“Me being the kind of diligent person I am, I’m kind of disturbed today to think back that of all the things I could have grabbed in my 30 seconds I grabbed my Cabinet papers. I seriously did,”
Yes, we’re all kind of disturbed, darling. Even the non-diligent among us. Seriously.
Yes ak I found that amazing too – paula is so diligent – an unremitting, tireless and painstaking type of person dedicated to making those who need help not get it.
Locked up the system in the database backup at 0300 last night. Odd since it hasn’t done that since I turned it on a week ago and there have been no changes. Seems like fragility in the new system is in the database. Had two overnight failures in two separate backup systems
lprent
Thanks for telling us about system problems you have to cope with. Most of us have no idea that there is this constant correcting and resetting to keep the blog operating well.
Dude! That’s it! The NSA GCHQ GCSB conglomerate can become the biggest provider of cloud storage in the world! I mean, they already are, but now they can beat Kim Dotcom at his own game!
More intervention into local issues coming from the Govt – this time it looks like they want to stop local
GE rules/regulations from being tougher ! Northland people have just finished making submissions to the Northland regional plan asking for a precautionary statement to go into it about GE / GMOs, and it now looks like the Govt will stymie these sorts of attempts !
This is in this morning’s Herald –
“Government appears likely to block attempts by councils to set stricter rules on genetically modified organisms which are designed to increase protection for food-producing regions and vineyards.
Environment Minister Amy Adams said she was concerned about councils’ plans to place bans on the release of GM materials into the environment and limits on outdoor trials of new organisms in their regions.
Some North Island councils were planning to write higher standards into their planning documents because it felt central Government’s rules did not provide enough protection from potential hazards or the costs to councils of any GM-related effects.”
Amy Adams and her government are of an out-of-date ilk…
They are the same people who cut all the kauri.
They are the same people who slaughtered all the seals.
They are the same people who took all the whales.
They are the same people who turned all the rivers to shit.
They are the same people who took all the hoki.
They are the same people who gave us 245T, DDT, and who keep giving us 1080.
They are the same people who gave us asbestos and formaledhyde.
They will push GE food until the day when it too gets added to the above list.
gsays
Now you are onto something there. Making edible fake notes would be an interesting novelty – perhaps out of potatoes which I think can form a plastic like material. What fun to use a $1,000 bill to light a cigar or to set birthday candles alight. And there’s more… Brighter minds than mine could brain storm on this.
CV
Yes I have heard about these community currencies. I like the idea of having to earn and then spend but it has to be accepted community wide. And workers and business have to agree that a set amount of pay and turnover will be allocated for the local currency. If it was open to the possibility of certain people saving for a larger item to be bought largely with local currency, that would be good too, and their earnings would not then lose value but have to be earned and spent within a set time. It is very hard to successfully operate just on local currency without any national currency.
This would not be unlike FlyBuys but on a limited area local basis with a minimum of say 70% of businesses willing to co-operate with it. And they would need to accept say a minimum of 60% local currency to 40% national – but this would be on larger purchases. Smaller purchases would have the reverse perhaps. And businesses could offer things on special for more local currency if they were clearing old stock etc.
For tax purposes – I don’t know. Usually government regards such currency as token government notes. So would GST have to be paid, income tax, company tax? It could be allowed from a company point of view partly as contribution to a local economy, and that this would be a positive move to assist the whole economy.
I like your idea of eating out of date money. Or being able to compost it. The great train robbery in Brit was I think of a whole lot of defunct notes being taken away for destruction. How much better to go to compost – though they will have to be environmentally sound! Anway what do you think of my idea of having fake money? Crazy, eh! If it looked like our own money too much it would end up being passed as counterfeit notes to busy or naive shop assistants. It would never be allowed. But what about a real fantasy NZ Aotearoa environmentally decorated dollar? Now maybe there is something there. Or be decorated with our latest heroes and achievers.
Lots of timebanks in NZ now too, for trading services rather than goods. And everyone’s time is worth the same: one hour = one hour whether you are a cleaner or a lawyer.
Beggers on the street, there is discussion of punishing illegal street ‘placements’ by fines of up to $20,000. The thinking behind this is that there are other elements behind these beggars, and Auckland authorities are trying to reach the back people. But this sort of draconian approach is likely to become used widely, and hurt already hurting people more.
Businesses shouldn’t have to put up with beggers outside their doors all the time. But they perhaps could give people an hour’s grace and then have the right to call police to remove them from the street. Both beggers and businesses have problems that need to be managed fairly.
Also buskers should have rights, even those without permits. They are people showing initiative and bringing music to us, in varying levels of ability. The same as my above suggestion could apply – an hour and then got to go. If the shop agrees to longer then that would be up to the parties involved.
Snowden left HK last night, with the blessing of the HK Government. Have a read of the official press release from HK authorities. It’s fascinating. The Americans are not happy.
Good to see the HK govt explaining the US provided insufficient info to hold him and asking for clarification re reports of the US hacking their systems.
Not sure about zerohedge’s slant that HK are ‘defying’ the US. Aren’t they just following due process? Is not doing what the US want when it is illegal now ‘defying’ them?
Well, to not issue a provisional warrant based on a prima facie valid request from the USA, then use some unfulfilled technicalities as a further excuse, then allow Snowden to board an international flight when his US passport was cancelled by the State Dept days ago…yeah it’s pretty much giving the fingers to the USA.
Best was a statement I saw from the central govt in Beijing…something along the lines of “Beijing respects the independence and rule of law in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the one country two systems arrangement. Meanwhile we are seeking clarifications from the US regarding claims of hacking of Chinese citizens communications.”
Put another way…the decision to let Snowden board the flight and go was almost certainly run from Beijing.
Thanks for that link, CV. I was wondering where I could read the actual HKG government press release.
The Stuff report this morning was surprisingly accurate re the HKG goverment position vis a vis the extradition request being incomplete and their request to the US re alleged hacking of HKG communications.
Here is the Stuff report – updated since I read it earlier.
“After the announcement Saturday of the extradition request, an Obama administration official told USA TODAY that Hong Kong risked harming relations with the two sides if it did not comply with its legal obligations. Regina Ip, a legislator and Cabinet member in Hong Kong, said, “I don’t think we need to be concerned about any consequences.”
It will be interesting to see where Snowden ends up and also interesting that Snowden is/was apparently accompanied by a Wikileaks advisor.
The Al Jazeera TV news report this morning said the role of China/Hong kong and Russia in Snowden’s latest move, shows the limits of US power in some Eastern countries.
A deliberate game to keep the punters guessing. Meanwhile someone on the ‘net described Edward Snowden’s leaving HK as a PRISMBREAK
I lol’d
Personally I think Snowden should stay in Russia for a bit. It’ll be far harder for certain people to “reach out and touch him” there, rather than say Venezuela or Ecuador.
The interesting thing about all this: how will it play out in NZ? I refer to the bill before parliament granting extensions to our intelligence agencies’ ability to spy on NZers.
The life and times of Edward Snowden being played out on the world stage as it is, will surely make it harder for the NAct government to get away with introducing their own anti-democratic surveillance measures. Designed (perhaps) to keep an eye on their political opponents under the guise of suspect subversive activities?
It seems that Dunne may well hold the casting vote – and he has not made up his mind and will not do so until the Bill is reported back, according to RNZ National Midday news.
Bet you we won’t hear what Dunne’s position is untill after we know what NZF’s is.
And then once we already know wether the bill will pass or not, we’ll hear a highly principled statement from Dunne, one way or another, in fairly short order.
PB – you could well be right. The Select Committee has to report back by 26 July, so we only have a month to find out. In the meantime, more and more people/organisations are coming out against the Bill – eg today the Law Commission. And the Snowden revelations could not have come at a better time. Imagine if they had come after the Bill had passed.
It will also depend on whether the speaker lets Dunne keep the money. If he does and Dunne votes for the bill then it will appear that he has been bought. If the money isn’t forthcoming and Dunne doesn’t vote for the bill it will look like the blackmail didn’t work.
One other thing. With their real time interception of internet messaging and content, the US government can now analyse where the breadth of opinion lies on any given topical or policy subject of the day, any politician or any government, anywhere in the world.
There are political and electorate management implications here which are astounding.
quoted in The Washington Post;
“Decision on leaker’s asylum claims has to do with freedom and global security”
-Ecuadorean Official, from Hanoi, Vietnam.
Moscow is possibly the best place for him. I doubt if the seppos can hit him with a drone there, and they’d need to be very careful about sending in an assassination of hit team. While Moscow is not the most respecting of human rights themselves, they may at least be able to prevent his extrajudicial murder.
Absolutely. I can see very few countries being able to prevent an extrajudicial murder or rendition of Snowden. Iceland, Ecuador or Venezuela? No they couldn’t, at least not for long. Russia it is.
that is a very well-written and moving description of the real lived-experience of poverty beatie; poverty that is blowing through the country as the winter chill through the cracks and crevices surrounding ageing, parting, doors and windows.
