’t want to. What could actually possess a heterosexual male to want to feminize himself and claim that he is a lesbian? Because ...
From the Wall Street Journal:Inside a room of the ornately decorated Hotel du Palais during last month’s Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, President Trump awaited a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. Mr. Trump looked over a gathering of American and Egyptian officials and called out in ...
by the Redline blog collective At Redline we are very saddened to hear of the death of Magdalen Burns who passed away on the morning of Friday, September 13 (British time). Magdalen was a great fighter for the rights of women in general and lesbian women in particular, a defender ...
The Brexit issue has certainly brought with it a series of apparently difficult constitutional issues, many of them concerning the respective roles of the executive and parliament. Most of them arise because of the unwillingness of MPs, despite their professions to the contrary, to be bound by a constitutional rarity ...
. . This blogpost is different to my usual format of reporting on issues… Since July 1011, I have blogged on a variety of political issues; near always political and/or environmental; mostly highly critical of the previous National Government. Other issues included Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and repression of ...
Those close to the Police Minister believe the initiative may be the result of Nash “seeing a great deal” on AliExpress. In a move that comes seemingly out of nowhere, Police Minister Stuart Nash announced this afternoon that he expects all frontline staff to don bearskin hats, famously worn by ...
The government has released its Arms Legislation Bill, containing the second tranche of changes to gun laws following the March 15 massacre. And it all looks quite sensible: a national gun register, higher penalties for illegal possession and dealing, tighter restrictions on arms dealers and shooting clubs, and a shorter ...
Private prisons are a stain on humanity. Prison operators explicitly profit from human misery, then lobby for longer prisons terms so they can keep on profiting. And in the US, prison companies run not only local and state prisons, but also Donald Trump's immigration concentration camps. Faced with this moral ...
When National was in power, they were very keen on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) - basicly, using private companies to finance public infrastructure as a way of hiding debt from the public. They were keen on using them for everything - roads, schools, hospitals. But as the UK shows, that "service" ...
Moving And Shaking: There was a time when people spoke matter-of-factly about the “labour movement” – a political phenomenon understood to embrace much more than the Labour Party. Included within the term’s definition was the whole trade union movement – many of whose members looked upon the Labour Party as ...
by Philip Ferguson Much of the left, even people who formally identify as marxists, have collapsed politically in the face of postmodern gender theory of the sort pioneered by American philosopher Judith Butler. For Butler even biological sex is socially constructed. “If the immutable character of sex is contested, perhaps ...
The media is reporting that the (alleged) Labour party sexual assaulter has resigned from their job at Parliament, which means hopefully he won't be turning up there making people feel unsafe in future. Good. But as with everything about this scandal, it just raises other questions. Most significantly: why the ...
By Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern I am every bit as angry as you are. I am every bit as disappointed as you must be. The people with power, oversight and the ability to do something about these processes within the Labour Party should be ashamed. Whoever those people are, I ...
Property developers think there is an "oversupply" of houses in Auckland:High turnover rates and falling prices may be a sign that there are too many new houses going in to some parts of Auckland, commentators say. [...] Property developer David Whitburn said there was a "bit of an oversupply" in ...
Labour Party president Nigel Haworth resigned yesterday over the party's sexual assault scandal. But while that's good news, its unlikely to take away the stench of a coverup. Because according to Paula Bennett in Parliament yesterday, pretty much everyone in the Prime Minister's office was involved as well:I have been ...
Two-Faced? Labour insiders' commitment to the neoliberal status quo puts them at odds with their party’s membership; its trade union affiliates; and a majority of Labour voters, but this only serves to strengthen the perception they have of themselves as a special elite. Among the lesser breeds, they’ll talk up a ...
There has been a lot of talk about Boris Johnson wanting an election, and he has blustered with great gusto about 'chicken' Jeremy Corbyn refusing one, but I think there are many reasons why he is secretly glad he has been refused the opportunity:The Tories are an utter rabble,tearing themselves ...
Scottish appeal court judges have declared that Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament in the run-up to the October Brexit deadline is unlawful. The three judges, chaired by Lord Carloway, Scotland’s most senior judge, overturned an earlier ruling that the courts did not have the powers to interfere in the prime ...
By Simon Bridges. The following is a press release from the office of Simon Bridges, leader of The National Party. Key ora, New Zealand. Happy Maori Language Week. Look, I’m writing to you today because I want to clear something up. There’s been a lot of kerfuffle around some things ...
I understand there's some stuff going round about how the SIS "was removed from the list of public offices covered by the Public Records Act in 2017". The context of course being their records derived from US torture, which will be disposed of or sealed. The good news is that ...
Dr. Christopher Labos and Jonathan Jarry discuss the recent Canadian fluoride/IQ research. They provide an expert analysis of the paper and its problems. Click on image to go to podcast. The critical debate about the recent ...
Australia is burning down again, and meanwhile its natural disaster minister is denying climate change:Australia’s minister responsible for drought and natural disasters, David Littleproud, has said that he doesn’t “know if climate change is manmade”. Clarifying earlier comments that the question is “irrelevant” when considering the Coalition government’s response to ...
Auckland Philippines Solidarity is excited to host Professor Judy Taguiwalo for a speaking tour of NZ in September. She is a well-known activist in the Philippines and was a political prisoner under the Marcos dictatorship. Professor Taguiwalo briefly served as a Cabinet member under President Duterte but was forced from ...
This open letter to the Green Party was penned after an opinion piece by Jill Abigail, a feminist and founding member of the party, was censored by the Greens’ leadership. (Redline has reprinted her article here).The intolerance of the Green Party leaders and their acceptance of the misogyny of gender ...
Today is a Member's day, and David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill continues its slow crawl through its committee stage. They're spending the whole day on it today, though the first hour is likely to be spent on voting left over from last time. After that they'll move on ...
An ambitious plan to fly to Los Angeles petered out into a brief sight-seeing trip and a desire to return home and get some sleep before work tomorrow. Air New Zealand has confirmed a flight to Los Angeles last night was turned back about a quarter of the way into ...
There appears to be consensus – by omission – that the concept of indigenous futures should be accepted at face value. So I scavenged the internet to see if I could locate an academic descriptor or a framework around how we think about it as a concept, and whether it ...
Here’s another novelty chocolate to shove in your gob, New Zealand Cadbury could be seeking to make itself great again with a rumoured new release: Pineapple Trumps, a spin on its classic chocolate-encased pineapple treat and do-it-yourself tooth remover. The global confectionery manufacturer and bumbling “before” character in an infomercial, ...
During my time in the Pentagon I had the privilege of sitting down with military leaders and defence and security officials from a variety of Latin American nations. Sometimes I was present as a subordinate assistant to a senior US defence department official, sometimes as part of a delegation that ...
Kia ora, Aotearoa. It’s that magical time of year. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. In English, the week that frightens talk radio. As you probably know by now, all your favourite media outlets are participating, some more successfully than others. Stuff has changed its name to Puna for the ...
Eighteen months ago, the government promised to strengthen the Bill of Rights Act, by explicitly affirming the power of the courts to issue declarations of inconsistency and requiring Parliament to formally respond to them. So how's that going? I was curious, so I asked for all advice about the proposal. ...
As the Brexit saga staggers on, the focus is naturally enough on the Prime Minister and his attempts to achieve Brexit “do or die”. But the role played by the Leader of the Opposition is of almost equal interest and complexity. The first problem for Jeremy Corbyn is that he ...
“Climate change is here - we all need to do our part.” Monday 23rd September 2019. Press Release: Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre Climate change is happening. CEAC – compendium facts tribute to ‘Climate Change Week’ https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/115098866/exceptionally-rare-warming-above-antarctica-may-be-affecting-nzs-weather ...
Criminal law changes are now increasingly being used by politicians as a vote gathering tool pandering to lynch mob special interest groups. To look tough against crime, govts constantly increase penalties, create new crimes, and make it harder to get ...
It has been two years since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called climate change her generation's nuclear free moment. And on Monday, against a backdrop of global climate protest, she will give the opening speech at the United Nation's climate ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson is under intense scrutiny. New figures show economic growth has slowed to levels not seen for six years. And he has chosen not to answer questions about when he heard about serious allegations of a sexual assault cover-up ...
NZDF Attends Commemorations to Mark International Mission in East Timor A New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) contingent participated today in the 20th anniversary commemorations of the International Force East Timor (INTERFET) mission in Dili. The commemoration ...
They’ve only been up and running for a few months, but a New Zealand not-for-profit has already made a big impact on period poverty in New Zealand. ...
The allocation of money for publicly funded broadcasting for election campaigns should be turned on it's head according to Massey University professor of communication design Claire Robinson. ...
Disappointment expressed by Fletcher Building CEO, Ross Taylor, reflects the increasing frustration held by many with this Government’s failure to protect private property rights.[1] ...
The independent Interim Climate Change Committee today launched an eight-week, nationwide call for evidence on options available to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ...
Social Credit has lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman over the way the Overseas Investment Office is handling its official information request for disclosure of documents on the sale of Westland Milk Products to Chinese company Inner Mongolian ...
This Friday in Solidarity with the Global Climate Strike All of the SodaStream’s e-commerce platforms and head office operations will be closed to kick-off the week-long event, and employees will march the #CLIMATESTRIKE in Auckland on 27 September. ...
Federated Farmers congratulates the Auditor-General’s office on its release today of its report Managing Freshwater Quality: Challenges and Opportunities. ...
Growth has now slowed to a 6-year low, and downside risks are dominating. June quarter GDP growth came in at 0.5%qoq, in line with our expectation, and slightly above consensus. Although there were a few sensational reports of the chance of a negative print. ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is calling the release of the National Climate Change Risk Assessment (NCCRA) framework a good first step in balancing New Zealand’s response to climate change. ...
Family First NZ says that a new Colorado report compiled by the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area finds marijuana-positive traffic fatalities, hospitalisations, marijuana use, and illegal market activity have exploded since marijuana legalization. ...
This year’s Ratepayers’ Report , local government league tables released yesterday, reveals which local councils owe the most and which owe the least. ...
Rachel MacGregor welcomes the decision released today by Justice Hinton. The key issue on which all the various litigation has been based is the question, did Colin Craig sexually harass Rachel. That question has been answered – he did. Justice ...
The Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) has today ratified a ground breaking pay deal with Dunedin Railways which will see all union members being paid a living wage and the lowest paid receiving an 18% wage increase. Higher paid RMTU members ...
Inclusion for trans women/men and non-binary peoples has today been announced as the cornerstone of a new resolution for the National Council of Women New Zealand (NCWNZ). ...
