Sacha Baron Cohen on Letterman show, 15.8.09 (WARNING: It’s disgusting.)
Imagine if there’d been vacuous TV talkshows in the Third Reich…
August 15th, 2009
It’s 1942. Brave little Germany is under the terrorist threat posed by the continued existence of the Warsaw ghetto, which all thoughtful analysts, journalists and comedians agree is just a terrorist scourge that has to be eliminated. Mein host David Leitermann’s guest tonight is a zany Nazi comedian who’s fooled the desperate Jewish resistance in Poland into granting him an interview, then used this to further the Nazi state’s campaign of vilification against the Jewish resistance.
Imagine the chilling atmosphere of such an occasion. Imagine the braying of abuse, the obscene indifference to reality of the host and the murderous idiocy of the audience. Imagine laughter being elicited in the service of a totalitarian state.
Imagine something, in other words, like the following interview, which actually took place on CBS television the other day….
DAVID LETTERMAN: You interviewed a terrorist. SACHA BARON COHEN: Yeah, I interviewed a terrorist. LETTERMAN: How’d you do that? It can’t be EASY to find a terrorist! BARON COHEN: Well it’s not easy to get in touch with a terrorist. Your government has been trying to find one for the past nine years! [turns and mugs to audience, repeatedly raising eyebrows Groucho Marx-style] AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! LETTERMAN: Ha ha ha ha ha! You’re right! AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! BARON COHEN: To get in touch with the terrorist, I used a CIA contact. LEITERMANN:[spluttering with laughter] Bruno has a CIA contact!?!?!? AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! BARON COHEN: Yes. These were really nasty terrorists, from the Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade, the world’s leading suicide bombers. AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! LEITERMANN: Ha ha ha ha ha! Okay, now, what’s this clip we’re going to see from the movie? BARON COHEN: Here’s where I talk to the terrorist, and insult him, and he hasn’t got a CLUE what I was saying! AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
[Cue clip from show] BRUNO: Here’s a tip, you guys should lose the beards. Your King Osama looks like a dirty Santa Claus! CONTEMPTIBLE ARAB FALL-GUY:[to interpreter] What’s he saying? [End of clip]
AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha!
[Hearty, sustained applause, general mirthfulness]
LETTERMAN: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! So funny, and so brave! Bruno opens this Thursday. Sacha Baron Cohen! AUDIENCE: Heil! Heil! Heil!…..
ALAN KALTER:[sotto voce] Am I the only one who’s noticed the guy’s unfunny? PAUL SHAFFER:[sotto voce] Somebody get a can of deodorant….
———————————————————————————
Get into the spirit and dutifully laugh along with Letterman and his Pavlovian audience…
Was there an admission of defamation in the settlement?
I’m sure the lawyers made sure that no such admission was made. Maybe the hardline Israel shill Sacha Baron Cohen decided to part with a substantial sum of money simply as a humanitarian gesture to the Christian Palestinian peace activist group he so thoroughly derided and defamed. Or perhaps it was just another example of Baron Cohen’s brilliant “irony”.
Note how the Hollywood Reporter tries to minimize and distort the issue, turning it into a joke by running an accompanying feature called “18 of Hollywood’s Outrageous Entertainment Lawsuits”—as if it was a case about entertainment, rather than libel.
Otherwise your “found guilty” line might have taken you well within the territory of defamation, yourself.
I’ve already conceded that he wasn’t found guilty, and pointed out his humanitarian donation to the peace activist.
Now, will that be enough to stave off the lawyers?
Nope. At legal fees of hundreds or thousands of dollars an hour, settlements are often cheaper than successfully defending a suit.
In case you don’t recall your assertions, this case was supposed to be evidence that SBC was a “hardline Israel shill”. Now you can’t even prove he actually defamed anyone. And if he was factually wrong, his producers and himself might have been misled into thinking the guy was a terrorist by locals eager to pick up a commission.
You seem to have put a lot of structural load on that wee aluminium truss.
Okay, he traveled to the Occupied Territories and accidentally told lies about a Christian peace activist. He’s a moral and serious person, and it was all done for a laugh.
Not that there’s anything notable about the interview…
Really?
You don’t think there’s anything notable about someone humiliating and slandering a man for the sake of “entertainment”, and then slandering him further by repeating the lie on television?
The courts obviously were a lot less indulgent than you are.
Morrissey seems to think that calling the dude a terrorist was untrue (seems to be the case). If so it was defamation, fair enough. But the quantum leap seems to be that because the person who was apparently defamed was from the Levant, this means that SBC is a Zionist propagandist of the worst order.
And that’s assuming it wasn’t simply a frivolous lawsuit settled because it was the most cost-effective method of resolution.
But the quantum leap seems to be that because the person who was apparently defamed was from the Levant, this means that SBC is a Zionist propagandist of the worst order.
There is no “quantum leap” involved. The facts speak for themselves. In his zeal to deride, ridicule and demean the people in the Occupied Territories (not the gun-toting, violent illegal “settlers”, but the indigenous Arabs) Baron Cohen set up an interview with a Christian peace activist in Hebron and then pretended he had bravely interviewed a Muslim terrorist. I think that libeling a Christian peace activist like that is indeed propaganda of the worst sort.
…assuming it wasn’t simply a frivolous lawsuit…
I wonder if a malicious ideologue said that YOU were a terrorist and placed your life in peril like that, whether you would appreciate people laughingly speaking of your predicament as “frivolous”.
Assuming that I:
a) wasn’t a terrorist; or
b) had not misled the producers into thinking I was a terrorist so I got money;
then yes, the my lawsuit would be valid.
and if:
c) someone else had told the producers that I was a terrorist so they got a commission
then my lawsuit would be merely due to the fact that the producers hadn’t checked their informants’ bona fides.
But you have done nothing to say that b and c were false, even if I grant you that a is false. Which it almost certainly is, because terrorists aren’t known for suing for defamation.
And yeah, it’s a quantum leap to assume that one person’s being possibly defamed is indicative that SBC is a rabid Zionist propagandist.
Why don’t you just explain what you mean instead of expecting us to read your mind?
What? I’ve not only explained it exhaustively, I’ve posted a transcript* and the television clip itself.
All I saw was Cohen being interviewed about his movie. Tell me what I’m missing, if you can find the time.
I’m happy to go through it for you, and I assume you’re genuine.
You need to read the transcript. You’ll see that Sasha Baron Cohen—not pretending to be Bruno, but speaking as Sasha Baron Cohen—uses the word “terrorist” four times, and the term “suicide bombers”. He leads Letterman and the audience to believe that Abu Aita, a Christian peace activist, is a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, and then shows a clip of himself as Bruno abusively interviewing Abu Aita, joking about “your king Osama” to the bewildered Palestinian.
There were real and serious repercussions for Abu Aita after this; not only was he libeled in front of the world, but he was suspected by the locals in the Occupied Territories of deliberately and knowingly participating in the unfunny charade.
You really should watch it, and read the transcript I provided. Then you’ll see why Sasha Baron Cohen handed over a huge amount of money to people he would otherwise see exterminated.
* Okay, okay, Te Reo, it segues (appropriately) into a Nazi rally at the end, but everything up to that is genuine.
He met Abu Aita and filmed his humiliation in Hebron, in the Occupied West Bank.
Your other fantasy, about the cunning Arab criminal masterminds duping the gullible English and Americans into thinking they were terrorists is beyond idiotic.
I was going to save this for tomorrow, but I couldn’t wait for you to open your present.
Just like all the other aliens here, regardless of who came first, this country is special.
All who wash up on these shores, or indeed, crash land to earth here, are special.
I truly believe if we unite behind what binds us rather than fight over what divides us, we can set an example and save the world from itself.
As a real al1en, to my extended kiwi family. Song six and the album’s title track @www.al1en.org
Human (R)evolution.
A particle tide, we glide and revolve and revolve and revolve.
Then gravity slides, collide and evolve and evolve and evolve.
Such a little thing, sailed the solar wind. Became the spark to a new evolution.
Such a pretty thing, could be anything. Could be the start of a new revolution.
We are home. We are arrived. We are the stardust that fell from the sky.
We are the face of this world come alive. We are the children born to survive.
The genesis tribes, divide and get old and devolve and dissolve.
Let unity bind, combine and evolve and evolve and evolve.
Such a simple thing, but it’s everything. It’s like the start of our own evolution.
Such a little thing, but we’re everything. We are the start of the Human revolution.
We are the hope. We are the light. We are the stardust caught on the tide.
We are the face of a world come undone. We are the children who sail round the sun.
We are the hope, the welcoming might. We are the stardust that blinds in night.
We are the fate of this world come undone. But we’re still the children borne from a sun.
The ninth track will go up tomorrow and is for my own and all other solo mums.
