Following the deafening silence from the Race Relations Commissioner over revelations from the IPCA, that several of the police actions taken against Tuhoe were illegal.
Plus the following statement from the Commissioner of Police Peter Marshall, that no disciplinary actions of any sort will be taken against those responsible for these illegal acts. You might think that as most of these illegal police acts were perpetrated against Maori. And that the police are not interested in disciplining those responsible. The Race Relations Commissioner might have an opinion.
But no. Nothing at all from the office of the Race Relations Commissioner, either for, or against Peter Marshall’s decision not to act on admitted police wrong doing against Maori.
And now another wondrous tale from the log of the amazing Race Relations Commissioner, who isn’t.
Winston Peters has again resumed mining the rich vein of anti-Asian racism that has served his so well. The Race Relations Commissioner says she “doesn’t want to get involved”.
….Susan Devoy has refrained from joining critics of NZ First Leader Winston Peters’ latest attack on China’s growing influence in New Zealand, saying she doesn’t want to get involved.
The clock must be ticking on our Squash Relations Commissioner.
Things have got so bad, that Judith Collins who appointed Devoy to the role. Had to personally issue a statement to fill the vacuum left by Devoy. Collins statement labelled Mr Peters’ comments “confrontational” and “insulting”.
When the Minister has to step in, this farcical appointment must be nearing its end,
I think Dame Susan is waiting for Ansell or Brash to complain about the racism of Mowree places at Medical School before she’ll have an opinion. Or the racism and apartheid of Mowree seats in Parliament. She probably has views on that too.
Just saw a report on AL Jazeera’s NewsHour about a Waikato Treaty settlement. It portrayed it as part of a reconciliation process and ended with the line:
A country facing up to its painful past
If only more of the country were interested in such settlements and the history leading up to them!
The report included a speech from Finlayson and critical comments by Winston Peters.
‘It is definitely a fit-up.’
GCHQ employees on Assange rape allegations
Authorities at GCHQ, the government eavesdropping agency, are facing embarrassing revelations about internal correspondence in which Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is discussed, apparently including speculation that he is being framed by Swedish authorities seeking his extradition on rape allegations. The records were revealed by Assange himself in a Sunday night interview with Spanish television programme Salvados in which he explained that an official request for information gave him access to instant messages that remained unclassified by GCHQ.
A message from September 2012, read out by Assange, apparently says: “They are trying to arrest him on suspicion of XYZ … It is definitely a fit-up… Their timings are too convenient right after Cablegate.”‘
A message from September 2012, read out by Assange, apparently says: “They are trying to arrest him on suspicion of XYZ … It is definitely a fit-up… Their timings are too convenient right after Cablegate.”‘
This makes me trust Assange even less.
If he had released the whole of the information received from GCHQ then it would give people the chance to judge for themselves and it would demonstrate an openness about the information. As it is, he is selectively quoting. It looks like in an attempt to make out he is innocent of the rape allegations and that he is the victim of a conspiracy, but his actions now are the actions of someone with something to hide.
Likewise Morrisey, your highlighting of “it is definitely a fit up” as the headline in your comment, misleads as it implies that GCHQ think that. Instead, when you read the Guardian article, it looks more like the anonymous speculation of a single GCHQ employee taken out of context with no analysis or conclusion.
It would help if you used the html tags to make it clear that the words in your post are quote from the Guardian rather than your own thoughts.
The other alleged text message Julian Assange read out, and Moz forgot to quote, is far more apt:
“He reckons he will stay in the Ecuadorian embassy for six to 12 months when the charges against him will be dropped, but that is not really how it works now is it? He’s a fool… Yeah … A highly optimistic fool.”
Come now TRP, either the GCHQ staffer has good judgement on how these things work or doesn’t. You don’t get to cherry pick which messages are credible according to your own preselection bias.
Spies are always good at what they do or always bad at what they do? What I took from the article is that these were messages being sent as part of ongoing communications. Until we have context and see what was done with the information in those communications it’s hard to know the value ot place on them.
We also don’t know how many people are being quoted (did Assange choose that?).
If this was a serious discussion, it would be classified. The fact it was released suggests it’s just idiots blathering.
Fool, you know as well as the rest of us that this was a statement of truth by someone required to carry out wicked deeds for the state. And what the hell do you know about the protocols involved in classifying internal communications?
The only idiots blathering here are the likes of your good, albeit bewildered, self.
It looks like you are trying to suggest that there are not people conspiring to get this dissenter, whom you dismissively refer to as “the guy”.
If you are trying to suggest that, you have even less integrity than the egregious Paul Holmes (R.I.P.) who at least had the honesty to admit that the U.S. and U.K. regimes “will have to kill him.”
Maybe you should read it again, and try and address the point that if the charges are a fit up, then discussing the fit up would be classified.
Given that the discussion is not classified, that suggests that it was a casual communication between people speculating, rather than official records of actual events and official conclusions.
Maybe you should read it again, and try and address the point that if the charges are a fit up, then discussing the fit up would be classified.
That is not the point, of course. The point is: GCHQ operatives have been caught acknowledging that the charges against this dissenter—who you dismissively refer to as “the guy”—-are fraudulent. That they probably broke some protocol designed to protect their criminal behaviour from public scrutiny is a matter for the ethically void mandarins who run that thoroughly discredited department.
Given that the discussion is not classified, that suggests that it was a casual communication between people speculating, rather than official records of actual events and official conclusions.
“Speculating”? They were stating the truth—not a good career move in a branch of government dedicated to the precise opposite. But it is the truth, nonetheless.
Morrissey, you are not thinking clearly about this.
The communication that was released was determined not to be sensitive enough to classify.
There was no ‘protocol’ broken here. There is a communication, of some sort, that was deemed to be ok to release. That’s what you haven’t explained. If the people speaking actually know what they are talking about, and reaching official conclusions, then it would have been deemed highly sensitive, especially if Assange is in fact being stiched up.
But it wasn’t deemed sensitive at all. These are the only actual facts we have: Snippets of what was said, and the fact it wasn’t classified.
You very much want to believe that this is some sort of official finding. If it was, it would have been classified. We don’t know for certain what it is, because the details and context are not things that Assange has chosen to disclose as yet.
If they were ‘stating the truth’, why wasn’t it deemed sensitive enough to classify?
Yep, fair enough. But does Assange still have access the internet? Why not publish what he was given? (or leak it if he can’t publish it himself). That was really my point – Assange has this information and he is manipulating us by how it gets fed into the public domain.
I also think that Morrissey is manipulating the information, so by the time it gets to the Standard, it’s hard to know what is going on 🙂 If I was in Morrissey’s position, I’d look further to see where else Assange has permitted this information to be used. Unless of course that would make Assange look bad 😉
If I was [sic] in Morrissey’s position, I’d look further to see where else Assange has permitted this information to be used.
If I were in YOUR position, i.e., embarrassed and floundering, I would try to divert the discussion away from the key admission, which is “It is definitely a fit-up.”
Which is what you are doing, badly. Be advised that you should desist from this, because you will be called on it, as you are being called on it right now.
Have a good day, my feathered friend, and try not to let the bile levels affect your functioning as a human being.
Wow, so many words to say, well, bugger all. I already addressed the point that you think is key (“it’s definitely a fitup”). It looks like one comment, from one staffer, in a casual communication, and devoid of any context or official conclusion.
Go ahead and see if you can call me on the actual points I raise instead of spending three parapgraphs correcting my grammar, trying to put me down and marginalising my comments by attributing nasty qualities that you’ve made up.
“So many words”? Fool, I edit my writing very carefully, and I don’t mess around with empty verbiage. I pulled you down, dispatched you, roasted you and served you up as an example of hapless bewilderment in a few well executed words.
Not a word too many, not a word too few. (I know you’re protected and all, but it had to be done.)
I already addressed the point that you think is key (“it’s definitely a fitup”).
“The point I think is key”? That is the whole point of the release; it’s not very often that these frightening people let their guards down and tell the truth like that. People who care about ethical standards and justice—not you, obviously—will be heartened to see that even GCHQ spooks have a conscience.
And here YOU are, trying to diminish, even deny, the massive significance of that rare moment of honesty. You’re not clever enough to get away with such brazen tactics, buddy.
Go ahead and see if you can call me on the actual points I raise instead of spending three parapgraphs correcting my grammar, trying to put me down and marginalising my comments by attributing nasty qualities that you’ve made up.
You are the one who waded out of your comfort zone. Your self-pitying reproaches cut no ice with me.
I edit my writing very carefully, and I don’t mess around with empty verbiage. I pulled you down, dispatched you, roasted you and served you up as an example of hapless bewilderment in a few well executed words.