It took a testy Morning Report interview this week to remind me that Simon Bridges was still the Leader of the Opposition. Until then, he had been largely invisible as the events of recent weeks unfolded. ...
The National Council of Women NZ has today welcomed the news that the Government has purchased Kate Sheppard’s house in Christchurch, the base for the NZ suffrage campaign. ...
The Māori Party supports mana whenua of Ihumātao and acknowledges their coming together to reach consensus on the future of their whenua. “We also acknowledge the leadership of the Kīngitanga who have played an important role in supporting ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is questioning why, for the second time, Jacinda Ardern has appointed a Crown-owned company Chief Executive to Chair her “Business Advisory Council”, following her announcement that Mercury CEO Fraser Whineray ...
Responding to the Government’s decision to give around $300 million to Amazon as a sweetener for filming a TV series in New Zealand, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says: “As a matter of simple waste, this is striking, ...
I am very pleased with Air New Zealand’s Decision to backdown and withdraw their application to trademark into a logo Kia Ora. I said at the time that it was an ill conceived idea and poorly thought out – more importantly it should never have been ...
NZEI Te Riu Roa members will be joining with others across the union movement by wearing black and white in support of pay equity on Suffrage Day tomorrow, and urging the Government to commit to a settlement for teacher aides this year. ...
Yesterday’s announcement from the Minister for Immigration, to improve temporary work visas for migrant workers, provides some positive changes but more detail is needed. The Council of Trade Unions fundamentally supports the principle of making ...
FIRST Union today welcomed Westpac’s public admission of the significant gender pay gap in its workforce and reiterated its call for employers to work with unions to close this disparity, arguing that this work must begin at the bottom of the pay ...
Changes to the work visa system announced by the Minister of Immigration are not all positive for employers or migrants, comments Ms June Ranson, chair of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI) , a leading voice in the ...
The Dairy Workers Union (DWU) has welcomed the announcement from dairy company, Synlait, that they will be boosting parental leave entitlements significantly for working parents. ...
In June, the Children’s Commissioner announced a thematic review into Oranga Tamariki’s policies, processes and practice relating to care and protection issues for tamariki Māori aged 0-3 months. Today the Children’s Commissioner has released the full ...
“Closing the Gap” Tauranga, one of the area groups of Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc., has surveyed all candidates in the three local body elections to discover attitudes to some basic issues of the Western Bay region. We believe that this is ...
In response to DairyNZ's attempt to dismiss an economic report that highlighted dairy's role in the New Zealand economy is only three per cent of GDP, Fish & Game New Zealand Chief Executive Martin Taylor says: "If DairyNZ wishes to reject a report ...
Kiingi Tuuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has successfully guided the mana whenua of lhumaatao to reach a consensus on the future of their whenua. ...
Two activists disguised as shareholders interrupted the AGM of a gold mining company in central Auckland this morning to inform shareholders their plans to mine for gold in conservation estate in the Karangahake Gorge were unwelcome. ...
The Capital and Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) has been labelled ‘NATO’ (no action, talk only) when it comes to child mental health, with just 0.6 full time staff (24 hours per week) for inpatient child psychology and just 0.8 full time staff ...
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL has awarded three New Zealand climate youth groups with its Ambassador of Conscience award, its highest recognition for human rights work, previously given to the likes of Nelson Mandela, Ai Weiwei and Malala Yousafzai. ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union , in partnership with the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance , has today published this year's Ratepayers' Report – online local government league tables – at www.ratepayersreport.nz . ...
NZUS Council executive director Jordan Small welcomes the news New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will meet with US President Donald Trump in New York next week. ...
By Michael Andrew Social media and tech industries have been replicating the ugliest aspects of capitalism from the 1800s, according to an AUT computer science lecturer. Associate Professor Tony Clear says that social media and tech executives are taking advantage of unregulated markets in a similar way as wealthy ...
Covering Climate Now: There’s a range of dairy-free ice creams available these days, but it’s a fair bet none will be as delicious – or satisfying – as making your own. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!If the latest stats ...
Covering Climate Action: Ahead of the UN’s Climate Action Summit, artist Joseph Michael and composer Rhian Sheehan teamed up to create Voices For The Future, a 30-minute installation projected onto the UN buildings.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Joseph Michael is ...
New Zealand banning Huawei’s 5G network equipment won’t impact you nearly as much as the US’s recent moves against Huawei phones, writes Henry Burrell. Twenty years ago, you would have shown off your flash new Ericsson or Nokia. How times change. Now, those two entities exist only to provide mobile network ...
Op-Ed by Kaveh Zahedi, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)Kaveh Zahedi is Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).In less than ten days world leaders will be ...
Grant McDougall reviews Kilgour’s new solo album, Bobbie’s A Girl, which sees him reflecting on the deaths of his friend and former bandmate, Peter Gutteridge and his own mother, Helen Kilgour. There is a passage in Shayne Carter’s excellent recent autobiography, Dead People I Have Known, in which he describes ...
New Zealand painter-poet Gregory O’Brien has just published a new collection of essays and art; pitched as a “field notebook … my whale survey”, Always Song in the Water drifts from his own front lawn in Hataitai, up to Northland and way, way across the Pacific. It’s the sort of ...
Ruby Porterlooks into New Zealand’s future when the sea level rises 10, 25 and 80 metres, and finds out how much of Auckland will be left.I grew up in Ponsonby, but the only bay I knew around here was Cox’s. It’s fed by a creek which was once a mahinga ...
Opening up a skid pad, create more housing for single people and make the central city dog friendly: policies from Christchurch's lesser-known mayoral candidates. ...
Josie Adams, Hayden Donnell, and Alice Webb-Liddall read thousands of policy statements to find the climate change deniers, fudgers, prevaricators (and believers) running in our local elections.The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The SpinoffMembers. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here.One of the problems ...
The paintings of Colin McCahon convey dissonance and uncertainty, writes Shannon Te Ao. So what does this say about us? And why are we maintaining this Pākehā male narrative at the expense of more inclusive representation?Colin McCahon would have turned 100 on August the 1st. If you keep one eye ...
Amanda Thompson spends a day with the New Zealand men’s roller derby squad as they prepare for next year’s world champs in the US.Let’s play a word game. Let’s list some contact sports and the top teams in those codes.Say rugby. Are you thinking about the All Blacks yet? What ...
Covering Climate Now:Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we go crazy for crickets in a climate week special.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. ...
To mark International Day of Peace, Dr Rebecca Dudley of the New Zealand Red Cross explores the role that New Zealanders play in the global story of war and peace. Personal stories about war almost always begin with a memory.A humid afternoon in South Sudan.A calm Wednesday evening in Beirut.A bustling ...
The history of tattoo art in Japan is deep-rooted and complex – and so is the cultural aversion to tattooed bodies, explains Brian Ashcraft, the author of a book on subject.Tonight, when the All Blacks take the field, they’ll be covering up. In order not to run afoul of Japanese ...
Covering Climate Now: Saying climate change is important is one thing. So why are we so incapable of having a real conversation about what actually addressing it will mean? Sam McGlennon investigates. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Up until a week ago, ...
"This is what Wellington boy said, after he finished his quick and bloody deed. You know what your problem is? Once a slut, always a slut": a short story by Auckland writer Eileen Merriman. ...
Michael Mann, a climatologist and famous press critic, talks to the Columbia Journalism Review about the dangers of both understating and overstating the dangers of climate change. ...
Ahead of the All Blacks first game Trevor McKewen makes some his fanciful, fraught and some hopefully on-point predictions for the Rugby World Cup.Can you take one for the team? Could you cope with the All Blacks coming up short in achieving an unprecedented third straight World Cup if it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra [embedded content]University of Canberra Deputy Vice-Chancellor Leigh Sullivan discusses Scott Morrison’s new family law inquiry with Michelle Grattan. They also speak of the developments in the Tamil family from Biloela’s case, and the UN barring ...
Analysis - Jacinda Ardern heads for the UN as the sexual assault scandal rumbles on at home, and Simon Bridges says he isn't going to ease off his personal attacks on the PM. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dries Verstraete, Senior Lecturer in Aerospace Design and Propulsion, University of Sydney CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d ...
In this episode of our new tarot reading show Wild Card, The Spinoff’s resident psychic divines the outcome of the All Blacks’ opening match against the Springboks on Saturday.In the first and potentially only episode of Wild Card, we have a focus on sport. The Spinoff’s psychic-in-residence, Jo Sees, specialises ...
Recently-retired Sky TV chief executive John Fellet talks to Newsroom business editor Nikki Mandow about baseball, media, goldfish, accountancy - and more baseball. ...
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s.With Duncan enjoying a MAFS-style beach holiday in Bali, Alex and Jane are left to cover another crazy week in reality television. Shannon Ryan has gone full beast-mode in Celebrity Treasure Island, Married ...
Dr Bryce Edwards“Diversity” is a central theme of the current local government elections – with the common criticism that incumbent politicians are generally too “stale, male, and pale” (or variations on that). Numerous commentators and candidates have lamented the lack of women, ethnic minorities, and youth in local government. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Climate change, environment Paul Gorman (Stuff): How would you spend an unlimited war chest for ...
A review into the Ministry for Culture and Heritage will look into the relationship between a staffer and the external developer responsible for a massive data breach. ...
Covering Climate Now: The Spinoff crew who took on climate change with a vegan diet for the week reflect on the highs, the lows, the pies and the fries. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!As I write, I’m tucking into ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roger Crisp, Professorial Fellow, Dianoia Institute of Philosophy, Australian Catholic University As world chiefs and youth leaders gather in New York at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, many of us as individuals are feeling powerless and overwhelmed. Making big personal changes ...
The head of one of the country's biggest news media firms is the latest subject of criticism for darkening his face at a staff party he attended dressed as US basketballer Lamar Odom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Coral Gartner, Associate Professor, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland Health authorities in the United States are investigating 530 cases of lung illness, including seven deaths, reportedly connected to vaping. Some of these patients have been diagnosed with lung inflammation ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (Chatto & Windus, $48)Obvs. (Read our review by Pip Adam here)2 Three ...
When comedy documentary Funny As was made, a lot of interviews got left on the cutting room floor which NZ On Screen quickly picked up. Here are some of our favourites.We’re a pretty funny bunch us Kiwis. Trapped on a tiny island at the end of the earth it appears ...
Auckland rapper JessB has just released a new EP and wraps up a national mini-tour tonight in her home town. Jogai Bhatt talked to her about her world travels, performing at Ihumātao, and how her community and her music intersect.It’s only been two years since JessB entered the public radar ...
