Hey drumpfkopf, what happened to all the press conferences you told us Trump did? Is he running scared of questions like how his foundation is a scam to funnel other people’s money into things that benefit him?
Hey Andre, help yourself to a long walk off a fucking short pier.
First TV debate is up in a week.
I wonder if Trump will bring up the former president of the Haitian senate saying that the Clintons tried to bribe him after the massive earthquake there.
Gawd you really are a fuckwit, drumpfkopf. The likes of InfoWars really aren’t reliable sources.
“The Clinton Foundation spends between 80-90 percent on program services, which experts say is the standard in the industry to define charitable works. It spends the majority of its money directly on projects rather than through third-party grants.”
So Saudi and Russian business interests as well as US banksters spend tens of millions on the Clinton Foundation and almost all of it goes to charitable good deeds? Bullshit.
The Observer summarises key points
1) Selling access to the Clinton State Dept (“pay for play.”)
2) Accepting sketchy foreign donations from abusive nations.
3) Helping major donors with US gov help.
Could it possibly be because Republicans want to play dirty tricks? “The request for a review came from 64 House Republicans led by Tennessee Representative Marsha Blackburn, who have tasked the IRS, FBI, and Federal Trade Commission with examining the dealings of the Foundation.
“
How typical of them.
Andre your ‘attachment’ is either causing you to bend ever farther, or you are not well versed at analysing information..
Should Clinton become POTUS will you take some responsibility for the results and outcomes of her presidency?
By overtly putting yourself out there, you are taking on ownership of future problems…you realise that as a voter committed to ensuring a Clinton ‘victory’ this is what you are doing right?
According to Charity Watch The Clinton foundation spends $2 for every $100 it raises and spends 88% of its budget on its stated programme – it has an A rating as a charity. By comparison Amnesty International has an A- It spends $14 to raise $100 and spends 80% of its budget on its stated programme.
And
The Donald J. Trump Foundation is not eligible to be rated by CharityWatch because it is structured as a private foundation. CharityWatch primarily rates public charities, as well as some social welfare and veterans organizations that broadly solicit the public for donations.
The governing board of the Trump Foundation consists of Trump family members and an employee of The Trump Organization (Trump’s for-profit business conglomerate) that control the Foundation’s grant-making activities, as is typical for private foundations. This differs from public charities whose operations usually are directed by independent boards with no or few related parities.
I think you are being a little too disparaging in your comment here CV.
The private company that runs Dunedin’s public transport (Go Bus/Ngai Tahu) are importing overseas workers to drive their buses? According to a letter in the ODT yesterday anyway.
From an article earlier in the year “NZ Bus paid $20.97 an hour to union drivers in Wellington, going up to $21.25 at the end of the year, he said. But Go Bus paid about $16.02 in Dunedin, and up to $18 in Auckland. ”
That is good. We’re still going to have to seriously decrease flying from our present high use though. There’s no way that enough bio-fuels can be grown to support it.
Bio-Fuels are a terrible idea. We already destroy enough land for farming so we don’t need to start clear-cutting forests to fuel our various devices too.
Yeah bio-ethanol from corn or sugar and bio-diesel from oil-seeds are really crap ideas. But bio-fuels from sources like algae, agricultural and forestry waste have much less of a downside. Given that I doubt we will make the cultural changes necessary to give up global long-haul aviation, and there’s no technology in sight that could substitute for the energy density of liquid fuels required for long-haul aviation, this looks like a reasonable step forward.
Spot on Andre, bio fuels from forestry wood waste etc will be able to start replacing fossil fuels in the near future (within the next 10 years).
Producing bio oil is an easy enough exercise via pyrolysis. The trick is to upgrade the bio oil to have similar properties as fossil fuel, while making the process commercially viable.
Lanza Tech has recently announced progress via there process for bio fuels. And I know of a bunch of other companies making very good progress as well.
It’s possible to grow the organisms that would be the basis for the bio-fuels in the ocean. So it doesn’t use land it also helps pull CO2 out of the atmosphere.
Electric and/or hydrogen could feasibly take over for shorter flights – maybe up to 1500km. So bio-fuels would then allow some long-haul aviation even in a zero-fossil future.
Will never happen CV, so we must look for better alternatives to fuel the planes.
There are no such alternatives in the foreseeable future and thus air travel must be curtailed. This is real economics and so you don’t actually get a say in it.
“There are no such alternatives in the foreseeable future and thus air travel must be curtailed”
Draco is your comment above based on any particular observation or experience? For example are you involved in the R&D of bio-oil for use as a transport fuel (land, sea, air)?
My work allows me close access to alternative / green fuels…and I can confirm that bio-oil for use as a fuel oil (to replace medium and heavy fossil fuel oil) is doable right now.
As for a transport fuel, bio-oil can be upgraded now as well. However the problem is its uneconomical to do so, but will not be for too much longer as the technology is refined.
The recent AirNZ / Virgin Aust RFI for jet bio-fuel attracted a lot of interest. And will enable a bio-fuel industry to proceed in Australasia, underpinned by the volumes required by the above airlines.
My work allows me close access to alternative / green fuels…and I can confirm that bio-oil for use as a fuel oil (to replace medium and heavy fossil fuel oil) is doable right now.
Yes, I’m quite aware that it’s available now. The problem, that I’ve read a couple of articles on over the years, is the inability to scale it up to support the present demand.
“up to 1500km”
That is very consoling. I shall be grateful for that information when we come down in the Tasman when only two thirds of the way from Wellington to Sydney.
“Unpublished field trials by pesticide manufacturers show their products cause serious harm to honeybees at high levels, leading to calls from senior scientists for the companies to end the secrecy which cloaks much of their research.”
Massey is doing a study on the kids in Motueka re the effects of pesticides. Many of the young kids at school were asked to be part of the study.
I feel sorry for the islanders working the orchards, it’s not very OSH friendly for them. They should be part of the study as well.
Save the bees, grow as many bee loving plants as you can, most bee friendly plants are flowers, the end result is a beautiful garden, who would not want that ?
Well, it’s not actually that hard to have your own hives if you’ve got a garden and you get fantastic, fresh honey.
It does require maintaining standards of course but that’s normal for anything really (The abnormality and that which causes so much pain in society is the RWNJs demand that we don’t have any standards).
All research needs to be done by public companies and available to the public to ensure that such secrecy as this doesn’t cause us harm as recent history proves that it does.
Marlborough Council to investigate the “Whale Blubber” leak. All whom were present at the meeting that was ‘leaked’ to fat boy were asked to sign a declaration stating that they did not leak details of the meeting.
“But two councillors, Jessica Bagge and Jamie Arbuckle, have refused to sign statutory declarations issued to all councillors as part of an ongoing Marlborough District Council investigation.”
You can’t claim that you were not responsible for the leak then refuse to sign a declaration confirming it… makes you look guilty as sin. JS
If fairness – he is trying to improve his blog. There are generally more insults and horrid things said on the standard in the comments these days than there is on his blog.
Thats not supporting what his blog used to be like – but giving credit for what is happening now.
Care to address the topic? Whaleoil publishing leaked & private information? 2 wrongs don’t make a right? SO no more ‘those emails were stolen’ whines from the feral blogger? Pfft, doubt it.
Care to address the topic? Nicky Hager publishing leaked & private information? 2 wrongs don’t make a right? SO no more ‘those emails were stolen’ whines from the feral blogger? Pfft, doubt it.
The Marlborough District Council leak was from a whistle blower (a Councilor or employee). I would of thought our left leaning friends here would of been horrified that the Council is now conducting a witch hunt for said whistle blower.
Considering the frequency with with which you and other RWNJ trolls utter offensive and ill-founded personal abuse of Little I see no reason not to shame personifications of corruption, greed and sloth like the Whale and Gerry Brownlee.
Your interest is not sincere – when you are assiduous in disciplining your fellow trolls for abuse we may reconsider.
Care to give any example of where I have ever given put any personal abuse against Little?
I actively try never to do it to anyone (may have had a slip here and there – but in general – I try to be polite to people on here). Not that I get the same back mind.
You have to do a little better than that – you made an attack on a local over fatshaming – show us your sincerity by pointing out where you did the same to a fellow concern troll – or where you condemned the Whale directly for any of his many grossly offensive slurs – that on the dead west coast boy for example. Otherwise you’re just special pleading.
I have been consistant in pointing out the name calling on this blog. I didnt make an attack – if you consider what I wrote one – then you must be feeling very sensitive.
I have commented on this several times – from women being called a bitch – to references to peoples weight, and also raising issue with comments like a poster telling people to go hang themselves.
I also shared a story of a family member who was self harming and threatening suicide because of bulling (both physical and online). As I said then, and I will again now – I hope that others do not have to go thru the heartbreak, stress and fear of the damage that this causes.
TRP mod commented agreeing and that they are trying to improve this – without damaging robust debate.
So – I can back up my sincerity by being consistent.
Here is a challenge to you – why dont you be part of a solution and try stopping abuse when you see it instead of being and enabler and calling out people who actually try.
And as far as the reference to weight …. agreed not such a good idea.
HOWEVER, perhaps one of the reasons is that such a reference often goes hand in hand with laziness. Not unloik JFK’s language mangler machine. Diction is lazy, language is based on learned spin and slogans dreamed up by spin meisters, – lazy mind – ideologically driven, absent of critical thought.
Smart flabby arsed attitude.
Oh you HATER Matty! How very dare you!
She’d probably have just been better to use the blubber’s own spin and call him out for what he is:
FERAL ((especially of an animal) in a wild state, especially after escape from captivity or domestication.)
Slater has picked on me before, published a photo of me on his blog when I requested that he did not. His trolls slammed me for it and as i defended my actions of a single woman protest against Key in Nelson, on his blog in an intelligent and factual manner I was bullied and then blocked.
There is a big difference between debating political views and bullying, and WE ALL know what Slater does best and it sure isn’t debating. My description of him is factual.
Have a dead cat, I’m more interested and what is going on at the Marlborough Council chambers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuJzSTNDUGI Aww you hurt his feelings Cinny, good on you for making a stand & put yourself out there, a very brave thing to do within NZ current political climate.
Fat Cambo loves the cut and thrust of personal abuse, well, one side of it anyway. Maybe he looks up from stamping head to have a wee sweaty cry about the mean boys and girls, but I doubt it.
Colin King exMP, is a contender for Mayoralty in Blenheim.
He is an “acquaintance” of one Mr Lusk, a “friend” of Cameron Slater who earlier this year was in Blenheim to “assist” aspiring candidates.
Cameron Slater’s use of the leaked recording seemed aimed at damaging the top Mayoral candidate Mr Leggett.
Mr King’s daughter is a Councillor I believe. I think her name is Jessica Bagge who refused to sign the statutory declaration to absolve her of being the leaker.
I’ve met Grant Robertson a few times.
Does that make me a closet commie or something similar?
Does that mean people shouldn’t talk to me because I might pass on their deepest, darkest secrets to the Opposition?
alwyn, when you spoke to Grant Robertson a few months ago at a seminar on how to go about running local political campaigns targeted at ‘sympathetic’ candidates, did you talk about opposing in-house meetings? And then, having talked about these meetings, lo and behold did a release of a recording of a in-house, public-excluded meeting happen, months later at the time voting papers were distributed?
I believe what you are talking about- meeting, having a chat- is very different, and an attempt to minimise what is a very serious breach of councillor ethics and trust, and having huge consequences for mayor, council, staff and the public.
“alwyn, when you spoke to Grant Robertson a few months ago at a seminar on how to go about running local political campaigns targeted at ‘sympathetic’ candidates”.
That really is news to me. He can’t have invited me because I haven’t heard of that activity of his before.Should you have told me that Grant ran such a seminar? Sounds terrible to me and I am surprised that you allowed such a damaging story about Grant’s activities to leak.
Ianmac, Colin King’s daughter is Cr Laressa Shenfield. Jessica Bagge is a retiring (that is, she is leaving Council!) councillor with a long-term feud with the outgoing mayor.
She refused on principle. Both councillors who refused to sign the declaration, Jamie Arbuckle and Jessica Bagge, have denied sending the tape to Cameron Slater.
What is noticeable, though, is by refusing to sign the declaration, they don’t have to answer the second part which addresses whether they know who did the leak.
I think you’re right to factor in the role of Simon Lusk into the affair as he is connected to both Slater and some
right-wing council candidates here who attended his seminar. Lusk is concerned to obtain control of Councils by suitable, right wing candidates.
There is another question that concerns me, as well as the poisoning effect upon trust of Council by the public, trust within Council between councillors and staff, trust
between councillors, and trust between councillors and Mayor.
That is bad enough, but what concerns me is the distinct and shadowy possibility that behind the Council shenanigans, behind Slater and Lusk, is money- money
that wants a compliant Council to allow further treatment of Marlborough as a third world style economy, complete with low wages, slave labour and extraction of primary industry resources, like wine, dairy, timber and seafood, and profits out of the region away to Auckland and overseas.
Yes, Anne, there are many stories about the LEAK. Stuff and the Marlborough Express web sites carry many stories. What I wrote above is of course conjecture, and while there are questions that need answering, the real facts are still not fully known.
Simon Lusk and his seminar can be researched in the same two web sites- who attended, who spoke, its purpose.
Another curious thing is the way in which Colin King resigned from Parliament. Was it Lusk who was involved with King out and Smith replaced in, as a sort of deal involving Mayorship?
Nah. Just kidding.
National Guard called out in continuing Charlotte, North Carolina riots sparked by another police shooting of a black man. The PD refuses to release the video footage.
Charlotte is a city with strong incomes and jobs, and often regarded as one of the best places in the US to live.
That such a city can spiral out of control is a lesson in why so many Americans think the USA is on the wrong path.
That such a city can spiral out of control is a lesson in why so many Americans think the USA is on the wrong path.
.
yeah nah
.
My uncle stood there still without blinking. “Yeah, you’re right,” he finally said. “But if Obama is still talking, that means they ain’t kill him. If they killed him, we likely to all be dead. Sound like a win to me.”
Hi joe90, other protestors/police have now been seriously harmed in the disturbances.
I don’t expect someone like you to pay attention to the mood of ordinary people on the ground, but I do expect that reality on the ground is going to give Trump a real chance of winning North Carolina.
There was an interesting article in the July 16 issue of the Economist on police interactions with black, and white people.
It was a report on a study done be an Afro-American Harvard academic Roland Fryer.
He found that black men were more likely to be subject to non-lethal use of force.
However, in an admittedly limited study, he found that black suspects were LESS likely to be shot, fatally or otherwise, than non-black ones.
The assumption that US cops casually shoot black men more readily that non-blacks does not appear to be based on evidence.
I’m sorry I cannot post a link to the article. Perhaps some one else can locate it on-line.
”However, in an admittedly limited study, he found that black suspects were LESS likely to be shot, fatally or otherwise, than non-black ones.”
Surely though if you are treating a far greater number of innocent blacks as suspects based on their total population , it could look like the % getting shot was lower.
Because as we know a black man in the wrong place will be instantly classed as a suspect.
I’m sorry I can’t post a link to the story, and I don’t think I would be very popular, or accurate, if I tried typing in the whole story.
He acknowledged that blacks were more likely to be stopped. However even allowing for this the incidence of shootings seemed to be less. It could be attributed to the fact that ALL police shootings were subjected to detailed investigations. Nevertheless the shootings were not as common as is claimed.
There will probably be a copy of the magazine in your local library if you can’t find it on-line.
Russell Normans not overly happy with Little at the moment. And given forest and bird are writing to him as well we can assume Kevin Hague isn’t going to be in a supportive position.
either way looks like little is bumbling another opportunity where the mates haven’t done the best of jobs.