Excellent piece. And before any mis-anthropic knuckle-head reads that link and then spouts on about how people in that situation could have gone to WINZ or some charitable org instead of signing up to loans…well, maybe they could have. But the end result would be very much the same.
Relying on welfare entitlements in this country in and of itself constitutes and creates the emergency. And it doesn’t end with careful budgeting or any suchlike. Rather the level of the emergency increases with time as inadequate welfare payments are eventually required to service ‘one off’ outgoings beyond those of the week to week living expenses that they fail to cover in the first place.
after reaching a regulated quota of grants from WINZ, applicants are required to complete tasks:
Task I : complete and present a weekly budget for consideration.(sensible).
Task II: reveiw budget for where any savings can be made.
In my personal circumstances I explained that I have to do Task I every week, as a matter of course, else no replacement clothing, household consumables or plants for the garden.
Regarding Task II, I explained that as I am already left with no money from Friday until the following weeks football đ it was not possible for me to make any further savings. (grapes are food, don’t you know).
Anyway, the good Lord has smiled, and bestowed a further blessing, soo, accounts are picking up which permits the backlog of neglected purchases to be addressed.
Disclaimer: in the interests of balance, WINZ can fund NEW (new I tells ya’) washing machines, for which, in the winter-time, I am very grateful.
so “We’re gonna hang out the washing on the Seigfried Line, wearing a great big đ
Thank you for your comments on my blog i really appreciate them, its a harsh reality for many.
What i want to try and show is A) how it really is, how hard it is to get the support and help needed to move out of the situations and also away from the incredibly harsh criticisms, stigma, stereotypes and prejudice that comes with the territory (so to speak) and B) how to try and make the most of the world we have, the situations we are in, learn the basics, teach the basics, and teach those who want to learn how to cope financially and mentally with the situations they find themselves in.
when you are mentally exhausted and emotionally spent, its natural to give up. it takes a lot of fight, and sometimes without the support you get sick of fighting, the tide is against you, you just start floating with the current instead. and thats not good for anyone but the sharks.
they have told a friend of mine to go to Instant Finance because they dont look to closely at bad debt, they just have everything (car, furniture) as collateral instead. 29% interest.
to help pay a powerbill. to help fix a car. not to go out and piss it all up against the wall, not to buy tvs and video games. but to have power and transport.
i saw red. hugely. its not fair.
Also people are being turned away for an emergency food grant if they havent seen a budget advice service first. the same budget advice services that the govt has cut funding to and more and more often its the government agency that is overloading their services.
it instills a huge fear of asking for help, because every approach has a rejection. its awful. but there are wonderful charities and organisations around that do help.
A case has started in the High Court in Auckland this morning involving the mother of an adult son with Downs syndrome taking a case against the MoH for their refusal to pay her for her care. Ms Spence has called the government a dictatorship for the recent passing of legislation denying her and others payment and also the right to seek judicial review.
Luckily her case had been filed prior to the passing of this legislation, according to the Herald article.
Yeah, National is screwing up. Why haven’t they gotten the GCSB to spy on Winkelmann, found some compromising dirt, forced her to resign the bench, and replaced her with someone five steps to the right of Judith Collins?
Y’know, I might not buy into what muzza links to here at ts, but this is ‘Open mike’. The other day you responded to a host of his comments with the same ‘What’s your point?’ line. Which in itself seems to have no point beyond (perhaps) seeking to intimidate, embarrass and, what? Lead to muzza no longer commenting at ts?
If your comment has an argument that is pertinent to his links/comments, then I’d love to hear what it is. Otherwise it’s just annoying harassment/bullying. And that’s crap. You don’t appreciate muzza’s contributions? Ignore them.
Bollox, Bill. Most contributers here have the decency and respect to add a line or two to give some context to their links. Muzza, being a pompous know it all git, doesn’t think we’re worth that much consideration. It’s all part of his glorious social experiment and a form of trolling.
ah yes, had forgotten (and forgiven) that experiment. How’s the write-up of the results and discussion of implications for further research going muzza đ
You don’t get get decide my intent, nor should you project your own, fear laden bias in my direction, that’s not necessary.
Given the musings I usually put with links here, which often get met with your limited imagination in response, why would I care to do anything other than post a link, at times!
In reality, you do not care if I posted accompanying text or not, you proved that yesterday with your, what’s your point broken record, your attempted deflection is hanging out, in broad daylight!
No, no, this is your own personal problem, try articulating, it could assist witht the underlying anger!
Muzza, I’m picking that the reason you put up links without explanation is that when you do try and explain you end up looking like a doofus. The one yesterday was a feeble attempt to derail the post and deserved all it got. And you can bet if you continue t đ ing like that I’ll respond. But to acknowlege Bill’s sensible comment below, I may refrain from ‘what’s your point’. After all, it’s pretty widely accepted your contributions are pointless.
As far as I can make out, Muzza’s point is that rainmaking of one sort of another has been happening since 1902 and is part of a secret global weather engineering program with includes chemtrails HAARP, and more sophisticated methods.
I know that several technological types have put forward plans to geo engineer the planet, usually to ameliorate the effects of global warming. Most experiments have been on a very small local scale and are either locally dangerous or not particularly successful. Various UN bodies have looked at some of these and seem to have ruled them out as impractical.
What we can, and need to do, is cut back drastically on our filling the atmosphere with CO2 and methane. This requires a new economical model which puts people first, perhaps even a smaller number of people than we have on the planet at present. The solutions are both technical and political and I sincerely hope we have not left them too late.
Muzza doesn’t tend to explain any of this, merely giving a few links without context, so that asking what his point is seems a valid approach.
For myself, I doubt if geo engineering is at the moment either part of the solution or the problem. It may be in the future if we let technocrats take over without any wider political solutions. The situation is extremely urgent and all solutions should be examined, but some should be examined more thoroughly than others.
Voice, why are you still pretending to be in my head, sheesh bro, learn the lesson, and stop! Keep picking your nose, you might even pick a winner someday! I’m not even going to bother giving you an explanation about why it was link only, although you have shown a lack of ability in the *guess work* department, even still I won’t make changes, not on your account, even though I know, I will drag you out every time I post such material!
Derail posts, feeble, deserved all it got (go re-read the thread, it, you’re dreaming) nah, that was your personal bias showing through again using a weak parrot impersonation, which for the same reason, continued again, today!
I will continue posting links (most often with text attached), and you are free to say what you want, such as it is on Open Mike.
One more thing, I’ve told you before, to ONLY, speak for yourself, as the use of terms such as *widely accepted* etc, as if you represent anyone else here., is foolish!
@ Murray Olsen – Nice to read that you’re catching up, your comment was interesting, I enjoyed reading your opinion.
Something you do miss though, is that I completely understand the needs for a new model, and almost always, post links with context or comment, you know this because some of them have been in your direction, most recently about 2-3 weeks ago, in case you’ve forgotten.
For mine, I think you’re thoughts re, scale/success of GE, while good to see, are naĂŻve/biased, as you seem to not factor in the essence of the very model that you state requires a remake, yet you feel the technology types, which have put forward such plan, are
A: Not already testing the tech out – (many of my links show its already happening, not to mention the history of testing on humans, the planet etc)
B: Care what the UN etc think, (why would they give a toss what the UN thinks, its not like the UN is not a rogue organization, masquerading (poorly) as altruistic)
C: Would not be looking for a return from any R&D costs, sunk into such projects(assuming they’re private enterprises)
My point, Murray. is, as you point out that weather modification, has been going on for 100+ years, and call it was you like, seeding etc, its all modification/GE! If it got started 100 years ago, then imagine what is possible today, shit is it that difficult to imagine, given the pace at which the global mess has accelerated!
These companies/entities who develop such tech, need to test it, and what better, than to test *live* hey, just like the Nukes which they detonated in our sky, why are you so confident , the same science type, are not simply up to it again, using different methods!
Is it because you regard science as *infallible*, because its *your line of business*, Murray?
I also have made no statement about any *secret programmes*, such comments are made up by the likes of yourself, and TRP etc, transparently projecting your inner fears, about the fellow colleagues, the *scientists*, and related industry, that have done SO-MUCH-DAMAGE, to our planet, and its support mechanisms!
True that most contributers supply a few lines of context to any links they give. Also true that quite a few (annoyingly imo) don’t. But I haven’t, and don’t particularily want to see streams of ‘What’s your point?’ comments below such comments. Thing is, responses like that just augment the troll like nature of the original comment, whether or not trolling, rather than laziness, was the motivation behind the original comment.
I do realise The Daily Blog is a most excellent source of information and analysis, but I never realised the GCSB had become so dependent on us as a source of official information.
Don’t be under any illusions that the racist types who hate MÄori and dress it up as 1law4all are spending buckets of money to get the result they want regarding the constitutional review. They dress their groups in bullshit names like – The Independent Constitutional Review and New Zealand Centre for Political Research – does that technique ring any bells for anyone?
