In good times all skilled people want to contract: they are certain of more work when the term ends, they can demand more cash, and be focused with less responsibility (they no longer officially belong to the organisation). And most importantly, they are not on PAYE which gives them the ability to avoid tax others dont have. When the cash dries up security becomes all, even though contractors hang on as long as they can.
What I have described is an ethos which is at odds with “public service”. It is a primary reason why “private” contracts should be the exception rather than the rule in “public service”.
I will await the Auditor Generals report to draw conclusions. I think Shearer and Jones have done the right thing here as they were never going to beat the Nact attack dogs in the media and the blogs.
The bigger picture is now clearer: Key cant attack Shearer for how he addresses these issues, Shearer can attack Key over the Banks issue. Smokescreens are only good if you are up wind. Watch key rush through the asset sales before Banks gets nobbled by the law.
Instead he ordered her deportation to Iran under threat of death for converting from Islam to Christianity? Where’s the humanitarian streak there?
Sadly, she’s not the first sent back when they’d sought asylum for that reason. 🙁 At the same time as one of them (in about 2007?) a gay Iranian was feted and welcomed when he spoke about his fear of being in trouble for his homosexuality…
—We should be 100% concerned about these happenings, as our cities and country is in debt, and the forced sales of our energy security, just the beginning..
A newly published case study, resulting from research out of Harvard and Cambridge, provides evidence of the destructive, undemocratic and socially unjust results of neoliberalism.
claim to have established a “direct link” between the mass privatisation programmes followed by around half the countries of the region – enthusiastically urged upon them by western economists and western financial institutions – and the “economic failure and corruption that followed”. The more closely the countries followed western advice, and the more they privatised, the worse things became.
{…]
The level of economic output crashed throughout the region (the average fall in GDP in was nearly 30% in the early 1990s) as eastern Europe suffered a slump far worse than the Great Depression experienced by the US and the UK 60 years earlier, but which the Hollywood film industry or western writers have up to now shown little interest in covering.
And now the destructive and greedy neoliberal elite are poised to prey on the changes brought by the Arab spring in Egypt and other places in North Africa.
The article contrasts these policies with Norway, that in 2004 had a high level of democracy, state ownership and standard of living. In contrasts the claims of “freedom” by the privatisers and free marketeers, are shown to be a myth, as their policies bring about the curtailment of political freedoms.
And this destructive and unjust privatisation and free-market policies are the ones being extended by the current government at a time when the least well-off are already suffering.
In contrasts the claims of “freedom” by the privatisers and free marketeers, are shown to be a myth, as their policies bring about the curtailment of political freedoms.
Which is exactly what they’re designed to bring about. They do it so well that that must be their function.
When you privatise the commons then those who are dependent upon those resources will become the serfs of the new owners.
Without wishing to intrude too far into your business, and going on simply what I’ve read in your posts, this might be a route away from the problem you talked about here a couple of days ago:
Without wishing to intrude too far into your business, and going on simply what I’ve read in your posts, this might be a route away from the problem you talked about here a couple of days ago:
Thank you Uturn, I had missed it, so I am very pleased!
Vicky32 🙂
Good Morning. Like the Sun I’m shining and not gonna hide behind any clouds all day.
Even though it is the day of the “Carcass Budget” where the majority of New Zealanders find out “The Remains of the Day.
Bored; Sometimes I read nuances in your posts that remind me of the way Trevor Mallard speaks.
which remind me of his better qualities.
Scientologists: Unbelievable! I wonder how many Barnum ticket buyers there are in NZ signing up for this nonsense and its prehistoric conditioning.
I tried to find similar blog content to this briefly last night. I value the way posts fall beneath each other. No joy yet,so much noise out there. So off to scroll the blog-roll????
Heaven forbid, like Mallard in his better moments…no. From where I sit he is to the Right of Genghis Khan (may be exaggerating slightly). Actually Sam I am an optimistic realist who runs businesses optimistically (despite disagreeing with the fundamental economic construct), and a futurist who finds willful blindness to known realities somewhat disturbing.
Good link Joe, found this story about how the Greek tragedy is underpinned by corruption from German bankers / industrialists to the Greek bankers and politicians. http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/revealed-how-paying-double-for-german-subs-helped-to-sink-greece/
Amazingly the normal RWNJs come on here blaming the Greek population with profligacy etc. Never a hint that the whole edifice is rotten, that their construct of the world is concurrently misanthropic and demonstrably false.
“Our country is abundantly rich in natural gas but the former military regime sold it to foreign countries without any consideration for the people,” said activist Ko Htin Kyaw, 49.
This struck me in light of the NACTS selling off the assets.
Azawad but where is Crimp progressing to? And do we want to be influenced by this man who if airports had body scans would seem to have a brain the size of a pea and a heart twisted and warped.
No doubt he is receiving quality, concerned medical care for his skin cancer and other ailments – why should we do that? Give him back the same amount as his portion of true community caring offered (apart from showy chest-thumping philanthropy).
Special needs children are to be given ‘intensive wrap-around service’ which will enable them to be cared for at home and go to local schools. Will the children have their own classes or join the tail of the mainstream school which is so much denigrated by the upper class? This pressure on teachers to please their political masters demand higher achievement for all is like lions made to jump through flaming hoops. I think teachers are noble people and deserve respect for their experience and skills and opinions. They resent being whipped verbally and having more and more tasks to perform.
Time-consuming children with ‘special needs’ from the other children in a mixed class will require more complicated individual teaching plans than for the other children. The education of the average children will deteriorate and teachers blamed. It appears that education is not valued for the children of the mass of the public while the wealthy can advance their own interests by accessing private schools and tutoring which will ensure they can get any good paying positions left in the country. The rest can be hounded from one low income job to another, and probably on a casual basis with their controller governing all their decisions and time, their cellphone, and their employer’s demands for their service at short notice.
A spokesperson from one school with special needs children says that their needs have to be subsidised from the money from international students. There isn’t adequate funding for these children and those with extreme disabilities are not receiving something called ORS funding which one would think should be mandatory. This is an ideological program and takes away choice and will place considerable demands on poorer parents. However if the government is prepared to do the right thing and support with real money, the care by parents and relatives of these children cost will be alleviated, though time for having a life will diminish and fatigue from
extra responsibilities will rise.
I cringe when Paula Benefit and ministerial colleagues talks about providing some service that “wraps around” individuals in some marginalised group. They’re trying to sound as if they’re doing something caring at the same time as limiting provisions for that group.
Moderation at present seems extreme. I can’t understand what simple things set it off – I haven’t mentioned nazis for instance nor the H… name. Could it be sensitive to dodgy sounding political terms like “wrap-around intensive service” for special needs children?
[Not sure what’s going on, sorry – is every comment from you going to mod? — r0b]
Protest action from Auckland University students to Budget planned today, at UoA. If rumours are correct, that action should make 1pm news interesting.
“We, students, teachers, researchers, workers, politicians, parents…, call for a transformation to the current fees, loans and repayment system in tertiary education. We do not need small reforms, we need structural change. When the government and the elite insist that the only way to fund education is indebtedness, we say that education is a human right and a social necessity. We say that targeting citizen-students who cannot pay and landing them with crippling debt, is a violation of the principles of equality and freedom that our country is supposedly built on. We say that democracy demands educated and creative people, and that these changes, and the fees and loans system as it already stands, impoverish nearly every citizen who decides to pursue tertiary education. We say that the current government and the elite are destabilizing our country and mindlessly trading our future for their own privileged present.”
The above statement has support from the Council of Trade Unions, the Service and Food Workers Union, Mana, Socialist Aotearoa and Auckland Action Against Poverty.
Did you know that women-owned new enterprises outperform men-owned enterprises and woman gain more tertiary qualifications in New Zealand than men? Despite this, woman on average earn $10,000 less per year than men. There’s no doubt that woman are getting a raw deal…
Wellll…went through some time Im not going to see again looking at blogs and added AT,a wider perspective and frogblog.
What Im really looking for is a topical blog like this with contributions that draw upon the openess that the internet can facilitate. There is sooo much “noise” on the net, but I can see why this blog rates highly re visits.
If a blog touched upon these themes I would find it really useful for my path I know,
Sociohistorical cultural context
Power distribution
Applied ontology
Applied epistemology
Applied Metaphysics
Nietzsche who I have never really forgotten,and whos analysis remains salient
Foucaultian analysis
The intersection between politics and capital.
Project: analysis and synthesis of Tao application to present historical epoch.
Once was a Diesel Mechanic but now a gardener.
First significant employment was growing vegetables for the Chinese and 4 decades later I would be happy to do it again if they wished.
I even enjoy and learn from Draco T Bastard.
It has been a lonely 40 years in the desert before I discovered the possibilities of Blogs for learning.
The western gaze finally provided moi with an “explanation” (mainly description) for my “challenges with Living”; Schizoid, yet my scores on the Big Five identify Openess and Conscientiousness. There used to be an element of neuroticism, hence my hostile attacks on the politicians, but in 1 keystroke, U-Turn led the struggle to cease. Over 40 years to undo the socialisation outcomes of adoption, childhood abuse, childhood parental bereavement, capitalist marketing culture and attacks by the Self upon the Self.