A new poem by Waiheke poet Rata Gordon.PacingA deep bow to NerudaIt so happens I am sick of being a woman. It happens that I walk into BP stations and supermarkets greasy, swollen, like a cow made of soap, losing my way in a field of placentas and pesticides.The smell ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda Gardiner, Lecturer, Edith Cowan University In August, a 24-year-old woman appeared before the Western Australian District Court after pleading guilty to concealing the birth of her newborn baby in 2018. The charge of concealment of birth refers to hiding the dead ...
Voting papers are being sent out today, and lots of people say they won’t fill them out because they don’t know anything about the candidates. Respected website ‘The Spinoff’ is trying to fix that through its Policy Local tool. But it’s not the only one. Catherine Jeffcoat talks to the ...
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by literary editor Steve Braunias ...
Writer and cannabis legalisation expert Russell Brown watched episode two of Patrick Gower on Weed, and found it highly entertaining but dangerously light on facts. Patrick Gower is good value when he’s high. In the second part of his documentary Patrick Gower on Weed, he does what you’d expect in a ...
Sydney shock-jock Alan Jones has written to Jacinda Ardern saying he didn't intend any violence towards her when he said on air that Australia's Prime Minister should "shove a sock down [her] throat". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caio Seguin, PhD candidate, University of Melbourne Brain regions exchange information by sending and receiving signals through a network of nerve connections. This exchange is crucial to all aspects of the brain’s functioning, including how we experience the world, form and retrieve ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Miranda Kaye, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney Over the next 12 months, a joint parliamentary committee will examine Australia’s family law system. It will be led by conservative Liberal MP Kevin Andrews and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Barbara Allen, Senior Lecturer in Public Management, Victoria University of Wellington This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. For three years in a row, the ...
Open mike 22/08/2012 
Reprinted from Jacobinmag by Jane Slaughter and Chris Brooks Almost 50,000 UAW workers are on strike against GM and a two-tier labor system that undermines worker solidarity. But members may need to wage a battle on two fronts — against the company, but also against their own union leadership. Forty-nine ...3 hours ago
Before Jacingrant There Was Gracinda: Grant Robertson and his 2014 running mate, Jacinda Ardern. She stood at his side: loyal and obliging, as she had ever been. The media dubbed this duo “Gracinda” – a sort of political “Brangelina”. The other young people who worked alongside Robertson were also ambitious ...12 hours ago
. . Just when you thought Simon Bridges couldn’t sink any lower – he has. After the March 15th Christchurch terror attack, the (current) Leader of the National Party issued strong committments to support urgently needed gun law reform; “We will be ready and prepared to be constructive and to ...2 days ago
We all know that bad parents simply don’t care about their children’s education. Most truants have loser parents, and grow up to be involved with crime, or in low paid employment usually like their parents. The nonsense so-called “climate strike” coming up will be attended mostly by the least intelligent ...2 days ago
Today is the first day of the global climate strike. Led by schoolkids, people all around the world are going to protest to demand action on climate change. New Zealand isn't doing it till next Friday (join us!), but if you want to get active early, there's plenty to do ...2 days ago
To Protect and Serve: When the Prime Minister finds herself enmeshed in the coils of a full-blown political scandal, her colleagues and party comrades have only one priority: to release her as swiftly – and with as little lasting injury – as possible. Is this what Jacinda Ardern’s colleagues and ...2 days ago
When military leaders cover up and lie to elected civilian authorities, the foundation of democratic civil-military relations is undermined because it is those authorities who are entrusted to hold the military accountable to the public that they mutually serve. But this is only true if civilian political authorities take their ...2 days ago
BP, Z and Mobil all insist that petrol price hikes are temporary, “in a very literal sense.” The nation’s major petrol providers are trying to allay customer fears over prices, promising that they’ll move to lower them again “immediately” when the Middle East is returned to its formerly peaceful state. ...3 days ago
South African coach Rassie Erasmus says he has no idea what they’re going to do about the boat. In a highly anticipated press conference this afternoon, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has finally unveiled the team’s boat for its Rugby World Cup 2019 campaign. In a press conference that went ...3 days ago
Get Back Jojo! The elation in Mayor Phil Goff’s camp may be easily imagined as they watched social media light up in indignation at challenger John Tamihere’s "Sieg Heil to that" quip. Just when JT’s notoriously right-wing, sexist and homophobic stains were beginning to fade back into his ‘colourful’ past, ...4 days ago
Patrick Gower is good value when he's high. Not that I've ever, you know, got stoned with him. But in the second part of his documentary Patrick Gower on Weed, he does what you'd expect in a modern weed documentary and immerses himself – first with a doctor, then a ...4 days ago
We surveyed candidates on their attitudes to issues facing the Western Bay Region, find out what they think: “Closing the Gap” Tauranga, one of the area groups of Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc., has surveyed all candidates in the three local body elections to discover attitudes to some basic issues ...4 days ago
Why is New Zealand climate change policy so crap? The Herald this morning has a long article on the twists and turns of climate change policy in New Zealand [paywalled / depaywall script], which shows where we've been. The short version is that the government first began worrying about this ...5 days ago
The All Blacks have been, for more than a century, arguably the most successful International sports team in the world. But they are more than that; even for those Kiwis who are immune to the charms of rugby (and there are more than a few), the All Blacks are ambassadors ...5 days ago
6 days ago
6 days ago
Dangerous Foes: For those readers of Bowalley Road who feel disposed to dismiss any prospect of an Israeli destabilisation of New Zealand politics, the example of the United Kingdom repays close attention. Ever since the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party, the Israelis have sanctioned, funded and ...6 days ago
Make It 16, the youth-led campaign to lower New Zealand's voting age, is holding an official campaign launch at Parliament this Friday from 16:30. If you'd like to attend, you can register using EventBrite here. ...6 days ago
by Don Franks It was a lovely sunny Wellington afternoon with blue skies above the beaches. In Courtenay Place, political activists packed out a stuffy upstairs room for an important meeting. The assembled pacifists, anarchists, communists and independent young radicals of Peace Action Wellington felt the need for a mission ...6 days ago
From the Wall Street Journal:Inside a room of the ornately decorated Hotel du Palais during last month’s Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, President Trump awaited a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. Mr. Trump looked over a gathering of American and Egyptian officials and called out in ...1 week ago
Those close to the Police Minister believe the initiative may be the result of Nash “seeing a great deal” on AliExpress. In a move that comes seemingly out of nowhere, Police Minister Stuart Nash announced this afternoon that he expects all frontline staff to don bearskin hats, famously worn by ...1 week ago
Moving And Shaking: There was a time when people spoke matter-of-factly about the “labour movement” – a political phenomenon understood to embrace much more than the Labour Party. Included within the term’s definition was the whole trade union movement – many of whose members looked upon the Labour Party as ...1 week ago
By Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern I am every bit as angry as you are. I am every bit as disappointed as you must be. The people with power, oversight and the ability to do something about these processes within the Labour Party should be ashamed. Whoever those people are, I ...1 week ago
Two-Faced? Labour insiders' commitment to the neoliberal status quo puts them at odds with their party’s membership; its trade union affiliates; and a majority of Labour voters, but this only serves to strengthen the perception they have of themselves as a special elite. Among the lesser breeds, they’ll talk up a ...2 weeks ago
By Simon Bridges. The following is a press release from the office of Simon Bridges, leader of The National Party. Key ora, New Zealand. Happy Maori Language Week. Look, I’m writing to you today because I want to clear something up. There’s been a lot of kerfuffle around some things ...2 weeks ago
Dr. Christopher Labos and Jonathan Jarry discuss the recent Canadian fluoride/IQ research. They provide an expert analysis of the paper and its problems. Click on image to go to podcast. The critical debate about the recent ... 2 weeks ago
An ambitious plan to fly to Los Angeles petered out into a brief sight-seeing trip and a desire to return home and get some sleep before work tomorrow. Air New Zealand has confirmed a flight to Los Angeles last night was turned back about a quarter of the way into ...2 weeks ago
There appears to be consensus – by omission – that the concept of indigenous futures should be accepted at face value. So I scavenged the internet to see if I could locate an academic descriptor or a framework around how we think about it as a concept, and whether it ...2 weeks ago
Here’s another novelty chocolate to shove in your gob, New Zealand Cadbury could be seeking to make itself great again with a rumoured new release: Pineapple Trumps, a spin on its classic chocolate-encased pineapple treat and do-it-yourself tooth remover. The global confectionery manufacturer and bumbling “before” character in an infomercial, ...2 weeks ago
Kia ora, Aotearoa. It’s that magical time of year. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. In English, the week that frightens talk radio. As you probably know by now, all your favourite media outlets are participating, some more successfully than others. Stuff has changed its name to Puna for the ...2 weeks ago
“Climate change is here - we all need to do our part.” Monday 23rd September 2019. Press Release: Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre Climate change is happening. CEAC – compendium facts tribute to ‘Climate Change Week’ https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/115098866/exceptionally-rare-warming-above-antarctica-may-be-affecting-nzs-weather ...8 hours ago
By Michael Andrew Social media and tech industries have been replicating the ugliest aspects of capitalism from the 1800s, according to an AUT computer science lecturer. Associate Professor Tony Clear says that social media and tech executives are taking advantage of unregulated markets in a similar way as wealthy ...12 hours ago
Covering Climate Now: There’s a range of dairy-free ice creams available these days, but it’s a fair bet none will be as delicious – or satisfying – as making your own. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!If the latest stats ...13 hours ago
Covering Climate Action: Ahead of the UN’s Climate Action Summit, artist Joseph Michael and composer Rhian Sheehan teamed up to create Voices For The Future, a 30-minute installation projected onto the UN buildings.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Joseph Michael is ...13 hours ago
New Zealand banning Huawei’s 5G network equipment won’t impact you nearly as much as the US’s recent moves against Huawei phones, writes Henry Burrell. Twenty years ago, you would have shown off your flash new Ericsson or Nokia. How times change. Now, those two entities exist only to provide mobile network ...14 hours ago
Op-Ed by Kaveh Zahedi, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
Grant McDougall reviews Kilgour’s new solo album, Bobbie’s A Girl, which sees him reflecting on the deaths of his friend and former bandmate, Peter Gutteridge and his own mother, Helen Kilgour. There is a passage in Shayne Carter’s excellent recent autobiography, Dead People I Have Known, in which he describes ...15 hours ago
New Zealand painter-poet Gregory O’Brien has just published a new collection of essays and art; pitched as a “field notebook … my whale survey”, Always Song in the Water drifts from his own front lawn in Hataitai, up to Northland and way, way across the Pacific. It’s the sort of ...16 hours ago
