Businesses paying minimum wage which are not prepared a man a decent days pay for a decent days work, are now going to strip the workers of tea breaks etc?
Bugger them and everyone who supports them.
More people should give up on employers and go on the friggin’ dole. Employers like this deserve shit all.
Or take a leaf from the great propagandists of our time (the Koch brothers), rename the union subs “rates” and call them “Ratepayers Associations” – and confuse the hell out of everyone.
Funny that implementing measures directed against their own citizens appears to be the main mode of dealing with this “terrorism” BS. You might almost think there was another actual agenda going on.
It’s worrying that this govt are so keen to lock doors across the country based on the actions of solitary nutters or dicks on the other side of the planet.
Why is Canada so shocked that people want to attack its soldiers?
And how the word "terrorism" is now a propaganda term for anything the state doesn't like – and for justifying anything under the sun the state decides to do.
Quite agree with you Phil, Prof Colin Campbell is a well respected scientist. The film Forks over Knives is available from your library and when it was shown at cinemas around the world was responsible for many people changing to a plant based diet.
He, along with other top researchers who advocate a plant based diet should be listened to.
Reverse cancer by diet is like reverse cancer by prayers.
Sad.
“The researchers say: ‘Our study has shown that Austrian adults who consume a vegetarian diet are less healthy (in terms of cancer, allergies, and mental health disorders), have a lower quality of life, and also require more medical treatment.”
Vegetarians are ‘less healthy’ and have a poorer quality of life than meat-eaters
Vegetarians visit their doctors more often and are more prone to allergies
They also have ‘a 50% increased risk of both heart attacks and cancer’
They are also more likely to develop depression and anxiety disorders
But vegetarians tend to be more active and less likely to drink and smoke
from yr source/’evidence’..(from cbs..atlanta..written by some hack..)
“..However, the researchers do caution that continuing studies will be needed to substantiate some of the rather broad dietary distinctions, associations presented in this current research…”
..’rather broad’ being the key words..you’d think..?
(and..)
“..The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that healthy diets rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases for all dietary groups..”
Not my daily mail and the data isn’t theirs from a hack journo.
Just read the pdf, veggie.
It’s no surprise you don’t agree with the findings as they completely rubbish the ‘reverse cancer’ crap from your personal hero.
I advise you to collect all the ‘supporting’ data you can, even from saddos like above and base your opinion on that. That won’t be one eyed and disingenuous at all.
whoare lol
Vegetarians also eat a lot of dairy which is the point that Prof Campbell makes.
A vegan diet has been shown to improve health in many people. There have been many long term studies on this, the SDA church have carried out many such studies all of which were favourable to a vegan diet.
The diet also gives a 100% guarantee that you are personally doing your bit to prevent animal cruelty.
I can’t see that people with a vegan diet have superior outcomes to people with a vegeterian diet. With the proviso that high levels of dairy intake is dangerous to human health.
“Red meat and processed meat often have a high fat content, so if you eat them too often you could get fat – which has been shown to be a risk factor for several cancers, including breast cancer and colorectal cancer. A more accurate report would focus on how obesity as a whole can increase risk for cancer.”
In response to your unbalanced account I googled ‘false health scares’ and it was top link.
Again, you seem to attack the messenger and not the message, so in response I’ll repeat in case it hasn’t sunk in yet.
“Red meat and processed meat often have a high fat content, so if you eat them too often you could get fat – which has been shown to be a risk factor for several cancers, including breast cancer and colorectal cancer. A more accurate report would focus on how obesity as a whole can increase risk for cancer.”
That’s laughable from a man who claims as his hero an old fuck who thinks not eating meat can reverse cancer as his proof and evidence.
You are quite within your rights to refute the facts, but you are so out on the extremist edge, your conclusions, skewered and slanted as they are, aren’t worth the price of the electrons they’re printed on.
To be fair that sounds more like a description of yourself, but whatever works for you.
Has to be remembered though, I haven’t ever claimed or advocated one can reverse cancer by abstaining from eating meat. That would be nuts.
“..(an obvious authority..!..)”
Yes it’s true. I can suss out a vested interest nutjob easy as.
“..who to believe..?”
I’m guessing you’ll go with the old fuck charlatan claiming he can reverse cancer by not eating meat.
Devoted aint you?
Leaving the racism aside, If you have exact data scientifically on par with the Austrian study that makes your point, show it.
“..(and u do know i am not paying foil-overtime-rates..eh..?..this is all on yr own time..)”
I did note note the much higher levels of mental health issues affecting non meat eaters.
With smoking pot, that’s an enormous risk. Better have a double whopper with cheese and hope for the best.
False mass generalisation about a group of people based on their nationality. Sounds racist to me.
The extras like clown role, and being funny mean nothing to me.
I know why you do it, it’s predictable and ultimately it won’t work.
It weakens your paper thin argument even more.
Nope. You think it’s animal cruelty to practice animal husbandry full stop, how are you going to be impartial and differentiate about what constitutes cruelty and best practice?
You still haven’t got your head around it then.
How are you going to be impartial and differentiate about what constitutes cruelty and best practice?
Clue – You can’t.
Best practice isn’t pain and suffering or cruelty. Best practice keeps animals well fed and cared for until slaughtered.
The killing isn’t cruelty. It’s the end of the line and avoids us eating our meat while it’s alive, which I agree would be…Unlike animals like lions and tigers who gnaw down on wriggling prey. Buggers.
So not altering ‘what it is’ depends on whether ‘what it is’ is a bad thing or not.
Your extreme position precludes you from holding a common sense baseline position on the subject. What do you not understand about that? lol
Thank you for taking the time with this conversation debunking all theories on the relationship between diet and cancer that there is no evidence for.
Until there is evidence, they are all possible topics for worthy research (noting many theories based on anecdotal evidence have already been researched many times). Science (as compared to religion) never claims the absolute answer on anything.
There does appear to be some links between diet and cancer, and they add weight to similar advice for overcoming obesity: Moderation of every major food group; Maintain a healthy weight; Keep fit.
I will not criticise the actions of the terminally ill. Depending on how much individuals have prospered from trading in money, or investing in lotto, they may gain some temporary mental relief by throwing some of that excess wealth at an abundance of medical and religious charlatans. (An alternative approach may be to throw the same amount of money at medical research, that may benefit future generations … or other worthy causes such as improvements in animal husbandry?)
“There does appear to be some links between diet and cancer”
There sure is, and meat, like other food groups, should be taken in moderation.
“they may gain some temporary mental relief by throwing some of that excess wealth at an abundance of medical and religious charlatans. An alternative approach may be to throw the same amount of money at medical research, that may benefit future generations”
Let’s have them throwing dollars at getting well nourished kids in warm homes with a future to look forward to first.
Future generations would benefit from that right now.
“so..the fevered imaginings of the allen..+ the daily mail..+ an article in the star..from 2007..”
Or, and much less partisan and disingenuous
Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemiology, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria
V
The professor emeritus in nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University..
“..i think it is more a case of what u want to believe/deny..eh..?”
That, my friend, is the irony moneyshot.
Want a tissue? lol
I think we’ve had our fair share of screen space with this one, save to say it’s nothing like tobacco and cancer warnings being laughed away by big money.
People have been eating meat since after adam ate all the apple pies and looked how marvellously resilient and adaptable a species we have become. Billions of meat eaters with a shared ancestry and an impressive increasing life expectancy say it aint so.
What we’re eating along with our recommended meat allowances, processed, refined, chemical sprayed, irradiated, added to and de-nutrionalised as it often is, is where I’d start looking for carcinogens and cancer causers in food with suspicious intent. But that’s an uneducated opinion I haven’t googled so I could be way off like you.
Have read similar elsewhere pu. Makes entire sense and we may well all wake up to it one day, like we have after being told thalidomide was safe.
One day in the future people will look back on us in the same way we look back at early surgeries and hospitals and shake our heads at the fuss that was raised when washing of hands was put in place in such institutions…. duh
How did “atom bombs” ever have ‘scientific support’ for healthy living?
I think you just made that whole list up, vto.
Can you please provide references for the “lines” that we were told on all of these promoting healthy living?
Some on the list still have legitimate use, depending on how they are used, where they are used, and how much is used: 1080, margarine, sugar, formaldehyde. (Two of these obviously not being used as foods)
“re atom bombs have you not seen any photos or information on people observing early atom bombings close at hand? Maralinga?”
Yes I have seen that but I am pretty sure it wasn’t because they thought they were safe. They were purposely exposing people to radiation they knew wasn’t safe in order to study the results.
Actually, without quibbling over individual items within your list, it was the weight of scientific evidence that demonstrated those things weren’t safe.
Otherwise we’d still be showing kids cartoons that say Laramie Smooths (with the healthy asbestos filter) are the best smoke to have after a growing child’s breakfast of coloured sugar gelatinised in lard.
That’s right – genuine scientific evidence, not some scientific evidence conjured up for some alternative commercial outcome as were the early “scientific” studies for each of those items.
So how do we know when scientific evidence is genuine and credible instead of something paid for and angled for a particular outcome? In Phil U’s case here – the science for and against the link between diet and cancer?
Do we have to look behind the research to see who is paying for it? Other hidden strings?
Perhaps we should ask our wise and considered PM John Key – he thinks that you can buy scientific research in order to suit particular outcomes.
Sometimes research is robust, genuine, credible, and still wrong – random result, or an unknown confounding effect.
It’s the weight of evidence overall that directs the conclusions. The more nuanced the association, the more evidence is needed. All the research is accounted for unless obviously fraudulent, incomplete/flawed, or demonstrated to be an aberration by the rest of the research in the field.
Who’s paying for it doesn’t always mean the findings are flawed – ISTR in the last few years that the Koch bros commissioned a report into AGW (which they argue doesn’t exist), only to have the lead author change his tune and say it exists. But what if he had the same level of integrity and found that something had been missed by the vast majority of scientists? They would have tried to find where he screwed up, but over time it would have become the consensus view that agw was nonexistent. It comes down to the quality of the research.
‘it was the weight of scientific evidence that demonstrated those things weren’t safe.’
Americans are lucky USA FDA commissioner Frances Kelsey did not subscribe to that view.
Dr Kelsey refused to approve thalidomide for use in America until it could be proved to be safe, despite pressure to do so.
She spared Americans the misery of the thalidomide birth defects by adopting the precautionary principle.
The official in charge of the FDA, Frances Oldham Kelsey, did not rely on information from the company which did not include any test results. Richardson-Merrell was called on to perform tests and report the results. The company refused and demanded approval six times, and was refused each time. Nevertheless, a total of 17 children with thalidomide-induced malformations were born.[57]
Don’t be disingenuous.
The point was Kelsey applied the precautionary principle while the evidence was gathered, which prevented people from being harmed. And that’s what ordinary people care about, not points on an academic scoreboard.
‘Nevertheless, a total of 17 children with thalidomide-induced malformations were born.’
Some people got the drug overseas, thus there was a few cases.
Actually, the point was that these days practical human knowledge is usually advanced by the accumulated weight of evidence in one direction or another, rather than one particular piece of research by one particular researcher.
I actually agree that (in general) drugs shouldn’t be used without thorough testing, and funnily enough thalidomide is a major justification for modern testing regimes.
There’s stronger processes on several levels now, but we need regulators who think for themselves, like Kelsey, more than ever.
I would commend Dr Alistair Humphrey of the CDHB in this respect, for this week opposing the proposed Selwyn nitrate levels, and recently breaking ranks on the MPI vegetable poisoning report.
By the way, Kelsey did not look at the evidence in totality when applying the precautionary principle. Her focus was one particular English study showing nervous system damage.
One scientific study can warrant the application of the precautionary principle.
Good god people, why so old fashioned? High development cost drugs require massive sales in the first few years to hit budgeted targets before patents run out. This namby pamby approach around waiting for more evidence and yet more evidence to come in is a nonsense when you have only a short time to get a drug to market and make it a blockbuster hit to recoup investor money and make a decent return.
Just do your final safety trial in the market is a good way to go: in that scenario everyone is a winner, investors make big bucks, researchers get more people in more settings to do their research on, patients get access to newer more effective drugs faster.
Prisoners serving time in the state of Pennsylvania can now be sued for speaking up from behind bars after Governor Tom Corbett signed into law this week the Revictimization Relief Act that legislatures rushed to approve only days earlier.
And the reason given is because the person behind bars has given enough to society that a university asked him to speak (via recording) to a few students.
the reserve bank says making people have 20% deposit has saved existing mortgage holders about 2% in interest rate hikes. it says the lvr stays until they are happy housing isnt fuelling inflation…
Meanwhile the town house across the road in a desirable part of town in good condition and with the price dropped sits vacant and unsold even though it is situated between two good secondary schools and an excellent primary. and within walking distance of the city. And the sellers have bought elsewhere and must be suffering, they would never have envisaged it sitting for so long. How has raising the deposit helped new house buyers, and people needing a house for their own use? That is the question that gummint should be asking when assessing the worth of this policy. The answer is negative value to them, and just continuing the stress on these people that the housing bubble has caused already.
A government lacking any idea or willingness to form policy that actually deals with our problems, it just sits on the seats in Parliament and their offices, making work for themselves and grooming future business partners, and collecting salary and perks.
And telling people how good they are, while they borrow money and perform SFC tricks in minor form every day. Keeping their supporters happy, is all they need to do. While we try and get a left team that can win. Unfortunately they are confused about which team they are playing for, and taking sidebets on performance!
I am thinking that those Labour caucus members who are uncomfortable with the values, policies,direction or colour red of Labour, and those that are disloyal to the party or its elected leader, and those that tritorously leak info to enemies and media, and those that bring the party into disrepute by their unwise public statements on TV etc, and those that favour Neo liberal RW agenda should all leave and start their own party. Here are some suggestions for such a party:
NAME : Federation Of Kiwi Rogue Socialists. [FOKRS]
COLOUR : Yellowish red with grey spots.
LEADER’S TITLE : The great pretender.
Not as satisfying as seeing Eric Prince before the courts would be but it’s a start.
Now, after a 10-week trial and 28 days of deliberation, a jury in Washington has found three of the men – Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard – guilty of a total of 13 charges of voluntary manslaughter and a total of 17 charges of attempted manslaughter.
The fourth defendant, Slatten, who was alleged to have been first to open fire, was found guilty of a separate charge of first-degree murder. Slough, Liberty and Heard were found guilty of using firearms in relation to a crime of violence, a charge which can alone carry up to a 30-year mandatory sentence.
Just as with the systematic torture at Abu Ghraib, it is only the low level foot-soldiers of Blackwater that are being held accountable. Prince and other top Blackwater executives continue to reap profits from the mercenary and private intelligence industries. Prince now has a new company, Frontier Services Group, which he founded with substantial investment from Chinese enterprises. Among its areas of focus is the African continent. Prince recently suggested that his forces at Blackwater could have confronted Ebola and ISIS. “If the Administration cannot rally the political nerve or funding to send adequate active duty ground forces to answer the call, let the private sector finish the job,” Prince recently wrote.
.
I am thinking that if the views of the majority of commentators on this site are representative of the views of members of the Labour Party (An assumption that may very well be wrong) then there is a serious disconnect between the Party Membership and the views of potential Labour voters.
In my opinion most of these voters do not significantly care about the differences between the agendas of party members and party caucus, if such differences exist. They simply have an expectation that those differences are (or should be) minor, and should be able to be sorted out easily, in comparison with the more difficult task of forming coalition deals with parties that may be more left, or more right than Labour.