Thank you again
For those who didn’t see the general debate yesterday here is David Shearer spelling out a few home truths for the national party. This the first time That I have seen him on attack like this, It certainly looks like the teething problems are coming to an end, and he is beginning to find the required leadership qualities that will show he can lead labour into that brighter future.
Sending the ashes of loved ones into space is a really good way to use up the last of our cheap oil (tech dude on Nine to Noon was waxing lyrical about the recent advancements of private space travel). Beam me down Scottie (or anywhere but here).
What would be the fun in that? The cops wouldn’t have been able to run around with guns and terrorize the locals then. Can’t think of anybody else getting such a long sentence for having unregistered guns? Unprecedented!
After a six-week trial earlier this year, all but Signer were found guilty of five charges of unlawful possession of firearms, and one charge of unlawful possession of a restricted weapon – Molotov cocktails.
Rubbish! You can purchase assault riffles here. The restriction relates to how fast they can fire. If that had been modified as you imply, then you would expect the Police to have laid charges for it. You’re arguing from ignorance again The Cnidarian.
Did I say you couldn’t buy assault rifles here? No, I said they were restricted.
i.e.: certain pistols, submachine guns or machine guns defined as Restricted Weapons for collecting purposes but not to fire them or take them from their home other than for exhibition purposes, and Restricted Weapons are to be disabled
These restricted weapons are only allowed to be used/fired if you have special license.
Um, you seem to be a bit fixated on the rifles – the “restricted weapon” was the molotov cocktail they apparently had.
From what I gather, the rifles were just legal ones possessed unlawfully.
In this case, “restricted weapon” means “stuff nobody would ever possibly need to be wandering around DoC land with”. Although softening up an area with mortars before going after deer does sound fun. And Barry Crump’s trick of culling wild pigs by putting detonators in potatos probably counts as mine-laying these days.
More that you’re inflating the crimes for which they have been convicted in order to justify the sentence – i.e. taking unlawfull possession of firearms and one molotov and reconstructing it into that they were all running around with full auto M60s like Rambo.
And the court mentioned MSSA’s as a possibility if the weapons had high-capacity magazines, but they weren’t convicted of possessing MSSA’s. And no mention was made of magazines being found.
But keep up with your stirling defense of the establishment, they might give you a gong one day.
“But keep up with your stirling defense of the establishment, they might give you a gong one day.”
Stirling defense of the establishment? Yeah, don’t think I have defended the establishment anymore than stating they broke a law for which they were punished.
You see this is what’s wrong with some of you people on this website – you mistake “Well i don’t really know, but this is how I understand it” or any questioning of what is being said to mean “Conservative, tory, NACt right-winger. Look at you supporting the establishment”. When if you read through my comments I was asking question stating what I knew and not once “defending the establishment” outside of agreeing that those that break laws face consequences – the maximum in this instance being 4 years
All guns are “restricted” in some way. For military style semi-automatic weapons you usually need an E class license, which you also need if you want to shoot shotguns.
What I don’t get about this is that there were people there with gun licences. Under current law you’re allowed to operate a gun without a license if you’re under immediate supervision of a licence holder. That’s how most people learn to shoot.
2.5 years which could be a 1/3 of that with parole isn’t very tough considering the max penalty
You reckon TC. It is a huge sentence. It is really rare for Judges to go over half of the maximum sentence. And when you think of how long it has gone on and the severe penalty the parties have already paid it is very long. I will be interested to see what the Court of Appeal do with the decision. You can guarantee that it will end up there.
Oh, I agree the entire thing was a complete farce and a monumental waste of resources
But hard to argue yourself out of having modified military weapons and it isn’t unusual to be given a stiffer penalty if you already have a firearms charge (Iti – discharging a weapon in a public place)
Some of which didn’t even work. You might be surprised to learn that there were 7074 reported prohibited and regulated weapons and explosive offenses recorded in New Zealand last year alone. The police usually give a warning for unregistered guns… Sometimes they will confiscate them until a license is obtained. Two and a half years is just mental!
So you think there should be a law change surrounding possession of illegally modified military weapons? Currently its max 4 years, what do you think it should be?
I think the law should be applied equally, which appears not to be the case here. I wonder if the judge came under any pressure to make such a disproportionate decision?
Can you point to a similar case where someone was given considerably less ?
I don’t think there has been a similar case in NZ and while I think it was an OTT response by the police to Tama Iti and his mates behaving like unmitigated dick heads for the umpteenth time I’m somewhat conflicted as I do believe a strong message needs to be sent but I’m not convinced this is the right way to do it.
That’ll be difficult, Jackal, because each case is different. Usually, there are no conspiritorial aspects, just an individual refusing to obey the law. In this case, the sentence seems appropriate to me, because of the nature of the offending.
The sentences imposed on Tame Iti and Te Rangikaiwhiria Kemara are manifestly unfair and speak less about justice and more about the system wanting to exact utu. The judge, in sentencing, spoke more to the crimes they were not convicted on than anything to do with being unlawfully in possession of firearms.
Compare the sentences to the fine and community sentence imposed on a Doctor for firing a crossbow within 3 metres of a group of sleeping children; the 2 1/2 year jail sentence for the accidental shooting and killing of Rosemary Ives; the sentence of home detention received by the Wanaka hunter for shooting and killing his best friend. Also compare to the 12 people that were issued with non-compliance notices by Fish and Game for duck hunting without a firearms license.
The sentences will go to appeal and if there is justice in the system these men will have their sentences overturned. Grumpy: Iti and Kemara have effectively been martyred and Tame Iti’s international appeal has probably grown more luminescent as a consequence.
You obviously believe Iti, Kemara, Signer and Bailey were ‘thinking acts of terrorism’ or at least ‘crimes against humanity.’ How low is your wattage that you cannot differentiate pulp from fiction? Fiction is in believing that these four neo-liberalised convicts are capable of real acts of terrorism. The pulp is believing that Tame Iti dressed in camouflage makes for a credible Rambo.
Tame Iti does not need to resort to terrorism to make his points known. He is the darling of the international twee set, who think it’s ‘très chic’ to have a fully scribed Māori amongst their kind. Indigenous Americans are similarly idolatrised, (every second white person appears to have a ‘native American spirit guide’). Admittedly, there are many within the bourgeois spiritually astute enough to recognise good from bad. Iti and his cohorts are good.
Reality TV, however surreptiously created, does not make for good evidence, really. 18 months of covert surveillance and we arrive at a marvellous artform that delivers the following Oscar performances:
”…oh yes, lets assassinate George W Bush, we’ll catapult a bus onto his head…”
Bro, where’re we gonna get the bus?
Doh!
Trademe!
or:
Bro, we only have one Molotov cocktail.
Bro, well, I need the petrol for my car.
Bro, your car needs to be catapulted onto GW Bush’s head
Bro, that’s not a very nice thing to say about my Holden.
Bro, then shoot me with your MSSA (Chorus of chortling in the background followed by a haka).
This sentencing has confirmed to the international community that New Zealand is backward in terms of race relations. Paranoia has overtaken critical and reasonable analysis. Although convicted of firearms charges Iti, Kemara, Signer and Bailey were sentenced, in the minds of the ignorant, as terrorists.
Precedence establishes what is appropriate sentencing for firearms related charges.
No, I don’t think the Tame and Rangi were ever seriously going to commit acts of terrorism.
As I said above I think it was an OTT response by the police to Tame’s usual behaviour which has tended towards the stupid end of the spectrum many times in the past, he is, however, harmless and I can’t recall him ever being accused or convicted of any type of violent offence.
I also think many of those he took up into the bush were idiot little anarchists who tend to speak a ‘big game’ but are usually harmless and deluded twits.
That being said I’m somewhat conflicted as I do believe a strong message needs to be sent about these type of activities and firearms but I’m not convinced that this sentence is the right way to do it.
Who writes the Herald editorials these days? There’s been a number of them lately which have blatantly been pushing National party policy and they’re given authority as editorials which were traditionally the views of the editor of the ‘paper. This one here is a prime example;
Editorial: Sales good bet for investors, enterprises
It’s nothing more than a brazen attempt to try & refute the growing resistance to asset sales; pure spin. It’s not for the media to tell us what we want, if they’re to take a stand they should be backing public opinion, so why are these biased editorials appearing in the Herald of late? Who’s behind them, anyone know?
The woman in question is not taking me to court for defamation for the simple reason that every thing i have stated is true.
Woman in question is taking me to court after 18 months of putting up with her harassment of me after i supported Slater in staying with his wife and family – for harassment.
These harassment proceedings were filed prior to me ever naming her on my blog. She has a free lawyer that she likes to use in her pursuit of people that she has real or imagined grievances with.
I said it on that blog post and i will say it again – i doubt Cameron Slater would want anyone challenging me to prove what i have written.
Don’t ask me why. I am not an unfaithful married man. How would i know why men do these things.