Ruby Porter looks into New Zealand’s future when the sea level rises 10, 25 and 80 metres, and finds out how much of Auckland will be left.I grew up in Ponsonby, but the only bay I knew around here was Cox’s. It’s fed by a creek which was once a mahinga ...17 hours ago
Opening up a skid pad, create more housing for single people and make the central city dog friendly: policies from Christchurch's lesser-known mayoral candidates. ...24 hours ago
The paintings of Colin McCahon convey dissonance and uncertainty, writes Shannon Te Ao. So what does this say about us? And why are we maintaining this Pākehā male narrative at the expense of more inclusive representation?Colin McCahon would have turned 100 on August the 1st. If you keep one eye ...2 days ago
Amanda Thompson spends a day with the New Zealand men’s roller derby squad as they prepare for next year’s world champs in the US.Let’s play a word game. Let’s list some contact sports and the top teams in those codes.Say rugby. Are you thinking about the All Blacks yet? What ...2 days ago
To mark International Day of Peace, Dr Rebecca Dudley of the New Zealand Red Cross explores the role that New Zealanders play in the global story of war and peace. Personal stories about war almost always begin with a memory.A humid afternoon in South Sudan.A calm Wednesday evening in Beirut.A bustling ...2 days ago
The history of tattoo art in Japan is deep-rooted and complex – and so is the cultural aversion to tattooed bodies, explains Brian Ashcraft, the author of a book on subject.Tonight, when the All Blacks take the field, they’ll be covering up. In order not to run afoul of Japanese ...2 days ago
Covering Climate Now: Saying climate change is important is one thing. So why are we so incapable of having a real conversation about what actually addressing it will mean? Sam McGlennon investigates. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Up until a week ago, ...2 days ago
Ahead of the All Blacks first game Trevor McKewen makes some his fanciful, fraught and some hopefully on-point predictions for the Rugby World Cup.Can you take one for the team? Could you cope with the All Blacks coming up short in achieving an unprecedented third straight World Cup if it ...2 days ago
To tackle the crises of climate and unsustainability we need great cultural changes in civil society, business and politics. ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra [embedded content]University of Canberra Deputy Vice-Chancellor Leigh Sullivan discusses Scott Morrison’s new family law inquiry with Michelle Grattan. They also speak of the developments in the Tamil family from Biloela’s case, and the UN barring ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dries Verstraete, Senior Lecturer in Aerospace Design and Propulsion, University of Sydney CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d ...2 days ago
Recently-retired Sky TV chief executive John Fellet talks to Newsroom business editor Nikki Mandow about baseball, media, goldfish, accountancy - and more baseball. ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roger Crisp, Professorial Fellow, Dianoia Institute of Philosophy, Australian Catholic University As world chiefs and youth leaders gather in New York at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, many of us as individuals are feeling powerless and overwhelmed. Making big personal changes ...2 days ago
The head of one of the country's biggest news media firms is the latest subject of criticism for darkening his face at a staff party he attended dressed as US basketballer Lamar Odom. ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Coral Gartner, Associate Professor, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland Health authorities in the United States are investigating 530 cases of lung illness, including seven deaths, reportedly connected to vaping. Some of these patients have been diagnosed with lung inflammation ...2 days ago
A congestion charge is needed to deter motorists from clogging central city districts at peak times, according to an economics consultancy. ...2 days ago
Jacinda Ardern confuses Japan with China - and she's not the only one with a case of political foot-in-mouth. ...2 days ago
Voting papers are being sent out today, and lots of people say they won’t fill them out because they don’t know anything about the candidates. Respected website ‘The Spinoff’ is trying to fix that through its Policy Local tool. But it’s not the only one. Catherine Jeffcoat talks to the ...2 days ago
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by literary editor Steve Braunias ...3 days ago
Writer and cannabis legalisation expert Russell Brown watched episode two of Patrick Gower on Weed, and found it highly entertaining but dangerously light on facts. Patrick Gower is good value when he’s high. In the second part of his documentary Patrick Gower on Weed, he does what you’d expect in a ...3 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caio Seguin, PhD candidate, University of Melbourne Brain regions exchange information by sending and receiving signals through a network of nerve connections. This exchange is crucial to all aspects of the brain’s functioning, including how we experience the world, form and retrieve ...3 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Miranda Kaye, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney Over the next 12 months, a joint parliamentary committee will examine Australia’s family law system. It will be led by conservative Liberal MP Kevin Andrews and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. ...3 days ago
British MP George Galloway may have to change the name of his party. ‘Respect’ doesn’t seem appropriate for a rape apologist.
http://www.theage.com.au/world/mps-defence-of-assange-triggers-consensual-sex-row-20120821-24kny.html
what follows is my view on Galloway’s utterance… it has nothing to do with Assange. Nor does it in any way suggest that I think Assange is guilty of the claims made against him.
So here we go Mr Galloway…..why do some men think it’s okay to have sex with someone after they’ve said no? And why do some men think that if you’ve already had sex once then you’ve “entered a sex game” which means ‘forced sex’ – hang on – not ‘forced’ because the woman was asleep – is somehow not rape?
Or to put it another way, rape – if you’ve never had sex with the woman before – is ‘real’ rape, but if you’ve already had sex with her before, the next time can’t be ‘real’ rape – even if she said no?
I guess that if you stay in the same bed with someone after saying no, you must have a high degree of trust that the other person will not ignore your wishes and will certainly not force themselves on you when you are asleep. How utterly awful it must be if you are then raped while asleep – and by the very person you trusted.
Those who want to debate shades of grey, simply don’t consider what it’s like from the perpective of the victim. This kind of experience can seriously scar and have awful consequences – maybe years later.
I think it’s very very sad if the man is so drunk he has no self control – but it’s no less damaging to the woman (and possibly to the man’s future), because from the woman’s point of view it’s still rape – and any amount of argument about the definition of ‘rape’ is not going to make a jot of difference to how the woman may be feeling.
This is a reply to locus at 1.1
I agree with you. I’m interested in who is generally making these assertions that non-consensual sex is not rape (even though it is legally rape here) – that it’s just some sex-game – they seem to be males of a certain age and I wonder why that is. Whatever their reasons, I despise them for their disgusting views.
and by the way this is not about julian
(also not about Julian)
Could it be because there are men who have a fantasy about awakening to the fuck being given them by (oh, lets go completly cliched) *that* big boobed blonde…or who-ever? Y’know, they reckon it would be a pretty damned good start to the day. And since they have no problem being fucked while asleep and actually quite like the notion, then hell! – how could anyone else possibly find anything objectionable about it?
That’s right bill – I’m sure they also agree with todd atkin about ‘legitimate rape’ after all, that is what they are saying too.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19335083
http://mars2earth.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/birds-of-feather.html
Hmm. Not too sure about equating the attitudes of Galloway with the pronouncements of Akin. Sure, both sets of attitudes diminish or ‘disappear’ women. But I’d suggest Akin’s diminishing is of a different order in the scale of things.
Akin appears to be saying that rape or (at least some of) its consequences are kind of okay even where all and sundry would agree that rape was inflicted.
Galloway on the other hand appears confused on what might constitute sex and what might constitute rape.
I think they are similar, it’s just that Akin’s line is drawn differently than Galloways. But they both run the line that some rape is real but other rape isn’t. Akin is basically saying that most rape that results in pregnancy isn’t real: in real rape women’s bodies shut down and they don’t get pregnant, therefore any woman who wants an abortion after rape is probably lying and it wasn’t really rape to start with.
Yes, there are degrees of difference within their views, but they’re both basically saying that women don’t have sovereignty over their bodies, that they lie about rape, and both are contributing significantly to rape culture.
This kind of “argument” comes up a lot, Bill – you know, the classic “but I’d be flattered if a hot chick wolf-whistled at me from a car!” “I’d totally be okay with a woman propositioning me in an elevator!” kind of responses to serious discussions about rape culture / misogyny / women’s assumed consent etc.
Of course for some reason it’s always based on “if someone I totally already wanted to fuck”. Wishful thinking, I guess.
I wish we didn’t have to have this conversation. It’s as difficult as it is important.
I just wanted to say that husbands were still legally allowed to force their wives to have sex with them in NZ as recently as 1982. Galloway grew up in a world in which many men felt they had conquest rights over other people’s bodies.
Too many in my mother’s generation had their own potential for sexual pleasure destroyed as they found their husbands claimed their “rights” against their own wishes, when they were exhausted or in pain, when they were sleeping or, or trying to have a bath, or just whenever, with absolutely no regard for their wishes or their sovereignty to their own bodies.
Social mores do change (than goodness)
‘Respect’ doesn’t seem appropriate for a rape apologist.
He is no such thing. You’re deliberately and maliciously misconstruing his words.
It’s easy to get a rise out of you, Mozza. So you’ve got that in common with Assange, boom tssssh!
Anything to say about the substance of the report? Or is it too uncomfortable for you to comment on?
It’s easy to get a rise out of you, Mozza. So you’ve got that in common with Assange, boom tssssh!
Yes, well done, Te Reo. That’s another round to you, my friend.
Anything to say about the substance of the report? Or is it too uncomfortable for you to comment on?
I think Galloway has a big mouth and he’s incapable of thinking before he speaks. His words are ill chosen and insensitive, but I don’t think he’s a rape apologist.
You don’t think this whole “crying rape” thing has any connection with Assange pissing off the most powerful and corrupt institutions and individuals in the world?
Of course. Te Reo knows that too.
Certainly. There is a very clear connection between the people who think that Assange is innocent of rape and that the women complainants are liars (they’re the ones using the terms like ‘crying rape’), and the left’s agenda to resist attempts to suppress Assange and wikileaks.
Seconded! 🙂
Feminists are US Government tools, who would have guessed?
Some crazy feminist calling it “sexual violence”. Who needs the CIA when you can wind up the Feminists and point them at your target?
Who needs the CIA when you can wind up the Feminists and point them at your target?
It’s not “the Feminists” who are going after Assange. The Swedish branch of Women Against Rape has issued the strongest possible condemnation of these wild allegations.
No they haven’t. Stop misusing Women Against Rape to support your own rape apologist ideas.
What WAR did was point out that
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/08/wikileaks-rape-allegations-freedom-of-speech
Further
http://www.womenagainstrape.net/content/complaint-re-andrew-gilligan-misrepresenting-women
http://www.womenagainstrape.net/content/additional-statement-women-against-rape-regarding-
When she says “We do not take kindly to women’s demand for protection and justice being misused to forward political agendas, which is what Mr Gilligan seems intent on, while rape continues to be neglected at best or protected at worst” she’s talking about people like you Morrissey, as well as the powers trying to suppress Assange.