So as much as I will enjoy the privilege of voting for the Party Leader, I still think that the leadership voting system urgently needs to be discarded. Give the responsibility to caucus, coupled with information that comes from polling all eligible voters. Farrar may be a nasty weasel, but he does deliver much better political advice to Dirty John from polls, than Labour will ever get from Party members and affiliated unions.
In fact, Labour does its own internal polling and focus group analysis with UMR.
Which is little use to all those voting without access to those poll results. Which would be my main point in limiting the voting to the caucus (who I presume do have – or should have – access to such poll results)
The poll result is definitely not the only issue that needs to be taken into account …. but it is a very important issue. Which candidate is the most electable?
(I wonder what those ‘internal’ polls indicated about the preference of the public in the Leadership poll won by David Cunliffe? Did those polls ask that question? Did those polls determine how many more or less people would have voted Labour with each candidate as Leader? Is Robertson in this election gaining any advantage, or not, by declaring his preference for Deputy? These are the sort of questions where the answers are best not filed away in a library.)
There are relatively few NZLP members commenting compared to the numbers of commenters.
Read the about. The site simply wasn’t set up for NZLP members.
There is one site that was largely setup for NZLP members. It was called Red Alert and it is essentially moribund because someone at the site started playing silly games.
I take your point, lprent. Fortunately I did put a significant disclaimer on saying that was the case, or essential to my argument. (Which of course means that I could have left out the possible assumption in total, and still made the same point I wanted to make.) 🙂 My bad.
I guess I should have said something along the lines of if you take the views of any small group eg the commentators on the Standard, the local wrestling club, the operatic society, or even the Members of the Labour Party, they are unlikely to be representative of the opinions of the 40-50% of voters that you hope will cast their vote in the direction of the Labour Party.
If the Party want thats opinion, I think that a much better way is to use intelligent polling. And the results of those polls could be used constructively to help inform the decision of the ‘best’ Party Leader that meets the full needs of the Party.
The election was rubbish, the left fragmented and all we wanted was the policies to win it.
Asking the brilliant minds, what would a sensible left wing manifesto look like?
Imagine starting a new, well funded party, and you want to show the public what you’re about.
With three years till kick off, what what you tell them?
I actually thought the left as a whole had about the best policy package anyone could manage. Between the greens impmana and labour, we had food for kids, decent wage increases for the neediest as well as the middle class, a real plan to address housing for low and middle income groups, health and infrastructure relief, regional development, clean waterways, and a real chance at getting more jobs and sane security policies.
Something didn’t go well tactically – some say Labour should have gone for the party vote more, but the greens were all about the party vote and didn’t make headway.
Personally, I reckon it was the kdc distraction throughout the campaign, the fizzle on the 15th, and the terror raids in aus two days before, all exploited by a blatantly partizan mass media.
I agree there were some good policies spread around, so perhaps a part of failure was/is in the delivery, and in part the perception ‘the left’ were/are unable to work together despite labour pushing the 3 party government line to counter. The corporate msm and dirty politics a given hindrance.
I am curious as to what a thestandard focussed grouped manifesto would read like, and how much appeal would/could be garnered from the less political out of it.
I wouldn’t have a shot at bringing it together, but an invited guest list could create something cool, contemporary and quite inspiring.
No point in having all the bright ideas to see them wasting on a blog.
“No point in having all the bright ideas to see them wasting on a blog.”
That’s my biggest frustration about the place (that and the intelligence wasted on clever putdowns and abuse). Would love to see the passion and thought go somewhere.
I think a series of threads over time, offering a selection of either/or options, proffered by the group for discussion and selection. I’ll nominate five people and they then nominate five more to form the policy committee and sit back and see what you all come up with if you like?
Can you explain that a bit more? Either/or options? Committee working offsite or onsite?
Maybe we can develop the IMP online policy development model more. Using Loomio but also a combination of other online tools if they are required.
Although I am a little hesitant to go down the path of yet more policy development. Coming up with plans to deliver more left wing infrastructure eg community currencies, alternative media channels eg radio, or to extend the reach/capabilities of The Standard, might be a more useful (less Wellington centric) way ahead.
I know your having a laugh but as a new entrant standard follower I have found my self thinking it’s no wonder the left is in trouble if the people here spend so much time arguing.
Looks Penny Bright will have to cough up $33,000 to Auckland Council or end up homeless but with $500,000 to go elsewhere. I cannot see the judge tolerating someone who WONT pay as opposed to someone who CANNOT pay. Hope i’m wrong and Penny gets a fair go.
I thought it was only the New Zealand First Party where the members of their caucus don’t talk to each other.
This was when Winston chose to nominate Ron Mark for Speaker without even telling Ron about the idea.
The Green Party obviously need to start talking to each other. Then we wouldn’t have to waste thousands of dollars while a Green Party member spends time in Parliament finding out what one of her parties leaders is up to.
From todays questions –
“JAN LOGIE to the Member in charge of the Education (Breakfast and Lunch Programmes in Schools) Amendment Bill: Why has the member adopted the Education (Breakfast and Lunch Programmes in Schools) Amendment Bill?”
You are quite right. I had forgotten about Shearer’s bill.
This is Meteria’s one, taken over from Hone though.
The two bills are, from the Parliamentary website.
Education (Breakfast and Lunch Programmes in Schools) Amendment Bill (Harawira)
and
Education (Food in Schools) Amendment Bill (Shearer)
The name is the one for the ex- Hone, now Meteria bill. And yes I know why she is asking the question. It gives Turei the chance to make a brief speech. A waste of time and money isn’t it?
I think the standing orders committee should consider doing away with patsy questions altogether.
As I understand it, Question Time is for the Opposition to hold The Government to account. I have never understood how allowing ministers to make brief speeches on topics of their choosing assists this purpose.
Just in case you forgot we got ourselves another war here is a reminder Oh and we have been fighting this silly little war for the last 30 years – at least.
So Canada goes to war against some people in the middle east.
Then some of those people in the middle east attack Canada’s military.
what the f#@k did they expect? flowers? to be left in peace?
And then to label this a “terrorist” attack – what a joke. It was an attack on military at war. It was not a terrorist attack it was clearly a military attack.
And to think that Key is putting us in the firing line too ……. brace for it people. Key is bringing war to our islands.
Are you acting [deleted] for the sake of acting [deleted] ?
[r0b: A while back a participant here who had a child with an intellectual disability asked us to crack down on the use of that word as a term of abuse.]
The person, presumably sympathising with the people Canada has declared war on, attacked a military person. Did you miss that bit? Also, Parliament is generally where orders to go to war are made – an entirely legitimate military target.
Your own description defies the facts.
It is you with the shit for brains, clearly. Go read some history and learn some law idiot.
Hey pcplodding – how about this for a bit more …..
Did you notice how on te news tonight there was virtually no description of this military event as a terrorist attack? Go and have a look and listen. Even Key didn’t refer to it as a terrorist attack and he is softening us all up for going to war.
eh pcplodding, just a bit more for your brainshit to absorb.
If this person had wanted to actually commit an act of terror then why didn’t he visit a shopping mall, or a hospital or some other such public place?
Why did he choose to attack a soldier with a gun? Why did he choose to attack the seat of Canada’s power with security everywhere and which has gone to war with his people? Why did he choose these military targets instead of a civilian one?
I think you are just one of those people who believes everything you are told. I bet you voted for Key. Mindless. You would have supported the leader of Germany in the 1930s going by your level of thinking.
Hey pcplodding, Canada has been helping drop munitions on to Afghan and Iraqi civilians (oh I’m sorry, dropping munitions on to ‘legitimate targets’ which happen to be right next to the civilians) for years now.
(I guess its now NZs time to help out in this general effort, to make us, you know, safer. Because killing never ends in even more killing).
Maybe you can see now how the West is seen by 3/4 of all peoples as the biggest purveyors of death and terror in the world.
I think Transrail wants to collapse the passenger services.
The rail Christchurch to Picton is cancelled over winter till 26 September.
About a year or so ago the fare was $48 – $100 with specials, backpackers, students, pensioner rates as well.
Now there is only one fare: $159. That will of course cut back the numbers so that eventually the trip will lapse for want of patronage.
Economics with political push.
Press statement in relation to search of Nicky Hager’s home
Thursday, 23 October 2014, 12:57 pm
Press Release: Terrace Chambers
Press statement in relation to the search of Nicky Hager’s home
On 2 October 2014, Nicky Hager’s home in Wellington was searched by police. Mr Hager asserted that documents kept at his house were protected by privilege, including because they contained information that might identify confidential sources. Rather than search those documents, the Police sealed them and lodged them with the High Court pending directions from the Court. Mr Hager had concerns that the search was unlawful and sought legal advice.
Mr Hager has now had a chance to consult his lawyers. He believes even more strongly that the Police have acted outside of the law in seizing his property and seeking to search through all of his documents. Mr Hager has decided to challenge the Police’s actions by way of judicial review. He expects to launch those proceedings during the next few days.
In the meantime, the Police are asserting that there is no valid claim for privilege over the documents. The Police are seeking the leave of the Court to file their own proceedings in order to argue that there is no privilege and that they should be allowed to review all of the documents. A preliminary teleconference was held today (23 October 2014) between the High Court, and lawyers for Mr Hager and the Police, to discuss these issues.
My first response to this info. is that the police are acting under instructions from higher up the ladder but how far up the ladder is a very interesting question. In fact is it a ladder which extends beyond NZ? Could the Slater complaint merely be the excuse to sift through Hager’s other work? Example: the FBI/NSA/GCSB modus operandi?
1. The cops, the lawyers and the rest of the government should have to account for every last little bit of taxpayer dollars that they spend turning Nicky Hager over. He hasn’t damaged the NZ public interest one little bit so why the hell are we funding it.
2. What was the timing around raiding him while he wasn’t there. I hope he asks if they have been tracking him to see where he is and who he meets – it all seemed a bit convenient.
3. Yes I assume they want to sift through everything else. If only so they can drift along and lean on a few other people.
Having reviewed Mr Key’s responses overnight, Mr Carter today said that was likely correct for most of Dr Norman’s questions. However, one where Dr Norman asked if Slater was correct when he said Mr Key had told him the mother of a car crash victim was “the same woman f-ing feral bitch that screams at him when he goes to Pike River meetings” should have been answered.
The question “made a connection to the actions of the Prime Minister in response to Pike River Mine Tragedy,” Mr Carter said.
“A connection having been made to a matter of ministerial responsibility an informative answer should be given.”
and a glimpse into the sparse world inside the key brain
Earlier today Mr Key stood by his claim that his conversations with Slater were not in his capacity as Prime Minister.
“I wear a number of hats obviously, one as the leader of the National Party, one as Prime Minister of New Zealand and one as a citizen.”
Which capacity he was acting in was determined by “the context around what I think I was doing”.
On that basis Mr Key was “quite comfortable that in the correspondence and discussions I’ve had with Cameron Slater, which are not that great in number, are done so not in my capacity as Prime Minister”.
How many times have you sent important information to the wrong person because you didn’t check the email address?
Prime Minister John Key’s office briefing notes have once again been accidentally sent to a reporter ahead of a media conference.
key says,
“At the end of the day I think you’d say it was unfortunate, but the reality as I understand it was an Mfat person who was putting together some briefing notes for me accidentally sent them to NewsTalkZB. Email systems have a habit of remembering email addresses and from time to time accidents or mistakes occur… It’s just so easy to do.”
I think it’s time for another Leunig cartoon. Obviously in an Australian context (Liberals and Labour) but it transfers equally as well to New Zealand.
UK police arrest young man who throws a water bottle for ‘Plinth Guy’ protestor to catch. This is the kind of police state assf*ckery which seems to be coming to all FVEY nations pretty much simultaneously.
Kelvin Davis gives Hone Harawira some good hard kicks
About “manning up” over Hone’s hiring an alleged sex offender on Parliamentary Services money – but Davis forgets about a little thing called “presumption of innocence.”
And interesting how these documents were “leaked.” So they think Harawira might stage a come back in TTT 2017 and want to kill that possibility dead ASAP.
Another Open Mike which has a first half devoted to the cult of Vega. Tomorrow it’ll probably be how the Greens gifted Ohariu to Dunne. It gets a bit boring, just a bit.
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 5 through Sat, July 11, 2020Editor's ChoiceThink Covid-19 Disrupted the Food Chain? Wait and See What Climate Change Will DoThe pandemic has revealed deep flaws in the ...
The Council of Disobedient Women There is a regular segment in the Speak Up For Women podcasts called “Absolutely Blasted Mad Moment of the Week”. Each podcast the speaker and the host discuss a recent event that is the most insane thing they have seen in the gender critical space ...
Todd Muller - Dishonest National Party leaderIt seems that dishonest Todd Muller is, like many right-wing politicians, entirely morally bankrupt. I mean just look at the National Party’s leaking omni-shambles over the last week or so. They’ve imploded in a spectacular display of backfiring dirty politics, the likes of which ...
TUESDAY JULY 14Yorkshire Airport (Prime, 7.30pm). Bloomin’ ’eck, behind the scenes at Leeds Bradford Airport. Apparently, there is plenty of “northern charm”, although reaction in the UK ranged from “brilliant” to “patronising”. It is narrated by Hugh Dennis, whose middle name might be “Arch”.WEDNESDAY JULY 15Queen: Live at Wembley (Prime, ...
Simon Bridges must be the unluckiest person in New Zealand politics. When he was elected as leader of the National party, he also became Leader of the Opposition – a position, he was entitled to assume, that would require him to “oppose”. But the government he set out to oppose ...
This is a re-post from The Guardian by Damian Carrington Spreading rock dust on farmland could suck billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air every year, according to the first detailed global analysis of the technique. The chemical reactions that degrade the rock particles lock the greenhouse gas into ...
Check out Speak Up For Women’s new podcasts: Episode 3 In this episode Speak Up For Women spokeswoman Ani O’Brien (@aniobrien) is joined by Beth Johnson (@beth_nosnhoj) to discuss the proposal from Statistics NZ to change standard data collection policy to “gender by default” rather than sex. They discuss why the ...
During a recent public consultation on the future of Archives New Zealand, a key report was suppressed. The Ombudsman has ruled that the refusal was unjustified. Sadly, the consultation was over by the time of the the decision has been made. However, the law on the use of the ...
National MP - Michael WoodhouseUnbelievable! Michelle Boag also sent National’s Michael Woodhouse confidential emails about COVD-19 patients, and he continued to publicly attack the Government over these very same breaches of privacy.This is the biggest political self-own since the Act Party’s David Garrett admitted in Parliament that he used a ...
Transcript: National Party policy announcement on roads – 8 July, 2020 Muller: Good afternoon everybody. Thank you for coming. Reporter 1: Is Hamish Walker a racist? Muller: Hang on… you haven’t even said good afternoon to me yet. Reporter 1: Good afternoon Mr Muller. Is Hamish Walker a racist? ...
Back in April, I wrote about trials in Iran of a fixed-dose combination of two existing anti-viral drugs used to treat hepatitis C – sofosbuvir and daclatasvir – that could point to an effective treatment for Covid-19 symptoms.At the time, data from those trials was not available outside the hospitals ...
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Anja Mizdrak, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael BakerThe pandemic-related lockdown is possibly the most dramatic public health intervention in NZ history. It helped achieve the elimination of community transmission of the COVID-19 virus in NZ. But it was also associated with 548 fewer total ...