That should be:
I edit my writing very carefully. My concise comments made you an example of hapless bewilderment.
If you wanted to avoid your claim to outstanding prose contradicting itself. Christ knows the rest of your claims only reflect reality by occasional happenstance.
If you wanted to avoid your claim to outstanding prose contradicting itself.
Since I’m in a magnanimous frame of mind today, I would have liked to correct and tidy up that sentence before critiquing it. However, it is utterly incomprehensible, and I feel unable to help you out at this stage.
Please resubmit it, this time with the words you have so clearly forgotten to put in.
Christ knows the rest of your claims only reflect reality by occasional happenstance.
At least that one internally coheres, even though it is an utterly vacuous and untrue assertion.
That should be “I edit my writing very carefully. My concise comments made you an example of hapless bewilderment” if you wanted to avoid your claim to outstanding prose contradicting itself.
Funny how a wee bit of non-standard punctuation and formatting made you as stupid as a ZX81 attempting the Turing Test.
If you read the article Weka you will see Assange says
“We have just received this. It is not public yet,”
Don’t you think that the founder of Wikileaks knows about the importance of public disclosure. It seems here he managed to get GCHQ to blow their own whistle.
Indeed – and Assange knows the importance of not just timing information releases for maximum coverage, but also co-ordinating it with other events and documents.
I did read that red rattler, and of course I know what Assange is capable of re information disclosure. Did you read my comments, as that was one of the points I was making.
Or to put it another way. Why let the Guardian selectively quote, so that it looks like ‘idiots blathering’, when you could make the whole thing public, in context, and make things transparent rather than appearing to be manipulated (by the Guardian, by Assange, by whoever)?
Let me guess: your “distrust” of Assange is matched by your faith in the people who are targeting him. I hope you get some sort of civic recognition for your faithful devotion to state propaganda—if you’re doing this for free, you’re an even more hapless fool than you seem.
Likewise Morrisey, your highlighting of “it is definitely a fit up” as the headline in your comment, misleads as it implies that GCHQ think that. Instead, when you read the Guardian article, it looks more like the anonymous speculation of a single GCHQ employee taken out of context with no analysis or conclusion.
Like the internal state documents exposed by the likes of Ellsberg, Chomsky and many other dissenters, this is damning evidence because it shows what the people hired to carry out these lethal state duties actually think about what they are doing. You can shout and scream abuse at them if you like, but truth will out in the end. As it most certainly has in this case.
Oh the irony. You do realise you just had a go at me for believing state propaganda, and then ended by attempting to use state evidence to support your cause.
I don’t particularly trust Assange, nor the State. But in either case I judge on a case by case basis, rather than assigning prejudice like you do. In case you don’t remember, (but I am sure you do, and are just being a deceptive shit head), I’m quite prepared to believe that various states in the world are trying to undermine Assange in various ways. I just don’t think that makes Assange an angel or the Great Hero you profess him to be.
I’m sorry you live in a such a black and white world where any criticism of Assange = non-belief in his persecution. The world I live in is more complex.
As is often the case your debate technique is poor. Not sure if that is because you just can’t put the arguments together more coherently, or if it’s because you understand that asserting opinion as Truth serves your cause better.
WHAT? Clearly, you have about as much understanding of the concept of irony as Alanis Morissette.
You do realise you just had a go at me for believing state propaganda, and then ended by attempting to use state evidence to support your cause.
No I didn’t.
I’m sorry you live in a such a black and white world where any criticism of Assange = non-belief in his persecution.
“Criticism” of Assange? What you and the other unwitting dupes of the British secret service are doing is not criticising Assange, it is simply adding to the blackening of his name and adding to the climate of fear and loathing against this dissenter. If this was Soviet Russia in 1937, you would have been blithely repeating Stalinist rhetoric against those dastardly doctors.
I don’t particularly trust Assange, nor the State.
Rubbish. Your posting history is all over this mostly excellent forum. Do you want me to embarrass you by digging up some of your more credulous posts?
The world I live in is more complex.
Obviously. Maybe that explains the bewilderment.
As is often the case your debate technique is poor. Not sure if that is because you just can’t put the arguments together more coherently, or if it’s because you understand that asserting opinion as Truth serves your cause better.
I didn’t assert my opinion, I posted up EVIDENCE—irrefutable evidence—that even the people charged with persecuting this dissenter openly acknowledge the allegations against him are utterly spurious.
Congratulations. You have succeeded in posting up a response even more abjectly limp than Descendant of Smith’s moronic “whatever” during a football debate the other day.
Can’t even be bothered answering if you are going on with the character maligning every time you can’t address a point properly.
I posted up EVIDENCE—irrefutable evidence—that even the people charged with persecuting this dissenter openly acknowledge the allegations against him are utterly spurious.
Lol
Nope. You posted private comments attributed to professional conspiracy theorists in which they apparently speculate that a conspiracy occurred.
Sacré bleu! First there was Descendant of Smith with his “Whatever”; then there was poor bewildered weka with his abject “Boring”, and now here YOU are with the most witless signifier of inadequacy of them all! I’d like to put it down to the likelihood that you’ve had (another) bad day, but I’m sadly aware that I’m probably clutching at straws. I’m concerned about your lack of performance, my friend, I really am.
Nope. You posted private comments attributed to professional conspiracy theorists in which they apparently speculate that a conspiracy occurred.
Two GCHQ people dare to speak the truth about the frightful business they are being employed to carry out, and they are immediately transformed into “professional conspiracy theorists”!
As shown by your witty reply on this thread, written at 5:01 p.m., you do possess a sense of humour. For your sake, I hope the mad and desperate rhetoric you’re now engaging in is just some kind of barren exercise in intellectual jousting. I’m still inclined to the view that you’re just having a laugh; the alternative is just too depressing.
Just goes to show you shouldn’t spend bullshitting emails to your workmates, which is what the guardian quotes look like.
Intelligence work is largely about constructing theories and assessments about human networks and plans from the available data. Gchq employees are paid to do this.
They weren’t transformed into professional conspiracy theorists, that’s their actual job.
Your “irrefutable evidence” is simply at least two people speculating about what happened based purely on timing. Nothing we haven’t seen here.
Now, if they’d said that they had direct knowledge that the complainants were part of a plan by an intelligence service, you might merely be overstating a point (“irrefutable” my arse). As it is, you’re in Fantasy Land again.
Your “irrefutable evidence” is simply at least two people speculating about what happened based purely on timing. Nothing we haven’t seen here.
Two spooks speak frankly about the craven dishonesty of their mission. This is a rare and (for those souls who support this official attempt at lynching) devastating revelation. You can, for whatever reason, try to trivialize and scoff at it, but it only has consequences for your credibility, I’m afraid.
Now, if they’d said that they had direct knowledge that the complainants were part of a plan by an intelligence service,
They did say that, and they do have direct knowledge of it. They are involved in this crime up to their elbows.
… you might merely be overstating a point (“irrefutable” my arse).
Two spooks calling it as it is. speaking plainly about a man their organization is trying to “fit up”, i.e. frame him on entirely bogus charges; you know and everyone else with an IQ above room temperature knows that they were speaking plainly and honestly. Still, let’s be philosophers for a moment and consider the other possibility, the one to which (for whatever reason) you are subscribing: these spooks are so brilliantly deceptive that they are speaking in some weird code which renders their private correspondence as contrary to truth as their official lying.
As it is, you’re in Fantasy Land again.
That’s not any sort of argument. You’re the one who actually buys in to (or pretends to buy in to) this squalid official fantasy.
Many people have noted the disquieting similarity of the persecution of Assange to what happened to official enemies in Moscow in the 1930s; trying to discuss this rationally with you puts me in mind of what Noam Chomsky said about trying to engage in debate with the darling of the extreme right Christopher Hitchens: it’s like trying to argue with a Soviet commissar.
Seen juila gilards speech on muslems fuckn nailed it ,tho many on here will know doubt have a promblem,but the majority of assies’s and n zs would agree
This f..boy doesn’t smell right, I don’t think he is of the agricultural persuasion. No lovely whiff of sheep nuts or cow pats at all. More like an overflowing septic tank.
See also….
No. 10: Boris Johnson: “Londoners have… the best police in the world to keep us safe.”
No. 9: NewstalkZB PR dept: “News you NEED! Fast, fair, accurate!” No. 8: Simon Bridges: “I don’t mean to duck the question” No. 7: Nigel Morrison: “Quite frankly, they’ve been VERY tough.”
No. 6: NZ Herald PR dept: “Congratulations—you’re reading New Zealand’s best newspaper.”