Merry xmas, Paula Bennett. 😉
Track seven is my Dr Evil song, and one I’ll send to One Direction unless the world pays me one million dollars 😆
Track eight, woke up at my desktop and it was playing. Thank you very much who or whatever.
And that’s only the half of it.
I started writing in April, and it turns out I’m as prolific as I am committed to my battle.
Just shows that with the right motivation, even al1ens can be aspirational, though I don’t think I’m what John had in mind.
James Galbraith recently said that “at the root of the crisis we find the largest financial swindle in world history”, where “counterfeit” mortgages were “laundered” by the banks.
As he has repeatedly noted, the economy will not recover until the perpetrators of the frauds which caused our current economic crisis are held accountable, so that trust can be restored. See this, this and this.
No wonder James Galbraith has said economists should move into the background, and “criminologists to the forefront.”
The bottom line is that the Departments of Justice and Treasury have it exactly backwards: by failing to prosecute criminal fraud, they are destabilizing the economy … and ensuring future crashes.
Over the years governments and the justice system have become less and less likely to prosecute banks and other white collar criminals when they breach the law. This is, of course, resulting in ever increasing amounts of such crime which is inevitably increasing the instability of the financial system.
Econoovbmists should move to the background. They are actually part of the problem. Economists deal with the question of how best to allocate resources and what system to use to do this. For most it is simpler still they believe the best system is capitalism so they then have a much narrower focus around which levers need to be pulled under capitalism to get the desired effect those running an economy is seeking.
What is instead needed is the skillset of a Business Analyst and not an Economist. A good Busiiness Analyst instead identifies the root of the problem that needs to be solved and starts from there. Another way to put this is that they identify the true and base requirement.
The root of the problem or base requirement is that we need a system to satisfy the needs and wants of human beings. The question then becomes how to we do this. Once this has been established (not a small exercise but it IS be a logical one) it can then be compared with where our current system is and what needs to change to meet the system derived from the base requirement.
Four years later, their story seems less like a tribute to upward mobility than a study of obstacles in an age of soaring economic inequality. Not one of them has a four-year degree. Only one is still studying full time, and two have crushing debts. Angelica, who left Emory owing more than $60,000, is a clerk in a Galveston furniture store.
Each showed the ability to do college work, even excel at it. But the need to earn money brought one set of strains, campus alienation brought others, and ties to boyfriends not in school added complications. With little guidance from family or school officials, college became a leap that they braved without a safety net.
The society has, quite simply, thrown away all that talent and, IMO, we’ll see such waste here in NZ as well and it’s that waste that prevents NZ from progressing as well as it should.
There is an”interesting” story doing the rounds of right wing blogs bagging Claire Curran and the Union for not handing out a hamper to someone not in the Union
What do they think unions are for, carrying the load for non members
I don’t think so!
Aye it shows the typical response by the right to the trade union movement. Of course they should share the benefits that the members have created and no way should they be forced to contribute …
The collection was organised by the union. If they didn’t want to pass on the proceeds to a scab, who can blame them? After all, passing on union benefits to non-union members is illegal in NZ under our employment law, so why shouldn’t it apply to other union activities?
“It seems” the only person claiming he’s been called a National Party supporting scab is a National Party supporter.
‘Mr Ingram said he was disappointed Mr Fenwick had contacted the Otago Daily Times instead of raising the matter with him. He did not see the list of recipients but said ”many” people who were not in the union got hampers and it was ”probably an oversight”.’
So perhaps the real headline is “Tory tells stories, other Tories listen.”
Enter the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Headed by a combination of independent media enthusiasts, journalists, and free speech activists (and in most cases, probably all of the above), the new organisation launched this past week, taking in over $100,000 before the end of its first week. While the financial blockade placed on Wikileaks initially inspired the organisation, its goals are much broader: The Foundation plans to leverage crowd power to fund a variety of journalism organisations focused on transparency. Selection will focus on organisations that do innovative work but may not receive enough public attention.
Visitors to the site choose the amount they wish to donate, and are presented with sliding bars that can be toggled to decide how much money goes to each of four organisations. In addition to Wikileaks, donors can give to MuckRock News, an organisation that helps citizens easily file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests in the United States; The Uptake, a local journalism site focused on government transparency looking to go national; and The National Security Archive, an organisation with the lofty goal of expanding citizen access to government information.
Timm says that they plan to expand to include “a variety of innovative transparency and journalism organisations that tackle the problem of secrecy from different angles”, both in the United States and internationally.
MuckRock News has an article on the new foundation:
The just-launched Freedom of the Press Foundation has identified MuckRock as one of four news organizations that will benefit from its system of crowdsourced donations. The best-known of the four is WikiLeaks.
The foundation’s board is a who’s who of media activists, including Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, Electronic Frontier Foundation co-founder John Perry Barlow, Josh Stearns of Free Press and the journalist Glenn Greenwald, now with The Guardian.
“The Freedom of the Press Foundation can be a first step away from the edge of a cliff,” writes Dan Gillmor, author of We the Media and Mediactive. “But it needs to be recognized and used by as many people as possible, as fast as possible. And journalists, in particular, need to offer their support in every way. This is ultimately about their future, whether they recognize it or not. But it’s more fundamentally about all of us.”
continue to keep that “clit” hard karol 🙂 (well, that is a little bit n0rty i know), Hey, whatta ya gonna do? sit back and bend over forward? i been meditating on that n0rtiness today meslf: Oh Well 🙂
may have been “abuse”; may have been invited? ;): however, as i have described to a couple of pastors, sets one up for future blessings (lest we search in the Dark). no it wasn’t abuse :), (Nietzsche)
-(pastor said i was the first man he had met who came to Our Lord through Fred)
The high Court has given the Corrections Department and it’s Minister Ann Tolley a slap saying that the ban on prison inmates smoking is unlawful,
Having been challenged in the Court on the legality of the ban by an inmate of the maximum security Auckland Prison at Paremoremo it appears that the Minister has produced a ‘new’ set of regulations which She and the Corrections Department believe legitimize it’s stance as it appears that the High Court challenge to the legitimacy of the smoking ban only covered the ‘old’ set of regulations,
Obviously the inmate, (Arthur Taylor), who approached the High Court with the claim that the original regulations were not lawful can now repeat the whole process with a fair chance of having the High Court agree with Him,
Corrections this morning told RadioNZ National that should this occur the Minister will then pass legislation to overturn any Judges ruling upon the legality of the smoking ban,
A marvelous mis-use of the power of the Executive, lock up offenders in our jails and offend against them while you do so, when called to account simply retrospectively legislate your unlawful actions to be legal…
vv, LOLZ, i am not so sure about attaching the epithet ‘great’ to the pile atop my shoulders, although feel free to do so for yourself,
Incidently i know the inmate,(Arthur Taylor), quite well, and we managed to mis-spend quite a number of the years of our youth in the same institutions…
Just as an afterthought i have to wonder if the Minister of Corrections Ann Tolley came up with the ‘new’ set of regulations banning smoking in prisons after the paperwork had been filed at the High Court at Auckland challenging the legality of the original smoking ban,
If so, it would seem that Tolley has at least acted in a manner contemptuous of the High Court and more to the point has attempted to pervert the course of justice…
Just another thing to add to the list of court decisions that go against the nact govt,
‘Headline on the herald, ‘Prison smokes ban unlawful’
A judge has ruled a smoking ban is unlawful, – a victory for a career criminal
Arthur Taylor,who challenged it in court.
Corrections minister say’s it has been a great success and the govt will
change the law if it has to.
This brings me to believe that anything these happless generals bring in should
be tested in court,including their debilitating,discriminatory,oppressive welfare
changes next year,to name one.
Quote #1 “National are supported by small business people, but National’s interests are large corporate monopolies and the Party’s balancing act is to appeal to small business social morality while ignoring small business economic interests. Expect a lot more bennie bashing in 2013. ”
Quote #2 “Key’s ability to appeal to the anti-intellectualism of his supporters by dismantling the responsibilities of the Prime Ministership down to a pop culture youtube clip could come unstuck if we had a Jon Stewart type who could highlight this, sadly satire in this country is as dead as investigative journalism.”
What, over and above the cover up already put in place here!
Military bosses were told “it is important the RNZAF does not cover up” its illegal shipment of pyrotechnic canisters which endangered the lives of hundreds of passengers on an Air New Zealand flight.
Investigators found “a considerable number of larger organisational factors and preconditions” led to the safety breach. It also emerged the canisters flown to Canada were actually more dangerous than previously revealed. Neither was properly wrapped or had “safety pins” in place to stop accidental ignition, and one was damaged
“Too poor to buy electricity…” It doesn’t matter how many elements of truth you can cobble together if you’re not seeing the whole picture.
No-one is too poor to make electricity. The solutions to “third world problems” come from people in the developing world, not well-meaning citizens of the USA claiming that “the whole planet is our homeland”. Hubris much?