Lolz the government says they will review their position and everything is peachy. The next PM says he wants to review his position and you call him out for bumbling? Dude, sharpen up.
Go check out RT’s review of the UN debate and the full reality of Kerrys claims. I think you will find that more interesting and topical. Shame the NZ media doesn’t do more ‘fact checking’
Here i find a link, it’s fascinating what RT says compared with the likes of MSM, or the Herald.
Appears to me it is still being discussed, besides I thought the Government was in control… what Little has to say on the matter.
“I do not believe that when they have a Treaty Negotiations Minister as talented as Chris Finlayson, they cannot come up with a creative solution to the issue. I simply do not accept that. But if they are so incompetent and have mishandled it so badly they are now prepared to give up on it, that sits firmly with John Key.”
There is not a cigarette paper between the positions of Labour and the Greens on this issue. The real story is that National have stuffed up. But maybe given their recent track record even that isn’t a surprise either.
Nathan Guy needs to resign over the fish-dumping scandal. Nick Smith should be sacked over the Kermadecs (and housing and….). McCully should have been sacked long ago over the Saudi sheep fiasco. Parata is a shambles in education. Bennett has been a disaster over housing (lets buy another sticking-plaster motel). Upston should resign as Minister for Women because she refuses to comment on women’s issues….and so on.
All this lot presided over by Key big-mouthing over Syria (“there will be blood on your hands”-doh!) while hypocritically refusing to raise the refugee intake to a humanitarian level.
I think they are delaying and delaying the publishing of the Auditor General’s report on McCulley’s Sheep deal, so that they can announce a trade deal with the Saudis to justify the means of getting the deal.
Norman is a denier of rights for indigenous people. And the other environmental groups show their middle class ugly denier of rights consciousness – I am disgusted by them all and I’m withdrawing my support for them.
Little and Labour could make a big positive impact with Māori if they stick to their principles – I hope they do but I suspect the pressure from their pollers and their middle class consciousness will turn them.
Marty – did you ever see any signs of Russel Norman being a “denier of rights for indigenous people” when he was Green co-leader?
Perhaps you are mistaking the mechanics of lobbying for something else.
In any case, the problem here is with the mismanagement of the issue by the Government. Sniping at the minor players seems the perfect result for strategists from the Government, using the “divide and rule” technique of diverting attention and blame.
I’m getting memory-glimpses of a Tibetan flag, some totalitarian security guards and Russel Norman, alone, exposed, standing up for some indigenous culture or other, can you remember, Marty?
yeah often they love the overseas indigenous cultures (and the political attention gained from grandstanding) and forget about the ones in the land they are living in – funny that eh. Could be that he just doesn’t need votes anymore though…
Do “they”?
That’s very unlikely, Marty and given that Russel’s friend and ex co-leader is Maori and staunch with it, it seems to me very unlikely that you are correct in your accusations.
I expect that Russel is now more free to lever wins than he was previously and is able to play a hand that will result in a win for those he represents. I expect “the environment” is high on his list, having committed so much of his time to it in recent times. Perhaps you believe he should jettison his principles? I also believe that Russel’s position on the rights of tangata whenua have not changed. Perhaps you are misreading the situation. In any case, where’s your condemnation of the real player here – Key?
He tangata uaua ia!
What about you Robert – do you think middle class greenwash is more important than upholding the rights agreed to and signed off with indigenous peoples?
No, Marty, I don’t though to be fair, I’m not sure what you mean by “middle class greenwash”, is that where someone buys a Prius rather than a Prelude? Regarding the proposed sanctuary, I think it’s festooned with fish hooks (matua, if you prefer). For starters, you might like to comment on this: Ko nga taunga ika tuuturu e paa ana ki nga taonga tuku iho ki te iwi aa rohe – are they traditional fishing grounds? I’m not saying one way or the other, only that there are fish hooks, details that need to be tested, including the global environmental questions that Russel Norman, in his new role, is honour-bound to ask. I am big on honouring treaties, Marty. I’m also aware that the projections of our shared future is shaking up world views through all cultures.
I’d say the fishhook is we are making ocean sanctuaries and still doing next to nothing about climate change. That is greenwash because how do you think those sanctuaries are going to go when temperatures rise even more. It isn’t even stopping the killing of fish in the ocean – hell even the whales still get killed and fish species hit the ecological wall every day. So what is the point of it? – makes people feel they are doing something – and that is a good reason in many respects but not if it is at the expense of indigenous rights – rights fought for with blood and sacrifice for generations, rights so often discarded as inconvenient to the abusers of those rights, rights tenaciously dug out of the colonisers as they lie, cheat and pretend care all the way dragging their feet.
This issue is about Treaty rights not sanctuaries (red herring) or the commercial catch (red herring), or whether Māori lived loved or died there (red herring). Respecting people (especially those that have been treated so, so ,so badly) is essential if you want to respect the planet, the oceans, the ecosystems and nature herself. There is no compromise on that imo.
Marty. This issue is about Key and National going ahead without consulting Maori. This quibbling about Russel is pointless. Key failed to respect Maori, failed to consult, failed to inform. He and his National mates should be the target of your ire – what are you thinking of, diverting attention from the real miscarriage of justice
by taking pot-shots at others???
Marty. My apologies to you also. I’m not wishing to shame you in any way – I like your stuff. Perhaps I was using language too strong for the moment. I like evocative words and phrases and sometimes use them too freely.
So…create ocean sanctuaries but not at the expense of indigenous communities, yes, but you know, the Japanese and the Norwegians and their whale-hunting… indigenous peoples of our Pacific islands have ceased, I believe, roasting kakapo, though it must surely have been their habit to do so in past times. That right might be enshrined in the Treaty, I don’t know, but modern times are different from those i nga wa o mua. Present day indigenous peoples must surely be willing to discuss the present situation where there is scarcity of a resource that was once plentiful. I don’t mean capitulating, I do mean discussing. Treaties, while absolute, have to flex with the times, I would like to think. In this case, I believe all fault lies with the Government for not consulting, not hearing, not offering the opportunity to debate and propose. They will though, ’cause that’s how they roll, but their sub-surface arrogance has been revealed, imho.
Robert i like, respect and admire you. I am sorry for raising the energy. This is a tough issue that confronts my values. I certainly blame the crook key and his minions and the left need to be aware of the issues from all sides too.
Marty, thanks and yes, it’s an issue with more than a little heat embedded. Despite the occasional boil-over (on all sides) debate like this is they way forward, imo and that’s what should have been had around the sanctuary or around any issue where people hold treaty rights.
Robert, I think you (like many) are missing the point.
Treaty settlements are said to be full and final. What is happening here is that a settlement made in 1992 is being overruled by this government. What this means is the Māori have to accept that Treaty settlements are only final for them, but the state can change the rules anytime it likes.
Do you think this is fair? Do you not see that this has implications for all treaty agreements? Do you realise that Māori have only recieved recompense for 2% of the worth of the land that was illegally confiscated? You are also trying to question the validity of a claim that has been settled.
I am a Green Party supporter but I was horrified by the way Russel Norman completely ignored Treaty rights in that interview on the Nation. I was relieved he is no longer the leader.
Karen – how gracious of you to inform me of my point-missing. I believe I have a good handle on treaties and the likes. In this instance, the ‘bad play’ has come from the Nats, dismissing tangata whenua. Why you want to drag others into that business, I can’t fathom.
I like democracy – and no part of it includes John Key disenfranchising me or dicks like you telling me what to do.
You are a traitor to the principles of democracy – winning dirty is all you care about – you’re a shabby beast not much better than Wayne the trougher.
Chuck – way above you again wrote ‘would of’. I have already told you that there is no such thing -“would’ve” (short for ‘would have’) please. Unless you are trying to come across as an ignorant klutz. Furthermore, the Shakespearian ‘Methinks’ which you attempt to use is one word, not two. If you can’t do it right, stop pretending that you can.
Wrong side of logic, wrong side of history, pretending to be matey while dissing destructively…
It is you who are sad. A sadly incompetent troll, who smugly employs straw man argument. You did not accurately portray SM’s attitude.
““Te Ohu Kaimoana and iwi representatives worked hard to find a compromise solution where the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary could go ahead and where Māori would not have extant rights, as agreed in the 1992 Deed of Settlement, unilaterally expropriated by the Government.”
“We considered that an offer to voluntarily shelve the use of Māori fisheries quota in the Kermadec region while maintaining extant fishing rights would achieve the same thing. While ultimately iwi quota owners would have needed to agree, we considered this was a constructive and reasonable solution to the impasse,” Mr Tuuta said.”
““We considered that an offer to voluntarily shelve the use of Māori fisheries quota in the Kermadec region while maintaining extant fishing rights would achieve the same thing. While ultimately iwi quota owners would have needed to agree, we considered this was a constructive and reasonable solution to the impasse”
I am responding to your reply to me here Robert. You evidently thought I was being patronising to you. That was not my intention.
You are one of the very few people here I read. You obviously believe you understand the issues here but I see no evidence from what you have posted that you do. I was trying to help.
I apologise, Karen and I agree with the views you expressed. I’m not trying to unpick or argue whatever Russel Norman has said, I’m just saying that the issue here is the Government’s decision, conscious decision I believe, to go ahead without involving Maori. Reactions and responses from NGO’s and individuals such as Russel don’t really have much bearing on the issue, I reckon and those have to be taken in the context of whatever sector they come from. Why would Key and his band of orcs be proposing a sanctuary for fish in the first place is an interesting question, when it is counter to most everything else they do. I believe they hoped to trumpet their big fish sanctuary as evidence that they are greener than the Greens, but to get there they had to behave badly with regard Maori, and decided they could swing it nonetheless, or at least suppress it till the election passes.
Perhaps you are right, I may not understand the issue, but leopards, spots and all that. I’m not mesmerized by such ploys. I’m interested in the idea though, that iwi can’t be trusted to say, “We’ll voluntarily abstain from fishing there, so long as you don’t ban us”, and how people can’t conceive that such an agreement might work. I believe it could. It’s a cultural interface there though, so who knows…
Yes emotion is highish and my understanding of what Te Ohu Kaimoana and Iwi leaders have said is that they are quite okay with sanctuaries. I just don’t think saying, “TOKM are opposed to ocean sanctuaries PERIOD.” is 100% true, and I put a link to back up my point.
I think you have been a bit rude by saying, “…well stuff you.” and the other one you said to me yesterday – and so I have replied in kind – I have offered reciprocity/utu.
yes I play chess and yes I am being pedantic a bit on this I admit – and I still think my understanding is correct.
edit and I’ll also say I am not opposed to ocean sanctuaries in any way – hell I welcome them with open arms – I don’t eat fish because of the way we have depleted the numbers and affected species survival. I’d like ocean sanctuaries to be part of a plan to help people cope with climate change, to bring people together – however as it stands at the moment I have to call this greenwash and Treaty breaching and I cannot tolerate Treaty breaching – see my comment to Robert above (i think)
So you are being selective who you name call and abuse now Marty Mars? My post was in support of what Barfly was saying. So if you think that of me, then you must think that of Barfly as well, given that he has been responding to you in far greater detail than I.
And further, in other words only YOUR opinion is right and everyone else is wrong, while you try and selectively bully people with abuse because you can’t handle any home truths being said about the Maori party.
For Christ sakes Marty, do you hear yourself? What gives you the right to abuse me for supporting what someone else said? And you’re “happy to let me be…” What does that mean exactly? you’ll leave me alone as long as I don’t post opinions on the Maori party and don’t challenge what you post?
Leftie you are entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to reply to me anyway you like within the policy bounds of this site. I may not like or believe what you say and i may think you are not actually arguing a point, just kneejerking slogans and i might think that in my way I could counter that with some logic and compassion. I might think all of that and you know what? Who cares. It is my opinion. That’s all.
Well that was a piece of patronizing abusive swill you just wrote there Marty Mars, clearly by your own behaviour you don’t believe in people, particularly me, voicing opinions, (that are not “kneejerking slogans” btw), because they differ from your own and I have been responding “within the policy bounds of this site”. On the other hand, your pointless abuse is not painful in the least, I see it as a weakness, it’s infantile, and shows you’re struggling.
Well said. It’s amazing how some people are completely blind to that which you have pointed out, Barfly. You cannot have a “sanctuary” while maintaining extant fishing rights. They can’t have it both ways.
you are a troll – an annoyingly thick slogan spinner. You might as well be a rwnj your understanding is below average on anything I’ve ever seen you write. I’m sick of you.
What a load of sanctimonious rubbish Marty Mars. You abuse when an obvious fact is pointed out to you that you can’t handle. You have lost all reasoning and are being totally irrational.
Are you comprehension challenged ? Or can a Maori organization never be wrong because they are Maori?
If you make an agreement with another party about something, and then want to change that agreement, you need to negotiate with that other party. And if the change you want to make is really important, you need to stir yourself to figure out some way to make the other party to the agreement happy for that change to occur, even if it involves making concessions you didn’t actually want to make. Otherwise, you shouldn’t enter into agreements in the first place.
Toussaint Romain was held up as a hero by the media in the Charlotte protests. As a public defender, dressed in a shirt and tie, he got between the protestors and police and tried to stop conflict. The second half of this interview with Romain was edited out by CNN. I wonder why… https://youtu.be/J_hGdgG1JiI
Had Maurice Williamson kept his trap shut or John Key himself been able to control his impulses and keep his hands to himself, you might have a point.
/
It’s not actually an option, cobber. You gave it a shot, which is more than most ever do, so kudos to you for that. But obviously, you’ve blown it and you’ll never entrusted with any responsibility again. I imagine you’re Ok with that.
Assad , an eye surgeon, and the democratically elected leader of Syria states that the attack on his forces was no accident and US does not want to fight ISIS.
“Syrian President Bashar Assad says that US airstrikes which killed 62 Syrian government troops were “intentional” and they lasted for an hour. He added that the US “does not have the will” to join Russia in fighting terrorists in Syria…
‘Russian military contacted US twice to stop airstrikes against Syrian govt troops’
“What was a ray of hope has turned into a gaze into the abyss. The Russia-US ceasefire to end the Syrian conflict is in tatters. For many the American bombing of the Syrian military marks a process of mission creep and forced regime change.
CrossTalking with Ali Rizk, Nadim Shehadi, and Rick Sterling.”
It’s a shame Assad/Putin have run out of hospitals to bomb. They’ve been reduced to just attacking aid convoys and that only kills healthy adults, not the sick and infirm. Where’s the fun in that?
“President Bashar al-Assad meanwhile indicated he saw no quick end to the war, telling AP News it would “drag on” as long as it is part of a global conflict in which terrorists were backed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and the United States.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-idUSKCN11S1C5
It’s a shame that all can’t focus on their same common enemy, ISIS
ISIS aren’t a common enemy though; they are a proxy army being financed, armed and used by western allies (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey) as well as directly by the Pentagon itself, to try and regime change Assad out of Damascus.
It’s a shame that all can’t focus on their same common enemy, ISIS
Pretty straightforward – if the Russians and their Syrian client do that, the sizable proportion of the Syrian population that wants their client dead will eventually get what they want, and if their client’s not running things the Russians’ military presence in the Mediterranean is fucked. Fighting Da’esh is a bit of a sideshow from the Russian perspective – much more important is knackering the ceasefire in such a way that they have plausible deniability.
Assad is extremely popular with the ethnic and religious minorities in Syria. The Islamic fundamentalist headchoppers are not.
Fighting Da’esh is a bit of a sideshow from the Russian perspective – much more important is knackering the ceasefire in such a way that they have plausible deniability.
