Key couldn’t remember what he was doing in the early 1980s.
He was possibly thumbing through his “Battler Britain” comics.
Seems now he might also have been captured by the Falklands and is now
hoping for his own “Thatcher” moment.
hi paul, ref a rogue government: perhaps we do, however till the sheeple wake up to this, nothing changes.
to raise awareness perhaps a day of action akin to the anti tppa protests coming up early march?
If the NZ role is just training, then why not bring the trainees here to New Zealand and teach them all the tactics they need in a non-war zone, peaceful environment.
Because then our “force protection” troops could not help to secure a Forward Operating Base in Iraq from which assault operations on ISIS will be launched from.
Was Key channeling Jack Nicholson in a Few Good Men for his performance in parliament yesterday?
Once again key simply does not ring true.Little is a true leader, calm, capable and cogent.
Mr Little was in very good form on tv3 this morning he gave solid reasoned views on Iraq.
Paddy giving not a bad breakdown of the cost of keys announcement in his eyes its when not if we get a retaliation from I S.
To an extent. But he said it doesn’t take guts to sit in Wellington making tough decisions. I think he’s wrong about that.
If he believes what he said then I don’t think he’s ready to step up to Prime Ministerial level, which is a very tough job involving many tough decisions.
Nowhere near that les. I think Key should have sought Parliamentary support, but it wasn’t a democratic requirement.
If it had come to the crunch would Labour have voted against it? There’s no way of knowing now, but as this is at the request of Iraq it’s arguably more legitimate than decisions made by the Clark Government and Parliament at the time.
Seeing as Labour and the Greens both put forward a motion for a vote – which National objected to both times – your “no way of knowing” is as empty as Key’s credibility.
ha ha that is the funniest thing heard in a long time. Well actually not that long as it has been heard quite a lot lately. Not surprised you fall for it Pete.
I think Key should have sought Parliamentary support, but it wasn’t a democratic requirement.
Yeah, actually, it was. We don’t get democracy by having a few people in cabinet making executive decisions. Going to war is a major policy and really should have been put to referendum even if the nation that we’d be fighting for requested it.
Many of them genuinely seem to think that if they got away with it (so far), it can’t be wrong.
A similar but lighter example is an opinion piece in Stuff today that argued the underarm ball incident was not actually wrong: it was legal, it might have been possible to still hit a six and tie the game, even if it wasn’t possible then the bowler could have bowled a perfect ball that was impossible to hit for six, or that the aussie team could have turned into the keystone cops and allowed NZ to get six runs via fielding errors.
There’s a basic inability to recognise a dick move when it’s there. That winning a game of athletic skill via bureaucratic oversight is preferable to getting a draw. That exploiting a tax loophole to pay less than your fair share is fine because it’s temporarily legal. That taking the ability the Executive has to use the armed forces speedily to react to threats and using it to avoid gaining parliament’s permission for a contentious, planned, long term deployment is not an abuse of the very democracy that parliament is there to exercise.
And the signature of a dick is to not know or care that it’s a dick. That’s why key shrugs his shoulders so often.
actually it’s more like Timothy Dalton’s character thinking that pronouncing it “super marshay” is a cool thing to do, rather than mildly greasy and irritating. 🙂
What tough decisions? A tough decision would be to kick all pedophiles out of the NAct party, or to up the top tax rate, or to chase after corporate fraudsters. Sending our kids to war, or selling state houses are not tough decisions. They come naturally to Tory scum.
“When we’re talking about guts, I think I’ll reserve that for the soldiers who we’re sending up there,” Mr Little responded on Firstline this morning.
“This is one of the most dangerous conflict zones in the world – you don’t need much guts to sit on a leather couch in Wellington and send people off to do your bidding for you, so let’s get that in perspective.”
Sorry chaps. Forgot the rules. DNFTT. Starting at A.
The aardvark (/ˈɑrd.vɑrk/ ard-vark; Orycteropus afer) is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlike New World edentates such as the giant anteater, it has a long pig-like snout, which is used to sniff out food. It roams over most of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding mainly rocky areas. A nocturnal feeder, it subsists on ants and termites, which it will dig out of their hills using its sharp claws and powerful legs. It also will utilize its digging ability to create burrows in which to live and rear its young.
As it turns out I didn’t like Key’s second speech, I don’t think that was appropriate. But there was an unusual amount of emotion expressed so fair enough for Key to say what he thought.
And the Green faithful will have lapped up Norman’s naivety and contradictions.
Chard and the other beets are chenopods, a group which is either its own family Chenopodiaceae or a subfamily within the Amaranthaceae. Although the leaves of chard are eaten, it is in the same species as beetroot (garden beet), which is grown primarily for its edible roots. Both are cultivated descendants of the sea beet, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima, but they were selected for different characteristics.
Chard is also known by its many common names such as Swiss chard,[7] silverbeet, perpetual spinach, spinach beet, crab beet, bright lights, seakale beet, and mangold.[8] In South Africa, it is simply called spinach.[9]
Key’s performance yesterday was Oscar worthy. He has to make an effort to convince NZer’s he’s made the right decision. And I agree with freedom, he is under stress and losing his composure.
Bullshitting to save your arse can be really stressful, and add all that acting effort, it’s no wonder he’s looking a bit undone.
E. lecontei adults are smaller than most terrestrial weevils, measuring only 3 mm in length. This weevil is generally dark-colored with a pattern of dark brown/black and yellowish stripes on the dorsal half, fading to a lighter, yellow-beige underbelly. However, some weevil individuals vary in color from almost completely tan to beige.
“From observing your pet every day, you’ll have noticed that your cat has a pattern that it follows quite religiously. For example, your adult indoor cat might spend the mornings lying in a pool of sunshine in the corner of the dining room. Later, he watches you as you go about your household chores, and then his rigorous day winds down with a patient vigil by the kitchen door waiting for his children – otherwise known as your children – to come home. Your feline has developed these routines to protect his territory and frequently your pet’s definition of “territory” includes his human family members.
As your cat grows older, he becomes less capable of adapting to changes in his environment. Your pet gets particular about even the smallest detail of his surroundings and will notice changes in food (brand or type), the consistency of his litter and even in your schedule or in the schedules of other family members. Abrupt or drastic changes in your cat’s routine and environment can produce a great deal of stress, which can result in a variety of stress-induced behaviors – including litter box problems, aggression, self-mutilation or general despondency.
The best possible way to keep your cat stress free is to try to maintain your daily routine and to keep changes to a minimum. When changes are necessary, try introducing them to your cat gradually while leaving every other aspect of the routine in place. Limit exposure to new people and new foods, etc., on the first day and increase the exposure to newness over a seven-day period. If you have houseguests or other situations where the household is materially changed, remember to give your cat as much extra attention as you can.”
what with: spying in tangimoana on behalf of the us,
rounding up that pesky german,
altering nz labour law,
offering tax breaks to american film companies,
sending kiwi soldiers to help clean up another us war,
and being a golf buddy to the pousa.
i am reminded of a the the song, heartland.
youtube.com/watch?v=1osdqwaiu08
” The ammunition’s being passed and the lords been praised
But the wars on the televisions will never be explained
All the bankers gettin’ sweaty beneath their white collars
As the pound in our pocket turns into a dollar
This is the 51st state of the U.S.A.
This is the 51st state of the U.S.A.
This is the 51st state of the U.S.A.
this may give an insight to what our dear leader wants our new flag to look like.
Alcohol is not so much the elephant in the room – It’s were is the room, because I can’t see anything but the elephant.
As long as we keep up prohibition – people suffer, people dying suffer, families suffer, criminals are made for no reason, racist cops have laws which enable them to be racists, and we can’t tell children not to smoke pot in a public debate.
Clemgeopin, live pure – like that going to happen. I’d rather we had open debate around drugs and drug use rather than it being hidden.
Hell I dream of the day we can have adds on TV which say.
“Don’t smoke pot and drink alcohol together – why? Because – it really does make you into an arsehole”
or
“Smoking pot under the age of 21 is like drinking under 21 – a licence to make you stupid and compliant. Wait till your 21 ah.”
alcohol and cannabis aren’t the problem. Why some people use in unhealthy ways is where to look if we want to see the problem. Take away the drugs, what are those people going to do?
No, no, I do enjoy a drink or three.
Don’t do drugs and will most certainly NEVER visit a NZ casino EVER AGAIN after the recent fiasco and the disgraceful dodgy nexus between the two evils : The nasty Nats and the gambling Casino goons.
Cripes phillip u can you stay off pot for a week? I am not talking about what happens at your place just give us a break here. Make that a month would you. I and some others would be grateful to not have that subject for a good while.
Regulating it is fine but taxing it ‘heavily’ is not so much because, as is always the case, be it tobacco, dope, or GST, it will hit the poorest the most…and in the case of dope, I think it will be the gangs that will rub their hands with joy and heartily support ‘heavy’ taxes!
I was wondering how long it would take you to reference that red herring of a study.
They simply compared the lethal dose 50 of alcohol to the lethal dose 50 of marijuana.
The LD50 of alcohol is significantly lower than marijuana. That’s it. That’s all the study found.
It doesn’t mention anything about societal use or injuries / damage caused by the drugs, it’s purely looking at the dose it would take to kill you.
You might notice, that very few people actually die of alcohol poisoning. Virtually no one dies of marijuana poisoning.
These findings are not news nor surprising to anyone who understands what the study is *actually* about. Unfortunately, as usual, the media have boiled it down to the lowest-common-denominator and written a headline and article that distorts the study to a huge degree and presents it as if it is some great new finding and is somehow relevant to the marijuana vs alcohol debate, when really it warrants nothing more than a passing interest.
No, I’m not arguing against that proposition. Alcohol is obviously much more damaging to society and individuals than marijuana is.
I’m saying *this* article doesn’t offer any new insight to anyone who would be making legislative decisions about this. Anyone trumpeting this as some sort of grand new evidence is misguided.
In simple terms: this study is telling us what we already knew and what was already obvious.
Just a couple of pieces to remind people that rabid right wing have no morals. They love money not people and are only interested in “the bottom line”. The sooner we stand up against this greed mentality – the better for humanity and an increased chance for it’s survival, as we approach the end of the golden weather.
Barry Gustafson I think was on Radionz – came to know her well. She was very supportive of old Fartface and was a true blue lady herself. She probably enjoyed a relationship with Margaret Thatcher. I think she had a pretty good time of it all.
Cf Margaret Thorn’s life. Now that was a staunch and beautiful woman to admire. Does anyone remember her?
Thanks for that greywarshark. Just read a short piece about her on Te Ara website. Sounds like an interesting and admirable woman, and the experience of her and her husband is a timely one to read regarding the ISIS discussion.
As for the title of her last book: “Stick out, and keep left”. Pretty much sums it up.
Yes Molly I had the book in the back of my mind for yonks but couldn’t get the name right and I think Ennui or one of the stalwarts here gave me the steer.
And the difference between now and how politics used to be! At one stage she and her husband filled a major political role, can’t remember the exact position and she visited an organisation in her elevated capacity. Then they were out of government, her husband got sick, and she was back at that organisation as a cook working flat out in the kitchens. Real Cinderella stuff. A very hard worker. Both of the Thorns were.
Thea Muldoon was a genuine conservative lady – one of the old fashioned
Conservatives who believed in following and supporting her husband at all cost. I met her once after her husband had died and realised she was a kind and genuine person. She was a product of her conservative upbringing, but I came to admire her for her loyalty and decency.
Grey – Best not to compare and contrast these very different women in this manner.
Would you do the same if a man you disliked passed away (find a ‘worthy’ man with whom to compare him)?
Massive methane gas blowholes opening up in SIberia
Seems like Russian scientists think that the “clatharate gun” has gone off. That 2 degree C target is history, methinks, and with it, hundreds of millions of human lives.
I have been expecting that to start showing up in the far north. They’re still estimating how much is stored there on land, but it looks like a lot.
Fortunately there is less of a tundra land mass in the south. It looks like the WAIS has been burnt off several times for shortish periods in the last 25 million years anyway which means that it probably has little methane stored.