Ever been to a third world country? Or to somewhere without electricity….? If you had I doubt you would have made such a comment. Even though that is besidev the point. Try listening to the whole message….with an open mind, not just selecting one tiny part to focus in on, you might actually learn something OTV. Research a little on the history of US foreign policy. The overthrowing of democratically elected govts, the installation of dictators and what has happened thereafter and just ask one question – Why? The answer as with most things is to follow the money….
But just to be clear their are many many many people in the world without electricity, there are many people without things even more basic than that – try enough food and clean drinking water….. To pretty much say that if they don’t have elect ridiculous ricity it is their own fault is so beyond ridiculous it just isn’t funny. How are they supposed to get knowledge on how to create their own electricity? Perhaps you think they should use google? I’ll let you figure out the flaw there…
Now we know why the Xmas message is going out in 3D; the kill shot should be spectacular!
Just as an aside, the article reads like bs from start to finish. Big H? Really? More like the interview was conducted from the safety of Wapping and the interviewee was the hack’s typewriter.
Citing The Sun as valid source is a new low, even for you Morrissey. But at least we know have some idea of the gutters you go trawling around in to support your increasingly desperate accusations.
If your mother had been a ticking fruitcake, died in a blaze of press speculation, and you had always grown up knowing you were the spare, you might have some issues too – but only a spiteful little gimp like you with this weird obsession with famous people would be salivating at the prospect.
Merry Christmas to all who frequent TS; writers, commenters and even those who just read to to get another point-of-view. Off to Milford Sound to have Christmas with the whanau which I am looking forward to. Take care all and, if you are driving, be safe. All the best for 2013.
ahhh, before i forget to remember; locally there is some aquatic “desperation” apparently; “Desperado” (eagles shitting where they harvest) Welcome to water meterage in the “provinces”
“Americans are absolutely beside themselves, and very, very uptight.”
Was reading the Herald today, and this is full of total crap. Australia is the worst, every time I visit there I get searched. The US staff have always been polite to me, it seems that the Herald is pulling this whole article out of it’s ass. The US wouldn’t kick you out for spelling your name wrong, you would have to go out of your way to piss them off.
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The government today announced a major support package aimed at reducing homelessness. A thousand new transitional housing places, more support for people to find homes (or not lose them in the first place), all good stuff. The one problem with it is that they're going to start charging people in ...
Courtroom Drama: There is no off-switch in a courtroom. Neither is it possible to turn the page in disgust. Ill-formed and ill-defended opinions will be exposed ruthlessly and unapologetically. As Shakespeare put it: “Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.” Sometimes the ...
As of today, the novel coronavirus spreading in China is called COVID-19. Why does it matter? Around the office, we’ve had several conversations over the past few weeks about how 2019-nCoV needed its own name. First, it was getting annoying calling it by the above designation, and ‘novel coronavirus’ doesn’t ...
by Philip Ferguson Last month B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, reported: “In 2019, Israeli security forces killed 133 Palestinians, including 28 minors. Of the casualties, 104 were killed in the Gaza Strip, 26 in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and three within ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Arms (Firearms Prohibition Orders) Amendment Bill (No 2) (Brett Hudson)Its basicly more "tough on crime" nonsense (its already illegal for unlicensed people to own guns) designed to wedge NZ First against its arsehole base. ...
In 2015 the world agreed to the Paris Agreement to fight climate change. Each country would offer a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) "that it intends to achieve", and "pursue domestic mitigation measures, with the aim of achieving [it]". And every five years, they'd improve on it, ratcheting up ambition until ...
In theory, the emissions trading scheme should reduce emissions. Making polluters pay for permits to pollute lets them save money by reducing pollution, giving them a financial incentive to do the right thing. But right from the start the ETS was broken with a system of free allocation, so polluters ...
Irish voters went to the polls on Saturday in parliamentary elections, and perhaps delivered a political revolution. Since independence, Irish politics has been dominated by two parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Basicly patronage networks with indistinguishable policies, their cleavage isn't ideology, but who killed whose father or grandfather in ...
Once again the Aotearoa Bike Challenge is on us, and once again I’m participating. In principle this is not hard because it does not represent a significant switch in behavior for me. I already bike nearly every day. The Bicycle The fascinating thing about cycling is the realisation that this ...
Lately there has been a great deal of misinformation regarding the origins and purpose of Skeptical Science. As John Cook wrote nearly a decade ago, Skeptical Science is primarily a website that debunks climate misinformation with peer-reviewed science. Despite the ever-worsening impacts from climate change, with record after record being broken in ...
Under Attack: By sacking not only RNZ Concert’s presenters, but also its producers and librarians, and reducing the station to an automated purveyor of classical music in-between parliamentary broadcasts, RNZ’s CEO, Paul Thompson, wasn’t simply announcing an operational shake-up, he was declaring war on one of the most important guardians of ...
Story of the Week... Editorial of the Week... Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Reviews... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Australian smoke plume sets recordsThe recent wildfires in Australia sent one of ...
The Global Protest to #FightInequality was powerful – thankyou and what next? Dear allies, We started the decade with a huge protest to #FightInequality that was heard around the world, including the 1% at Davos. Watch and share the highlights on facebook and twitter. A huge thank you. Together we ...
The Ministry of Health have announced a package that might ensure NZ will never experience another measles epidemic. While at the time of writing the details are still limited it appears that the important limitations in our current programme have been acknowledged and the intent is to address them. Great ...
Prof Nick Wilson, Prof Michael BakerIn this blog we briefly summarise our assessment of the highly uncertain new coronavirus threat. Given its potential to become a severe and prolonged global pandemic, a precautionary response now means activating all components of our pandemic plan, with a particular focus on ‘keep ...
When Labour was running for election, Jacinda Ardern famously said that climate change was "my generation's nuclear free moment". The implication was that her government would take the problem seriously, and act swiftly to reduce emissions. The reality:New Zealand will emit a million more tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2020 ...
James Renwick is Professor of Physical Geography at Victoria University of Wellington. He studied at Canterbury and the University of Washington and has worked on diverse aspects of climate science, including global atmospheric circulation and Antarctic sea ice. In December 2019 he was appointed to the New Zealand Climate Change ...
by Philip Ferguson Exit polls are showing a three-way virtual tie between the main parties in the south of Ireland. Sinn Fein, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are all on just over 22%. FG on 22.4, SF on 22.3, FF on 22.2. Exit polls indicate that over 30% of 18-24 ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Feb 2, 2020 through Sat, Feb 8, 2020 Editor's Pick New Report Details How Fossil Fuel Industry's Climate Destruction Also Exacerbates Human Rights Abuses"Even in the face of the ...
In a previous post I described briefly when and how the Starlink satellite chains – recent launches by Space-X in a scheme to bring 5G internet connectivity to the whole globe – could be seen from New Zealand with the naked eye. Here I provide an update and predictions for ...
Keeping The Faith: This Government’s broad, new, heavily moderated, progressive faith does not require a prime minister with the powers of a medieval pope. Jacinda’s regime has no need of subterranean torture chambers to ensure compliance. A gift for diplomacy and the ability to inspire her fellow human-beings is all ...
Jonathan Freedland of the Guardian has penned a column which chastises the left wing of the Labour party for daring to retain principles and ideals, qualities - it seems - that should be jettisoned in pursuit of power.Never mind that Freedland was an ardent Remainer, that is to say, one ...
Tonight’s news suggests the coronavirus outbreak may have originated from pangolins. Details are very sketchy, almost nothing at all beyond a claim of high similarity. My impression is this claim comes from a press release by South China Agricultural University. Initial discussion online suggests this is a more likely candidate ...
by Susanne Kemp The Fire and Emergency service (FENZ) has recently asked firefighters in Auckland Areas 3, 4 and 5 to take on an additional duty that has rather ominous implications. Namely, to collect names and addresses of everyone on the premises of fires they attend. The firefighters’ union, the ...
Part of the story of the Nazis' rise to power in Germany was the willingness of mainstream right-wing parties to work with them to keep out the left. Because of this, one of the fundamental rules of postwar German politics has been "do not work with Nazis". As a result, ...
There has long been a truism in public broadcasting: don't mess with Concert FM. The theory was that although the station has been in a long-term audience decline, and that audience is steadily ageing out, it has powerful establishment support – and any threat to it would provoke a fury.As ...
This is a re-post from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists The heat absorbed in Earth’s oceans reached a new record in 2019, found a recent study published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. Despite the fact that this has been the case for almost every year over the past decade, this information ...
We are confronted with the spectre of Simon Bridges making clear he cannot, will not, trust Winston Peters – the oft-cited “King Maker” in New Zealand politics.Supporters are lauding it as a master stroke, naturally, because in their eyes, it prevents him being the tail that wags the dog. ...
by Don Franks Under a government claiming empathy with the fine arts, Radio New Zealand ( RNZ) is poised to cut back its classical music station, RNZ Concert. The plan is replacing it on FM radio with music “for a younger audience” as part of a new multimedia music brand. ...