Reprehensible: There is much that could be said about Michael Woodhouse, but what would be the point? Any man who willingly involves himself in a situation as reprehensible as the one depicted in the above photograph has already vouchsafed all that decent people need to know about his character. That there have ...
As the debate over assisted dying rages in the run-up to the referendum at the election on September 19, a persistent problem continues to dog the discussions. That is to say, a prominent spokesperson for a particular group takes a strong public stand in opposition without acknowledging that they don’t ...
No Other Suspects? The mainstream news media was willing to print and broadcast harsh Opposition criticism of the Government, even though they knew that the source of the leaked information was a National Party MP. Even though, by pushing the story up towards the top of every news bulletin they were ...
Sacrificial Lamb: If the stories about Mr Taogaga and the unauthorised release of confidential medical data had been deliberately orchestrated by Labour’s political opponents, their deflection of the news media’s attention away from the Prime Minister’s address to the Labour Party Congress could hardly have been more successful.THE LABOUR PARTY ...
The East is Rent: The consequences of unleashing the young against the old; of elevating ideological rigor above reasoned debate; and of setting the present against the past; was a decade of unprecedented social stress and tension, interspersed with explosions of murderous mob violence and tragic material destruction. More than ...
The Green Party of Aotearoa-New Zealand could go from helping Jacinda Ardern run the country, to being turfed out of Parliament altogether in ten weeks. And that could see the end of Labour in government. Without them, Labour would likely have to do what no party has done since the ...
Remember the government's tyrannicalTerrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill? Remember how it was rammed through Parliament, with a four-day submission period and a select committee process that was a democratic fraud? At the time, the government gave the impression that there was an urgent need for this legislation, that a ...
Attack journalist - Tova O'BrienWe all know that much of the mainstream media in New Zealand is terribly biased. They are in effect another branch of the National Party, and can often be even more prejudiced than their right wing bosses.In fact many right wing politicians moonlight as journalists and ...
Former National Party President - Michelle BoagAfter the complete botch job Hamish Walker made of leaking the private details of COVID-19 patients to the mainstream media last week, the best-case scenario for Todd Muller and the National Party would be if the news cycle went quiet about their involvement.But unfortunately ...
One of the challenges of working on illegal wildlife markets, is you don’t really have scope to talk about your research into illegal wildlife markets. There is some stuff though that willbe coming out on Asiatic black bears in China, and before Covid19, I was delving more into rhinos. Which ...
Some are surprised at this sudden brain implosion on the part of both Michelle Boag, former National Party President, and the National Party in general, in exposing the private, confidential details of COVID patients. Others…? Let’s be blunt: not so much. Too many of that Party have long operated with ...
Michelle Boag - Former National Party PresidentWhen Todd Muller decided not to discipline Hamish Walker for his horribly racist press release last week, you had to wonder if his lack of proper leadership had something to do with a shared belief system? After all, the whiteness of the blue “team” ...
On Twitter today, lawyer Felix Geiringer asked a good question: why are MP's exempt from the Privacy Act? The Act imposes its obligations on "agencies", and s8 of the 2020 Act states that this term does not include... a member of Parliament in their official capacity The 1993 Act, ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzWhat was the climate and sea level like at times ...
So now we know, beyond all doubt. The National party has no interest in joining the “team of five million” in our fight against the pandemic but its priority is to take every opportunity it can to damage the government. The cynicism is breathtaking. It was prepared to leak the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters The massive dust storm that formed over the Sahara Desert in mid-June invaded the southeastern U.S. June 25-28, bringing dangerous levels of air pollution, low visibility, and colorful sunsets. The air pollution event over parts of Texas and the Gulf ...
In 1987, as a British Labour MP, I was elected to the Shadow Cabinet by my colleagues and was asked by the party leader to direct Labour’s campaign in the general election of that year. The election was to take place at the height of Mrs Thatcher’s dominance and we ...
National MP Nicola WillisHousing, which I would argue is a fundamental human right, has long been a problem in New Zealand. Not only do we have some of the most overpriced houses in the entire world, much of the housing stock is substandard and therefore affects not just people’s health ...
If the government has not lined up behind a "Yes" vote in this year's cannabis referendum the way some reformers would have liked, one entirely laudable thing it did do was commission some science around the public's choice.That science landed today, in the form of the report from an expert ...
Associate Professor Sara WaltonAt the heart of the discussion on opening up our borders is the dichotomy of health and the economy – both of which are actually intertwined, like many things with our economy, as this epidemic has shown.If we think about our country as a system, ...
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Josh Gabbatiss This year will see the largest ever drop globally in both investment and consumer spending on energy as the coronavirus pandemic hits every major sector, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The crisis is accelerating the shutdown of older fossil-fuelled ...
A short opinion piece – Friday 26th June 2020 Whilst our Government has treated many financial victims of the current Covid-19 virus with appropriate generosity, the same cannot be said for those of the two earlier “epidemics” in NZ. The “Covid-84” virus (also called “Rogernomics”) spread systemic greed, with the ...
Everyone deserves a a decent life. We know this is possible with a fairer approach to income support and tax Read the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Poverty Action Plan here ...
After a long break, the government is back inserting secrecy clauses in legislation. This time its the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill (No 3), which in its clause allowing Ministers to exempt purchasers of farm land from the usual rules also allows them to exempt an exemption from the publication requirement: ...
Over the past two years the government has repeatedly delayed a scheme to put cameras on boats to monitor Mew Zealand's pervasively criminal fishing industry. But it turns out that the industry actually wants cameras: Three of the country's biggest seafood companies have broken ranks with the rest of the ...
Louise Delany (public health lawyer)Health and emergency laws have played a critical role in this country’s successful elimination of community transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic. This blog details key aspects of the legislation and comments on issues around testing, payments by incoming travellers for quarantine costs, and mask use. ...
I like Andrew Curry’s succinct and insightful futures blog The Next Wave. His most recent post is about social change. In particular, the decadal-long periods usually required for changes in values. He highlights a 2016 paper by Inglehart and Norris, who examined whether economic insecurity or a “cultural backlash” ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Stop making sense: why it's time to get emotional about climate changeThe science has been settled to the highest degree, so now ...
MONDAY JULY 6Washington (History, Sky 073, 7.30pm). The brilliant Doris Kearns Goodwin is the executive producer of this six-part series about America's first president. It combines interviews with live action and is narrated by Jeff Daniels. It's engaging, said Salon.TUESDAY JULY 7The ABC Murders (Prime, 8.30pm). Sarah Phelps has done incredible things with ...
I think we can all agree that the mainstream media in New Zealand has a very different set of rules for the right wing compared to the left. While Labour and Green Party politicians don’t seem to be able to fart without it becoming a sackable offence, National and Act ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, June 28 through Sat, July 4, 2020Editor's Choice'2040': A funny, entertaining, upbeat climate documentaryA timely Australian documentary takes a 'solutions' approach, with the filmmaker inspired by visions of ...
Racist National MP Hamish WalkerEven before Todd Muller's coup ousted Simon Bridges by a single vote, it was patently obvious that the National Party promotes and stands for white privilege. In fact they’ve always worked to ensure the discriminatory status quo in New Zealand doesn’t change.So it’s no surprise that ...
Dave HeatleyZero community transmission. Just a handful of active cases, all in quarantine. New Zealand is in an attractive situation, at least compared to much of the world. The situation could be robust and enduring – or it might be fragile, just one border incursion away from a “second ...
Is the consequence of the Simpson Report proposals for restructuring the health system poorer accountability to people? When in doubt, centralise‘ has been a persistent theme in New Zealand public policy throughout our history. The current government is no exception. Here are some examples. - The regional polytechs have been ...
I wrote earlier in the week about the Scientology front organisations Drug Free World and Drug Free Ambassadors and their quite prominent role in anti-cannabis reform "coalition" assembled by Family First and a newloca branch of the American prohibitionist organisation SAM.It turns out Family First aren't the only ones helping ...
Nik GreenMuch of the public debate about the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has focused on the extent to which government regulations have restricted personal and business activity.Oxford University Blavatnik School of Government Here in New Zealand, the question of when to change Alert Levels dominated the ...
James Higham, University of OtagoUnprecedented border closures and the domestic lockdown have paralysed New Zealand’s $40.9 billion a year tourism industry. In the process, the vulnerability of the sector to external shocks and the tenuous nature of tourism employment have been exposed. While New Zealand’s handling of the pandemic ...
Raising The Bar: Would that the Prime Minister and her colleagues would listen as intently to what the people – as opposed to the power elites – are saying as the Greens. Were they so disposed, the popular clamour for a transformational post-Covid reset would be loud in their ears. ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzDo you think the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown will slow or ...
A bit like a letter home. I have now been full-time at the University of Melbourne since 2019. Before that, I was 20 years at the University of Otago, Wellington. Indeed, I set up this very Public Health Expert Blog with Nick Wilson ten years ago. Now I am your ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections House Democrats have released a comprehensive report showing how – if they control the White House and both the Senate and the House of Representatives – they might move forward on climate change. Their “Climate Crisis Action Plan,” released June 30 by the ...
A ballot for three Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Electoral (Integrity Repeal) Amendment Bill (David Carter) Harmful Digital Communications (Unauthorised Posting of Intimate Visual Recording) Amendment Bill (Louisa wall) Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Bill (Judith ...
Not Ready: Todd Muller’s lack-lustre and self-contradictory performances offer conclusive proof that a political leader cannot be managed into competence. National’s new boss has Janet Wilson handling his media and Matthew Hooton writing his speeches. Both are highly professional political and public relations specialists, and Muller is lucky to have ...
Unfortunately, due to a medical emergency, I have landed in hospital so am not able to do a current update on the NZ blog statistics. Let’s hope I can get back to this in good time. ...
It started as a family story, about a step-father who went out one night to break into an embassy in Wadestown, Wellington. John Daniell wanted to understand what his family had been part of when his mother and then step-father work for New Zealand’s Security Intelligence. He wanted to know ...
The Greens have shaken up the election campaign with the announcement of their radical poverty and action plan to reform welfare provision and introduce a new wealth tax for millionaires. It’s a big-thinking, controversial policy and has generated a lot of disagreement over how radical it is, whether it could ...
My house is currently supplied electricity by Meridian. As soon as I can change I will because Meridian spilled water to hike electricity prices. They got consumers to spend an extra $80 million on power unnecessarily. Clever them. The Electricity Authority has called their behaviour an “undesirable trading situation”, or ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industry New Zealand First is supporting calls by hunters and the New Zealand Tahr Foundation (NZTF) to halt a large scale cull of Himalayan Tahr by the Department of Conservation in National Parks. The calls are supported by a 40,000 strong petition and the ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First leader Winston Peters today scoffed at suggestions that a team of six political operatives have been dispatched to New Zealand to assist his campaign. ‘As President Ronald Reagan once said, ‘there they go again.’ ‘The clickbait journos can’t ...
New Zealand First is pleased to announce Jenny Marcroft as the party’s election 2020 candidate for the Auckland Central electorate. Jenny spent years working in Auckland Central, having spent a vast proportion of her broadcasting career there. She says she, "knows the place and knows the people." Ms Marcroft says ...
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...
This week we moved into the second half of 2020 - and our Government delivered another week of big changes and major progress for New Zealanders. Read below for a wrap of the key things moments from the week - from extending paid parental leave, to making major investments in ...
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson is calling for the introduction of a Guaranteed Minimum Income to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and prevent more families entering into further debt with the Ministry of Social Development. ...
There has been renewed focus on New Zealand First acting as a handbrake on the Government after our decision to not support Auckland light rail. We are a handbrake for bad ideas, that istrue, but our track record since 2017 has seen New Zealand First constructively also serve as an ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP New Zealand First’s Fair Residency for Superannuation Bill passed its First Reading in Parliament today. The Bill makes a significant change to NZ Super by raising the minimum residency requirement from 10 to 20 years, after age 20. “Currently, a migrant of ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill in the name of Darroch Ball introducing a six-month minimum prison sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its second reading in Parliament. The new offence of "injuring a first responder or corrections officer with ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Deputy Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the launch of the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, gifted with the name from Waikato-Tainui - Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, announced in Hamilton today by Justice Minister Andrew Little. “New Zealand First has long believed in and ...
The Green Party is celebrating over $800m in new funding for green projects, which will get people into jobs while solving New Zealand’s long-term challenges. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is appalled that Meridian seems to have been unnecessarily spilling water from its dams to drive up its profits."While New Zealanders have been coming together in some of our darkest hours, we don’t expect power gentailers to waste water and ...
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has welcomed the appointment of Maurice Davis and his deep infrastructure and construction experience to the board of the Infrastructure Commission. Mr Davis (Ngāti Maniapoto), is the seventh and final appointment to the board led by former Reserve Bank Governor ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand’s click bait journalism is taking a turn for the worse, with yet another example of sensationalist, wilful-misrepresentation of the facts. “New Zealand First has worked constructively with its Coalition partner on hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy, and ...
The Green Party is today unveiling its Poverty Action Plan, which includes a Guaranteed Minimum Income to ensure people have enough to live with dignity. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Rotorua Museum redevelopment and Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forest projects will be accelerated thanks to a $2.09 million Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) boost, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
This week, we rolled out the next steps of our recovery plan, with new infrastructure investment, extra support for tourism operators, and a new programme to get Kiwis into agriculture careers. The global economic consequences of COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge, but we have a detailed plan to ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its final reading in Parliament today fulfilling a coalition agreement commitment. “This is an important step in saving the lives of New Zealanders and delivers a key coalition commitment ...
Whakatāne has been given a $2.5 million boost to speed up previously funded projects and create more than 450 jobs in the next decade. Of those, the equivalent of 160 full-time jobs could be delivered in the next six weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is in town to make ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $2.5 million to accelerate three infrastructure projects in Whakatāne, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “This package is about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is throwing his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River. And he's coming out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign. "It is my ...
The Green Party is thrilled to see changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that mean consents for large projects can be declined if they will have significant climate change implications that are inconsistent with the Zero Carbon Act and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Paris Agreement obligations. ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence The Royal New Zealand Navy’s new ship, Aotearoa, set sail for New Zealand on 10 June from the Republic of Korea, and is due to arrive in Auckland tomorrow, announced Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “Aotearoa is the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new fleet ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Racing Racing Minister Winston Peters has today welcomed the Racing Industry Bill passing its third reading, creating the legislative framework for revitalising the racing industry while limiting the need for future government intervention. “For too long our domestic racing industry has ...
The Green Party has today put forward an amendment to the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill to ensure all people in prisons can vote in general elections. ...
The Green Party welcomes the decision to not proceed with Public Public Investment (PPI) delivery of Auckland’s light rail project and to instead run the process through the public service. ...
Hon Ron Mark, New Zealand First List MP based in the Wairarapa New Zealand First List MP Hon Ron Mark welcomes the announcement of Provincial Growth Funding investment of $1.4 million to help secure the Wairarapa’s water supply. The funding boost will allow the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC), and ...
New Zealand First list MP Mark Patterson has been selected to represent the party in the newly formed Taieri electorate at the upcoming election. Mr Patterson, his wife Jude and two daughters farm sheep and beef at Lawrence and Waitahuna. He previously stood in the Clutha-Southland electorate however boundary changes ...
Hon Shane Jones, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises A new ‘super depot’ to be built for NZ Post in Wellington will create around 350 jobs during construction, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises Shane Jones says. Shane Jones today attended a ground-breaking and blessing ceremony for the parcel-processing depot ...