US Police now using Stasi secret police tactics on protestors
Chicago’s “Homan Square” police facility where protestors can get disappeared to and chained up without access to lawyers, phone calls, or contact with the outside world. Detainees are not officially charged.
This is what the gradual evolution of a totalitarian security state looks like, people.
Can I add, one of the Anarchy-capitalist I talk to sometimes. He’s always good for a argument. Got pulled into something similar to this. Luckily he was missed, and his friends/family knew/guessed it was the cops – so eventually got a lawyer – after 3 days from memory.
So if you think it’s only us on the left they are targeting – think again.
With their new systems they are targetting anyone who is identified as a potential dissenter to the current systems of privilege and power. That’s why they’ll target lefty protestors, Tea Party members, whistle blowers and journalists.
This more than anything else, signals how the Left/Right paradigm is breaking down. Now it is about the Inner Circle (and their professional enablers/hangers ons) and Everybody else.
The PTB want you to think the left/right paradigm is breaking down. It’s actually the monopolist right versus everyone else as we head into peak capitalism.
Don’t know about Snowden’s politics, but he is currently sheltering in an authoritarian country and Assange is a fan of surprise sex, so probably a wee bit of the do as I say style bastard about him, too. Hitler right, Stalin left, as we know. I think Snowden is probably the only one who might conceivably be ‘left’ but Assange is clearly some sort of libertarian, and, as most of them do when opportunity arises, likes taking an authoritarian line. Though of course it’s not just opportunity that arises with Jules, if you get my drift.
The point is that Marx is still entirely correct about the class divide and the inevitable tendency of capital to coalesce around itself, sort of a black hole of money, sucking in everything of value including the light of understanding. Unless the working class and its allies recognise that their class interests are not shared by their masters, then we will not have control of our destiny. The bollocks about the left/right paradigm is defeatist and ignorant. But, that’s the way the 1% want it.
Snowden is a right wing libertarian, while Assange is a left wing libertarian.
Hitler was right wing authoritarian and Stalin a left wing authoritarian.
I guess then (and it is only a guess) that you’d have been among the millions lauding Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin et al last century even as they sent non-authoritarian leftists to the gulags and worse. (Right wing libertarianism didn’t exist back then as a political field of thought as far as I’m aware.)
And Marx had only a partial insight to class divisions. He missed the co-ordinators – the managers if you prefer – those with a penchant for authoritarianism (wielders of, and/or faithful adherents to) who breath life into the hierarchies of our systems of production and distribution and who, on a 9 – 5 basis, help ‘teach’ workers that ‘this (servility to authority) is the way’.
Apart from the fact that self labelled ‘right wing libertarians’ are under the delusion that markets are neutral, they exhibit far more understanding of, and appetite for, such basic ‘leftist’ values as liberty, freedom etc than many a supposed left wing liberal…and waaay more than any apologist (many still around!) for what what flowed from Lenin and the Bolsheviks’ successful defeat of the Russian Revolution.
Smoking, growing and owning small amounts of marijuana became legal in Alaska on Tuesday as a growing decriminalization movement reached the United States’ northwest frontier.
Alaska, which narrowly passed the measure in November, followed Colorado and Washington among states allowing recreational use, reflecting a rapidly shifting legal landscape for the drug.
One aspect of that article niggles me bones. The article fails to say why rent has not been paid since October. That seems too obvious a question for the journalist – or the editor – to ignore. Call me a cynic, but could it be they want it to grow negative suspicions in the minds of the reader as to why it has not been paid?
it seems to be the date her mother was removed to hospital … then her mother’s death .. fear of winz and generally overwhelmed … who knows ? but the cynic in me agrees with the cynic in you …
and that must have been her home for her whole life .. imagine the hurt and horror of it …
Yeah, that was what I was thinking. I suspect that it has something to do with the house being in her mother’s name and with her mother moving into a rest home and then dying has stuffed things up. She’s probably been trying to get things sorted but that’s not mentioned in the article.
did you see the picture of her belongings under what looks like cardboard at the back of the house ? Shame on the Winz enforcers treating a young mother and two children like this. THERE ARE NO HOUSES ! and yes, dying has a habit of stuffing things up .. you;d think Winz might fairly know this ? Yeah ? Nah. Not under this regime.
“In adopting such an approach, Key was seeking to go over the heads of the media and talk directly to New Zealanders about the reasons why such a deployment is necessary without his rationale being analysed and criticised before the public had actually heard that rationale.”
The media think that they need to be told first so they can then tell the plebs (sorry people of NZ) what to think
Yes, Field was corrupt. Gaining benefit from his role as an MP. He was stood down when the charges were made, and thoroughly investigated and prosecuted by the police.
As opposed to, say, using his role as an MP to ask questions that directly pertained to a significant share investment.
Are you saying that National MP’s just cost more to buy?
Or that they do not need bribes while in power as they have lucrative retirement plans, in figurehead directors jobs.
Funding by their US corporate pay masters, when they leave Parliament.
” ‘access to minsters’ via the Cabinet Club. $25,000 entry fee”
That is the declared open amount. God knows how much more is given under the table, hidden and unaccounted. I won’t be surprised knowing the way the rich crooks and the corrupt politicians work around many corrupt countries.
thanks for that saveNZ, a better illustration of The Fear would be hard to find.
from the comments in the linked article
“I think that this art installation has accomplished something by uncovering the fact that just seeing something that they don’t understand is sending many into a xenophobic panic.”
I feel so incensed about the whole Dong Liu donations saga and the spin about Labour and Liu, that I contacted the Press Council last night and asked them to re-consider Frank Mac’s submission to them about the Herald’s claims that Dong Liu donated $$$$ to Labour. The complaint from Frank wasn’t upheld, because the Herald maintained there was “more to come” about Liu and Labour. And of course nothing has come about Labour and Liu, but indeed we find out it was National receiving donations.
Last night I re-submitted Frank’s complaint to the Press Council, copied a link about National’s donations and asked them to re-consider Frank’s complaint. (hope that’s o.k. Frank???? didn’t know how to contact you to get your permission);
Much to my surprize I had an email this morning saying it would be re-presented to the council.
Thanks Adam, I will contact him to make sure he is o.k. about it. Should have done so first, but feeling very cross, so just went ahead and assumed he would be o.k.
Autralians (Tarn Yabbit and Joe Joe) just announcing changes to foreign ownership of houses and farms.
… a register
… a $5k application fee for houses under 1 mill
… a 10k application fee over 1 mill
… breaking the rules, $25k fine with the potential for confiscation
… a claim that the rules will be strictly enforced
probably the latter but the potential for confiscation might be a deterrent. We’ll see just how strictly the rules are enforced. I was just interested to see on Planet Key the Prime Munster still appears to be ‘comfortable’ by comparison
In some areas fierce fights break out when a person is wearing the wrong colours which denote a rival gang. Pretty awful that a PM indulges in gang colour sneers.
” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declined an invitation to meet with US Senate Democrats during his trip to Washington next week.
“Though I greatly appreciate your kind invitation to meet with Democratic Senators, I believe that doing so at this time could compound the misperception of partisanship regarding my upcoming visit,” Netanyahu wrote in a letter to Senators Richard Durbin and Dianne Feinstein.”
What a cheek coming from an awful chap who is so backed by the republicans. Hypocrisy?
At least 10 banks, including Barclays Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank AG, are being probed by the Justice Department’s antitrust division, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential.
Precious metals have come under scrutiny as authorities around the world investigate allegations that other financial benchmarks have been rigged. While the Justice Department’s probe is in its early stages, the Swiss finance regulator included the issue in a November settlement with UBS Group AG over currency-rate manipulation. Switzerland’s antitrust regulator said Tuesday that it opened a preliminary probe into the possibility of price fixing in the precious-metals market.
Great news that once again a person endangering lives has been stopped – this person was under the influence of ‘foreign’ and weaving all over his lies – concerned citizens confiscated Mr Key and handed him over to the police. “No comet” was the only comment Mr Key could make as he sat dejectedly in his mobile awaiting orders.
I have no reason to question the charges but Carmel did the right thing by immediately telling Little’s CoS and by agreeing to stand down and Little has done the right thing by standing her down. The charges relate to her mother and she had no idea they existed until she was asked about them today. Note no attempt to hide or suppress the information unlike other cases. And it will be interesting to see how the right spin this.
AND it would be interesting to find out how TV one found out …
paula bennet minster for welfare, & opposit of carmel sepuloni at parlement & elections. hope this is not extra special utu from bennet for carmel. can be or not, I think yes.
In 1994, I was the editor for an issue of Planet magazine focused on cannabis, its culture and the prospects for the end of its prohibition. Part of that issue was an interview with 'Ringo', an experienced cannabis dealer.I recently posted my essay from that issue, and I figured it ...
Dr Helen Waite, sports sociologist and former elite athlete, on the invasion of women’s sport by men and the anti-scientific and misogynist ideology used to rationalise it. ...
As Brexit comes to a grisly conclusion (perhaps) people on all sides are saying intemperate and uwise things. Some, like the Daly Mail, have been doing it for years.People as normally level headed as Jon Lansman are calling for automatic deselection of MPs who vote against a (likely) Labour three ...
I've got one source saying more Labour MPs than expected are mulling whether to vote for the deal - including names who were not on the letter to Juncker and Tusk— Emilio Casalicchio (@e_casalicchio) 17 October 2019 I've compiled a list of possible reasons why Labour ...
On Wednesday, the government was loudly telling us that it needed to legislate to allow it to impose "control orders" - effectively a parole regime, but imposed without charge, prosecution, conviction or real evidence - on suspected terrorists because they couldn't be prosecuted for their supposed crimes. Today, it turns ...
On Monday, the Hit and Run inquiry heard from NZDF's former director of special operations, who claimed that the defence Minister knew everything about the Operation Burnham raid. Today, the inquiry heard from that (former) Minister - and it turns out that he didn't know nearly as much as NZDF ...
Yoga gurus and cult leaders – I’ve seen a few. Two weeks ago, I unknowingly joined an alleged new-age cult at the Kāpiti coast, together with a giant kraken and some neatly dressed pensioners who would make any book club proud.They were among the two hundred people of all ages ...
The last decade has seen a trend of increasing weapons availability to police. Assault rifles. Tasers on every hip. Guns in cars. And following the march 15 massacre, pistols on every hip, all over the country. At the same time, its also seen an increase in the abuse of force: ...
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been busy preparing for our summer paper on Science Communication. Looking for something amusing about ‘risk’ in science, I came across this neat xkcd.com cartoon about why so many people come knocking on my door (or phoning me, or emailing me) desperately wanting ...
by John Edmundson The International Socialist Organisation (ISO) have recently reposted a February article, by Romany Tasker-Poland, explaining ISO’s position in the “trans rights” debate. It is available on their website and on their Facebook Page. The article sets out to explain why “socialists support trans rights”. It reads more ...
"Auckland City Mission: 10% of Kiwis experiencing food insecurity", RNZ, 16 October 2019:About half a million people are experiencing food insecurity, according to new research from the Auckland City Mission. Food insecurity, or food poverty, is defined as not having enough appropriate food. The City Mission said over the last ...
Media Statement for Immediate Release 16th October 2019 “Fake News” from Auckland City Council CCOs Board Chairs re pay and performance bonuses for top managers Despite comments from Auckland City Council CCOs Board Chairs re pay and performance bonuses for top managers—Herald Newspaper Tuesday Oct 15th–there is very little evidence ...
Would You Buy A Used Propaganda Video From This Man? Bridges and the National Party’s strategists have discovered that the ideas and attitudes considered acceptable by today’s editors and journalists are no longer enforceable. The rise and rise of the Internet and the social media platforms it spawned means that ...
There is plenty of evidence of the way the business mentality has permeated every level of society since the recrudescence of market liberalism 35 years ago. You only need to think of how citizens in need of help from their government, their state, their country, are now routinely described as ...
John MacCormickOver the last 40 years, New Zealanders – and people in other countries – have experienced big changes in the jobs they do and where they live and work. These changes include: a decline in manufacturing jobs an increase in jobs in ‘information-intensive’ industries (which are better paid ...