Muriel Newman’s oily rag chokes me up, makes me feel ill; their advertisement was in the local community newspaper, so I read it, and then felt angry. I have known only too many people who think like them; not so many in recent years. đ
locally, it is like a Tale of Two Cities, geographically, and socio-economically (intersected strongly by ethnicity) and I have had this perception confirmed, by of all people, white-middle-class professionals. The attitudes generally are hidden in peer discourse, and behind closed curtains, but are fully revealed in texts and letters to the editor of the provincial daily. The editor here is either reluctant, or unable, to see his own bias (guess from which formerly apartheid country he originates?) and the same import effect has infiltrated local boards and so on. Regarding the recent HDC round of community grants, the wonderful initiatives of Henare O’Keefe were put on the back foot while grants went to Horse of The Year, the Rose Gardens etc. Very sad reliving the report as I write. Just blatent racism and preferential attention to the booming whites (generalization).
The fact that money is only a system of accounting entries becomes a serious problem when the economy is managed to make the inflation of financial assets its defining purpose and a few individuals are allowed to game the system to enrich themselves free from the exertions of contributing to the production of real wealth.
Here is some classic cryptic Winston Peters to decipher, or leave ’til another day… http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10892608
“cultural fellow travellers who pollute the landscape and demand the rest of the country pay for their civic amenities” or some-such similar gibberish.
to follow up, “with the explosion of China’s middle classes in the next 20 years, investment in education and tourism offers opportunities for Australia (and NZ), countries where natural advantages for such future Chinese demands may not apply”… http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/grogonomics/2013/jun/24/closer-china-degrees-australia-exports
-“London is closer to Beijing than Sydney”. đ
“I’ll just, errrr, go with the flow…”
Lazy John Barnett’s failure to perform The Panel, Radio NZ National, Monday 24 June 2013
Jim Mora, John Barnett, Irene Gardiner
Twenty minutes to five on an overcast winter’s afternoon. An undistinguished and largely unmemorable edition of Jim Mora’s chat show is tediously winding to an end….
JIM MORA: Okay, it’s time for the Soap Box, that part of the programme where we find out what our Panelists have been thinking about. Irene, what’s been on your mind?
Irene Gardiner talks about what’s on her excellent website, New Zealand On Screen. It’s quite interesting, but this is what she always does; she seems to have never developed any thoughtful views or original insights about any other topic.
JIM MORA: Okay, thanks for that Irene. John Barnett, what have you got for us today?
JOHN BARNETT: Oh I haven’t been thinking about anything much at all. I’ll just, errrr, go with the flow, I think.
JIM MORA:[long pause] Okayyyyy….
A few years ago, David Cohen was sued by Television New Zealand and had to pay back his appearance fee when it became clear that he had not done any of the reading he was supposed to do before coming on a book discussion show to talk about a book he had not read. Will John Barnett have to hand back his appearance fee after this display of indolence?
…the entire show should be abandoned on the grounds that itâs pants.
That’s what happens when they get rid of all the interesting contributors. Whither Gordon Campbell? Whither Bomber Bradbury? Whither Te Reo Putake? (Shurely shome mishtake?)
I think I’m going to have to stop referring to Jim Mora as “the nicest man on Earth” too, after having read somewhere that Michael Palin is sometimes referred to as “Britain’s nicest man”.
The guy (Jum) is becoming an absolute dip and way, way past his used-by date.
I keep wondering what the fcuk gives at RNZ sometimes – weekday afternoons are now a no-go zone for me, lest I be accused of masochism.
Jim would be better sticking to worthwhile TV (a la a recently screened programme on the English language as spoken by Koiwois).
A couple of years ago, the guy responded to an email of mine – assuring me they were going to give his programme a bit of a shake-up. I gave up waiting.
It’s bubblegum for the ears, (otherwise known as acoustic pus). Sometimes I wonder whether he’s trying to be the metro-sexual Aunt Daisy. Shunt the fcuker off to ZB and make us all happy. Squeeky Fromme-Gardner and Barnacle Barnett would be right at home as well!
‘Open Letter’ from Auckland Mayoral candidate Penny Bright to Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse:
“Are you a genuine community advocate or corporate /property developer MOUTH PIECE?”
Dear Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse,
In the 2010 Auckland Council election, you stood as an ‘Independent’, and quoted the following glowing endorsement from Sir Ron Carter, about your ‘commitment and ability to look after business interests’ :
I think the endorsement of my campaign for Auckland Council by Sir Ron Carter speaks volumes about my commitment and ability to look after business interests. Ron says “Our city needs Councillors who will apply their knowledge and experience for the good of all. A great Council team will be built from those who respect and commit to each other. Penny’s wisdom and consensus style will help create a Council for all Aucklanders. We need her on our Council.”
Who is Sir Ron Carter:
In 2010 – Sir Ron Carter was the Chair of the Committee for Auckland:
Session 1, July 20th – Why? – Whatâs the case for creating a super city? Why do we need to change regional governance structures to do so?
Panelists:
Peter Salmon, Chairman of the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance,
Bob Harvey, Waitakere City Mayor, and
Sir Ron Carter, Committee for Auckland Chairman.
___________________________________________________________
In 2013 we will be an influential voice for all of Auckland, creating cross-sectoral solutions to the city’s issues and
Focusing on a future beyond the electoral cycle helping New Zealand’s only world-ranked city to achieve its potential for the region and the country
The Committee for Auckland (CFA) has played a prominent role in galvanising positive change for our city. Our members are all specialists in the city’s issues and fervent advocates for its success.
Having contributed significantly to the new shape of Auckland as one city, 2013 is the platform for a re-focused Committee to drive the agenda for Auckland as a world leading destination as well as the welcoming gateway to New Zealand.”
“Membership to the Committee for Auckland is by invitation.
Members meet quarterly and are invited to be involved in those aspects of the work programme that interest them.
Members are Chairs of Boards, Directors and Chief Executives
Corporate Membership annual fee $10,000. ……”
The current list of members of the Committee for Auckland:
(It is interesting to note how members of this VERY powerful private lobby group are intertwined with Auckland Council and Auckland Council ‘Council Controlled Organisations’ (CCOs).
For starters……………
Brett O’Riley Chief Executive Officer ATEED
Robert Domm Chief Executive Officer Regional Facilities Auckland
Mark Ford Chief Executive Officer Watercare
John Dalzell Chief Executive Officer Waterfront Auckland
___________________________________________________________________________
Also, how the Committee for Auckland includes key members of the NZ Property Council and property developers, such as:
Connal Townsend National Director Property Council of NZ
Penny has strong links with her community and cares passionately about the Auckland region.
Her community involvement includes Patron of Waitakere Special Olympics, Community Waitakere Charitable Trust, Henderson Riding for the Disabled, The Trust Waitakere Brass Band, Northern Football Association, Trustee of Swanson Railway Station Trust, Waitakere Anti Violence Essential Services and former Director of EECA Board.
Pennyâs special areas of interest are Climate Change, Sustainable City Development, Environmental Advocacy, Community Development and Youth. …………”
____________________________________________________________________________
However, the reality, in my considered opinion, is that you cannot work simultaneously both for the community (the ‘99%’ ), and corporations/property developers (the ‘1%’).
It is my intention as a 2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate to continue to ‘blow the whistle’, against the the ‘corrupt corporate coup’ which set up the Auckland ‘Supercity’, and those who are serving the interests of the ‘1%’.
In my considered opinion, Auckland Council Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse, you are NOT a genuine community advocate – you are in fact, a corporate /property developer MOUTH PIECE, working for the ‘1%’.
No disrespect – but I shall ‘call it as I see it’.
(I don’t expect you to like it).
So be it.
Yours sincerely
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation’ campaigner
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate
…………………………………………………………………….
(For more evidence linking the Committee for Auckland with Auckland Council :
The Super City, was formed for the following reasons.
1: To gain control the peoples assets.
2: To centrally control the governance structure of AKL – See point1
3: To ensure that NZ, via AKL, is tied into the *next system*. (control the largest center of economic/human activity, control the country)
Has anyone even seen the bill leeft behind by the ATA, and still being paid for many years come?
No, and you never will either, and when the assets are stripped, because AKL goes broke, which 99.9% certainty, will happen, all will become clear, just what the agenda was/is for this country!
Sad for NZ. Rankin (recommends Weetbix even for t……s), Pastor (under the blankets with botox) Hannah Tamaki, and that other boring prick. And they’re meant to be knowledgable leaders of our community. For Christ’s Sake. The narcissistic, megalomaniac, not too bright, lunatics, are in charge of the asylum !
I’ve been watcing some of The Wire showing conditions and a sort of life in black poor housing areas and thought about another black tv series which was made in the 70’s – I think it was Good Times. But according to a commentator it didn’t come near to showing the reality of life for black young people. Though actors and others connected with The Wire say that it’s too true.
For those interested in the need for more multi unit housing in Auckland there are things to steer clear from. There’s a whole lot of links on google about Chicago and others.
Put in search line in google –
1 tv series on housing projects and poverty chicago housing projects
and
2 housing projects and poverty
At the time New Zealand developers faced two problems.