More Psycho Milt bullshit.
You don’t understand the “Russian perspective” one whit.
The US has limited positive control over the extremist Islamist groups that it arms and funds to try and overthrow Assad (an effort which is thoroughly illegal in international law). These terrorist groups never respected any terms of the cease fire from day 1.
In fact, a number of those groups signed a document saying that they would not be bound by any terms of the ceasefire.
In addition, the US special forces who are training these proxy regime change fighters know full well that they are being asked to train the next generation of Jihadist terrorists, and they are not happy about it.
Assad is extremely popular with the ethnic and religious minorities in Syria. The Islamic fundamentalist headchoppers are not.
Well, he is with his own one, at least. The Kurds, not so much. And hardly anyone in Syria is keen on “Islamic fundamentalist headchoppers.”
You don’t understand the “Russian perspective” one whit.
One only achieves understanding of the Russian perspective by hoovering up endless Russian government propaganda from RT, I suppose? That might help with understanding Putin’s propaganda aims, but I’m not really interested in those.
The US has limited positive control over the extremist Islamist groups that it arms and funds to try and overthrow Assad…
Leaving aside for a moment your obsession with the US supposedly funding Da’esh, of course the US has limited positive control over participants in a civil war in a foreign country. That’s because the rebel forces aren’t clients of the US government, the way Assad is a client of the Russian government. Expecting the US government to give Syrian rebel groups orders and have them carried out would be pointless – expecting the Russian government to give Assad orders and expect them to be carried out, on the other hand, is entirely reasonable.
If Russia had any specific intent of eliminating Da’esh, that would be true. However, its actual intent is to eliminate all opponents of its Syrian client regime, so cooperating with Russia would be a terrible thing to do. In any case, aligning yourself with a mafia state is a bad idea in general, let alone in this particular instance.
Russia is keen to eliminate the 101 flavours of jihadists that the west implicitly and explicitly supports in Syria, yes, that includes the fictional “Free Syrian Army” that no one can find and also the “moderate terrorists” that the US seems to enjoy backing.
Also, do try and remember that Russia is operating in Syria at the invitation of the Damascus government, while the US, UK and France are all operating in Syria illegally.
It’s unfortunate that Hillary Clinton and the rest of the neocon set embarked on supporting yet another disastrous regime change op in Syria.
And these people still want Assad gone, even if that means that the black ISIS flag gets run up over Damascus. Which of course means, the ISIS version of Sharia law gets applied over the whole country, and women, ethnic minorities, religious minorities (including Christians) all get slaved out, head chopped or burnt alive.
The Assad government is the only shot for stable, secular rule in Syria. The Americans however would prefer chaotic, Islamic extremist rule in an imploded failed state balkanized Syria.
And behind all of this, is a contest for who gets to control the real estate for massive oil and gas pipelines through the territory.
“And these people still want Assad gone, even if that means that the black ISIS flag gets run up over Damascus. ”
It’s saying things like this that destroys the credibility of your argument, CV. Certainly Assad should be removed. preferably to the Hague, but there’s not a scrap of evidence that anyone in the west wants ISIS in control.
Just because you choose to blind yourself to the facts on the ground doesn’t mean that other people will, TRP.
The west’s allies would prefer for the Assad government to fall and for Assad to be gone tomorrow. In fact, regime change remains the first and foremost priority of the USA in Syria, and it has done for years.
That leaves no one to oppose the western supplied Daesh/ISIS forces on the ground, leaving Syria imploded just like NATO/USA left Libya.
Gotta agree here any strongman regieme change in the Middle East by the west has not gone very well. Tribal affiliation, religious intolerance, artificial countries are simply not conducive to democracy forming, maybe in a few hundred years when they have butchered themselves silly and society is s bit more secular there may be a chance To be fair Europe or the west where not much better 500 years ago
The west might also try to no longer assassinate/encourage the assassination of middle of the road secular leaders whenever these leaders spring up and try to take their countries in an independent direction. From Mossadegh to Sadat to Gadaffi.
If you could stop thinking of murderous dictators (Sadat and Gadaffi in this case) as “middle of the road, secular leaders,” it would be a good start on a move away from tinfoil-hattery.
There’s a reason that GW Bush and Tony Blair are wanted for war crimes, Psycho Milt.
Further every time the West gets rid of a middle of the road secular leader, they replace him with someone far more shit, far more radical, and usually far more radical Islamist.
Well, you can simply post the facts you reckon are so readily available. That’d really take the wind out of my sales. Until then, it’s just another example of you using hyperbole instead of your grey matter.
Well, you can simply post the facts you reckon are so readily available. That’d really take the wind out of my sails. Until then, it’s just another example of you using hyperbole instead of your grey matter.
I think CV may be making the wrong side of the argument about ISIS – not that it represents a desirable end state for Syria, but that it has value or is perceived as having value to the furtherance of US ends in Syria – mostly destabilising Assad.
Likewise the Assad’s forces offer a vehicle or a letter of marque like legitimacy to Russian skirmishing, the Turkmen offer buffer stability to Turkey, and the Kurds must look after themselves having no reliable state sponsor.
The Russians are wedded to Assad because a Syrian government the US was not supporting insurgency against would have no particular interest in becoming Putin’s client. So in principle the US should push to remove Assad through the UN and let Russia make what deals it may with his successor.
Don’t worry CV , you are correct in the above thread . The others don’t want to know the truth about the situation in Syria and the Middle East in general. The blind acceptance of the American version of everything is mind boggling.
You would have thought the lies about ‘weapons of mass destruction’ in 2003 would have wised up some of the left.
But no…..still blind acceptance of the western establishment’s propaganda.
You bump into this lack of critical thinking at its most visceral when you question the official propaganda about 9/11.
We’re not too far way from the start of the cyclone/hurricane season. This semi- tropical “muck” could be the fore-runner to an active season which might see NZ hit a few times this summer.
Yes, I have a reputation for being a bundle of joy.
500 prisoners up for early release after Department of Corrections’ mistake
“Around 500 prisoners will have their release dates brought forward because of the Supreme Court ruling on the Department of Correction’s mistaken interpretation of the Parole Act.”
“The court ruled on Thursday that the department had miscalculated parole and release dates, meaning some prisoners had spent more time in custody than the department had taken into account.”
“The court didn’t rule on compensation, but it’s an issue that’s going to come up”
I notice, Leftie, that you read and commented on the response just before mine on this topic.
I find it hard to believe that you didn’t even seem to have noticed what I said.
What is the problem? Does it upset you that the department seem to have followed the interpretation of the law that the highest court that had considered the matter seemed to believe was the right one?
Are you really as stupid, or biased, as the Green and Labour spokesmen are? Should the Department have said something like “The Court of Appeal may tell us that the law means X but we think they are wrong”.
If so, they might have appealed to you but I am sure the legal fraternity would have been up in arms.
Why do you still think that the Department is at fault? Why aren’t you yelling at the Court of Appeal?
I realise that David Clendon and Kelvin Davis, as well as TVNZ and RNZ are on your side but do you really want to be on the side of the Green and Labour Party idiots rather than on the side of accuracy?
Come on, admit that the Department was following the best interpretation of the law that was available to them.
The “mistake” the Department made was, apparently, to believe that the distinguished jurists on the Court of Appeal actually knew what the law meant.
As far as I have understood it the Department have been using the same method since 2003. It is the method that follows a ruling by the Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court, now the final stage for appeals, has now ruled that the law doesn’t mean that at all. In effect that is saying that the Court of Appeal simply didn’t know what they were doing.
None of the 500 people you are talking about would appear to be eligible for any compensation at all. They are people who are in prison now and will still be in prison even if the release date is brought forward. You can be forgiven though. Espiner on Morning Report didn’t seem to understand that either. 500 rather than 21 seemed much sexier to him I guess.
An example of one of these 500 would be someone who was first charged, and remanded in custody, in January 2015. Further investigation led to additional charges in March 2015 and more still in April 2015. They went to trial and were sentenced to 14 years without parole.
This would give them a release date according to Wednesday’s interpretation of the law of April 2029. Now it will be January 2029. Just what “compensation” do you think they are due?
The people who may be eligible are the 21 people, currently in prison, whose time should have been up before today and the unknown number who have already been released after serving a longer time than they should have.
Disclaimer. I am not a lawyer and everything I am saying could be total rubbish.
Perhaps a real lawyer could comment?
On the other hand perhaps we should expect all the Judges on the Court of Appeal to resign? Their senior brethren (and sisteren) clearly think they are incompetent.
I do not see that there is any compensation due to any current prisoner whose release date on the “correct” basis is not affected by the miscalculation, but I would expect that if the basis for calculation has been consistent since 2003 that there will be quite a number of now released prisoners who were not released until after the correct date. Yet again we are looking at a situation where reasonable compensation is being determined not on the basis of any principals or agreed assessment criteria, but determined by politicians who will not be consistent over time, and may be swayed by non-relevant issues (such as polling and focus groups). If we really have a justice system, it should be handled by them – and not by a minister attempting to change the law.
Naw, that was just software glitches in her body-double android. She’s all better now that she had her motherboard replaced and tuned in during her few days off.
Trump Jr warned against poison Skittles (Syrians).In 1939 Germans were warned 1 poison (Jewish) mushroom would make the whole bowl lethal. pic.twitter.com/WFHWgX5nJB— Cornelia (@PaladinCornelia) September 22, 2016
[We] wanted to see what level of support the comments would get if we took some famous pieces of Nazi propaganda and changed the word ‘Jew’ with ‘migrant’.
BBC article on the US election, comparing Hillary and Trump to various world leaders, has to use two heads for Trump on several of the images, to represent his varying statements: http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37423550
“A shallow trench running the width of the closed state highway at Rangiriri marks the start of a restoration project 152 years in the making.
Spades were handed out to New Zealand Transport Agency staff and management to begin filling the trench – a symbolic step toward a massive restoration project to see Rangiriri Pa returned to its original state.
State Highway 1 drove a line through the pa site when it was built in the 1960s. The path of the new expressway offers a way to heal that wound. ”
How low can the Labour vote go? At 22% probably no one on the Labour List would get in. Not even Andrew Little (who has never won a seat and only got into Parliament on the specials). Trevor Mallard is standing List only, not wanting to lose Hutt South to the very popular Chris Bishop. He hopes for a high List spot. If you want to be a Labour MP in 2017-20 you have to deselect a sitting member in a safe Red Seat. Already the jockeying has begun.
Of course they will backtrack on gender balance. Remember that balance has to be on winnable seats. They could for instance have chosen a woman for Phil Goff’s seat but have not. All talk and no action unless Labour women stand up to be counted..
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The Scottish government has announced plans for another independence referendum: Nicola Sturgeon plans to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence in October next year if her government secures the legal approval to stage it. Angus Robertson, the Scottish government’s constitution secretary, said that provided ample time to pass ...
So far, the closer military relationship envisaged by Jacinda Ardern and Joseph Biden at their recent White House meeting has been analysed mainly in terms of what this means for our supposedly “independent” foreign policy. Not much attention has been paid to what having more interoperable defence forces might mean ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters For those puzzling over the various hurricane computer forecast models to figure out which one to believe, the best answer is: Don’t believe any of them. Put your trust in the National Hurricane Center, or NHC, forecast. Although an individual ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Scott Denning The excellent Julia Steinberger essay posted at this site in May provides a disturbing window into the psychology of teaching climate change to young people. It’s critically important to talk with youth about hard topics: love and sex, deadly contagion, school shootings, vicious ...
By Imogen Foote (Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington) A lack of consensus among international conservation regimes regarding albatross taxonomy makes management of these ocean roaming birds tricky. My PhD research aims to generate whole genome data for some of our most threatened albatrosses in a first attempt ...
Well, if that’s “minor” I’d be interested to see what a major reshuffle looks like.Jacinda Ardern has reminded New Zealand of the steel behind the spin in her cabinet refresh announced today. While the Prime Minister stressed that the changes were “triggered” by Kris Faafoi and Trevor Mallard and their ...
A company gives a large amount of money to a political party because they are concerned about law changes which might affect their business model. And lo and behold, the changes are dumped, and a special exemption written into the law to protect them. Its the sort of thing we ...
Active Shooters: With more than two dozen gang-related drive-by shootings dominating (entirely justifiably) the headlines of the past few weeks, there would be something amiss with our democracy if at least one major political party did not raise the issues of law and order in the most aggressive fashion. (Photo ...
Going Down? Governments also suffer in recessions and depressions – just like their citizens. Slowing economic activity means fewer companies making profits, fewer people in paid employment, fewer dollars being spent, and much less revenue being collected. With its own “income” shrinking, the instinct of most government’s is to sharply ...
In the 50 years since Norm Kirk first promised to take the bikes off the bikies, our politicians have tried again and again to win votes by promising to crack down on gangs. Canterbury University academic Jarrod Gilbert (an expert on New Zealand’s gang culture) recently gave chapter and verse ...
Misdirection: New Zealanders see burly gang members, decked out in their patches, sitting astride their deafening motorcycles, cruising six abreast down the motorway as frightened civilians scramble to get out of their way, and they think these guys are the problem. Fact is, these guys represent little more than the misdirection ...
Our Government is committed to making sure that our health system works for all New Zealanders, no matter who you are or where you live. Transformation of our health system will take time, and the step we’re taking today – establishing Health New Zealand and the Māori Health Authority – ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to announce its support urgently for a moratorium on deep sea mining under the high seas, after Pacific nations joined forces this week to demand change. ...
We’re committed to ensuring that there is every opportunity for women and girls to succeed in Aotearoa New Zealand, with fewer barriers. Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to support women and girls, by improving services like healthcare and tackling issues like the gender pay gap. Here are just ...
Political pressure from the Green Party has pushed the Government to supply free masks to kids and teachers in schools across Aotearoa New Zealand. ...
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand and the European Greens have published a joint statement calling for the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement to support climate action, phase out fossil fuel subsidies, cut agriculture emissions, protect human rights, and uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to guarantee that it will complete light rail and improve walking, cycling, and bus journeys across Wellington before digging new high-carbon tunnels. ...
The Green Party is urging Oceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker to commit to stronger ocean protection around Aotearoa and on the high seas while at the United Nations Oceans Conference in Portugal this week. ...
A strong Green voice in Parliament has helped reduce the influence large secret money will have in future elections and finally ensured overseas New Zealanders will retain the right to vote even while stranded by the Pandemic. But, the Government needs to go further to ensure our democracy works for ...
A new poll shows that the majority of people back the Greens’ call on the Government to overhaul the country’s criminally punitive, anti-evidence drug law. ...
The US Supreme Court’s decision on abortion is a reminder that we must take nothing for granted in Aotearoa, the Green Party says. “Aotearoa should be a place where everyone, no matter where they are from, or who they love, can choose what is right for their body and their ...
We’re proud to have delivered on our election commitment to establish a public holiday to celebrate Matariki. For the first time this year, New Zealanders will have the chance to enjoy a mid-winter holiday that is uniquely our own. ...
Proposed new legislation to reduce the risk that timber imported into Aotearoa New Zealand is sourced from illegal logging is a positive first step but it should go further, the Green Party says. ...
On World Refugee Day, the Green Party is calling on the new Minister for Immigration, Michael Wood to make up for the support that was not provided to people forced to leave their home countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. ...
This week, we’ve marked a major milestone in our school upgrade programme. We've supported 4,500 projects across the country for schools to upgrade classrooms, sports facilities, playgrounds and more, so Kiwi kids have the best possible environments to learn in. ...