Nick Wilson, Leah Grout, Mereana Wilson, Anja Mizdrak, Phil Shoemack, Michael BakerProtecting waterways has the benefits of: (1) protecting water from hazardous microbes; (2) minimising cancer risk and other problems from nitrates in water; (3) avoiding algal blooms that are hazardous to health; (4) protecting mahinga kai uses (cultural ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women In a press release today Massey University announced it has decided to rebrand and reorientate after struggling to be a University for grown-ups. For some time the University has wanted to be a safe play space for wee-woke-misogynists who have been really badly triggered ...
After a brief dalliance with 'hard Revoke' it looks like the Lib Dems are changing ground on on Brexit, with leader Jo Swinson reverting to calling for a second referendum on Johnson's deal.The party has tabled an amendment to the Queen’s speech requesting that any deal brought back from Brussels ...
The government has decided that someone has done Something Bad. But despite their belief, there seems to be no evidence that they have actually broken the law. So the government's solution is to pass a retrospective law allowing them to be punished anyway, on a lower standard of proof. If ...
So, Judith Collins has done a Facebook rant about climate change, peddling the same shit National has been shovelling for the past twenty years: the impacts are overstated, there's no need to do anything about it, and its too hard anyway (oh, and its so unfair that people who peddle ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzThere is a lot of discussion on the benefits of ...
I came across this song quite by accident. If it isn't one of Greta Thunberg's favourites - it should be.Video courtesy of YouTube.This post is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
Last month, NZDF's shoddy coverup of what it knew about civilian casualties in Operation Burnham began to fall apart, with the revelation that a report on the matter, which NZDF claimed not to have, had been sitting in an NZDF safe for the past nine years. Yesterday, the man responsible ...
While many imagine that countries like the USA and Europe dominate space activities, in fact India is now a major player on this stage. It launches satellites for its own purposes and also commercially, and has constellations orbiting our planet and returning data of vital importance to that nation in ...
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING MYTH 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate. FACT: The HadCRUT3 surface temperature index, produced by the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, shows warming to 1878, cooling to 1911, ...
For the past week, Extinction Rebellion has been peacefully protesting in London to demand action on climate change. The British government's response? Ban their protests:Police have banned Extinction Rebellion protests from continuing anywhere in London, as they moved in almost without warning to clear protesters who remained at the movement’s ...
An essay by Judith Collins MP reported on Carbon News yesterday seems to show an alarming shift in attitude within the National Party. Collins argues against the Zero Carbon Bill, the Paris Agreement, and downplays the magnitude of climate impacts. The Paris Agreement was adopted in December 2015 and ratified ...
When they were running for election, Labour promised to overhaul the Employment Relations Act and introduce fair pay agreements to set basic pay and conditions on an industry level, preventing bad employers from undercutting good ones. They followed this up by establishing a working group, which reported back in January ...
A list of indicators of bad science – many of these are found in articles promoted by anti-fluoride activists. Anti-fluoride activists have been pouring money into a scaremongering campaign warning pregnant women not to drink fluoridated water. They claim fluoride will lower the IQ of their future child. Fluoride ...
Nothing Left To Say: Labour's pollster, Stephen Mills, remains swaddled-up in the comforting myths of the 1980s. As if the experience of Roger Douglas’s genuinely radical post-Muldoon policy agenda was literally a once-in-a-lifetime thing – as much as the party could possibly absorb for at least the next 50 years.MEMO ...
The Royal Commission on abuse in care is very significant for the disability community. For many decades last century, thousands of disabled children, and adults who managed to survive, were locked away from families and communities. This was not for anything they had done, but for the perceived threat their ...
With an unfair voting system, uneven electorates and an un-elected upper house, the UK's "democracy" is barely worthy of the name. But now the government wants to make it worse:The government has been accused of suppressing voters’ rights with the potential disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of people after plans ...
Back in the 90's and early 2000's, the building industry was building leaky homes which should never have been granted consent. Now it turns out they've been building dodgy office blocks as well:New imaging technology has revealed hundreds of major buildings nationwide have defective or missing concrete or reinforcing steel. ...
Local body election results were released over the weekend, to joy or despair depending on where you live. In Auckland, Phil Goff trounced John Tamihere, who is muttering darkly about running for Parliament again (but which party would want him?) Wellington is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Weta Workshop, except ...
How could government evolve over the next decades? Reports of democracy’s imminent demise are greatly exaggerated. However, satisfaction with political systems in many countries is low, so there is much to do for governments of all political stripes to improve relevance and trust. Digital technologies are seen as one ...
Two years have now gone by since the Friday afternoon when my university-student son and I headed out of our Barcelona flat to a nearby primary school, designated as a polling station for the vote that was to be held the following Sunday: the referendum on Catalonia’s independence from Spain ...
Overruled: The joint decision of Finance Minister, Grant Robertson (Labour) and his Associate Minister, David Parker (Labour) arguably the two most powerful ministers in Jacinda Ardern’s government, to grant OceanaGold the consents which Land Information Minister, Eugenie Sage (Greens) had earlier denied them, offers bitter proof of how hard fighting ...
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...
A Statement on Abortion Law Reform by the Council of Disobedient Women On the eve of bringing an end to antiquated, anti-women abortion laws Green MP Jan Logie intends to write women out of the Bill. With a stroke of the pen, the woke are aiming for total erasure ...
Musings continue apace about “the experienced businessman!” soon to be taking up a National Party MP position. Or to be more accurate, being parachuted into a seat to shut down their former MP Jamie-Lee Ross, who despite his own shortcomings shed at least some more light on the inner workings ...
The Ugandan government wants to murder gay people:Uganda has announced plans to impose the death penalty on homosexuals. The bill, colloquially known as “Kill the Gays” in Uganda, was nullified five years ago on a technicality, but the government said on Thursday it plans to resurrect it within weeks. The ...
Freedom Of Speech? The Säuberung (cleansing by fire) was the work of the German Student Union which, on 10 May 1933, under the watchful eye of the Nazi Reichminister for Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, consigned 25,000 books to the flames in a ritual exorcism of “un-German thought”. According to the logic of the ...
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...
New Zealand has prided itself for decades with regard to its lack of pollution, and all will be aware that the ‘100% Pure New Zealand‘ meme is under threat through land, water and air pollution of various causes. There is another type of contamination that the country also faces: light ...
New Zealand’s media is doing its part in Japan, reassuring those in the path of the storm that they won’t miss any rugby while away from their flooded homes. New Zealand sports reporters stationed in Japan for the Rugby World Cup have had the rare and heartwarming opportunity to inform ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones is the only Cabinet member in favour of putting it all on green. As Finance Minister Grant Robertson finds himself with an enormous $7.5 billion surplus, the Government has begun intense, at times contentious conversations about whether to put the money on red or black at ...
by Susanne Kemp At the start of September close to 100,000 school teachers went on strike in Jordan. They demanded a 50% pay rise. A pay rise actually agreed to by the regime back in 2014. In early October, however, in the face of government repression and threats, the teachers’ ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzWhy do people still think climate change isn’t real?David ...
Back in 2011, journalist Nicky Hager published Other People's Wars, an expose on NZDF's activities over the previous decade of the "war on terror". NZDF didn't like this, and especially didn't like the fact that it was base don leaks from their own. So, they had the SIS investigate him ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is due back from select committee in two weeks, and will likely pass its final stages in November. So naturally, farmers are planning a hate-march against it. But they're not just demanding lower methane targets so they can keep on destroying the planet; they're also demanding ...
Last year, California burned. This year, to stop it happening again (or rather, to stop themselves from being found liable if it happens again), Pacific Gas and Electric is cutting power to half the state for a week:Schools are closed. Traffic lights down. Tunnels dark. Businesses unopened. Hospitals running on ...
The Best Way: Missing from the on-line voting debate is any reference to the voting system that produces turn-out figures ranging from 77 to 93 percent of registered voters. The voting system used to collect and count the votes cast in our parliamentary elections. The system that involves citizens making ...
Among the great new bunch of political friends we have been making recently is the excellent Australian-based Marxist gender-critical site, Freer Lives. So we asked the comrade who set up that blog to write something for Redline on the blog, himself, his analysis of the rise of gender politics and ...
by Don Franks The Auckland City Mission is struggling with a 40 percent increase in demand for food parcels this year. A total of 23,020 were needed by June. Last month Missioner Chris Farrelly told the Herald the “cupboards are bare” and without an emergency food drive, he can’t see ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Massey Wellington Student Association had a sit-in today. Imagine a sit-in. On a campus. Against a women’s rights meeting. Did the ’60s really happen or did we fucking dream it? They gathered in the student square, an echo chamber. Sitting on soft pillows ...
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...
First, almost a score of Labour MPs seem to have sent a letter to the EU basically begging them to accept a deal - any deal - just so Britain can get the Heck on with Brexiting instead of being trapped in limbo:
by Phil Duncan In 2016 the National-led government suspended the Parent Visa Category, through which migrants were able to bring their parents into New Zealand. Since then over 5,700 people have been in immigration limbo, stuck on the visa wait list. Labour is now bringing back the scheme. Well, sort ...
The following was released yesterday (Tues, October 8) by the women’s liberation organisation Speak Up for Women. On 23 September Speak Up For Women announced that we would be holding an event at the Massey University Theaterette in Wellington. The event is called Feminism 2020. The intention of the event ...
The government is currently consulting on plans to improve freshwater quality. So naturally, farmers oppose it:South Taranaki farmers are preparing to fight proposed national freshwater changes that some fear will bankrupt them. The Government's proposed National Environment Standard on Freshwater Management, released in September, rated the Waingongoro River as one ...
Yesterday was the last day for (reliably) posting your vote away in local body elections. Turnouts are mostly much lower than the equivalent time last year (Palmerston North is down 2.3%), and so naturally people are pushing their online-voting snake oil again. Because the online census worked so well, lets ...
This essay, on the political legacy of the eugenics movement, by Kenan Malik was originally published in the Observer on 6 October 2019, under the headline ‘The spirit of eugenics is still with us, as immigrants know to their cost’. Birth control. Intelligence tests. Town planning. Immigration controls. It’s striking how ...
Another year, and the government has announced another enormous government "surplus". And just like last year, its nothing of the sort. When we have people homeless and sick and hungry, when we have schools and hospitals still falling down, when we have underpaid public servants and infrastucture unmaintained or unbuilt, ...
James Forsyth at The Spectator (I know, I know) has tapped one of his contacts inside Number Ten for an insight into the Johnson administration's thinking and strategy.It is fascinating, unsettling and quite, quite mad. Some key points:Negotiations have stalled and the Johnson administration are keen to blame the EU: ...
Fatal Contact: With the arrival of captain James Cook in October 1769, the islands of what would become New Zealand ceased to be the preserve of Polynesian navigators and settlers and became a part of both the world’s map and the world’s history.THE MAORI NATIONALIST assault upon the historical meaning ...
Another round of tactical talks about forming a Government of National Unity have come to nothing with the Liberal Democrats still refusing countenance putting Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street:Opposition talks on Monday made little headway over when to try and vote down Boris Johnson's government and who might succeed him as ...
by Nick Rogers The debate around the meaning of sex and gender made an appearance at this year’s British Labour Party conference in Brighton. Women’s Place UK – an organisation that questions the demand that biological males who self-identify as woman should have access to women’s spaces, to all-women shortlists, ...
Yesterday I went down to Wellington to participate in the Extinction Rebellion protest. Its part of the latest global wave of XR actions, with actions happening all over the world. Some of those protests are massively disruptive: in Canada, XR is blocking major bridges, stopping people from getting to work. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is predicting a hard Brexit for the United Kingdom, as he believes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t be able to negotiate terms before the October 30 deadline. The Minister, who was one of the first to publicly come out and predict British voters would leave ...
Speaking at the Council of Trade Unions' (CTU) biennial conference, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters told unionists that any future attacks on the Government won't work. "Now, we are being attacked by the union movement in this country. You can have your views but I'm here to say standing ...