More on Women Against Rape’s position on the Assange case:
http://www.womenagainstrape.net/category/tags/julian-assange
Good point!
What some don’t seem to get, is that we who suspect these particular women of having let’s say, not the purest of motive, are not saying that all women who complain of rape are liars!
That’s right, you’re just saying that public opinion gets to decide which women lie about rape 🙄
No. Just that it is all too convenient that various people suddenly become rapists if they are too inconvenient to some Governments.
Why is that more likely than the left wing Hero having very dodgy sexual boundaries AND the powers against wikileaks using that against him?
There is nothing at all incompatible with the Hero being a hero and a rapist AND the force of evil using that to harm him.
My question, weka, is why are otherwise-intelligent people sincerely trying to argue that being charged with rape is Totally The Worst Thing Ever?
We all know that very few rapes get reported, even fewer get prosecuted, an infinitesimal number get convictions, and whenever the accused is a celebrity (reference: any rugby played accused of sexual assault EVER) there is in fact the complete opposite of a negative societal response. Woman’s Weekly covers are practically guaranteed.
Yet we’re meant to believe that the Globalised US Hegemony can’t come up with better shit than rape accusations? At least in Blake’s 7 they had a sufficient understanding of human culture to make it child molestation.
Yep.
If you wanted to frame someone with a crime and you wanted it to stick, it wouldn’t be rape.
Any KAOS agent worth their salt should know that.
Rape is a perfect character assassination allegation. Remember the goal here is not for the ‘charges to stick’ in a court of law. For instance no charges have to be laid, no session of court held, no finding reached, for Assange to be permanently screwed and permanently placed on the run. Job done.
NB as weka has said, its more than possible for Assange to be fully guilty of the allegations AND for these legal proceedings to be manipulated by international powers for their own advantage. The two are not mutually exclusive.
CV, the goal is to have a man accused of sexual assault face the accusation and defend himself. If Assange’s own behaviour exposes him to the risk of extradition to another country to face unrelated charges, bad luck. That sort of thing happens all the time; eg. a driver gets pulled over for a traffic violation, and gets arrested for a warrant issued on earlier alleged crimes or gets deported for being an illegal immigrant etc.
And, to be clear, if the US has a legally sound case to extradite Assange from the UK or Sweden to face charges that he has broken US law, then he should be extradited to face those charges, too. In saying that, I note that both countries will not extradite if the death penalty is a possible outcome, something I agree with.
Extradition to another country to face unrelated charges is completely unacceptable given the specific circumstances:
– That the country in question is likely to be the US
– That relevant charges have already been secretly laid, in the US, via a sealed indictment.
– That Assange’s chances for fair treatment and a fair trial in the US is minimal.
– That permanent incarceration in a military prison like Guanatanamo Bay is tolerable by Sweden etc as it is not the “death penalty”.
– That any such charges would be based as Assange acting as a publisher or journalist, and not as a leaker of secret information (Manning supposedly leaked the information to Wikileaks, Assange’s organisation published it).
Your cavalier attitude (that it’s just “bad luck”) painfully underplays how significant an issue this is for the chilling effect it will have on whistleblowers, journalists and publishers world wide.
You also avoid the topic of deliberate manipulation of the legal system by major powers to achieve political ends other than the provision of impartial justice to victims of crime.
Nope, not even close. The only chilling effect will be on men who can’t take no for an answer, hopefully. And despite your optimism, none of the issues you list prevent Assange’s eventual extradition. And that is as it should be, because the law should not be bent or ignored for the famous. There is no Assange Exemption, just is there is no wealth or power exemption.
I’ve seen plenty of references to Assange’s ‘bravery’ in these discussions. That suggests he knew that what he did at Wikileaks had risks attached, one of which is that publishing the military secrets of a country might tend to be illegal in that country. If you know the risk and go ahead anyway, why complain if it all goes pear shaped?
One irony of this situation is that the UK will probably look to extradite him back from Sweden when his court case there is completed to face charges of skipping bail. If he ever does get sent to the USA, it’ll probably be from the UK then, not Sweden now.
Rape is a perfect character assassination allegation.
Yes, that’s why no one watches Roman Polanski films any more.
[And, just for the record, he unquestionably drugged and raped an underage woman before fleeing the country where he faced prosecution. Which is why everyone took it so seriously.]
is why are otherwise-intelligent people sincerely trying to argue that being charged with rape is Totally The Worst Thing Ever?
One of the core problems with this type of crime is that in our society sex is almost always conducted in private, so in the absence of physical evidence, the case often comes down to ‘he said, she said’. Which cuts both ways; for while this fact will often make it very difficult for a genuine prosecution to leap over the ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ hurdle … it also makes it very difficult for a genuine defendant to dispel the stigma of a false accusation.
I thought the theory was that the charges were a roundabout way of getting Assange exradited to the US, not to get him stigmatised. Rape charges may or may not be useful for creating “the stigma of a false allegation”. As a vehicle for extradition they are less than ideal, and it’s hard to imagine the US couldn’t come up with something much more effective.
Exactly.
But you now seem to be saying that “some” women who complain of rape ARE liars. Thanks for clearing that up. Should make a good topic for discussion at the next branch meeting.
So how can we tell which ones they are?
The failed futures brokerage Sentinel Management Group lost the money of its clients in when it went into bankruptcy in 2007. According to the SEC, the firm misappropriated the funds belonging to its clients.
The Sentinel Ruling: HERE
The asset sales programme is on the ropes.
Solid Energy’s latest results are poor and it would fetch a small price. Add to MRP’s water ownership issues and Tiwai Point threatening to renegotiate its contract with Meridian and all is not happy in asset sales land.
Remember the sales proceeds have been booked in the country’s accounts. There is now a $5 billion hole in the income side.
Yes, and it was the headline news on TV3 last night at 6pm – along with the likelihoon of the airnz sale not going ahead.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Asset-sales-in-Air-New-Zealand-also-doubful-this-term/tabid/1607/articleID/266255/Default.aspx
Oh yes that ‘guess’ blinglish made to ‘balance’ the books which would be considered ‘fraud’ by most reasonable ethical standards if this lot had any.
Wish the MSM would grow a pair and dissect the mongrel over this and the many other fanciful BS rants he’s had on the parliamentary floor in question time.
The Standard is looking and working fine for me on IE, but struggling on Firefox.
Yup, me too. Firefox won’t format the page but IE works fine.
Dropped cloudflare out for the moment. That seems to be the main problem.
It will tend to slow the site but will do until I can fix on some decent bandwidth with a test suite of browsers
Hold the SHIFT key down when clicking refresh. That should force the cache to reload
Thanks. Yes, I am commenting using firefox now. It loaded fine and reasonably fast, too.
The site is loading much more quickly and reliably for me this morning than it has for many weeks.
Is anyone else finding this true?
Actually, yes. And it is nice to be able to use Firefox again.
Yep, loading better than it has for some time.
Handy hint: When TS is hard to access just go to Pete George’s site instead. He reports on everything that happens here so you won’t miss a thing. 😉
Yeah it will for people in NZ because I turned cloudflare off and you’re now talking directly to a server inside NZ. But there is some irony in this.
It costs $20 per month for cloudflare. Normally this sends NZ traffic out to their servers which appear to be all offshore. It then caches the site so efficiently that we have a massive drop in the traffic at our main server, because we’re really only providing data to cloudflare to disperse. Nett effect is that our main server traffic is down to a trickle and most of it apart from admin is overseas traffic. Meanwhile everyone reading our site from NZ is picking up something like 250GB per month mostly over the Southern Cross cable.
So why do I do this? Well the rationing system for the Southern Cross cable is at the NZ servers. We have a ration of about GB of overseas traffic on our main dedicated server. Most plans are 20-25GB, ours is a bit larger. Almost all of our overseas traffic is bots. Searchbots and RSS are legit and wanted, and we run a persistent war against other types of bots. However we currently get charged $2/GB for anything over our ration. This in most months is at least $100. In bad months it has been known to go up and be more than the base cost of the server.
So it saves us a lot of money to increase the traffic over the southern cross using cloudflare by forcing our readers to read the site from overseas servers. We do this to reduce the excessive charging for overseas traffic at our server that we mostly don’t want. Perverse eh?
It’d be nice if cloudflare had a server inside NZ. But they won’t because the overseas data charges would be too high.
Such is the life with a monopoly supplier of bandwidth.
Cloudflare will be going back on as soon as I have chance to debug it. In the couple of months it has been on it, it has cost $40 and has saved us something like $300. It has probably cost the country a damn sight more.
But in reality it is going to be simpler to just move the main servers back offshore and get out of this bloody silly charging nightmare. There I can hire servers with massive caps that the site cannot exceed for less than we pay for here. The alternative is to run a much cheaper virtual server with cloudflare keeping the CPU down at the server.
Ah, the joys of the free-market – absolutely no bloody sense anywhere.
Yup and the stn cross cable has ooddles of capacity if the owners wanted to light it up they could.
Yet another con run by telecom that we pay through the nose for.
I need to bank the deposit slip that provides a symbolic amount to The Standard.
I have been carying that bit of paper in my wallet for a while, forgetting to drop by the bank during lunchtime 🙂
Always willing to take donations 🙂
Done. ‘Twas a wee one. Will make a larger donation in a couple of weeks 🙂
It is the recognition that means a lot in this lonely life waiting for the internet to resume in its full flood… 🙂
Finally got to talk to a chorus tech. It looks like there isn’t a way to communicate a simple message from Orcon to Chorus like I need a ADSL filter taken out at the apartment blocks switchboard, and the building manager is only here for a few hours in the week. Just like I couldn’t book a move because the my tenant leaving hadn’t booked a move order. *sigh* I guess that it is still frigging ICMS – sounds like a RPG type problem. But now I have talked to an tech – friday morning!
No e-mail for a few days. My mail server is offline….
Thanks lprent, FF works ok now. Was no fun using IE 6.
I would think not. I suspect that the problem was with some kind of minifying the CSS that resulted in not having ANY CSS from the site. So you saw the site without the makeup 🙂
Sorry but why would you use he most buggy version of Internet Exploder?? FF is the only thing I use in here, and yesterday was a little problematic. But apart from that I usually have no problems.
Because IE6 was the most secure of MS browsers, last release I could lock down & know it was safe. Never found it particularly buggy, still use it occasionally when I need ActiveX which FF doesn’t support. It also renders fonts on some sites better than FF. Bit dated now, crashes on the likes of Paypal, but I refuse to use the later versions of IE which are a security nightmare IMO.
Most people had trouble with IE because they didn’t know how to use it.
Ummm.
Ok I will have a look at work (haven’t set up the usual web development environ’s on this computer yet). And I’m running on my cellphone at home right now.