*) A perception among government buyers overseas-made software is always better than NZ-made software.
*) Government buyers would choose fully integrated products and not put their own systems together.
Now, as Pullar-Strecker points out, local developers have to contend with large-scale purchasing geared towards dealing with multinationals and huge corporations not small entrepreneurial companies.
Itâs yet another reason New Zealand government needs a technology supremo to oversee all aspects of technology policy.
It’s the BS that seems to be endemic to NZ that stuff made overseas is inherently better than that made here. It’s a belief that, IMO, holds NZ back from its full potential.
DTB
I have just heard in an interview on Radionz that Crown Lynn resorted to using British marks on their china wares around 1951 to enable them to sell to NZs who had a bias against buying our own goods – considered inferior.
2013 – Computer programs designed in NZ have to be sold to an overseas company so that NZs will then consider buying them, from the overarching glamour of a large overseas entity – same software though but considered inferior. As you showed in your link on NZ government software buying.
And using overseas currency of which we have none. So actually borrowing, increasing our current account deficit, our national debt.
And all the time government telling us that we have to raise productivity as a key to firing the economy! This from the sort of people who came up with the name for a failed rocket attempt – ‘Government servant (Won’t work – you can’t fire it). So wise, so all-knowing, such people who are sure that they can do much better than government controlled systems. True, better for themselves.
Please correct anything I have said that’s not true!
Interesting that a number of National Party stars, Jenny Shipley and Ruth Richardson come to mind, have gone into businesses involved with China. Perhaps NZ is too small a fish to bother with when large benefits can be reaped elsewhere. Perhaps we are just a stone base to set a ladder on to climb to dizzy heights in the high-flying and affluent international business world. That attitude would explain much of the observed neglect of the country and its interests by right-wingers.
Just a note I’m in moderation for my comment above from 12 pm. Don’t know why I don’t think I’ve used bad words, or Godwin’s law, though I did mention a couple of RWNJs who used to be National MPs.
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. âThe latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announcedKāinga Ora would be stripped of ...
This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while â simultaneously â cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with MÄori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, itâs hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kĆrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whÄnau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it wonât come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of Americaâs virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealandâs apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
It may have been a short week but there’s been no shortage of things that caught our attention. Here is some of the most interesting. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt took a look at public transport ridership in 2024 On Thursday Connor asked some questions ...
The East Is Red: Journalists and commentators are referring to the sudden and disruptive arrival of DeepSeek as a second âSputnik momentâ. (Sputnik being the name given by the godless communists of the Soviet Union to the worldâs first artificial satellite which, to the consternation and dismay of the Americans, ...
Hi,Back on inauguration day we launched a ridiculous RFK Jr. “brain worms” tee on the Webworm store, and I told you I’d be throwing my profits over to Mutual Aid LA and Rainbow Youth New Zealand. Just to show I am not full of shit, here are the receipts. I ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump over Gaza and Ukraine.Health expert and author David Galler ...
In an uncompromising paper Treasury has basically told the Government that its plan for a third medical school at Waikato University is a waste of money. Furthermore, the country cannot afford it. That advice was released this week by the Treasury under the Official Information Act. And it comes as ...
Back in November, He Pou a Rangi provided the government with formal advice on the domestic contribution to our next Paris target. Not what the target should be, but what we could realistically achieve, by domestic action alone, without resorting to offshore mitigation. Their answer was startling: depending on exactly ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guest David Patman and ...
I don't like to spend all my time complaining about our government, so let me complain about the media first.Senior journalistic Herald person Thomas Coughlan reported that Treasury replied yeah nah, wrong bro to Luxon's claim that our benighted little country has been in recession for three years.His excitement rose ...
Back in 2022, when the government was consulting internally about proactive release of cabinet papers, the SIS opposed it. The basis of their opposition was the "mosaic effect" - people being able to piece together individual pieces of innocuous public information in a way which supposedly harms "national security" (effectively: ...
With The Stroke Of A Pen:Populism, especially right-wing populism, invests all the power of an electoral/parliamentary majority in a single political leader because it no longer trusts the bona fides of the sprawling political class among whom power is traditionally dispersed. Populism eschews traditional politics, because, among populists, traditional politics ...
I’ve spent the last week writing a fairly substantial review of a recent book (“Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism: How we crushed the curve but lost the race”) by a couple of Australian academic economists on Australia’s pandemic policies and experiences. For all its limitations, there isn’t anything similar in New Zealand. ...
Mr Mojo Rising: Economic growth is possible, Christopher Luxon reassures us, but only under a government that is willing to get out of the way and let those with drive and ambition get on with it.ABOUT TWELVE KILOMETRES from the farm on the North Otago coast where I grew up stands ...
You're nearly a good laughAlmost a jokerWith your head down in the pig binSaying, 'Keep on digging.'Pig stain on your fat chinWhat do you hope to findDown in the pig mine?You're nearly a laughYou're nearly a laughBut you're really a crySongwriter: Roger Waters.NZ First - Kiwi Battlers.Say what you like ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Climate denial is dead. Renewable energy denial is here. As “alternative facts” become the norm, it’s worth looking at what actual facts tell us about how renewable energy sources like solar and wind are lowering the price of electricity. As ...
SIR GEOFFREY PALMER is worried about democracy. In his Newsroom website post of 27 January 2025 he asserts that âthe future of democracy across the world now seems to be in question.â Following a year of important electoral contests across the world, culminating in Donald Trumpâs emphatic recapture of the ...
The Government hasnât stopped talking about growth since the Prime Minister made his âyesâ speech at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce last week. But so far, the measures announced would seem hardly likely to suddenly pitch New Zealand into the fast-growth East Asian league. The digital nomad announcement hardly deserved ...
It's election year for Wellington City Council and for the Regional Council. What have the progressive councillors achieved over the last couple of years. What were the blocks and failures? What's with the targeting of the mayor and city council by the Post and by central government? Why does the ...
Someone defames you anonymously online. Can you find out who it is? Maybe. There are legal avenues to seek a court order that an internet host reveal the identity of the person. One of them is called a Norwich Pharmacal order, but as Hugh Tomlinson KC points out, it only ...
The results of the 2025 Mood of the Workforce survey have been released, with working people revealing deep concerns regarding their work lives, housing, health care, and perceptions of the coalition government in Aotearoa New Zealand.Christopher Luxon has signalled that National may campaign on asset sales in the next election, ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealandâs opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting MÄori and Pacific people especially hard, with MÄori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, the Treaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between MÄori and the British Crown. Initially inked by NgÄ Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing â National still wonât commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the countryâs public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te PÄti MÄori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymourâs âcost-savingâ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. âWhatâs the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?â Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the townâs Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mĆ Te KÄhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tĆ«puna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tĆ«puna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Childrenâs Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her governmentâs terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers â temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymourâs school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Governmentâs move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Governmentâs commitment to get New Zealandâs roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. âIncreasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. âToday I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in WhÄngarei will be offering childhood immunisations â the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Governmentâs record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealandâs strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealandâs national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Governmentâs transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. Itâs a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. âThe racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. âThe latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are âstill both very highâ.â The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawkeâs Bay Fallen Soldiersâ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawkeâs Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealandâs second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. âWe have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mĆ Te KÄhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. âThis Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. âA world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed KÄinga Oraâs decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. âIn 2024 KÄinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,â Mr Bishop says. âAs part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. âAs schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamarikiâs review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 Whatâs Up hotline. âWhen I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. âThe Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. âDecember 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labourâs blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. âThe previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. âNational campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 â the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. âThis yearâs Budget will drive forward the Governmentâs plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. âBudget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Governmentâs growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. âJust over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. âThe Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,â says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. âThe change is part of the Governmentâs plan to unlock New Zealandâs potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of KÄinga Oraâs development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. âIâve been a strong advocate for social housing on KÄinga Oraâs Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministersâ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.âHealth New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. âI referred the matter of Judge Aitkenâs alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. âLast year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. âOur diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealandâs interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,â Mr Peters says. âIt is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi â without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston Northâs biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whÄnau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. âThe Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. Itâs so great to be here and Iâm ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges â CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. âInvest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
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“Me being the kind of diligent person I am, I’m kind of disturbed today to think back that of all the things I could have grabbed in my 30 seconds I grabbed my Cabinet papers. I seriously did,”
Yes, we’re all kind of disturbed, darling. Even the non-diligent among us. Seriously.
Yes ak I found that amazing too – paula is so diligent – an unremitting, tireless and painstaking type of person dedicated to making those who need help not get it.
ak
Who? Whom? Someone says this was Paula. Good if the comment can be self-explanatory.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8832358/MP-grabs-papers-as-fire-threatens
Was it arson?
Nah, the door wasn’t boarded shut.
Someone had to go there.
Taking one for the team
“I didn’t think we were going to lose the house but I decided there would be a heck of a lot of people traipsing through it,” she said.