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...
Defence Minister Ron Mark has used his powers to overrule a noise complaint ruling against Whenuapai airbase on the grounds of "national security". The Environment Court last month released a ruling in favour of a private developer, declaring the Auckland airbase had to comply with noise restrictions when it performs ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has opened fire against "unreconstructed morons" after NZ First MP Shane Jones was photographed on holiday holding an AR-15 rifle. Mr Peters is defending Mr Jones, telling Magic Talk host Peter Williams that his MP was just having fun "like most people do". "The ...
New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau was in attendance during the morning blessing of the Rotorua Lakefront development project. Around 60 people gathered on the shores of Lake Rotorua, including city mayor Steve Chadwick and deputy Dave Donaldson. The Lakefront development is a ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones is considering reining in on conversions of farmland to forestry, and also issued a warning to foreign-owned forestry companies that make up nearly 75 per cent of the industry. He said too many foreign companies had not provided enough access for domestic processors to get timber. ...
Speaking to Radio NZ, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the tightening of the parental category visa is a direct result of the Party’s coalition negotiations with the Labour Party. He said the new changes switch the financial onus from the parent moving to New Zealand to the child ...
The Coalition Government is set to cut red tape in the building and construction sector in an effort to allow more houses to be built, including prefabricated houses. The changes will enable the mass factory production of "high quality" buildings, slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced ...
Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to tackle homelessness and make sure everyone has a warm, dry home. And today, on World Homeless Day, we want to report back and update you on our progress so far. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at National Party leader Simon Bridges who criticized the Coalition Government’s approach to crime, and said that the latter isn't credible in his attack on the Government over gang recruitment. "We've got as massive drug problem in this country. It is ...
New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today in Gisborne an investment of $17.27m into bringing “world-leading” food-growing technology and the creation of more than 100 new jobs in the East Coast city. The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, and included a $15 million loan to LeaderBrand, a ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development More than 100 people in Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga Bay will benefit from two employment initiatives supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. “Tolaga Bay is an incredibly tight-knit community, but one in ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is supporting Gisborne business Leaderbrand to produce salad vegetables year round and create more jobs in the Tairāwhiti region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Our support for Leaderbrand will help them build large greenhouses ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has praised the promise by New Zealand’s biggest banks not to close any provincial branches while the Coalition Government trials regional banking hubs across the country. The Minister said the announce was the “first sign of hope for regional communities”, many of which have ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have delivered an upgrade of the SuperGold Card website and a new smartphone app, which will help unlock the full benefits of the SuperGold Card for 750,000 New Zealand seniors.Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters, ...
Delivering a key election campaign promise, New Zealand First is proud to have accomplished a long overdue upgrade of the SuperGold Card today. At an event in Auckland, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters joined Minister for Seniors Hon. Tracey Martin in unveiling the new website and smartphone app which ...
The Government today announced its support for a project that could substantially reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions from cattle. The announcement was made as part of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor’s visit to Nelson’s Cawthron Aquaculture Park. The Cawthron Institute will receive $100,000 from the Government’s ...
Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni has welcomed the first reading of the New Zealand Superannuation and Veteran’s Pension Legislation Amendment Bill. “Every New Zealander has a stake in New Zealand Superannuation and Veteran’s Pension,” says Carmel Sepuloni. “They are our most common form of social assistance – nearly 800,000 New ...
Babies in Auckland aged six months and over can receive a free vaccination and children will all have access to vaccines, Associate Minister of Health Julie Anne Genter announced today at Papatoetoe High School. The move comes as part of Government efforts to step up the fight against measles. ...
***Check against delivery*** Good morning. It is a pleasure to be here, and to have the honour of opening this important conference on behalf of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. Let us take the opportunity to acknowledge all the people who have helped make today possible, including our special ...
Police Minister Stuart Nash says the safety of frontline officers and members of the public will be the focus of a new trial of specialist Police response teams in three of our largest urban centres. Police have this morning released details of an initiative to be trialled in Counties Manukau, ...
The Minister of Fisheries is calling for entries for a new public award to celebrate innovation in our seafood sector. “I have established the Seafood Sustainability Awards to recognise and celebrate those throughout industry, tangata whenua and communities who demonstrate outstanding dedication and innovation towards the sustainability of New Zealand’s ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter welcomes leaders in the private sector taking action on closing their gender pay gaps to ensure a fairer workplace for all New Zealanders. Ms Genter today launched a new report, Addressing the gender pay gap and driving women’s representation in senior leadership, from the Champions for ...
Government Ministers today welcomed the release of a marine environment report highlighting the four key issues affecting our oceans, estuaries and coastlines. The release underlines the importance of government proposals to combat climate pollution, ensure clean freshwater, protect biodiversity, make land use more sustainable, and reduce waste and plastic. Environment ...
The Government has approved funding for a new acute mental health facility for Waikato which will provide better care and support to people with mental health and addiction issues. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister Dr David Clark announced the $100 million project to replace the aging Henry Rongomau ...
The Government is making progress on its goal to integrate te reo Māori into education by 2025, with over 500 teachers and support staff already graduating from Te Ahu o te Reo Māori, Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. Kelvin Davis made the announcement at an awards ceremony in Waikanae today, for ...
Statistics Minister James Shaw has welcomed the first release of 2018 Census data. The first release of data today, 23 September, includes key data on population, regional growth, the number of homes and the size of different ethnic groups in New Zealand. Data from the 2018 Census will support the ...
Minister for Statistics James Shaw today announced a public consultation on a proposed algorithm charter for government agencies. The charter has been developed by the Government Chief Data Steward in response to growing calls for more transparency in government use of data. Computer algorithms – procedures or formulas for solving ...
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor, Climate Change Minister James Shaw and visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte co-hosted a business roundtable in Auckland this morning focused on working together to address climate change. “The Netherlands is an important partner for New Zealand. We share a strong agricultural history. Sustainable agribusiness and ...
The Government is taking action to build an inclusive economy where more of us receive our fair share at work and businesses can compete on great products and services, not undercutting wages and conditions, Immigration and Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. Two consultations launched today seek feedback ...
The future for New Zealand’s threatened indigenous freshwater fish looks brighter with the passing of the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Bill in Parliament today said Minister of Conservation, Eugenie Sage. “Until now, our freshwater fish legislation has been 20 years out of date. We have lacked effective tools to ...
At 1.30pm tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of Kiwis will join about 65 million people around the globe in ShakeOut, the world’s biggest earthquake drill. The annual drill is to remind people of the right action to take during an earthquake which is to Drop, Cover, Hold, and to practise their ...
Kiwis are benefiting from higher wage growth and low inflation under the Coalition Government. Stats NZ data out today shows the rise in the cost of living remains low, as annual Consumers Price Index (CPI) inflation fell to 1.5% in September from 1.7% in June. “The low inflation comes as ...
New Zealand’s economic strength and resilience has been recognised in a major update on the state of the global economy. The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook released overnight shows a reduced global growth forecast over the next two years as issues like the US-China trade war and Brexit take hold. ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little has today introduced a new Bill to prevent terrorism and support the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill gives the New Zealand Police the ability to apply to the High Court to impose control orders on New Zealanders who ...
A Bill that proposes targeted changes to simplify the processes for Māori land owners when engaging with the Māori Land Court has had its First Reading today. “The approach taken by the Government is to ensure that the protection of Māori land remains a priority as we seek to improve ...
Let me first thank all the new unionists and members in the room. There is nothing more important to improving people’s working lives than people making the decision to care, to get on board and help, to take up the reins and get involved. Congratulations to you. You bring the ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has signed a certificate exempting the activity of engine testing at Whenuapai Airbase from the Resource Management Act 1991. The Act gives the Minister of Defence the power to exempt activities for the purposes of national security. The certificate will mean the recent Environment Court ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced New Zealand will join the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action while attending APEC meetings in Chile. The objective of the 39 member Coalition is to share information and promote action to tackle climate change. It was formed in April this year, in ...
Feedback sought– Lyttelton commercial zone parking The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal to remove on-site car parking requirements for new developments in the Lyttelton commercial zone. The proposal, by Christchurch City Council, asks that powers under section 71 of the Greater ...
Hon Minister Poto Williams Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration MEDIA STATEMENT Tuesday 15 October 2019 Feedback sought – Hagley Oval The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal about Hagley Oval. The proposal was developed by Regenerate Christchurch ...
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...
"Let’s start by acknowledging that it has been a huge year. " Police Association Annual Conference James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou katoa. President of the Police Association, Chris Cahill; Members of the Association and ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter welcomes PHARMAC’s move to improve access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). PHARMAC has today announced it will fund the full cost of Mirena and Jaydess for anyone seeking long term contraception, lifting previous restrictions on access to Mirena. “I welcome women having greater choices ...
The Government has approved the next stage of a major redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital, which will deliver new and improved facilities for patients. Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced details of a $300 million dollar project to build a new East Wing at the New Plymouth hospital. It ...
Extra funding will allow Rural Support Trusts to help farming families, says Minister for Rural Communities and Agriculture Damien O’Connor. “I know that rural families are worried about some of the challenges facing them, including the ongoing uncertainty created by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. “Those concerns sit alongside ongoing worries ...
Thank you for the opportunity to be here to present certificates to the 16 graduates who have completed a beekeeping course delivered by the Howard League. Let us start by acknowledging Auckland Prison’s Deputy Prison Director Tom Sherlock, and Acting Assistant Regional Commissioner of Corrections Northern Region Scott Walker - ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson leaves this weekend to attend the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile. Discussions between APEC Finance Ministers at the meeting will include the effects of the current global economic uncertainty, risks for APEC economies and sustainable development of the region. While at APEC Grant Robertson ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says for Pacific people, language can be a source of strength. It can help ground us and give us confidence. When we speak them, our languages provide us with an immediate and intimate access to our identity and our story - and ...
The Coalition Government has announced an action plan to improve the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport. The initiative includes training to develop a workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments, advocacy for fit ...
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through some of the red tape of the Building Act. “Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and ...
US justice reform activists Deborah Small and asha bandele say white supremacy and colonialism are at the heart of punitive drug laws. They spoke to Teuila Fuatai about how drug reform can reverse their effects on minority communities. Deborah Small sees Donald Trump as the US Dorian Gray. “He’s the physical ...
Madeleine Chapman spent a day learning about Christchurch through its most famous dishes.What is there do with with a day in Christchurch? Thanks to the inexplicably early check-out times at hotels all over the world and a 7pm flight back to Auckland, I had a full day to wander the ...
Winston Peters says his party is a handbrake on bad ideas and a "supercharged turbo" for good ones - but will it be in the driver's seat come 2020? ...
Our former prime minister secured a meeting with Chinese premier Xi Jinping outside all normal diplomatic channels. Interest’s Jenée Tibshraeny asks what it means for New Zealand’s evolving relationship with the superpower.Former prime minister John Key secured a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week without the involvement of ...
David Robiecontinues his three-part series about travelling in Iran. I stumbled on the scene by chance. Our host family in Iran’s second city Mashhad, a modern and beautiful metropolis that would comfortably fit in New Zealand’s entire population, was taking us on a drive to the outskirts to ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has lashed out at the media, in particular, MediaWorks, just a day after the company announced it was selling off its television arm. ...
About a hundred disgruntled licensed gun owners have descended on the New Zealand First conference to tell the party leader Winston Peters that they feel like victims. ...
New Zealand First members will vote on a policy today that would allow businesses of all sizes to enforce 90-day trials when they employ people straight out of prison. ...
"Each time she held her lighter underneath the pipe and sucked the smoke into the back of her throat, the promise was there": a New Zealand tragedy by Alice Tawhai. ...
With the future of Mediaworks’ TV business hanging in the balance, Al Jazeera news presenter Kamahl Santamaria reflects on what the imperilled channel meant, and continues to mean, to him.I always liked the logo. The fresh bright colours, the nod to a koru in its shape, and just the fact ...
There are still many barriers preventing people from voting in local elections. Laura O’Connell Rapira proposes some social solutions.The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here.To vote in the local elections, I cast ...