We’ve delivered on our election commitment to make Matariki a public holiday. For the first time this year, all New Zealanders will have the chance to enjoy a mid-winter holiday that is uniquely our own with family and friends. Try our quiz below, then challenge your whānau! To celebrate, we’ve ...
The Green Party says the removal of pre-departure testing for arrivals into New Zealand means the Government must step up domestic measures to protect communities most at risk. ...
The long overdue resumption of the Pacific Access Category and Samoan Quota must be followed by an overhaul of the Recognised Seasonal Employers (RSE) scheme, says the Green Party. ...
Lessons must be learned from the Government's response to the Delta outbreak, which the Ministry of Health confirmed today left Māori, Pacific, and disabled communities at greater risk. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to withdraw the proposed Oranga Tamariki oversight legislation which strips away independence and fails to put children at the heart. ...
Aotearoa New Zealand has reiterated its concerns over the continued erosion of rights, freedom and autonomy in Hong Kong. On the second anniversary of the introduction of the Hong Kong National Security Law, the Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta says developments in Hong Kong remain a cause for worry. “Two years ...
The Europol Agreement signed is a significant milestone for New Zealand and the European Union’s relationship, and reflects our shared principles of democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said today. The Prime Minister attended a signature ceremony in Brussels, as part of ...
· New nationwide public health system · 20 district health boards disestablished and deficits wiped · 82,000 health employees directly employed by Health New Zealand · $24 billion health budget this year – up 43% since Labour took office in 2017 – in addition to separate funding for the new ...
Education Minister Chris Hipkins has announced appointments to the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand and the Board of Trustees of Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu (Te Kura). “Robyn Baker ONZM has been appointed as the chair of the Teaching Council. She has considerable governance experience and is a ...
European Commission President von der Leyen and Prime Minister of New Zealand Ardern met in Brussels on 30 June 2022. The encounter provided an opportunity to reaffirm that the European Union and Aotearoa New Zealand are longstanding partners with shared democratic values and interests, aligned positions on key international and ...
Export revenue to the EU to grow by up to $1.8 billion annually on full implementation. Duty-free access on 97% of New Zealand’s current exports to the EU; with over 91% being removed the day the FTA comes into force. NZ exporters set to save approx. $110 million per annum ...
57,000 EVs and Hybrid registered in first year of clean car scheme, 56% increase on previous year EVs and Non Plug-in Hybrids made up 20% of new passenger car sales in March/April 2022 The Government’s Clean Car Discount Scheme has been a success, with more than 57,000 light-electric and ...
Police Minister Chris Hipkins congratulates the newest Police wing – wing 355 – which graduated today in Porirua. “These 70 new constables heading for the frontline bring the total number of new officers since Labour took office to 3,303 and is the latest mark of our commitment to the Police ...
Members with a range of governance, financial and technical skills have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Board as part of the shift to strengthen the Bank’s decision-making and accountability arrangements. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 2021 comes into force on 1 July 2022, with the establishment of ...
New Zealand to remain at Orange as case numbers start to creep up 50 child-size masks made available to every year 4-7 student in New Zealand 20,000-30,000 masks provided a week to all other students and school staff Extra funding to schools and early childhood services to supports better ...
Aotearoa New Zealand will join Ukraine’s case against Russia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which challenges Russia’s spurious attempt to justify its invasion under international law. Ukraine filed a case at the ICJ in February arguing Russia has falsely claimed genocide had occurred in Luhansk and Donetsk regions, as ...
The Government has taken another step forward in its work to eliminate family violence and sexual violence with the announcement today of a new Tangata Whenua Ministerial Advisory Group. A team of 11 experts in whānau Māori wellbeing will provide the Government independent advice on shaping family violence and sexual ...
Te Mahere Whai Mahi Wāhine: Women’s Employment Action Plan was launched today by Minister for Women Jan Tinetti – with the goal of ensuring New Zealand is a great place for women to work. “This Government is committed to improving women’s working lives. The current reality is that women have ...
The food and fibre sector acknowledged its people and leadership at last night’s 2022 Primary Industries Good Employer Awards, a time to celebrate their passion towards supporting employees by putting their health, welfare and wellbeing first,” Acting Minister of Agriculture Meka Whairiti said. “Award winners were selected from an extraordinary ...
Kia ora koutou katoa. It is a rare thing to have New Zealand represented at a NATO Summit. While we have worked together in theatres such as Afghanistan, and have been partners for just on a decade, today represents an important moment for our Pacific nation. New Zealand is ...
Te Arataki mō te Hauora Ngākau mō ngā Mōrehu a Tū me ō rātou Whānau, The Veteran, Family and Whānau Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy Framework “We ask a lot of those who serve in the military – and we ask a lot of the families and whānau who support ...
Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs Aupito William Sio has been appointed by the United Nations and Commonwealth as Aotearoa New Zealand’s advocacy champion for Small Island States. “Aotearoa New Zealand as a Pacific country is particularly focused on the interests of Pacific Small Island Developing States in our region. “This is a ...
An estimated 100,000 low income households will be eligible for increased support to pay their council rates, with changes to the rates rebate scheme taking effect from 1 July. Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta has announced increases to both the maximum value of the rates rebate, and the income threshold ...
A long-standing physical activity programme that focuses on outcomes for Maori has been expanded to four new regions with Government investment almost doubled to increase its reach. He Oranga Poutama is managed by a combination of hapū, iwi, hauora and regional providers. An increase in funding from $1.8 million ...
The Government is progressing a preferred option for LGWM which will see Wellington’s transport links strengthened with light rail from Wellington Station to Island Bay, a new tunnel through Mt Victoria for public transport, and walking and cycling, and upgrades to improve traffic flow at the Basin Reserve. “Where previous ...
To Provost Muniz, to the Organisers at the Instituto de Empresa buenas tardes and as we would say in New Zealand, kia ora kotou katoa. To colleagues from the State Department, from Academia, and Civil Society Groups, to all our distinguished guests - kia ora tatou katoa. It’s a pleasure ...
On June 28, 2022, a meeting took place in Madrid between the President of the Government of the Kingdom of Spain, Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, and the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, who was visiting Spain to participate in the Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as one ...
A six-fold increase in the Aotearoa New Zealand-Spain working holiday scheme gives a huge boost to the number of young people who can live and work in each other’s countries, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. Jacinda Ardern and Spanish President Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón made the Working Holiday/Youth Mobility Scheme announcement ...
A significant barrier has been removed for people who want to stand in local government elections, with a change to the requirement to publish personal details in election advertising. The Associate Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty has taken the Local Electoral (Advertising) Amendment Bill through its final stages in Parliament ...
New financial conduct scheme will ensure customers are treated fairly Banks, insurers and non-bank deposit takers to be licensed by the FMA in relation to their general conduct Sales incentives based on volume or value targets like bonuses for selling a certain number of financial products banned The Government ...
Legislation that bans major supermarkets from blocking their competitors’ access to land to set up new stores paves the way for greater competition in the sector, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Dr David Clark said. The new law is the first in a suite of measures the Government is ...
The Government has announced an end to the requirement for border workers and corrections staff to be fully vaccinated. This will come into place from 2 July 2022. 100 per cent of corrections staff in prisons, and as of 23 June 2022 97 per cent of active border workers were ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has concluded a visit to Rwanda reaffirming Aotearoa New Zealand’s engagement in the Commonwealth and meeting with key counterparts. “I would like to thank President Kagame and the people of Rwanda for their manaakitanga and expert hosting of this important meeting,” Nanaia Mahuta said. “CHOGM ...
Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty officially launched the new Monitoring, Alerting and Reporting (MAR) Centre at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) today. The Government has stood up the centre in response to recommendations from the 2018 Ministerial Review following the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake and 2017 Port Hills fire, ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood has welcomed the announcement that a 110km/hr speed limit has been set for the SH1 Waikato Expressway, between Hampton Downs and Tamahere. “The Waikato Expressway is a key transport route for the Waikato region, connecting Auckland to the agricultural and business centres of the central North ...
Following feedback from the sector, Associate Minister of Education Jan Tinetti, today confirmed that new literacy and numeracy | te reo matatini me te pāngarau standards will be aligned with wider NCEA changes. “The education sector has asked for more time to put the literacy and numeracy | te reo ...
$4.5 million to provide Ukraine with additional non-lethal equipment and supplies such as medical kit for the Ukrainian Army Deployments extended for New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) intelligence, logistics and liaison officers in the UK, Germany, and Belgium Secondment of a senior New Zealand military officer to support International ...
Changes to electoral law announced by Justice Minister Kiri Allan today aim to support participation in parliamentary elections, and improve public trust and confidence in New Zealand’s electoral system. The changes are targeted at increasing transparency around political donations and loans and include requiring the disclosure of: donor identities for ...
The Labour government has announced a significant investment to prevent and minimise harm caused by gambling. “Gambling harm is a serious public health issue and can have a devastating effect on the wellbeing of individuals, whānau and communities. One in five New Zealanders will experience gambling harm in their lives, ...
The Government has widened access to free flu vaccines with an extra 800,000 New Zealanders eligible from this Friday, July 1 Children aged 3-12 years and people with serious mental health or addiction needs now eligible for free flu dose. From tomorrow (Tuesday), second COVID-19 booster available six months ...
The Government is investing to create new product categories and new international markets for our strong wool and is calling on Kiwi businesses and consumers to get behind the environmentally friendly fibre, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said today. Wool Impact is a collaboration between the Government and sheep sector partners ...
At today’s commemoration of the start of the Korean War, Veterans Minister Meka Whaitiri has paid tribute to the service and sacrifice of our New Zealand veterans, their families and both nations. “It’s an honour to be with our Korean War veterans at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park to commemorate ...
Minister of Tourism Stuart Nash and Associate Minister of Tourism Peeni Henare announced the sixth round of recipients of the Government’s Tourism Infrastructure Fund (TIF), which supports local government to address tourism infrastructure needs. This TIF round will invest $15 million into projects around the country. For the first time, ...
Matariki tohu mate, rātou ki a rātou Matariki tohu ora, tātou ki a tātou Tīhei Matariki Matariki – remembering those who have passed Matariki – celebrating the present and future Salutations to Matariki I want to begin by thanking everyone who is here today, and in particular the Matariki ...
Oho mai ana te motu i te rangi nei ki te hararei tūmatanui motuhake tuatahi o Aotearoa, Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki, me te hono atu a te Pirīmia a Jacinda Ardern ki ngā mahi whakanui a te motu i tētahi huihuinga mō te Hautapu i te ata nei. ...
Unions representing care and support workers are lodging a pay equity claim today to raise pay rates for a majority female workforce that has always been undervalued. The pay equity claim is a crucial step in stemming the crisis the care and support ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Lavender, Senior Lecturer, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Federation University Australia Shutterstock I am sure you’ve been told you should stand up and move away from your work stations or use a standing desk where possible. One of the ...
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions has today welcomed the Free Trade Agreement established between New Zealand and the European Union says President Richard Wagstaff. "The Agreement includes a number of welcome steps to make trade more ...
New Zealand is once again calling on the Government to overhaul an outdated system that determines what community programmes disabled adults have access to based on flawed assessments they were given as children. A case note published this week from ...
The meat and dairy industries are very disappointed with the outcome of the free trade deal struck between New Zealand and the European Union saying it falls far below their expectations. ...
The Prime Minister will need to explain to farmers why there were not more gains in meat and dairy in the trade agreement with the EU, the opposition says. ...
In a dramatic shift at the United Nations oceans conference in Lisbon this week, a series of Pacific Governments have formed an alliance to oppose deep sea mining in international waters but Greenpeace says the continued silence from the New Zealand ...
New Zealanders are amongst the highest generators of plastic waste in the world and on top of this there is now concern about the level of microplastics in our water. As Plastic-free July gets underway, Water New Zealand chief executive Gillian Blythe ...
“When will governments and trade negotiators realise they have more credibility if they tell the truth about free trade agreements (FTA) like the new deal with the European Union (EU), instead of their fancifully positive spin?”, asks Jane Kelsey, ...
National child abuse advocacy group - Child Matters - says yesterday’s revelation that authorities were never alerted to the extent of Malachi Subecz’s horrific injuries is a stark reminder that government legislation must change – and now. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh White, Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University Testing Washington: Chinese President Xi Jinping. Li Gang/Xinhua via AP How can Australia navigate the tough and dangerous strategic environment in Asia today with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Kaufman, Research Fellow, Vaccine Uptake Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Engin Akyurt/Unsplash The federal government has released a new A$11 million ad campaign urging Australians to “take on winter” by getting COVID boosters and influenza vaccines, as well as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Macintosh, Professor and Director of Research, ANU Law School, Australian National University Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen is today expected to announce a much anticipated review of Australia’s carbon credit scheme, known as the Emissions Reduction Fund. In March, we exposed ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Esmé Louise James, Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Melbourne Netflix After a month of waiting, the season finale of Stranger Things season 4 has almost arrived on Netflix. This season, along with the nightmarish arch-villain Vecna, we have been ...
More than 91 percent of tariffs will be removed the day the deal comes into effect, while the value of NZ exports to the EU are estimated to increase by $1.8b a year by 2035. ...
RNZ News New Zealand has designated US groups the Proud Boys and The Base as terrorist entities. Set down in the government’s official journal of record — the Gazette — last Monday, 20 June, it was published publicly a week later but with no wider dissemination. The move — authorised ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra David Pocock, the progressive independent who broke the Liberals’ stranglehold on one of the two ACT Senate seats, wouldn’t have expected to find himself allied with Pauline Hanson before even being sworn in. But, ...
Tabloid Jubi The Civil Organisations Solidarity for Papua Land has condemned Indonesia’s Papua expansion plan of forming three new provinces risks causing new social conflicts. And the group has urged President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to cancel the plan, according to a statement reports Jubi. The group — comprising the Papua ...
RNZ Pacific Palau, Fiji, and Samoa have announced their opposition to deep-sea mining, calling for a moratorium on the emerging industry amid growing fears it will destroy the seafloor and damage biodiversity. The alliance was announced just as a United Nations Oceans Conference began in Portugal this week. The moratorium ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has just spoken to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky by phone, expressing solidarity and support for his country. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dennis B Desmond, Lecturer, Cyberintelligence and Cybercrime Investigations, University of the Sunshine Coast Sashenka Gutierrez/EPA The art of concealing or misrepresenting one’s identity in the physical world has long been practised by spies engaged in espionage. In response, intelligence agencies ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND Homeowners will face mortgage rates near 5.5% in a little over a year, according to a survey of 22 leading Australian economists. The ...
Guest column by Nicholas Kerr Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s comments about the US Supreme Court’s recent ruling on abortion inadvertently help explain why the court was right to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the issue to the states. She noted that New Zealand ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mona Nikidehaghani, Lecturer in Accounting, University of Wollongong From Monday July 4 2022, Australian job seekers face a new social security system to police eligibility for support payments. It replaces the “Jobactive” system that required the “mutual obligation” of applying for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn Gulliver, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Queensland A man who drove through a climate protest blocking the Harbour Tunnel this week has copped a A$469 fine, while multiple members of the activist group were arrested. The protest was among a ...
“Less than a month ago Floyd Du Plessis, the President of the Corrections Association (CANZ), wrote a letter to the Chief Executive warning of more assaults against prison officers if things didn’t change,” says Darroch Ball Leader of Sensible Sentencing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ritesh Chugh, Associate Professor – Information and Communications Technology, CQUniversity Australia Shutterstock While manufacturers have successfully increased the water-repelling nature of smartphones, they are still far from “waterproof”. A water-resistant product can usually resist water penetration to some extent, but ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suze Wilson, Senior Lecturer, School of Management, Massey University Phil Walter/Getty Images The US Supreme Court’s recent ruling to throw out Roe v Wade is an issue of relevance to political leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand. The decision was ...