“They are highly confidential!”
Yeah, and we all know how careful she is with confidential information, eh?
I suspect that, to her, confidential means important to the National Party and everything else is public information to be used as she sees fit.
And the reason?? “They are confidential documents and anyone might see them” Oh so she wasn’t looking up the next targets for a ‘leak’
Locked up the system in the database backup at 0300 last night. Odd since it hasn’t done that since I turned it on a week ago and there have been no changes. Seems like fragility in the new system is in the database. Had two overnight failures in two separate backup systems
Time to muse about how to make it more robust.
lprent
Thanks for telling us about system problems you have to cope with. Most of us have no idea that there is this constant correcting and resetting to keep the blog operating well.
send me the backup file đ
Or just use the GCSB/NSA back ups.
Dude! That’s it! The NSA GCHQ GCSB conglomerate can become the biggest provider of cloud storage in the world! I mean, they already are, but now they can beat Kim Dotcom at his own game!
but will there be movies and plenty of rock music đ
More intervention into local issues coming from the Govt – this time it looks like they want to stop local
GE rules/regulations from being tougher ! Northland people have just finished making submissions to the Northland regional plan asking for a precautionary statement to go into it about GE / GMOs, and it now looks like the Govt will stymie these sorts of attempts !
This is in this morning’s Herald –
“Government appears likely to block attempts by councils to set stricter rules on genetically modified organisms which are designed to increase protection for food-producing regions and vineyards.
Environment Minister Amy Adams said she was concerned about councils’ plans to place bans on the release of GM materials into the environment and limits on outdoor trials of new organisms in their regions.
Some North Island councils were planning to write higher standards into their planning documents because it felt central Government’s rules did not provide enough protection from potential hazards or the costs to councils of any GM-related effects.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10892481
Amy Adams and her government are of an out-of-date ilk…
They are the same people who cut all the kauri.
They are the same people who slaughtered all the seals.
They are the same people who took all the whales.
They are the same people who turned all the rivers to shit.
They are the same people who took all the hoki.
They are the same people who gave us 245T, DDT, and who keep giving us 1080.
They are the same people who gave us asbestos and formaledhyde.
They will push GE food until the day when it too gets added to the above list.
This is their mindset. This is their history.
when will they realise that you can’t eat money?
gsays
Now you are onto something there. Making edible fake notes would be an interesting novelty – perhaps out of potatoes which I think can form a plastic like material. What fun to use a $1,000 bill to light a cigar or to set birthday candles alight. And there’s more… Brighter minds than mine could brain storm on this.
Community currency systems often implement a system of demurrage – the value of the notes expires over time.
This encourages people to spend the money into circulation constantly instead of trying to hoard it.
Once the notes have “expired” in value, it would be handy if they could be used as a snack, or as garden fertiliser.
CV
Yes I have heard about these community currencies. I like the idea of having to earn and then spend but it has to be accepted community wide. And workers and business have to agree that a set amount of pay and turnover will be allocated for the local currency. If it was open to the possibility of certain people saving for a larger item to be bought largely with local currency, that would be good too, and their earnings would not then lose value but have to be earned and spent within a set time. It is very hard to successfully operate just on local currency without any national currency.
This would not be unlike FlyBuys but on a limited area local basis with a minimum of say 70% of businesses willing to co-operate with it. And they would need to accept say a minimum of 60% local currency to 40% national – but this would be on larger purchases. Smaller purchases would have the reverse perhaps. And businesses could offer things on special for more local currency if they were clearing old stock etc.
For tax purposes – I don’t know. Usually government regards such currency as token government notes. So would GST have to be paid, income tax, company tax? It could be allowed from a company point of view partly as contribution to a local economy, and that this would be a positive move to assist the whole economy.
I like your idea of eating out of date money. Or being able to compost it. The great train robbery in Brit was I think of a whole lot of defunct notes being taken away for destruction. How much better to go to compost – though they will have to be environmentally sound! Anway what do you think of my idea of having fake money? Crazy, eh! If it looked like our own money too much it would end up being passed as counterfeit notes to busy or naive shop assistants. It would never be allowed. But what about a real fantasy NZ Aotearoa environmentally decorated dollar? Now maybe there is something there. Or be decorated with our latest heroes and achievers.
This is the alternative currency we use – the system is based on transactions not accumulation and we can’t eat the money at this stage.
http://happyzine.co.nz/2010/03/18/the-world-of-hands-new-zealands-most-successful-complimentary-currency/
Lots of timebanks in NZ now too, for trading services rather than goods. And everyone’s time is worth the same: one hour = one hour whether you are a cleaner or a lawyer.
http://www.timebank.org.nz/locate
For your information
http://www.lietaer.com/2010/03/the-worgl-experiment/
cheaper than Zig-Zags.Then there is always the cob-pipe… Reviving the lost art of manliness đ
the ‘black potato’ economy is thriving around here; some of us soon to be serving customers through the UF portal.
yes – they are us.
Thanks for the chuckle:
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/06/24/truth-sex-adverts-hacked-and-replaced-with-cam-slaters-phone-number/
Beggers on the street, there is discussion of punishing illegal street ‘placements’ by fines of up to $20,000. The thinking behind this is that there are other elements behind these beggars, and Auckland authorities are trying to reach the back people. But this sort of draconian approach is likely to become used widely, and hurt already hurting people more.
Businesses shouldn’t have to put up with beggers outside their doors all the time. But they perhaps could give people an hour’s grace and then have the right to call police to remove them from the street. Both beggers and businesses have problems that need to be managed fairly.
Also buskers should have rights, even those without permits. They are people showing initiative and bringing music to us, in varying levels of ability. The same as my above suggestion could apply – an hour and then got to go. If the shop agrees to longer then that would be up to the parties involved.
Snowden left HK last night, with the blessing of the HK Government. Have a read of the official press release from HK authorities. It’s fascinating. The Americans are not happy.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-23/edward-snowden-leaves-hong-kong-flight-moscow
Good to see the HK govt explaining the US provided insufficient info to hold him and asking for clarification re reports of the US hacking their systems.
delightful.
Not sure about zerohedge’s slant that HK are ‘defying’ the US. Aren’t they just following due process? Is not doing what the US want when it is illegal now ‘defying’ them?
Well, to not issue a provisional warrant based on a prima facie valid request from the USA, then use some unfulfilled technicalities as a further excuse, then allow Snowden to board an international flight when his US passport was cancelled by the State Dept days ago…yeah it’s pretty much giving the fingers to the USA.
Best was a statement I saw from the central govt in Beijing…something along the lines of “Beijing respects the independence and rule of law in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the one country two systems arrangement. Meanwhile we are seeking clarifications from the US regarding claims of hacking of Chinese citizens communications.”
Put another way…the decision to let Snowden board the flight and go was almost certainly run from Beijing.
I always thought the talk of Iceland was a diversion for what Snowden was really planning.
Thanks for that link, CV. I was wondering where I could read the actual HKG government press release.
The Stuff report this morning was surprisingly accurate re the HKG goverment position vis a vis the extradition request being incomplete and their request to the US re alleged hacking of HKG communications.
Here is the Stuff report – updated since I read it earlier.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/8832652/Snowden-seeks-asylum-in-Ecuador
I liked this bit in the update.
“After the announcement Saturday of the extradition request, an Obama administration official told USA TODAY that Hong Kong risked harming relations with the two sides if it did not comply with its legal obligations. Regina Ip, a legislator and Cabinet member in Hong Kong, said, “I don’t think we need to be concerned about any consequences.”
It will be interesting to see where Snowden ends up and also interesting that Snowden is/was apparently accompanied by a Wikileaks advisor.
The Al Jazeera TV news report this morning said the role of China/Hong kong and Russia in Snowden’s latest move, shows the limits of US power in some Eastern countries.
…and the choice of Venezuela shows the limits of US power in South America.
I thought the choice was Ecuador?
“the choice of Venezuala…”
It does not appear certain that his final destination is Venezuala – Ecuador appears to also be a strong possibility.
A deliberate game to keep the punters guessing. Meanwhile someone on the ‘net described Edward Snowden’s leaving HK as a PRISMBREAK
I lol’d
Personally I think Snowden should stay in Russia for a bit. It’ll be far harder for certain people to “reach out and touch him” there, rather than say Venezuela or Ecuador.
Love it! And I agree it is a deliberate guessing game.
The interesting thing about all this: how will it play out in NZ? I refer to the bill before parliament granting extensions to our intelligence agencies’ ability to spy on NZers.
The life and times of Edward Snowden being played out on the world stage as it is, will surely make it harder for the NAct government to get away with introducing their own anti-democratic surveillance measures. Designed (perhaps) to keep an eye on their political opponents under the guise of suspect subversive activities?
Cold War paranoia rides again.
It seems that Dunne may well hold the casting vote – and he has not made up his mind and will not do so until the Bill is reported back, according to RNZ National Midday news.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/138291/dunne-hasn't-made-up-mind-about-gcsb-bill
Also be aware that Regina IP was Secretary for Security for the HK govt for several years.