What’s really stood out for me being back in Tokyo is the unique qualities of Japan’s spectators, writes Richard Light, professor of sport coaching at the University of Canterbury.The Rugby World Cup has thrown a global spotlight on Japan over recent weeks. Not just the rugby: the distinctive culture and ...
As the New Zealand First Party gathers for its annual conference, the question swirling in the year is how it can carve out a path to avoid electoral defeat in 2020, writes Jo Moir for RNZ. It’s not you, it’s me. It’s a familiar break up excuse that’s used ...
To the early intervention therapists, to the teachers, to the speech therapists, the occupational therapists, music therapists, diabetes nurses and all: you change the world.When I was married almost a decade ago we had the following reading at our wedding:You are holding up a ceilingwith both arms. It is very ...
The faces said it all. The smiles of the European leaders crowded round Boris after the Brexit deal was struck. The deal his opponents – no, pretty much everyone – said was impossible.So what’s in it? The detail is still opaque, but subject to gremlins in the fine print, ...
Iran attracts an onslaught of negative media in New Zealand and Western media. But is it fair or deserved? David Robie has spent several weeks travelling in the country on sabbatical and finds the media negativity far from the reality of the “most friendly” country he has ever visited ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra [embedded content]University of Canberra Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Leigh Sullivan discusses the week in politics with Michelle Grattan. They talk about Alan Jones accusing Prime Minister Scott Morrison of failing the immediate needs of drought-striken farmers, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anita Parbhakar-Fox, Senior Research Fellow in Geometallurgy/Applied Geochemistry, The University of Queensland Last month, scientists uncovered a mineral called Edscottite. Minerals are solid, naturally occurring substances that are not living, such as quartz or haematite. This new mineral was discovered after an ...
The Auckland-based collective talk origins, ambitions and making the rave accessible to everybody.Friendly Potential is an outfit that defies easy summary. They’re among the country’s most ambitious and prolific club promoters. In their almost five-years of operation, they’ve been responsible for the local debuts of electronic music icons including Detroit ...
Analysis: Two polls show support for Labour sliding, the government is accused of breaking another promise and the Greens's refusal to back a bill forces Labour to rely on National to get it through. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kiera Lindsey, University of Technology Sydney One spring morning in 1850, over 8,000 Sydneysiders marched through town to protest the resumption of transportation – the act of sending British criminals to Australia. It was the largest protest in Australia thus far, an ...
Two shareholders of failed insurance firm company CBL are leading a class action against the firm's former directors seeking compensation for financial losses. ...
Sam Brooks recaps the third episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, and wonders why some of these queens don’t know how to sew.This episode asks, and sort of answers the main question that millions of people across the world: why would you come on Drag Race and not know how to sew?!There ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John M Clarke, Team Leader, Regional Projections, CSIRO Last month we lost Dr Penny Whetton – one of the world’s most respected climate scientists and a brilliant mentor to the next generation of researchers. Penny will also be remembered as a passionate ...
Ten moose were upended into the Dusky Sounds in 1910. Now, their descendants are getting their day in the sun.The climate crisis is affecting wildlife all over the country: rockhopper penguin populations are in drastic decline, tuatara eggs aren’t hatching females, and the ice walls keeping predators away from kea ...
Security footage of NZ First MP Clayton Mitchell being thrown out of a Tauranga bar looks unlikely to ever be aired - despite his leader Winston Peters promising a screening. ...
Amnesty International is concerned that Justice Minister Andrew Little's Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill could have the potential to undermine human rights in New Zealand. The Bill would give the New Zealand Police the ability to apply to ...
Expect the old campaigner Winston Peters to be at his belligerent best as he gears up for another election. He’s kept his party alive for 27 years and he shows no sign of quitting. The omens may be bleak—polls this week showed his party below the 5% threshold– but Peters ...
The National Party has agreed to take down any videos breaching the current rules around the use of parliamentary TV footage, as all parties try to reach consensus. ...
Recently the Health Promotion Agency released a report into hazardous drinking in New Zealand. The report shows that Māori who drink alcohol and live in deprived circumstances are less likely to have a harmful relationship with alcohol if they ...
Turkey-US joint-statement on military ops within Syria’s territory.The Turkish Embassy in New Zealand issued Evening Report this unabridged United States of America-Republic of Turkey joint-statement detailing what both sides agreed to regarding Turkey’s military operations within the so-called security zone within Syrian territory near Turkey’s southern border. It is ...
Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash didn’t mention what winners will receive, when he proudly called for entries for a new public award “to celebrate innovation in our seafood sector”. Nor did he mention the cost to taxpayers of this initiative. Point of Order’s checks with the website where more details have ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fiona R Martin, Senior Lecturer in Convergent and Online Media, University of Sydney One of the basic tenets of the ABC Act is independence from government. Yet once again, in contravention to that principle, the federal government is trying to push through ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Lily Holloway.modernity to globalisationwhen I get there as still life and landscape and also portraitureseeking the cacti in small pots who dot the globeslices of pie offer up the vision after the sermonexpressing emotions without coherent narrative supportbecause no artist responded to this callemploying ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi to rule out any taxpayer-funded purchase or bailout for Mediaworks’s channel Three. Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “For the last few months Mediaworks ...
The Police Commissioner's announcement that squadcars of officers with automatic rifles will patrol New Zealand's streets is dangerous and unnecessary, according to the criminal justice community organisation People Against Prisons Aotearoa. The ...
News broke this morning that Mediaworks is seeking to sell off, and even contemplating closing, its TV division. What might that mean for journalism?For journalism in New Zealand, the loss of Three’s TV division is a devastating blow. It is not yet known whether any of the news properties will ...
In our defence of our coalition Government policy on climate change, we fully support Government plan to use rail funding for rail infrastructure upgrades to promote use rail infrastructure for freight around NZ. ...
The billions of tonnes of plastic in our oceans isn’t going away any time soon, but innovative companies here and abroad are working together to find silver linings to this daunting problem.Fishing boats head out to sea and set their nets. They go back to shore. They head back out, ...
An EveningReport.nz investigation by Kevin ListKiwibank services. Image by Kevin List.Evening Report looks into the separation of Kiwibank from New Zealand Post, and considers the impact on the public’s access to banking services in their communities.Kiwibank. What’s going on? Kiwibank and New Zealand Post are in the ...
Local Government New Zealand today confirmed what many local election commentators have observed; that more of the voting public cast their ballots in favour of women candidates than ever before. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington (this week we totted up the data a day early, on Wednesday, to let our books ed. ...
New Zealand's mineral manufacturing sector is expected to face some testing times, with softer prices, tighter margins and sluggish export markets. ...
Portugal has been painted by pro-cannabis legalisation groups as a model to follow. Yet just last month, the mayor of Porto contradicted his previous pro-harm reduction position and endorsed reintroducing criminal penalties for drug use in public spaces. ...
Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Kevin Short announced today the inclusion of six Cook Island First World War soldiers in the New Zealand and Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s official rolls of honour. ...
The latest statistics released by the Health Promotion Agency showing a dramatic fall in the numbers of cigarettes being sold in supermarkets, service stations, and liquor stores are being welcomed by the Vaping Trade Association of New Zealand (VTANZ). ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.NZ First Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Where to from here? How NZ First will win in ...
Aotearoa Climate Emergency (ACE), a climate change network, will host a conference in Wellington on 11 November (Armistice Day) to promote holding a Citizens Assembly in 2020, as a way of breaking the current political deadlock on treating climate ...
MediaWorks’ owners have called time after years of losses from its TV division. Sources say the company will announce it is for sale – if no buyers emerge, it will close within months.Three is facing the biggest crisis in its three decade history today, as its ownership will soon announce ...
Sam Brooks reviews Amazon Prime’s Modern Love, an anthology series based on the New York Times column dedicated to ‘love in all its forms’. A first date that ends up in the emergency room. A flagging marriage that finds new energy through tennis. The founder of a dating app who doesn’t ...
If we want to grow support for New Zealand’s aid, we need to get better at partnering with the ‘unlike-minded’ as well as the ‘like-minded’, and much better at telling people what we do with the money they give, says Josie Pagani, Executive ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Orsola De Marco, Astrophysicist , Macquarie University If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au.How are stars made? –Zali, age 8, Karkoo, South Australia. How are stars made? Well, stars are not ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gita Mishra, Professor of Life Course Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland All women know to expect the time in life when their periods finish and they reach menopause. Many might even look forward to it. What many women don’t ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul McGreevy, Professor of Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare Science, University of Sydney Since ancient times, horse behaviour, and the bond between horses and humans, has been a source of intrigue and fascination. The horse-lore that has accumulated over the centuries is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachael Wallis, Lecturer and Honorary Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland A move to the country is often presented in popular culture as an idyllic life, a place where you can escape the pressures of the city. It’s in television shows such ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW The just-announced inquiry into Australia’s retirement income system ought to be anything but run-of-the-mill. Taking place 25 years after the introduction of compulsory superannuation, it provides an opportunity to either fix a broken system, or discard ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Allan McCay, Law Lecturer, University of Sydney The rise of artificial intelligence has led to widespread concern about the role of humans in the workplaces of the future. Indeed, Israeli historian, futurist and publishing sensation Yuval Noah Harari warns in his most ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Saunders, Phd candidate, University of Wollongong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains images and names of deceased people. You leave Sydney and head for holidays on the South Coast. You plan to catch a quick surf, ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Clayton Mitchell denies accusations around a night out, food insecurity on the rise, and UK PM Boris Johnson secures deal with dubious prospects.NZ First MP Clayton Mitchell has got himself in a spot of late night bother in a Tauranga ...
As the rugby world wrestles with the new reality that players can, and will, be dismissed for accidental contact with an opponent’s head it's worth pondering the fate of three All Blacks not selected for the Ireland quarterfinal. ...
A new exhibition in Raetihi offers a rare opportunity to see early, colonialism-focused works by Wellington artist Barbara Strathdee, writes Pat Baskett. ...
Italy's Ambassador to New Zealand Fabrizio Marcelli responds to Newsroom stories - and The Detail podcasts - questioning the price of imported tinned tomatoes in light of reports of slave labour in the industry in his home country. ...
A measles outbreak in Samoa suspected to be responsible for the death of a one-year-old was “inevitable”, according to an expert who thinks NZ could have prevented it. ...
Open mike 25/02/2015 
Open mike is your post.
