Having moved away from a no-fault welfare system, to playing workers off against those on benefit (even though most of them have worked to pay for their own assistance and if they haven’t their parents have) we now move into the notion of deserving beneficiaries versus undeserving:
I thought you wanted people whose kids were older to go to work?
I thought you hated those who breed for a business? Inter-generational breeding must be a business right? Pop out a kid for yourself and another or Mum? Keep the family business going!
I feel dirty typing those words and the right doesn’t need me portraying their arguments but I’d much rather grandparents raising grandchildren make a stand against the marginalising of all beneficiaries and understand that any issue with their own particular niche (lobby) group is as result of the attack on the whole system.
In suggesting their group should be treated differently than anyone else raising a child they just buy into the whole deserving / undeserving concept.
Anyone raising a child is deserving of support to do so.
+1
It seems the media is “OK” sending those mother bitches back to work…they brought it upon themselves! But for anyone else DOING THE EXACT SAME JOB they appear sympathetic. Truly sickening how this country places different levels of acceptability depending on who is doing the raising.
Is this the same grandparents’ group that a few months back was holding hands with Paula Bennet and smiling out from the pages of the media? I seem to remember discussion on ts about it only being a matter of time before Bennett stabbed them in the back.
There are also all the cases where benefits are cut when they shouldn’t be due to an over-rigourous application of the rules borne out of all the excitement whipped up within Work and Income by all the “get tough on beneficiaries” ranting from the right. It’s easy for Bennett to come out and say this shouldn’t be happening in any particular individual case but the same problems are happening all over the country and never get fixed. Tell the likes of Bennett about it and she’ll say “I need individual cases”. Leaving the majority of widespread failure to get things right suit Bennett and their agenda.
The global war against humanity by the fossil fuel companies and government quislings around the world heats up. (literally)
Scientists have confidently predicted that the permanent ice shelf of the high arctic will completely disappear during the Northern summer, from 2054 to 2058 on.
Good News for the Fossil Fuel criminals……
…….melting in this area would improve access to minerals on the ocean bed, increase fishing and create ice-free shipping lanes.
But, good news for the oil companies, is bad news for everyone else.
Previous work has estimated that more than a trillion tonnes of methane lie under the shelf, trapped inside lattices of ice known as hydrates, at depths as shallow as 20 metres. Concern about a possible eruption has grown since 2010, when research cruises over the shelf by Natalia Shakhova and Igor Semiletov, both now at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, found plumes of methane as much as a kilometre wide bubbling to the surface……
But we won’t have to wait for 40 years for this to happen.
The pair calculated that a release of 50 billion tonnes would be possible within a decade, through known areas of melting and geological faults. Since methane is a greenhouse gas 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide, such a scenario would trigger a “climate catastrophe”, they say, increasing the methane content of the planet’s atmosphere twelve-fold, and raising temperatures by 1.3 ˚C……
……. A release of 50 billion tonnes of methane would bring forward by 15 to 35 years the date at which global temperature rise exceeds 2 ˚C above pre-industrial levels, the model shows, with most of the damage in the poorer parts of Africa, Asia and South America. The largest costs envisaged include loss of crops to heat and drought, coping with sea level rise and worsening tropical storms.
To bring on this catastrophe the New Zealand government and state is mobilising all the forces it can. A harsh crackdown, aided by broad spectrum surveilliance of the general population. From just merely arresting and fining anti arctic drilling protesters like Lucy Lawless. With harsh new legislation enabled targetting protesters, the New Zealand state will begin jailing anti-mining and drilling protesters for two years and fining them $50 thousand dollars each. If they refuse or unable to pay the fine they could be held in jail for much longer than two years. This could see a huge rise the in the permanent number of political prisoners in this country.
Will our opposition parties speak up. Or will they keep their silence?
Al, if you are a Labour Party member, you could ask that your Party issue a belated congratulations to the USA President Barack Obama congratulating him on the launch of his “War On Coal”. As the EU, the UN, the UK government and our own Green Party, and others have done.
Do you know a Labour MP personally? if not, don’t worry, your local Labour MP will do. Approach them, make an appointment if necessary, and ask them if they would ever consider supporting a private members bill, calling for, (in a world first, and as an example for our ANZAC partner), the end of all coal exports as a deadly threat to the future of humanity.
Without revealing their identity let us know their response.