More Thwaites This past week we heard disturbing news about Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier. Helping to fill in the longer term history of Thwaites' behavior and especially helpful in interpreting results of the recent drilling project and what it may say about the future of this unstable mass of ice is Revealing the ...
Inaccuracies are very common in scientific paper abstracts. Image credit:Science in the Abstract: Don’t Judge a Study by its Cover I have come to accept anti-fluoride campaigners will never stop cherry-picking research and findings ...
“The scene is set, the players met…”. And what players they are in this farce of an Election coming up in the United States this year. There is a multi-faceted anger in the broader situation the world finds itself in, in which the false promises of so-called “moderates” find themselves ...
A few years ago, a company lowballed a contract to dispose of toxic waste from the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. So, they dumped it in a disused paper mill in Mataura, then went into liquidation - effectively dumping the problem on local councils. The waste is dangerous - it releases ...
Unhappy with the demonisation of Iran in Western media, I was fortunate to have the Australian Institute of International Affairs invite me to write an alternative analysis for their on-line journal Australian Outlook. I did, and they serialised it into two parts. The essays are short, so I did not ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones was on RNZ’s Morning Report talking about the recent droughts in the Northland region and what the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is doing to alleviate its impact. The PGF recently announced a funding of $2 million for temporary water supplies to Kaikohe and Kaitaia, ...
Speaking to The Country’s Jamie Mackay, New Zealand First MP and Cabinet Minister Shane Jones talks water storage, plant-based meat imitation, and superstar Hollywood director James Cameron. While water storage may have its critics, Minister Jones defended the scheme by saying: “unless we invest and continue to invest” in this ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones is accusing northern iwi leaders of selling out Māori by voting for ideologically-driven court cases rather than practical steps to increase water supply. “I just think that iwi leaders who think that water issues are going to be solved by perpetually fighting in the ...
A dairy owner in St Kilda, Dunedin was delighted to hear that an attempted robbery of his establishment was foiled by a government-funded security system. Sean Lee was delighted at how well the anti-theft smoke system worked. When a knife-wielding man entered the store, the shop assistant immediately pressed a ...
Customs says it stopped more than three tonnes of illegal drugs coming into New Zealand last year. This includes 1,180kg of methamphetamine, 329kg of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine precursors, which could have been converted into 246kg of methamphetamine, 739kg and 6469 pills of MDMA or Ecstasy and 60kg of cocaine. Offshore, ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development Up to $2 million will be allocated from the Provincial Growth Fund to set up temporary water supplies in Kaikohe and Kaitaia where drought is biting hard, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. Drought conditions in Northland have led to ...
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Law and Order New Zealand First welcomes the deployment of an Eagle Police helicopter in Christchurch in what is a step towards fulfilling its long-standing goal to increase the use of police helicopters for the front line, particularly in addressing the scourge of fleeing drivers. Christchurch leads ...
It may have been the first sitting week of 2020, but our Government is already in full-swing - managing a strong economy, investing in infrastructure, and working to break the cycle of homelessness. Read below for all that, and more... ...
In a heated debate in Parliament, National's Deputy Leader Paula Bennett claimed that “nearly 1600 patched gang members have been added” since the Coalition Government took power. To illustrate her point, she altered a chart used by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to show her government’s progress in housing to instead ...
Speech by the Rt Hon Winston Peters at Parliament’s Opening 2020 "We all need insurance" This year New Zealanders are going to have a clear choice to make That choice is between: Optimism versus pessimism; More progress versus back to the future; Investment versus divestment; Unity versus division. New Zealand ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has slammed the Board of Auckland Airport following the airport's runway closing twice within two weeks due to maintenance. Around 2,000 passengers were affected by last week’s runway closures, according to 1NEWS. Another maintenance closure on January 24 saw two international flights and three domestic flights ...
Jenny Marcroft, Spokesperson for Broadcasting New Zealand First supports the commissioning of a business case to assess the viability of a new public media entity. “A strong media environment is critical for a healthy democracy. New Zealand First is a strong supporter of a diverse, independent media,” New Zealand First broadcasting spokesperson ...
Pounamou and technology industries in the West Coast region are set to receive more than $2 million in Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) funding. This was announced by the Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau during Waitangi Day commemorations in Hokitika. He said $800,000 would be given to Development West ...
Clayton Mitchell MP, New Zealand First spokesperson for Labour and Industrial Relations Unemployment and wage growth numbers released by Stats NZ today demonstrate a labour market in good shape with unemployment falling to 4.0%, the underutilisation rate falling to an 11 year low, and wage growth at a 10-year high ...
Hon. Ron Mark, New Zealand First Spokesperson for Defence New Zealand First Spokesperson for Defence Ron Mark, welcomes the official opening of Te Rau Aroha, a new museum at Waitangi Treaty Grounds as part of our Coalition Agreement. “It is a great honour to be part of an effective Government ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime MinisterGood morning,Let us start with important acknowledgements.First, this special day, in remembrance of the 28th Maori Battalion, is also to honour all those men and women who have risked their lives in the service of our country.Second, special guest Robert ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand will look to build on its relationship with the United Kingdom and recommit to the European Union, after the country officially left the continental union recently. The Minister said New Zealand already cooperates closely with Britain on defence and security issues and has ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs The Government has agreed with Air New Zealand to charter an aircraft to assist New Zealanders leaving Wuhan, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. The aircraft will have capacity for around 300 passengers and will fly from Wuhan to ...
Tougher penalties for gun crime are a step closer with the passage of firearms reform legislation through another stage in Parliament. The Arms Legislation Bill has tonight passed its Second Reading. “The changes have one objective - to prevent firearms falling into the wrong hands,” said Police Minister Stuart Nash. ...
Introduction Mr Speaker We all know why we are here today. It has been a long journey. The journey did not actually begin on 15 March 2019. It began on 30 June 1997. Almost 23 years ago, Justice Sir Thomas Thorp told us what was wrong with our firearms legislation. ...
The Government’s work to put trades and vocational education back on the agenda took another major step forward today with the passing of the Education (Vocational Education and Training Reform) Amendment Bill, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. “This is a watershed day for trades and vocational education. These law changes formalise ...
Speeding up the return of Christchurch regeneration activities to local leadership is behind the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Amendment Bill introduced to Parliament today by Minister Megan Woods. “As we approach nine years since the February 2011 earthquake in Canterbury, and with the transition to local leadership well underway, the time ...
Hundreds of New Zealanders and international visitors will be able to get back out into nature with the Milford Track partially reopening next week, after extensive assessments and repairs, the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced today. The popular Great Walk has been closed since 3 February after an extreme ...
Up to 110 new EV chargers nationwide in cities and regions 50 electric vehicles for ride-sharing The Government is helping deliver more infrastructure and options for low emissions transport through new projects, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. Tauranga, Nelson, Levin, New Plymouth and Oamaru are just some ...
New Zealanders are increasingly better off under this Government as wages rise and families have more disposable income, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. Stats NZ reported today that average household disposable incomes after housing costs rose 4.9% in 2019. This was the highest rise in four years and came as ...
All New Zealanders need to have their voices heard at work to ensure we have an inclusive and productive economy. Today we introduce a Bill to do this for workers in the New Zealand screen industry, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “The Screen Industry Workers Bill will ...
The Government has announced further help for the Southland and Otago regions to speed up recovery efforts from the floods. “I’ve approved Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG), making $500,000 available to help with the clean-up in Fiordland, Southland, and the Clutha district in Otago,” Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni said. ...
Following the announcement that more than 340 schools will be funded to run events promoting vocational education, the Government has announced it will fund a further 257 events to be run by employers and industry. “These industry-run events will allow more than 30,000 students to connect with more than 2,000 ...
Today the Government is making progress on a fairer and more secure rental market for renters and landlords with the introduction of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill in Parliament. “This Bill includes a series of reforms to improve the wellbeing of the 609,700 households that live in rented homes, and ...
A Government programme to wipe out pea weevil has achieved a world first, with Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor today announcing the successful eradication of the noxious pest from Wairarapa. This means the nearly four-year ban on pea plants and pea straw was lifted today. Commercial and home gardeners can again grow ...
Southland residents hit by flooding caused by heavy rainfall can now access help finding temporary accommodation with the Government activating the Temporary Accommodation Service, Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare announced today. “The Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) has been activated by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to help ...
“Is that it?” That’s Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s response to Simon Bridges’ much-hyped economic speech today. “Simon Bridges just gave the most over-hyped and under-delivered speech that I can remember during my time in politics,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s not surprising. Simon Bridges literally said on the radio this morning ...