In 1994, I was the editor for an issue of Planet magazine focused on cannabis, its culture and the prospects for the end of its prohibition. Part of that issue was an interview with 'Ringo', an experienced cannabis dealer.I recently posted my essay from that issue, and I figured it ...16 hours ago
As Brexit comes to a grisly conclusion (perhaps) people on all sides are saying intemperate and uwise things. Some, like the Daly Mail, have been doing it for years.People as normally level headed as Jon Lansman are calling for automatic deselection of MPs who vote against a (likely) Labour three ...18 hours ago
On Wednesday, the government was loudly telling us that it needed to legislate to allow it to impose "control orders" - effectively a parole regime, but imposed without charge, prosecution, conviction or real evidence - on suspected terrorists because they couldn't be prosecuted for their supposed crimes. Today, it turns ...2 days ago
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been busy preparing for our summer paper on Science Communication. Looking for something amusing about ‘risk’ in science, I came across this neat xkcd.com cartoon about why so many people come knocking on my door (or phoning me, or emailing me) desperately wanting ...2 days ago
Media Statement for Immediate Release 16th October 2019 “Fake News” from Auckland City Council CCOs Board Chairs re pay and performance bonuses for top managers Despite comments from Auckland City Council CCOs Board Chairs re pay and performance bonuses for top managers—Herald Newspaper Tuesday Oct 15th–there is very little evidence ...3 days ago
Would You Buy A Used Propaganda Video From This Man? Bridges and the National Party’s strategists have discovered that the ideas and attitudes considered acceptable by today’s editors and journalists are no longer enforceable. The rise and rise of the Internet and the social media platforms it spawned means that ...3 days ago
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz There is a lot of discussion on the benefits of ...4 days ago
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...5 days ago
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING MYTH 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate. FACT: The HadCRUT3 surface temperature index, produced by the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, shows warming to 1878, cooling to 1911, ...5 days ago
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...1 week ago
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...1 week ago
We're rebuilding our hospitals, protecting our oceans, and taking mental health seriously. ...2 days ago
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is predicting a hard Brexit for the United Kingdom, as he believes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t be able to negotiate terms before the October 30 deadline. The Minister, who was one of the first to publicly come out and predict British voters would leave ...4 days ago
The Government today announced its support for a project that could substantially reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions from cattle. The announcement was made as part of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor’s visit to Nelson’s Cawthron Aquaculture Park. The Cawthron Institute will receive $100,000 from the Government’s ...2 days ago
US justice reform activists Deborah Small and asha bandele say white supremacy and colonialism are at the heart of punitive drug laws. They spoke to Teuila Fuatai about how drug reform can reverse their effects on minority communities. Deborah Small sees Donald Trump as the US Dorian Gray. “He’s the physical ...2 hours ago
Winston Peters says his party is a handbrake on bad ideas and a "supercharged turbo" for good ones - but will it be in the driver's seat come 2020? ...13 hours ago
David Robie continues his three-part series about travelling in Iran. I stumbled on the scene by chance. Our host family in Iran’s second city Mashhad, a modern and beautiful metropolis that would comfortably fit in New Zealand’s entire population, was taking us on a drive to the outskirts to ...15 hours ago
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has lashed out at the media, in particular, MediaWorks, just a day after the company announced it was selling off its television arm. ...16 hours ago
The prospect of ISIS fighters returning home to New Zealand is becoming more likely by the day. ...19 hours ago
"Each time she held her lighter underneath the pipe and sucked the smoke into the back of her throat, the promise was there": a New Zealand tragedy by Alice Tawhai. ...1 day ago
A new law targeting potential returning terrorists like Mark Taylor raises questions about human rights and whether the bill is being rushed. ...2 days ago
Two shareholders of failed insurance firm company CBL are leading a class action against the firm's former directors seeking compensation for financial losses. ...2 days ago
Politicians come crawling back after the holidays to repair some 'bad optics'. James Elliott pulls no punches in his news of the week. ...2 days ago
New Zealand's mineral manufacturing sector is expected to face some testing times, with softer prices, tighter margins and sluggish export markets. ...2 days ago
Environmental groups are urging the government to crack down on commercial industries whose activities are harming the marine environment. ...2 days ago
Struggling media company MediaWorks is putting its TV business Three on the sale block, after axing and scaling back shows. ...2 days ago
As the rugby world wrestles with the new reality that players can, and will, be dismissed for accidental contact with an opponent’s head it's worth pondering the fate of three All Blacks not selected for the Ireland quarterfinal. ...2 days ago
This week's biggest-selling NZ books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan NZ bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias. ...2 days ago
A new exhibition in Raetihi offers a rare opportunity to see early, colonialism-focused works by Wellington artist Barbara Strathdee, writes Pat Baskett. ...2 days ago
Italy's Ambassador to New Zealand Fabrizio Marcelli responds to Newsroom stories - and The Detail podcasts - questioning the price of imported tinned tomatoes in light of reports of slave labour in the industry in his home country. ...2 days ago
A measles outbreak in Samoa suspected to be responsible for the death of a one-year-old was “inevitable”, according to an expert who thinks NZ could have prevented it. ...2 days ago
Plans for Facebook’s proposed “stablecoin”, Libra, appear to be unraveling as awareness about its adverse effects grows. ...2 days ago
Explosives were used to blast a millions-of-years-old rock overhang in a national park. ...2 days ago
Medical issues, party leaks and a surprise resignation have taken their toll - but Winston Peters argues his party is as strong as ever. ...2 days ago
Key couldn’t remember what he was doing in the early 1980s.
He was possibly thumbing through his “Battler Britain” comics.
Seems now he might also have been captured by the Falklands and is now
hoping for his own “Thatcher” moment.
We have a rogue government that does not ask its people or parliament whether it should go to war or not.
hi paul, ref a rogue government: perhaps we do, however till the sheeple wake up to this, nothing changes.
to raise awareness perhaps a day of action akin to the anti tppa protests coming up early march?
If the NZ role is just training, then why not bring the trainees here to New Zealand and teach them all the tactics they need in a non-war zone, peaceful environment.
Because then our “force protection” troops could not help to secure a Forward Operating Base in Iraq from which assault operations on ISIS will be launched from.
Was Key channeling Jack Nicholson in a Few Good Men for his performance in parliament yesterday?
Once again key simply does not ring true.Little is a true leader, calm, capable and cogent.
Mr Little was in very good form on tv3 this morning he gave solid reasoned views on Iraq.
Paddy giving not a bad breakdown of the cost of keys announcement in his eyes its when not if we get a retaliation from I S.
To an extent. But he said it doesn’t take guts to sit in Wellington making tough decisions. I think he’s wrong about that.
If he believes what he said then I don’t think he’s ready to step up to Prime Ministerial level, which is a very tough job involving many tough decisions.
so is NZ a dictatorship now Pete?
Nowhere near that les. I think Key should have sought Parliamentary support, but it wasn’t a democratic requirement.
If it had come to the crunch would Labour have voted against it? There’s no way of knowing now, but as this is at the request of Iraq it’s arguably more legitimate than decisions made by the Clark Government and Parliament at the time.
‘at the request of Iraq’…really…is it a legitimate,democratic ‘Iraq’ that made the request?
Seeing as Labour and the Greens both put forward a motion for a vote – which National objected to both times – your “no way of knowing” is as empty as Key’s credibility.
“at the request of Iraq ”
ha ha that is the funniest thing heard in a long time. Well actually not that long as it has been heard quite a lot lately. Not surprised you fall for it Pete.
at the request of Iraq
ha ha ha
at the request of Iraq
Pete:
“I think Key should have sought Parliamentary support, but it wasn’t a democratic requirement.”
Nope. It wasn’t a legal requirement to be democratic, so he chose not to be democratic.
+1
Yeah, actually, it was. We don’t get democracy by having a few people in cabinet making executive decisions. Going to war is a major policy and really should have been put to referendum even if the nation that we’d be fighting for requested it.
The normal right wing excuses for their latest antisocial, cruel and sadistic actions.
“It is legal”.
“Some one else would have done it (And creamed off the money) if I hadn’t”.
“Eastasia or Westasia this week?
yeah.
Many of them genuinely seem to think that if they got away with it (so far), it can’t be wrong.
A similar but lighter example is an opinion piece in Stuff today that argued the underarm ball incident was not actually wrong: it was legal, it might have been possible to still hit a six and tie the game, even if it wasn’t possible then the bowler could have bowled a perfect ball that was impossible to hit for six, or that the aussie team could have turned into the keystone cops and allowed NZ to get six runs via fielding errors.
There’s a basic inability to recognise a dick move when it’s there. That winning a game of athletic skill via bureaucratic oversight is preferable to getting a draw. That exploiting a tax loophole to pay less than your fair share is fine because it’s temporarily legal. That taking the ability the Executive has to use the armed forces speedily to react to threats and using it to avoid gaining parliament’s permission for a contentious, planned, long term deployment is not an abuse of the very democracy that parliament is there to exercise.
And the signature of a dick is to not know or care that it’s a dick. That’s why key shrugs his shoulders so often.
Imagine the cast of Hot Fuzz intoning “The letter of the law, the letter of the law…”
National Party values.
actually it’s more like Timothy Dalton’s character thinking that pronouncing it “super marshay” is a cool thing to do, rather than mildly greasy and irritating. 🙂
What tough decisions? A tough decision would be to kick all pedophiles out of the NAct party, or to up the top tax rate, or to chase after corporate fraudsters. Sending our kids to war, or selling state houses are not tough decisions. They come naturally to Tory scum.
Boy, Pete, you know how to twist words.
“When we’re talking about guts, I think I’ll reserve that for the soldiers who we’re sending up there,” Mr Little responded on Firstline this morning.
“This is one of the most dangerous conflict zones in the world – you don’t need much guts to sit on a leather couch in Wellington and send people off to do your bidding for you, so let’s get that in perspective.”
Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/little-doesnt-take-guts-to-boss-troops-around-2015022509#ixzz3Si1IYSLK
Andrew Little was contrasting the amount of guts shown by Key sitting on his couch and the guts shown by the soldiers sent by John Key.
Sorry chaps. Forgot the rules. DNFTT. Starting at A.
The aardvark (/ˈɑrd.vɑrk/ ard-vark; Orycteropus afer) is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlike New World edentates such as the giant anteater, it has a long pig-like snout, which is used to sniff out food. It roams over most of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding mainly rocky areas. A nocturnal feeder, it subsists on ants and termites, which it will dig out of their hills using its sharp claws and powerful legs. It also will utilize its digging ability to create burrows in which to live and rear its young.
Yep key went for the oscar – simplistic messages delivered as if he believed them – his non-thinking minions will lap it up – pg 101
As it turns out I didn’t like Key’s second speech, I don’t think that was appropriate. But there was an unusual amount of emotion expressed so fair enough for Key to say what he thought.
And the Green faithful will have lapped up Norman’s naivety and contradictions.
attack the Greens, attack the Greens – maintain low tones – attack the Greens, attack the Greens…
Chard and the other beets are chenopods, a group which is either its own family Chenopodiaceae or a subfamily within the Amaranthaceae. Although the leaves of chard are eaten, it is in the same species as beetroot (garden beet), which is grown primarily for its edible roots. Both are cultivated descendants of the sea beet, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima, but they were selected for different characteristics.
Chard is also known by its many common names such as Swiss chard,[7] silverbeet, perpetual spinach, spinach beet, crab beet, bright lights, seakale beet, and mangold.[8] In South Africa, it is simply called spinach.[9]
😀
or
lol!!!
pete wants to beet his green – all of the day and all of the night
As predictable as the sun coming up each day is old petey.
“emotion” ? or a loss of composure, due to stress grown from insincere motives
“emotion ? or a loss of composure..”.
I thought it was an act. ShonKey using some false “emotion” to try to show sheeples that he really does believe this tripe about needing to go to war.
The guy is an actor. A puppet. Whose strings are pulled from afar, and who has never shown his real self to NZers.
+1 Jenny and freedom.
Key’s performance yesterday was Oscar worthy. He has to make an effort to convince NZer’s he’s made the right decision. And I agree with freedom, he is under stress and losing his composure.
Bullshitting to save your arse can be really stressful, and add all that acting effort, it’s no wonder he’s looking a bit undone.
I remember Peter Sellers on The Muppet Show, where he said, “There isn’t a me, I’ve had it surgically removed!”
E. lecontei adults are smaller than most terrestrial weevils, measuring only 3 mm in length. This weevil is generally dark-colored with a pattern of dark brown/black and yellowish stripes on the dorsal half, fading to a lighter, yellow-beige underbelly. However, some weevil individuals vary in color from almost completely tan to beige.
O, vole mio !!
“From observing your pet every day, you’ll have noticed that your cat has a pattern that it follows quite religiously. For example, your adult indoor cat might spend the mornings lying in a pool of sunshine in the corner of the dining room. Later, he watches you as you go about your household chores, and then his rigorous day winds down with a patient vigil by the kitchen door waiting for his children – otherwise known as your children – to come home. Your feline has developed these routines to protect his territory and frequently your pet’s definition of “territory” includes his human family members.
As your cat grows older, he becomes less capable of adapting to changes in his environment. Your pet gets particular about even the smallest detail of his surroundings and will notice changes in food (brand or type), the consistency of his litter and even in your schedule or in the schedules of other family members. Abrupt or drastic changes in your cat’s routine and environment can produce a great deal of stress, which can result in a variety of stress-induced behaviors – including litter box problems, aggression, self-mutilation or general despondency.