I am even more stumped by why he would then sit on the internet airing every one else’s dirty laundry when he has so much of his own – or why she would file harassment proceedings against me because i couldn’t handle having their drama in my life and attempted to end my friendship with her after her suicide attempt when he wouldn’t leave his wife.
18 months of drama from those two and then i get served with harassment proceedings and [name redacted] goes to the media and claims it is all about Michael Laws.
I am not about to sit back and take that and i make no apologies for that.
Cameron’s wife already knows about the affair. [name redacted] emailed her all the gory details – including screenshots of their conversations professing love – when she took offence to him going away with his family over Christmas 2010.
I have 18 months worth of electronic proof of their affair.
Online suicide note by [name redacted] when he refused to leave his wife.
Emails from him.
Emails from her to him.
The whole saga is crazy.
One would think if he is going to be high and mighty regarding other people’s morals then he would at least pick someone sane to cheat on his wife with.
Instead he picked an absolute psycho,bleated to me about it for 18 months, then ran with his tail between his legs when she harasses me enough to get it printed in the HOS, THEN sits back while his friend Cathy Odgers blogs and laughs about the situation.
I thought he was smarter than that as well. Perhaps he has a GOD complex.
So why is Cactus Kate of the Alzheimers old Codgers and Tax dodgers Party getting on the case is it because the last of the fundamentalist monetarists are going down the gurgle r and they have to stick together like the captain of a sinking ship.
Is it mycau this week Cactus the swimming pool must be closed to many sharks circling
Felix – I don’t want anything to do with them. I tried to end my “friendship” with [name redacted] who used to Blog on Whale Oil as “Blondie” and for that i have received 18 months worth of her attention and stalking me.
When it got to the point that she served me with legal papers that are full of lies because she has a free lawyer and she knows i don’t – and can’t afford one – and then got this whole saga in the media implying it was about Laws – i felt the need to defend myself. It had gotten to the point where i could no longer just delete and ignore her vitriol from my life like i have done for the most part of 18 months.
I have quit writing in my own blog because of the element of society that i am not comfortable with – ie the [name redacted], the Madeleine Flannagans, and the Cameron Slaters of this world and their nasty drama that it allowed in to my life.
Mike E – no idea why Cathy Odgers felt the need to stir the pot when she knew it was her friend’s cheating that i had been protecting him from being made public for 18 months. Not all that smart but – who knows what goes on in anyone else’s heads.
Good on ya, Jacqueline, I hope you get through this drama OK. I guess if there is anything to learn its that you should avoid mentally ill right wingers in future. Although, admittedly, its hard to spot where the politics ends and the illness begins with the likes of Laws.
Like i said to the editor of the HOS – i have survived worse than this, and i will survive this latest drama.
And yes – i digress – mentally ill right wingers should be avoided at all cost. Had i not let Laws into my life – i never would have met Slater – then i never would have met [name redacted] or her Mad lawyer Madeleine Flannagan – and my life would be peaceful right now.
They have been like a metastatic cancer in my life…it just keeps spreading.
I’m not ususally wild about Geoffry Miller’s stuff, but in this piece, he articulates my feelings in giving Shearer the bollocking he so richly deserves over Shearer’s dealings with fat cats at SkyCity, both in accepting gifts and in cosying-up over leisurely and luxurious dinner parties.
He’s shaping-up as our own inept and inarticulate version of Tony Blair imo.
Geoffrey Miller: Is taking gifts from lobbyists ever a good idea?
David Shearer has defended taking free hospitality from SkyCity at the Rugby World Cup by saying he didn’t know at the time about the ‘convention centre for pokie machines deal’. If this is really true, then Shearer is, at the very least, guilty of incompetence, as the deal was announced in June 2011 and he is an Auckland MP. The deal was covered by the media at the time in June 2011. The alternative is somewhat worse for Shearer, namely that he was in fact fully aware of the news of the deal in June 2011, but somehow, in May 2012, fell victim to the rather contagious and virulent malady spreading through the New Zealand parliament: the ‘cannot recall’ disease…
Indeed. But the sentence for two people with a collection of automatic weapons or even MSSA’s would reasonably be a bit stronger than for people with the same number of .22 non-MSSA semi-autos and some non-MSSA shotguns, wouldn’t it.
Like I say, you’re inflating the crime to justify the sentence. Or if you want to get all object-oriented, you’re inflating this instance of crime in order to justify this instance of sentence.
Personally I don’t see why you’re getting so worked up on being called a defender of the establishment – I mean it simply describes your stretching of interpretation in this particular instance, such as bringing automatic weapons into the discussion about a case that involved none. Now you’re all embarrassed, like a teenager who gets called out on the fact that he’s been fawning blatantly over another cute teenager.
Look up the difference between “automatic” and “semi-automatic”. A marked escalation right there.
“Rabid attitude”? All I’ve done is point out that you managed to shift the level of the crimes for which they were convicted from one case of a restricted weapon (the molotov) and a few not-uncommon firearm possession charges up to everybody having automatic weapons with hi-cap mags. And you get all defensive.
“All I’ve done is point out that you managed to shift the level of the crimes for which they were convicted from one case of a restricted weapon (the molotov) and a few not-uncommon firearm possession charges up to everybody having automatic weapons with hi-cap mags.”
What utter bullshit. There were auto weapons (semi-auto granted) I never mentioned magazines. I never shifted anything – all I pointed out was that 2.5 years didn’t seem excessive considering the max is 4. Then there was a dispute about the weapons of which I was quite clear that I was running from memory and asking for clarification. But what ever, you win.
“Semi-automatic”: one trigger depression, one bang.
“Automatic”: one trigger depression, many bangs.
A significant functional and legislative difference. Semi-autos are fine. Automatics are “restricted”. That is why there was only ONE “restricted weapon” charge – for the molotov. Not for any of the firearms.
You argued that a sentence of 2 or 3 times the average firearms possession jail sentence was not particularly harsh for possession of “unregistered, illegally modified military weapons”. At least one of those adjectives was false. And you get all persnickety when called on it.
Love that – discussion is over but you thought you’d repeat your side anyway.
Far from chuckling, I’m still amazed that you chose to make such a categorical statement about which you obviously know absolutely nothing. And I’m pretty sure that’s not much of an exagerration, if at all.
For example, semi-automatic firearms are legally fine, exactly the same as bolt action rifles or even a muzzle-loading black powder musket. I think you might be confusing all semi-automatics with “military-style semi automatics”, which are at a higher level of licensing than most firearms (but still not “restricted weapons”, which are another class of no-nos). The latter include things like folding stocks, bayonet lugs (to stick a knife on the end of the weapon), high capacity magazine (the bullet holder holds lots of bullets), and pistol-style hand grips.
So the degree of the offense which justified a sentence 2 or 3 times longer than the average for the same offense was “unregistered” – which is hardly out of the ordinary for an unlawful possession charge.
There is the matter of the single molotov, but it seems to me that much of the sentencing rests on the judge having the feeling that they really did in fact commit the other crimes of which they were actually acquitted. But they seem to have pretty capable lawyers to sort that out.
“edit: Unregistered, illegally modified military weapons.”
That’s how you introduced your false decription of what they convicted of. The context was clear enough. Jackal was saying unregistered weapons, and you were saying it was a bit more than that.
You later admitted that you didn’t actually know what you were talking aboput and that it was all based on some video you’d seen.
if you don’t care what sentence they got, why have you been provoking arguments and insulting people who do have an opinion about it?
Hint: the 4 year max is a red herring. No one was saying that they were sentenced above the max. People are just saying tthat they think 2 1/2 years is steep for what they were convicted on, which is fair enough isn’t it?
That’s nice HS but we already know that most of the police case was bullpucky! It’s interesting though that Peter Marshall says there was no explanation given as to what the accused were doing in the Ruatoki, which is a complete lie!
We raided because somebody said they were going to catapult a bus onto John Keys head… it was a serious investigation. Yeah right!
However it appears that the judge took into consideration the charges that were dismissed and not the harm already caused to the accused. Therefore I think McFlock’s statement is correct. The punishment handed down does not fit the crimes committed.
You haven’t been here long enough to remember a commenter called Randal who did some wonderful rambling comments on infantalisation the captain has a similiar “typespeak” about him/her.
I thought I’d trace the original remark that captain hook was replying to on 27 at 3.22pm. And it was at 2.58 on 25.1 by The Contrarian and there were 19 comments in between, at varying times as late as 7.09 pm.
It would be easier to connect comment and reply if replies noted the name of the commenter they were reacting to.
I found the rhetoric today very passionate,”well written”. Trev putting the boot into the bully boys while they are down.
Everyone SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER.
There may be a vacuum for a Democratic Socialist Coalition.
Great to see the students getting some adaptive benefit from a liberal education and recognising and speaking truth to intergenerational theft.
ALL THE RESEARCH, is suggesting the Western Baby Boomer Generation to have been the most self-interested, prolifligate the world has seen since the ascendence of the Catholic Churches, and those offspring they have indulged to be lifting their narcissism to new levels.