Bet you we won’t hear what Dunne’s position is untill after we know what NZF’s is.
And then once we already know wether the bill will pass or not, we’ll hear a highly principled statement from Dunne, one way or another, in fairly short order.
Thanks for that information re Regina Ip, CV.
PB – you could well be right. The Select Committee has to report back by 26 July, so we only have a month to find out. In the meantime, more and more people/organisations are coming out against the Bill – eg today the Law Commission. And the Snowden revelations could not have come at a better time. Imagine if they had come after the Bill had passed.
It will also depend on whether the speaker lets Dunne keep the money. If he does and Dunne votes for the bill then it will appear that he has been bought. If the money isn’t forthcoming and Dunne doesn’t vote for the bill it will look like the blackmail didn’t work.
according to RNZ 5 O’clock news, neither Dunne, or NZ1, support GCSB spying on NZers
The brilliant thing is, that the NSA or the GCHQ can spy on NZers on behalf of the GCSB, and simply share the results.
GCSB hands squeeky clean all the way.
I just found this statement by Wikileaks on KDC’s Twitter stream (its a great source of information).
http://t.co/6cSiljOD7H
It would seem Ecuador is the likely destination, according to this statement.
One other thing. With their real time interception of internet messaging and content, the US government can now analyse where the breadth of opinion lies on any given topical or policy subject of the day, any politician or any government, anywhere in the world.
There are political and electorate management implications here which are astounding.
Indeed, and the co-opting of such *organic entities*, as, Occupy, and the Arab Spring, reeked of advanced warning.
Recall how the media were so rabid, in their highlighting of how the *Egyptian Uprising*, was a social media (FB) driven, *phenomenon*
tail wagging the dog at times fer sure to be sure.
US (Chuck Schumer) threatens Putin with “serious consequences”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/23/edward-snowden-us-politicians-react (Rand Paul defends Snowden).
Cuba was suggested in one article.
Ecuador you say….
http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/country-chapters/ecuador?page=1
http://www.freedomhouse.org/article/correa-continues-assault-freedom-expression-ecuador
quoted in The Washington Post;
“Decision on leaker’s asylum claims has to do with freedom and global security”
-Ecuadorean Official, from Hanoi, Vietnam.
@ CV. Your link to “www.zerohedge” is a delight.
HK’s official reply to the USA is as close as diplomatic communiques get to saying, “F*ck you, you sleazy b*stards.”
Moscow is possibly the best place for him. I doubt if the seppos can hit him with a drone there, and they’d need to be very careful about sending in an assassination of hit team. While Moscow is not the most respecting of human rights themselves, they may at least be able to prevent his extrajudicial murder.
Absolutely. I can see very few countries being able to prevent an extrajudicial murder or rendition of Snowden. Iceland, Ecuador or Venezuela? No they couldn’t, at least not for long. Russia it is.
Poverty in NewZild
http://morethaninstantnoodles.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/its-poverty/
that is a very well-written and moving description of the real lived-experience of poverty beatie; poverty that is blowing through the country as the winter chill through the cracks and crevices surrounding ageing, parting, doors and windows.
Excellent piece. And before any mis-anthropic knuckle-head reads that link and then spouts on about how people in that situation could have gone to WINZ or some charitable org instead of signing up to loans…well, maybe they could have. But the end result would be very much the same.
Relying on welfare entitlements in this country in and of itself constitutes and creates the emergency. And it doesn’t end with careful budgeting or any suchlike. Rather the level of the emergency increases with time as inadequate welfare payments are eventually required to service ‘one off’ outgoings beyond those of the week to week living expenses that they fail to cover in the first place.
after reaching a regulated quota of grants from WINZ, applicants are required to complete tasks:
Task I : complete and present a weekly budget for consideration.(sensible).
Task II: reveiw budget for where any savings can be made.
In my personal circumstances I explained that I have to do Task I every week, as a matter of course, else no replacement clothing, household consumables or plants for the garden.
Regarding Task II, I explained that as I am already left with no money from Friday until the following weeks football đ it was not possible for me to make any further savings. (grapes are food, don’t you know).
Anyway, the good Lord has smiled, and bestowed a further blessing, soo, accounts are picking up which permits the backlog of neglected purchases to be addressed.
Disclaimer: in the interests of balance, WINZ can fund NEW (new I tells ya’) washing machines, for which, in the winter-time, I am very grateful.
so “We’re gonna hang out the washing on the Seigfried Line, wearing a great big đ
Thank you for your comments on my blog i really appreciate them, its a harsh reality for many.
What i want to try and show is A) how it really is, how hard it is to get the support and help needed to move out of the situations and also away from the incredibly harsh criticisms, stigma, stereotypes and prejudice that comes with the territory (so to speak) and B) how to try and make the most of the world we have, the situations we are in, learn the basics, teach the basics, and teach those who want to learn how to cope financially and mentally with the situations they find themselves in.
when you are mentally exhausted and emotionally spent, its natural to give up. it takes a lot of fight, and sometimes without the support you get sick of fighting, the tide is against you, you just start floating with the current instead. and thats not good for anyone but the sharks.
+1
Another sadistic little detail. Before they will grant a (recoverable) loan, they insist that you approach your bank for a personal loan.
they have told a friend of mine to go to Instant Finance because they dont look to closely at bad debt, they just have everything (car, furniture) as collateral instead. 29% interest.
to help pay a powerbill. to help fix a car. not to go out and piss it all up against the wall, not to buy tvs and video games. but to have power and transport.
i saw red. hugely. its not fair.
Also people are being turned away for an emergency food grant if they havent seen a budget advice service first. the same budget advice services that the govt has cut funding to and more and more often its the government agency that is overloading their services.
it instills a huge fear of asking for help, because every approach has a rejection. its awful. but there are wonderful charities and organisations around that do help.
http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/population/Migration/IntTravelAndMigration_MRMay13.aspx
Its getting better for NZ…but I expect Shearer will have a cunning plan up his sleeve to counter this
Not with National at the helm. In that case it will be getting better for a few and worse for pretty much everyone else.
A case has started in the High Court in Auckland this morning involving the mother of an adult son with Downs syndrome taking a case against the MoH for their refusal to pay her for her care. Ms Spence has called the government a dictatorship for the recent passing of legislation denying her and others payment and also the right to seek judicial review.
Luckily her case had been filed prior to the passing of this legislation, according to the Herald article.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10892534
Best wishes to her.
And here is the Stuff article which provides many more details about Ms Spence’s case and her long standing dealings with the Ministry of Health.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/8834089/Mother-fights-for-caregiver-pay
I am please to see that the case is being heard by Judge Helen Winkelmann.
Yeah, National is screwing up. Why haven’t they gotten the GCSB to spy on Winkelmann, found some compromising dirt, forced her to resign the bench, and replaced her with someone five steps to the right of Judith Collins?
http://www.france24.com/en/20130623-man-made-particles-lowered-hurricane-frequency-study
What’s your point?
What’s yours TRP?
Y’know, I might not buy into what muzza links to here at ts, but this is ‘Open mike’. The other day you responded to a host of his comments with the same ‘What’s your point?’ line. Which in itself seems to have no point beyond (perhaps) seeking to intimidate, embarrass and, what? Lead to muzza no longer commenting at ts?
If your comment has an argument that is pertinent to his links/comments, then I’d love to hear what it is. Otherwise it’s just annoying harassment/bullying. And that’s crap. You don’t appreciate muzza’s contributions? Ignore them.
Bollox, Bill. Most contributers here have the decency and respect to add a line or two to give some context to their links. Muzza, being a pompous know it all git, doesn’t think we’re worth that much consideration. It’s all part of his glorious social experiment and a form of trolling.
ah yes, had forgotten (and forgiven) that experiment. How’s the write-up of the results and discussion of implications for further research going muzza đ
Holster that anger, Hoss!
You don’t get get decide my intent, nor should you project your own, fear laden bias in my direction, that’s not necessary.
Given the musings I usually put with links here, which often get met with your limited imagination in response, why would I care to do anything other than post a link, at times!
In reality, you do not care if I posted accompanying text or not, you proved that yesterday with your, what’s your point broken record, your attempted deflection is hanging out, in broad daylight!
No, no, this is your own personal problem, try articulating, it could assist witht the underlying anger!
Muzza, I’m picking that the reason you put up links without explanation is that when you do try and explain you end up looking like a doofus. The one yesterday was a feeble attempt to derail the post and deserved all it got. And you can bet if you continue t đ ing like that I’ll respond. But to acknowlege Bill’s sensible comment below, I may refrain from ‘what’s your point’. After all, it’s pretty widely accepted your contributions are pointless.
As far as I can make out, Muzza’s point is that rainmaking of one sort of another has been happening since 1902 and is part of a secret global weather engineering program with includes chemtrails HAARP, and more sophisticated methods.