No. 5: Rawdon Christie: “…a FORMIDABLE replacement, it seems, is Claudette Hauiti.”
No. 4: Willie and J.T.: “The X-Factor. Nah, nah, there’s some GREAT talent there!”
No. 3: John Key: “Yeah we hold MPs to a higher standard.”
No. 2: Colin Craig: “Oh, I have a GREAT sense of humour.” (TV3 News, 24 April 2013) No. 1: Barack Obama: “Margaret Thatcher was one of the great champions of freedom and liberty.”
I notice what isn’t included…no allegations of sexual abuse. Is that because they never occurred, or because any complaints were shut down? And only ONE reported incident of client self harm (for example) – isn’t that a suspiciously low number for this type of facility?
Reported incidents at Te Roopu Taurima O Manukau Trust 2010-2012
17 escapes
14 alleged assaults of clients
3 alleged client assaults/threatens staff
2 alleged abuse
2 clients charged by police
2 inappropriate behaviour by client
1 medication error
1 client hospitalisation (medical condition)
1 fire
1 car accident
1 inappropriate restraint of client
1 property damage by client
1 client self harm
With knowledge of the atrocious treatment of marginalised individuals in every kind of institutional care, I think many thought we couldn’t do much worse by those in need of care and support, if such services were taken out of the hands of the state.
So now we sell off the care of the most powerless to the lowest bidder in a race to the bottom free-market of neglect and abuse. That, or offer no help at all.
I know! put ’em in the Army, or the Police! and show ’em some discipline. We might even be able to get them to do our dirty work, and when things turn sour – we’ve got the perfik scuse.
Kim Hill interviewing NZs of note that we should all know about. These should be our stars so we hear lots about them and less sports trivia, including from overseas now such as the Boston Red Sox and that sort of thing. Note I said LESS sport only.
9:05 David Skegg
Professor Sir David Skegg is a New Zealand epidemiologist, and the President of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He is a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Otago, and Professor of Preventive and Social Medicine. http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/ http://www.otago.ac.nz/
9:45 Phoebe Hayman
Phoebe Hayman is the CEO of toy craft-kit design company Seedling NZ. The company’s gnomes are being showcased in London this week at the centenary celebrations of the world’s most famous gardening event, the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show, overturning the Show’s long-standing prohibition on gnomes to raise funds for the Show’s school gardening campaign.
10:05 Playing Favourites with Gifford Jackson
New Zealand industrial design pioneer Gifford Jackson spent 37 years as a design consultant here after working in New York for 17 years. His life and work is celebrated in the new book, Gifford Jackson: New Zealand Industrial Design Pathfinder by Michael Smyth (Creationz, ISBN: 978-0-473-23882-7).
And Joan Baez interview preparation for her coming here in August I think.
Re the TPPA. I assume that like most of the other agreements we have such as with Australia and China, that the TPPA will be signed on behalf of the crown for Aotearoa?
What wouls happen then, in the instance that Aotearoa becomes a Republic? Does that mean the agreements signed on behalf of the crown become null and void?
Only if the way we become a republic includes abrogating every single agreement and contract the Government has been involved with for 150 years. All those people sentnced to preventative detention by the Crown just gonna go walk? Not likely.
Cars in the USA had a terrifying plunge into freezing waters from a broken bridge. A beam had been hit by an over-sized load of drilling equipment. There are calls now for the old bridges in the USA to receive much needed attention.
The ability of business to externalise their costs there is the same here. Longer trucks, heavier trucks here are causing problems on the public roads.
Drilling equipment will be a growing blockage on our roads. The USA isn’t up to the problems that their pursuit of business cause. Neither are we.
Interesting how the USA could spend a measley $75B doing up their old run down transport infrastructure (the budgetary equivalent for developing a single major weapon like a stealth fighter) and in doing so create jobs for 1M people…but unlike the days of the New Deal, they can’t be assed this time around.
Randle, I really hope you don’t mind but the way he was out of sync with the field of view was bugging me so I took the liberty of giving him a back, to sit him in the picture better.
(I couldn’t do anything about his lack of spine) http://postimg.org/image/rd2ctavur/
There are problems with all this, to be sure – that’s the whole point of Blyth’s book. But the story austerians like to tell is considerably simpler than the messy details of how it all falls apart time after time after time after time. What’s more, there’s a rather compelling moral overtone involved: You’ve got debts? Pay them! It’s what individuals, households and businesses must do, why not governments as well?
Why not? The anti-austerity case is two-fold: First, as Blyth repeatedly points out, there’s the fallacy of composition: what’s true for any one individual isn’t always true for the whole, and in the case of cutting spending in a recession, it’s exactly the opposite of what’s needed, since one person’s spending cut is another’s drop in income, which only increases the need to cut spending more, creating a vicious downward spiral. Second, governments alone have the ability to resist this self-defeating logic. Governments sovereign in their own currencies – like the US and Britain, and most of Europe before the creation of the eurozone – have the power to borrow as much money as necessary to break the downward cycle of deflationary fear (moreover, Keynes specifically said that governments should pay down debt once the economy recovered, and the US consistently didreduce its debt burden [debt/GDP ratio] throughout the post-World War II period when Keynesian policies dominated. That’s what ensures their long-term ability to keep intervening with expansionary spending when everyone else is cutting back).
It seems that the book missed the most important part about countries being sovereign – they can print their own money and thus have no need to borrow.
The bit that seems to have been missed is that that fallacy of composition is the entire basis of our economic system. The economists take a single actor Homo economicus and expands it out to every single person and company in the world and is precisely what the fallacy of composition is.
The entire neo-liberal economic theory starts with a fallacy and goes downhill from there.
Indeed, one of the evident subtexts of Blyth’s book which cries out for futher systematic study is the ways in which socio-political power relations are first mystified, and then magically transformed into psuedo-natural laws, which in turn leads directly to TINA-style arguments. Or, more simply: how the golden rule works out in metaphysical practice: those with the gold make all the rules, not just about how the world does work, but about how it possibly can work.
Hits the nail on the head there though. The problem we have is that it’s the rich making the rules.
Thanks for that link to a very interesting review. Also this weekend, I read this that relates to your last sentence, DTB, about the rich making the rules. Paul Krugman on The Smith/Klein/Kalecki Theory of Austerity.
Noah Smith recently offered an interesting take on the real reasons austerity garners so much support from elites, no matter hw badly it fails in practice. Elites, he argues, see economic distress as an opportunity to push through “reforms” — which basically means changes they want, which may or may not actually serve the interest of promoting economic growth — and oppose any policies that might mitigate crisis without the need for these changes:…
What Smith didn’t note, somewhat surprisingly, is that his argument is very close to Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine, with its argument that elites systematically exploit disasters to push through neoliberal policies even if these policies are essentially irrelevant to the sources of disaster.
And I also read this book review, on David Stuckler’s latest book: review title ‘Recessions can hurt, but austerity kills’. Stuckler’s book is about the impact on health, and the related increase in homelessness that has resulted from “austerity”.
In a powerful new book, The Body Economic, Stuckler and his colleague Sanjay Basu, an assistant professor of medicine and epidemiologist at Stanford University, show that austerity is now having a “devastating effect” on public health in Europe and North America.
The review focuses on the impact of austerity, and compares that with countries, like Germany and Iceland, that have included policies to lessen the impact of the recession on people’s health and levels of poverty. From the review, it seems to me the book has only looked to compare with less austere policies, and doesn’t look to a totally different alternative. Though comparisons are also made with US and UK policies of the Great Depression, and the post WWII investment in the UK welfare state.
The Book of Amos.
Amos, not a man of court like Isaiah, or a priest like Jeremiah. Earned his living from tending the flock and the sycamore-fig grove. Skilled with words. Great range of general and historical knowledge (not an ignorant peasant). Went from Judah to announce God’s judgement on the Northern Kingdom (Israel). Few, if any, clues to the chronological order of his spoken messages-he may have repeated them often to reach everyone. Prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah over Judah, 792-740, and Jereboam II over Israel, 793-753.
Both kingdoms enjoyed great prosperity and had reached new political and military heights, yet they were spiritually smug; prosperity had increased Israel’s religious and moral corruption. Israel had a worldly view of even the ritual that the Lord himself had prescribed. They thought performance of the rites was all God required, and with that done they could do what they pleased.Also a time of idolatry, extravagant indulgence in luxurious living, immorality, corruption of judicial procedures and oppression of the poor. As a consequence, God would soon bring about the Assyrian captivity of the Northern Kingdom.
5:42 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.