I know Steve Keen has fans here-abouts,
and in case any of y’all are not regular listeners of Kim Hill’s radio show of a saturday morning,
the lovely Mark Cubey reports via the twittering machine
that Keen and Hill had a rather interesting discussion,
which will be braoadcast this coming saturday.
George Carlin has just been in full spate.
He said that there are some great ideas about how things ought to be in the country – it’s called the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe in it.
The country is actually owned by a big club – and You Aren’t In It!
Simeon Brown’s Ideology BentSimeon Brown once told Kiwis he tries to represent his deep sense of faith by interacting “with integrity”.“It’s important that there’s Christians in Parliament…and from my perspective, it’s great to be a Christian in Parliament and to bring that perspective to [laws, conversations and policies].”And with ...
Severe geological and financial earthquakes are inevitable. We just don’t know how soon and how they will play out. Are we putting the right effort into preparing for them?Every decade or so the international economy has a major financial crisis. We cannot predict exactly when or exactly how it will ...
Questions1. How did Old Mate Grabaseat describe his soon-to-be-Deputy-PM’s letter to police advocating for Philip Polkinghorne?a.Ill-advisedb.A perfect letterc.A letter that will live in infamyd.He had me at hello2. What did Seymour say in response?a.What’s ill-advised is commenting when you don’t know all the facts and ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff has called on OJI Fibre Solutions to work with the government, unions, and the community before closing the Kinleith Paper Mill. “OJI has today announced 230 job losses in what will be a devastating blow for the community. OJI needs to work with ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is sounding the alarm about the latest attack on workers from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden, who is ignoring her own officials to pursue reckless changes that would completely undermine the personal grievance system. “Brooke van Velden’s changes will ...
Hi,When I started writing Webworm in 2020, I wrote a lot about the conspiracy theories that were suddenly invading our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds. Four years ago a reader, John, left this feedback under one of my essays:It’s a never ending labyrinth of lunacy which, as you have pointed ...
And if you said this life ain't good enoughI would give my world to lift you upI could change my life to better suit your moodBecause you're so smoothAnd it's just like the ocean under the moonOh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from youYou got the ...
Aotearoa remains the minority’s birthright, New Zealand the majority’s possession. WAITANGI DAY commentary see-saws manically between the warmly positive and the coldly negative. Many New Zealanders consider this a good thing. They point to the unexamined patriotism of July Fourth and Bastille Day celebrations, and applaud the fact that the ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
“We’re not here to interfere in people’s property rights,” Ngāi Tahu’s Te Maire Tau has told the High Court.Tau, a historian, Upoko (traditional leader) of Ngāi Tūāhuriri, and a university professor of history, is the lead witness in a case designed to force the Crown to recognise the tribe’s rangatiratanga ...
Pacific Media Watch Trump administration officials barred two Associated Press (AP) reporters from covering White House events this week because the US-based independent news agency did not change its style guide to align with the president’s political agenda. The AP is being punished for using the term “Gulf of Mexico,” ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific Presenter/Bulletin editor France’s top diplomat in the Pacific region says talks around the “unfreezing” of New Caledonia’s highly controversial electoral roll are back on the table. The French government intended to make a constitutional amendment that would lift restrictions prescribed under the Nouméa Accord, which ...
By bringing these global voices to the fight for free expression in New Zealand, we’ll continue to protect and expand our culture of free speech, says Nathan Seiuli, the Free Speech Union's Events Manager. ...
The issue is no longer a hypothetical one. US President Donald Trump will not explicitly suggest death camps, but he has already consented to Israel’s continuing a war that is not a war but rather a barbaric assault on a desolate stretch of land. From there, the road to annihilation is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cecelia Cmielewski, Research Fellow, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University To be selected as the artist and curator team to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale is considered the ultimate exhibition for an artistic team. To have your selection rescinded, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Turton, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography, CQUniversity Australia Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia is bearing down on the northwest coast of Australia and is likely to make landfall early Friday evening. It’s a monster storm of great concern to Western Australia. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Ireland-Piper, Associate Professor, ANU National Security College, Australian National University A Victorian government decision to allow dingo culling in the state’s east until 2028 has reignited debate over what has been dubbed Australia’s most controversial animal. Animals Australia, an animal welfare ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Deakin University Overnight, Robert F. Kennedy Jr was confirmed as the secretary of the US Health and Human Services Department. Put simply, this makes him the most influential figure in overseeing the health and wellbeing of more ...
Everything you missed from day five of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard eight hours of submissions.Read our recaps of the previous hearings here.It was another work from home day for the Justice Committee, the only people in Room 3 being security guards, committee ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor & Principal Fellow in Urban Risk & Resilience, The University of Melbourne Juris Teivans/Shutterstock In Australia, fatal road crashes are climbing again, especially since the pandemic, and despite years of attempts to reduce road trauma, the numbers ...
In its eagerness to appease supporters of Israel, the media is happy to ride roughshod over due process and basic rights. It’s damaging Australia’s (and New Zealand’s?) democracy.COMMENTARY:By Bernard Keane Two moments stand out so far from the Federal Court hearings relating to Antoinette Lattouf’s sacking by the ...
“The reality is we’re getting poorer. The government this year is leaning heavy on chasing economic growth, which is absolutely the right thing to do.” ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 The Vegetarian by Han Kang (Granta, $28) Han Kang’s astounding novel was based on an ...
This new docuseries about two single comedians looking for love is also a joyful celebration of female friendship. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. “How many people do you think are boning right now?” Kura Forrester asks Brynley Stent as the bright ...
A new poem by Freya Turnbull. Hunger Song – After Kaveh Akbar (Untitled With Hunger And Matcheads) I hold my age in ripped fishnet hold an empty vessel oldyoung body cracks like gunshot like killa i was a father ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominik Koll, Honorary Lecturer, Australian National University View of the Pacific Ocean from the International Space Station.NASA Earth must have experienced something exceptional 10 million years ago. Our study of rock samples from the floor of the Pacific Ocean has found ...
Troy Rawhiti-Connell reviews Kia Tupu Te Ara, a documentary chronicling the meteoric rise of Aotearoa’s groundbreaking metal band. “Two brothers attempt to storm the world of thrash metal with the Māori language, despite the fact they’re both still teenagers,” reads the synopsis of Kent Belcher’s documentary, Kia Tupu Te Ara. ...
Three freelance writers have been awarded grants to work on their ambitious journalism projects. In January, The Spinoff announced the Vince Geddes In-Depth Journalism Fund, supported by the Auckland Radio Trust (ART). The fund was established to provide much-needed financial and editorial support to talented freelance journalists, empowering them to ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist in Avarua, Rarotonga China has confirmed details of its meeting with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown for the first time, saying Beijing “stands ready to have an in-depth exchange” with the island nation. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters during his ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ 2023 strategic foreign policy assessment, “Navigating a shifting world”, accurately foresaw a more uncertain and complex time ahead for New Zealand. But already it feels out of date. The ...
Our parliamentary throuple may be the longest running in the country, but cracks are showing. Gabi Lardies wonders if differing attachment styles may be to blame. Though no one ever anticipated happiness or roses in the three-way coalition, the relationship has wobbled on for over a year without breaking up. ...
As Mike White’s dark satire returns for a third season, we look back on some of The White Lotus’s most memorable characters. The White Lotus looks like a dream holiday, but this resort is anything but paradise. Set in an exclusive five star hotel resort, HBO’s award-winning series is a ...
Analysis: Would the last scientist to leave the building please turn out the lights? Because the confirmation of Robert F Kennedy Jr as US Secretary of Health suggests we’re heading back to the dark ages.It’s a sad irony that President John F Kennedy propelled America into the space age; now his nephew ...
The crux of my message today is that New Zealand needs to bend two curves. One is the long-term economic growth trajectory, which needs to bend upwards to expand our productive capacity and national real incomes. The second is our net public debt ...
Away from the tense scenes on the paepae, under a closely guarded canvas tent, te iwi Māori do the real work of Waitangi: talking. We were invited inside to listen. ...
The Jono & Ben star is self-aware and surrounded by extraordinary women in Three’s latest local comedy series. The first episode of Vince, written by and starring Jono Pryor, opens with intrigue, a loincloth and a man in the middle of some kind of breakdown. As the titular character, a ...
Contractors in the public service at senior levels about to end in the UK.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/may/23/2400-senior-civil-servants-off-payroll
What about NZ next???
In good times all skilled people want to contract: they are certain of more work when the term ends, they can demand more cash, and be focused with less responsibility (they no longer officially belong to the organisation). And most importantly, they are not on PAYE which gives them the ability to avoid tax others dont have. When the cash dries up security becomes all, even though contractors hang on as long as they can.
What I have described is an ethos which is at odds with “public service”. It is a primary reason why “private” contracts should be the exception rather than the rule in “public service”.
So there’s an inconsistency in Shane Jones’ explanation about his humanitarianism over Bill Liu.
Just a few days before granting Liu citizenship Jones turned down an application from an Iranian refugee to stay in New Zealand.