I know that several technological types have put forward plans to geo engineer the planet, usually to ameliorate the effects of global warming. Most experiments have been on a very small local scale and are either locally dangerous or not particularly successful. Various UN bodies have looked at some of these and seem to have ruled them out as impractical.
What we can, and need to do, is cut back drastically on our filling the atmosphere with CO2 and methane. This requires a new economical model which puts people first, perhaps even a smaller number of people than we have on the planet at present. The solutions are both technical and political and I sincerely hope we have not left them too late.
Muzza doesn’t tend to explain any of this, merely giving a few links without context, so that asking what his point is seems a valid approach.
For myself, I doubt if geo engineering is at the moment either part of the solution or the problem. It may be in the future if we let technocrats take over without any wider political solutions. The situation is extremely urgent and all solutions should be examined, but some should be examined more thoroughly than others.
Voice, why are you still pretending to be in my head, sheesh bro, learn the lesson, and stop! Keep picking your nose, you might even pick a winner someday! I’m not even going to bother giving you an explanation about why it was link only, although you have shown a lack of ability in the *guess work* department, even still I won’t make changes, not on your account, even though I know, I will drag you out every time I post such material!
Derail posts, feeble, deserved all it got (go re-read the thread, it, you’re dreaming) nah, that was your personal bias showing through again using a weak parrot impersonation, which for the same reason, continued again, today!
I will continue posting links (most often with text attached), and you are free to say what you want, such as it is on Open Mike.
One more thing, I’ve told you before, to ONLY, speak for yourself, as the use of terms such as *widely accepted* etc, as if you represent anyone else here., is foolish!
@ Murray Olsen – Nice to read that you’re catching up, your comment was interesting, I enjoyed reading your opinion.
Something you do miss though, is that I completely understand the needs for a new model, and almost always, post links with context or comment, you know this because some of them have been in your direction, most recently about 2-3 weeks ago, in case you’ve forgotten.
For mine, I think you’re thoughts re, scale/success of GE, while good to see, are naĂŻve/biased, as you seem to not factor in the essence of the very model that you state requires a remake, yet you feel the technology types, which have put forward such plan, are
A: Not already testing the tech out – (many of my links show its already happening, not to mention the history of testing on humans, the planet etc)
B: Care what the UN etc think, (why would they give a toss what the UN thinks, its not like the UN is not a rogue organization, masquerading (poorly) as altruistic)
C: Would not be looking for a return from any R&D costs, sunk into such projects(assuming they’re private enterprises)
My point, Murray. is, as you point out that weather modification, has been going on for 100+ years, and call it was you like, seeding etc, its all modification/GE! If it got started 100 years ago, then imagine what is possible today, shit is it that difficult to imagine, given the pace at which the global mess has accelerated!
These companies/entities who develop such tech, need to test it, and what better, than to test *live* hey, just like the Nukes which they detonated in our sky, why are you so confident , the same science type, are not simply up to it again, using different methods!
Is it because you regard science as *infallible*, because its *your line of business*, Murray?
I also have made no statement about any *secret programmes*, such comments are made up by the likes of yourself, and TRP etc, transparently projecting your inner fears, about the fellow colleagues, the *scientists*, and related industry, that have done SO-MUCH-DAMAGE, to our planet, and its support mechanisms!
True that most contributers supply a few lines of context to any links they give. Also true that quite a few (annoyingly imo) don’t. But I haven’t, and don’t particularily want to see streams of ‘What’s your point?’ comments below such comments. Thing is, responses like that just augment the troll like nature of the original comment, whether or not trolling, rather than laziness, was the motivation behind the original comment.
For those of you that have not caught up with this incredibly funny re the GCSB that popped up over the weekend.
It appears that the version of the GCSB Bill now on the GCSB website was downloaded from the Daily Blog – and not the official Parliament site.
Selwyn Manning explains … The comments are worth a read and laugh also.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/06/23/gcsb-downloaded-its-version-of-the-gcsb-bill-from-the-daily-blog/
Thanks Vv for the best laugh of the day.
Back to Jenny Kirk’s opening thread.
The NZ Herald ran a headline, “Government a Dictatorship.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10892534
Jenny’s example of overriding local GM regulations is another example of dictatorship as are endless recent examples we could site.
The MSM may be waking up.
Don’t be under any illusions that the racist types who hate MÄori and dress it up as 1law4all are spending buckets of money to get the result they want regarding the constitutional review. They dress their groups in bullshit names like – The Independent Constitutional Review and New Zealand Centre for Political Research – does that technique ring any bells for anyone?
http://news.tangatawhenua.com/archives/22948
Muriel Newman’s oily rag chokes me up, makes me feel ill; their advertisement was in the local community newspaper, so I read it, and then felt angry. I have known only too many people who think like them; not so many in recent years. đ
I seem to have come across a few like them recently ghost – they made me ill too.
locally, it is like a Tale of Two Cities, geographically, and socio-economically (intersected strongly by ethnicity) and I have had this perception confirmed, by of all people, white-middle-class professionals. The attitudes generally are hidden in peer discourse, and behind closed curtains, but are fully revealed in texts and letters to the editor of the provincial daily. The editor here is either reluctant, or unable, to see his own bias (guess from which formerly apartheid country he originates?) and the same import effect has infiltrated local boards and so on. Regarding the recent HDC round of community grants, the wonderful initiatives of Henare O’Keefe were put on the back foot while grants went to Horse of The Year, the Rose Gardens etc. Very sad reliving the report as I write. Just blatent racism and preferential attention to the booming whites (generalization).
Universal Public Credit Public Policy Submission – Final Update
Long but well worth the read.
Hekia Parata on Maori TV just now.
Has she had a tracheotomy in the past? Looks like that sort of a scar on her throat.
They had to insert the control chip somewhere.
If I recall correctly she did have a tracheotomy earlier this year.
Apparently John Key had told her to keep her mouth shut and she couldn’t figure out how to breathe.
Here is some classic cryptic Winston Peters to decipher, or leave ’til another day…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10892608
“cultural fellow travellers who pollute the landscape and demand the rest of the country pay for their civic amenities” or some-such similar gibberish.
to follow up, “with the explosion of China’s middle classes in the next 20 years, investment in education and tourism offers opportunities for Australia (and NZ), countries where natural advantages for such future Chinese demands may not apply”…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/grogonomics/2013/jun/24/closer-china-degrees-australia-exports
-“London is closer to Beijing than Sydney”. đ
Hey Jenny, if you’re about could you please tell me who the good guys are in this story. I’n all confused:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2013/Jun-24/221389-army-moves-to-crush-assir-secure-sidon.ashx#axzz2X3weyPJB
I’m sure it’s all very simple really, and we should just pledge support to whoever we think the good guys are.
frat ernising with the opposite sex Pb
“I’ll just, errrr, go with the flow…”
Lazy John Barnett’s failure to perform
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Monday 24 June 2013
Jim Mora, John Barnett, Irene Gardiner
Twenty minutes to five on an overcast winter’s afternoon. An undistinguished and largely unmemorable edition of Jim Mora’s chat show is tediously winding to an end….
JIM MORA: Okay, it’s time for the Soap Box, that part of the programme where we find out what our Panelists have been thinking about. Irene, what’s been on your mind?
Irene Gardiner talks about what’s on her excellent website, New Zealand On Screen. It’s quite interesting, but this is what she always does; she seems to have never developed any thoughtful views or original insights about any other topic.
JIM MORA: Okay, thanks for that Irene. John Barnett, what have you got for us today?
JOHN BARNETT: Oh I haven’t been thinking about anything much at all. I’ll just, errrr, go with the flow, I think.
JIM MORA: [long pause] Okayyyyy….
A few years ago, David Cohen was sued by Television New Zealand and had to pay back his appearance fee when it became clear that he had not done any of the reading he was supposed to do before coming on a book discussion show to talk about a book he had not read. Will John Barnett have to hand back his appearance fee after this display of indolence?
+1
Anyway the entire show should be abandoned on the grounds that it’s pants.
…the entire show should be abandoned on the grounds that itâs pants.
That’s what happens when they get rid of all the interesting contributors. Whither Gordon Campbell? Whither Bomber Bradbury? Whither Te Reo Putake? (Shurely shome mishtake?)
I think I’m going to have to stop referring to Jim Mora as “the nicest man on Earth” too, after having read somewhere that Michael Palin is sometimes referred to as “Britain’s nicest man”.
The guy (Jum) is becoming an absolute dip and way, way past his used-by date.
I keep wondering what the fcuk gives at RNZ sometimes – weekday afternoons are now a no-go zone for me, lest I be accused of masochism.
Jim would be better sticking to worthwhile TV (a la a recently screened programme on the English language as spoken by Koiwois).
A couple of years ago, the guy responded to an email of mine – assuring me they were going to give his programme a bit of a shake-up. I gave up waiting.
It’s bubblegum for the ears, (otherwise known as acoustic pus). Sometimes I wonder whether he’s trying to be the metro-sexual Aunt Daisy. Shunt the fcuker off to ZB and make us all happy. Squeeky Fromme-Gardner and Barnacle Barnett would be right at home as well!