Amos condemned all those who make themselves powerful and rich at the expense of others. Those who had acquired two splendid houses, expensive furniture and richly furnished tables by cheating, perverting justice and crushing the poor would lose everything they had. God’s imminent judgement on Israel would not be a mere punitive blow to warn, but an almost total destruction. The unthinkable was about to happen.
The God for whom Amos speaks is God of more than merely Israel. He uses nations against each other to carry out his purposes. He is the great King who rules the whole universe. All sovereign, the God of Israel holds the history and destiny of all peoples and of the world in his hands. Israel must know not only that he is the Lord of her future, but also that he is Lord over all, and that he has purposes and concerns that reach far beyond her borders. Israel had a unique, but not exclusive, claim on God.
3:17 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plans to his servants, the prophets.
Revelation 11:18 That you should destroy those who would destroy the earth.
from The Nation
-if councils don’t sign the accords, they (Central Government) intend to come in over the top.”
-Len Brown.(accord, if ratified, doesn’t come into effect until the Unitary Plan is notified, in September.)
some interesting observations from the Parata article;
Boag- (Parata is ) “warm, articulate, engaging and very bright”.???
Jones-(charged with) “reigning in teacher unions political power”.
Peters- “eat a dead rat everyday under National’s leadership”.
(Govts education policy is deficient and the communication of said policy, is deficient).
and Parata’s educational ethos? “that individuals excel”.read INDIVIDUALS! despite her background, no better than Paula Bennett.
But the minister says he’s no puppeteer.
“I have no idea what he’s talking about in that regard, but I will do my job, which is to try and encourage job and growth for New Zealanders and investment in the economy,”
“I have no idea what he’s talking about in that regard, but I will do my job, which is to try and encourage job and growth for New Zealanders and investment in the economy, irrespective of the effect on the environment”
May 25, 2013
Awesome effort!
Category: Media
Posted by: admin
A huge thanks to everyone who has contributed ideas, time and submissions. What an outstanding effort – we have already called out Steven Joyce on 3 News Friday 24th May, and the website has only been up 3 days.
Mr Joyce told 3 big lies in the interview and as soon as the news clip is posted here we will show you what they were. He also made one thing abundantly clear – he is in charge. So for any of you who had doubts about where the buck stops, you just had it confirmed that he is the man.
Now is the time to get the word out and ramp up the submissions. Please tell anyone you know that we are on a roll, and that if they help by submitting in the box above we have a lot better chance of saving our clean water. Get the message out though email, facebook and twitter.
Haven’t read all of the above comments so this may have been discussed already – that covered – who wrote this shit editorial in the Herald ? Sounds like something from that facile and unaccomplished trougher, the flibbitigibbert Hekia Potato Parata:
And on what authority does the writer float this business about the people who speak for legal aid lawyers not enjoying the confidence of those they speak for ? Complete and unadulterated bullshit to the point of being a wilful fabrication. Examples of any such lack of confidence please, liar.
Own goal CV, this is in reference to ones, who have enough savings they can live off, comfortably. So the argument of poverty becomes a bit obsolete then. If the argument is about too low interest rates, so that interest does not cover living costs, how can you justify this to people that have not even any savings, no interest earned and so forth? I am sorry, I feel you did not view and listen to the whole story there. No, this is BS.
People that are so wealthy, that they can live off interest are NOT Poor!
A cop car featured heavily, once again, on the front page of the Herald Online last night, all about “hostage taking” and inguries and so forth. There was also a mention about “teen porn”, about other “scandalous” stories, and the list goes on. NZ media is now gutter media, for sure, as headlines are competed for, such “news” needing to be “enhanced” or “hyped up”.
Nothing is normal anymore, nor do the shit consumers bother to demand it. It is the new game for the new generation, full of trivia, and contempt for anything that should be taken seriously and be treated with due respect.
Generation X is followed by Gen Y, the most ruthless, selfish and jerkish lot I ever met.
That is supposed to be our “future”. If I as an ageing person, NOT having been able to provide for retirement savings, having to “depend” on such bastarts of a mentality, I rather take my life before I hit the retirement age.
Yes, we have no more solidarity and not a caring society anymore, unless perhaps as baby boomer parents you managed to tie your kids into some commitment.
No, I have no such family, and I will die, I will die a lonely death, a life will be concluded in despiccable conditions, by the fucked, shit arsed selfish generation I see every day. I am contemplating about how to deal them a blow before they fucking retire, the selfishly rotten brats. They deserve to be taken apart, and punished, for not caring, and I see and hear it every day. Paula Bennett, Key and crims love them, as they are their voter base.
The left do not get it, yet! Many of you should damned bloody worry, we have a rotten next generation that is semi fascist and capitalist, your damned traitor kids!!!
..and you seem to be discounting the greed-is-good! /there-is-no-alternative! those ‘y’s were force-fed with all their lives..
..they are just a product of that conditioning/brainwashing..
..conditioning/brainwashing done by your generation..and an unthinking/craven/self-serving mainstream media..(and craven/self-serving/self-muzzling politicians – of all stripes..)
..and the good/cheering news is that i think that many of those ‘y’s are waking up to the poisoned-package they were sold..
“..they are just a product of that conditioning/brainwashing..
..conditioning/brainwashing done by your generation..and an unthinking/craven/self-serving mainstream media..(and craven/self-serving/self-muzzling politicians – of all stripes..)
..and the good/cheering news is that i think that many of those ‘y’s are waking up to the poisoned-package they were sold..
..after all..the evidence is all around them..”
Of course my comment was well over the top, as I must admit, but it is frustrating and angering, to see so much indifference and apathy out there, except where it comes to serve selected own interests and chasing opportunities and exciting perks.
While you raise valid points, I must say though, that much that is said in defence by many of the younger generation, is just a cop-out. The internet makes available sufficient information and offers alternative choices, and there are also other ways to find out the truth about most things.
Yet it is not taken advantage of by so many, and I notice and have heard and seen, that most cannot be bothered to make much effort in seeking true, factual information, in taking a stand on issues, or to even bother voting.
They rather escape into personal distraction, little bits of private indulgence, and leave the rest to others more senior, to do the work and thinking for them. That is luckily not all, but sadly too many. Willing consumers of products and services (brainwashing included) offered by corporate ruled capitalism, that seems to fit the description of most.
As for “xtasy”, I choose to stay away from drugs, believe it or not.
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
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Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
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Fantastic to see our new Race Relations Commissioner articulately condemning Winston Peter’s comments and she should get a pay increase:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10886045
/sarc
‘
Following the deafening silence from the Race Relations Commissioner over revelations from the IPCA, that several of the police actions taken against Tuhoe were illegal.
Plus the following statement from the Commissioner of Police Peter Marshall, that no disciplinary actions of any sort will be taken against those responsible for these illegal acts. You might think that as most of these illegal police acts were perpetrated against Maori. And that the police are not interested in disciplining those responsible. The Race Relations Commissioner might have an opinion.
But no. Nothing at all from the office of the Race Relations Commissioner, either for, or against Peter Marshall’s decision not to act on admitted police wrong doing against Maori.
And now another wondrous tale from the log of the amazing Race Relations Commissioner, who isn’t.
Winston Peters has again resumed mining the rich vein of anti-Asian racism that has served his so well. The Race Relations Commissioner says she “doesn’t want to get involved”.
The clock must be ticking on our Squash Relations Commissioner.
Things have got so bad, that Judith Collins who appointed Devoy to the role. Had to personally issue a statement to fill the vacuum left by Devoy. Collins statement labelled Mr Peters’ comments “confrontational” and “insulting”.
When the Minister has to step in, this farcical appointment must be nearing its end,
Our dearest dame doing her darndest not to fking get involved, nor even fronting up to say that, but getting her ‘spokeswoman’ to say that !?!
. . . . .
But Dame Susan was not willing to comment last night.
“It’s just not a discussion she wants to get involved with,” a spokeswoman said.
. . . . .
“Not a discussion she wants to get involved with”!
Huh?? Wot?
In the famous two-word question from Pauline Hanson (yes, one needs to resort to quoting that thing): “Please explain?”
Wtf, darn de Void, wtf-ing wtf.
Maybe Collins should make the spokeswoman Commissioner.
While apparently the current RRC is AWOL, At least she fronts up.
She couldn’t be worse than the current office holder.
I think Dame Susan is waiting for Ansell or Brash to complain about the racism of Mowree places at Medical School before she’ll have an opinion. Or the racism and apartheid of Mowree seats in Parliament. She probably has views on that too.
Why would anyone give a shit about Peters? Waste of fucking oxygen he is.
5%-6% of parliament is why.
Possible kingmaker in the next parliament is why.