The best possible way to keep your cat stress free is to try to maintain your daily routine and to keep changes to a minimum. When changes are necessary, try introducing them to your cat gradually while leaving every other aspect of the routine in place. Limit exposure to new people and new foods, etc., on the first day and increase the exposure to newness over a seven-day period. If you have houseguests or other situations where the household is materially changed, remember to give your cat as much extra attention as you can.”
lol thank you !
what with: spying in tangimoana on behalf of the us,
rounding up that pesky german,
altering nz labour law,
offering tax breaks to american film companies,
sending kiwi soldiers to help clean up another us war,
and being a golf buddy to the pousa.
i am reminded of a the the song, heartland.
youtube.com/watch?v=1osdqwaiu08
” The ammunition’s being passed and the lords been praised
But the wars on the televisions will never be explained
All the bankers gettin’ sweaty beneath their white collars
As the pound in our pocket turns into a dollar
This is the 51st state of the U.S.A.
This is the 51st state of the U.S.A.
This is the 51st state of the U.S.A.
this may give an insight to what our dear leader wants our new flag to look like.
song on my mind
“Another head hangs lowly,
Child is slowly taken.
And the violence caused such silence.
Who are we mistaken?…”
zombie indeeds
The 51st state is the great state of Saudi Israelia
Last year there we not going to be boots on the ground this year….
Tough decision HA
The tough decision would be Not to go
And it is not his kids that he is putting in danger.
my problem is I find it difficult to trust anything Key says.
Key says we are sending Army ‘trainers’ to Iraq in order to keep us Kiwis safe. You cannot be serious!
…and his announcement has just made Kiwis less safe!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/66608944/brace-for-is-threats-analyst-warns
a reply given in a discussion of what children should be taught in schools..
“What about: a history of morals, ethics and decency – self realisation and why being a dick gets you no where”
brilliant!!
Key makes even more of a joke of himself when he yells like a show-off schoolboy.
He has no gravitas, no mana. He is just an empty hollow man and his yelling speech yesterday evidenced this yet again.
Yes vto you are dead right , Empty wine glasses make the loudest noise.
Meanwhile, in one of the great cities of our friend the USA, the rule of law is ? ? ?
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/chicago-police-operating-cia-style-black-site-for-domestic-interrogations-report
“..Pot is 114 Times Safer Than Booze – Says Study..
..New research finds pot is the least deadly among recreational drugs –
– by far..”
(cont..)
http://www.alternet.org/pot-114-times-safer-booze-says-study
But isn’t it better, healthier and safer to live without either of those?
And Oh, also by boycotting and without visiting our casinos ever again for good measure?
ideally..i guess..
(but that is really up there with ‘wouldn’t it be nice if everyone had a pony?’..
..as in..it isn’t going to happen..)
..and the facts of the matter are that young people (esp.) of most cultures like to take intoxicants of some form..
..(it is/always has been – thus..and not only for ‘the young’..)
..so we have the intoxicant safest by ‘114 times’..being prohibited..
..and the intoxicant ‘114’ times more dangerous..
..the killer-drug alcohol..
..is advertised/encouraged..
True, true.
Like the rum or the coke dilemma. ‘Which is more harmful?’
Alcohol is not so much the elephant in the room – It’s were is the room, because I can’t see anything but the elephant.
As long as we keep up prohibition – people suffer, people dying suffer, families suffer, criminals are made for no reason, racist cops have laws which enable them to be racists, and we can’t tell children not to smoke pot in a public debate.
Clemgeopin, live pure – like that going to happen. I’d rather we had open debate around drugs and drug use rather than it being hidden.
Hell I dream of the day we can have adds on TV which say.
“Don’t smoke pot and drink alcohol together – why? Because – it really does make you into an arsehole”
or
“Smoking pot under the age of 21 is like drinking under 21 – a licence to make you stupid and compliant. Wait till your 21 ah.”
Making marijuana medically available and also an R21 drug has merits worth considering.
I think we need to put alcohol back to R21.
I have no issue with it going to R21 retail.
alcohol and cannabis aren’t the problem. Why some people use in unhealthy ways is where to look if we want to see the problem. Take away the drugs, what are those people going to do?
“Clemgeopin, live pure”
I didn’t say I don’t enjoy a drink.
“But isn’t it better, healthier and safer to live without either of those?”
What did you mean by that? I took that to mean you support complete abstinence as ideal.
What Weka said
No, no, I do enjoy a drink or three.
Don’t do drugs and will most certainly NEVER visit a NZ casino EVER AGAIN after the recent fiasco and the disgraceful dodgy nexus between the two evils : The nasty Nats and the gambling Casino goons.
Cripes phillip u can you stay off pot for a week? I am not talking about what happens at your place just give us a break here. Make that a month would you. I and some others would be grateful to not have that subject for a good while.
legalise it and i’ll shut up…
..’till then…
…and regulate and tax it heavily.
(You always seem to miss that crucial part)
not really…
..legalise..regulate..tax is/has been the/my basic argument all along..
..i just don’t necessarily restate the pillars in every story/link..
..and as for txing..
..didyaknow that colorado has taken so much income from tax from legal pot..
….it breaches some sort of government-greed stricture..
..and that excess tax will be distributed back to the citizens of colorado..
..legal pot..and a tax-refund..?
..only a true curmudgeon wd sneer @ that..
“…and regulate and tax it heavily”
Regulating it is fine but taxing it ‘heavily’ is not so much because, as is always the case, be it tobacco, dope, or GST, it will hit the poorest the most…and in the case of dope, I think it will be the gangs that will rub their hands with joy and heartily support ‘heavy’ taxes!
Even after heavy taxation the price is going to be cheaper than today’s black market prices.
I was wondering how long it would take you to reference that red herring of a study.
They simply compared the lethal dose 50 of alcohol to the lethal dose 50 of marijuana.
The LD50 of alcohol is significantly lower than marijuana. That’s it. That’s all the study found.
It doesn’t mention anything about societal use or injuries / damage caused by the drugs, it’s purely looking at the dose it would take to kill you.
You might notice, that very few people actually die of alcohol poisoning. Virtually no one dies of marijuana poisoning.
These findings are not news nor surprising to anyone who understands what the study is *actually* about. Unfortunately, as usual, the media have boiled it down to the lowest-common-denominator and written a headline and article that distorts the study to a huge degree and presents it as if it is some great new finding and is somehow relevant to the marijuana vs alcohol debate, when really it warrants nothing more than a passing interest.
oh..!..ok..lath..
..how about you link us to yr research that shows how cannabis is a far more dangerous drug than alcohol..
..u r dancing around the edges..
..deliberately missing the point..
..is it only 95 times worse than alcohol..not 114..?
..50 times..?
..and factcheck…unless a bale of it falls on yr head..
..there is no ‘lethal-dose’ of pot..
..booze however..?
Who needs a link? The damage is obvious every time you post, Phil.
correlation != causation 🙂
waiting for the body-bags..?..war-monger..?
..will you still be such an armchair-warrior when that happens..eh..?
..you fucken unthinking-fool..
..trp..supporting/handwringing-around cia propaganda-campaigns..
.. since at least..gadfaffi..
Change down man, find your neutral space …
war-mongering/unthinking clowns piss me off..
..i have no ‘neutral-space’ for fools such as that..
(and i can roll joints like that..)
who said americans as a nation are warmongering psycopathic-bastards..?
..is it because in the 237 yrs since the foundation of america -america has largely been at war..?
– guess how many years of those 237 america was not at war with someone..?
..21 yrs…
.21 out of 237..
..that means that since its’ founding..
..america has been in a state of war for 93% of the fucken time..
..deserving of a ‘whoar!’..?..surely..?
You’ve completely missed my point, of course.
How about we compare the boiling points of THC and ethanol and use that guide us as to whether the drugs should be illegal or not?
That would only be slightly less relevant that what the study is talking about.
no..u miss the point..
..that alcohol is far more dangerous than cannabis..
..r u arguing against that proposition..?
..legalise..!..regulate..!..tax..!
No, I’m not arguing against that proposition. Alcohol is obviously much more damaging to society and individuals than marijuana is.
I’m saying *this* article doesn’t offer any new insight to anyone who would be making legislative decisions about this. Anyone trumpeting this as some sort of grand new evidence is misguided.
In simple terms: this study is telling us what we already knew and what was already obvious.
so why isn’t it legal..?
..if it is so fucken ‘obvious’..?
..and i thought the article/information was useful..
..emphasising how dangerous alcohol is..
..and how not dangerous cannabis is..
You’re either wilfully ignoring what I’m saying, or incapable of understanding it.
Heavy recreational dope use might make him wilfully incapable 🙂
Just a couple of pieces to remind people that rabid right wing have no morals. They love money not people and are only interested in “the bottom line”. The sooner we stand up against this greed mentality – the better for humanity and an increased chance for it’s survival, as we approach the end of the golden weather.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/02/20/16796/hsbcs-political-committee-goes-dark-days-swiss-leaks-scandal
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/02/24/16809/mitt-romney-rand-paul-and-porno-spoof
Anybody notice that Thea Muldoon passed away? It’s on Stuff. Given his turbulent political career I can only hope she enjoyed a peaceful widowhood.
Barry Gustafson I think was on Radionz – came to know her well. She was very supportive of old Fartface and was a true blue lady herself. She probably enjoyed a relationship with Margaret Thatcher. I think she had a pretty good time of it all.
Cf Margaret Thorn’s life. Now that was a staunch and beautiful woman to admire. Does anyone remember her?
Thanks for that greywarshark. Just read a short piece about her on Te Ara website. Sounds like an interesting and admirable woman, and the experience of her and her husband is a timely one to read regarding the ISIS discussion.
As for the title of her last book: “Stick out, and keep left”. Pretty much sums it up.
Yes Molly I had the book in the back of my mind for yonks but couldn’t get the name right and I think Ennui or one of the stalwarts here gave me the steer.
And the difference between now and how politics used to be! At one stage she and her husband filled a major political role, can’t remember the exact position and she visited an organisation in her elevated capacity. Then they were out of government, her husband got sick, and she was back at that organisation as a cook working flat out in the kitchens. Real Cinderella stuff. A very hard worker. Both of the Thorns were.
Thea Muldoon was a genuine conservative lady – one of the old fashioned
Conservatives who believed in following and supporting her husband at all cost. I met her once after her husband had died and realised she was a kind and genuine person. She was a product of her conservative upbringing, but I came to admire her for her loyalty and decency.
RIP Thea Muldoon.
Grey – Best not to compare and contrast these very different women in this manner.
Would you do the same if a man you disliked passed away (find a ‘worthy’ man with whom to compare him)?
I agree with Anne’s sentiments; nicely put.
Massive methane gas blowholes opening up in SIberia
Seems like Russian scientists think that the “clatharate gun” has gone off. That 2 degree C target is history, methinks, and with it, hundreds of millions of human lives.
http://rt.com/news/235219-craters-siberia-yamal-lake/
thanks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clathrate_gun_hypothesis
https://robertscribbler.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/awakening-the-horrors-of-the-ancient-hothouse-hydrogen-sulfide-in-the-worlds-warming-oceans/
Might be of interest to some along with the other links.
H2s was the thing that scared me most when I worked on oil rigs.
I have been expecting that to start showing up in the far north. They’re still estimating how much is stored there on land, but it looks like a lot.
Fortunately there is less of a tundra land mass in the south. It looks like the WAIS has been burnt off several times for shortish periods in the last 25 million years anyway which means that it probably has little methane stored.
US Police now using Stasi secret police tactics on protestors
Chicago’s “Homan Square” police facility where protestors can get disappeared to and chained up without access to lawyers, phone calls, or contact with the outside world. Detainees are not officially charged.
This is what the gradual evolution of a totalitarian security state looks like, people.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-police-detain-americans-black-site
More.
America, rotten to the core.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/18/american-police-brutality-chicago-guantanamo
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/19/chicago-police-richard-zuley-abuse-innocent-man
I agree, this story cannot be linked to often enough 😉
CRIPES!!
Can I add, one of the Anarchy-capitalist I talk to sometimes. He’s always good for a argument. Got pulled into something similar to this. Luckily he was missed, and his friends/family knew/guessed it was the cops – so eventually got a lawyer – after 3 days from memory.
So if you think it’s only us on the left they are targeting – think again.