Our strong economic management prior to COVID-19 - with surpluses, low debt and near-record-low unemployment - put us in a good position to weather the impact of the virus and start to rebuild our economy much earlier than many other countries.Now we're putting our plan to recover and rebuild ...
Darroch Ball MP, New Zealand First Spokesperson for Law and Order Recently released Police fleeing driver statistics have shown yet another increase in incidents with another record-high in the latest quarter. “This new quarterly record-high is the latest in a string of record-high numbers since 2014. The data shows incidents ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio is pleased to announce the inaugural launch of Kiribati Language Week as part of the 2020 Pacific language Weeks programme. “I am so pleased that this year we are able to provide resourcing support to the Kiribati community in Aotearoa which will ...
Wildlife institutions affected by a loss of visitor revenue during the COVID-19 lockdown are set to receive government support with nearly $15 million of funding available announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. “Eco-sanctuaries, zoos, aquariums, wildlife parks, and wildlife rescue, hospital and rehabilitation facilities provide crucial support for the recovery ...
The Government is expanding and accelerating frontline mental health and wellbeing services at tertiary education institutes (TEI) to help students manage ongoing stresses related to COVID-19. “The lockdown has been hugely disruptive for students. Many of them have had to relocate and move to online learning, isolating them from their ...
The Minister of Police says a major operation against the Mongrel Mob in Waikato will make a big dent in drug harm and violent offending linked to organised crime networks. “Senior leadership of the Waikato Mongrel Mob has been taken out as a result of Operation Kingsville, which resulted in ...
The Government is extending the border exception criteria to enable some offshore victims and support people of the Christchurch mosque attacks to attend the sentencing of the accused beginning on 24 August2020, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. “We want to support our valued Muslim brothers and sisters who were directly ...
A project to support volunteer efforts to look after streams and rivers is getting a boost thanks to support from DOC’s Community Conservation Fund announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today. “The government is backing efforts to look after waterways with $199,400 for the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust from ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter today announced that funding for the COVID-19 Community Fund for women and girls will be doubled, as the first successful funding applications for the initial $1million were revealed. “Women and girls across the country have suffered because of the effects of COVID-19, and I ...
The Government’s books were better than forecast with a higher GST take as the economy got moving again after lockdown, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Crown Accounts for the 11 months to the end of May indicate the year end results for tax revenue will be stronger than forecast. ...
A plan to revitalise New Zealand’s strong wool sector and set it on a new, more sustainable and profitable path was unveiled today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. The newly-released report - Vision and Action for New Zealand’s Wool Sector - was developed by the Wool Industry Project Action Group ...
Community efforts to create a Predator Free Whangārei will receive a $6 million boost, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced today. The new funding, through Government company Predator Free 2050 Ltd, will create around 12 jobs while enabling the complete removal of possums over ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced that the New Zealand Government is reviewing the settings of its relationship with Hong Kong. “China’s decision to pass a new national security law for Hong Kong has fundamentally changed the environment for international engagement there,” Mr Peters said. “New Zealand remains deeply ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced details of a multimillion-dollar investment in Whangārei for infrastructure projects that will help it recover from the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 200 jobs are expected to be created through the $26 million investment from the Government’s rejuvenation package ...
Following a second incident in which a person escaped from a managed isolation facility, security is being enhanced, including more police presence onsite, Minister Megan Woods said. “The actions of some individuals who choose to break the very clear rules to stay within the facilities means that more resourcing is ...
Waste reduction and recycling programmes in Kaipara are set to get a boost with Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage today announcing a $361,447 grant from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF) Sustainable Kaipara. “The new funding will allow Sustainable Kaipara to partner with local schools, kura, community ...
The Government will support the Southland economy in the wake of multinational mining company Rio Tinto’s decision to follow through with its long signalled closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. “This day has unfortunately been on the cards for some time now, but nevertheless the final decision is a ...
New tools being developed to help boost Aotearoa’s Predator Free 2050 effort were unveiled today by Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau. A new rat poison, a camera with predator recognition software to detect and report predators, a new predator lure and a ...
The Coalition Government has approved the purchase of a fleet of Bushmaster vehicles to replace the New Zealand Army’s armoured Pinzgauers, Defence Minister Ron Mark has announced today. The new fleet of 43 Australian-designed and built Bushmaster NZ5.5 will provide better protection for personnel and improved carrying capacity. “The age ...
The Government’s three prevention frameworks to reduce family violence in Aotearoa were launched this week by Associate Minister for Social Development Poto Williams. The frameworks were developed in partnership with communities around New Zealand, and build on the work the Government has already begun with its new family violence prevention ...
The Government is pleased to confirm funding for improvements to radiology and surgical services at Hawke's Bay DHB, Health Minister Chris Hipkins says. "The Minister of Finance the Hon Grant Robertson and former Health Minister Dr David Clark approved funding for Hawke's Bay DHB’s redevelopment of their radiology facilities ...
• New funding for four beds at Napier’s Springhill Residential Addiction Centre • A new managed withdrawal home and community service, and peer support before and after residential care at Tairāwhiti DHB • A co-ordinated network of withdrawal management services throughout the South Island • Peer support in Rotorua and ...
Introduction, seafarers and POAL Good morning everyone, I am delighted to be online with you all today. Before I begin, I have to acknowledge that COVID-19 has disrupted the maritime sector on an unprecedented scale. The work of seafarers and the maritime industry is keeping many economies around the world ...
A $13 million investment from Government will create jobs and improve the resilience of the rail connection between Christchurch and the West Coast, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones and Regional Economic Development Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau say. The funding comes from the tagged contingency set aside in Budget 2020 for infrastructure projects ...
The Government is investing $761 million to assist local government upgrade under-pressure water services across the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The announcement was made at the site of the water bore that was found to be the source of the fatal ...
Recognised Seasonal Employers and migrant seasonal workers stranded in New Zealand will be able to continue working and supporting themselves with more flexible hours and roles, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. The time-limited visa changes are: Stranded RSE workers will be able to work part-time (a minimum of 15 hours ...
The Government is making immediate short-term changes to visa settings to support temporary migrants already onshore in New Zealand and their employers, while also ensuring New Zealanders needing work are prioritised, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. We are: Extending temporary work visas due to expire by the end of 2020 ...
Professor Peter Skelton CNZM has been appointed as Chief Freshwater Commissioner and Alternate Environment Court Judge Craig James Thompson as Deputy Chief Freshwater Commissioner for the newly established Freshwater Planning Process (FPP). Environment Minister David Parker today also announced the appointment of Chief Environment Court Judge Laurie Newhook as the ...
Auckland Queen’s Counsel Neil Campbell has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Campbell graduated with a BCom and LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland in 1992. He spent two years with Bell Gully Buddle Weir in Auckland before travelling to the United ...
The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal to better enable the development and operation of commercial film and video facilities in Christchurch. The Proposal, developed by Regenerate Christchurch in response to a request from Christchurch City Council, asks that powers under section ...
The Government has launched a bold plan to boost primary sector export earnings by $44 billion over the next decade, while protecting the environment and growing jobs. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today released Fit for a Better World – Accelerating our Economic Potential, a 10-year roadmap to unlock greater value ...
A new approach to prevent family harm that encourages greater collaboration across government and community groups is being celebrated at the opening of a new facility in Auckland. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today opened the Multi-Disciplinary Family Harm Prevention Hub Te Taanga Manawa in Lambie Road in Manukau. The facility ...
The Government has released a major new report on the options for relocating the Port of Auckland’s freight operations while deferring any decision on the issue. “That decision needs to be informed by policy analysis that is still to be completed. As a result it will be up to a ...
The history of Rāpaki is being restored through the inclusion of te reo in thirteen official place names on Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū / Banks Peninsula and around Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō, the Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage, announced today. “I am pleased to approve the proposals from Te Hapū o Ngāti ...
Bookings for seats on Air New Zealand flights into New Zealand will be managed in the short term to ensure the Government is able to safely place New Zealanders arriving home into a managed isolation or quarantine facility, says Housing Minister Megan Woods. “Last week Air Commodore Darryn Webb and I ...
Grant Robertson has today announced the first major release of funding from the $265 million Sport Recovery Package announced at Budget 2020. “Today we’re setting out how $80 million will be invested, with $54 million of that over the 2020/2021 financial year for organisations from community level through to elite ...
The Government is maintaining current levy rates for the next 2 years, as part of a set of changes to help ease the financial pressures of COVID-19 providing certainty for businesses and New Zealanders, ACC Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “New Zealanders and businesses are facing unprecedented financial pressures as a ...
Small businesses are getting greater certainty about access to finance with an extension to the interest-free cashflow loan scheme to the end of the year. The Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme has already been extended once, to 24 July. Revenue and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says it will be ...
A package of 23 projects across the country will clean up waterways and deliver over 2000 jobs Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Environment Minister David Parker announced today. The $162 million dollar package will see 22 water clean-up projects put forward by local councils receiving $62 million and the Kaipara ...
Tena koutou katoa Nga tangata whenua o tenei rohe o Pōneke, tena koutou Nau mai, haere mai ki te hui a tau mo te roopu reipa Ko tatou! Ko to tatou mana! Ko to tatou kaupapa kei te kokiri whakamua Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa Welcome. I ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $1.5 million to ensure QE Health in Rotorua can proceed with its world class health service and save 75 existing jobs, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development, Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. The PGF funding announced today is in addition to the $8 million ...
A new programme, which sets a firm course for the Building and Construction sector to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has been announced by the Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa. “A significant amount of New Zealand’s carbon emissions come from the building and construction sector. If we’re serious ...
Dunedin writer Victor Billot pens topical verse every Sunday. This week: disgraced MP Hamish Walker.Showing promise The MP for Clutha-Southland did, it is true, post on Facebook that he had been door knocking in Mataura when he hadn’t. He lied. The MP for Clutha-Southland did, it is ...
It’s one of the most commonly used weedkillers in the world, but pressure to phase out use of the herbicide glyphosate could force us to come up with alternatives quickly. Listen to the full episode of Two Cents Worth below. Subscribe to Two Cents' Worth for free on Apple ...
The Covid-19 crisis has exposed gaps in the funding of early education that we should be bold in responding to, writes Sue Cherrington of Victoria University of Wellington Early childhood education has been in the media a great deal over recent weeks, initially with positive but increasingly with negative news reports. ...
It’s an economic theory that advocates tout as a solution to governments’ debt crises, but critics warn is a recipe for hyperinflation. Either way, modern monetary theory is getting a lot more attention in the era of Covid-19.Two big economic ideas have captured the popular imagination during the Covid-19 pandemic: ...
For one hour a week the supermarket lights are dimmed and the music stops. And it’s a kind of triumph, writes Michelle Langstone.I thought there’d been a power cut. The lights were out at the entrance, so you arrived into a kind of gloom. There was no music, and no ...
It’s no secret that New Zealand’s Covid-19 response was one of the world’s most effective. But to get an idea of how eagerly parts of our economy have rebounded post lockdown, take a look at our electricity demand data.Despite an impending wave of unemployment and looming fiscal challenges down the ...
In the second in the Spnioff’s Last on the list series, Dave King explains what inspired him to stand for the Act Party in Manurewa. At 20th spot on the list, if David Seymour’s party can win around 16% of the party vote, King is parliament bound.It wasn’t that long ...
Basketball is growing massively in popularity around the country, led by thousands of youngsters picking up the game every day. To The Line looks at what it’s like for New Zealand high school kids with hoop dreams.If there’s been a narrative rumbling away in the sports pages, it’s that of ...
Unbelievable. A first-rank world leader picks a needless fight with blameless allies, thus imperiling their unity. But that’s General de Gaulle for you.Impressive work, even by his standards. In 1967, Canada was to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge (their Gallipoli – except that they ...
From RNZ Saturday Morning Described by a Guardian reviewer as “superb hate-reading”, writer and columnist Anand Giridharadas‘s latest book Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World investigates the hypocrisy of billionaire “do-gooders”. He questions how and why we have become reliant on the philanthropy of the super-rich ...
The Professional Hunting Guides Association is welcoming the High Court decision on DoC’s controversial tahr campaign. The High Court in Wellington was asked on Wednesday by the Tahr Foundation for a judicial review of DoC’s plan to kill thousands ...
With the 2020 general election nearly three months away, a new campaign is asking voters to vote in line with the future. Vote Climate 2020 aims to highlight the opportunity to build momentum behind climate change, ensuring climate justice is a key election ...
“ACT will target the gangs by hitting them where it hurts – their pockets,” according to ACT Leader David Seymour and Firearms Spokesperson Nicole McKee. “New Zealanders deserve to be safe and secure, but violent gangs are a scourge on our ...
Waffles don’t need to be sweet – these cheese and onion numbers make an excellent savoury breakfast with an egg, or an equally tasty dinner with leftover mince.It’s easy to default to sweet breakfasts without thinking. At least that’s the case in our household, as porridge or bircher muesli is ...
The government is revitalising the wool sector, splashing out on freshwater restoration projects, relieving student stress and showing kindness to Muslims by extending the border exception criteria. It is also increasing its support (in announcements from two separate Green Party Ministers) for women and for wildlife institutions. And it is ...
People have called it for it be pulled from the service, but the escapist fantasy of 365 Days is nothing new, writes Alie Benge.To every generation, a bullish alpha-male psychopath is born, and is for someone reason considered a romantic hero. We’ve been through a lot this year, and instead ...
As Aucklanders reluctantly adjust to the inconvenient practice of water conservation, a drought-savvy Northlander shares the tips and temperament needed to get through the dry times.Auckland’s water shortage was recently reported on The Project, and viewers were earnestly exhorted to fill their dishwashers completely before turning them on. My husband ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk A request by the Philippines’ biggest radio and TV network for a new franchise has been rejected by a congressional committee in a vote that will go down in history as a flagrant violation of the country’s constitution, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The Paris-based media ...
Hamish Walker's privacy leak debacle dominated the news this week, but it's not the first time a southern MP has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, writes Daisy Hudson. ...
Let’s not allow the focus on big-budget infrastructure projects to detract from the vital role public transport will play in revitalising our cities in a post-Covid world, says Greg Pollock.The recent match between the Blues and the Hurricanes was one of the world’s first major post-lockdown sporting fixtures. It was ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this ...
In the heart of Christchurch is a Designated Character high school. What makes it unique? And should there be more like it? Frank Film visits Hagley College Paddy Grant was a 27-year-old truck driver when he rocked up to Christchurch’s Hagley High School, as it was then known. It was ...
"After he calms down we share the pie and talk about how hard the years since the show have been for him": a short story by Wellington writer Jordan Hamel. Every morning it’s the same. Cling wrap on the toilet seat, a pop up snake in my can of breakfast ...
Childcare centre closures have left families and staff out in the cold. In some cases, they were given just three days’ notice, Laura Walters reports Staff and families of Auckland’s Discoveries Educare branches feel blindsided by the sudden closure of the early childhood education centres. The Ministry of Education has ...
Controversy and the America's Cup go hand-in-hand and the latest edition is no different with Emirates Team New Zealand at the centre of financial mismanagement allegations. Extra Time unpicks the debate and ponders what does the latest Cup drama mean? And should we care? A study has revealed racial bias ...
Over the decades, Mike Fox has witnessed the housing market progressively tilt towards larger, more expensive homes. Without a major overhaul of the current regulatory processes, he says, things will never change.It’s one of the biggest problems our country faces – we cannot produce the affordable housing that’s so desperately ...