New Zealand will present its legal view on Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations' international court, contesting the Kremlin's claim of genocide. ...
Buzz from the Beehive The Government has declared or reiterated three bold ambitions, one of them (the elimination of family violence) probably unachievable. Whether progress is being made towards the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Price, Team Leader / Senior Research Officer, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Shutterstock Most new parents and caregivers will know the phrase “put your baby down when drowsy but awake”. But some parents may find this just doesn’t work for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Stavrou, English Language Instructor, University of Cyprus, and PhD Graduate, Charles Sturt University Traditional approaches to adult language teaching often use resources such as textbooks and generic learning materials that are less than inspiring for learners. New research shows ...
Accompanied by a giant albatross sculpture made of reclaimed plastic bottles, Greenpeace has delivered a 100,000-strong petition to parliament calling on the Government to ban single-use plastic bottles and incentivise reusable and refillable alternatives. ...
Covid-19 Response Minister Ayesha Verrall says the country needs to remain at the orange traffic light setting as case numbers are starting to "creep up". ...
Our Annual plan 2022/23 was presented to the House of Representatives today. This annual plan is a key accountability document for our Office. It describes the discretionary work we consider will help us to achieve our ultimate outcome – that Parliament ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Director, Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre; Associate Professor of Criminology, Faculty of Arts, Monash University AAP Image/Supplied by Department of Justice In 2020 the killing of Hannah Clarke and her three children – Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary Anne Kenny, Associate Professor, School of Law, Murdoch University The election of the Albanese Labor government brings an opportunity to end one of the most detrimental elements of Australian refugee law and policy in the past decade: the use of temporary ...
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions has welcomed the launch of the Te Mahere Whai Mahi Wāhine: Women's Employment Action Plan today. For too long, women have been disadvantaged in the world of work. While many improvements have been made over ...
The experimental weekly series provides an early indicator of employment and labour market changes in a more timely manner than the monthly employment indicators series. Key facts The 6-day series includes jobs with a pay period equal to or less than ...
Statement from Auckland Transport Interim Chief Executive Mark Lambert: Auckland Transport is proud to support the New Statement of Ambition being launched tonight by the Climate Leaders Coalition. We’re delighted that AT’s work to achieve the ...
Greenpeace Aotearoa, SAFE, Animals Aotearoa, SPCA, and the New Zealand Animal Law Association have joined forces to call for an end to intensive winter grazing through the Government’s Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare review. The coalition says that as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Swift, Educational Experiences team lead (Senior Lecturer), ANU School of Cybernetics, Australian National University Shutterstock I love writing code to make things: apps, websites, charts, even music. It’s a skill I’ve worked hard at for more than 20 years. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Baillie, Professor of Allied Health, University of Sydney Shutterstock COVID might be the largest mass casualty event in Australian history. And with one in 20 people with COVID still experiencing symptoms three months later, long COVID might even become Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick O’Connor, Associate Professor, University of Adelaide A tiny parasitic mite that lives on the European honeybee (Apis mellifera) has breached Australia’s border quarantine and been detected in managed bee hives in New South Wales. This is bad news for Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Main, Visiting Scholar, Australian National University Shutterstock The COVID pandemic slowed mining activity across the Pacific. But as economic activity returns, an Australia-based company is poised to pursue what would be the largest mine in Papua New Guinea’s history. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachele Sloane, Graduate Researcher and Tutor – Master of Education, Student Wellbeing Specialisation (MGSE), The University of Melbourne Shutterstock New Child Safe Standards come into effect in Victoria this Friday, July 1. The set of 11 standards builds on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Morag Kobez, Associate lecturer, Queensland University of Technology shutterstock When the temperature drops in the southern hemisphere, you might like to stave off the chill with a big steaming pot of mulled wine, and fill your home with the comforting aroma ...
Russia's actions in Ukraine are an affront to the world but mustn't be allowed to create a more polarised, dangerous world, the prime minister says. ...
Russia's actions in Ukraine are an affront to the world but mustn't be allowed to create a more polarised, dangerous world, the prime minister says. ...
EDITORIAL:Bythe Rappler teamWe will continue bringing you the news, holding the powerful to account for their actions and decisions, calling attention to government lapses that further disempower the disadvantaged. We will hold the line. Dear readers and viewers, We thought this day would never come, even as ...
ANALYSIS:By Gavin Ellis The Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media Bill — introduced to Parliament this week — will have a long journey before it is fit for purpose. The Bill gives effect to the government’s plan to replace TVNZ and RNZ with a new entity designed for the digital ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caleb Goods, Senior Lecturer – Management and Organisations, UWA Business School, The University of Western Australia Uber Australia has struck a historic agreement with the Transport Workers’ Union – a statement of principles that re-regulate work in the Australian rideshare and food ...
Today the signatures of 72 Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Councillors, Local board members, and the LGNZ Young Elected Members Committee will be handed to the Government in support of making the voting age 16 via an open letter organised by Make It 16. “Young ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Grogan, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, The Daffodil Centre, University of Sydney E-cigarettes and vape products are illegally imported into Australia. Some claim not to contain nicotine, but do.Simon Collins/Shutterstock ABC TV’s Four Corners this week reported how unlawful sale of e-cigarettes ...
However, more work is needed to understand the cost of rolling out a new approach to disability support, Minister for Disability Issues Poto Williams says. ...
Hospitality New Zealand is calling for MPs across Parliament to send ACT MP Chris Baillie’s Member’s Bill on repealing Easter trading restrictions to a select committee so hospitality businesses can have their say on whether to stay open or ...
On 1 July an exciting new Ministry for Disabled People – will come into being to lead much-needed change. There is nothing that people will need to do on day one to continue receiving disability support services. “Many disabled people and whānau ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes “Word from The Hill”, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. Michelle and Peter Browne from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Shutterstock “Stagflation” is an ugly word for an ugly situation – the unpleasant combination of economic stagnation and inflation. The last time the world experienced ...
The Ardern government has done it again, announcing a grandiose plan to reform Wellington’s transport system. The plan includes a long-overdue duplicate Mt Victoria tunnel, a rearrangement of the road around the Basin Reserve and a light rail operation from the city centre to the south coast, all in the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Legislation to tighten things, legislation to relax things and a speech which reminds us of threats to our democracy – from the PM, we are delighted to note – feature in the latest posts on the Beehive website. Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark has ...
The Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner has expressed disappointment over the delay in undertaking urgent action to address ethnic, gender and disability pay gaps across workplaces in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Government has committed to scoping ...
OP-ED by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). ...
The calls for assassination:
So, why hasn’t the FBI put Trump into the back of a police wagon and taken him in for questioning?
A bought Presidential campaign: US$149.9M in political advertising booked between now and Election Day Nov 8
Clinton’s campaign has reserved $145.3M of advertising.
Trump’s campaign has reserved $4.4M of advertising.
Clinton has 33x more advertising scheduled than Trump. The minor candidates have a small spend as well.
Interesting that in general, the Left seems to be backing the Big Money Corporate Sponsored candidate.
On the advertising budget alone, Clinton should totally swamp Trump in November.
Hey [email protected] Is this comment an attempted distraction from Trump’s thinly disguised call for someone to take out Hillary Clinton? 🙂
The Secret Service apparently did talk to Trump and the Trump campaign to clarify issues around what he said.
Remember too that the Clintons were guests at Trump’s wedding so I’m sure that the anxiety ridden liberal left misinterpreted his comments 😛
Or maybe The Joker has contracted a private security firm .. or two.. or three.. or …
He surrounds himself with his own ‘privatized mercenary force’. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/12/11-private-security-firms-guarding-donald-trump.html
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/inside-trumps-security-juggernaut-221543
And yet it is the “left” who are “anxiety ridden”. Yeah, right.
Hey drumpfkopf, what happened to all the press conferences you told us Trump did? Is he running scared of questions like how his foundation is a scam to funnel other people’s money into things that benefit him?
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-finally-asked-about-his-foundation-scandal-descends-into-complete-incoherence-1b662d8de8c7#.ibbd3ijnv
Hey Andre, help yourself to a long walk off a fucking short pier.
First TV debate is up in a week.
I wonder if Trump will bring up the former president of the Haitian senate saying that the Clintons tried to bribe him after the massive earthquake there.
Trump’s flat out lining his own pocket and laughing all the way to the bank.
I wonder if Clinton has done any more no-shows to her own $10,000 per seat fundraisers for the rich and elite of US society?
Difference is the Clinton Foundation actually does things whereas the Trump ‘Foundation’ appears to be a scam intended to enrich himself
Yes the Clinton Foundation does spend a small single digit percentage of its receipts in actual charitable type activities.
And some.
https://www.charitywatch.org/ratings-and-metrics/bill-hillary-chelsea-clinton-foundation/478
https://www.charitywatch.org/charitywatch-hot-topic/why-doesn-39-t-charitywatch-rate-the-trump-foundation-/65
Gawd you really are a fuckwit, drumpfkopf. The likes of InfoWars really aren’t reliable sources.
“The Clinton Foundation spends between 80-90 percent on program services, which experts say is the standard in the industry to define charitable works. It spends the majority of its money directly on projects rather than through third-party grants.”
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/aug/25/reince-priebus/reince-priebus-false-claim-80-clinton-foundation-c/
So Saudi and Russian business interests as well as US banksters spend tens of millions on the Clinton Foundation and almost all of it goes to charitable good deeds? Bullshit.
The Observer summarises key points
1) Selling access to the Clinton State Dept (“pay for play.”)
2) Accepting sketchy foreign donations from abusive nations.
3) Helping major donors with US gov help.
http://observer.com/2016/08/the-six-clinton-foundation-scandals-everyone-needs-to-know/
Surprise surprise, Jared’s rag bags his dad in-laws opponent.
/
Why the IRS is probing the Clinton foundation.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-31/why-irs-probing-clinton-foundation-clinton-cash-author-explains
Could it possibly be because Republicans want to play dirty tricks?
“The request for a review came from 64 House Republicans led by Tennessee Representative Marsha Blackburn, who have tasked the IRS, FBI, and Federal Trade Commission with examining the dealings of the Foundation.
“
How typical of them.
Neither is the link you have posted to, Andre
‘Program Services’
Andre your ‘attachment’ is either causing you to bend ever farther, or you are not well versed at analysing information..
Should Clinton become POTUS will you take some responsibility for the results and outcomes of her presidency?
By overtly putting yourself out there, you are taking on ownership of future problems…you realise that as a voter committed to ensuring a Clinton ‘victory’ this is what you are doing right?
Same applies to whichever ‘side’ is taken
According to Charity Watch The Clinton foundation spends $2 for every $100 it raises and spends 88% of its budget on its stated programme – it has an A rating as a charity. By comparison Amnesty International has an A- It spends $14 to raise $100 and spends 80% of its budget on its stated programme.
And
I think you are being a little too disparaging in your comment here CV.
This one’s for guess whom ?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11715022
It’s simply amazing what an obssessive home grown bitterness about the NZLP can do for a “guess whom”.
More liberal whining.
The private company that runs Dunedin’s public transport (Go Bus/Ngai Tahu) are importing overseas workers to drive their buses? According to a letter in the ODT yesterday anyway.
From an article earlier in the year “NZ Bus paid $20.97 an hour to union drivers in Wellington, going up to $21.25 at the end of the year, he said. But Go Bus paid about $16.02 in Dunedin, and up to $18 in Auckland. ”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/81527792/Bus-drivers-union-threatens-industrial-action-on-a-scale-never-seen-before
Hardly a surprise as major iwi share the same values the maori party endorse in their support of the shonky regime.
They will hide behind the layers of management and corporate dribble if challenged.
I wonder if the rates paid are a function of demand for bus services? that would be a novel idea wouldn’t it
Maybe aviation has taken one small step away from fossil fuels.
http://cleantechnica.com/2016/09/22/100-percent-invisible-biofuel-powers-us-navys-green-growler/
That is good. We’re still going to have to seriously decrease flying from our present high use though. There’s no way that enough bio-fuels can be grown to support it.
Bio-Fuels are a terrible idea. We already destroy enough land for farming so we don’t need to start clear-cutting forests to fuel our various devices too.
Yeah bio-ethanol from corn or sugar and bio-diesel from oil-seeds are really crap ideas. But bio-fuels from sources like algae, agricultural and forestry waste have much less of a downside. Given that I doubt we will make the cultural changes necessary to give up global long-haul aviation, and there’s no technology in sight that could substitute for the energy density of liquid fuels required for long-haul aviation, this looks like a reasonable step forward.
Spot on Andre, bio fuels from forestry wood waste etc will be able to start replacing fossil fuels in the near future (within the next 10 years).
Producing bio oil is an easy enough exercise via pyrolysis. The trick is to upgrade the bio oil to have similar properties as fossil fuel, while making the process commercially viable.
Lanza Tech has recently announced progress via there process for bio fuels. And I know of a bunch of other companies making very good progress as well.
It’s possible to grow the organisms that would be the basis for the bio-fuels in the ocean. So it doesn’t use land it also helps pull CO2 out of the atmosphere.
Electric and/or hydrogen could feasibly take over for shorter flights – maybe up to 1500km. So bio-fuels would then allow some long-haul aviation even in a zero-fossil future.
Air travel needs to be heavily curtailed. That’s all there is to it. None of these fuel alternatives will be ready in time.
“Air travel needs to be heavily curtailed”
Will never happen CV, so we must look for better alternatives to fuel the planes.
And the alternatives are closer to being ready than you think.
There are no such alternatives in the foreseeable future and thus air travel must be curtailed. This is real economics and so you don’t actually get a say in it.
“There are no such alternatives in the foreseeable future and thus air travel must be curtailed”
Draco is your comment above based on any particular observation or experience? For example are you involved in the R&D of bio-oil for use as a transport fuel (land, sea, air)?
My work allows me close access to alternative / green fuels…and I can confirm that bio-oil for use as a fuel oil (to replace medium and heavy fossil fuel oil) is doable right now.
As for a transport fuel, bio-oil can be upgraded now as well. However the problem is its uneconomical to do so, but will not be for too much longer as the technology is refined.
The recent AirNZ / Virgin Aust RFI for jet bio-fuel attracted a lot of interest. And will enable a bio-fuel industry to proceed in Australasia, underpinned by the volumes required by the above airlines.
And its 2nd and 3rd generation bio-fuels.
Yes, I’m quite aware that it’s available now. The problem, that I’ve read a couple of articles on over the years, is the inability to scale it up to support the present demand.
Air travel is going to be heavily curtailed, one way or another, within 15 years-ish.
Cellulosic butanol is one of the best – distributes through existing fuel infrastructure and burns safely in existing engines.
“up to 1500km”
That is very consoling. I shall be grateful for that information when we come down in the Tasman when only two thirds of the way from Wellington to Sydney.
You’ve just made many commenters here very happy contemplating that possibility.
Pesticide companies’ own secret/ unpublished research found serious harm to honey bees:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/22/pesticide-manufacturers-own-tests-reveal-serious-harm-to-honeybees
“Unpublished field trials by pesticide manufacturers show their products cause serious harm to honeybees at high levels, leading to calls from senior scientists for the companies to end the secrecy which cloaks much of their research.”
Massey is doing a study on the kids in Motueka re the effects of pesticides. Many of the young kids at school were asked to be part of the study.
I feel sorry for the islanders working the orchards, it’s not very OSH friendly for them. They should be part of the study as well.
Save the bees, grow as many bee loving plants as you can, most bee friendly plants are flowers, the end result is a beautiful garden, who would not want that ?