A trial deployment of the Police Eagle helicopter in Christchurch will test whether the aircraft would make a significant difference to crime prevention and community safety. “The Bell 429 helicopter will be based in Christchurch for five weeks, from 17 February to 20 March,” said Police Minister Stuart Nash. “The ...
The Government has kept up the pace of its work to promote New Zealand’s trade interests and diversify our export markets, with visits to Fiji and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker. Building momentum to bring the PACER Plus trade and development agreement ...
The Coalition Government’s investment in a strong border and disrupting transnational organised crime produced record results for stopping drugs in 2019, says Minister of Customs Jenny Salesa. The illegal drugs were seized at the New Zealand border by Customs, and overseas by Customs’ international border partners before the drugs could ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today kicked off construction of a separated cycleway alongside Tamaki Drive. A two-way separated cycleway will be built along the northern side of Tamaki Drive, between the Quay Street Cycleway extension and Ngapipi Road. There will be a separate walking path alongside. Phil Twyford said giving ...
Owner-occupiers of unit and apartments living in earthquake-prone buildings will have certainty about the financial support they’ll be eligible for with the release of criteria for an upcoming assistance scheme, Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa says. The Residential Earthquake-Prone Building Financial Assistance Scheme will help unit owners facing ...
Temporary restrictions on travel from China will remain in place as a precautionary measure to protect against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The restrictions which prevent foreign nationals travelling from, or transiting through, mainland China from entering New Zealand have been extended for a further 8 days. This position ...
Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today that Tairāwhiti rangatahi will benefit from an investment made by the Government’s He Poutama Rangatahi (HPR) scheme. The funding will go to the Tautua Village, Kauneke programme and the Matapuna Supported Employment Programme which will fund 120 rangatahi over two years. “Both programmes work ...
All parents and caregivers need to ensure that their children go to school unless they are sick, Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin said today. “The school attendance results for 2019 show, across the board, a drop in the number of students going to school regularly,” the Minister says. “Apart from ...
A Deed of Settlement agreeing redress for historical Treaty claims has been signed by the Crown and Moriori at Kōpinga Marae on Rēkohu (Chatham Islands) today, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little has announced. Moriori have a tradition of peace that extends back over 600 years. This settlement ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today with Māori King Tuheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII officially opened the country’s newest road, the $384 million Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway. The 15km four-lane highway with side and central safety barriers takes State Highway 1 east of Huntly town, across lowlands and streams ...
The rapid uptake of life-saving new hepatitis C medicine Maviret since it was funded by PHARMAC a year ago means the elimination of the deadly disease from this country is a realistic goal, Health Minister David Clark says. Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus which attacks the liver, proving fatal ...
Kaupapa Māori will underpin the Government’s new plan to deal with homelessness announced by the Prime Minister in Auckland this morning. “Māori are massively overrepresented among people experiencing homelessness, so, to achieve different outcomes for Māori, we have to do things very differently,” says the Minister of Māori Development ...
1000 new transitional housing places delivered by end of year to reduce demand for emergency motel accommodation. Introduce 25% of income payment, after 7 days, for those in emergency motel accommodation to bring in line with other forms of accommodation support. Over $70m extra to programmes that prevents those at ...
Clear requirements for ensuring customers are treated fairly by banks, insurers and other financial service providers are included in new financial conduct legislation that passed its first reading today. “The recent reviews, by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) and Reserve Bank of New Zealand, into the conduct of banks and ...
Applications are now open for the fifth round of the Regional Culture and Heritage Fund Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Grant Robertson announced today. “I am delighted to open this year’s fund which has some $7 million available to support performing arts venues, galleries, museums and whare ...
The Minister of Māori Development, Hon Nanaia Mahuta today congratulated Associate Professor Amokura Kawharu on her appointment as the next President of the Law Commission. “Amokura Kawharu will be a standout in her new role, leading in an innovative and forward looking approach to the law reform process. She will ...
Auckland University legal academic Amokura Kawharu has been appointed as the next President of the Law Commission, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced today. Associate Professor Kawharu will take up her new appointment on 11 May 2020. “I would like to congratulate Associate Professor Kawharu on her appointment,” Andrew ...
A programme for employers to help them engage effectively with younger employees was launched today by Minister of Employment, Willie Jackson. The Youth Ready Employer Programme contains a range of on-line templates that employers can easily access to help with employing and retaining young people in their businesses. The programme ...
Budget 2020 will be delivered on Thursday 14 May, Finance Minister Grant Robertson announced today. “This year’s Budget will continue the Coalition Government’s focus on tackling the long-term challenges facing New Zealand while also preparing the economy for the future. “Those challenges and opportunities cannot be resolved in one budget, ...
I move, That this House place on record its appreciation and thanks for the devoted and distinguished service to New Zealand by the late Rt Hon Michael Kenneth Moore, member of the Order of New Zealand, a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, an Honorary Member of the ...
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has today classified the drought conditions in Northland as an adverse event for the primary sector, unlocking $80,000 in Government support. “This is recognition that the extreme and prolonged nature of this dry spell is taking its toll on our farmers and growers and additional support ...
The Minister of Police says an operation to smash a trans national drug smuggling ring today will make a significant impact on the methamphetamine trade fuelling harm in our communities. Police have announced 10 arrests and the seizure of up to five million dollars’ worth of illicit drugs after an ...
The Government’s books are in a strong position to withstand global headwinds, with the accounts in surplus and expenses close to forecast, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Treasury today released the Crown accounts for the six months to December. The operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL) was above ...
Race courses can improve safety with this year’s second round of funding from the Racing Safety Development Fund. Minister for Racing Winston Peters has announced the second funding round of 2019/20 is open with $347,875 available for distribution. “The racing industry is integral to the economic and social fabric of ...
Hundreds of thousands of young adults will be offered measles vaccinations in a new campaign to strengthen New Zealand’s immunisation system, Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter said at its launch in Auckland today. “About 300,000 young adults aged between 15 and 29 are not fully protected against measles, and ...
The Government is committing $300,000 to fund research to update behavioural information to make sure HIV and STI prevention services are targeted appropriately in New Zealand. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Finance Minister Grant Robertson made the announcement at today’s Big Gay Out in Auckland. “There is much talk about ...
The Prime Minister has tried to relieve mounting pressure on China and New Zealand's bilateral relationship at a Chinese New Year Celebration at Parliament. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Larissa Christensen, Lecturer in Criminology & Justice | Co-leader of the Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit (SVRPU), University of the Sunshine Coast This week’s ABC’s Four Corners exposed an elite Melbourne school for failing to adequately respond to the grooming of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Trish Luker, Senior lecturer, University of Technology Sydney Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains the names and voices of deceased people. When was the last time you signed your name? Perhaps you are more familiar with the ...
“Oranga Tamariki have remained silent on their role in this horrific situation,” a Māori leader tells Melanie Reid and Bonnie Sumner. A respected Hawke’s Bay kaumatua, who has been supporting the whānau whānui of a four-year-old boy being treated in hospital for brain injuries, says Oranga Tamariki needs to take responsibility ...
*Watch Melanie Reid's full interview in the video player above* Oranga Tamariki stands accused of returning a four-year-old who had been previously badly injured within a Flaxmere household to the same home, where he has since been severely injured again. It allegedly did so without full consultation with the wider whānau, some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roy Green, Emeritus Professor & UTS innovation adviser, University of Technology Sydney The only surprise about the termination of the Holden brand in Australia was that it caused such surprise. This was the final nail in an already empty coffin, given local ...
The owners of the disputed land at Ihumātao say for seven months they've halted development at the request of the Prime Minister, but that can't continue indefinitely. ...
Big Tech companies like Microsoft have raised the spectre of geo-blocking NZ if the Government proceeds with a bill for classifying streamed content. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grant Williamson, Research Fellow in Environmental Science, University of Tasmania As bushfires in New South Wales are finally contained, attention is turning to nature’s recovery. Green shoots are sprouting and animals are returning. But we must accept that in some cases, the ...
Are you a time-poor urban apartment-dweller who’s put composting in the too-hard basket? Read on…About half of what Aucklanders chuck in their rubbish bins is actually compostable material. That means a whopping 90,000 tonnes of Auckland households’ food waste ends up in landfill each year. Why is that a problem? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Associate Professor, Psychology, Deakin University Snapchat has announced a new feature called “Here For You” that promises to “provide proactive in-app support to Snapchatters who may be experiencing a mental health or emotional crisis”. The popular youth-oriented app is the ...
Dr Bryce Edwards.A very concerning element of the current NZ First donations scandal is the role of lobbying and lobbyists close to the Government. The most recent story from RNZ’s Guyon Espiner and Kate Newton, revealed that lobbyist Doug Woolerton, who is also a trustee of the NZ First ...
“The visit by the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing has reinforced the need to view good, affordable homes as a fundamental human right – and highlighted what needs to happen to ensure all New Zealanders are well-housed,” says Scott ...