With your friends, agitate inside your LEC for them to agree to write to the parliamentary caucus asking them to give the LEC their guarantee that there will be no deep sea oil wells off our coasts under a Labour/Green government.
Demand that action against climate change be made an election issue.
If you are shouted down, closed down, or ignored. Leave the Labour Party and join the Greens. Make the same demands of the Greens.
Finally as well as all that. Join your local anti coal mining, anti-fracking ,or anti-deep sea oil drilling activist group.
English is perhaps the most vacuous trougher of all amongst the National party, what has he achieved during his time in politics apart from filling his and his brothers bank accounts.
Santi, if you believe the words you write, as if it was not obvious enough already, you are a troollip!
English has no understanding of basic economic concepts, or finance, and has shown that over and over again with his bumbling language, while he attempts to convey the messages he is is given to repeat!
Add this his enjoyment of fragrant ripping off the public purse, and you have the makings of someone who will be remembered in the 2 lines of the history books, as an incompetent crook!
As for Fran, she is in the position she is in, because, like Hooton et al, she is a paid agent, paid to speak against the interest of NZ, and it’s peoples!
I would ask you a question, Santi, but you have shown yourself incapable of answering, even the most simple questions, which would account for why you’re enamoured by the performance of English!
Well, it does show the sociopathy of our CEOs. They think that this government is doing well while the majority of people are worse off while they get tax cuts.
I started to read the Mood of the Boardroom supplement attached to Granny Herald this morning – totally agree North, and the rest was just as sad and depressing. Got my day off to a pretty bad start. Some of the quotes attributed to these CEOs were simply disgusting.
Fran is hopeless and exemplifies why New Zealand is still so reliant on Primary Industry exports, she, like our CEO’s lacks imagination, brains and creativity. The only thing English has done is hold back spending, which has contracted the economy so that our interest rates have stayed low and as the economy has come back to normal post GFC, back into surplus. Any monkey could have done what he has done. To Fran, the poor and vulnerable don’t count, they are irrelevant.
What a horrible, dumb and unproductive cow she is…if she was a real cow she would have been sent to the works long ago
It’s difficult to stand out as especially stupid in the desperately mediocre world of New Zealand radio. But listeners to (or sufferers of) Radio NZ National have over the last few months probably noticed the increasing frequency of one Susie Ferguson, formerly of the BBC and ITN. Ferguson is yet another Irish voice on Radio New Zealand National; her Ulster inflections provide a complement to Noelle McCarthy’s Cork accent. But while Noelle McCarthy has a high degree of urbanity and sophistication, and obviously reads and thinks a great deal, the same cannot be said for Susie Ferguson. Her interviews stand out for their lack of empathy, or basic understanding of an issue; her style is often confrontational and downright rude.
For this morning’s show, the producers of Morning Report gave her an easy assignment: interview someone about the minor furore that has blown up about the film Maniac, starring Elijah Woods. This Festival movie has been bizarrely attacked by the New Zealand Chief Censor. In his wisdom, he has decreed that it can be shown only to Film Festivals and tertiary study classes. The producers no doubt trusted that even Susie Ferguson would be capable of getting a few straight, even interesting, comments from Neil Foley, of the distributor Monster Films. But no, even that simple assignment was beyond her; she succeeded in flabbergasting Foley, and no doubt any sentient listeners, by asking one of the stupidest questions of the year, not counting any press conference involving Television One’s Andrew Saville.
Neil Foley explained to Ferguson that, while the violence is graphic, it is supposed to be from the serial killer’s point of view, and that this is an established horror convention. Ferguson, though just did not get it….
SUSIE FERGUSON: If, as you say, this has all been done before, why do it all again? NEIL FOLEY:[snorts in derision] You could say that about any film. These are conventions.
The rest of the interview went nowhere. Susie Ferguson used to work for the BBC. That tells you a lot about that organization.
I think you are being overly harsh on Ms Ferguson. Her interview with Helen Kelly last week was one of the best I have heard on National Radio. She didn’t but in and cut Helen off during her answers. As well, she listened to what Helen said and asked the next question accordingly. A really refreshing change.
hush now, with that mistrust, it’s an accurate transcript…
It is, actually, in this case. Even this writer, i.e. moi, isn’t going to blow it with a mere two-line transcript. Where I get myself into trouble is when I start condensing thirty minutes of dull inanity into twenty or thirty lines of Neil Simon-quality dialogue.