Just saw a report on AL Jazeera’s NewsHour about a Waikato Treaty settlement. It portrayed it as part of a reconciliation process and ended with the line:
If only more of the country were interested in such settlements and the history leading up to them!
The report included a speech from Finlayson and critical comments by Winston Peters.
It’s probably this settlement.
‘It is definitely a fit-up.’
GCHQ employees on Assange rape allegations
Authorities at GCHQ, the government eavesdropping agency, are facing embarrassing revelations about internal correspondence in which Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is discussed, apparently including speculation that he is being framed by Swedish authorities seeking his extradition on rape allegations. The records were revealed by Assange himself in a Sunday night interview with Spanish television programme Salvados in which he explained that an official request for information gave him access to instant messages that remained unclassified by GCHQ.
A message from September 2012, read out by Assange, apparently says: “They are trying to arrest him on suspicion of XYZ … It is definitely a fit-up… Their timings are too convenient right after Cablegate.”‘
Read more….
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/may/20/julian-assange-gchq-messages-extradition
A message from September 2012, read out by Assange, apparently says: “They are trying to arrest him on suspicion of XYZ … It is definitely a fit-up… Their timings are too convenient right after Cablegate.”‘
This makes me trust Assange even less.
If he had released the whole of the information received from GCHQ then it would give people the chance to judge for themselves and it would demonstrate an openness about the information. As it is, he is selectively quoting. It looks like in an attempt to make out he is innocent of the rape allegations and that he is the victim of a conspiracy, but his actions now are the actions of someone with something to hide.
Likewise Morrisey, your highlighting of “it is definitely a fit up” as the headline in your comment, misleads as it implies that GCHQ think that. Instead, when you read the Guardian article, it looks more like the anonymous speculation of a single GCHQ employee taken out of context with no analysis or conclusion.
It would help if you used the html tags to make it clear that the words in your post are quote from the Guardian rather than your own thoughts.
The other alleged text message Julian Assange read out, and Moz forgot to quote, is far more apt:
“He reckons he will stay in the Ecuadorian embassy for six to 12 months when the charges against him will be dropped, but that is not really how it works now is it? He’s a fool… Yeah … A highly optimistic fool.”
Come now TRP, either the GCHQ staffer has good judgement on how these things work or doesn’t. You don’t get to cherry pick which messages are credible according to your own preselection bias.
Spies are always good at what they do or always bad at what they do? What I took from the article is that these were messages being sent as part of ongoing communications. Until we have context and see what was done with the information in those communications it’s hard to know the value ot place on them.
We also don’t know how many people are being quoted (did Assange choose that?).
Pretty sure it was Morrissey who did that.
What reason do we have to think the fit up line shows good judgement?
If this was a serious discussion, it would be classified. The fact it was released suggests it’s just idiots blathering.
If this was a serious discussion, it would be classified. The fact it was released suggests it’s just idiots blathering.
Fool, you know as well as the rest of us that this was a statement of truth by someone required to carry out wicked deeds for the state. And what the hell do you know about the protocols involved in classifying internal communications?
The only idiots blathering here are the likes of your good, albeit bewildered, self.
lol.
So there is a grand conspiracy to trump up charges against the guy, but it’s not classified because why on earth would you do that?
It looks like you are trying to suggest that there are not people conspiring to get this dissenter, whom you dismissively refer to as “the guy”.
If you are trying to suggest that, you have even less integrity than the egregious Paul Holmes (R.I.P.) who at least had the honesty to admit that the U.S. and U.K. regimes “will have to kill him.”
Maybe you should read it again, and try and address the point that if the charges are a fit up, then discussing the fit up would be classified.
Given that the discussion is not classified, that suggests that it was a casual communication between people speculating, rather than official records of actual events and official conclusions.
Maybe you should read it again, and try and address the point that if the charges are a fit up, then discussing the fit up would be classified.
That is not the point, of course. The point is: GCHQ operatives have been caught acknowledging that the charges against this dissenter—who you dismissively refer to as “the guy”—-are fraudulent. That they probably broke some protocol designed to protect their criminal behaviour from public scrutiny is a matter for the ethically void mandarins who run that thoroughly discredited department.
Given that the discussion is not classified, that suggests that it was a casual communication between people speculating, rather than official records of actual events and official conclusions.
“Speculating”? They were stating the truth—not a good career move in a branch of government dedicated to the precise opposite. But it is the truth, nonetheless.
Morrissey, you are not thinking clearly about this.
The communication that was released was determined not to be sensitive enough to classify.
There was no ‘protocol’ broken here. There is a communication, of some sort, that was deemed to be ok to release. That’s what you haven’t explained. If the people speaking actually know what they are talking about, and reaching official conclusions, then it would have been deemed highly sensitive, especially if Assange is in fact being stiched up.
But it wasn’t deemed sensitive at all. These are the only actual facts we have: Snippets of what was said, and the fact it wasn’t classified.
You very much want to believe that this is some sort of official finding. If it was, it would have been classified. We don’t know for certain what it is, because the details and context are not things that Assange has chosen to disclose as yet.
If they were ‘stating the truth’, why wasn’t it deemed sensitive enough to classify?
Are you going to address this at all?
“He’s a fool… Yeah … A highly optimistic fool.”
So they don’t particularly admire the dissenter—after all, they ARE working for the government’s notoriously unreliable and corrupt secret service.
But, to the evident consternation and embarrassment of the likes of you and poor old weka, the key words here are “It is definitely a fit-up.”
You know it is, too, but I don’t think you have the moral courage to actually admit you were foolishly taken in by these folk.
Weka, has it occurred to you that its the reporter (or their editor) selectively quoting that passage, not Assange?
Yep, fair enough. But does Assange still have access the internet? Why not publish what he was given? (or leak it if he can’t publish it himself). That was really my point – Assange has this information and he is manipulating us by how it gets fed into the public domain.
I also think that Morrissey is manipulating the information, so by the time it gets to the Standard, it’s hard to know what is going on 🙂 If I was in Morrissey’s position, I’d look further to see where else Assange has permitted this information to be used. Unless of course that would make Assange look bad 😉
If I was [sic] in Morrissey’s position, I’d look further to see where else Assange has permitted this information to be used.
If I were in YOUR position, i.e., embarrassed and floundering, I would try to divert the discussion away from the key admission, which is “It is definitely a fit-up.”
Which is what you are doing, badly. Be advised that you should desist from this, because you will be called on it, as you are being called on it right now.
Have a good day, my feathered friend, and try not to let the bile levels affect your functioning as a human being.
Wow, so many words to say, well, bugger all. I already addressed the point that you think is key (“it’s definitely a fitup”). It looks like one comment, from one staffer, in a casual communication, and devoid of any context or official conclusion.
Go ahead and see if you can call me on the actual points I raise instead of spending three parapgraphs correcting my grammar, trying to put me down and marginalising my comments by attributing nasty qualities that you’ve made up.
Wow, so many words to say, well, bugger all.
“So many words”? Fool, I edit my writing very carefully, and I don’t mess around with empty verbiage. I pulled you down, dispatched you, roasted you and served you up as an example of hapless bewilderment in a few well executed words.
Not a word too many, not a word too few. (I know you’re protected and all, but it had to be done.)
I already addressed the point that you think is key (“it’s definitely a fitup”).
“The point I think is key”? That is the whole point of the release; it’s not very often that these frightening people let their guards down and tell the truth like that. People who care about ethical standards and justice—not you, obviously—will be heartened to see that even GCHQ spooks have a conscience.
And here YOU are, trying to diminish, even deny, the massive significance of that rare moment of honesty. You’re not clever enough to get away with such brazen tactics, buddy.
Go ahead and see if you can call me on the actual points I raise instead of spending three parapgraphs correcting my grammar, trying to put me down and marginalising my comments by attributing nasty qualities that you’ve made up.
You are the one who waded out of your comfort zone. Your self-pitying reproaches cut no ice with me.
That should be:
I edit my writing very carefully. My concise comments made you an example of hapless bewilderment.
If you wanted to avoid your claim to outstanding prose contradicting itself. Christ knows the rest of your claims only reflect reality by occasional happenstance.
If you wanted to avoid your claim to outstanding prose contradicting itself.
Since I’m in a magnanimous frame of mind today, I would have liked to correct and tidy up that sentence before critiquing it. However, it is utterly incomprehensible, and I feel unable to help you out at this stage.
Please resubmit it, this time with the words you have so clearly forgotten to put in.
Christ knows the rest of your claims only reflect reality by occasional happenstance.
At least that one internally coheres, even though it is an utterly vacuous and untrue assertion.
I thought you were better than this, McFlock.
https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/1677672704/h4A6096A1/
Lol.