Instead he ordered her deportation to Iran under threat of death for converting from Islam to Christianity? Where’s the humanitarian streak there?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-shore-times/343543/Christian-refugee-sent-back-to-Iran
I will await the Auditor Generals report to draw conclusions. I think Shearer and Jones have done the right thing here as they were never going to beat the Nact attack dogs in the media and the blogs.
The bigger picture is now clearer: Key cant attack Shearer for how he addresses these issues, Shearer can attack Key over the Banks issue. Smokescreens are only good if you are up wind. Watch key rush through the asset sales before Banks gets nobbled by the law.
Sadly, she’s not the first sent back when they’d sought asylum for that reason. 🙁 At the same time as one of them (in about 2007?) a gay Iranian was feted and welcomed when he spoke about his fear of being in trouble for his homosexuality…
What the EU was always designed to achieve
“It is a quantum leap of governance, which I trust is necessary for the next step of European integration,” he said. ”
—Of course the same patterns in the USA
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder announced his appointment of an emergency financial manager to Highland Park Schools — a district outside Detroit —
Asked if the emergency-manager law hands power over to a “dictator,” Schimmel sighed, “I guess I’m the tyrant in Pontiac, then, if that’s the way it is.”
—We should be 100% concerned about these happenings, as our cities and country is in debt, and the forced sales of our energy security, just the beginning..
Time for people to open their eyes to the agenda!
Well on their way muzza.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/05/congress-propaganda
edit: this too
A newly published case study, resulting from research out of Harvard and Cambridge, provides evidence of the destructive, undemocratic and socially unjust results of neoliberalism.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/20/eastern-europe-neoliberal-disaster-arab-spring
The authors claim to have found that
And now the destructive and greedy neoliberal elite are poised to prey on the changes brought by the Arab spring in Egypt and other places in North Africa.
The article contrasts these policies with Norway, that in 2004 had a high level of democracy, state ownership and standard of living. In contrasts the claims of “freedom” by the privatisers and free marketeers, are shown to be a myth, as their policies bring about the curtailment of political freedoms.
And this destructive and unjust privatisation and free-market policies are the ones being extended by the current government at a time when the least well-off are already suffering.
Which is exactly what they’re designed to bring about. They do it so well that that must be their function.
When you privatise the commons then those who are dependent upon those resources will become the serfs of the new owners.
Message for Vicky32,
Without wishing to intrude too far into your business, and going on simply what I’ve read in your posts, this might be a route away from the problem you talked about here a couple of days ago:
http://tinyurl.com/88d8uf4
AFAIR you were saying you have dial-up/online restrictions so you may have missed it – or it may not be useful to you. Wanted to be sure.
Thank you Uturn, I had missed it, so I am very pleased!
Vicky32 🙂
Good Morning. Like the Sun I’m shining and not gonna hide behind any clouds all day.
Even though it is the day of the “Carcass Budget” where the majority of New Zealanders find out “The Remains of the Day.
Bored; Sometimes I read nuances in your posts that remind me of the way Trevor Mallard speaks.
which remind me of his better qualities.
Scientologists: Unbelievable! I wonder how many Barnum ticket buyers there are in NZ signing up for this nonsense and its prehistoric conditioning.
I tried to find similar blog content to this briefly last night. I value the way posts fall beneath each other. No joy yet,so much noise out there. So off to scroll the blog-roll????
Heaven forbid, like Mallard in his better moments…no. From where I sit he is to the Right of Genghis Khan (may be exaggerating slightly). Actually Sam I am an optimistic realist who runs businesses optimistically (despite disagreeing with the fundamental economic construct), and a futurist who finds willful blindness to known realities somewhat disturbing.
Smee, its budget day today.
so break out the budget bread, budget baked beans and the budget margarine.
time for a feast.
Once were warmongers.
Good link Joe, found this story about how the Greek tragedy is underpinned by corruption from German bankers / industrialists to the Greek bankers and politicians.
http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/revealed-how-paying-double-for-german-subs-helped-to-sink-greece/
Amazingly the normal RWNJs come on here blaming the Greek population with profligacy etc. Never a hint that the whole edifice is rotten, that their construct of the world is concurrently misanthropic and demonstrably false.
Bored as you will know, the Greeks do not have a monoply on rotten..
NZ is as filthy as anywhere else….people need to start understanding that there is much more to this than the appearance of greed!
Greed in simply an exploitable weapon to leveredge, in order to reach desired outcomes!
Aye Bored, then as now.
Why would Greece want to own submarines?!!!!
Resources and a history of hate.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/6975109/Myanmar-protesters-test-boundaries
“Our country is abundantly rich in natural gas but the former military regime sold it to foreign countries without any consideration for the people,” said activist Ko Htin Kyaw, 49.
This struck me in light of the NACTS selling off the assets.
NACT is part of the system designed to transfer wealth (both monetary and physical) to the wealthy.
Is Louis Crimp a progressive redneck, as Chris Trotter suggests?
http://www.readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/louis-crimp-face-in-our-mirrors.html
Azawad but where is Crimp progressing to? And do we want to be influenced by this man who if airports had body scans would seem to have a brain the size of a pea and a heart twisted and warped.
No doubt he is receiving quality, concerned medical care for his skin cancer and other ailments – why should we do that? Give him back the same amount as his portion of true community caring offered (apart from showy chest-thumping philanthropy).
Is Louis Crimp a progressive redneck…
Please don’t use the word “redneck” when you mean to use the word “bigot”.
Special needs children are to be given ‘intensive wrap-around service’ which will enable them to be cared for at home and go to local schools. Will the children have their own classes or join the tail of the mainstream school which is so much denigrated by the upper class? This pressure on teachers to please their political masters demand higher achievement for all is like lions made to jump through flaming hoops. I think teachers are noble people and deserve respect for their experience and skills and opinions. They resent being whipped verbally and having more and more tasks to perform.
Time-consuming children with ‘special needs’ from the other children in a mixed class will require more complicated individual teaching plans than for the other children. The education of the average children will deteriorate and teachers blamed. It appears that education is not valued for the children of the mass of the public while the wealthy can advance their own interests by accessing private schools and tutoring which will ensure they can get any good paying positions left in the country. The rest can be hounded from one low income job to another, and probably on a casual basis with their controller governing all their decisions and time, their cellphone, and their employer’s demands for their service at short notice.
A spokesperson from one school with special needs children says that their needs have to be subsidised from the money from international students. There isn’t adequate funding for these children and those with extreme disabilities are not receiving something called ORS funding which one would think should be mandatory. This is an ideological program and takes away choice and will place considerable demands on poorer parents. However if the government is prepared to do the right thing and support with real money, the care by parents and relatives of these children cost will be alleviated, though time for having a life will diminish and fatigue from
extra responsibilities will rise.
I cringe when Paula Benefit and ministerial colleagues talks about providing some service that “wraps around” individuals in some marginalised group. They’re trying to sound as if they’re doing something caring at the same time as limiting provisions for that group.
Imagery – wrap round.
Modelled on Vampire Squid.
Moderation at present seems extreme. I can’t understand what simple things set it off – I haven’t mentioned nazis for instance nor the H… name. Could it be sensitive to dodgy sounding political terms like “wrap-around intensive service” for special needs children?
[Not sure what’s going on, sorry – is every comment from you going to mod? — r0b]
I can’t understand what simple things set it off…
Maybe what alerted the censors was the cockney rhyming slang word “prism”.
Protest action from Auckland University students to Budget planned today, at UoA. If rumours are correct, that action should make 1pm news interesting.
“We, students, teachers, researchers, workers, politicians, parents…, call for a transformation to the current fees, loans and repayment system in tertiary education. We do not need small reforms, we need structural change. When the government and the elite insist that the only way to fund education is indebtedness, we say that education is a human right and a social necessity. We say that targeting citizen-students who cannot pay and landing them with crippling debt, is a violation of the principles of equality and freedom that our country is supposedly built on. We say that democracy demands educated and creative people, and that these changes, and the fees and loans system as it already stands, impoverish nearly every citizen who decides to pursue tertiary education. We say that the current government and the elite are destabilizing our country and mindlessly trading our future for their own privileged present.”
The above statement has support from the Council of Trade Unions, the Service and Food Workers Union, Mana, Socialist Aotearoa and Auckland Action Against Poverty.
Thanks for this info. I will keep an eye out on the news. Go the students!
Uturn
Absolutely and exactly. Very well said, and apposite (to show how well educated I am).
.
Heh! Angry US citizen is angry.
Great flow of language there BLiP but he nails it. Heaven help Presidential hopefuls if this angry man made it onto the public stage!
Gender inequality in New Zealand
Did you know that women-owned new enterprises outperform men-owned enterprises and woman gain more tertiary qualifications in New Zealand than men? Despite this, woman on average earn $10,000 less per year than men. There’s no doubt that woman are getting a raw deal…
Wellll…went through some time Im not going to see again looking at blogs and added AT,a wider perspective and frogblog.
What Im really looking for is a topical blog like this with contributions that draw upon the openess that the internet can facilitate. There is sooo much “noise” on the net, but I can see why this blog rates highly re visits.