Waiting for Chorus at home to put my link back on. Was meant to be last night – didn’t happen (which was interesting – loading too much work on them?). And that is just at the exchange. They’re going to have to come here to remove a ADSL splitter at the apartment’s block board – had to cut the lines and remove the hole in the floor when we polished the concrete.
Not looking forward to that because I have to get a time when both the building manager and the tech actually get here at the same time and take time off work. In the meantime half of my home systems are down.
Thanks for the response. No rush.
I can manage fine with TS on IE at the moment. I hope things get sorted out at your home without any more problems.
Grr…
Worst part of moving is getting the network connections back in place.
It’s nice to have the Standard back.
For those unable to access through firefox, I just bounced over from ‘idle thoughts of an idle fellow’ (always worth a read). And presto the site is restored to normality.
US lifts sanctions, allows Iran quake relief
Just had to remember to insinuate Iran has WMD’s, and sponsors “terrorism”. You wouldn’t want people to forget those crucial “facts” amongst the “charity” of lifting sanctions!
America fcuk yeah…..
They’re rotten bar-stewards…
Governments like those in NZ and UK say they shouldn’t pick winners, shouldn’t invest directly in the country, should not plan but leave the market to decide, seem to act differently when it comes to Olympic sport where we see record investment, ruthless targeting and rigorous planning.
Good article on this (UK-based, but relevant here too):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/20/osborne-pay-heed-olympics-triumph
Defamation, distortion and disinformation
Murdoch turns his guns on Ecuador
Wednesday 22 August 2012
Of course, it comes as no surprise that Ecuador’s heroic president is now the object of the scorn and fury of the U.S. and U.K. governments.
Over the last few days, we’ve looked at how British state TV and state radio, and “liberal” papers like the ridiculous but loyal Grauniad have faithfully served as an unquestioning conduit of government black propaganda, no matter how fanciful and wild it might be.
But, really, the leaders in this sort of thing are still the Murdoch outlets. From the illiberal but well-bred ideologues at the Times right through to the mouth-breathing dolts and giddy loons of Fox News, one thing you know the Murdoch empire will deliver is consistency.
This morning on TV3, I watched Rachel Smalley adopt her gravest expression to introduce an outrageous item from Murdoch’s British Sky TV. Dominic Waghorn, in tones of the deepest sincerity, tried to show how the “defiant” Ecuadorian prime minister, while appearing to protect a journalist, is in fact stomping all over press freedom.
Viewers are treated to these words by right wing Ecuadorian journalist Jorge Ortiz: “I think Correa is fooling the world. He uses very wisely the media to present himself as a leader that respects and promotes free press which is not true. We’re very worried, very worried indeed we know that he is killing the right of journalists to express themselves. I’m sure that within two or three years there will not be any free press in Ecuador.”
Dominic Waghorn ends the item with this magnificently sententious peroration: “Julian Assange may be enjoying the full protection of the Ecuadorian state; others who have spoken out against it may not be so lucky.”
Of course, if we want to find an example of leaders who actually do “kill the right of journalists” not only to “express themselves”, but to tell the truth, Mr Ortiz and Mr Waghorn would be intoning grandly (and truthfully, not dishonestly) about Barack Obama and David Cameron.
Anyway, whether you’re a horror fan or just an aficionado of shameless propaganda, here’s Dominic Waghorn’s horrifying piece…
http://news.sky.com/story/975133/ecuador-leader-stays-bold-over-assange-asylum
Most of South America’s media outlets are run by local versions of Murdoch who have supported dictatorships and endlessly promote military intervention against democratically elected governments. If whoever runs the media in Ecuador is anything like Brazil’s Roberto Marinho was, suppressing them is actually working in favour of freedom of the press. I also look at putting Murdoch in prison the same way.
Sadly you are generally right, hence what is needed is a balane of sorts:
This is just a selection that was also largely nver broadcast, esxscept on state media.
We have a media dictatorship in NZ, in Australia and the US, where commercial media is all that counts. The few token indepentend or left leaning journos are a fucking sick joke here. They are rather pre-occupied with some weird lifestyle choices, they do NOT give a damn about the needs and suffering of low waged, of beneficiaries and others down the ladder, they only “abuse” topics about them to get soem stories out that may sell, also in mainstream, of which they often rely for at least additional income.
NZ has NO left, it is devoid of truly independent and left thinking media and so forth, except the rudimentary forums like this perhaps.
NZ is almost a dictatorship of sorts, where the commercial elite control and manipulate the whole media, TVNZ included, daily. There is NO independent reporting, NO real information of substance, it is a DESERT media landscape not to be taken seriously, but to be a truly HOSTILE ground for free thinking and opinion now.
That is my opinon, you may think differently, but you will have to struggle to convince me of otherwise.
It will be welcomed, but make an “effort”, please, as I cannot bother with half wits.
Buenos noches amigos
Hey Deuto,
Thanks for the response and link to Giovanni Tiso’s blog yesterday. The comments around third way politics/Tony Blair were interesting. Look where that got the UK. Fail.
It seems I doubled up on what you had previously posted re Deborah Russells article. It was heartening to read her words and like you I hope Richard Long stays away from the “Opinion” column and never comes back. It would be a breath of fresh air to have a columnist with a rational, intelligent and socially minded view featuring in the Dominion Post.
Despite Deborah Russells reassuring words I decided that David Shearers comment was the last straw for me as a Labour voter. Thats a bit sad after all these years.Theres just been too many WTF? moments and there no going back. Hunter S Thompson comes to mind. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro”. I think thats what Labour have done.
No problem re double-up – hope others here also read Deborah’s article and Giovanni’s as imo these are some of the best summations I have seen – and exactly the approach I wish Labour would take. Shearer’s bene bashing has also left me ‘cold’ and there would need to be a lot of change within Labour (parliamentary) for me to continue to vote for them.
PS – how about an update on the new home/garden etc on Weekend Social this week!
Sure thing deuto!
You must be a sucker for punishment if you want to hear about rock strata and grass grub:) I owe Joe90 a thank you for his advice on the “wrecking bar” to break the rocks but thats another story for another time…………
Is it just me or is David Cunliffe now sufficiently cowed by his caucus that he is letting David Parker do all Labour’s speeches and articles on the economy these days?
Parker seems to be everywhere, doing a workmanlike job. Hello, Mr Cunliffe?
Not fair AD. The office hands out speaking slots and arranges meetings. Besides Parker is the spokesperson for finance.
Did the office hand out the last three he did?
Time to get back in the saddle and ride Mr Cunliffe.
One has to wonder if Cunliffe’s playing a bit of a long game. Any silence can easily be read as censorship by head office, and Shearer’s blandness and Mallard’s continuing social media fuckups are probably doing far better things for him than continually reminding the ABCs that he’s still over here being all competent and charismatic (thus making them more ABC through irritated spite).
According to this link provided by Craig Glen Eden in the “Joyce’s latest list” thread, David Cunliffe is still giving it 100% in the house despite the empty chamber.
And Australias road to the future is…
…rail.
Talking about transport it appears that Phil Twyford has managed to determine NACTs planning model.
Lovely speech from Twyford there – great link! Joyce as the “Collossus of Roads” how droll!
double post
Is Trevor Mallard insane? For those who are Facebook friends with him …
That’s. Fucked. Up.
Do you think money should be given to those who can but refuse to work?
Red herring.
There are tens of thousands of people who would pick up work now if it was available. Time for the government to give them jobs directly.
Of course, but I was wondering about those who didn’t want to work.
Yes, they should still receive a benefit. When we have close to zero unemployment rates the issue would be different. But while we have an economy that needs to run a higher employment rate, why not let the people that don’t want to work subsist on the dole, and give the jobs to people that want them?
I am assuming of course we are talking about the small numbers of people on the dole who don’t want paid employment and who do no other work whatsoever. Most people I know on benefits do some kind of work that contributes to society, whether that be cash work or voluntary work or raising kids or looking after other family etc.
While we’re at it, please produce some reliable research that demonstrates that ‘people not wanting to work’ is an actual problem in NZ.
I don’t know if it is an actual problem nor is it encumbered on me to to provide anything. I was asking an opinion on something, not arguing an opinion.
actually, the way you asked it implied that you were arguing an opinion
Well I didn’t mean too
But Contrarian your question asserts the existence of those who do not want to work.
When pressed to establish a factual base for your assertion you’re all – “Oh, just asking….”.
Not different from my asking your opinion about Martians eating their children. In a serious exchange the asking of the question necessarily implies belief in the matter asserted.
That’s why it is incumbent on you to establish the matter. Unless you were off in some Monty Pythonesque joyride throughout
Trollride more like.
The Contrarian
incumbent I think is the word you are after.
It’s still a red herring.
No it isn’t – I am curious about something tangential, but related, to the post in question.
Proportionately, 98% of time should be spent on discussing the creation of work for the many tens of thousands who would start a job this afternoon if they were offered one.
And 2% of the time on kicking the ass of any slackers out there.
It seems the Right Wing prefer to do the opposite though
Well. When a GMI was tried in Canada, the only ones who didn’t want to work were young mums, and students who stayed in education instead.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mincome
“”She found that only new mothers and teenagers worked less. Mothers with newborns stopped working because they wanted to stay at home longer with their babies, and teenagers worked less because they weren’t under as much pressure to support their families, which resulted in more teenagers graduating. In addition, those who continued to work were given more opportunities to choose what type of work they did. In addition, Forget finds that in the period that Mincome was administered, hospital visits dropped 8.5 per cent, with fewer incidences of work-related injuries, and fewer emergency room visits from car accidents and domestic abuse.[1]””
When benefits were proportionately much higher in NZ and there were plenty of jobs, those choosing not to work were, famously, known by name by the PM.
“Do you think money should be given to those who can but refuse to work?”
As CV states above, its a red herring. If it does exist, then it is a logical reaction.
And, my answer is yes, without a doubt, under our current situation money should be given to those who can but refuse to work…a few reasons include:
our poverty producing minimum wage, the 90 day right to fire, abuse of ‘flexibility’ by employers, step down period for benefits, temporary employment contracts, the massive amounts of money that greedy people sit on, the cost of living, education is a commodity, the stigma that is used by WINZ every time a benefit is applied for…and lastly, people are right to give up on trying to find dignified employment, because your ignorant, but supposedly ‘ethical’ perspective, has become normalised.
Yes because:-
a) They probably do some work which is beneficial to the community – it just isn’t for an employer
b) There’s so few of the people who actually don’t do anything that it just isn’t worth spending the time to even find them
c) I recall an article I read a couple of years ago about a couple that won lotto. They didn’t work, their fortune had increased from the $8m that they had won to $10m. These people and people like them are bigger bludgers than than anyone on the benefit
Yes I do. Especially if it’s your money, TC.
