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!
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Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
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A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
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 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
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It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 26 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5HUqSKfUdc&feature=player_embedded#!
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!