If a blog touched upon these themes I would find it really useful for my path I know,
Sociohistorical cultural context
Power distribution
Applied ontology
Applied epistemology
Applied Metaphysics
Nietzsche who I have never really forgotten,and whos analysis remains salient
Foucaultian analysis
The intersection between politics and capital.
Project: analysis and synthesis of Tao application to present historical epoch.
Once was a Diesel Mechanic but now a gardener.
First significant employment was growing vegetables for the Chinese and 4 decades later I would be happy to do it again if they wished.
I even enjoy and learn from Draco T Bastard.
It has been a lonely 40 years in the desert before I discovered the possibilities of Blogs for learning.
The western gaze finally provided moi with an “explanation” (mainly description) for my “challenges with Living”; Schizoid, yet my scores on the Big Five identify Openess and Conscientiousness. There used to be an element of neuroticism, hence my hostile attacks on the politicians, but in 1 keystroke, U-Turn led the struggle to cease. Over 40 years to undo the socialisation outcomes of adoption, childhood abuse, childhood parental bereavement, capitalist marketing culture and attacks by the Self upon the Self.
Thank you again
For those who didn’t see the general debate yesterday here is David Shearer spelling out a few home truths for the national party. This the first time That I have seen him on attack like this, It certainly looks like the teething problems are coming to an end, and he is beginning to find the required leadership qualities that will show he can lead labour into that brighter future.
http://blog.labour.org.nz/2012/05/23/david-shearer-takes-fight-to-government/
Watch the faces of the backing MPs. They look pleased and surprised. Go David today in the post Budget debate.
Some fire in the belly and some improvisation off the cuff. Nice work David Shearer. Moar plz.
Thanks for that. DS was very impressive.Nice touch mentioning Moombeam.
Sending the ashes of loved ones into space is a really good way to use up the last of our cheap oil (tech dude on Nine to Noon was waxing lyrical about the recent advancements of private space travel). Beam me down Scottie (or anywhere but here).
Just on TVNZ news .. Tame Iti sentenced to two and a half years in prison … wow.
If you do that crime…
“penalties for the possession of firearms and restricted weapons are a maximum four-year sentence and $5000 fine”
2.5 years which could be a 1/3 of that with parole isn’t very tough considering the max penalty
Dude that was illegally hunting and thought Rosemary Ives was a deer & fired his weapon, killing her; got the same sentence.
I guess its worth the millions in court costs, legal aid fees and anti-terrorist squad actions which were required to get to this point.
Maybe they could just have sent a couple of constables in to nab him at the start eh.
What would be the fun in that? The cops wouldn’t have been able to run around with guns and terrorize the locals then. Can’t think of anybody else getting such a long sentence for having unregistered guns? Unprecedented!
edit: Unregistered, illegally modified military weapons.
I don’t think they were found guilty for modifying military weapons The Contagion.
2 of Urewera 4 sentenced to 2 1/2 years:
I’ll sit out on the modified part but restricted refers to automatic rifles like which are found in the military.
Come on man, we have all seen the videos. Assault rifles are heavily restricted here
Rubbish! You can purchase assault riffles here. The restriction relates to how fast they can fire. If that had been modified as you imply, then you would expect the Police to have laid charges for it. You’re arguing from ignorance again The Cnidarian.
Did I say you couldn’t buy assault rifles here? No, I said they were restricted.
i.e.: certain pistols, submachine guns or machine guns defined as Restricted Weapons for collecting purposes but not to fire them or take them from their home other than for exhibition purposes, and Restricted Weapons are to be disabled
These restricted weapons are only allowed to be used/fired if you have special license.
They weren’t gun collectors you fool!
No shit
Um, you seem to be a bit fixated on the rifles – the “restricted weapon” was the molotov cocktail they apparently had.
From what I gather, the rifles were just legal ones possessed unlawfully.
In this case, “restricted weapon” means “stuff nobody would ever possibly need to be wandering around DoC land with”. Although softening up an area with mortars before going after deer does sound fun. And Barry Crump’s trick of culling wild pigs by putting detonators in potatos probably counts as mine-laying these days.
Well, the videos do show them in possession of assault rifles as far as I recall
It’s lucky the justice system doesn’t rely on your recollection, then
The court notes mention possession of military style semi-automatic weapons. What’s your point? They weren’t considered restricted? Well, OK then.
Not so much that,
More that you’re inflating the crimes for which they have been convicted in order to justify the sentence – i.e. taking unlawfull possession of firearms and one molotov and reconstructing it into that they were all running around with full auto M60s like Rambo.
And the court mentioned MSSA’s as a possibility if the weapons had high-capacity magazines, but they weren’t convicted of possessing MSSA’s. And no mention was made of magazines being found.
But keep up with your stirling defense of the establishment, they might give you a gong one day.
“But keep up with your stirling defense of the establishment, they might give you a gong one day.”
Stirling defense of the establishment? Yeah, don’t think I have defended the establishment anymore than stating they broke a law for which they were punished.
You see this is what’s wrong with some of you people on this website – you mistake “Well i don’t really know, but this is how I understand it” or any questioning of what is being said to mean “Conservative, tory, NACt right-winger. Look at you supporting the establishment”. When if you read through my comments I was asking question stating what I knew and not once “defending the establishment” outside of agreeing that those that break laws face consequences – the maximum in this instance being 4 years
An MSSA with non automatic fire and a 5 shot magazine is OK, add a high capacity magazine (as they did) and it becomes a “restricted” weapon..
All guns are “restricted” in some way. For military style semi-automatic weapons you usually need an E class license, which you also need if you want to shoot shotguns.
What I don’t get about this is that there were people there with gun licences. Under current law you’re allowed to operate a gun without a license if you’re under immediate supervision of a licence holder. That’s how most people learn to shoot.
With some guns ONLY the license holder is allowed to operate the gun.
So what guns can only be used by a lisenced holder and what guns exactly relate to the charges The Corpuscularian?
Can anybody tell the difference between a military rifle and a hunting rifle?
Yeah, thought not. Use of military style is just scare tactics in use by the MSM and government.
2.5 years which could be a 1/3 of that with parole isn’t very tough considering the max penalty
You reckon TC. It is a huge sentence. It is really rare for Judges to go over half of the maximum sentence. And when you think of how long it has gone on and the severe penalty the parties have already paid it is very long. I will be interested to see what the Court of Appeal do with the decision. You can guarantee that it will end up there.
Oh, I agree the entire thing was a complete farce and a monumental waste of resources
But hard to argue yourself out of having modified military weapons and it isn’t unusual to be given a stiffer penalty if you already have a firearms charge (Iti – discharging a weapon in a public place)
Some of which didn’t even work. You might be surprised to learn that there were 7074 reported prohibited and regulated weapons and explosive offenses recorded in New Zealand last year alone. The police usually give a warning for unregistered guns… Sometimes they will confiscate them until a license is obtained. Two and a half years is just mental!
So you think there should be a law change surrounding possession of illegally modified military weapons? Currently its max 4 years, what do you think it should be?
I think the law should be applied equally, which appears not to be the case here. I wonder if the judge came under any pressure to make such a disproportionate decision?
“I think the law should be applied equally, which appears not to be the case here”
How was it not applied equally in this case?
Can you point to a similar case where somebody found guilty for unlawful possession of firearms etc is given two and a half years?
Can you point to a similar case where someone was given considerably less ?
I don’t think there has been a similar case in NZ and while I think it was an OTT response by the police to Tama Iti and his mates behaving like unmitigated dick heads for the umpteenth time I’m somewhat conflicted as I do believe a strong message needs to be sent but I’m not convinced this is the right way to do it.
You get the same if you had actually shot someone, it seems.
That’ll be difficult, Jackal, because each case is different. Usually, there are no conspiritorial aspects, just an individual refusing to obey the law. In this case, the sentence seems appropriate to me, because of the nature of the offending.
Can I point to a similar case where someone was given considerably less… why yes!
15% of Arms Act offenses go to jail for an average of 10 months.
“15% of Arms Act offenses go to jail for an average of 10 months.”
With parole it is quite possible Iti will only do 10 months
So what?
People who receive ten months will be out in a considerably shorter time than that.
And law changes are another diversion. The current law says the maximum sentence is four years and Iti received a fair chunk of that.
I was taking it as read i.e people go to jail for 10 months not are sentencing to 10 months.
I suppose it is hard to say without seeing the hard data on comparable cases.
…..not forgetting the additional penalty of highly restricted, if not prohibited, international travel.
Iti’s days as the darling of Aussie, US and European art circles are completely over.
The sentences imposed on Tame Iti and Te Rangikaiwhiria Kemara are manifestly unfair and speak less about justice and more about the system wanting to exact utu. The judge, in sentencing, spoke more to the crimes they were not convicted on than anything to do with being unlawfully in possession of firearms.
Compare the sentences to the fine and community sentence imposed on a Doctor for firing a crossbow within 3 metres of a group of sleeping children; the 2 1/2 year jail sentence for the accidental shooting and killing of Rosemary Ives; the sentence of home detention received by the Wanaka hunter for shooting and killing his best friend. Also compare to the 12 people that were issued with non-compliance notices by Fish and Game for duck hunting without a firearms license.