I have been wondering if Trev is positioning to jump to another party to the right of John Banks.
I wouldn’t call him insane, a troughing waste of space …..yes, certainly not insane.
OMG – totally buys into the Right Wing framing. Misses the point that yes workers are taxed too much…because property and assets are not taxed at all!!!
“I’m thinking of asking the Minister of Police for a Taser gun for Trevor.”
[lprent: removed the spam trap you were hitting (I hope) ]
A party that puts Trevor Mallard in its front bench instead of a woodchipper is not one I’m voting for. I thought that the man was a useless, narcissistic troughing sack of shit, but now words fail me.
“Not helpful” Jesus, Cthulhu, Clapton, Arkleseizure…
Now, Is David Shearer going to say anything other than waffle? (Answer: No, of course not) The problem, sadly, is not just Mallard’s terminal dickishness, or Jones’ hissy fits, Robertson’s meaningless fluff, or Curran’s dribbling idiocy – or even the Paganis’ stale Blairism… it’s Shearer’s utter, utter uselessness. He has no ideas, no ideals, no ability to discipline his party. He’s not a leader and this is not a government in waiting; it’s not even an opposition.
I look forward to Shearer’s next newsletter – I need a laugh.
Really though, now, as much as we did in the Depression, we need a real Labour party and instead all we have is some sort of organised rort.
I propose a reform of our democracy at a fundamental level: we let focus groups replace parliament and government itself. That would be pure and honest – and best of all, of course, it would be efficient.
Wow. Interesting that he has so dramatically broken his cover to argue his position on this occasion, albeit in a snide passive-aggressive way.
Jesus “taxed to breaking point”!. Underpaid to breaking point – nah ‘parently not.. Is there any reason other than historical accident that Mallard is not a member of the National Party?
Yeah, better that his true colours are visible.
I did like this comment on FB
lolz
Bye, bye, Trev. Last gasp?
+1
😆
And Trevor says
Now, did he just miss the substance of his own dog-whistle, or did he just miss the substance of his own dog-whistle?
And did he forget that on the tax front, those on entitlements get to pay a whopping 80c in the dollar on every dollar earned on anything over (from memory) $80 gross (this is done through reducing the core amount of welfare entitlement paid accordingly) ? And did he also forget that before that $80 limit is reached that some entitlements that are in addition to the core benefit are rebated at 100% on every dollar earned…ie, every one dollar earned = one dollar deducted from the entitlement?
I’ve no argument that poorer paid workers pay ridiculous amounts of tax (eg. student loan repayments plus [in the unlikely event you can afford it] kiwi saver contributions = somewhere in the region of 30% tax)
So, how about calling for higher wages Trevor? And how about you stop sniping at people who, if they did pick up some work, would be losing far and away more from their earnings than anyone else.
Or even better. How about you just leave parliament?
That’s a rhetorical question Mickey, a more plausible one is when is he sane ? please explain as some of us don’t facepalm or twatter etc and if I did he wouldn’t be a friend.
And Mallard is still in Labour’s senior ranks, why? And why is Shearer allowing this without censuring him?
Because Shearer agrees with him.
I thought everyone had gotten the memo that Labour are now the party of me-too beneficiary bashers, desperately trying to match National’s record of kicking the vulnerable at every turn.
Just went back to Mallard’s FB via Mickey’s link, and it appears the page is down.
Didn’t get the response he expected perhaps?
Given that Mallard said he expected to be flamed just like Josie Pagani, he couldn’t have been surprised.
Broken link. I wonder if anything else is getting broken along with it…
“For those who are Facebook friends with him …”
Any chance someone could post a screen grab for those of us who aren’t?
Imperator fish is onto it.
http://www.imperatorfish.com/2012/08/when-youre-in-hole.html?spref=tw
Jesus, wtf is wrong with him?
one of my colleagues, whose views I respect, thought wasn’t helpful.
And Trevor needed to be told it wasn’t helpful? WTF?
Come on, Paganis and Salmond, you’re the self-styled “experts”, tell us again how Trevor is the smart one and the rest of us just don’t get it. Explain us how the likes of us thickies saying “Please STFU” to Mallard and Shearer are wrong, because we can’t understand the brilliance of this “strategy” (is that what you’re still calling it?).
FYI: this story was in the news headlines at 2 pm on Newstalk ZB. That’s what you wanted, right? Well done!
Except (and I’ll have to explain this slowly to you) the headline wasn’t “Labour gets tough, shifts to centre” or whatever fantasy you guys dreamed up. The headline was “Yet another Labour fuck-up” (I paraphrase, but not much).
Blame the media for shooting at Labour? Well, stop loading the fucking cannon.
Actually, just stop. NOW.
And Radio Live headlines, 3 pm. Same angle – “Mallard fail, divisions in caucus”.
You think you’re going to make it all go away by doing more of the same?
Perhaps they’re trying to gain attention by doing dumb shit, which unfortunately sometimes works.
Perhaps he just thinks it’s cool to be a provocative twat. Think of him as Labour’s Pete George.
Soooo loved with Jane Clifton that he can’t think straight…
And interesting comments on the imperator thread, from Deborah who did that awesome Dom Post article trying to change the narrative on beneficiaries. Good on you Anthony for saying you’ll post some extracts and a link here.
Show us these jobs Trevor, put up or shut the f**k up, the EVIDENCE Trevor, why would we bother debating anything with someone who has obviously spent way too long sucking at the teat of the highest form of State entitlement that His brain appears to have turned to mush when what He says lacks the veracity of EVIDENCE,
The EVIDENCE Trevor??? show us the WINZ figures for the number of people in the past 12 months who have been given the kick off of a benefit because they have REFUSED to accept work that has been offered,any work,
Your emotive Bulls**t Trevor is sickening, you cannot show us the EVIDENCE of a body of beneficiaries of any size who have REFUSED any work when work has been offered,
The fact is Trevor, i think with an honestly held belief that you are a Liar if you think that there are any amount of people who when offered a job, ANY JOB, by WINZ or anyone else, have REFUSED to take up that job,
Tell us all the TRUTH for once in your miserable life Trevor, its simple, there are not enough jobs in the economy to employ all those able and willing to work,
My view is that your Party should simply put you out to pasture Trevor, as your use by date has long been exceeded and the contents are beginning to smell like s**t…
The big problem with such simple slogans is that they seem reasonable. It’s not until you really think about them and compare them with reality that you get to see the lies and misdirection that are behind them.
The title of that should actually be: “When You’re an A-Hole.”
That’s ‘currently unavailable’ Micky! I suppose that means he thought better of it, whatever it was….
A perfect example of why charter schools need to be regulated, if allowed at all….this shit makes me fucking mad
Creationism in the classroom.
Public money for public schools. No funding religious brainwashing.
Creationism in schools is disturbing
All other National Party policy is faith based. What’s so special about this one?
This one defines the faith as Christianity
Reading ‘Open Mike’ today is a slightly quixotic experience, we have Labour activists openly slapping a labour MP,(a well earned slap at that),
And,
National supporters giving it to their Government over their attempt to keep ACT breathing political oxygen in the form of ‘Charter Schools’,
Step to the Left people, as can be seen from the 2 small examples given, there is nothing to the right except empty rhetoric from the empty minds of a failed empty neo-Liberal ism…
I don’t support any of these swine at the moment.
If the election was tomorrow I’d probably stay home
Vote for the cat.
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/07/16/cat-mayor-celebrates-15-years-on-the-job
Or the hypnotoad.
Both a vast improvement on our current cast of buffoons in parliament.
Yeeess, the cat. Vote for the cat…
A fine ginga indeed.
Link whoring makes me mad, too.
The sky is falling the sky is falling !!!!!!
[lprent: Don’t be an idiot. Moving to OpenMike as a threadjack. ]
Really, you’d better stay inside and keep up with the meds then.
I’ll write a few scripts and send them through to the Greens caucus.
Could you make that tinfoil hat on your head look a bit better first?
What an intelligent analysis. Your mummy and daddy must be so proud that you can read Chicken Little.
Perhaps you could read The Emperor’s New Clothes and give us the analysis it contains of the National Party plan for NZ.
Perhaps you could have a little cry, suck your thumb and continue to consult your blanky on the particular merits of the various political troughers.
Good lord HS, you’ve outdone yourself. I’m guessing you don’t even know what the TPPA is..
I know exactly what it is, but when I read alarmist drivel like the comment below regarding the destruction of PHARMAC I’m given to flights of ridiculing such comments.
So those US senators who earlier put out statements saying that pharmac was a problem was just for shits and giggles?
@higherstandard
Your comments were posted earlier than any post referring to Pharmac
@ higherstandard
Will you be laughing when your taxes are being spent on legal disputes created by transnational companies arguing against policies arrived at democratically?
“TPP would greatly increase the number of investor-state attacks on public interest policies and would expose governments to massive new financial liabilities.”
“The rules that panelists [ICSID] will adjudicate would supersede national laws. Article 12.7 of the TPP, for instance, provides a long list of prohibitions against government actions; under it, laws imposing capital controls (even to ameliorate a crisis), rules governing domestic content of products or any protections of any domestic industry would be illegal…”
http://systemicdisorder.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/trans-pacific-partnership-trade-pact-more-draconian-than-nafta/
When it comes to it, you’d simply break away from the Agreement and join up with other countries who were also bearing the brunt of corporate imperialism.
Well and good CV, however what if such countries are also bearing the brunt of corporate imperialism in their mainstream media too, successfully keeping people sleepy and uninformed?
We are all becoming like the toad that was put in the cool water and slowly heated up. We put up with more and more of this b**shit. Our tolerance is remarkable and for those who have had it bought to their attention its very horrible to watch.
In that case clearly you DON’T know exactly what it is…
It is a human number…..
Suck my balls Lynn.
[lprent: Not my style. I’m more likely to use some kind of pincer. 😈 See like this horse…
I did rather like the way that the system decided to moderate you. Your other comment had the wrong e-mail address (I corrected it for you), and this one had a phrase that akismet found offensive. Good picking by the machine. ]
And Australians have a new name for NZers – refugees.
Woooooooooo! 53,900 economic refugee’s, fleeing NZ, in the year to July. This does equate roughly to the figure often cited of “1000 NZers leaving for Australia every week”, but even more. Economic refugee is a completely apt term.
Aussies must think we are idiots voting twice for a government that drives its own citizens away in droves.
I just want to comment on the Julian Assange and Equador thing.