So-called dirty deals have been roundly denounced over the years. Hayden Donnell argues that they need to be normalised, and even embraced, in September’s election.Just before the 2011 general election, Patrick Gower was confronted with a political act so stomach-churning, it forced him to abandon his trademark reserve. John Key ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics, University of South Australia Victoria has recorded 288 new COVID-19 cases since yesterday, the largest daily increase we’ve seen so far. This big jump must have the Victorian government and health authorities very concerned, especially since nearly ...
The controversial 101 East episode Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown on 3 July 2020. Video: Al JazeeraPacific Media Watch Newsdesk Malaysian police summoned six Al Jazeera media workers today for questioning relating to an investigation for defamation and violation of Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA), reports IFJ Asia-Pacific. ...
Analysis - A National MP destroys his career, the government explains how someone with Covid-19 could walk around a supermarket and the closure of Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is announced. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Abrar Ahmad Chughtai, Epidemiologist, UNSW Australia’s chief medical officer Paul Kelly today recommended people in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire wear masks when leaving the house: […] If people have symptoms and they need to go for a test, for example, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rochelle Wynne, Director, Western Sydney Nursing & Midwifery Research Centre, Western Sydney University Over the past week, we’ve seen a spike in the number of COVID-19 infections among health-care workers in Victoria. This includes a doctor at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, one ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Paddy Nixon and Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics including the return to lockdown in Victoria, National Cabinet setting to slow the flow of Australian’s ...
We prefer our heroes untarnished. And few match the heroism of Winston Churchill. But a recent report in the Times reminds us of the inevitability of human frailty and the consequences of keeping it under wraps.During the second world war, Britain’s greatest single loss of life at sea was the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ou Yang, Research Fellow, University of Melbourne Donald Trump has ordered US federal agencies to bypass environmental protection laws and fast-track pipeline, highway and other infrastructure projects. Signing the executive order last month, the US president declared regulatory delays would hinder “our ...
SAFE CEO Debra Ashton says "The NZDIA has done the right thing, and we’re glad to see Bertram has been held to account over his actions. He should take this as an opportunity to right his wrongs and show that he takes animal welfare seriously." ...
Takuta Ferris, Te Tai Tonga candidate for the Māori Party, is urging government to place whānau first in the wake of announcements around Tiwai Point. “The declaration that one of the region's major employers the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is closing ...
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we’re joined by The Spinoff’s managing editor, mall rat and self-confessed food philistine Duncan Greive.On this month’s Dietary Requirements, the gang’s back in the studio, and ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Chart 1: United States and Australia rising. Chart by Keith Rankin. These charts look at Covid19 incidence in China (the most important first-wave country, with a limited second wave), Italy (the lead second-wave country), and USA and Australia (second-wave countries – drawing their caseload from Europe ...
The Government must listen to the Muslim community to rectify its failure to act in the past, says the Human Rights Commission. The Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand (IWCNZ) submission to the Royal Commission of Inquiry was released this week. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, President, Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics. Senior Research Fellow, Moral philosophy, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Law Futures Centre., Griffith University Earlier this week, 150 high-profile authors, commentators and scholars signed an open letter in Harper’s magazine ...
You can’t keep a good woman down and Helen Clark is no exception. Her new appointment, as co-chair of a review of how the World Health Organisation handled the coronavirus pandemic, will test her formidable political skills. Sitting with her is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Liberian president, who handled the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Connor, Lecturer, James Cook University While many people may enjoy a game of backyard cricket, only a few go on to become elite professional batsmen in Australia. Cricket batting is example of what human skills can achieve. The fastest bowling delivery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee Baumgartner, Professor of Fisheries and River Management, Institute for Land, Water, and Society, Charles Sturt University This article is a preview of Flora, Fauna, Fire, a multimedia project launching on Monday July 13. The project tracks the recovery of Australia’s native ...
CEAC review of pre-election National’s “outline plan” just sent to us by Todd Muller 9/7/20 was actually his speech about his plan and was described as ‘an outline’. So in our review of National Party response to A Greener, Smarter Future; climate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Podger, Honorary Professor of Public Policy, Australian National University In Hidden Hand, China scholars Clive Hamilton and Marieke Ohlberg examine the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in Europe and North America in a similar way to how Hamilton dissected the CCP’s influence ...
“I can see why people are fed up, many are wondering how to clothe and feed their kids, or how they are going to pay their rent next week and still others are wondering what has happened to our beautiful Kiwi Way of Life. Well no party in parliament ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk Sixty press freedom groups and civil society organisations, journalism institutions, filmmakers, and other supporters have formed a coalition in support of Maria Ressa and independent media in the Philippines, united around the call to #HoldTheLine. Today the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Center for ...
National MP Michael Woodhouse also received Covid-19 patient emails from Michelle Boag, and deleted them when he realised she was implicated in a separate email scandal. National Party leader Todd Muller says no further MPs in his party received confidential information from Michelle Boag, after revelations today that Michael Woodhouse also ...
The government is extending border exceptions to allow overseas victims of the Christchurch mosque attacks and their support people to attend the shooter's sentencing. ...
Ever wanted to be Iron Man? Sam Brooks prefers Pepper Potts, but he had a great time stepping into the iron suit anyway.The first few moments of Iron Man VR are where it plays its hand, confidently and assuredly. You hold your palms out in front of you, and Iron ...
SAP has released to the public a policy paper, “Helping Kiwis get back to work: How data and technology can drive a bigger, better, faster economic recovery.” ...
A new poem by Jordan Hamel.Mermaids When you lose grip and start to drift.The first thing you’re supposed to do issteer into it or steer away? Not all mermaids are royaltysomeone needs to audit the oceanprovide cashflow projectionssome mermaids are actuallymiddle-aged accountants named Stephendreaming of a land-view holiday home. I saw a ...
Want to work for The Spinoff? We’re looking for someone to fill an exciting new role based in our Auckland office. We’re looking for a video and podcast content manager: an experienced writer or sub-editor with a strong understanding of social media to manage our video and podcast content across various channels. ...
National Party leader Todd Muller says no further MPs in his party received confidential information from Michelle Boag, after revelations today that Michael Woodhouse also received four unsolicited emails. ...
By RNZ News Opposition National list MP Dr Jian Yang has announced his retirement from New Zealand politics and says he will not stand in the 2020 general election after three terms in the party caucus. He said politics was “demanding” and he wanted to spend more time with his ...
Bayer-Monsanto's June 24 announcement of a US$10.9 billion pay out (1) to people who have been harmed by Glyphosate, is effectively an admission of guilt. Spokesperson for The People’s Inquiry 2020 Asha Andersen says, “The Ministry of Health, The ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has filed a complaint with the Electoral Commission and the Parliamentary Speaker’s Office over Lawrence Yule’s new taxpayer funded billboards promoting Mr Yule as the ‘Voice in Tukituki’. Union spokesman, Louis Houlbrooke ...
Ten points, two plans. Which points are whose? With an election within spitting distance, Aotearoa’s two biggest political parties are all about the plans. “You don’t have a plan!” says one party to the other. “Yes we have a plan, or certainly a plan to have a plan, or a plan ...
Four months after he announced his re-selection, a National Party MP whose links to Chinese spy agencies attracted the interest of New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service has announced he will not stand in the next election A three-term National Party MP who studied at an elite Chinese spy school before moving to ...
National list MP Dr Jian Yang announced his retirement from politics and said he would not stand in the 2020 general election after three terms in the party caucus. ...
A new political party, the New Zealand TEA Party, with headquarters in Auckland, has been established. The party aims to contest the queen- or kingmaker position to form a coalition with the largest parliamentary party as part of the general elections ...
A review has determined fish oils are non-hazardous and no longer require oversight by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). We regulate pesticides, household chemicals and other dangerous goods and substances under the Hazardous Substances ...
New Conservative calls on the government to join with our Five Eyes allies and add New Zealand's signature to a joint statement condemning the continued removal of freedoms in Hong Kong. New Conservative also calls on the government to give safe-haven ...
Latest from the Beehive – Hard on the heels of the government promising help for the Southland economy in the wake of Rio Tinto’s decision to close the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, it was announcing the delivery of more money to the North, at the other end of the country. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luciano Beheregaray, Professor in Biodiversity Genomics, Flinders University As the global climate shifts, it’s important to know which species have adaptations to survive. Our research published today in PNAS found it largely depends on where they evolved. We looked at the capacity ...
From eggplant emojis and twerking llamas to sweaty anthropomorphic butts, we present some of the most fascinating, hilarious and outrageous complaints dismissed by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) from 2019 to now.Avocadon’t (January 2019)The ad: In this ad from Specsavers, a man gets ready to join a cricket match, but ...
They might sound like the same thing, but light rail is quite different from light metro – the system that transport minister Phil Twyford now favours for Auckland. Katy Wakefield and Jessica Rose of Women in Urbanism explain why the metro option is a poor substitute for LRT. Transport is ...
Open mike 23/10/2014 
Open mike is your post.
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 5 through Sat, July 11, 2020 Editor's Choice Think Covid-19 Disrupted the Food Chain? Wait and See What Climate Change Will Do The pandemic has revealed deep flaws in the ...1 hour ago
The Council of Disobedient Women There is a regular segment in the Speak Up For Women podcasts called “Absolutely Blasted Mad Moment of the Week”. Each podcast the speaker and the host discuss a recent event that is the most insane thing they have seen in the gender critical space ...16 hours ago
Todd Muller - Dishonest National Party leaderIt seems that dishonest Todd Muller is, like many right-wing politicians, entirely morally bankrupt. I mean just look at the National Party’s leaking omni-shambles over the last week or so. They’ve imploded in a spectacular display of backfiring dirty politics, the likes of which ...21 hours ago
TUESDAY JULY 14Yorkshire Airport (Prime, 7.30pm). Bloomin’ ’eck, behind the scenes at Leeds Bradford Airport. Apparently, there is plenty of “northern charm”, although reaction in the UK ranged from “brilliant” to “patronising”. It is narrated by Hugh Dennis, whose middle name might be “Arch”.WEDNESDAY JULY 15Queen: Live at Wembley (Prime, ...22 hours ago
Simon Bridges must be the unluckiest person in New Zealand politics. When he was elected as leader of the National party, he also became Leader of the Opposition – a position, he was entitled to assume, that would require him to “oppose”. But the government he set out to oppose ...23 hours ago
Check out Speak Up For Women’s new podcasts: Episode 3 In this episode Speak Up For Women spokeswoman Ani O’Brien (@aniobrien) is joined by Beth Johnson (@beth_nosnhoj) to discuss the proposal from Statistics NZ to change standard data collection policy to “gender by default” rather than sex. They discuss why the ...2 days ago
During a recent public consultation on the future of Archives New Zealand, a key report was suppressed. The Ombudsman has ruled that the refusal was unjustified. Sadly, the consultation was over by the time of the the decision has been made. However, the law on the use of the ...2 days ago
Everyone is paying attention today to the Supreme Court ruling that the President is not above the law and that Trump's tax returns can be given to a New York grand jury investigating him. But the Supreme Court decided another, far more important case yesterday, and effectively restored Native American ...2 days ago
Transcript: National Party policy announcement on roads – 8 July, 2020 Muller: Good afternoon everybody. Thank you for coming. Reporter 1: Is Hamish Walker a racist? Muller: Hang on… you haven’t even said good afternoon to me yet. Reporter 1: Good afternoon Mr Muller. Is Hamish Walker a racist? ...2 days ago
Today’s content Tiwai Point to close Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Government subsidising practically everything plays hardball with Rio Tinto (paywalled) Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Sudden closure of aluminium smelter worst outcome for jobs, consumers and the environment Brian Fallow (Herald): Tiwai closure sad news – and an opportunity for the environment (paywalled) Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Rio ...2 days ago
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Anja Mizdrak, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael Baker The pandemic-related lockdown is possibly the most dramatic public health intervention in NZ history. It helped achieve the elimination of community transmission of the COVID-19 virus in NZ. But it was also associated with 548 fewer total ...2 days ago
Reprehensible: There is much that could be said about Michael Woodhouse, but what would be the point? Any man who willingly involves himself in a situation as reprehensible as the one depicted in the above photograph has already vouchsafed all that decent people need to know about his character. That there have ...2 days ago
Some are surprised at this sudden brain implosion on the part of both Michelle Boag, former National Party President, and the National Party in general, in exposing the private, confidential details of COVID patients. Others…? Let’s be blunt: not so much. Too many of that Party have long operated with ...4 days ago
...6 days ago
Unfortunately, due to a medical emergency, I have landed in hospital so am not able to do a current update on the NZ blog statistics. Let’s hope I can get back to this in good time. ...1 week ago
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industry New Zealand First is supporting calls by hunters and the New Zealand Tahr Foundation (NZTF) to halt a large scale cull of Himalayan Tahr by the Department of Conservation in National Parks. The calls are supported by a 40,000 strong petition and the ...5 days ago
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...7 days ago
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...1 week ago
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio is pleased to announce the inaugural launch of Kiribati Language Week as part of the 2020 Pacific language Weeks programme. “I am so pleased that this year we are able to provide resourcing support to the Kiribati community in Aotearoa which will ...22 hours ago
Dunedin writer Victor Billot pens topical verse every Sunday. This week: disgraced MP Hamish Walker. Showing promise The MP for Clutha-Southland did, it is true, post on Facebook that he had been door knocking in Mataura when he hadn’t. He lied. The MP for Clutha-Southland did, it is ...3 hours ago
It’s one of the most commonly used weedkillers in the world, but pressure to phase out use of the herbicide glyphosate could force us to come up with alternatives quickly. Listen to the full episode of Two Cents Worth below. Subscribe to Two Cents' Worth for free on Apple ...4 hours ago
The Covid-19 crisis has exposed gaps in the funding of early education that we should be bold in responding to, writes Sue Cherrington of Victoria University of Wellington Early childhood education has been in the media a great deal over recent weeks, initially with positive but increasingly with negative news reports. ...4 hours ago
It’s an economic theory that advocates tout as a solution to governments’ debt crises, but critics warn is a recipe for hyperinflation. Either way, modern monetary theory is getting a lot more attention in the era of Covid-19.Two big economic ideas have captured the popular imagination during the Covid-19 pandemic: ...4 hours ago
Unbelievable. A first-rank world leader picks a needless fight with blameless allies, thus imperiling their unity. But that’s General de Gaulle for you. Impressive work, even by his standards. In 1967, Canada was to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge (their Gallipoli – except that they ...11 hours ago
The Professional Hunting Guides Association is welcoming the High Court decision on DoC’s controversial tahr campaign. The High Court in Wellington was asked on Wednesday by the Tahr Foundation for a judicial review of DoC’s plan to kill thousands ...17 hours ago
The government is revitalising the wool sector, splashing out on freshwater restoration projects, relieving student stress and showing kindness to Muslims by extending the border exception criteria. It is also increasing its support (in announcements from two separate Green Party Ministers) for women and for wildlife institutions. And it is ...20 hours ago
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk A request by the Philippines’ biggest radio and TV network for a new franchise has been rejected by a congressional committee in a vote that will go down in history as a flagrant violation of the country’s constitution, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The Paris-based media ...22 hours ago
Hamish Walker's privacy leak debacle dominated the news this week, but it's not the first time a southern MP has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, writes Daisy Hudson. ...23 hours ago
In the heart of Christchurch is a Designated Character high school. What makes it unique? And should there be more like it? Frank Film visits Hagley College Paddy Grant was a 27-year-old truck driver when he rocked up to Christchurch’s Hagley High School, as it was then known. It was ...1 day ago
"After he calms down we share the pie and talk about how hard the years since the show have been for him": a short story by Wellington writer Jordan Hamel. Every morning it’s the same. Cling wrap on the toilet seat, a pop up snake in my can of breakfast ...1 day ago
Childcare centre closures have left families and staff out in the cold. In some cases, they were given just three days’ notice, Laura Walters reports Staff and families of Auckland’s Discoveries Educare branches feel blindsided by the sudden closure of the early childhood education centres. The Ministry of Education has ...1 day ago
Controversy and the America's Cup go hand-in-hand and the latest edition is no different with Emirates Team New Zealand at the centre of financial mismanagement allegations. Extra Time unpicks the debate and ponders what does the latest Cup drama mean? And should we care? A study has revealed racial bias ...1 day ago
You can’t keep a good woman down and Helen Clark is no exception. Her new appointment, as co-chair of a review of how the World Health Organisation handled the coronavirus pandemic, will test her formidable political skills. Sitting with her is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Liberian president, who handled the ...2 days ago
National MP Michael Woodhouse also received Covid-19 patient emails from Michelle Boag, and deleted them when he realised she was implicated in a separate email scandal. National Party leader Todd Muller says no further MPs in his party received confidential information from Michelle Boag, after revelations today that Michael Woodhouse also ...2 days ago
Alan Brent looks at how NZ's solar resources can be used more effectively to address energy demand in our transitioning economy. ...2 days ago
Four months after he announced his re-selection, a National Party MP whose links to Chinese spy agencies attracted the interest of New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service has announced he will not stand in the next election A three-term National Party MP who studied at an elite Chinese spy school before moving to ...2 days ago
Employment laws. No breaks entitlement.