And, of course, whether she’s from Scotland or Ulster doesn’t affect what she said.
Except you did blow it. These words you wrote are not the actual words spoken. Some you have made up. Some you have omitted.
You, of course, will provide us with a verbatim transcript, so that you can back up your allegation.
And the “snorts in derision” is entirely imaginary.
I’ve had to publicly call you out only the other day for your propensity to overstate your case. “Entirely imaginary” is of the same extreme order as your claim that Chris Trotter did not deliver a windy lecture about the need to respect lynch law in the Deep South. When you overstate your case, felix, it renders suspect everything else that you say.
If anything he chuckles.
You have in your previous sentence just claimed that it was “entirely imaginary”. Now you have, carelessly, invalidated that claim. I will for the sake of civility do you the favour of conceding that Neil Foley chuckled derisively at Susie Ferguson’s foolish question—but I’m sure anyone who heard it will recognize my rendition of his reaction is more accurate and honest than yours.
1. I don’t need to provide a transcript Mozz, the audio is available to anyone who cares and anyone who listens to it will be rewarded with the knowledge that it does not match your transcript.
This is doubly disturbing because in your comment above you assured us all that in spite of your previous lapses of concentration, errors of omission, inventions, flights of fancy, misquotes, and extremely liberal use of artistic license, this time you’d finally got one right.
And you still hadn’t.
2. Trotter didn’t say what you claimed he said, and not in the context you claimed. Again the audio is available to all so I’m not going to play silly games with you.
“need to respect the lynch law”?? FFS do you ever read your own words before you post them? He said nothing of the sort.
3. I’ve invalidated nothing. It’s not my fault you don’t know the difference between a derisive snort and a hearty chuckle.
“I’m sure anyone who heard it”
I’m not convinced that you actually go back and listen after you write your impressions. If you did, you’d never be here defending their accuracy like the black knight.
1. I don’t need to provide a transcript Mozz, the audio is available to anyone who cares and anyone who listens to it will be rewarded with the knowledge that it does not match your transcript.
You keep saying that, possibly in the hope nobody will actually check. I stand by the substance of what I wrote; there might well be the odd “um” I have either missed or gratuitously inserted, but what I wrote, whether or not it technically qualifies as a “transcription”, was accurate and fair.
This is doubly disturbing because in your comment above you assured us all that in spite of your previous lapses of concentration, errors of omission, inventions, flights of fancy, misquotes, and extremely liberal use of artistic license,
Your language is extreme and prosecutorial; once again you have chosen to go out on a limb with your carping and trivial allegations. You know perfectly well by now what the intention of my transcripts is: it is to catch the zeitgeist of the often foolish and sometimes depraved stuff that surrounds us on the air. Do I always get it word-perfect? No, of course not—I have no BASF tapes currently operable, and my shorthand is imperfect. You choose to focus on that and make an issue of it; I stand by my interpretation of Foley’s reaction to Susie Ferguson’s utterly stupid question; you may choose to pretend he “chuckles” indulgently. Such cockeyed generosity is not surprising in light of your indulgent view of Trotter’s fustian oratory on behalf of that Florida lynch-mob.
…this time you’d finally got one right. And you still hadn’t.
I got it exactly right. You are the one who claimed that Mr. Foley’s derisive snorts were “entirely imaginary” and then in the very next sentence quibbled about the description of those snorts: “If anything he chuckles.”
2. Trotter didn’t say what you claimed he said,
He said it in the way I showed it. I didn’t get his immortal words down perfectly, but he DID deliver an absurdly self-important lecture to his inferiors (that’s clearly the way he thinks of most people) about the need to “respect” the decision of that Florida jury. If anything, I modified the extreme pomposity of his delivery.
…and not in the context you claimed.
The others on the Panel all expressed disdain and horror at that obscene travesty; Trotter decided he’d deliver a lecture about the need to respect any jury decision, no matter how harebrained or unjust it might appear to be. That was the context; are you trying to suggest something else was going on in that studio? What “context” did we miss?
Again the audio is available to all…
Then you will provide a transcript of the bit that shows Trotter did NOT deliver a windy and self-important caution to his fellow Panelists.
…so I’m not going to play silly games with you.
That’s a bit late, I’m afraid. You are playing silly games, and so far you have not done very well at all. Putting up that word-perfect transcript might help your case.