Well, it’s not actually that hard to have your own hives if you’ve got a garden and you get fantastic, fresh honey.
It does require maintaining standards of course but that’s normal for anything really (The abnormality and that which causes so much pain in society is the RWNJs demand that we don’t have any standards).
All research needs to be done by public companies and available to the public to ensure that such secrecy as this doesn’t cause us harm as recent history proves that it does.
+1
Marlborough Council to investigate the “Whale Blubber” leak. All whom were present at the meeting that was ‘leaked’ to fat boy were asked to sign a declaration stating that they did not leak details of the meeting.
“But two councillors, Jessica Bagge and Jamie Arbuckle, have refused to sign statutory declarations issued to all councillors as part of an ongoing Marlborough District Council investigation.”
You can’t claim that you were not responsible for the leak then refuse to sign a declaration confirming it… makes you look guilty as sin. JS
http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/84562873/two-marlborough-councillors-refusing-to-sign-statutory-declaration-over-whale-oil-leak-named
What’s his weight got to do with it. Think you can make comments without going on the persons weight?
Or is that only acceptable if you are insulting a man or someone with different political views?
And of course the Whale is such a scrupulous respecter of persons…
Two wrongs dont make a right.
If fairness – he is trying to improve his blog. There are generally more insults and horrid things said on the standard in the comments these days than there is on his blog.
Thats not supporting what his blog used to be like – but giving credit for what is happening now.
Care to address the topic? Whaleoil publishing leaked & private information? 2 wrongs don’t make a right? SO no more ‘those emails were stolen’ whines from the feral blogger? Pfft, doubt it.
🙂
Care to address the topic? Nicky Hager publishing leaked & private information? 2 wrongs don’t make a right? SO no more ‘those emails were stolen’ whines from the feral blogger? Pfft, doubt it.
Yes people here defend hagers use of emails out of public interest. Slater was outraged by it… then copies the behaviour.
“Care to address the topic?”
You are confused I Feel Love.
The Marlborough District Council leak was from a whistle blower (a Councilor or employee). I would of thought our left leaning friends here would of been horrified that the Council is now conducting a witch hunt for said whistle blower.
While Slater was hacked by a third party.
Considering the frequency with with which you and other RWNJ trolls utter offensive and ill-founded personal abuse of Little I see no reason not to shame personifications of corruption, greed and sloth like the Whale and Gerry Brownlee.
Your interest is not sincere – when you are assiduous in disciplining your fellow trolls for abuse we may reconsider.
Care to give any example of where I have ever given put any personal abuse against Little?
I actively try never to do it to anyone (may have had a slip here and there – but in general – I try to be polite to people on here). Not that I get the same back mind.
You have to do a little better than that – you made an attack on a local over fatshaming – show us your sincerity by pointing out where you did the same to a fellow concern troll – or where you condemned the Whale directly for any of his many grossly offensive slurs – that on the dead west coast boy for example. Otherwise you’re just special pleading.
I dont need to do anything.
I have been consistant in pointing out the name calling on this blog. I didnt make an attack – if you consider what I wrote one – then you must be feeling very sensitive.
I have commented on this several times – from women being called a bitch – to references to peoples weight, and also raising issue with comments like a poster telling people to go hang themselves.
I also shared a story of a family member who was self harming and threatening suicide because of bulling (both physical and online). As I said then, and I will again now – I hope that others do not have to go thru the heartbreak, stress and fear of the damage that this causes.
TRP mod commented agreeing and that they are trying to improve this – without damaging robust debate.
So – I can back up my sincerity by being consistent.
Here is a challenge to you – why dont you be part of a solution and try stopping abuse when you see it instead of being and enabler and calling out people who actually try.
You’re a troll – you don’t get to challenge until you demonstrate sincerity – probably when hell freezes over.
Or take a long walk off a short pier or some such, as above.
And as far as the reference to weight …. agreed not such a good idea.
HOWEVER, perhaps one of the reasons is that such a reference often goes hand in hand with laziness. Not unloik JFK’s language mangler machine. Diction is lazy, language is based on learned spin and slogans dreamed up by spin meisters, – lazy mind – ideologically driven, absent of critical thought.
Smart flabby arsed attitude.
Oh you HATER Matty! How very dare you!
She’d probably have just been better to use the blubber’s own spin and call him out for what he is:
FERAL ((especially of an animal) in a wild state, especially after escape from captivity or domestication.)
“Thats not supporting what his blog used to be like – but giving credit for what is happening now.”
i fail to see what relevance any cleaning up of comments has to do with the fact hes still running smear campaigns
talking about just the comments section while ignoring what WO actually does is a massive red herring
Slater has picked on me before, published a photo of me on his blog when I requested that he did not. His trolls slammed me for it and as i defended my actions of a single woman protest against Key in Nelson, on his blog in an intelligent and factual manner I was bullied and then blocked.
There is a big difference between debating political views and bullying, and WE ALL know what Slater does best and it sure isn’t debating. My description of him is factual.
Have a dead cat, I’m more interested and what is going on at the Marlborough Council chambers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuJzSTNDUGI Aww you hurt his feelings Cinny, good on you for making a stand & put yourself out there, a very brave thing to do within NZ current political climate.
Fat Cambo loves the cut and thrust of personal abuse, well, one side of it anyway. Maybe he looks up from stamping head to have a wee sweaty cry about the mean boys and girls, but I doubt it.
Colin King exMP, is a contender for Mayoralty in Blenheim.
He is an “acquaintance” of one Mr Lusk, a “friend” of Cameron Slater who earlier this year was in Blenheim to “assist” aspiring candidates.
Cameron Slater’s use of the leaked recording seemed aimed at damaging the top Mayoral candidate Mr Leggett.
Mr King’s daughter is a Councillor I believe. I think her name is Jessica Bagge who refused to sign the statutory declaration to absolve her of being the leaker.
Just wondering if there are connections?
I’ve met Grant Robertson a few times.
Does that make me a closet commie or something similar?
Does that mean people shouldn’t talk to me because I might pass on their deepest, darkest secrets to the Opposition?
Yes
I am truly hurt.
Puckish Rogue seems to think I am a “snitch”.
Boo Hoo.
Your refund cheque for membership in the VRWC will be in the mail
alwyn, when you spoke to Grant Robertson a few months ago at a seminar on how to go about running local political campaigns targeted at ‘sympathetic’ candidates, did you talk about opposing in-house meetings? And then, having talked about these meetings, lo and behold did a release of a recording of a in-house, public-excluded meeting happen, months later at the time voting papers were distributed?
I believe what you are talking about- meeting, having a chat- is very different, and an attempt to minimise what is a very serious breach of councillor ethics and trust, and having huge consequences for mayor, council, staff and the public.
“alwyn, when you spoke to Grant Robertson a few months ago at a seminar on how to go about running local political campaigns targeted at ‘sympathetic’ candidates”.
That really is news to me. He can’t have invited me because I haven’t heard of that activity of his before.Should you have told me that Grant ran such a seminar? Sounds terrible to me and I am surprised that you allowed such a damaging story about Grant’s activities to leak.
alwyn, I think you understand my intention that for Grant Robertson you should read Simon Lusk as the real persona of my story……………
Ianmac, Colin King’s daughter is Cr Laressa Shenfield. Jessica Bagge is a retiring (that is, she is leaving Council!) councillor with a long-term feud with the outgoing mayor.
She refused on principle. Both councillors who refused to sign the declaration, Jamie Arbuckle and Jessica Bagge, have denied sending the tape to Cameron Slater.
What is noticeable, though, is by refusing to sign the declaration, they don’t have to answer the second part which addresses whether they know who did the leak.
I think you’re right to factor in the role of Simon Lusk into the affair as he is connected to both Slater and some
right-wing council candidates here who attended his seminar. Lusk is concerned to obtain control of Councils by suitable, right wing candidates.
There is another question that concerns me, as well as the poisoning effect upon trust of Council by the public, trust within Council between councillors and staff, trust
between councillors, and trust between councillors and Mayor.
That is bad enough, but what concerns me is the distinct and shadowy possibility that behind the Council shenanigans, behind Slater and Lusk, is money- money
that wants a compliant Council to allow further treatment of Marlborough as a third world style economy, complete with low wages, slave labour and extraction of primary industry resources, like wine, dairy, timber and seafood, and profits out of the region away to Auckland and overseas.
Ty for the info, much appreciated and well said. I’ve often heard that Slater has connections in Blenheim
The plot thickens. Thank-you Ianmac and mac1. Slater lost the National Party DP contract so he’s moved into Local Bodies.
Yes mac1. Follow the money. Is the local media following the story and getting the true facts out to the public?
Yes, Anne, there are many stories about the LEAK. Stuff and the Marlborough Express web sites carry many stories. What I wrote above is of course conjecture, and while there are questions that need answering, the real facts are still not fully known.
Simon Lusk and his seminar can be researched in the same two web sites- who attended, who spoke, its purpose.
Another curious thing is the way in which Colin King resigned from Parliament. Was it Lusk who was involved with King out and Smith replaced in, as a sort of deal involving Mayorship?
Nah. Just kidding.
I think there is a connection, but one which involves egos primarily. Search for the simple answer- women, land, money, power, ambition.
Colin King’s advertising slogan for the mayoralty, “Ambitious for Marlborough”, is delightfully ambiguous.
Thanks Mac1. Jessica Bagge is not Colin King’s daughter. I withdraw and apologise Jessica.
National Guard called out in continuing Charlotte, North Carolina riots sparked by another police shooting of a black man. The PD refuses to release the video footage.
Charlotte is a city with strong incomes and jobs, and often regarded as one of the best places in the US to live.
That such a city can spiral out of control is a lesson in why so many Americans think the USA is on the wrong path.
In a nutshell this explains the popularity of trump.
Voters aren’t going to vote FOR trump as such, more voting for a change.
Whether that change occurs is another story.
.
yeah nah
.
My uncle stood there still without blinking. “Yeah, you’re right,” he finally said. “But if Obama is still talking, that means they ain’t kill him. If they killed him, we likely to all be dead. Sound like a win to me.”
http://www.thefader.com/2016/09/19/my-mississippi-pledge-kiese-laymon
http://www.kieselaymon.com/
Hi joe90, other protestors/police have now been seriously harmed in the disturbances.
I don’t expect someone like you to pay attention to the mood of ordinary people on the ground, but I do expect that reality on the ground is going to give Trump a real chance of winning North Carolina.
There was an interesting article in the July 16 issue of the Economist on police interactions with black, and white people.
It was a report on a study done be an Afro-American Harvard academic Roland Fryer.
He found that black men were more likely to be subject to non-lethal use of force.
However, in an admittedly limited study, he found that black suspects were LESS likely to be shot, fatally or otherwise, than non-black ones.
The assumption that US cops casually shoot black men more readily that non-blacks does not appear to be based on evidence.
I’m sorry I cannot post a link to the article. Perhaps some one else can locate it on-line.
”However, in an admittedly limited study, he found that black suspects were LESS likely to be shot, fatally or otherwise, than non-black ones.”
Surely though if you are treating a far greater number of innocent blacks as suspects based on their total population , it could look like the % getting shot was lower.
Because as we know a black man in the wrong place will be instantly classed as a suspect.
I’m sorry I can’t post a link to the story, and I don’t think I would be very popular, or accurate, if I tried typing in the whole story.
He acknowledged that blacks were more likely to be stopped. However even allowing for this the incidence of shootings seemed to be less. It could be attributed to the fact that ALL police shootings were subjected to detailed investigations. Nevertheless the shootings were not as common as is claimed.
There will probably be a copy of the magazine in your local library if you can’t find it on-line.
The real concern is police impunity.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/31/the-counted-police-killings-2015-young-black-men
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/series/counted-us-police-killings
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11713393
Russell Normans not overly happy with Little at the moment. And given forest and bird are writing to him as well we can assume Kevin Hague isn’t going to be in a supportive position.
either way looks like little is bumbling another opportunity where the mates haven’t done the best of jobs.
Lolz the government says they will review their position and everything is peachy. The next PM says he wants to review his position and you call him out for bumbling? Dude, sharpen up.
Go check out RT’s review of the UN debate and the full reality of Kerrys claims. I think you will find that more interesting and topical. Shame the NZ media doesn’t do more ‘fact checking’
Here i find a link, it’s fascinating what RT says compared with the likes of MSM, or the Herald.
https://www.rt.com/news/360271-us-fact-checking-moscow/
So Greenpeace and forrest and bird etc are all wrong. Good to know.
Appears to me it is still being discussed, besides I thought the Government was in control… what Little has to say on the matter.
“I do not believe that when they have a Treaty Negotiations Minister as talented as Chris Finlayson, they cannot come up with a creative solution to the issue. I simply do not accept that. But if they are so incompetent and have mishandled it so badly they are now prepared to give up on it, that sits firmly with John Key.”
“Labour leader Little said today that at a bare minimum Labour wanted amendments to preserve the rights of iwi to contest their rights in court.”
Sensible man.
There is not a cigarette paper between the positions of Labour and the Greens on this issue. The real story is that National have stuffed up. But maybe given their recent track record even that isn’t a surprise either.
Nathan Guy needs to resign over the fish-dumping scandal. Nick Smith should be sacked over the Kermadecs (and housing and….). McCully should have been sacked long ago over the Saudi sheep fiasco. Parata is a shambles in education. Bennett has been a disaster over housing (lets buy another sticking-plaster motel). Upston should resign as Minister for Women because she refuses to comment on women’s issues….and so on.
All this lot presided over by Key big-mouthing over Syria (“there will be blood on your hands”-doh!) while hypocritically refusing to raise the refugee intake to a humanitarian level.
McCully should have been jailed over that. That was pure bloody corruption.
I think they are delaying and delaying the publishing of the Auditor General’s report on McCulley’s Sheep deal, so that they can announce a trade deal with the Saudis to justify the means of getting the deal.
ianmac – indeed.
Norman is a denier of rights for indigenous people. And the other environmental groups show their middle class ugly denier of rights consciousness – I am disgusted by them all and I’m withdrawing my support for them.
Little and Labour could make a big positive impact with Māori if they stick to their principles – I hope they do but I suspect the pressure from their pollers and their middle class consciousness will turn them.
Marty – did you ever see any signs of Russel Norman being a “denier of rights for indigenous people” when he was Green co-leader?
Perhaps you are mistaking the mechanics of lobbying for something else.
In any case, the problem here is with the mismanagement of the issue by the Government. Sniping at the minor players seems the perfect result for strategists from the Government, using the “divide and rule” technique of diverting attention and blame.
+111
I’m getting memory-glimpses of a Tibetan flag, some totalitarian security guards and Russel Norman, alone, exposed, standing up for some indigenous culture or other, can you remember, Marty?
yeah often they love the overseas indigenous cultures (and the political attention gained from grandstanding) and forget about the ones in the land they are living in – funny that eh. Could be that he just doesn’t need votes anymore though…
Do “they”?
That’s very unlikely, Marty and given that Russel’s friend and ex co-leader is Maori and staunch with it, it seems to me very unlikely that you are correct in your accusations.
I expect that Russel is now more free to lever wins than he was previously and is able to play a hand that will result in a win for those he represents. I expect “the environment” is high on his list, having committed so much of his time to it in recent times. Perhaps you believe he should jettison his principles? I also believe that Russel’s position on the rights of tangata whenua have not changed. Perhaps you are misreading the situation. In any case, where’s your condemnation of the real player here – Key?
He tangata uaua ia!
What about you Robert – do you think middle class greenwash is more important than upholding the rights agreed to and signed off with indigenous peoples?