Considering quitting my job as a form of protest.
Had enough of this shit.
Yep good.
Businesses paying minimum wage which are not prepared a man a decent days pay for a decent days work, are now going to strip the workers of tea breaks etc?
Bugger them and everyone who supports them.
More people should give up on employers and go on the friggin’ dole. Employers like this deserve shit all.
My suggestion is that they get together with their workmates and start a cooperative. The boss goes bankrupt and they’re still employed.
Unfortunately, the high unemployment that National is maintaining, would work against them.
join their union
we don’t call them ‘unions’ any more..we call them ‘associations’..
..(‘union’ is like a scary-word..like ‘ebola’…and ‘bennett’..)
..and the workers flag is no longer ‘deepest-red’..
..it is a washed-out pink..(some say it is a pale-blue..)
..and the labour party is now called ‘the refresh party’..
..and it comes with built-in bubbles..
..do try to keep up..!
lol, sounds quite pleasant now..
Nah lets frighten the bosses there phillip, call them syndicalist associations.
or maybe just ‘the syndicate’..?
(..’y’see..!..this is how me and the boys down at ‘the syndicate’ sees it..
..teabreaks..?..yeah..!..eh..?..and we don’t want no trouble..but..!’..)
..and ‘the labour party’..
..could change to ‘the enforcers’..
..vote for ‘the enforcers’…!..they’ll make it happen..!
..(that’s better than ‘vote positive’..
..and who the fuck will own up to that one..?
..that ‘vote positive’ dog..?
..whose brainfart-idea was it..?
..we demand public-flagellation..!
public-flagellation..! Your problem Philip, is your to damn soft.
Public-Flagellation followed by Crucifixion only way to teach these slackers the meaning of winning.
Or take a leaf from the great propagandists of our time (the Koch brothers), rename the union subs “rates” and call them “Ratepayers Associations” – and confuse the hell out of everyone.
Tracy Join their union-yes-yes That seriously is what is needed.
Disregard the smart (dumb)-arse rhetoric of others trying to be clever.
Here’s how you do it: start your own business, compete against the former employer you hate, do better.
While they have already established infrastructure and employ people under more profitable conditions. Thus winning the race to the bottom.
Herald’s headlines continue to beat up ‘terror.’
To set up New Zealanders to accept new draconian spying and ‘terror’ laws for their master Key.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11346883
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11342460
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
Benjamin Franklin
Brian Rudman writes well on the subject.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11342354
as does Gwynne Dyer…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-chronicle/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503423&objectid=11339588
the thing is that keys excuse for lying to the voters is that things are evolving quickly.
NOTHING has escalated post election to suggest things are worse today than sept 19.
Nothing has changed to say that things are worse today than they were 18 months ago.
Funny that implementing measures directed against their own citizens appears to be the main mode of dealing with this “terrorism” BS. You might almost think there was another actual agenda going on.
well put
It’s worrying that this govt are so keen to lock doors across the country based on the actions of solitary nutters or dicks on the other side of the planet.
That’s just the excuse. IMO, why they’re doing it is another reason entirely and I don’t think the majority of people would like it if they knew.
Why is Canada so shocked that people want to attack its soldiers?
And how the word "terrorism" is now a propaganda term for anything the state doesn't like – and for justifying anything under the sun the state decides to do.
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/22/canada-proclaiming-war-12-years-shocked-someone-attacked-soldiers/
(in a world bereft of heroes..this guy is one of mine..)
“..Meet the Researcher Who Thinks Cancer Can be Prevented – Even Reversed – Through Diet..” (ed:..disclaimer:..this man is a personal hero of mine..)
..The professor emeritus in nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University said research has proven that consumption of animal products –
– including meat – fish – and dairy –
– triggers chronic diseases and impaired health –
– and poses a greater risk than heredity or environment.
He has linked casein – a protein in milk – with breast cancer.
His lifelong professional focus has been cancer and nutrition –
– and Campbell says that our national and global fight with cancer has targeted the wrong enemy.
Though he is scholarly and genteel – Campbell is not reserved.
He’s impatient and blunt..”
(cont..)
(ed:..that is one of the most compelling arguments to stop consuming animals..and their bye-products..
..the overall better health that vegans seem to enjoy..) (cont..)
http://whoar.co.nz/2014/meet-the-researcher-who-thinks-cancer-can-be-prevented-even-reversed-through-diet-ed-disclaimer-this-man-is-a-personal-hero-of-mine/
Sounds like an idiot following an idiot.
http://www.alternet.org/food/meet-researcher-who-thinks-cancer-can-be-prevented-even-reversed-through-diet
Quite agree with you Phil, Prof Colin Campbell is a well respected scientist. The film Forks over Knives is available from your library and when it was shown at cinemas around the world was responsible for many people changing to a plant based diet.
He, along with other top researchers who advocate a plant based diet should be listened to.
Reverse cancer by diet is like reverse cancer by prayers.
Sad.
“The researchers say: ‘Our study has shown that Austrian adults who consume a vegetarian diet are less healthy (in terms of cancer, allergies, and mental health disorders), have a lower quality of life, and also require more medical treatment.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2596012/Vegetarians-healthy-poorer-quality-life-meat-eaters.html
Vegetarians are ‘less healthy’ and have a poorer quality of life than meat-eaters
Vegetarians visit their doctors more often and are more prone to allergies
They also have ‘a 50% increased risk of both heart attacks and cancer’
They are also more likely to develop depression and anxiety disorders
But vegetarians tend to be more active and less likely to drink and smoke
‘daily mail’ as source..?
..pandering to their meat-advertisers..?
..hilarious..!
..why not ‘the beano’..?
..and there is also fox news as a fall-back..
..run..!..run young allen..!..run like the wind..!
..run to the fox news website..and key in anti-vegetarian/vegan..
..i am sure the results will be bountiful…
Discounting the science and research because of the delivery man? That’s as sad as claiming diet reverses cancer.
Perhaps some vegan mouthpiece is more ‘reliable’ lol
How about http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2014/04/01/study-vegetarians-less-healthy-lower-quality-of-life-than-meat-eaters/
from yr source/’evidence’..(from cbs..atlanta..written by some hack..)
“..However, the researchers do caution that continuing studies will be needed to substantiate some of the rather broad dietary distinctions, associations presented in this current research…”
..’rather broad’ being the key words..you’d think..?
(and..)
“..The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that healthy diets rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases for all dietary groups..”
did you even read it..?..bonehead..?
“from yr source/’evidence’….’rather broad’ being the key words..you’d think..?”
And praising a nut jobs claim that not eating meat reverses cancer is > than scientific research.
“did you even read it..?..bonehead..?”
Especially the table with cancer rates much higher for veggies than meat eaters.
http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0088278&representation=PDF
i shd also have noted earlier..
..i consider the vegetarian diet to be only incrementally better (healthwise..) than being a carnivore..
..(especially as so many vegetarians treat dairy as a meat-substitute..
..and so often end up consuming more dairy than carnivores do..)
..and it is not ‘my’ evidence/opinion..
..it is the work of campbell that is being highlighted here..
..i also have collected a serious wedge of ‘evidence’ over the years..
..everything from nutritional info..to gourmet vegan recipies..
..and much more..
http://whoar.co.nz/category/vegan-stuff/
fill yer boots..!
..i’ll see yr ‘daily mail’..and i’ll raise ya…
Not my daily mail and the data isn’t theirs from a hack journo.
Just read the pdf, veggie.
It’s no surprise you don’t agree with the findings as they completely rubbish the ‘reverse cancer’ crap from your personal hero.
I advise you to collect all the ‘supporting’ data you can, even from saddos like above and base your opinion on that. That won’t be one eyed and disingenuous at all.
whoare lol
i’ll take that as yr retreat..
..and chrs 4 yr role as foil..eh..?
..you fufilled it well..
..you..with yr ‘daily mail’-prop..heh..!
That’s just another example of where you get it wrong by jumping to the wrong conclusion.
To surmise
http://www.christianpost.com/news/i-believed-god-would-heal-me-and-he-did-says-man-cured-of-inoperable-cancer-video-103568/
http://thecancercureexperiment.com/how-to-pray-to-be-healed-of-cancer/
https://www.cai.org/testimonies/healed-cancer-through-power-jesus
http://www.alternet.org/food/meet-researcher-who-thinks-cancer-can-be-prevented-even-reversed-through-diet
Vegetarians also eat a lot of dairy which is the point that Prof Campbell makes.
A vegan diet has been shown to improve health in many people. There have been many long term studies on this, the SDA church have carried out many such studies all of which were favourable to a vegan diet.
The diet also gives a 100% guarantee that you are personally doing your bit to prevent animal cruelty.
I can’t see that people with a vegan diet have superior outcomes to people with a vegeterian diet. With the proviso that high levels of dairy intake is dangerous to human health.
aside from the cancer/casein-link campbell claims to have proven..?
..and of course there are also the twin-facts that we in nz have world-beating rates of consumption of dairy/cow-bye-products..
..(i think only iceland beats us..)
..and we also have world-beating rates of those cancers increasingly linked to the flesh/fat/bye-products diet..
..(especially breast cancer..)
..so make of that what you will..
..but if i were a woman with a family history of breast cancer..
..i’d be vegan..toot suite..!..
..why wouldn’t ya..?
http://www.thestar.com/life/2008/01/04/top_10_false_health_scares.html
“Red meat and processed meat often have a high fat content, so if you eat them too often you could get fat – which has been shown to be a risk factor for several cancers, including breast cancer and colorectal cancer. A more accurate report would focus on how obesity as a whole can increase risk for cancer.”
‘the star’…some hack-piece from 2007..?
..really current/cutting-edge evidence you are proffering here..eh..?
..having difficulties finding any..?
..you’re funny..!
In response to your unbalanced account I googled ‘false health scares’ and it was top link.
Again, you seem to attack the messenger and not the message, so in response I’ll repeat in case it hasn’t sunk in yet.
“Red meat and processed meat often have a high fat content, so if you eat them too often you could get fat – which has been shown to be a risk factor for several cancers, including breast cancer and colorectal cancer. A more accurate report would focus on how obesity as a whole can increase risk for cancer.”
There’s also, from 2012 http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/health-scares-ignore/story?id=16712712
Including the classics ‘Nitrites in Cured Meats Cause Cancer’ and ‘Mercury in Fish is Dangerous’
have crap ‘evidence’..just repeat it..that’ll work..!
..heh..!..yr still being funny..!
That’s laughable from a man who claims as his hero an old fuck who thinks not eating meat can reverse cancer as his proof and evidence.
You are quite within your rights to refute the facts, but you are so out on the extremist edge, your conclusions, skewered and slanted as they are, aren’t worth the price of the electrons they’re printed on.
‘old fuck’..?
..ok..time to close this one down..methinks..
..consider it done..
“‘old fuck’..?”
The old fuck charlatan who claims cancer can be reversed by not eating meat. You know, you linked a story about him. Short term memory loss?
“..ok..time to close this one down..methinks..”
True to form. The last bastion of the vanquished.
Off you go, and don’t forget to take your ball when you run home crying 😉
hmm..!.. The professor emeritus in nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University..(who you know as ‘old fuck’..)
..(an obvious charlatan..!..)
..vs. anonymous table-leg chewing standard-commenter/nutbar..
..(an obvious authority..!..)
..who to believe..?
..i’m torn here..!
“table-leg chewing standard-commenter/nutbar..”
To be fair that sounds more like a description of yourself, but whatever works for you.
Has to be remembered though, I haven’t ever claimed or advocated one can reverse cancer by abstaining from eating meat. That would be nuts.
“..(an obvious authority..!..)”
Yes it’s true. I can suss out a vested interest nutjob easy as.
“..who to believe..?”
I’m guessing you’ll go with the old fuck charlatan claiming he can reverse cancer by not eating meat.
Devoted aint you?
“..who to believe..?”
Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemiology, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria
Table 3 Page 4
http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0088278&representation=PDF
why do u insist on presenting vegetarian-‘evidence’/arguments..
..(however dubious..)
..in a vegan-argument..?
..was that all u cd find..?
..and austria..?
..they mainline beef-fat there…
..(and u do know i am not paying foil-overtime-rates..eh..?
..this is all on yr own time..)
Leaving the racism aside, If you have exact data scientifically on par with the Austrian study that makes your point, show it.
“..(and u do know i am not paying foil-overtime-rates..eh..?..this is all on yr own time..)”
I did note note the much higher levels of mental health issues affecting non meat eaters.
With smoking pot, that’s an enormous risk. Better have a double whopper with cheese and hope for the best.
being ‘racist’ against austrians..?
..that is both funny – and ironic beyond words..
..in its’ own unique way..
..heh..!
..u r getting quite good at that clown-role..eh..?
False mass generalisation about a group of people based on their nationality. Sounds racist to me.
The extras like clown role, and being funny mean nothing to me.
I know why you do it, it’s predictable and ultimately it won’t work.
It weakens your paper thin argument even more.
well the thing is..
..u do talk so much shit…eh..?
.and u clearly aren’t very bright with it..
..so the occurances of involuntary-humour on yr part..
..are often and regular..(c.f..’racism’/austrians’..heh..!..)
..hence yr earning of the ‘clown’-moniker..
..it’s all yr own work..eh..?
“The diet also gives a 100% guarantee that you are personally doing your bit to prevent animal cruelty.”
That doesn’t bother me at all in regards to food.
it does ‘bother’ others..
And?
you really need that explained..?
Nope. You think it’s animal cruelty to practice animal husbandry full stop, how are you going to be impartial and differentiate about what constitutes cruelty and best practice?
You can’t. True?
industry ‘best practice’ = sow-crates..
“industry ‘best practice’ = sow-crates..”