“need to respect the lynch law”?? FFS do you ever read your own words before you post them? He said nothing of the sort.
Of course Trotter did not use those words. But that’s exactly what he meant.
3. I’m not convinced that you actually go back and listen after you write your impressions. If you did, you’d never be here defending their accuracy like the black knight.
You are correct there, felix.
I’ll wager you were the doyen of the debating crowd back in the day.
Oh no, no, no. My idea of debating “back in the day” consisted of pontificating to my long-suffering compañeros in the public bar of the King’s Arms. Still does, pretty much.
Documentary on Helen Clark was on TV3 last night at 9:30, covers her entry into politics, up to winning the 1999 election and becoming the first elected female PM. Has heaps of archive film footage, interviews with Helen, Jim Bolger, Jim Anderton, Roger Douglas and others.
Quite well done, and interesting. The only disturbing part of it came when her dad was proudly listing all the movers and shakers Helen mixes with. “She’s got contacts all over the world,” he beamed. “Um, Blair, Gordon Brown, uh, Clinton. She knows them all.”
The poor old fellow seemed to approve of his daughter being involved with those blood-soaked criminals.
Yes, how silly it is for the leader of the nation to have contact with the heads of NZ’s major trading partners.
They are criminals, every one of them. They should all be in prison. At least Clark, as vacillating as she was, had the courage to speak out, however guardedly, against the crimes of the first two.
Yeah well…….my mother (born 1918 – first job at 13 in a greengrocer’s in Onehunga) used to proudly cluck her lovely Old Labour self to sleep after I’d call “on tolls” from Wellington to relate my often ginned-up late-night progress office to office through the corridors of Parliament commencing early 70s. Mike Moore, Roger Douglas, Bassett et al……….look how those pricks turned out !
That’s parents for you. Completely understandable. Thank Christ it took that woman’s son only a decade and a half to stop being a slimey little Soymin Brudges wankfest !
Ah what refreshing prose, both Morrissey and North together and firing on all cylinders all we need now is erudite Prof Longhair to join the conflagration and one’s life is complete.
Ah what refreshing prose, both Morrissey and North together and firing on all cylinders all we need now is erudite Prof Longhair to join the conflagration and one’s life is complete.
Hmmmmmm…. Just what are you allegitating there, “sockpuppet”?
sockpuppet
What about you getting your own blog. Are you a forerunner of RWNJs we are going to ‘enjoy’ in the run up to the election, putting your tainted little toes in a left wing pond to gauge how warm it is. Back home, nearer to hell it’s really warm, you probably would be more comfortable there.
Yeah, same. I think it was a product of trying to cram such a long period of time into a single episode.
If the whole series was 4 shows rather than 2, they could devote 2 episodes to the early years, and 2 episodes to her PMship, and that’d be a good amount of depth I think.
Would love to have heard more dirt about her time in opposition and the issues and events of the day. The older footage was pretty interesting.
I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, but I might be able to fill in some of the dirt prior to… and in the first three years of her time in opposition. Lprent can probably fill in the rest. Will watch it this evening. Thanks for link Lanthanide.
John Key’s comments amused me. “She lived and breathed politics 24 hrs a day.” She no more lived and breathed politics 24/7 than he does now.
Jane Clifton’s comment re- the death stare. I was the recipient once when she was still just the candidate for Mt. Albert. At a campaign meeting I decided to play the role of devil’s advocate to see how she would handle it. Never again.
There is a little known aspect to that candidate selection that Helen Clark won. During the long lead up to the selection meeting there were two local factions. One faction supported Helen Clark and another supported the electorate chairman, Keith Elliott. It seemed like the two groups were roughly equal in support. But a third faction appeared about two months before the scheduled meeting and they were pushing for Malcolm Douglas – Roger Douglas’ brother. Malcolm was a young lawyer, personable and articulate. The hope was Helen and Keith would cancel each other out and Malcolm would come through the middle. They conducted a campaign that was largely under the radar and quite dirty in content. (Won’t go into details here.) It could have succeeded if it wasn’t for the fact that Helen made such an outstanding speech on the night, nobody else got a look-in.
Years later most of that third faction ended up in ACT and I don’t think they ever forgave Helen for giving their candidate a thrashing.
Thanks for the link Lanthanide.
I found the doco really interesting, and to be honest, I had kind of hoped that when I opened TS this morning I’d find that one of our wonderful writers had written a review. There were many things that I’d be interested to know others’ views on.