Funny how a wee bit of non-standard punctuation and formatting made you as stupid as a ZX81 attempting the Turing Test.
Well, anyone can OIA the exact same information if they wanted too…or even just do an OIA on his OIA.
From the piece it seems that the request is for info regarding the person making the request. More like our privacy act than our OIA
Maybe CV, but my point was about why Assange wouldn’t just make the whole bundle public. What do you think?
If you read the article Weka you will see Assange says
“We have just received this. It is not public yet,”
Don’t you think that the founder of Wikileaks knows about the importance of public disclosure. It seems here he managed to get GCHQ to blow their own whistle.
Indeed – and Assange knows the importance of not just timing information releases for maximum coverage, but also co-ordinating it with other events and documents.
I did read that red rattler, and of course I know what Assange is capable of re information disclosure. Did you read my comments, as that was one of the points I was making.
Or to put it another way. Why let the Guardian selectively quote, so that it looks like ‘idiots blathering’, when you could make the whole thing public, in context, and make things transparent rather than appearing to be manipulated (by the Guardian, by Assange, by whoever)?
This makes me trust Assange even less.
Let me guess: your “distrust” of Assange is matched by your faith in the people who are targeting him. I hope you get some sort of civic recognition for your faithful devotion to state propaganda—if you’re doing this for free, you’re an even more hapless fool than you seem.
Likewise Morrisey, your highlighting of “it is definitely a fit up” as the headline in your comment, misleads as it implies that GCHQ think that. Instead, when you read the Guardian article, it looks more like the anonymous speculation of a single GCHQ employee taken out of context with no analysis or conclusion.
Like the internal state documents exposed by the likes of Ellsberg, Chomsky and many other dissenters, this is damning evidence because it shows what the people hired to carry out these lethal state duties actually think about what they are doing. You can shout and scream abuse at them if you like, but truth will out in the end. As it most certainly has in this case.
Oh the irony. You do realise you just had a go at me for believing state propaganda, and then ended by attempting to use state evidence to support your cause.
I don’t particularly trust Assange, nor the State. But in either case I judge on a case by case basis, rather than assigning prejudice like you do. In case you don’t remember, (but I am sure you do, and are just being a deceptive shit head), I’m quite prepared to believe that various states in the world are trying to undermine Assange in various ways. I just don’t think that makes Assange an angel or the Great Hero you profess him to be.
I’m sorry you live in a such a black and white world where any criticism of Assange = non-belief in his persecution. The world I live in is more complex.
As is often the case your debate technique is poor. Not sure if that is because you just can’t put the arguments together more coherently, or if it’s because you understand that asserting opinion as Truth serves your cause better.
Oh the irony.
WHAT? Clearly, you have about as much understanding of the concept of irony as Alanis Morissette.
You do realise you just had a go at me for believing state propaganda, and then ended by attempting to use state evidence to support your cause.
No I didn’t.
I’m sorry you live in a such a black and white world where any criticism of Assange = non-belief in his persecution.
“Criticism” of Assange? What you and the other unwitting dupes of the British secret service are doing is not criticising Assange, it is simply adding to the blackening of his name and adding to the climate of fear and loathing against this dissenter. If this was Soviet Russia in 1937, you would have been blithely repeating Stalinist rhetoric against those dastardly doctors.
I don’t particularly trust Assange, nor the State.
Rubbish. Your posting history is all over this mostly excellent forum. Do you want me to embarrass you by digging up some of your more credulous posts?
The world I live in is more complex.
Obviously. Maybe that explains the bewilderment.
As is often the case your debate technique is poor. Not sure if that is because you just can’t put the arguments together more coherently, or if it’s because you understand that asserting opinion as Truth serves your cause better.
I didn’t assert my opinion, I posted up EVIDENCE—irrefutable evidence—that even the people charged with persecuting this dissenter openly acknowledge the allegations against him are utterly spurious.
Boring. Can’t even be bothered answering if you are going on with the character maligning every time you can’t address a point properly.
Boring.
Congratulations. You have succeeded in posting up a response even more abjectly limp than Descendant of Smith’s moronic “whatever” during a football debate the other day.
Can’t even be bothered answering if you are going on with the character maligning every time you can’t address a point properly.
Translation: I got nuthin’.
Lol
Nope. You posted private comments attributed to professional conspiracy theorists in which they apparently speculate that a conspiracy occurred.
Lol
“Lol”?
“LOL”?!?
Sacré bleu! First there was Descendant of Smith with his “Whatever”; then there was poor bewildered weka with his abject “Boring”, and now here YOU are with the most witless signifier of inadequacy of them all! I’d like to put it down to the likelihood that you’ve had (another) bad day, but I’m sadly aware that I’m probably clutching at straws. I’m concerned about your lack of performance, my friend, I really am.
Nope. You posted private comments attributed to professional conspiracy theorists in which they apparently speculate that a conspiracy occurred.
Two GCHQ people dare to speak the truth about the frightful business they are being employed to carry out, and they are immediately transformed into “professional conspiracy theorists”!
As shown by your witty reply on this thread, written at 5:01 p.m., you do possess a sense of humour. For your sake, I hope the mad and desperate rhetoric you’re now engaging in is just some kind of barren exercise in intellectual jousting. I’m still inclined to the view that you’re just having a laugh; the alternative is just too depressing.
Just goes to show you shouldn’t spend bullshitting emails to your workmates, which is what the guardian quotes look like.
Intelligence work is largely about constructing theories and assessments about human networks and plans from the available data. Gchq employees are paid to do this.
So yeah, lolz.
Gchq employees are paid to do this.
And they’re not paid to speak plainly about unhelpful matters like morality and human rights. The damned fools broke all the rules.
Oh for fuck’s sake, try to stick to the point.
They weren’t transformed into professional conspiracy theorists, that’s their actual job.
Your “irrefutable evidence” is simply at least two people speculating about what happened based purely on timing. Nothing we haven’t seen here.
Now, if they’d said that they had direct knowledge that the complainants were part of a plan by an intelligence service, you might merely be overstating a point (“irrefutable” my arse). As it is, you’re in Fantasy Land again.
Your “irrefutable evidence” is simply at least two people speculating about what happened based purely on timing. Nothing we haven’t seen here.
Two spooks speak frankly about the craven dishonesty of their mission. This is a rare and (for those souls who support this official attempt at lynching) devastating revelation. You can, for whatever reason, try to trivialize and scoff at it, but it only has consequences for your credibility, I’m afraid.
Now, if they’d said that they had direct knowledge that the complainants were part of a plan by an intelligence service,
They did say that, and they do have direct knowledge of it. They are involved in this crime up to their elbows.
… you might merely be overstating a point (“irrefutable” my arse).
Two spooks calling it as it is. speaking plainly about a man their organization is trying to “fit up”, i.e. frame him on entirely bogus charges; you know and everyone else with an IQ above room temperature knows that they were speaking plainly and honestly. Still, let’s be philosophers for a moment and consider the other possibility, the one to which (for whatever reason) you are subscribing: these spooks are so brilliantly deceptive that they are speaking in some weird code which renders their private correspondence as contrary to truth as their official lying.
As it is, you’re in Fantasy Land again.
That’s not any sort of argument. You’re the one who actually buys in to (or pretends to buy in to) this squalid official fantasy.
Many people have noted the disquieting similarity of the persecution of Assange to what happened to official enemies in Moscow in the 1930s; trying to discuss this rationally with you puts me in mind of what Noam Chomsky said about trying to engage in debate with the darling of the extreme right Christopher Hitchens: it’s like trying to argue with a Soviet commissar.
Um, no. The clue is that the emails used the words “they” rather than “we”. Referring to intelligence services of another nation.
They say neither. You are reading shit that is not there. Just fyi.
Seen juila gilards speech on muslems fuckn nailed it ,tho many on here will know doubt have a promblem,but the majority of assies’s and n zs would agree
de di ding ding ding ding ding ding ding …
Seen juila gilards speech on muslems fuckn
Lyn, just a couple of weeks ago, this hapless fool was banned for posting nothing but idiotic, illiterate provocations. I see he is still at it.
What gives?
“That’s nice”.
This f..boy doesn’t smell right, I don’t think he is of the agricultural persuasion. No lovely whiff of sheep nuts or cow pats at all. More like an overflowing septic tank.
nice to no you love smelling sheeps nuts prism,and i thought you were a lessy
you are a straight up nutbar farmboy, have you anything to say that is at least based in reality?
Where’d you ‘see’ this speech farmboy?
link plz.
Farmboy illustrates ‘lessy’ is not more(y).