See, told ya you couldn’t do it. 😉
industry ‘best-practice’ = the macerator…
You still haven’t got your head around it then.
How are you going to be impartial and differentiate about what constitutes cruelty and best practice?
Clue – You can’t.
if ‘best-practice’ = cruelty..
..that makes ‘best practice’ an oxymoron…
So you can’t have a rational informed opinion on what constitutes animal cruelty.
No worries.
um..!..pain/suffering/killing = ‘cruelty’..
..what can’t u understand about that..?
..u can call it ‘best practice’..u can call it what u like..
..that doesn’t alter what it is..
Best practice isn’t pain and suffering or cruelty. Best practice keeps animals well fed and cared for until slaughtered.
The killing isn’t cruelty. It’s the end of the line and avoids us eating our meat while it’s alive, which I agree would be…Unlike animals like lions and tigers who gnaw down on wriggling prey. Buggers.
So not altering ‘what it is’ depends on whether ‘what it is’ is a bad thing or not.
Your extreme position precludes you from holding a common sense baseline position on the subject. What do you not understand about that? lol
if ‘commonsense’ = animals suffering/being killed..
..u r correct ..i am unable to take such a ‘commonsense’-view..
..anything else..?
Exactly, your extremist views prevent you from debating the issue in good faith.
“..anything else..?”
Blame the green party for something, just for old times sake 😉
.
@ The Al1en
Thank you for taking the time with this conversation debunking all theories on the relationship between diet and cancer that there is no evidence for.
Until there is evidence, they are all possible topics for worthy research (noting many theories based on anecdotal evidence have already been researched many times). Science (as compared to religion) never claims the absolute answer on anything.
There does appear to be some links between diet and cancer, and they add weight to similar advice for overcoming obesity: Moderation of every major food group; Maintain a healthy weight; Keep fit.
I will not criticise the actions of the terminally ill. Depending on how much individuals have prospered from trading in money, or investing in lotto, they may gain some temporary mental relief by throwing some of that excess wealth at an abundance of medical and religious charlatans. (An alternative approach may be to throw the same amount of money at medical research, that may benefit future generations … or other worthy causes such as improvements in animal husbandry?)
Mr. Botany (B.)
i do ‘blame the green party’ for having idjits such as yrslf in their ranks..
Another urinalism. I’m not a member of any political party and in no way consider myself to be in anyone’s ‘rank’.
Swing and a miss.
@ bold brian..
so..the fevered imaginings of the allen..+ the daily mail..+ an article in the star..from 2007..
..vs..The professor emeritus in nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University..
= a ‘debunking’ in yr dictionary..eh..?
..i think it is more a case of what u want to believe/deny..eh..?
“There does appear to be some links between diet and cancer”
There sure is, and meat, like other food groups, should be taken in moderation.
“they may gain some temporary mental relief by throwing some of that excess wealth at an abundance of medical and religious charlatans. An alternative approach may be to throw the same amount of money at medical research, that may benefit future generations”
Let’s have them throwing dollars at getting well nourished kids in warm homes with a future to look forward to first.
Future generations would benefit from that right now.
“so..the fevered imaginings of the allen..+ the daily mail..+ an article in the star..from 2007..”
Or, and much less partisan and disingenuous
Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemiology, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria
V
The professor emeritus in nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University..
“..i think it is more a case of what u want to believe/deny..eh..?”
That, my friend, is the irony moneyshot.
Want a tissue? lol
do you have a brain big enough to remember that when the first cancer warnings about tobacco were issued to a (mainly smoking) world..
..that the howls of derision then were similar to yrs now..
(..there are always the pig-ignorant to have to deal with..
..some are just noisier than others..)
I think we’ve had our fair share of screen space with this one, save to say it’s nothing like tobacco and cancer warnings being laughed away by big money.
People have been eating meat since after adam ate all the apple pies and looked how marvellously resilient and adaptable a species we have become. Billions of meat eaters with a shared ancestry and an impressive increasing life expectancy say it aint so.
What we’re eating along with our recommended meat allowances, processed, refined, chemical sprayed, irradiated, added to and de-nutrionalised as it often is, is where I’d start looking for carcinogens and cancer causers in food with suspicious intent. But that’s an uneducated opinion I haven’t googled so I could be way off like you.
Have read similar elsewhere pu. Makes entire sense and we may well all wake up to it one day, like we have after being told thalidomide was safe.
One day in the future people will look back on us in the same way we look back at early surgeries and hospitals and shake our heads at the fuss that was raised when washing of hands was put in place in such institutions…. duh
i just go on the evidence before my eyes..
..in that i know people who have been vegans for over 30 yrs..
..and they all seem to enjoy rude good-health..
..especially when compared with their animal-eating age-contemporaries..
..the differences are stark..
..(i’m just a newcomer..only been vegan for about 15 yrs..)
..(and..heh..!..local media is featuring the person who just won a national body-building title..
..he’s a vegan..go figure..!..eh.?..)
Never mind the statistics and science don’t back up your evangelist agenda.
Mr Al1en, that same line was told to us about;
245t
1080
cigarettes
margarine
sugar
atom bombs
formaldehyde
thalidomide
asbestos
they all had science in support. At the time.
panadol
mobile phone radiation
common food colourings
Well then, you’ll be easily able to point out where science is wrong now, won’t you?
what ‘science’ is that draco..
..aside from atkins nut-jobs..you’ll find no ‘science’ saying ‘eat-more-animals!”..will ya..?
..in fact most ‘science’ advises at best small amounts of red meat..a couple of times a week..
..’science’ most kiwis laugh in the face of..
..as they wolf down that weekly recommendation..
..most breakfasts..
..there is no ‘science’ making yr case..
..none to ‘prove wrong’..
..(and you left the ‘sniff!’ of disdain out of yr comment..
..where wd u like me to insert it..?..
..after the ‘then’..the ‘now’..or at the very end..?..after the ‘you’..?
..and u cd have multiple-‘sniffs’..if you so choose..
..it cd carry them..)
“most ‘science’ advises at best small amounts of red meet..a couple of times a week..”
You would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for those pesky scientists
Thanks for confirming that you can do no such thing.
here ya go..draco..
http://whoar.co.nz/category/vegan-stuff/
..more than u can poke a stick at..
Elephant hurling does not an argument make
So why are the police so obsessed about it?
operation 8 and all that..
“you’ll be easily able to point out where science is wrong now, won’t you?”
“Thanks for confirming that you can do no such thing.”
If that’s to me, could you repeat the question using the Austrian study as context?
Why would you think that replies to vto & pu are replies to you?
I mentioned science above and didn’t want to appear rude by ignoring your comment if it was meant for me.
What I should have done was looked closer at the post number sequence before letting manners get the best of me.
The Al1en and phillip u
The evening skirmish. Keeping the standard alive!
aspartame …
I’m not sure atom bombs were ever considered safe.
used to sprinkle them on me fried eggs every morning…
How did “atom bombs” ever have ‘scientific support’ for healthy living?
I think you just made that whole list up, vto.
Can you please provide references for the “lines” that we were told on all of these promoting healthy living?
Some on the list still have legitimate use, depending on how they are used, where they are used, and how much is used: 1080, margarine, sugar, formaldehyde. (Two of these obviously not being used as foods)
No sorry I don’t have time to provide such references for all of those. Discount the list accordingly if you wish – non problema to me
re atom bombs have you not seen any photos or information on people observing early atom bombings close at hand? Maralinga?
“re atom bombs have you not seen any photos or information on people observing early atom bombings close at hand? Maralinga?”
Yes I have seen that but I am pretty sure it wasn’t because they thought they were safe. They were purposely exposing people to radiation they knew wasn’t safe in order to study the results.
Actually, without quibbling over individual items within your list, it was the weight of scientific evidence that demonstrated those things weren’t safe.
Otherwise we’d still be showing kids cartoons that say Laramie Smooths (with the healthy asbestos filter) are the best smoke to have after a growing child’s breakfast of coloured sugar gelatinised in lard.
That’s right – genuine scientific evidence, not some scientific evidence conjured up for some alternative commercial outcome as were the early “scientific” studies for each of those items.
So how do we know when scientific evidence is genuine and credible instead of something paid for and angled for a particular outcome? In Phil U’s case here – the science for and against the link between diet and cancer?
Do we have to look behind the research to see who is paying for it? Other hidden strings?
Perhaps we should ask our wise and considered PM John Key – he thinks that you can buy scientific research in order to suit particular outcomes.
@ vto..
“..Do we have to look behind the research to see who is paying for it?..”
..that can often be illuminating..
Sometimes research is robust, genuine, credible, and still wrong – random result, or an unknown confounding effect.
It’s the weight of evidence overall that directs the conclusions. The more nuanced the association, the more evidence is needed. All the research is accounted for unless obviously fraudulent, incomplete/flawed, or demonstrated to be an aberration by the rest of the research in the field.
Who’s paying for it doesn’t always mean the findings are flawed – ISTR in the last few years that the Koch bros commissioned a report into AGW (which they argue doesn’t exist), only to have the lead author change his tune and say it exists. But what if he had the same level of integrity and found that something had been missed by the vast majority of scientists? They would have tried to find where he screwed up, but over time it would have become the consensus view that agw was nonexistent. It comes down to the quality of the research.
“So how do we know when scientific evidence is genuine and credible instead of something paid for and angled for a particular outcome? ”
When it is testable and repeatable.
‘it was the weight of scientific evidence that demonstrated those things weren’t safe.’
Americans are lucky USA FDA commissioner Frances Kelsey did not subscribe to that view.
Dr Kelsey refused to approve thalidomide for use in America until it could be proved to be safe, despite pressure to do so.
She spared Americans the misery of the thalidomide birth defects by adopting the precautionary principle.
By the weight of scientific evidence
wikipedia:
‘By the weight of scientific evidence’
Don’t be disingenuous.
The point was Kelsey applied the precautionary principle while the evidence was gathered, which prevented people from being harmed. And that’s what ordinary people care about, not points on an academic scoreboard.
‘Nevertheless, a total of 17 children with thalidomide-induced malformations were born.’
Some people got the drug overseas, thus there was a few cases.
Actually, the point was that these days practical human knowledge is usually advanced by the accumulated weight of evidence in one direction or another, rather than one particular piece of research by one particular researcher.
I actually agree that (in general) drugs shouldn’t be used without thorough testing, and funnily enough thalidomide is a major justification for modern testing regimes.
There’s stronger processes on several levels now, but we need regulators who think for themselves, like Kelsey, more than ever.
I would commend Dr Alistair Humphrey of the CDHB in this respect, for this week opposing the proposed Selwyn nitrate levels, and recently breaking ranks on the MPI vegetable poisoning report.
By the way, Kelsey did not look at the evidence in totality when applying the precautionary principle. Her focus was one particular English study showing nervous system damage.
One scientific study can warrant the application of the precautionary principle.
One study might outweigh all the others, yes. But it would have to be a doozy, hence why I used the word “usually”.
Good god people, why so old fashioned? High development cost drugs require massive sales in the first few years to hit budgeted targets before patents run out. This namby pamby approach around waiting for more evidence and yet more evidence to come in is a nonsense when you have only a short time to get a drug to market and make it a blockbuster hit to recoup investor money and make a decent return.
Just do your final safety trial in the market is a good way to go: in that scenario everyone is a winner, investors make big bucks, researchers get more people in more settings to do their research on, patients get access to newer more effective drugs faster.
The way to do it.
Keto!
http://www.ruled.me/keto-diet/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketosis#Diet
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aiHSPoto_YqsNTDvL-g60nytMnyH-CJcCbiAx1IEUYM/edit
http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/treating-seizures-and-epilepsy/dietary-therapies/ketogenic-diet
(I’ll get me coat)
heh..!..fried cheese..!
..whoar..!
i just go on the evidence before my eyes..
..in that i know people who have been vegans for over 30 yrs..
..and they all seem to enjoy rude good-health..
..especially when compared with their animal-eating age-contemporaries..”
I agree that a vegan diet can be incredibly healthful, but it’s a pity about Morrissey’s health woes
And the child I knew who had cancer growing inside her little body before she’d even moved on to non-human milk.
Only in the US
And the reason given is because the person behind bars has given enough to society that a university asked him to speak (via recording) to a few students.
Some US judge just sentenced a woman to a few days jail time because she wouldn’t mow her lawns, contrary to local bylaws.
Welcome to the (highly propagandised and highly incarcerated) land of the Free.
Question Time: President Key, did you have sexual relations with that girl?
‘President’ Key: The answer is No, not in my capacity as President
Question time: President Key, did you have a toke on that crack pipe?
‘President’ Key: The answer – No, not in my capacity as President
Ad hominem
Ad infinitum
@ adam (6.1)
ad hominem????
“to the man”
Question Time: President Key, have you ever helped to execute a financial attack on the NZ dollar for the profit of private investors.
‘President’ Key: The answer – No, not in my capacity as President
But it wasn’t in his capacity as a man…
You got it McFlock. 🙂 Adam is probably still puzzled.
Inspiring Photo…Norm Kirk meeting Gough Whitlam !
I can’t help thinking what a dwarf Key is compared to those two. In all ways possible.
the reserve bank says making people have 20% deposit has saved existing mortgage holders about 2% in interest rate hikes. it says the lvr stays until they are happy housing isnt fuelling inflation…
More proof that the market doesn’t work to provide what a society needs and that it just works to enrich a few.
Meanwhile the town house across the road in a desirable part of town in good condition and with the price dropped sits vacant and unsold even though it is situated between two good secondary schools and an excellent primary. and within walking distance of the city. And the sellers have bought elsewhere and must be suffering, they would never have envisaged it sitting for so long. How has raising the deposit helped new house buyers, and people needing a house for their own use? That is the question that gummint should be asking when assessing the worth of this policy. The answer is negative value to them, and just continuing the stress on these people that the housing bubble has caused already.
A government lacking any idea or willingness to form policy that actually deals with our problems, it just sits on the seats in Parliament and their offices, making work for themselves and grooming future business partners, and collecting salary and perks.
And telling people how good they are, while they borrow money and perform SFC tricks in minor form every day. Keeping their supporters happy, is all they need to do. While we try and get a left team that can win. Unfortunately they are confused about which team they are playing for, and taking sidebets on performance!
I am thinking that those Labour caucus members who are uncomfortable with the values, policies,direction or colour red of Labour, and those that are disloyal to the party or its elected leader, and those that tritorously leak info to enemies and media, and those that bring the party into disrepute by their unwise public statements on TV etc, and those that favour Neo liberal RW agenda should all leave and start their own party. Here are some suggestions for such a party:
NAME : Federation Of Kiwi Rogue Socialists. [FOKRS]
COLOUR : Yellowish red with grey spots.
LEADER’S TITLE : The great pretender.
😆 😈
Teehee
whooop!
Not as satisfying as seeing Eric Prince before the courts would be but it’s a start.
Now, after a 10-week trial and 28 days of deliberation, a jury in Washington has found three of the men – Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard – guilty of a total of 13 charges of voluntary manslaughter and a total of 17 charges of attempted manslaughter.
The fourth defendant, Slatten, who was alleged to have been first to open fire, was found guilty of a separate charge of first-degree murder. Slough, Liberty and Heard were found guilty of using firearms in relation to a crime of violence, a charge which can alone carry up to a 30-year mandatory sentence.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/22/us-jury-convicts-blackwater-security-guards-iraq
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/22/blackwater-iraq-killings-verdicts-watershed-accountability
Jeremy Scahill weighs in.