I was also chilled when Clark’s father proudly proclaimed his daughter’s “friendships” with those particular culprits. But it’s worth remembering that family loyalty and paternal pride aside, Clark’s Dad was and is an arch conservative and that list probably represents leaders that he has great respect for, and may not reflect HC’s attitudes. I’d certainly like to think not.
It seemed to me that Anderton was strongly suggesting that Clark was a social dmocrat and that her actual politico/economic views were more aligned to the Alliance policy than to Labour’s.
Clark’s Dad was and is an arch conservative and that list probably represents leaders that he has great respect for, and may not reflect HC’s attitudes. I’d certainly like to think not.
He WAS an arch conservative just saying. Indeed back in the 1970s he and Helen had many rows which became so heated that Helen’s mother banned all talk of politics. They were estranged for a number of years, but when she became the candidate for Mt.Albert her father swallowed his pride and her parents’ wholly supported her. They eventually joined the Labour Party and became enthusiastic members. That was my understanding anyway.
“King Charles had his head cut off, but there have never been any problems associated with the name King George. … The couple don’t like conformity.”
London correspondent Gavin Gray, speaking about the naming of George Alex Louis, Prince of Cambridge, NewstalkZB, 7:10 a.m.
Mediocrity Watch aims to keep you informed of—or, to quote the epically mediocre Simon Dallow, to be “right across”—the least professional, most insulting, shoddiest journalism from all over the world, but especially New Zealand. It is produced by DeakerWatch®, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc.
For those who’re being driven quietly around the bend by a particularly gross earworm – here’s the antidote: (nsfw)
Ask first
No way to know I want it
No way to know I want it
Unless I say I want it
Ask first
Cause if you grab me
I’ll get nasty
I’ll break your fucking knees
When China slows down, its demand for minerals drops and Australia will suffer. If our two largest trading partners are faring poorly, then it is not going to be good for NZ.
China’s slowdown is bad for our finances but good for our real environment. Its also good for China’s real environment. Less consumption, less energy use, less GHGs.
That’s the paradox we’ve locked ourselves into, in this current system.
Because in a slowing Chinese economy, the Chinese will cut back on building new factories, not on buying their children baby milk. (By slowdown they mean economic growth of 7% rather than 10%)
A slowdown in Australia would be of more concern, however every year they are becoming less and less dependant as China becomes more important.
If we had our economy rationalised it wouldn’t really matter what the economies of our trading partners were doing as they’d only be a minor part of our economy.
Yep. I find it amazing that the know that they’ll be dropping 35 workers before they’ve finished the review. This would indicate that the review was nothing but validation for the predetermined loss of jobs.
Does anyone know anything about who the contractors are who will receive many thousands of dollars from WINZ for placing ex beneficiaries in work ? So peculiar imho.
Jami-Lee Ross meets his nemesis
David Shearer keelhauls a National backbench head-nodder Back Benchers, Prime TV, Wednesday 24 July 2013, 10:40 p.m.
Hosted by WALLACE CHAPMAN and DAMIAN CHRISTIE
Politicians: David Shearer (Labour), Jami-Lee Ross (National), Russell Norman (Green).
There was a real energy discernible in tonight’s program, an “Auckland Special” filmed in the Britomart Country Club. I was impressed by the performances of Len Brown, Ngarimu Blair, David Shearer and Russell Norman. I was deeply unimpressed by Jami-Lee Ross and the glib, weaselly Wallace Chapman. And viewers of the program were introduced to an unpleasant new phenomenon, albeit one that will not last: the moronic Moonie-like disciples of right wing restaurant-fixer John Palino.
The program began with a diverting little travelogue of some of Auckland’s lesser-known spots. Hosts Chapman and Christie were entertaining and informative. A little later, Ngarimu Blair wittily upbraided Damian Christie for using only Pākehā names instead of the original Māori names; Christie riposted quite well: “I did say Rangitoto though!”
Mayor Len Brown was relaxed, affable and confident. And, surprisingly and most gratifyingly, so was Labour leader David Shearer. He was at ease and in command throughout the program; in fact he was likable. He did not stammer or forget what he was saying, and he spoke clearly. When he smiled, it was a genuine smile, not the anxious forced rictus grin we have seen too often. Late in the program, he provided the highlight of the evening when he pulled rank and firmly squashed National lightweight Jami-Lee Ross.