What has Gillard said? She is not anti-Muslim. What is the problem?
Is this about the hoax email that was doing the rounds:
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/gillard-muslims-leave.shtml
Poor Farmboy, so easily duped into believing such an obvious hoax.
Here’s the even sadder part: he’ll be angrier at us for pointing it out than he will be at the manipulative wretch that lied to him.
We need better wingnuts.
LIARS OF OUR TIME
No. 11: Brendan O’Connor
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Australia’s approach to refugees is compassionate and generous.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
—Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Brendan O’Connor, after a damning Amnesty International report.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1769562/Australia-‘going-backwards’-on-asylum-policy
See also….
No. 10: Boris Johnson: “Londoners have… the best police in the world to keep us safe.”
No. 9: NewstalkZB PR dept: “News you NEED! Fast, fair, accurate!” No. 8: Simon Bridges: “I don’t mean to duck the question” No. 7: Nigel Morrison: “Quite frankly, they’ve been VERY tough.”
No. 6: NZ Herald PR dept: “Congratulations—you’re reading New Zealand’s best newspaper.”
No. 5: Rawdon Christie: “…a FORMIDABLE replacement, it seems, is Claudette Hauiti.”
No. 4: Willie and J.T.: “The X-Factor. Nah, nah, there’s some GREAT talent there!”
No. 3: John Key: “Yeah we hold MPs to a higher standard.”
No. 2: Colin Craig: “Oh, I have a GREAT sense of humour.” (TV3 News, 24 April 2013) No. 1: Barack Obama: “Margaret Thatcher was one of the great champions of freedom and liberty.”
Richmond not doing their job AGAIN. When is it that those who care for disabled and mentally ill will be held to account?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/8715951/No-place-left-to-feel-safe
In other news, abuse is apparently “normal” for patients in residential care. So much for human rights. What else is happening that isn’t in the news?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/8712369/Abuse-claims-at-seriously-dysfunctional-care-home
I notice what isn’t included…no allegations of sexual abuse. Is that because they never occurred, or because any complaints were shut down? And only ONE reported incident of client self harm (for example) – isn’t that a suspiciously low number for this type of facility?
Reported incidents at Te Roopu Taurima O Manukau Trust 2010-2012
17 escapes
14 alleged assaults of clients
3 alleged client assaults/threatens staff
2 alleged abuse
2 clients charged by police
2 inappropriate behaviour by client
1 medication error
1 client hospitalisation (medical condition)
1 fire
1 car accident
1 inappropriate restraint of client
1 property damage by client
1 client self harm
47: TOTAL
Well said in both comments.
With knowledge of the atrocious treatment of marginalised individuals in every kind of institutional care, I think many thought we couldn’t do much worse by those in need of care and support, if such services were taken out of the hands of the state.
So now we sell off the care of the most powerless to the lowest bidder in a race to the bottom free-market of neglect and abuse. That, or offer no help at all.
I know! put ’em in the Army, or the Police! and show ’em some discipline. We might even be able to get them to do our dirty work, and when things turn sour – we’ve got the perfik scuse.
Now this is shaping up to be quite a fight, in one corner the Brewing barons, and in the other the Fracking barons. And in the middle Angela Merkel.
Now it gets serious: Fracking could RUIN BEER
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/24/german_brewers_warn_that_frackng_could_contaminate_beer/
Kim Hill interviewing NZs of note that we should all know about. These should be our stars so we hear lots about them and less sports trivia, including from overseas now such as the Boston Red Sox and that sort of thing. Note I said LESS sport only.
9:05 David Skegg
Professor Sir David Skegg is a New Zealand epidemiologist, and the President of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He is a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Otago, and Professor of Preventive and Social Medicine.
http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/
http://www.otago.ac.nz/
9:45 Phoebe Hayman
Phoebe Hayman is the CEO of toy craft-kit design company Seedling NZ. The company’s gnomes are being showcased in London this week at the centenary celebrations of the world’s most famous gardening event, the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show, overturning the Show’s long-standing prohibition on gnomes to raise funds for the Show’s school gardening campaign.
10:05 Playing Favourites with Gifford Jackson
New Zealand industrial design pioneer Gifford Jackson spent 37 years as a design consultant here after working in New York for 17 years. His life and work is celebrated in the new book, Gifford Jackson: New Zealand Industrial Design Pathfinder by Michael Smyth (Creationz, ISBN: 978-0-473-23882-7).
And Joan Baez interview preparation for her coming here in August I think.
Re the TPPA. I assume that like most of the other agreements we have such as with Australia and China, that the TPPA will be signed on behalf of the crown for Aotearoa?
What wouls happen then, in the instance that Aotearoa becomes a Republic? Does that mean the agreements signed on behalf of the crown become null and void?
Only if the way we become a republic includes abrogating every single agreement and contract the Government has been involved with for 150 years. All those people sentnced to preventative detention by the Crown just gonna go walk? Not likely.
I suppose it is slightly comforting to know that NZ isn’t the only place with nutbars in control
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/fema-plans-clear-cutting-85000-berkeley-and-oakland-trees
Cars in the USA had a terrifying plunge into freezing waters from a broken bridge. A beam had been hit by an over-sized load of drilling equipment. There are calls now for the old bridges in the USA to receive much needed attention.
The ability of business to externalise their costs there is the same here. Longer trucks, heavier trucks here are causing problems on the public roads.
Drilling equipment will be a growing blockage on our roads. The USA isn’t up to the problems that their pursuit of business cause. Neither are we.
Interesting how the USA could spend a measley $75B doing up their old run down transport infrastructure (the budgetary equivalent for developing a single major weapon like a stealth fighter) and in doing so create jobs for 1M people…but unlike the days of the New Deal, they can’t be assed this time around.
Well they did say they were going to starve the beast.
http://uglybridges.com/1589303
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2013/05/bridge-collapses-on-interstate-5-over-skagit-river/
http://mobile.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-22/americas-broken-bridges
http://www.governing.com/blogs/fedwatch/gov-highway-trust-fund-future-jeopardy-infrastructure-transportation.html
we have surveyed infrastructure collapse before; guess China (or Aus.) could sell them steel smelt with the Denniston coking coal, at the right price.
I’ll just put this here for the next time John Key gets in deep shit
http://i41.tinypic.com/1yx374.jpg
He will smell a little better in cowshit than in dogshit.
Randle, I really hope you don’t mind but the way he was out of sync with the field of view was bugging me so I took the liberty of giving him a back, to sit him in the picture better.
(I couldn’t do anything about his lack of spine)
http://postimg.org/image/rd2ctavur/
The poverty of austerity exposed
It seems that the book missed the most important part about countries being sovereign – they can print their own money and thus have no need to borrow.
The bit that seems to have been missed is that that fallacy of composition is the entire basis of our economic system. The economists take a single actor Homo economicus and expands it out to every single person and company in the world and is precisely what the fallacy of composition is.
The entire neo-liberal economic theory starts with a fallacy and goes downhill from there.
Hits the nail on the head there though. The problem we have is that it’s the rich making the rules.
Thanks for that link to a very interesting review. Also this weekend, I read this that relates to your last sentence, DTB, about the rich making the rules. Paul Krugman on The Smith/Klein/Kalecki Theory of Austerity.
And I also read this book review, on David Stuckler’s latest book: review title ‘Recessions can hurt, but austerity kills’. Stuckler’s book is about the impact on health, and the related increase in homelessness that has resulted from “austerity”.
The review focuses on the impact of austerity, and compares that with countries, like Germany and Iceland, that have included policies to lessen the impact of the recession on people’s health and levels of poverty. From the review, it seems to me the book has only looked to compare with less austere policies, and doesn’t look to a totally different alternative. Though comparisons are also made with US and UK policies of the Great Depression, and the post WWII investment in the UK welfare state.
I’ve sent a few contributions in lately and they seem to disappear into a black hole.
If it is a fault with the email you may want to fix it.
If, on the other hand, the Standard dosn’t want to publish them, fine. That is your right. But please let me know so I know not to bother.
[r0b: Hi KJT – I’m not sure who reads that email, probably Eddie or Lprent – I’ll ask lprent to take a look…]
What email address are you using? I think it’s better to email someone direct rather than use the submission function on the site.
The gmail one on the submissions page.
The submission function has never worked on firefox for me.
Me I am afraid. No time. I will email you…
The Book of Amos.
Amos, not a man of court like Isaiah, or a priest like Jeremiah. Earned his living from tending the flock and the sycamore-fig grove. Skilled with words. Great range of general and historical knowledge (not an ignorant peasant). Went from Judah to announce God’s judgement on the Northern Kingdom (Israel). Few, if any, clues to the chronological order of his spoken messages-he may have repeated them often to reach everyone. Prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah over Judah, 792-740, and Jereboam II over Israel, 793-753.