The sentences will go to appeal and if there is justice in the system these men will have their sentences overturned. Grumpy: Iti and Kemara have effectively been martyred and Tame Iti’s international appeal has probably grown more luminescent as a consequence.
Given the convictions, the nature of the case and the judges comments Adele what do you think they should have been given ?
Do you think they would have been given a lesser sentence if they’d be more open about the what they had been engaged in ?
Higherstandard
You obviously believe Iti, Kemara, Signer and Bailey were ‘thinking acts of terrorism’ or at least ‘crimes against humanity.’ How low is your wattage that you cannot differentiate pulp from fiction? Fiction is in believing that these four neo-liberalised convicts are capable of real acts of terrorism. The pulp is believing that Tame Iti dressed in camouflage makes for a credible Rambo.
Tame Iti does not need to resort to terrorism to make his points known. He is the darling of the international twee set, who think it’s ‘très chic’ to have a fully scribed Māori amongst their kind. Indigenous Americans are similarly idolatrised, (every second white person appears to have a ‘native American spirit guide’). Admittedly, there are many within the bourgeois spiritually astute enough to recognise good from bad. Iti and his cohorts are good.
Reality TV, however surreptiously created, does not make for good evidence, really. 18 months of covert surveillance and we arrive at a marvellous artform that delivers the following Oscar performances:
”…oh yes, lets assassinate George W Bush, we’ll catapult a bus onto his head…”
Bro, where’re we gonna get the bus?
Doh!
Trademe!
or:
Bro, we only have one Molotov cocktail.
Bro, well, I need the petrol for my car.
Bro, your car needs to be catapulted onto GW Bush’s head
Bro, that’s not a very nice thing to say about my Holden.
Bro, then shoot me with your MSSA (Chorus of chortling in the background followed by a haka).
This sentencing has confirmed to the international community that New Zealand is backward in terms of race relations. Paranoia has overtaken critical and reasonable analysis. Although convicted of firearms charges Iti, Kemara, Signer and Bailey were sentenced, in the minds of the ignorant, as terrorists.
Precedence establishes what is appropriate sentencing for firearms related charges.
Hi Adele
No, I don’t think the Tame and Rangi were ever seriously going to commit acts of terrorism.
As I said above I think it was an OTT response by the police to Tame’s usual behaviour which has tended towards the stupid end of the spectrum many times in the past, he is, however, harmless and I can’t recall him ever being accused or convicted of any type of violent offence.
I also think many of those he took up into the bush were idiot little anarchists who tend to speak a ‘big game’ but are usually harmless and deluded twits.
That being said I’m somewhat conflicted as I do believe a strong message needs to be sent about these type of activities and firearms but I’m not convinced that this sentence is the right way to do it.
Who writes the Herald editorials these days? There’s been a number of them lately which have blatantly been pushing National party policy and they’re given authority as editorials which were traditionally the views of the editor of the ‘paper. This one here is a prime example;
Editorial: Sales good bet for investors, enterprises
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10807947
It’s nothing more than a brazen attempt to try & refute the growing resistance to asset sales; pure spin. It’s not for the media to tell us what we want, if they’re to take a stand they should be backing public opinion, so why are these biased editorials appearing in the Herald of late? Who’s behind them, anyone know?
Anyone know what’s going on between Cam Slater (Whale Oil) and [name redacted]?
http://wonderfulnow.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/one-more-thing-before-i-go.html
Don’t know but it’s pretty funny/tragic.
DD – it is.
Funny as WO is so high and mighty wrt others’ shady dealings.
Tragic as he has a family and a long-suffering wife.
Wonder if there’s truth to the allegations.
Woman in question seems to have taken the blog owner to court for defamation.
Wow, great stuff.
Readers of Whaleoil will have already put 2 and 2 together and noted his increasing obsession with certain causes.
I see – WO’s not very impressed with hetero marriag it seems. He does like to mock the “sanctity of marriage” very much.
The woman in question is not taking me to court for defamation for the simple reason that every thing i have stated is true.
Woman in question is taking me to court after 18 months of putting up with her harassment of me after i supported Slater in staying with his wife and family – for harassment.
These harassment proceedings were filed prior to me ever naming her on my blog. She has a free lawyer that she likes to use in her pursuit of people that she has real or imagined grievances with.
I said it on that blog post and i will say it again – i doubt Cameron Slater would want anyone challenging me to prove what i have written.
Wow. So you’re claiming Slater cheated on his wife with [name redacted]?
Why would he? He’s a happily married man.
….we haven’t heard from “Spanish Bride” for a very long time…………..
She commented on their wedding anniversary 2 weeks ago.
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2012/05/they-should-get-jobs/
It is a fact.
Don’t ask me why. I am not an unfaithful married man. How would i know why men do these things.
I am even more stumped by why he would then sit on the internet airing every one else’s dirty laundry when he has so much of his own – or why she would file harassment proceedings against me because i couldn’t handle having their drama in my life and attempted to end my friendship with her after her suicide attempt when he wouldn’t leave his wife.
18 months of drama from those two and then i get served with harassment proceedings and [name redacted] goes to the media and claims it is all about Michael Laws.
I am not about to sit back and take that and i make no apologies for that.
Cameron’s wife already knows about the affair. [name redacted] emailed her all the gory details – including screenshots of their conversations professing love – when she took offence to him going away with his family over Christmas 2010.
Jacqueline – what proof do you hafve?
18 months worth of electronic proof.
Don’t even go there…I have proof coming out my ears.
no, not proof of her harassing you, but proof Whale Oil cheatd.
He’s got himself all high and mighty in his crusades to expose other people – surely he’d cover his own backside?
It makes sense now why he thinks marriage is worthless.
I thought whale was some staunch right wing christian. I try my best to ignore him as much as possible so I could be entirely wrong.
That is interesting that he thinks marriage is worthless. The guy is just so negative. He must be the most bitter and twisted person in NZ media.
I have 18 months worth of electronic proof of their affair.
Online suicide note by [name redacted] when he refused to leave his wife.
Emails from him.
Emails from her to him.
The whole saga is crazy.
One would think if he is going to be high and mighty regarding other people’s morals then he would at least pick someone sane to cheat on his wife with.
Instead he picked an absolute psycho,bleated to me about it for 18 months, then ran with his tail between his legs when she harasses me enough to get it printed in the HOS, THEN sits back while his friend Cathy Odgers blogs and laughs about the situation.
I thought he was smarter than that as well. Perhaps he has a GOD complex.
The HErald article was about Michael Laws, not Slater, I thought.
The HOS article was about Laws.
That suited [name redacted] agenda and was just another in a long line of examples of her harassment of me.
None of this is about Laws though and that is why i have blogged the truth.
Why would you want anything to do with that bunch of panty-sniffers anyway?
They’re all just going to destroy themselves and each other. Get on with your life and leave them to it.
Unless you’re just like the rest of them of course, in which case carry on.
So why is Cactus Kate of the Alzheimers old Codgers and Tax dodgers Party getting on the case is it because the last of the fundamentalist monetarists are going down the gurgle r and they have to stick together like the captain of a sinking ship.
Is it mycau this week Cactus the swimming pool must be closed to many sharks circling
Felix – I don’t want anything to do with them. I tried to end my “friendship” with [name redacted] who used to Blog on Whale Oil as “Blondie” and for that i have received 18 months worth of her attention and stalking me.
When it got to the point that she served me with legal papers that are full of lies because she has a free lawyer and she knows i don’t – and can’t afford one – and then got this whole saga in the media implying it was about Laws – i felt the need to defend myself. It had gotten to the point where i could no longer just delete and ignore her vitriol from my life like i have done for the most part of 18 months.
I have quit writing in my own blog because of the element of society that i am not comfortable with – ie the [name redacted], the Madeleine Flannagans, and the Cameron Slaters of this world and their nasty drama that it allowed in to my life.
Mike E – no idea why Cathy Odgers felt the need to stir the pot when she knew it was her friend’s cheating that i had been protecting him from being made public for 18 months. Not all that smart but – who knows what goes on in anyone else’s heads.
Good on ya, Jacqueline, I hope you get through this drama OK. I guess if there is anything to learn its that you should avoid mentally ill right wingers in future. Although, admittedly, its hard to spot where the politics ends and the illness begins with the likes of Laws.
Thanks Te Reo.
Like i said to the editor of the HOS – i have survived worse than this, and i will survive this latest drama.
And yes – i digress – mentally ill right wingers should be avoided at all cost. Had i not let Laws into my life – i never would have met Slater – then i never would have met [name redacted] or her Mad lawyer Madeleine Flannagan – and my life would be peaceful right now.
They have been like a metastatic cancer in my life…it just keeps spreading.
Lesson well and truly learned.
I’m not ususally wild about Geoffry Miller’s stuff, but in this piece, he articulates my feelings in giving Shearer the bollocking he so richly deserves over Shearer’s dealings with fat cats at SkyCity, both in accepting gifts and in cosying-up over leisurely and luxurious dinner parties.