Jami-Lee Ross was exactly how he always is: smarmy, nasty, arrogant and bumptious. But worst of all—and this proved to be his undoing—he was disrespectful. Throughout the hour, he referred to Shearer as “this guy”, and to Shearer and Norman as “these guys”. To compound this display of offhand disrespect, every sentence he uttered started with “Look”. I was impressed with the way Shearer handled himself in this difficult situation; not only did he have to deal with Ross’s vexatious and ridiculous comments, but he also had to contend with Chapman’s offensive and partial behavior. While Chapman’s childishness was something he just had to put up with, he did not have to let Ross go unchallenged. Twice during the early part of the program, he effectively refuted Ross’s nasty comments, then at the end he put Ross firmly in his place—right at the bottom of the pecking order.
Russell Norman was urbane and convincing as always, especially considering that he, like Shearer, was constantly being undermined by the rodentine Wallace Chapman. Idiotically, Chapman tried to taunt Norman about being Australian, and about being brought up in Brisbane.
I am increasingly concerned by the behavior of Chapman. I have already commented on his pathetic behavior on TV1’s Good Morning show [1]. Earlier this year he also acted as a guest host for some ostensibly serious discussion on Radio NZ National; due to his antics the program was rendered utterly banal and more or less a waste of time. Tonight, he decided to pander to a sizable coterie of loud, drunken ACT, National and Palino groupies, who occasionally managed to rouse themselves to bellow out moronic right wing slogans, like “Who’s gonna PAY for it?” At one point in the program, Russell Norman was talking about a rational transport policy for Auckland. Suddenly Chapman interrupted him….
WALLACE CHAPMAN: It sounds like a Green Party PIPE DREAM! [mimics smoking a joint] NATIONAL SUPPORTERS: Ha ha ha ha ha ha! That’s right!
A little later, Chapman again tried to play to those drunken yobbos….
WALLACE CHAPMAN: How many people used public transport to go to work today? [Many hands go up all over the venue] Not very many. DAMIAN CHRISTIE: Actually it’s about fifty-fifty.
Another thing that many people must have noticed was that Chapman let Jami-Lee Ross talk on and on, often making little sense, without interrupting him. In stark contrast, whenever Russell Norman or David Shearer spoke, Chapman rang a bell to stop him.
Halfway through the evening, Chapman poked his microphone in front of Ngarimu Blair, who announced a new Ngati Whatua-run housing scheme. This was quite a coup for the program; Mayor Brown seemed ecstatic about it, and so did the audience. (The ACT-National-Palino morons were silent—they had nothing to contribute, not even the normal vacuous snickering that they indulged in for the rest of the time.)
After that major piece of excitement, the intellectual and moral tone of the evening took a precipitous dive: Chapman interviewed a Palino supporter. The young man had amassed over $100,000 in savings; this pointless piece of information was apparently supposed to impress us. It certainly impressed Wallace Chapman, who might have been interviewing a Nobel Prize winner rather than a complacent rich kid who is dumb enough to think John Palino knows anything more than how to organize the interior decoration and menu for a small cafeteria.
After that, it’s back to the politicians. Jami-Lee Ross makes a swingeing personal attack on Shearer, who is about to thrash him for a third time when Chapman cuts him off. See, he has a really important issue to go onto….
WALLACE CHAPMAN: What we want to know is this: Are Aucklanders just JAFAs?
For the next five excruciating minutes, we see video of Chapman approaching people on Auckland streets and asking them: “Are Aucklanders wankers?” He goes up to a couple of young girls and asks, “Are Aucklanders UP THEMSELVES?” This terrible, witless segment seems to go on forever, but eventually, mercifully, it is time for the Quiz. This is won by David Shearer, but what it will be remembered for is the way he dispatched Jami-Lee Ross to the boundary straight after it….
WALLACE CHAPMAN: And the winner of the Back Benchers Quiz is DAVID SHEARER!
….[Good natured applause from the crowd, including the drunken ACT-NAtional-palino contingent]….
JAMI-LEE ROSS: One competition he’s won.
….[Silence, and a slight pause]….
DAVID SHEARER: This guy is sad. You’ve been sitting next to Chris Finlayson way too long, I think.
The laughter is probably ringing in poor Jami-Lee Ross’s ears even now.