The government has announced a ban on electricity retailers using promotions to lure back customers who’ve changed companies. Flick Electric’s Nikki Cockburn explains why this is a victory for consumers and competition. Progress on the Electricity Price Review (EPR) might be slow – especially when it comes to putting recommendations into ...
Acculturation – the cultural modification of an individual, group, or people by adapting to or borrowing traits from another culture or a merging of cultures – is increasingly evident in this country’s public agencies. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has not escaped the process. In July 2018, soon after ...
Pacific Media Watch The Philippines top state lawyer has filed a lawsuit against the country’s key television broadcaster with “guns blazing” but he ought to be devoting more effort on governance, says Rappler co-founder and managing editor Glenda M. Gloria. Gloria, who has been announced as a keynote speaker ...
The Electricity Authority says the ban on power companies offering better deals to customers who want to switch should bring down power prices. From 21 March the authority will ban the so-called win-backs offered to customers within 180 days of leaving their original supplier. Figures show 435,000 consumers switched suppliers ...
This is a press statement from UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing at the end of her 10-day visit to New Zealand. The Government of New Zealand has recognized that the country is facing a housing crisis, said Leilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur ...
Fletcher Building is hopeful the Ihumātao land dispute can be resolved soon but says it cannot hold off indefinitely. Presenting the construction company's half-year results to the end of December 2019 chief executive Ross Taylor said it has been a complex situation. But the company said in a presentation that ...
The telecommunications company Spark has made a larger profit off a big boost in mobile sales, with the company's bottom line rising 9.2 percent to $167 million in the six months ended December. Revenue rose 4 percent to $1.82 billion with increased margins in the mobile, broadband and cloud divisions. ...
Chief Human Rights Commissioner, Paul Hunt, welcomes the release of the preliminary findings of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Leilani Farha, today, and looks forward to giving her recommendations careful consideration. “Ms ...
Former National MP Jami-Lee Ross, has been named today as one of the four people facing Serious Fraud Office charges in relation to two $100,000 donations made to the National Party. ...
Former National MP Jami-Lee Ross is one of the four men charged by the Serious Fraud Office in the National Party donations case - alongside a Chinese community leader who reportedly gave $100,000 to the party, and two others. Name suppression for Ross and his co-accused Zhang Yikun, Zheng Shijia, ...
Almost a third of middle-aged New Zealanders have tried methamphetamine at least once, according to a new University of Otago, Christchurch study looking at the link between using the drug and violence in the general population. The study found those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Theresa Larkin, Lecturer Medical Sciences, University of Wollongong Why don’t burns bleed? – from the year three and four students at Islington Public School in NSW Hello year three and four students – thanks for your excellent question! To ...
The report details an unannounced follow-up inspection, the first in a new phase of inspections of all 18 New Zealand prisons by the Office of the Inspectorate. This follows the first phase of inspections, where all prisons were inspected in a process ...
Netflix’s new release Horse Girl promised a quirky indie dramedy from its trailer. In reality, it’s a nightmarish time-warped look into the mind of a mental illness sufferer, writes Alice Webb-Liddall.There was a horse girl in every primary school classroom. The one with ballet flats and low ponytails and books ...
You may not be punching strangers’ seats, but there’s plenty of other behaviour that is guaranteed to make your fellow passengers seethe with rage. Here’s how to travel by plane without making people hate you.You’ve probably seen the video: a woman leans back in her reclined seat as a man ...
Earmarked for big things since she left high school, the ‘Nothing to Regret’ singer has been dealing with the weight of expectations for a while now. With her debut EP just released, she’s OK with where she’s at.Given the circumstances, Robinson is surprisingly relaxed. It’s early afternoon on a swelteringly ...
By Meriba Tulo in Port Moresby Over the past month, the Autonomous Bougainville Government has made known its intention to put forward several proposed amendments to the Bougainville House of Representatives. These amendments include a provision to allow for a president to serve for more than two terms – ...
New Zealand’s Catholic bishops are concerned that unborn babies will lose their existing tenuous legal rights if Parliament passes the Abortion Legislation Bill in the form proposed by a select committee. And unborn babies with a fetal disability ...
Younger voters are being encouraged to take time now to make sure they are enrolled and ready to vote in this year’s election and referendums. The Electoral Commission’s enrolment teams will be at orientation events at universities, polytechnics and wānanga ...
FIRST Union’s Real Work Real Jobs campaign is expanding its focus to include ‘gig economy’ workers like Uber drivers and dependent contractors, with the public release of the union’s submission on the Government’s Better Protections for Contractors ...
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Sacha Baron Cohen on Letterman show, 15.8.09 (WARNING: It’s disgusting.)
Imagine if there’d been vacuous TV talkshows in the Third Reich…
August 15th, 2009
It’s 1942. Brave little Germany is under the terrorist threat posed by the continued existence of the Warsaw ghetto, which all thoughtful analysts, journalists and comedians agree is just a terrorist scourge that has to be eliminated. Mein host David Leitermann’s guest tonight is a zany Nazi comedian who’s fooled the desperate Jewish resistance in Poland into granting him an interview, then used this to further the Nazi state’s campaign of vilification against the Jewish resistance.
Imagine the chilling atmosphere of such an occasion. Imagine the braying of abuse, the obscene indifference to reality of the host and the murderous idiocy of the audience. Imagine laughter being elicited in the service of a totalitarian state.
Imagine something, in other words, like the following interview, which actually took place on CBS television the other day….
DAVID LETTERMAN: You interviewed a terrorist.
SACHA BARON COHEN: Yeah, I interviewed a terrorist.
LETTERMAN: How’d you do that? It can’t be EASY to find a terrorist!
BARON COHEN: Well it’s not easy to get in touch with a terrorist. Your government has been trying to find one for the past nine years! [turns and mugs to audience, repeatedly raising eyebrows Groucho Marx-style]
AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
LETTERMAN: Ha ha ha ha ha! You’re right!
AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
BARON COHEN: To get in touch with the terrorist, I used a CIA contact.
LEITERMANN: [spluttering with laughter] Bruno has a CIA contact!?!?!?
AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
BARON COHEN: Yes. These were really nasty terrorists, from the Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade, the world’s leading suicide bombers.
AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
LEITERMANN: Ha ha ha ha ha! Okay, now, what’s this clip we’re going to see from the movie?
BARON COHEN: Here’s where I talk to the terrorist, and insult him, and he hasn’t got a CLUE what I was saying!
AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
[Cue clip from show]
BRUNO: Here’s a tip, you guys should lose the beards. Your King Osama looks like a dirty Santa Claus!
CONTEMPTIBLE ARAB FALL-GUY: [to interpreter] What’s he saying?
[End of clip]
AUDIENCE: Ha ha ha ha ha!
[Hearty, sustained applause, general mirthfulness]
LETTERMAN: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! So funny, and so brave! Bruno opens this Thursday. Sacha Baron Cohen!
AUDIENCE: Heil! Heil! Heil!…..
ALAN KALTER: [sotto voce] Am I the only one who’s noticed the guy’s unfunny?
PAUL SHAFFER: [sotto voce] Somebody get a can of deodorant….
———————————————————————————
Get into the spirit and dutifully laugh along with Letterman and his Pavlovian audience…
You do, I hope, understand that SBC is in character. Yes?
You need to look at the video of the Letterman show. He was telling the lie as Sacha Baron Cohen. That’s why he was found guilty of libel.
really? “found guilty of libel”?
Normally these cases are settled with no judgement. Got any eviden- lol for a moment I forgot whom I was asking.
Sorry, you’re correct, McFliper. The slanderers settled out of court.
Was there an admission of defamation in the settlement? Links please.
Otherwise your “found guilty” line might have taken you well within the territory of defamation, yourself.
Was there an admission of defamation in the settlement?
I’m sure the lawyers made sure that no such admission was made. Maybe the hardline Israel shill Sacha Baron Cohen decided to part with a substantial sum of money simply as a humanitarian gesture to the Christian Palestinian peace activist group he so thoroughly derided and defamed. Or perhaps it was just another example of Baron Cohen’s brilliant “irony”.
Links please.
There you go…
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/david-letterman-sacha-baron-cohen-bruno-lawsuit–352162
Note how the Hollywood Reporter tries to minimize and distort the issue, turning it into a joke by running an accompanying feature called “18 of Hollywood’s Outrageous Entertainment Lawsuits”—as if it was a case about entertainment, rather than libel.
Otherwise your “found guilty” line might have taken you well within the territory of defamation, yourself.
I’ve already conceded that he wasn’t found guilty, and pointed out his humanitarian donation to the peace activist.
Now, will that be enough to stave off the lawyers?
Nope. At legal fees of hundreds or thousands of dollars an hour, settlements are often cheaper than successfully defending a suit.