Just as with the systematic torture at Abu Ghraib, it is only the low level foot-soldiers of Blackwater that are being held accountable. Prince and other top Blackwater executives continue to reap profits from the mercenary and private intelligence industries. Prince now has a new company, Frontier Services Group, which he founded with substantial investment from Chinese enterprises. Among its areas of focus is the African continent. Prince recently suggested that his forces at Blackwater could have confronted Ebola and ISIS. “If the Administration cannot rally the political nerve or funding to send adequate active duty ground forces to answer the call, let the private sector finish the job,” Prince recently wrote.
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/22/blackwater-guilty-verdicts/
perhaps David Shearer …would be comfortable with that?
.
I am thinking that if the views of the majority of commentators on this site are representative of the views of members of the Labour Party (An assumption that may very well be wrong) then there is a serious disconnect between the Party Membership and the views of potential Labour voters.
In my opinion most of these voters do not significantly care about the differences between the agendas of party members and party caucus, if such differences exist. They simply have an expectation that those differences are (or should be) minor, and should be able to be sorted out easily, in comparison with the more difficult task of forming coalition deals with parties that may be more left, or more right than Labour.
So as much as I will enjoy the privilege of voting for the Party Leader, I still think that the leadership voting system urgently needs to be discarded. Give the responsibility to caucus, coupled with information that comes from polling all eligible voters. Farrar may be a nasty weasel, but he does deliver much better political advice to Dirty John from polls, than Labour will ever get from Party members and affiliated unions.
In fact, Labour does its own internal polling and focus group analysis with UMR.
$$$$$
Where’s Kim Dotcom when you need him ?
@ swordfish (11.1)
Which is little use to all those voting without access to those poll results. Which would be my main point in limiting the voting to the caucus (who I presume do have – or should have – access to such poll results)
The poll result is definitely not the only issue that needs to be taken into account …. but it is a very important issue. Which candidate is the most electable?
(I wonder what those ‘internal’ polls indicated about the preference of the public in the Leadership poll won by David Cunliffe? Did those polls ask that question? Did those polls determine how many more or less people would have voted Labour with each candidate as Leader? Is Robertson in this election gaining any advantage, or not, by declaring his preference for Deputy? These are the sort of questions where the answers are best not filed away in a library.)
Mr. Botany (B.)
There are relatively few NZLP members commenting compared to the numbers of commenters.
Read the about. The site simply wasn’t set up for NZLP members.
There is one site that was largely setup for NZLP members. It was called Red Alert and it is essentially moribund because someone at the site started playing silly games.
@ lprent @ 11.2
I take your point, lprent. Fortunately I did put a significant disclaimer on saying that was the case, or essential to my argument. (Which of course means that I could have left out the possible assumption in total, and still made the same point I wanted to make.) 🙂 My bad.
I guess I should have said something along the lines of if you take the views of any small group eg the commentators on the Standard, the local wrestling club, the operatic society, or even the Members of the Labour Party, they are unlikely to be representative of the opinions of the 40-50% of voters that you hope will cast their vote in the direction of the Labour Party.
If the Party want thats opinion, I think that a much better way is to use intelligent polling. And the results of those polls could be used constructively to help inform the decision of the ‘best’ Party Leader that meets the full needs of the Party.
Mr. Botany (B.)
A game with legs.
The election was rubbish, the left fragmented and all we wanted was the policies to win it.
Asking the brilliant minds, what would a sensible left wing manifesto look like?
Imagine starting a new, well funded party, and you want to show the public what you’re about.
With three years till kick off, what what you tell them?
I actually thought the left as a whole had about the best policy package anyone could manage. Between the greens impmana and labour, we had food for kids, decent wage increases for the neediest as well as the middle class, a real plan to address housing for low and middle income groups, health and infrastructure relief, regional development, clean waterways, and a real chance at getting more jobs and sane security policies.
Something didn’t go well tactically – some say Labour should have gone for the party vote more, but the greens were all about the party vote and didn’t make headway.
Personally, I reckon it was the kdc distraction throughout the campaign, the fizzle on the 15th, and the terror raids in aus two days before, all exploited by a blatantly partizan mass media.
I agree there were some good policies spread around, so perhaps a part of failure was/is in the delivery, and in part the perception ‘the left’ were/are unable to work together despite labour pushing the 3 party government line to counter. The corporate msm and dirty politics a given hindrance.
I am curious as to what a thestandard focussed grouped manifesto would read like, and how much appeal would/could be garnered from the less political out of it.
did you just suggest that the standardistas work together on a manifesto, as in try and work on something together? can we burst out laughing now? 😉
heh
You did, but the caveat was brilliant minds 😉
I wouldn’t have a shot at bringing it together, but an invited guest list could create something cool, contemporary and quite inspiring.
No point in having all the bright ideas to see them wasting on a blog.
‘I did’ or ‘you did read correctly’
I’d send you an invite to input.
That’s not a bad idea actually. If it was a dedicated thread and was well moderated.
I think a series of threads over time, offering a selection of either/or options, proffered by the group for discussion and selection.
I’ll nominate five people and they then nominate five more to form the policy committee and sit back and see what you all come up with if you like?
“No point in having all the bright ideas to see them wasting on a blog.”
That’s my biggest frustration about the place (that and the intelligence wasted on clever putdowns and abuse). Would love to see the passion and thought go somewhere.
I think a series of threads over time, offering a selection of either/or options, proffered by the group for discussion and selection. I’ll nominate five people and they then nominate five more to form the policy committee and sit back and see what you all come up with if you like?
Can you explain that a bit more? Either/or options? Committee working offsite or onsite?
Maybe we can develop the IMP online policy development model more. Using Loomio but also a combination of other online tools if they are required.
Although I am a little hesitant to go down the path of yet more policy development. Coming up with plans to deliver more left wing infrastructure eg community currencies, alternative media channels eg radio, or to extend the reach/capabilities of The Standard, might be a more useful (less Wellington centric) way ahead.
I know your having a laugh but as a new entrant standard follower I have found my self thinking it’s no wonder the left is in trouble if the people here spend so much time arguing.
There are places in the left blogosphere where it’s less fractious 🙂
Hooked this lot know:-)
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/257600/activist-begs-judge-to-stop-house-sale
Looks Penny Bright will have to cough up $33,000 to Auckland Council or end up homeless but with $500,000 to go elsewhere. I cannot see the judge tolerating someone who WONT pay as opposed to someone who CANNOT pay. Hope i’m wrong and Penny gets a fair go.
Are New Zealand MP’s Bullied Into Rubber Stamping War?
I thought it was only the New Zealand First Party where the members of their caucus don’t talk to each other.
This was when Winston chose to nominate Ron Mark for Speaker without even telling Ron about the idea.
The Green Party obviously need to start talking to each other. Then we wouldn’t have to waste thousands of dollars while a Green Party member spends time in Parliament finding out what one of her parties leaders is up to.
From todays questions –
“JAN LOGIE to the Member in charge of the Education (Breakfast and Lunch Programmes in Schools) Amendment Bill: Why has the member adopted the Education (Breakfast and Lunch Programmes in Schools) Amendment Bill?”
There’s more than one bill on that subject isn’t there?
There’s Hone’s bill picked up by Metira Turei
and also a bill by some one else…..
was it Shearer? Or am I misremembering?
You are quite right. I had forgotten about Shearer’s bill.
This is Meteria’s one, taken over from Hone though.
The two bills are, from the Parliamentary website.
Education (Breakfast and Lunch Programmes in Schools) Amendment Bill (Harawira)
and
Education (Food in Schools) Amendment Bill (Shearer)
The name is the one for the ex- Hone, now Meteria bill. And yes I know why she is asking the question. It gives Turei the chance to make a brief speech. A waste of time and money isn’t it?
only because you lean towards authoritarianism, hence figure that giving Opposition MPs any ability or reason to speak is a waste.
” A waste of time and money isn’t it?”
No.
Key being a dick when asked questions is a waste of time and money.
“A waste of time and money isn’t it?”
I think the standing orders committee should consider doing away with patsy questions altogether.
As I understand it, Question Time is for the Opposition to hold The Government to account. I have never understood how allowing ministers to make brief speeches on topics of their choosing assists this purpose.
Just in case you forgot we got ourselves another war here is a reminder Oh and we have been fighting this silly little war for the last 30 years – at least.
Music thethe from album Mind bomb.
So Canada goes to war against some people in the middle east.
Then some of those people in the middle east attack Canada’s military.
what the f#@k did they expect? flowers? to be left in peace?
And then to label this a “terrorist” attack – what a joke. It was an attack on military at war. It was not a terrorist attack it was clearly a military attack.
And to think that Key is putting us in the firing line too ……. brace for it people. Key is bringing war to our islands.
Are you acting [deleted] for the sake of acting [deleted] ?
[r0b: A while back a participant here who had a child with an intellectual disability asked us to crack down on the use of that word as a term of abuse.]
pcplodding, why is it described as a “terrorist” attack when it is an attack on a military at war with the attacker?
Why is it not described correctly as an act of war?
Tell me I am keen to hear your thinking.
@r0b fair call
VTO you are a sack of mindless shit.
That’s a good one.
Now, how about the issue at hand. Got an answer?
It is described as a terrorist attack as it was an attack by a radicalised Canadian designed to cause terror against a civilian target.
http://www.nationalpost.com/index.html?__federated=1
The Canadian military was not and is not at war with the person responsible for this act.
I repeat you are a sack of mindless shit.
No it wasn’t a civilian target.
The person, presumably sympathising with the people Canada has declared war on, attacked a military person. Did you miss that bit? Also, Parliament is generally where orders to go to war are made – an entirely legitimate military target.
Your own description defies the facts.
It is you with the shit for brains, clearly. Go read some history and learn some law idiot.
You are clearly a feral inbred troll
and I am no longer interested in feeding you obvious trolling
fuck me, that was the most useless series of comments I think I have ever come across.
no answer, clearly failing and flailing, so resort to abuse. Loser.
Hey pcplodding – how about this for a bit more …..
Did you notice how on te news tonight there was virtually no description of this military event as a terrorist attack? Go and have a look and listen. Even Key didn’t refer to it as a terrorist attack and he is softening us all up for going to war.
Whatcha gonna do now?
Whatcha gonna think?
eh pcplodding, just a bit more for your brainshit to absorb.
If this person had wanted to actually commit an act of terror then why didn’t he visit a shopping mall, or a hospital or some other such public place?
Why did he choose to attack a soldier with a gun? Why did he choose to attack the seat of Canada’s power with security everywhere and which has gone to war with his people? Why did he choose these military targets instead of a civilian one?
I think you are just one of those people who believes everything you are told. I bet you voted for Key. Mindless. You would have supported the leader of Germany in the 1930s going by your level of thinking.
Hey pcplodding, Canada has been helping drop munitions on to Afghan and Iraqi civilians (oh I’m sorry, dropping munitions on to ‘legitimate targets’ which happen to be right next to the civilians) for years now.
(I guess its now NZs time to help out in this general effort, to make us, you know, safer. Because killing never ends in even more killing).
Maybe you can see now how the West is seen by 3/4 of all peoples as the biggest purveyors of death and terror in the world.
I think Transrail wants to collapse the passenger services.
The rail Christchurch to Picton is cancelled over winter till 26 September.
About a year or so ago the fare was $48 – $100 with specials, backpackers, students, pensioner rates as well.
Now there is only one fare: $159. That will of course cut back the numbers so that eventually the trip will lapse for want of patronage.
Economics with political push.
starve starve starve then deliver the coup de grace – with appropriate crocodile tears for the cameras, of course.
Press statement in relation to search of Nicky Hager’s home
Thursday, 23 October 2014, 12:57 pm
Press Release: Terrace Chambers
Press statement in relation to the search of Nicky Hager’s home
On 2 October 2014, Nicky Hager’s home in Wellington was searched by police. Mr Hager asserted that documents kept at his house were protected by privilege, including because they contained information that might identify confidential sources. Rather than search those documents, the Police sealed them and lodged them with the High Court pending directions from the Court. Mr Hager had concerns that the search was unlawful and sought legal advice.
Mr Hager has now had a chance to consult his lawyers. He believes even more strongly that the Police have acted outside of the law in seizing his property and seeking to search through all of his documents. Mr Hager has decided to challenge the Police’s actions by way of judicial review. He expects to launch those proceedings during the next few days.
In the meantime, the Police are asserting that there is no valid claim for privilege over the documents. The Police are seeking the leave of the Court to file their own proceedings in order to argue that there is no privilege and that they should be allowed to review all of the documents. A preliminary teleconference was held today (23 October 2014) between the High Court, and lawyers for Mr Hager and the Police, to discuss these issues.
My first response to this info. is that the police are acting under instructions from higher up the ladder but how far up the ladder is a very interesting question. In fact is it a ladder which extends beyond NZ? Could the Slater complaint merely be the excuse to sift through Hager’s other work? Example: the FBI/NSA/GCSB modus operandi?
1. The cops, the lawyers and the rest of the government should have to account for every last little bit of taxpayer dollars that they spend turning Nicky Hager over. He hasn’t damaged the NZ public interest one little bit so why the hell are we funding it.
2. What was the timing around raiding him while he wasn’t there. I hope he asks if they have been tracking him to see where he is and who he meets – it all seemed a bit convenient.
3. Yes I assume they want to sift through everything else. If only so they can drift along and lean on a few other people.
The precedent set by this will have far reaching consequences. The irony re Cameron Slater is huge.
If CCTV footage isn’t “property”, what is it?
Did “Tindallgate” (fuck me if I don’t hate these dummheit media labels) just get interesting?
naughty mr key
and a glimpse into the sparse world inside the key brain
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11347190
‘the context around what i think i was doing’ – what a hollow person key is.
q-time next tues promises to be interesting..
..i’m picking there will be a veritable storm of slater-questions for key…
..let the fun begin..!
How many times have you sent important information to the wrong person because you didn’t check the email address?
key says,
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11347165
“At the end of the day I think you’d say it was unfortunate” – ummm what about you johnbo – what do you fink?
I think it’s time for another Leunig cartoon. Obviously in an Australian context (Liberals and Labour) but it transfers equally as well to New Zealand.
The Aliens came in three space ships …….. (with thanks to Leunig) 🙂
heh..!..that leunig is v. funny..
UK police arrest young man who throws a water bottle for ‘Plinth Guy’ protestor to catch. This is the kind of police state assf*ckery which seems to be coming to all FVEY nations pretty much simultaneously.
Kelvin Davis gives Hone Harawira some good hard kicks
About “manning up” over Hone’s hiring an alleged sex offender on Parliamentary Services money – but Davis forgets about a little thing called “presumption of innocence.”
http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/harawira-hired-sex-offenders-with-taxpayer-money-2014102318
And interesting how these documents were “leaked.” So they think Harawira might stage a come back in TTT 2017 and want to kill that possibility dead ASAP.
Kelvin Davis isn’t very bright and combined with something else about him that I can’t put my finger on makes him a very toxic presence within Labour.
Him and Nash.
Yes. I often see them as one person.
Another Open Mike which has a first half devoted to the cult of Vega. Tomorrow it’ll probably be how the Greens gifted Ohariu to Dunne. It gets a bit boring, just a bit.
You know at first I thought “Cult of Vega” was a reference to something from the film “Contact”!
Then again PU does seem a bit off planet some days! (or as they would say in Babylon 5 “he’s gone beyond the Rim”) 😈