I don’t know what Assange did or did not do in Sweden with those girls. I don’t know if the USA is behind these charges to get him to the USA.
I understand wikileaks is about speaking truth to power.
My question is how principled is Mr Assange seeking refuge from the President of Equador IF he runs a regime averse to freedom of speech, and imprisons people for speaking truth to power? Self interest rules in the end?
Nelson Mandela went to prison for 25 years, was able to make a stand, retain his principles and came out to an atmosphere which could have resulted in massive bloodshed had he given the word. he didn’t. He chose peace and dignity. He spoke truth to power in many ways.
Julian Assange…
The swedish have refused to interview Assange in the Equador Embassy. I think they should.
Tracey,
Why are you repeating the lies of Mr Assange’s pursuers?
Have you thought of doing some research before coming online with your ill informed opinions?
Yes Tracy. By edict, Julian can do no wrong and any suggestion to the opposite can only be a dastardly plot by George Bush and Dick Cheney. Those two women are actually male CIA operatives from the Treadstone project, disguised as women in order to trap our dear hero. But Julian has come up with a stunning plan , elegant in its simplicity.
meh trolling
I thought the same thing but the comment thread from 11 on this page (/nz-vs-ecuador/) cleared things up for me on Monday.
Bill convinced me fairly quickly with his links and knowledge, I could stand corrected though.
I wouldn’t say I was thoroughly convinced about Ecuador, but I did learn a fair amount.
absolutely agree. But it was one of the best back and forth threads i’ve seen in a week or two.
I just want to comment on the john banks thing.
he asserts that the boorockacsee is being overrun with rationalists who dont beleive in religion abut the john banks knows that God made the world in 7 days 4,300 years ago.
he also designed his hardly davison and the medicine that keeps horrible old men alive.
And that’s the best the Nat’s could find to front the Blue/Yellow brand called ACT.
The supremacy of old white guys. Especially if you are a convicted “white collar” criminal – link
On home detention in Europe. Bloody brilliant.
I’ve commented on this (so) many times before but I still wonder why it is that Labour seem so adept at shooting themselves in the foot..
Labour could make some traction against National but instead they open their mouths and try to cram as much of their feet in as they can.
I mean its nearly as bad as the run up to the last election…
Serious question: Do Labour want to be in power?
Do Labour want to be in power?
Some Labour MPs know this is their last term, so they won’t be in power anyway.
Some other Labour MPs believe time is on their side, and that losing the next election will not affect them (as long as they keep their seats).
Somewhere in the middle there may be some other MPs who genuinely do want to win the next election, but for whatever reason, they seem unable to rein in the idiot(s).
If by “Labour” you mean the party membership, outside the cosseted caucus, then the answer is “Yes”. But the MPs don’t seem to care what they think.
Well its a serious question because last election if (IM always HO) the Labour MPs had shut their gobs then Goff would have won.
Now it seems as if others don’t want Shearer to win. I mean that MP talking about the gay marriage and Trev going off the deep end (again)
If I was a Labour supporter I’d be looking at the greens (at least they have public unity)
Yes but not as a left party
Duck feet?
Just watching my recording of today’s General Debate.
That politician got amnesia again
From Sue Moroney, delivering some news to John Banks following his contribution to today’s general debate: Banksie apparently predicted that Shearer would be leader of the opposition in the 50th Parliament, and that he (Banks) would be back as an MP in the 50th parliament.
News for Banks – THIS IS THE 50TH PARLIAMENT!
The man is not mentally stable.
I just watched Banks’ speech (myfreeview recorded it on the end of question time, and started recording the debate in the middle of the general debate).
OMG. He kept referring to the current parliament and the current leader of the opposition in THIS 40th parliament… I checked:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_New_Zealand#History
Oh dear, John. Still living in 1981. Then he talked about being back for the 50th parliament.
And as for his total misrepresentation of Labour’s position on education…. fail. You’re making it all up, John.
And here Banks is, in all his demented glory.
http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/14585
His wonderful contribution to the General Debate.
The man is not mentally stable.
He’s just plain dumb. IQ about 80 I should think. The rest is animal cunning.
Yep.
As for not being stable, I’d say he’s extremely stable. He’s literally always like this.
And Auckland voted him in????? Not long ago as Mayor and then as MP?????
Doesn’t say much for the IQ of your average Jafa.
Twice as Mayor. After booting him out in ’04 they elect him back in ’07 like it never. fucking. happened.
Honest we tried our best. Although in my personal defence I voted for Bob Harvey as the westie mayor that year!
Most Jafas only had one opportunity to vote for Banks, and Len won. I think you could then ascertain that Jafaland became more astute thanks to the consolidation of greater Auckland. So Anne your impression may be misguided !!!!!
Yep. The south and the west voted overwhelmingly Brown. He had a meeting last night where St Heliers and Mission Bay were complaining about rates increases. He was apologetic. He should stick to his guns and tell them to complain to the Government who set super city up.
Besides 90+% of this particular area voted for Banks. Why should Len care?
Yes Len has become the sacrificial goat regarding rates.
The real issue to me is the every increasing debt. This implies to me that to keep rates down the councils utilized debt as a major source to fund councils wishes.(and some smoke and mirrors accounting to CCO’s) Not a very sustainable policy. Unfortunately the next mayor is for an even more stressful time. For Len’s sake coming 2nd at the next election could be a godsend for his family, friends and personally.
Funny how all attention is towards the mayor there are many councillors also accountable.
Most Jafas only had one opportunity to vote for Banks, and Len won.
Dammit you’re right.
And now the rates demands are coming in and there are all these people with a surprised look on their face. D’oh.
I suspect that most people who voted for Len knew that the rates were going up. It was, after all, fairly obvious that they would due to Rodney Hides and National’s implementation of the SuperShitty.
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2012/08/cunliffe-has-eyes-on-prize/
This is a pretty good speech.
I read a book some years ago -one of those organisational improvements books, darned if I can remember what it was called…
basically it said when difficult people start making life unpleasant in an organisation, the traditional approach was to get rid of them , and everything would be peaceful again.
Well, this guy said we should listen to these difficult, annoying people, because they may hold the answer for the improvement of the organisation, will challenge it and come up with different outside the box ideas, ie not yes-men /women
Maybe it’s time Labour realised Cunliffe may not be the problem, he may actually be the solution, and this may be a little uncomfortable for them
And nary a stumble or bather to be heard. Great speech.
Um blather I mean.
General comment on quality of media journalism? (sorry sensationalism)
I listened to a report on RNZ this evening of a tragic motoring accident.
“One witness said (recording of witness voice “I heard a loud bang and rushed outside. The vehicle was turning left into a church …”)”
Why do we get these sorts of soundbites fed to us as sources of “eyewitness” accounts on so many bulletins these days.
My son and I call it the ‘nosy neighbour’ phenomenon… It’s like the person who when a meth lab is discovered, or someone is arrested, says “I always thought there was something off about them”. (You don’t hear people say “she was such a nice, quiet woman” any more, fortunately..
And it now appears that we’re going to have to stop calling lying, thieving scum something other than rats as it’s now been proven that they’ve got more empathy and compassion than your average right wing politician.
DTB
I thought the rat info was timely. When wouldn’t it be though? That’s amazing but humans don’t need to be shown up in this sort of way. By rats! What next? Spiders make good mothers, carry their babies on their back etc. Really we don’t live up to our brain capacity.
poor old sad12. Twevor upset you girlie?
Evening Colin – having searched you on this site, I note that this only your second visit. Your first was on August 10. On both occasions, you targetted Bad12 – are you a stalker and is your age 16?
[lprent: By the same logic then that begs the question – is bad 12? In which case I’d have to hope that censorship act doesn’t apply here bearing in mind HS’s comment to me and my response. ]
Damn i interrupted the importance of a scrabble game to have my rawene upset by a pair of horse’s balls,
Now that could be a double intendre, but, honestly it aint people, how the hell tho did you know what i do for a day job ,
If colon16 had a ounce of intellect in it’s little snippet of spittle i could probably just gather the strength to slide my hand up it’s hole and administer a cholecystectomy, that would teach em to have the gall to address me such…
bad12
There’s a lot of bile in your gall or the other way round.
Kioara Colin
I think Trevor has upset a lot of sensible left-leaning people. Personally, I think he must be drunk when posting some of the stuff he posts online. Or is he suffering from dementia such that he now thinks he’s Paula Bennett.
This Labour Party needs reaming.of the artherosclerotic plaque that is restricting blood-flow to good leadership. Trevor is a fatty and calcified deposit on the arteries to the left.
With the government’s asset sales plan in free fall, its time for John Key to change his approach. Be bold, and just for once place yourself in the history books, and embrace state capitalism.
Turn the Future Investment Fund into a fully fledged sovereign wealth fund, and transfer ownership of our SOE’s to it — like Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, give it full range to invest in anything and everything, turn it into a balwark of NZ and public ownership, and a companion piece to the NZ Super Fund, and a huge cash cow to fund schools, hospitals, broadband, rail, roads…
If its good enough for Dubai, Kuwait, Norway and Singapore, its good enough for us.
And David Shearer, promise to do that when winning the 2014 election.
Imagine if Roger Douglas and Richard Prebble did it back in ’86, instead of flogging them off to Gordon Gekko-types. They would truly be heroes.
Way too sensible for the likes of Slippery, and, when Dave aint doing His bit to alleviate poverty via a spot of mango-skinned redistribution He’s probably still coming to grips with that overly trite piece of neo-Liberal bulls**t, ”the Government has no business in business”,
Mostly the rest of us can see that as an investment vehicle our Government has the greatest ability to be proactive within the New Zealand economy just as the many countries you have highlighted are,
Add to that list of course China where the State has no problem ‘owning’ the smallest of factory’s producing the easiest of goods to manufacture and we can see that Government does have a role in business on all levels from investment to ownership,
Unfortunately little old us seem still to be stuck in the dark ages…
That sounds like a really stupid idea. Better to just turn the SoEs back into what they were and always should have been – state services run to benefit NZ and not to make a profit.
It may sound a bit dumb to some, but this seems to be the most popular world wide song at present. It even hits tunes in European charts, and it is is highly popular. Bieber move off your top arrogant arse, this is much, much better, leaving you in the shadow.
Suck it up or hate it, your choice, it is interesting. In Brazil it is based on some tunes from certain regions, and it is also rural. It is “popular”.
Enjoy!
Good choice 😎
Who gets more than 4 million hits on You Tube, even large hits in Germany and so, a bit bizarre, maybe sign of “emerging markets”?
To me just a bit of fine tuned entertainment of better class, still like “el pueblo unido”!