In case you don’t recall your assertions, this case was supposed to be evidence that SBC was a “hardline Israel shill”. Now you can’t even prove he actually defamed anyone. And if he was factually wrong, his producers and himself might have been misled into thinking the guy was a terrorist by locals eager to pick up a commission.
You seem to have put a lot of structural load on that wee aluminium truss.
Okay, he traveled to the Occupied Territories and accidentally told lies about a Christian peace activist. He’s a moral and serious person, and it was all done for a laugh.
Have it your way.
No, that’s equally dumb. But because SBC probably made a dickish move it doesn’t mean that he’s a tool of Mossad’s propaganda wing, does it?
Oh, and didn’t he travel to Lebanon?
Nope, just as himself. Not that there’s anything notable about the interview, mind.
Not that there’s anything notable about the interview…
Really?
You don’t think there’s anything notable about someone humiliating and slandering a man for the sake of “entertainment”, and then slandering him further by repeating the lie on television?
The courts obviously were a lot less indulgent than you are.
Where’s the humiliation and slander? Are we watching the same video?
You are either drunk or stupid.
Why don’t you just explain what you mean instead of expecting us to read your mind?
All I saw was Cohen being interviewed about his movie. Tell me what I’m missing, if you can find the time.
Morrissey seems to think that calling the dude a terrorist was untrue (seems to be the case). If so it was defamation, fair enough. But the quantum leap seems to be that because the person who was apparently defamed was from the Levant, this means that SBC is a Zionist propagandist of the worst order.
And that’s assuming it wasn’t simply a frivolous lawsuit settled because it was the most cost-effective method of resolution.
Ah. And here’s me thinking he’s a particularly clever master of disguise when all along he was just a reptilian shape-shifter.
Cheated.
But the quantum leap seems to be that because the person who was apparently defamed was from the Levant, this means that SBC is a Zionist propagandist of the worst order.
There is no “quantum leap” involved. The facts speak for themselves. In his zeal to deride, ridicule and demean the people in the Occupied Territories (not the gun-toting, violent illegal “settlers”, but the indigenous Arabs) Baron Cohen set up an interview with a Christian peace activist in Hebron and then pretended he had bravely interviewed a Muslim terrorist. I think that libeling a Christian peace activist like that is indeed propaganda of the worst sort.
…assuming it wasn’t simply a frivolous lawsuit…
I wonder if a malicious ideologue said that YOU were a terrorist and placed your life in peril like that, whether you would appreciate people laughingly speaking of your predicament as “frivolous”.
Assuming that I:
a) wasn’t a terrorist; or
b) had not misled the producers into thinking I was a terrorist so I got money;
then yes, the my lawsuit would be valid.
and if:
c) someone else had told the producers that I was a terrorist so they got a commission
then my lawsuit would be merely due to the fact that the producers hadn’t checked their informants’ bona fides.
But you have done nothing to say that b and c were false, even if I grant you that a is false. Which it almost certainly is, because terrorists aren’t known for suing for defamation.
And yeah, it’s a quantum leap to assume that one person’s being possibly defamed is indicative that SBC is a rabid Zionist propagandist.
Why don’t you just explain what you mean instead of expecting us to read your mind?
What? I’ve not only explained it exhaustively, I’ve posted a transcript* and the television clip itself.
All I saw was Cohen being interviewed about his movie. Tell me what I’m missing, if you can find the time.
I’m happy to go through it for you, and I assume you’re genuine.
You need to read the transcript. You’ll see that Sasha Baron Cohen—not pretending to be Bruno, but speaking as Sasha Baron Cohen—uses the word “terrorist” four times, and the term “suicide bombers”. He leads Letterman and the audience to believe that Abu Aita, a Christian peace activist, is a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, and then shows a clip of himself as Bruno abusively interviewing Abu Aita, joking about “your king Osama” to the bewildered Palestinian.
There were real and serious repercussions for Abu Aita after this; not only was he libeled in front of the world, but he was suspected by the locals in the Occupied Territories of deliberately and knowingly participating in the unfunny charade.
You really should watch it, and read the transcript I provided. Then you’ll see why Sasha Baron Cohen handed over a huge amount of money to people he would otherwise see exterminated.
* Okay, okay, Te Reo, it segues (appropriately) into a Nazi rally at the end, but everything up to that is genuine.
Morrissey, what was so hard about explaining that? None of that information was in the video, the transcript, or your comments until this one.
Not a fucking mind reader mate.
Morrissey, what was so hard about explaining that? None of that information was in the video, the transcript, or your comments until this one.
Not a fucking mind reader mate.
I hope it was of some help.
I’m sorry about calling you “drunk or stupid”; you know I didn’t mean it.
No worries, I’ve been called worse and often deserved it 😉
Merry Christmas.
Oh, and didn’t he travel to Lebanon?
He met Abu Aita and filmed his humiliation in Hebron, in the Occupied West Bank.
Your other fantasy, about the cunning Arab criminal masterminds duping the gullible English and Americans into thinking they were terrorists is beyond idiotic.
fair enough. I thought he said Beirut in the letterman clip, but what the hey.
And a merry Christmas to you and yours, McFliper.
I was going to save this for tomorrow, but I couldn’t wait for you to open your present.
Just like all the other aliens here, regardless of who came first, this country is special.
All who wash up on these shores, or indeed, crash land to earth here, are special.
I truly believe if we unite behind what binds us rather than fight over what divides us, we can set an example and save the world from itself.
As a real al1en, to my extended kiwi family. Song six and the album’s title track @www.al1en.org
Human (R)evolution.
A particle tide, we glide and revolve and revolve and revolve.
Then gravity slides, collide and evolve and evolve and evolve.
Such a little thing, sailed the solar wind. Became the spark to a new evolution.
Such a pretty thing, could be anything. Could be the start of a new revolution.
We are home. We are arrived. We are the stardust that fell from the sky.
We are the face of this world come alive. We are the children born to survive.
The genesis tribes, divide and get old and devolve and dissolve.
Let unity bind, combine and evolve and evolve and evolve.
Such a simple thing, but it’s everything. It’s like the start of our own evolution.
Such a little thing, but we’re everything. We are the start of the Human revolution.
We are the hope. We are the light. We are the stardust caught on the tide.
We are the face of a world come undone. We are the children who sail round the sun.
We are the hope, the welcoming might. We are the stardust that blinds in night.
We are the fate of this world come undone. But we’re still the children borne from a sun.
That’s why I always shine.
This.
Like! (now come and slice the cheese) 🙂
Thank you.
The ninth track will go up tomorrow and is for my own and all other solo mums.
Merry xmas, Paula Bennett. 😉
Track seven is my Dr Evil song, and one I’ll send to One Direction unless the world pays me one million dollars 😆
Track eight, woke up at my desktop and it was playing. Thank you very much who or whatever.
And that’s only the half of it.
I started writing in April, and it turns out I’m as prolific as I am committed to my battle.
Just shows that with the right motivation, even al1ens can be aspirational, though I don’t think I’m what John had in mind.
lovely 🙂
The Lie that Prosecuting Bank Fraud Will Destabilize the Economy Is What Is REALLY Destroying the Economy
Over the years governments and the justice system have become less and less likely to prosecute banks and other white collar criminals when they breach the law. This is, of course, resulting in ever increasing amounts of such crime which is inevitably increasing the instability of the financial system.
Yes, it appears that Too Big to Fail has now become Too Big to Jail. An unaccountable financial aristocracy.
Econoovbmists should move to the background. They are actually part of the problem. Economists deal with the question of how best to allocate resources and what system to use to do this. For most it is simpler still they believe the best system is capitalism so they then have a much narrower focus around which levers need to be pulled under capitalism to get the desired effect those running an economy is seeking.
What is instead needed is the skillset of a Business Analyst and not an Economist. A good Busiiness Analyst instead identifies the root of the problem that needs to be solved and starts from there. Another way to put this is that they identify the true and base requirement.
The root of the problem or base requirement is that we need a system to satisfy the needs and wants of human beings. The question then becomes how to we do this. Once this has been established (not a small exercise but it IS be a logical one) it can then be compared with where our current system is and what needs to change to meet the system derived from the base requirement.
For Poor, Leap to College Often Ends in a Hard Fall
Although it’s about upward social mobility and how it pretty much doesn’t exist any more I think the crucial point that it makes is this bit:
The society has, quite simply, thrown away all that talent and, IMO, we’ll see such waste here in NZ as well and it’s that waste that prevents NZ from progressing as well as it should.
There is an”interesting” story doing the rounds of right wing blogs bagging Claire Curran and the Union for not handing out a hamper to someone not in the Union
What do they think unions are for, carrying the load for non members
I don’t think so!