FYI
24 June 2013
‘Open Letter’ from Auckland Mayoral candidate Penny Bright to Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse:
“Are you a genuine community advocate or corporate /property developer MOUTH PIECE?”
Dear Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse,
In the 2010 Auckland Council election, you stood as an ‘Independent’, and quoted the following glowing endorsement from Sir Ron Carter, about your ‘commitment and ability to look after business interests’ :
http://www.elections2010.co.nz/2010/candidates/penny-hulse
Commercial Activities
I think the endorsement of my campaign for Auckland Council by Sir Ron Carter speaks volumes about my commitment and ability to look after business interests. Ron says “Our city needs Councillors who will apply their knowledge and experience for the good of all. A great Council team will be built from those who respect and commit to each other. Penny’s wisdom and consensus style will help create a Council for all Aucklanders. We need her on our Council.”
Who is Sir Ron Carter:
In 2010 – Sir Ron Carter was the Chair of the Committee for Auckland:
http://www.unitec.ac.nz/news-events/ftf/unitec-forum-for-the-future-2010.cfm
Session 1, July 20th – Why? – Whatâs the case for creating a super city? Why do we need to change regional governance structures to do so?
Panelists:
Peter Salmon, Chairman of the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance,
Bob Harvey, Waitakere City Mayor, and
Sir Ron Carter, Committee for Auckland Chairman.
___________________________________________________________
Who are the Committee for Auckland:
http://www.committeeforauckland.co.nz/
“Our vision: Auckland as a global city.
In 2013 we will be an influential voice for all of Auckland, creating cross-sectoral solutions to the city’s issues and
Focusing on a future beyond the electoral cycle helping New Zealand’s only world-ranked city to achieve its potential for the region and the country
The Committee for Auckland (CFA) has played a prominent role in galvanising positive change for our city. Our members are all specialists in the city’s issues and fervent advocates for its success.
Having contributed significantly to the new shape of Auckland as one city, 2013 is the platform for a re-focused Committee to drive the agenda for Auckland as a world leading destination as well as the welcoming gateway to New Zealand.”
Membership of the Committee for Auckland:
http://www.committeeforauckland.co.nz/membership
“Membership to the Committee for Auckland is by invitation.
Members meet quarterly and are invited to be involved in those aspects of the work programme that interest them.
Members are Chairs of Boards, Directors and Chief Executives
Corporate Membership annual fee $10,000. ……”
The current list of members of the Committee for Auckland:
http://www.committeeforauckland.co.nz/membership/member-organisations
(It is interesting to note how members of this VERY powerful private lobby group are intertwined with Auckland Council and Auckland Council ‘Council Controlled Organisations’ (CCOs).
For starters……………
Brett O’Riley Chief Executive Officer ATEED
Robert Domm Chief Executive Officer Regional Facilities Auckland
Mark Ford Chief Executive Officer Watercare
John Dalzell Chief Executive Officer Waterfront Auckland
___________________________________________________________________________
Also, how the Committee for Auckland includes key members of the NZ Property Council and property developers, such as:
Connal Townsend National Director Property Council of NZ
Evan Davies Chief Executive Officer Todd Property Ltd
____________________________________________________________________________
On the face of it, Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse, your range of ‘community credentials’ appears impressive:
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/about-us/about-penny-hulse/
About Penny Hulse
Penny has strong links with her community and cares passionately about the Auckland region.
Her community involvement includes Patron of Waitakere Special Olympics, Community Waitakere Charitable Trust, Henderson Riding for the Disabled, The Trust Waitakere Brass Band, Northern Football Association, Trustee of Swanson Railway Station Trust, Waitakere Anti Violence Essential Services and former Director of EECA Board.
Pennyâs special areas of interest are Climate Change, Sustainable City Development, Environmental Advocacy, Community Development and Youth. …………”
____________________________________________________________________________
However, the reality, in my considered opinion, is that you cannot work simultaneously both for the community (the ‘99%’ ), and corporations/property developers (the ‘1%’).
It is my intention as a 2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate to continue to ‘blow the whistle’, against the the ‘corrupt corporate coup’ which set up the Auckland ‘Supercity’, and those who are serving the interests of the ‘1%’.
In my considered opinion, Auckland Council Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse, you are NOT a genuine community advocate – you are in fact, a corporate /property developer MOUTH PIECE, working for the ‘1%’.
No disrespect – but I shall ‘call it as I see it’.
(I don’t expect you to like it).
So be it.
Yours sincerely
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation’ campaigner
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate
…………………………………………………………………….
(For more evidence linking the Committee for Auckland with Auckland Council :
http://www.occupyaucklandvsaucklandcouncilappeal.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/OCCUPY-AUCKLAND-APPEAL-APPLICATION-BY-APPELLANT-BRIGHT-TO-ADDUCE-NEW-EVIDENCE-pdf.pdf
I agree with that !
The Super City, was formed for the following reasons.
1: To gain control the peoples assets.
2: To centrally control the governance structure of AKL – See point1
3: To ensure that NZ, via AKL, is tied into the *next system*. (control the largest center of economic/human activity, control the country)
Has anyone even seen the bill leeft behind by the ATA, and still being paid for many years come?
No, and you never will either, and when the assets are stripped, because AKL goes broke, which 99.9% certainty, will happen, all will become clear, just what the agenda was/is for this country!
South African president to have press conference at 7pm. đ
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/category/bloggers/frank-macskasy/
Frank Macskasy – brilliant !
Sad for NZ. Rankin (recommends Weetbix even for t……s), Pastor (under the blankets with botox) Hannah Tamaki, and that other boring prick. And they’re meant to be knowledgable leaders of our community. For Christ’s Sake. The narcissistic, megalomaniac, not too bright, lunatics, are in charge of the asylum !
I take it that you mean this one.
And, yes, the lunatics are in charge of the asylum.
Edited, she has now deleted her tweet.
Who deleted what tweet?
Felix
An Australian Journo on twitter, wrongly stated that Nelson Mandela had died. she deleted the tweet and then blamed her source.
Ah. Did you do the same thing?
Felix:
I didnt tweet that he died.
She should have waited for corroboration from a separate independent source before pushing it out there.
she deleted the tweet and then blamed her source.
And who do you blame for the nonsense you post up on this mostly excellent site?
why the people don’t invest
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/8834008/Bright-Dairy-keeps-control-of-Synlait-Milk-despite-dilution
I’ve been watcing some of The Wire showing conditions and a sort of life in black poor housing areas and thought about another black tv series which was made in the 70’s – I think it was Good Times. But according to a commentator it didn’t come near to showing the reality of life for black young people. Though actors and others connected with The Wire say that it’s too true.
For those interested in the need for more multi unit housing in Auckland there are things to steer clear from. There’s a whole lot of links on google about Chicago and others.
Put in search line in google –
1 tv series on housing projects and poverty chicago housing projects
and
2 housing projects and poverty
The Chicago one, which seems to be a major example that seemed to have been unsuccessful.
http://en.wikipedia.orgwiki/CabriniâGreen
and some personal anecdotes about how it was for some residents.
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/wealth-poverty/economic-mobility-chicagos-projects
I messed up a bit – correct link for the Chicago Cabrini-Green project is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CabriniâGreen
I sense, no WAIT! …. I feel it in my bones…. I sense some new legislation coming on.
(They could call it the Greg O’Connor Bill):
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8835501/NZ-Police-to-be-slammed-with-clothing-tax
Short-sighted NZ government software buying
It’s the BS that seems to be endemic to NZ that stuff made overseas is inherently better than that made here. It’s a belief that, IMO, holds NZ back from its full potential.
DTB
I have just heard in an interview on Radionz that Crown Lynn resorted to using British marks on their china wares around 1951 to enable them to sell to NZs who had a bias against buying our own goods – considered inferior.
2013 – Computer programs designed in NZ have to be sold to an overseas company so that NZs will then consider buying them, from the overarching glamour of a large overseas entity – same software though but considered inferior. As you showed in your link on NZ government software buying.
And using overseas currency of which we have none. So actually borrowing, increasing our current account deficit, our national debt.
And all the time government telling us that we have to raise productivity as a key to firing the economy! This from the sort of people who came up with the name for a failed rocket attempt – ‘Government servant (Won’t work – you can’t fire it). So wise, so all-knowing, such people who are sure that they can do much better than government controlled systems. True, better for themselves.
Please correct anything I have said that’s not true!
Interesting that a number of National Party stars, Jenny Shipley and Ruth Richardson come to mind, have gone into businesses involved with China. Perhaps NZ is too small a fish to bother with when large benefits can be reaped elsewhere. Perhaps we are just a stone base to set a ladder on to climb to dizzy heights in the high-flying and affluent international business world. That attitude would explain much of the observed neglect of the country and its interests by right-wingers.
Just a note I’m in moderation for my comment above from 12 pm. Don’t know why I don’t think I’ve used bad words, or Godwin’s law, though I did mention a couple of RWNJs who used to be National MPs.