He’s shaping-up as our own inept and inarticulate version of Tony Blair imo.
http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2012/05/geoffrey-miller-is-taking-gifts-from-lobbyists-ever-a-good-idea.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fliberationbybryceedwards+%28liberation%29
Geoffrey Miller: Is taking gifts from lobbyists ever a good idea?
David Shearer has defended taking free hospitality from SkyCity at the Rugby World Cup by saying he didn’t know at the time about the ‘convention centre for pokie machines deal’. If this is really true, then Shearer is, at the very least, guilty of incompetence, as the deal was announced in June 2011 and he is an Auckland MP. The deal was covered by the media at the time in June 2011. The alternative is somewhat worse for Shearer, namely that he was in fact fully aware of the news of the deal in June 2011, but somehow, in May 2012, fell victim to the rather contagious and virulent malady spreading through the New Zealand parliament: the ‘cannot recall’ disease…
DC was good one backbencher’s. As was Norman (As usual).
Nah, like I said, you’ve been inflating their crime to justify the punishment. Don’t start going all peteg now…
“you’ve been inflating their crime to justify the punishment”
You idiot – the crime being judged has a maximum of fours years. I didn’t inflate that, that is what the law says.
Indeed. But the sentence for two people with a collection of automatic weapons or even MSSA’s would reasonably be a bit stronger than for people with the same number of .22 non-MSSA semi-autos and some non-MSSA shotguns, wouldn’t it.
Like I say, you’re inflating the crime to justify the sentence. Or if you want to get all object-oriented, you’re inflating this instance of crime in order to justify this instance of sentence.
Personally I don’t see why you’re getting so worked up on being called a defender of the establishment – I mean it simply describes your stretching of interpretation in this particular instance, such as bringing automatic weapons into the discussion about a case that involved none. Now you’re all embarrassed, like a teenager who gets called out on the fact that he’s been fawning blatantly over another cute teenager.
Apart from when the judge mentioned said automatic weapons (granted they were semi-automatic).
Why would I need to justify the sentence? It doesn’t bother what they get. What does bother me is the rabid attitude of people like you.
People like McFlock? I doubt you’ve ever met McFlock as I’m sure he/she doesn’t slither under rocks like you The Conformist.
Look up the difference between “automatic” and “semi-automatic”. A marked escalation right there.
“Rabid attitude”? All I’ve done is point out that you managed to shift the level of the crimes for which they were convicted from one case of a restricted weapon (the molotov) and a few not-uncommon firearm possession charges up to everybody having automatic weapons with hi-cap mags. And you get all defensive.
“All I’ve done is point out that you managed to shift the level of the crimes for which they were convicted from one case of a restricted weapon (the molotov) and a few not-uncommon firearm possession charges up to everybody having automatic weapons with hi-cap mags.”
What utter bullshit. There were auto weapons (semi-auto granted) I never mentioned magazines. I never shifted anything – all I pointed out was that 2.5 years didn’t seem excessive considering the max is 4. Then there was a dispute about the weapons of which I was quite clear that I was running from memory and asking for clarification. But what ever, you win.
Congratulations. You may now go chuckle about it.
“There were auto weapons (semi-auto granted)”
“Semi-automatic”: one trigger depression, one bang.
“Automatic”: one trigger depression, many bangs.
A significant functional and legislative difference. Semi-autos are fine. Automatics are “restricted”. That is why there was only ONE “restricted weapon” charge – for the molotov. Not for any of the firearms.
You argued that a sentence of 2 or 3 times the average firearms possession jail sentence was not particularly harsh for possession of “unregistered, illegally modified military weapons”. At least one of those adjectives was false. And you get all persnickety when called on it.
I already agreed, sometime ago, to drop the “illegally modified adjective as incorrect.
Semi-autos are not fine as laid out under the firearms law where Semi-Auto are only to be used or owned by those with a special license.
The maximum charge for the offences is 4 years.
Iti received a 2.5 concurrent sentence for all charges.
Iti should be out much earlier on parole
I don’t care how long he gets and am certainly not interested in “inflating the crime to justify the sentence”
Its a moot point because you won the discussion and should be chuckling.
lols.
Love that – discussion is over but you thought you’d repeat your side anyway.
Far from chuckling, I’m still amazed that you chose to make such a categorical statement about which you obviously know absolutely nothing. And I’m pretty sure that’s not much of an exagerration, if at all.
For example, semi-automatic firearms are legally fine, exactly the same as bolt action rifles or even a muzzle-loading black powder musket. I think you might be confusing all semi-automatics with “military-style semi automatics”, which are at a higher level of licensing than most firearms (but still not “restricted weapons”, which are another class of no-nos). The latter include things like folding stocks, bayonet lugs (to stick a knife on the end of the weapon), high capacity magazine (the bullet holder holds lots of bullets), and pistol-style hand grips.
So the degree of the offense which justified a sentence 2 or 3 times longer than the average for the same offense was “unregistered” – which is hardly out of the ordinary for an unlawful possession charge.
There is the matter of the single molotov, but it seems to me that much of the sentencing rests on the judge having the feeling that they really did in fact commit the other crimes of which they were actually acquitted. But they seem to have pretty capable lawyers to sort that out.
“edit: Unregistered, illegally modified military weapons.”
That’s how you introduced your false decription of what they convicted of. The context was clear enough. Jackal was saying unregistered weapons, and you were saying it was a bit more than that.
You later admitted that you didn’t actually know what you were talking aboput and that it was all based on some video you’d seen.
if you don’t care what sentence they got, why have you been provoking arguments and insulting people who do have an opinion about it?
Hint: the 4 year max is a red herring. No one was saying that they were sentenced above the max. People are just saying tthat they think 2 1/2 years is steep for what they were convicted on, which is fair enough isn’t it?
Hey man, how’s it going?
All good.
Wondering if you’re going to develop into anything that isn’t pants.
Hope fades though; sad to say.
“Wondering if you’re going to develop into anything that isn’t pants.”
Sorry buddy. Next time
Sure.
my wife thinks I am the coolest kid in class though
Bless her heart. You look after that one mate.
Another example of TC showing how keen he is on the sort of “serious discussion” that he says the silly lefties never want to engage in.
Yawn.
Here’s the police’s view which is worth a look.
That’s nice HS but we already know that most of the police case was bullpucky! It’s interesting though that Peter Marshall says there was no explanation given as to what the accused were doing in the Ruatoki, which is a complete lie!
We raided because somebody said they were going to catapult a bus onto John Keys head… it was a serious investigation. Yeah right!
However it appears that the judge took into consideration the charges that were dismissed and not the harm already caused to the accused. Therefore I think McFlock’s statement is correct. The punishment handed down does not fit the crimes committed.
The worst and the best of humanity
Read this and you’ll weep, but you’ll cheer up when you reflect that there are people in the world like Sahar Vardi….
http://972mag.com/author/lisa/
hey idot..
yes you.
who let you call other people idiots?
just because you are one does not mean that you know one.
yeah because I am the guy inflating crimes to justify them getting two years. Do I look like a fucking judge?
nope. You look like a guy talking about automatic weapons and MSSAs when the case involved neither. Very close to the latter, but nope.
Nice, sort of a haiku version of “I know you are but what am I”
I really miss the infantalisation diatribes though.
There’s always Kiwibog HS.
Or I could link through to yours !
You haven’t been here long enough to remember a commenter called Randal who did some wonderful rambling comments on infantalisation the captain has a similiar “typespeak” about him/her.
See below for an example.
http://thestandard.org.nz/whose-values/comment-page-1/#comment-422251
My mistake, Whailoil is far more up your alley.
I have more fun playing here Todd
Todd is my old handle HS. People who are new wont know what you’re on about.
I thought I’d trace the original remark that captain hook was replying to on 27 at 3.22pm. And it was at 2.58 on 25.1 by The Contrarian and there were 19 comments in between, at varying times as late as 7.09 pm.
It would be easier to connect comment and reply if replies noted the name of the commenter they were reacting to.
I found the rhetoric today very passionate,”well written”. Trev putting the boot into the bully boys while they are down.
Everyone SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER.
There may be a vacuum for a Democratic Socialist Coalition.
Great to see the students getting some adaptive benefit from a liberal education and recognising and speaking truth to intergenerational theft.
ALL THE RESEARCH, is suggesting the Western Baby Boomer Generation to have been the most self-interested, prolifligate the world has seen since the ascendence of the Catholic Churches, and those offspring they have indulged to be lifting their narcissism to new levels.
What research? citations or links, please?
A Democratic Socialist Coalition.
Now that’s an idea. Ironically, it would require a few million in funding to make a difference.
I know Steve Keen has fans here-abouts,
and in case any of y’all are not regular listeners of Kim Hill’s radio show of a saturday morning,
the lovely Mark Cubey reports via the twittering machine
that Keen and Hill had a rather interesting discussion,
which will be braoadcast this coming saturday.
https://twitter.com/markcubey/status/205594861766836224
George Carlin has just been in full spate.
He said that there are some great ideas about how things ought to be in the country – it’s called the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe in it.
The country is actually owned by a big club – and You Aren’t In It!