Aye it shows the typical response by the right to the trade union movement. Of course they should share the benefits that the members have created and no way should they be forced to contribute …
Really? It seems the hampers were donated by the public for those made redundant…
The collection was organised by the union. If they didn’t want to pass on the proceeds to a scab, who can blame them? After all, passing on union benefits to non-union members is illegal in NZ under our employment law, so why shouldn’t it apply to other union activities?
“It seems” the only person claiming he’s been called a National Party supporting scab is a National Party supporter.
‘Mr Ingram said he was disappointed Mr Fenwick had contacted the Otago Daily Times instead of raising the matter with him. He did not see the list of recipients but said ”many” people who were not in the union got hampers and it was ”probably an oversight”.’
So perhaps the real headline is “Tory tells stories, other Tories listen.”
In the light of the ways wikileaks was starved of funding, a new Freedom of the Press Foundation has been launched:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/12/20121222155259710309.html
MuckRock News has an article on the new foundation:
http://www.niemanlab.org/2012/12/for-muckrock-com-the-new-freedom-of-the-press-association-will-mean-more-muck-more-rocks/
Thanks for posting that – its great to see things starting to change for the better.
continue to keep that “clit” hard karol 🙂 (well, that is a little bit n0rty i know), Hey, whatta ya gonna do? sit back and bend over forward? i been meditating on that n0rtiness today meslf: Oh Well 🙂
may have been “abuse”; may have been invited? ;): however, as i have described to a couple of pastors, sets one up for future blessings (lest we search in the Dark). no it wasn’t abuse :), (Nietzsche)
-(pastor said i was the first man he had met who came to Our Lord through Fred)
The high Court has given the Corrections Department and it’s Minister Ann Tolley a slap saying that the ban on prison inmates smoking is unlawful,
Having been challenged in the Court on the legality of the ban by an inmate of the maximum security Auckland Prison at Paremoremo it appears that the Minister has produced a ‘new’ set of regulations which She and the Corrections Department believe legitimize it’s stance as it appears that the High Court challenge to the legitimacy of the smoking ban only covered the ‘old’ set of regulations,
Obviously the inmate, (Arthur Taylor), who approached the High Court with the claim that the original regulations were not lawful can now repeat the whole process with a fair chance of having the High Court agree with Him,
Corrections this morning told RadioNZ National that should this occur the Minister will then pass legislation to overturn any Judges ruling upon the legality of the smoking ban,
A marvelous mis-use of the power of the Executive, lock up offenders in our jails and offend against them while you do so, when called to account simply retrospectively legislate your unlawful actions to be legal…
@Bad12,Lol, It also looks like great minds think alike,they were posted at the same time 🙂
Nacts are the ‘cowboy warriors’ of NZ politics.
vv, LOLZ, i am not so sure about attaching the epithet ‘great’ to the pile atop my shoulders, although feel free to do so for yourself,
Incidently i know the inmate,(Arthur Taylor), quite well, and we managed to mis-spend quite a number of the years of our youth in the same institutions…
thats the “Right” for ya;
while i think of it, reform is not viable; we are back to the big R(evolution).
just keep sowing them seeds pa’
This government has only one policy toward the unfortunate, and that is “punish and punish again”, just as much as possible.
Just as an afterthought i have to wonder if the Minister of Corrections Ann Tolley came up with the ‘new’ set of regulations banning smoking in prisons after the paperwork had been filed at the High Court at Auckland challenging the legality of the original smoking ban,
If so, it would seem that Tolley has at least acted in a manner contemptuous of the High Court and more to the point has attempted to pervert the course of justice…
Just another thing to add to the list of court decisions that go against the nact govt,
‘Headline on the herald, ‘Prison smokes ban unlawful’
A judge has ruled a smoking ban is unlawful, – a victory for a career criminal
Arthur Taylor,who challenged it in court.
Corrections minister say’s it has been a great success and the govt will
change the law if it has to.
This brings me to believe that anything these happless generals bring in should
be tested in court,including their debilitating,discriminatory,oppressive welfare
changes next year,to name one.
Snap !!!…
Quote #1 “National are supported by small business people, but National’s interests are large corporate monopolies and the Party’s balancing act is to appeal to small business social morality while ignoring small business economic interests. Expect a lot more bennie bashing in 2013. ”
Quote #2 “Key’s ability to appeal to the anti-intellectualism of his supporters by dismantling the responsibilities of the Prime Ministership down to a pop culture youtube clip could come unstuck if we had a Jon Stewart type who could highlight this, sadly satire in this country is as dead as investigative journalism.”
http://tumeke.blogspot.co.nz/2012/12/tumeke-political-review-2012-2013.html
Scott Yorke, please get onto #2
Military warned : No cover-ups
What, over and above the cover up already put in place here!
What a bloody shambles!
A big part of what is wrong with the world
http://www.trueactivist.com/gab_gallery/economic-hitmen-how-it-is-done/
“Too poor to buy electricity…” It doesn’t matter how many elements of truth you can cobble together if you’re not seeing the whole picture.
No-one is too poor to make electricity. The solutions to “third world problems” come from people in the developing world, not well-meaning citizens of the USA claiming that “the whole planet is our homeland”. Hubris much?
Ever been to a third world country? Or to somewhere without electricity….? If you had I doubt you would have made such a comment. Even though that is besidev the point. Try listening to the whole message….with an open mind, not just selecting one tiny part to focus in on, you might actually learn something OTV. Research a little on the history of US foreign policy. The overthrowing of democratically elected govts, the installation of dictators and what has happened thereafter and just ask one question – Why? The answer as with most things is to follow the money….
But just to be clear their are many many many people in the world without electricity, there are many people without things even more basic than that – try enough food and clean drinking water….. To pretty much say that if they don’t have elect ridiculous ricity it is their own fault is so beyond ridiculous it just isn’t funny. How are they supposed to get knowledge on how to create their own electricity? Perhaps you think they should use google? I’ll let you figure out the flaw there…
Perhaps you should take a look at the book instead. You could read it and then make up your own mind.
http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins/product-reviews/0452287081/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
It’s been a big year for Prince Hal
Drinking, snorting coke, cavorting with prostitutes and now….
And now he’s killed a peasant…
Wonder if the Queen will incorporate this splendid news into her speech tomorrow…
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4711647/prince-harry-kills-first-taliban-chief.html
Now we know why the Xmas message is going out in 3D; the kill shot should be spectacular!
Just as an aside, the article reads like bs from start to finish. Big H? Really? More like the interview was conducted from the safety of Wapping and the interviewee was the hack’s typewriter.
+1
Have to agree with TRP – This article like so much of the *news* is totally staged BS!
Maybe he’s an “embedded journalist.”
With his or her tongue firmly embedded in Rupert Murdoch’s nether regions?
Don’t make jokes like that, Te Reo—Populuxe1 is lurking.
Why don’t they just call him Lieutenant Kijé and have done with it?
Citing The Sun as valid source is a new low, even for you Morrissey. But at least we know have some idea of the gutters you go trawling around in to support your increasingly desperate accusations.
Good Lord!
Talk about terminally bewildered.
If your mother had been a ticking fruitcake, died in a blaze of press speculation, and you had always grown up knowing you were the spare, you might have some issues too – but only a spiteful little gimp like you with this weird obsession with famous people would be salivating at the prospect.
Good Lord, you sound like a Sun four-page feature spread yourself!
I don’t mean to upset you, my friend.
I wish you a merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas to all who frequent TS; writers, commenters and even those who just read to to get another point-of-view. Off to Milford Sound to have Christmas with the whanau which I am looking forward to. Take care all and, if you are driving, be safe. All the best for 2013.
Blessings and a very merry Christmas to all!
Do they even know it’s Xmas Time?!
SANTA IS COMING…
Meanwhile, at ground level in Afghanistan….
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/us-soldier-pleads-guilty-to-urinating-on-afghan-bodies/story-e6freoo6-1226542198975
here is a seed that fell my way this morning;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinmonopolet
much more to share, yet i better go and collect my thoughts.
-“Silver Springs” (i shall be back)
Hebrews 1:2
1:7
Proverbs 10-
Hebrews 2:1,6,8,10,11,12,17,18.
-John (may God Bless you all tomorrow)
(crush that over some ice this season Judith as you watch the carnage unfold)
btw, Excellent work Mark. Story!!! (sooner you replace that colonialist clown the better) 🙂
ahhh, before i forget to remember; locally there is some aquatic “desperation” apparently; “Desperado” (eagles shitting where they harvest) Welcome to water meterage in the “provinces”
-why don’t you come to your senses?
“Americans are absolutely beside themselves, and very, very uptight.”
Was reading the Herald today, and this is full of total crap. Australia is the worst, every time I visit there I get searched. The US staff have always been polite to me, it seems that the Herald is pulling this whole article out of it’s ass. The US wouldn’t kick you out for spelling your name wrong, you would have to go out of your way to piss them off.