No, Marty, I don’t though to be fair, I’m not sure what you mean by “middle class greenwash”, is that where someone buys a Prius rather than a Prelude? Regarding the proposed sanctuary, I think it’s festooned with fish hooks (matua, if you prefer). For starters, you might like to comment on this: Ko nga taunga ika tuuturu e paa ana ki nga taonga tuku iho ki te iwi aa rohe – are they traditional fishing grounds? I’m not saying one way or the other, only that there are fish hooks, details that need to be tested, including the global environmental questions that Russel Norman, in his new role, is honour-bound to ask. I am big on honouring treaties, Marty. I’m also aware that the projections of our shared future is shaking up world views through all cultures.
I’d say the fishhook is we are making ocean sanctuaries and still doing next to nothing about climate change. That is greenwash because how do you think those sanctuaries are going to go when temperatures rise even more. It isn’t even stopping the killing of fish in the ocean – hell even the whales still get killed and fish species hit the ecological wall every day. So what is the point of it? – makes people feel they are doing something – and that is a good reason in many respects but not if it is at the expense of indigenous rights – rights fought for with blood and sacrifice for generations, rights so often discarded as inconvenient to the abusers of those rights, rights tenaciously dug out of the colonisers as they lie, cheat and pretend care all the way dragging their feet.
This issue is about Treaty rights not sanctuaries (red herring) or the commercial catch (red herring), or whether Māori lived loved or died there (red herring). Respecting people (especially those that have been treated so, so ,so badly) is essential if you want to respect the planet, the oceans, the ecosystems and nature herself. There is no compromise on that imo.
Marty. This issue is about Key and National going ahead without consulting Maori. This quibbling about Russel is pointless. Key failed to respect Maori, failed to consult, failed to inform. He and his National mates should be the target of your ire – what are you thinking of, diverting attention from the real miscarriage of justice
by taking pot-shots at others???
Sure but guess what – you don’t get to tell me what my priorities should be.
Why don’t you respond to what I wrote instead of attempting to shame me.
+ 100000 Marty Mars.
Marty. My apologies to you also. I’m not wishing to shame you in any way – I like your stuff. Perhaps I was using language too strong for the moment. I like evocative words and phrases and sometimes use them too freely.
So…create ocean sanctuaries but not at the expense of indigenous communities, yes, but you know, the Japanese and the Norwegians and their whale-hunting… indigenous peoples of our Pacific islands have ceased, I believe, roasting kakapo, though it must surely have been their habit to do so in past times. That right might be enshrined in the Treaty, I don’t know, but modern times are different from those i nga wa o mua. Present day indigenous peoples must surely be willing to discuss the present situation where there is scarcity of a resource that was once plentiful. I don’t mean capitulating, I do mean discussing. Treaties, while absolute, have to flex with the times, I would like to think. In this case, I believe all fault lies with the Government for not consulting, not hearing, not offering the opportunity to debate and propose. They will though, ’cause that’s how they roll, but their sub-surface arrogance has been revealed, imho.
Robert i like, respect and admire you. I am sorry for raising the energy. This is a tough issue that confronts my values. I certainly blame the crook key and his minions and the left need to be aware of the issues from all sides too.
Marty, thanks and yes, it’s an issue with more than a little heat embedded. Despite the occasional boil-over (on all sides) debate like this is they way forward, imo and that’s what should have been had around the sanctuary or around any issue where people hold treaty rights.
Robert, I think you (like many) are missing the point.
Treaty settlements are said to be full and final. What is happening here is that a settlement made in 1992 is being overruled by this government. What this means is the Māori have to accept that Treaty settlements are only final for them, but the state can change the rules anytime it likes.
Do you think this is fair? Do you not see that this has implications for all treaty agreements? Do you realise that Māori have only recieved recompense for 2% of the worth of the land that was illegally confiscated? You are also trying to question the validity of a claim that has been settled.
I am a Green Party supporter but I was horrified by the way Russel Norman completely ignored Treaty rights in that interview on the Nation. I was relieved he is no longer the leader.
Karen – how gracious of you to inform me of my point-missing. I believe I have a good handle on treaties and the likes. In this instance, the ‘bad play’ has come from the Nats, dismissing tangata whenua. Why you want to drag others into that business, I can’t fathom.
Russell Norman getting criticised for not being left enough is something even I couldn’t have come up with 🙂
It’s a weird and unrewarding world of frustration being a lefty
You might say that, I couldn’t possibly comment 🙂
No-one ever accused the menkurt footsoldiers of the far right of an over abundance of imagination.
The left imagines it can be in power, the right make it happen
Irrespective of public interest or mandate – PR, proud supporter of forte main over representive democracy – just another RWNJ quisling.
You really don’t like democracy do you
I like democracy – and no part of it includes John Key disenfranchising me or dicks like you telling me what to do.
You are a traitor to the principles of democracy – winning dirty is all you care about – you’re a shabby beast not much better than Wayne the trougher.
LOL Stuart Munro… “I like democracy – and no part of it includes John Key disenfranchising me or dicks like you telling me what to do.”
Me thinks you only like democracy when you get your way (the Government you want).
“winning dirty is all you care about”
The number 2 go-to reason from the activist left…
1/ The voters are stupid, why don’t they see things as we do…
Or
2/ The Nat’s play dirty. Which is directly linked back to reason number 1.
Sad really.
Democracy is about government representing us.
It’s not complicated. This one doesn’t.
Chuck – way above you again wrote ‘would of’. I have already told you that there is no such thing -“would’ve” (short for ‘would have’) please. Unless you are trying to come across as an ignorant klutz. Furthermore, the Shakespearian ‘Methinks’ which you attempt to use is one word, not two. If you can’t do it right, stop pretending that you can.
Wrong side of logic, wrong side of history, pretending to be matey while dissing destructively…
It is you who are sad. A sadly incompetent troll, who smugly employs straw man argument. You did not accurately portray SM’s attitude.
by his actions and words is he known
here you go Robert – this is grizzly norman
http://www.newshub.co.nz/tvshows/thenation/panel-jenna-raeburn-mihingarangi-forbes-and-russel-norman-2016091711
+1111 on your comments Robert.
TOKM are opposed to ocean sanctuaries PERIOD.
The Maori Party are wedded to supporting TOKM’s position.
Russell Norman heads a large environmental organization that wants ocean sanctuaries.
…..and all you have is anger for those who want help protect the environment …well stuff you.
““Te Ohu Kaimoana and iwi representatives worked hard to find a compromise solution where the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary could go ahead and where Māori would not have extant rights, as agreed in the 1992 Deed of Settlement, unilaterally expropriated by the Government.”
“We considered that an offer to voluntarily shelve the use of Māori fisheries quota in the Kermadec region while maintaining extant fishing rights would achieve the same thing. While ultimately iwi quota owners would have needed to agree, we considered this was a constructive and reasonable solution to the impasse,” Mr Tuuta said.”
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1609/S00159/government-rejects-maori-compromise-to-kermadec-sanctuary.htm
so lie 1 – which is your first sentence is shown to be a lie
is there any point reading anything else you write? nah
““We considered that an offer to voluntarily shelve the use of Māori fisheries quota in the Kermadec region while maintaining extant fishing rights would achieve the same thing. While ultimately iwi quota owners would have needed to agree, we considered this was a constructive and reasonable solution to the impasse”
That’s what I would have suggested.
I am responding to your reply to me here Robert. You evidently thought I was being patronising to you. That was not my intention.
You are one of the very few people here I read. You obviously believe you understand the issues here but I see no evidence from what you have posted that you do. I was trying to help.
I apologise, Karen and I agree with the views you expressed. I’m not trying to unpick or argue whatever Russel Norman has said, I’m just saying that the issue here is the Government’s decision, conscious decision I believe, to go ahead without involving Maori. Reactions and responses from NGO’s and individuals such as Russel don’t really have much bearing on the issue, I reckon and those have to be taken in the context of whatever sector they come from. Why would Key and his band of orcs be proposing a sanctuary for fish in the first place is an interesting question, when it is counter to most everything else they do. I believe they hoped to trumpet their big fish sanctuary as evidence that they are greener than the Greens, but to get there they had to behave badly with regard Maori, and decided they could swing it nonetheless, or at least suppress it till the election passes.
Perhaps you are right, I may not understand the issue, but leopards, spots and all that. I’m not mesmerized by such ploys. I’m interested in the idea though, that iwi can’t be trusted to say, “We’ll voluntarily abstain from fishing there, so long as you don’t ban us”, and how people can’t conceive that such an agreement might work. I believe it could. It’s a cultural interface there though, so who knows…
“while maintaining extant fishing rights ”
When is a sanctuary not a sanctuary? When TOKM demand the right to fish it at any point they want.
Are you comprehension challenged ? Or can a Maori organization never be wrong because they are Maori?
“TOKM are opposed to ocean sanctuaries PERIOD.:”
That is what you said and I proved you a fibber.
Oh right so it’s a ghost sanctuary is it ?…
The one that you have when it’s not one?
Maintaining the right to fish in a “sanctuary” at any point renders the area not a sanctuary.
Perhaps you should argue to change the meaning of sanctuary.
Good points Barfly.
Just put the link up that shows your point – oh that’s right there isn’t one is there…
Marty your own posts refute your argument
Maintaining the right to fish in a “sanctuary” at any point renders the area not a sanctuary.
I understand anger and emotion but can you calm yourself and look rationally at my posts..
Sorry you are simply wrong, you call me a troll and liken me to a RWNJ, you insult my intelligence, this I believe cheapens you not me.
P.S. do you play chess by any chance?
No I have called Leftie those things not you.
Yes emotion is highish and my understanding of what Te Ohu Kaimoana and Iwi leaders have said is that they are quite okay with sanctuaries. I just don’t think saying, “TOKM are opposed to ocean sanctuaries PERIOD.” is 100% true, and I put a link to back up my point.
I think you have been a bit rude by saying, “…well stuff you.” and the other one you said to me yesterday – and so I have replied in kind – I have offered reciprocity/utu.
yes I play chess and yes I am being pedantic a bit on this I admit – and I still think my understanding is correct.
edit and I’ll also say I am not opposed to ocean sanctuaries in any way – hell I welcome them with open arms – I don’t eat fish because of the way we have depleted the numbers and affected species survival. I’d like ocean sanctuaries to be part of a plan to help people cope with climate change, to bring people together – however as it stands at the moment I have to call this greenwash and Treaty breaching and I cannot tolerate Treaty breaching – see my comment to Robert above (i think)
So you are being selective who you name call and abuse now Marty Mars? My post was in support of what Barfly was saying. So if you think that of me, then you must think that of Barfly as well, given that he has been responding to you in far greater detail than I.
And further, in other words only YOUR opinion is right and everyone else is wrong, while you try and selectively bully people with abuse because you can’t handle any home truths being said about the Maori party.
Of course I’m selective. I’m happy to let you be if you do the same, let’s call it a treaty.
For Christ sakes Marty, do you hear yourself? What gives you the right to abuse me for supporting what someone else said? And you’re “happy to let me be…” What does that mean exactly? you’ll leave me alone as long as I don’t post opinions on the Maori party and don’t challenge what you post?
Leftie you are entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to reply to me anyway you like within the policy bounds of this site. I may not like or believe what you say and i may think you are not actually arguing a point, just kneejerking slogans and i might think that in my way I could counter that with some logic and compassion. I might think all of that and you know what? Who cares. It is my opinion. That’s all.
Edit plus im sorry for causing you any pain.
Well that was a piece of patronizing abusive swill you just wrote there Marty Mars, clearly by your own behaviour you don’t believe in people, particularly me, voicing opinions, (that are not “kneejerking slogans” btw), because they differ from your own and I have been responding “within the policy bounds of this site”. On the other hand, your pointless abuse is not painful in the least, I see it as a weakness, it’s infantile, and shows you’re struggling.
Well said. It’s amazing how some people are completely blind to that which you have pointed out, Barfly. You cannot have a “sanctuary” while maintaining extant fishing rights. They can’t have it both ways.
you are a troll – an annoyingly thick slogan spinner. You might as well be a rwnj your understanding is below average on anything I’ve ever seen you write. I’m sick of you.
What a load of sanctimonious rubbish Marty Mars. You abuse when an obvious fact is pointed out to you that you can’t handle. You have lost all reasoning and are being totally irrational.
Are you comprehension challenged ? Or can a Maori organization never be wrong because they are Maori?
If you make an agreement with another party about something, and then want to change that agreement, you need to negotiate with that other party. And if the change you want to make is really important, you need to stir yourself to figure out some way to make the other party to the agreement happy for that change to occur, even if it involves making concessions you didn’t actually want to make. Otherwise, you shouldn’t enter into agreements in the first place.
Spot on Barfly +100
thankyou
Toussaint Romain was held up as a hero by the media in the Charlotte protests. As a public defender, dressed in a shirt and tie, he got between the protestors and police and tried to stop conflict. The second half of this interview with Romain was edited out by CNN. I wonder why…
https://youtu.be/J_hGdgG1JiI
Probably because he waffled on too long. TV is sound bites. But the conspiritory types look for it everywhere LOLZ.
Good old Stuart Nash – http://www.newshub.co.nz/opinion/opinion-embracing-my-bare-face-2016092212
Belittling women and raining over their self esteem because they aren’t wearing makeup.
“Shame on you Stuart Nash, I feel sorry for the women you work with on a day-to-day basis if you hold them to the same standard.”
Aww Jenna Lynch makes a priority of not wearing makeup over an important story. Dead cats everywhere.
“Shortly after, Labour MP Stuart Nash walked in trying to sell some bloody story about cops. ” as quoted from the article you posted James.
Judith is due to speak about the prisoners soon, sounds like corrections have messed up again.
Imagine the uproar if a National MP or even John Key himself had said something similar
Had Maurice Williamson kept his trap shut or John Key himself been able to control his impulses and keep his hands to himself, you might have a point.
/
You have just proved Puckish Rogue point without knowing it…
/, moran
Stuart Nash, I hear some in Labour think of him as talented leadership material.
They used to say that about you, too, CV, or so I’m told 😉
Currently, there’s only one LP member who thinks of Stuart as talented leadership material … a Mr S Nash of Napier.
+ 100% trp
Fuck no, I have better things to do than be backstabbed by fellow Labourites.
It’s not actually an option, cobber. You gave it a shot, which is more than most ever do, so kudos to you for that. But obviously, you’ve blown it and you’ll never entrusted with any responsibility again. I imagine you’re Ok with that.
Huh? Not being trusted by you backstabbing lot of careerists is a fucking badge of honour that I wear with pride.
Labour is a toxic brand.
James your phony outrage on this thread over fat shaming and the negative impact the beauty industry has on women is touching.
why phoney?
Better than being an enabler like the people on here who are happy for people to be called and treated as such.
All hail James! The greatest enabler seen on this website since Hitler, Goebbels, Stalin, and the Wicked Witch of the West.
Assad , an eye surgeon, and the democratically elected leader of Syria states that the attack on his forces was no accident and US does not want to fight ISIS.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashar_al-Assad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asma_al-Assad
‘US airstrikes on Syrian troops were ‘intentional,’ lasted nearly 1 hour – Assad to AP’
https://www.rt.com/news/360248-assad-ap-intentional-us-airstrikes/
“Syrian President Bashar Assad says that US airstrikes which killed 62 Syrian government troops were “intentional” and they lasted for an hour. He added that the US “does not have the will” to join Russia in fighting terrorists in Syria…
‘Russian military contacted US twice to stop airstrikes against Syrian govt troops’
https://www.rt.com/news/360156-airstrike-usa-syria-russia/
‘Ceasefireless’
https://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/360096-russia-us-ceasefire-regime/
“What was a ray of hope has turned into a gaze into the abyss. The Russia-US ceasefire to end the Syrian conflict is in tatters. For many the American bombing of the Syrian military marks a process of mission creep and forced regime change.