With their new systems they are targetting anyone who is identified as a potential dissenter to the current systems of privilege and power. That’s why they’ll target lefty protestors, Tea Party members, whistle blowers and journalists.
This more than anything else, signals how the Left/Right paradigm is breaking down. Now it is about the Inner Circle (and their professional enablers/hangers ons) and Everybody else.
The PTB want you to think the left/right paradigm is breaking down. It’s actually the monopolist right versus everyone else as we head into peak capitalism.
Pretty sure peak capitalism was reached by the early 80’s. Crony capitalism and financialisation began to take over then.
Pretty sure it’s well gone.
Snowden and Assange? Hitler and Stalin?
Which ones are left and which ones are right? Which ones a penchant for authoritarianism and which ones not?
Answering that gives a far clearer picture of potential political friends and enemies 😉
Is it a trick question, Bill!?
Don’t know about Snowden’s politics, but he is currently sheltering in an authoritarian country and Assange is a fan of surprise sex, so probably a wee bit of the do as I say style bastard about him, too. Hitler right, Stalin left, as we know. I think Snowden is probably the only one who might conceivably be ‘left’ but Assange is clearly some sort of libertarian, and, as most of them do when opportunity arises, likes taking an authoritarian line. Though of course it’s not just opportunity that arises with Jules, if you get my drift.
The point is that Marx is still entirely correct about the class divide and the inevitable tendency of capital to coalesce around itself, sort of a black hole of money, sucking in everything of value including the light of understanding. Unless the working class and its allies recognise that their class interests are not shared by their masters, then we will not have control of our destiny. The bollocks about the left/right paradigm is defeatist and ignorant. But, that’s the way the 1% want it.
It wasn’t a trick question.
Snowden is a right wing libertarian, while Assange is a left wing libertarian.
Hitler was right wing authoritarian and Stalin a left wing authoritarian.
I guess then (and it is only a guess) that you’d have been among the millions lauding Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin et al last century even as they sent non-authoritarian leftists to the gulags and worse. (Right wing libertarianism didn’t exist back then as a political field of thought as far as I’m aware.)
And Marx had only a partial insight to class divisions. He missed the co-ordinators – the managers if you prefer – those with a penchant for authoritarianism (wielders of, and/or faithful adherents to) who breath life into the hierarchies of our systems of production and distribution and who, on a 9 – 5 basis, help ‘teach’ workers that ‘this (servility to authority) is the way’.
Apart from the fact that self labelled ‘right wing libertarians’ are under the delusion that markets are neutral, they exhibit far more understanding of, and appetite for, such basic ‘leftist’ values as liberty, freedom etc than many a supposed left wing liberal…and waaay more than any apologist (many still around!) for what what flowed from Lenin and the Bolsheviks’ successful defeat of the Russian Revolution.
Another jurisdiction does the right thing.
Smoking, growing and owning small amounts of marijuana became legal in Alaska on Tuesday as a growing decriminalization movement reached the United States’ northwest frontier.
Alaska, which narrowly passed the measure in November, followed Colorado and Washington among states allowing recreational use, reflecting a rapidly shifting legal landscape for the drug.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/24/us-usa-alaska-marijuana-idUSKBN0LS0ZH20150224
To think we were once the envy of the world for our compassionate social justice and welfare …
Paula Bennett and Key are cruel beyond belief … read and weep …
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/66578463/housing-shortage-hits-young-mum-hard
One aspect of that article niggles me bones. The article fails to say why rent has not been paid since October. That seems too obvious a question for the journalist – or the editor – to ignore. Call me a cynic, but could it be they want it to grow negative suspicions in the minds of the reader as to why it has not been paid?
it seems to be the date her mother was removed to hospital … then her mother’s death .. fear of winz and generally overwhelmed … who knows ? but the cynic in me agrees with the cynic in you …
and that must have been her home for her whole life .. imagine the hurt and horror of it …
Nope, 15 years but she’s only 26 so most of her life.
Yeah, that was what I was thinking. I suspect that it has something to do with the house being in her mother’s name and with her mother moving into a rest home and then dying has stuffed things up. She’s probably been trying to get things sorted but that’s not mentioned in the article.
did you see the picture of her belongings under what looks like cardboard at the back of the house ? Shame on the Winz enforcers treating a young mother and two children like this. THERE ARE NO HOUSES ! and yes, dying has a habit of stuffing things up .. you;d think Winz might fairly know this ? Yeah ? Nah. Not under this regime.
This is funny though
“In adopting such an approach, Key was seeking to go over the heads of the media and talk directly to New Zealanders about the reasons why such a deployment is necessary without his rationale being analysed and criticised before the public had actually heard that rationale.”
The media think that they need to be told first so they can then tell the plebs (sorry people of NZ) what to think
is it funny ?? like really ha ha funny, or just too twisted for words funny ? what did you mean ?
O, vole mio and all that.
How do you envisage the plebs knowing about what the Govt is deciding without the media? Examples?
When Key says “talk directly to nzers” he doesn’t mean all of them of course.
Just the important ones.
You still have it wrong Felix, just the ones who voted for him
Voted? With their cheque books?
With cheque books it’s called ‘access to minsters’ via the Cabinet Club. $25,000 entry fee. Saves having to vote, knowing that.
Its about value for money, I mean access to a Labour mp would be a packet of biscuits at the most
PR
Systematic corruption is indeed not so entrenched in the Labour caucus as in NAct’s.
Well lets talk MPs that have been convicted of corruption then
I’ll start with Labour and Phillip Field, your turn
corruption? You mean like fraud, identity theft, of filing false returns?
stupid mistakes, nothing to compare to out and out corruption
Sabin.
“The NBR understands that the party has known since before the 2011 election…”
lolright. Stupid mistakes 🙄
Yes, Field was corrupt. Gaining benefit from his role as an MP. He was stood down when the charges were made, and thoroughly investigated and prosecuted by the police.
As opposed to, say, using his role as an MP to ask questions that directly pertained to a significant share investment.
or stealing a dead babies identity. Even accepting garrets claim of doing it for a joke its way worse than a stupid mistake
Are you saying that National MP’s just cost more to buy?
Or that they do not need bribes while in power as they have lucrative retirement plans, in figurehead directors jobs.
Funding by their US corporate pay masters, when they leave Parliament.
He seems to saying the National MPs understand the Golden Rule: He with the gold, rules.
” ‘access to minsters’ via the Cabinet Club. $25,000 entry fee”
That is the declared open amount. God knows how much more is given under the table, hidden and unaccounted. I won’t be surprised knowing the way the rich crooks and the corrupt politicians work around many corrupt countries.
Billboard Art Project Sets Off Terrorism Scare Near US/Mexico Border
http://hyperallergic.com/183852/billboard-art-project-sets-off-terrorism-scare-near-usmexico-border/
thanks for that saveNZ, a better illustration of The Fear would be hard to find.
from the comments in the linked article
21st birthday celebration balloons gets read as “IS” – cops called
http://rt.com/news/235135-21-birthday-balloons-isis/
Hi everyone,
I feel so incensed about the whole Dong Liu donations saga and the spin about Labour and Liu, that I contacted the Press Council last night and asked them to re-consider Frank Mac’s submission to them about the Herald’s claims that Dong Liu donated $$$$ to Labour. The complaint from Frank wasn’t upheld, because the Herald maintained there was “more to come” about Liu and Labour. And of course nothing has come about Labour and Liu, but indeed we find out it was National receiving donations.
Last night I re-submitted Frank’s complaint to the Press Council, copied a link about National’s donations and asked them to re-consider Frank’s complaint. (hope that’s o.k. Frank???? didn’t know how to contact you to get your permission);
Much to my surprize I had an email this morning saying it would be re-presented to the council.
I will keep you updated!
brilliant action — awesome awesomeness!
ripples are the promises the waves make to the flood 😀
Great idea. Do keep us in the loop
+3 thanks anker!
+1
That is 4 pluses, anke-raw-shark!….Well done! Now you are on to the boot camp and hopefully get to boot the bastards.
Frank runs his own blog
https://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/author/fmacskasy/
Thanks Adam, I will contact him to make sure he is o.k. about it. Should have done so first, but feeling very cross, so just went ahead and assumed he would be o.k.
That’s very cool, great work!
He’s got away with it, again.
http://bluenationreview.com/breaking-zimmerman-cleared-federal-charges/
Autralians (Tarn Yabbit and Joe Joe) just announcing changes to foreign ownership of houses and farms.
… a register
… a $5k application fee for houses under 1 mill
… a 10k application fee over 1 mill
… breaking the rules, $25k fine with the potential for confiscation
… a claim that the rules will be strictly enforced
(Sky News)
will 25k be a detterent or merely seen as a business cost?
probably the latter but the potential for confiscation might be a deterrent. We’ll see just how strictly the rules are enforced. I was just interested to see on Planet Key the Prime Munster still appears to be ‘comfortable’ by comparison
Correction:
That fine is ‘… up to 25 PERCENT of the value of the property ….’
Reasons why National don’t stand in the Maori seats, No94:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/266807/blue-t-shirt-sales-stopped-after-pm%27s-comments
In some areas fierce fights break out when a person is wearing the wrong colours which denote a rival gang. Pretty awful that a PM indulges in gang colour sneers.
” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declined an invitation to meet with US Senate Democrats during his trip to Washington next week.
“Though I greatly appreciate your kind invitation to meet with Democratic Senators, I believe that doing so at this time could compound the misperception of partisanship regarding my upcoming visit,” Netanyahu wrote in a letter to Senators Richard Durbin and Dianne Feinstein.”
What a cheek coming from an awful chap who is so backed by the republicans. Hypocrisy?
(meh..!..)
http://whoar.co.nz/2015/new-zealand-parliament-list-of-questions-for-oral-answer-wednesday-25-february-2015/
Another day, another rort.
( heh, gold buggers can’t quite get it right)
At least 10 banks, including Barclays Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank AG, are being probed by the Justice Department’s antitrust division, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential.
Precious metals have come under scrutiny as authorities around the world investigate allegations that other financial benchmarks have been rigged. While the Justice Department’s probe is in its early stages, the Swiss finance regulator included the issue in a November settlement with UBS Group AG over currency-rate manipulation. Switzerland’s antitrust regulator said Tuesday that it opened a preliminary probe into the possibility of price fixing in the precious-metals market.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-24/banks-said-to-face-u-s-manipulation-probe-over-metals-pricing?
Big Barbie is watching….
http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/02/23/the-internet-of-things-meet-the-wifi-connected-barbie-doll-that-talks-to-your-children-and-records-them/
News I’d like to hear
Great news that once again a person endangering lives has been stopped – this person was under the influence of ‘foreign’ and weaving all over his lies – concerned citizens confiscated Mr Key and handed him over to the police. “No comet” was the only comment Mr Key could make as he sat dejectedly in his mobile awaiting orders.
“I wasnt driving – it was my office”
“I am a different Mr Key. Can’t you see my different hat?”
2015: Mr Key is adamant that NZ will be in Iraq for no more than 2 years. Adamant! Repeated and adamant.
2017: Mr Key says his statement about 2 years was misunderstood. He really meant that 2 years meant about 2 years and maybe as much as 10 years.
Journalists accepted his word and applauded his resoluteness.
That was very convenient.
Wonder if the charges were timed to distract from any criticism of Key the warmonger.
Dirty Politics again.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11407862
Yes timing very interesting.
I have no reason to question the charges but Carmel did the right thing by immediately telling Little’s CoS and by agreeing to stand down and Little has done the right thing by standing her down. The charges relate to her mother and she had no idea they existed until she was asked about them today. Note no attempt to hide or suppress the information unlike other cases. And it will be interesting to see how the right spin this.
AND it would be interesting to find out how TV one found out …
paula bennet minster for welfare, & opposit of carmel sepuloni at parlement & elections. hope this is not extra special utu from bennet for carmel. can be or not, I think yes.
Some contemporary kiwiland commentary from Tourettes, and it’s only a dollar
https://tourettesone.bandcamp.com/track/john-keys-sons-a-dj