Both kingdoms enjoyed great prosperity and had reached new political and military heights, yet they were spiritually smug; prosperity had increased Israel’s religious and moral corruption. Israel had a worldly view of even the ritual that the Lord himself had prescribed. They thought performance of the rites was all God required, and with that done they could do what they pleased.Also a time of idolatry, extravagant indulgence in luxurious living, immorality, corruption of judicial procedures and oppression of the poor. As a consequence, God would soon bring about the Assyrian captivity of the Northern Kingdom.
5:42 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.
Amos condemned all those who make themselves powerful and rich at the expense of others. Those who had acquired two splendid houses, expensive furniture and richly furnished tables by cheating, perverting justice and crushing the poor would lose everything they had. God’s imminent judgement on Israel would not be a mere punitive blow to warn, but an almost total destruction. The unthinkable was about to happen.
The God for whom Amos speaks is God of more than merely Israel. He uses nations against each other to carry out his purposes. He is the great King who rules the whole universe. All sovereign, the God of Israel holds the history and destiny of all peoples and of the world in his hands. Israel must know not only that he is the Lord of her future, but also that he is Lord over all, and that he has purposes and concerns that reach far beyond her borders. Israel had a unique, but not exclusive, claim on God.
3:17 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plans to his servants, the prophets.
Revelation 11:18 That you should destroy those who would destroy the earth.
…for much is determined. 😉
Nice work, ghostrider. A brave and principled modern prophet, Noam Chomsky, is often cited as the modern equivalent of Amos.
you are very kind.All is clear to see for those who have eyes.
I trust that unlike Chomsky, Amos wasn’t taking a hefty paycheck from an organisation he professes to despise as an instrument of oppression.
Thank God for the Welfare State!
from The Nation
-if councils don’t sign the accords, they (Central Government) intend to come in over the top.”
-Len Brown.(accord, if ratified, doesn’t come into effect until the Unitary Plan is notified, in September.)
some interesting observations from the Parata article;
Boag- (Parata is ) “warm, articulate, engaging and very bright”.???
Jones-(charged with) “reigning in teacher unions political power”.
Peters- “eat a dead rat everyday under National’s leadership”.
(Govts education policy is deficient and the communication of said policy, is deficient).
and Parata’s educational ethos? “that individuals excel”.read INDIVIDUALS! despite her background, no better than Paula Bennett.
forgot this. Not! 😉
“Why are our rivers so polluted?
Ask Steven Joyce.”
http://www.3news.co.nz/Campaign-blames-Joyce-for-river-pollution/tabid/1160/articleID/299039/Default.aspx
Heh, good for Snowdon.
But the minister says he’s no puppeteer.
“I have no idea what he’s talking about in that regard, but I will do my job, which is to try and encourage job and growth for New Zealanders and investment in the economy,”
“I have no idea what he’s talking about in that regard, but I will do my job, which is to try and encourage job and growth for New Zealanders and investment in the economy, irrespective of the effect on the environment”
FIFY Mr Joyce.
http://www.askstevenjoyce.org.nz/
May 25, 2013
Awesome effort!
Category: Media
Posted by: admin
A huge thanks to everyone who has contributed ideas, time and submissions. What an outstanding effort – we have already called out Steven Joyce on 3 News Friday 24th May, and the website has only been up 3 days.
Mr Joyce told 3 big lies in the interview and as soon as the news clip is posted here we will show you what they were. He also made one thing abundantly clear – he is in charge. So for any of you who had doubts about where the buck stops, you just had it confirmed that he is the man.
Now is the time to get the word out and ramp up the submissions. Please tell anyone you know that we are on a roll, and that if they help by submitting in the box above we have a lot better chance of saving our clean water. Get the message out though email, facebook and twitter.
North Korea and China ‘penpals’ again
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10886121
Porn: “it’ll make ya go blind”.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10886042
Running themselves into the ground.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10885992
Budget: Incredulity.tsk tsk.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10886008
Haven’t read all of the above comments so this may have been discussed already – that covered – who wrote this shit editorial in the Herald ? Sounds like something from that facile and unaccomplished trougher, the flibbitigibbert Hekia Potato Parata:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/employment/news/article.cfm?c_id=11&objectid=10885737
And on what authority does the writer float this business about the people who speak for legal aid lawyers not enjoying the confidence of those they speak for ? Complete and unadulterated bullshit to the point of being a wilful fabrication. Examples of any such lack of confidence please, liar.
What a piece of shit the Herald is !
In New Mexico, we recognise a war on the poor
Congressman Pearce.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-05-24/jack-lews-triple-whammy-irs-ignorance-corzine-corruption-and-war-poor
Own goal CV, this is in reference to ones, who have enough savings they can live off, comfortably. So the argument of poverty becomes a bit obsolete then. If the argument is about too low interest rates, so that interest does not cover living costs, how can you justify this to people that have not even any savings, no interest earned and so forth? I am sorry, I feel you did not view and listen to the whole story there. No, this is BS.
People that are so wealthy, that they can live off interest are NOT Poor!
A cop car featured heavily, once again, on the front page of the Herald Online last night, all about “hostage taking” and inguries and so forth. There was also a mention about “teen porn”, about other “scandalous” stories, and the list goes on. NZ media is now gutter media, for sure, as headlines are competed for, such “news” needing to be “enhanced” or “hyped up”.
Nothing is normal anymore, nor do the shit consumers bother to demand it. It is the new game for the new generation, full of trivia, and contempt for anything that should be taken seriously and be treated with due respect.
Generation X is followed by Gen Y, the most ruthless, selfish and jerkish lot I ever met.
That is supposed to be our “future”. If I as an ageing person, NOT having been able to provide for retirement savings, having to “depend” on such bastarts of a mentality, I rather take my life before I hit the retirement age.
Yes, we have no more solidarity and not a caring society anymore, unless perhaps as baby boomer parents you managed to tie your kids into some commitment.
No, I have no such family, and I will die, I will die a lonely death, a life will be concluded in despiccable conditions, by the fucked, shit arsed selfish generation I see every day. I am contemplating about how to deal them a blow before they fucking retire, the selfishly rotten brats. They deserve to be taken apart, and punished, for not caring, and I see and hear it every day. Paula Bennett, Key and crims love them, as they are their voter base.
The left do not get it, yet! Many of you should damned bloody worry, we have a rotten next generation that is semi fascist and capitalist, your damned traitor kids!!!
bloody hell..!..xstasy..!
..i think you need some xstasy..eh..?..
..and..not met many idealistic-millenials then..?
..and you seem to be discounting the greed-is-good! /there-is-no-alternative! those ‘y’s were force-fed with all their lives..
..they are just a product of that conditioning/brainwashing..
..conditioning/brainwashing done by your generation..and an unthinking/craven/self-serving mainstream media..(and craven/self-serving/self-muzzling politicians – of all stripes..)
..and the good/cheering news is that i think that many of those ‘y’s are waking up to the poisoned-package they were sold..
..after all..the evidence is all around them..
..phillip ure..
“..they are just a product of that conditioning/brainwashing..
..conditioning/brainwashing done by your generation..and an unthinking/craven/self-serving mainstream media..(and craven/self-serving/self-muzzling politicians – of all stripes..)
..and the good/cheering news is that i think that many of those ‘y’s are waking up to the poisoned-package they were sold..
..after all..the evidence is all around them..”
Of course my comment was well over the top, as I must admit, but it is frustrating and angering, to see so much indifference and apathy out there, except where it comes to serve selected own interests and chasing opportunities and exciting perks.
While you raise valid points, I must say though, that much that is said in defence by many of the younger generation, is just a cop-out. The internet makes available sufficient information and offers alternative choices, and there are also other ways to find out the truth about most things.
Yet it is not taken advantage of by so many, and I notice and have heard and seen, that most cannot be bothered to make much effort in seeking true, factual information, in taking a stand on issues, or to even bother voting.
They rather escape into personal distraction, little bits of private indulgence, and leave the rest to others more senior, to do the work and thinking for them. That is luckily not all, but sadly too many. Willing consumers of products and services (brainwashing included) offered by corporate ruled capitalism, that seems to fit the description of most.
As for “xtasy”, I choose to stay away from drugs, believe it or not.
“Generation X is followed by Gen Y, the most ruthless, selfish and jerkish lot I ever met.”
Would this be because we’re getting on with it and have no particular use for you and your entitled hysterical, paranoid blatherings?
so young for such gnarled hands.