CrossTalking with Ali Rizk, Nadim Shehadi, and Rick Sterling.”
It’s a shame Assad/Putin have run out of hospitals to bomb. They’ve been reduced to just attacking aid convoys and that only kills healthy adults, not the sick and infirm. Where’s the fun in that?
USA are not innocent in bombing and pointing fingers at others. JS.
https://www.rt.com/news/360271-us-fact-checking-moscow/
USA have just done a huge weapons deal with the Saudi’s, profit via war, and it’s horrid.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-defense-congress-idUSKCN11R2LU
“President Bashar al-Assad meanwhile indicated he saw no quick end to the war, telling AP News it would “drag on” as long as it is part of a global conflict in which terrorists were backed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and the United States.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-idUSKCN11S1C5
It’s a shame that all can’t focus on their same common enemy, ISIS
ISIS aren’t a common enemy though; they are a proxy army being financed, armed and used by western allies (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey) as well as directly by the Pentagon itself, to try and regime change Assad out of Damascus.
It’s a shame that all can’t focus on their same common enemy, ISIS
Pretty straightforward – if the Russians and their Syrian client do that, the sizable proportion of the Syrian population that wants their client dead will eventually get what they want, and if their client’s not running things the Russians’ military presence in the Mediterranean is fucked. Fighting Da’esh is a bit of a sideshow from the Russian perspective – much more important is knackering the ceasefire in such a way that they have plausible deniability.
Assad is extremely popular with the ethnic and religious minorities in Syria. The Islamic fundamentalist headchoppers are not.
More Psycho Milt bullshit.
You don’t understand the “Russian perspective” one whit.
The US has limited positive control over the extremist Islamist groups that it arms and funds to try and overthrow Assad (an effort which is thoroughly illegal in international law). These terrorist groups never respected any terms of the cease fire from day 1.
In fact, a number of those groups signed a document saying that they would not be bound by any terms of the ceasefire.
In addition, the US special forces who are training these proxy regime change fighters know full well that they are being asked to train the next generation of Jihadist terrorists, and they are not happy about it.
Assad is extremely popular with the ethnic and religious minorities in Syria. The Islamic fundamentalist headchoppers are not.
Well, he is with his own one, at least. The Kurds, not so much. And hardly anyone in Syria is keen on “Islamic fundamentalist headchoppers.”
You don’t understand the “Russian perspective” one whit.
One only achieves understanding of the Russian perspective by hoovering up endless Russian government propaganda from RT, I suppose? That might help with understanding Putin’s propaganda aims, but I’m not really interested in those.
The US has limited positive control over the extremist Islamist groups that it arms and funds to try and overthrow Assad…
Leaving aside for a moment your obsession with the US supposedly funding Da’esh, of course the US has limited positive control over participants in a civil war in a foreign country. That’s because the rebel forces aren’t clients of the US government, the way Assad is a client of the Russian government. Expecting the US government to give Syrian rebel groups orders and have them carried out would be pointless – expecting the Russian government to give Assad orders and expect them to be carried out, on the other hand, is entirely reasonable.
Also, you fail to understand how dangerous it is for the world for Russia and the US/UK to continue to confront each other in Syria.
The US/UK are both operating illegally in Syria.
At least Trump has it correct – the US should be fully cooperating with Russia to eliminate ISIS, not getting in Russia’s way.
If Russia had any specific intent of eliminating Da’esh, that would be true. However, its actual intent is to eliminate all opponents of its Syrian client regime, so cooperating with Russia would be a terrible thing to do. In any case, aligning yourself with a mafia state is a bad idea in general, let alone in this particular instance.
Russia is keen to eliminate the 101 flavours of jihadists that the west implicitly and explicitly supports in Syria, yes, that includes the fictional “Free Syrian Army” that no one can find and also the “moderate terrorists” that the US seems to enjoy backing.
Also, do try and remember that Russia is operating in Syria at the invitation of the Damascus government, while the US, UK and France are all operating in Syria illegally.
Hi TRP,
It’s unfortunate that Hillary Clinton and the rest of the neocon set embarked on supporting yet another disastrous regime change op in Syria.
And these people still want Assad gone, even if that means that the black ISIS flag gets run up over Damascus. Which of course means, the ISIS version of Sharia law gets applied over the whole country, and women, ethnic minorities, religious minorities (including Christians) all get slaved out, head chopped or burnt alive.
The Assad government is the only shot for stable, secular rule in Syria. The Americans however would prefer chaotic, Islamic extremist rule in an imploded failed state balkanized Syria.
And behind all of this, is a contest for who gets to control the real estate for massive oil and gas pipelines through the territory.
“And these people still want Assad gone, even if that means that the black ISIS flag gets run up over Damascus. ”
It’s saying things like this that destroys the credibility of your argument, CV. Certainly Assad should be removed. preferably to the Hague, but there’s not a scrap of evidence that anyone in the west wants ISIS in control.
Just because you choose to blind yourself to the facts on the ground doesn’t mean that other people will, TRP.
The west’s allies would prefer for the Assad government to fall and for Assad to be gone tomorrow. In fact, regime change remains the first and foremost priority of the USA in Syria, and it has done for years.
That leaves no one to oppose the western supplied Daesh/ISIS forces on the ground, leaving Syria imploded just like NATO/USA left Libya.
Facts, huh? Show me the facts, CV. Put up a credible cite of western leaders saying they would prefer ISIS to Assad.
Call bullshit on your cheap transparent rhetorical tactic TRP.
Western leaders want the Assad government gone ASAP which de facto means that the western ally backed Islamists will take over the country.
End of.
Gotta agree here any strongman regieme change in the Middle East by the west has not gone very well. Tribal affiliation, religious intolerance, artificial countries are simply not conducive to democracy forming, maybe in a few hundred years when they have butchered themselves silly and society is s bit more secular there may be a chance To be fair Europe or the west where not much better 500 years ago
The west might also try to no longer assassinate/encourage the assassination of middle of the road secular leaders whenever these leaders spring up and try to take their countries in an independent direction. From Mossadegh to Sadat to Gadaffi.
If you could stop thinking of murderous dictators (Sadat and Gadaffi in this case) as “middle of the road, secular leaders,” it would be a good start on a move away from tinfoil-hattery.
There’s a reason that GW Bush and Tony Blair are wanted for war crimes, Psycho Milt.
Further every time the West gets rid of a middle of the road secular leader, they replace him with someone far more shit, far more radical, and usually far more radical Islamist.
Which leads us to our current situation.
So you have nothing, CV? And facts are now a cheap rhetorical device? Fascinating!
Hi TRP, I guess you imagine that no one else can see what you are doing with your silly rhetorical tricks.
Bottom line is that the West wants to see a failed Islamist state in Syria, just like they have accomplished in Libya.
Well, you can simply post the facts you reckon are so readily available. That’d really take the wind out of my sales. Until then, it’s just another example of you using hyperbole instead of your grey matter.
Well, you can simply post the facts you reckon are so readily available. That’d really take the wind out of my sails. Until then, it’s just another example of you using hyperbole instead of your grey matter.
+100 CV for all your comments here
Chur Chooky!
I think CV may be making the wrong side of the argument about ISIS – not that it represents a desirable end state for Syria, but that it has value or is perceived as having value to the furtherance of US ends in Syria – mostly destabilising Assad.
Likewise the Assad’s forces offer a vehicle or a letter of marque like legitimacy to Russian skirmishing, the Turkmen offer buffer stability to Turkey, and the Kurds must look after themselves having no reliable state sponsor.
The Russians are wedded to Assad because a Syrian government the US was not supporting insurgency against would have no particular interest in becoming Putin’s client. So in principle the US should push to remove Assad through the UN and let Russia make what deals it may with his successor.
Don’t worry CV , you are correct in the above thread . The others don’t want to know the truth about the situation in Syria and the Middle East in general. The blind acceptance of the American version of everything is mind boggling.
Chur, Garibaldi
You would have thought the lies about ‘weapons of mass destruction’ in 2003 would have wised up some of the left.
But no…..still blind acceptance of the western establishment’s propaganda.
You bump into this lack of critical thinking at its most visceral when you question the official propaganda about 9/11.
Malcolm Evans is a rare media questioner.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Screen-Shot-2016-09-22-at-10.28.20-am.png
“And the answer is not Russian hackers!”
Great cartoon.
Anyone seen the 10 day forecast?
Post-tropical wash in early spring. What muck.
http://www.metvuw.co.nz/forecast/forecast.php?type=rain®ion=nz&noofdays=10
We’re not too far way from the start of the cyclone/hurricane season. This semi- tropical “muck” could be the fore-runner to an active season which might see NZ hit a few times this summer.
Yes, I have a reputation for being a bundle of joy.
500 prisoners up for early release after Department of Corrections’ mistake
“Around 500 prisoners will have their release dates brought forward because of the Supreme Court ruling on the Department of Correction’s mistaken interpretation of the Parole Act.”
“The court ruled on Thursday that the department had miscalculated parole and release dates, meaning some prisoners had spent more time in custody than the department had taken into account.”
“The court didn’t rule on compensation, but it’s an issue that’s going to come up”
<a href="https://nz.news.yahoo.com/top-stories/a/32705867/500-prisoners-up-for-early-release-after-department-of-corrections-mistake/#page1
collins says national will change the law if needed ,to avoid compensation
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11715509
How true to form, isn’t that what this National government always do B Waghorn?
I notice, Leftie, that you read and commented on the response just before mine on this topic.
I find it hard to believe that you didn’t even seem to have noticed what I said.
What is the problem? Does it upset you that the department seem to have followed the interpretation of the law that the highest court that had considered the matter seemed to believe was the right one?
Are you really as stupid, or biased, as the Green and Labour spokesmen are? Should the Department have said something like “The Court of Appeal may tell us that the law means X but we think they are wrong”.
If so, they might have appealed to you but I am sure the legal fraternity would have been up in arms.
Why do you still think that the Department is at fault? Why aren’t you yelling at the Court of Appeal?
I realise that David Clendon and Kelvin Davis, as well as TVNZ and RNZ are on your side but do you really want to be on the side of the Green and Labour Party idiots rather than on the side of accuracy?
Come on, admit that the Department was following the best interpretation of the law that was available to them.
The “mistake” the Department made was, apparently, to believe that the distinguished jurists on the Court of Appeal actually knew what the law meant.
As far as I have understood it the Department have been using the same method since 2003. It is the method that follows a ruling by the Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court, now the final stage for appeals, has now ruled that the law doesn’t mean that at all. In effect that is saying that the Court of Appeal simply didn’t know what they were doing.
None of the 500 people you are talking about would appear to be eligible for any compensation at all. They are people who are in prison now and will still be in prison even if the release date is brought forward. You can be forgiven though. Espiner on Morning Report didn’t seem to understand that either. 500 rather than 21 seemed much sexier to him I guess.
An example of one of these 500 would be someone who was first charged, and remanded in custody, in January 2015. Further investigation led to additional charges in March 2015 and more still in April 2015. They went to trial and were sentenced to 14 years without parole.
This would give them a release date according to Wednesday’s interpretation of the law of April 2029. Now it will be January 2029. Just what “compensation” do you think they are due?
The people who may be eligible are the 21 people, currently in prison, whose time should have been up before today and the unknown number who have already been released after serving a longer time than they should have.
Disclaimer. I am not a lawyer and everything I am saying could be total rubbish.
Perhaps a real lawyer could comment?
On the other hand perhaps we should expect all the Judges on the Court of Appeal to resign? Their senior brethren (and sisteren) clearly think they are incompetent.
I do not see that there is any compensation due to any current prisoner whose release date on the “correct” basis is not affected by the miscalculation, but I would expect that if the basis for calculation has been consistent since 2003 that there will be quite a number of now released prisoners who were not released until after the correct date. Yet again we are looking at a situation where reasonable compensation is being determined not on the basis of any principals or agreed assessment criteria, but determined by politicians who will not be consistent over time, and may be swayed by non-relevant issues (such as polling and focus groups). If we really have a justice system, it should be handled by them – and not by a minister attempting to change the law.
Trump and his record of racism:
Among many, many points:
80% of Trump’s supporters claim to have no problem with racist comments.
And to save time:
“Buuuuut Kiiiiilary has lycanthropy and Dutch Elm Disease!”
Naw, that was just software glitches in her body-double android. She’s all better now that she had her motherboard replaced and tuned in during her few days off.
You mean the body double for the lizard that wears the human disguise?
Oh, it’s been confirmed she’s one of the shapeshifting lizards? Last I heard they were investigating rumours she’s actually Chthulhu.
That’s what they want you to think!
Clinton is likely chronically ill and the evidence suggests that both her core campaign team and her secret service detail all know it.
Look out for many days off the campaign trail between now and Nov 8.
Oh dear.
https://twitter.com/PaladinCornelia/status/778801494292213761
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:OI5FrHTjixwJ:vho.org/aaargh/fran/livres10/PoisonMush.pdf+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=nz&client=firefox-b
On the same theme:
“What happens when you comment on Daily Mail articles with actual Nazi propaganda”
https://www.indy100.com/article/what-happens-when-you-comment-on-daily-mail-articles-with-actual-nazi-propaganda–Zy4ccsnBEx
[We] wanted to see what level of support the comments would get if we took some famous pieces of Nazi propaganda and changed the word ‘Jew’ with ‘migrant’.
Here’s what happened
Good news.
I’ll never be able to eat an orange Skittle ever again. Never.
BBC article on the US election, comparing Hillary and Trump to various world leaders, has to use two heads for Trump on several of the images, to represent his varying statements: http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37423550
Awesome
“A shallow trench running the width of the closed state highway at Rangiriri marks the start of a restoration project 152 years in the making.
Spades were handed out to New Zealand Transport Agency staff and management to begin filling the trench – a symbolic step toward a massive restoration project to see Rangiriri Pa returned to its original state.
State Highway 1 drove a line through the pa site when it was built in the 1960s. The path of the new expressway offers a way to heal that wound. ”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/84594488/rangiriri-pa-site-cleaved-by-state-highway-to-be-restored-to-its-original-state
The heart was cleaved and now joined, the healing can begin in earnest. Good result and shows what we can all do when we work in partnership.
Good stuff Marty.
Scott Hamilton on Rangiriri.
https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=Rangiriri+site%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Freadingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gfe_rd=cr&ei=gK7kV6PEO6vr8Ae_7LKgCQ
How low can the Labour vote go? At 22% probably no one on the Labour List would get in. Not even Andrew Little (who has never won a seat and only got into Parliament on the specials). Trevor Mallard is standing List only, not wanting to lose Hutt South to the very popular Chris Bishop. He hopes for a high List spot. If you want to be a Labour MP in 2017-20 you have to deselect a sitting member in a safe Red Seat. Already the jockeying has begun.
remember we have to add gender balance in for 2017 also http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/84243686/Poor-polls-sensitive-issue-as-Labour-MPs-brace-for-gender-balanced-list
Or will labour backtrack on this?
Of course they will backtrack on gender balance. Remember that balance has to be on winnable seats. They could for instance have chosen a woman for Phil Goff’s seat but have not. All talk and no action unless Labour women stand up to be counted..
Trolling.
For all those who sneeringly dismiss libertarianism on the grounds that it’s never been tried: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/libertarian-herman-mashaba-elected-mayor-of-johannesburg/article31942363/