It is, largely, I agree. But the sight of David Shearer hanging, drawing and quartering that snide National moron last night made for great television.
”If people on benefits want to access Working for Families payments they should get a job”, those words the reason i couldn’t watch the ‘Helen years’ on the TV,
Those words which after years of being a staunch Labour supporter through even the abuses of Sir(spit)Roger Douglas inflicted upon us all lead to my abandonment of that party,
On a lighter note tho i did have a watch of ‘Backbenchers Auckland edition’ featuring leaders Dave Shearer, Russell Norman and what’s best described as a ‘nasty piece of work’ National’s Jamie Lee Ross who spent the entire time of the show making snide comments to both Shearer and Norman out of the side of His mouth like some b grade movie actor in a cheap American gangsta flick,
Any public bar that i have ever mis-spent too many hours in subjected to such snivelling, snide, vindictive drivel, Ross would have ended the night prone on the floor attempting to extract the silver spoon from a badly broken jaw,
Shearer tho was almost eloquent to the point where i imagined another 6 or 8 half-pints of the brown stuff would have had the bloke waxing positively lyrical, His last bit tho, a barracking Parliamentary style shouting of support for the way under-payed cleaning staff of the nation came across as forced, shouting at the TV camera just not a good look,
Russell Norman looked like he wanted to be somewhere else, anywhere else except that close to National’s Ross and i am sure had the show gone on for any longer we all might have been privy to an exhibition of Russell tossing up His dinner,
During the ad breaks i did a runner over to Maori TV’s Native affairs, missed earlier in the week, and got treated to a piece of theater which knowing the ‘actors’ was a great joy to behold,
Native Affairs was doing a piece on Wellington’s efforts to curb begging in the City, and although i didn’t catch all of this piece appeared to be in the vein of ‘woe are these poor homeless people’,
This little comic narrative unfolded into ‘the homeless couple’ being interviewed, first Her, in words barely intelligent to the average human babbling on about nothing in particular, (believe me you fully understand Her when She is after a cigarette, and the abuse that follows should you ignore Her),
Then Him, babbling away about some long ago day, then a quick switch along with some crocodile tears that wouldn’t quite flow barely able to tell the camera about His war service,(well not quite His, i know who’s war service He was borrowing for the event),
Yeah i know these two well, He begs along Courtney Place, ”please sir have you got a dollar”, an 1800’s London street urchin could not have mustered a better tone of forlorn supplication,
Meanwhile She is sitting in the pokies bar attached to a well known strip club and brothel owned by a pair of brothers known nation-wide, feeding the machine, when He arrives back having done a circuit of Courtney Place ”please sir have you got a dollar”, She gets a break for a ciggy while He baby sits that nights pokie machine of choice,
LOLZ, this little show goes on all night, most nights and when these two destitute beggars finish the night they catch a taxi home,
Maori television tho have scored a coup in discovering these two, they would make an excellent unscripted comedy routine, give them 30 minutes and tell them the topic and i reckon they would have audiences in fits of laughter, a huge waste of talent ‘begging’ on Wellington’s streets….
New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key is facing prosecution in court after it was revealed his department spied on more than 80 New Zealanders illegally.
Haven’t seen it anywhere else yet but it’s going to be interesting if true.
The guy pursuing Key is an obnoxious litigant whose chances are nil. Just a person seeking publicity for no other reason than enjoying his name out there.
After losing I hope he is asked to pay costs. That would teach him.
Interestingly enough, while he might be a jerk McCready can boast one or two successes in this area. About as good a score against MPs as the police prosecutor, anyway.
And it does seem that an illegal interception did indeed take place.
So really, it comes down to whether Key as minister was responsible for the actions of his department.
Sounds like a top bloke to me, Slippery IS the minister in charge of our spy agencies and ‘accountability and responsibility’ would strongly suggest as the Minister in Charge it is the Prime Minister who must carry the can for His agents illegal spying upon New Zealand citizens…
Try reading Judge Mills in the Wellington District Court judgement giving the go ahead to prosecute John Banks.
It is not the character of the person making the allegation but the quality of the allegation itself. Fancy legal way of saying play the ball and not the man.
Please Santi do try to understand the difference.
Actually he’s starting to look like not such a bad bloke.
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 16.2
according to a reid research poll when asked ‘who do you trust, john key or kim dotcom’ 52% believed kim dotcom & 34% believed john key, & bear in mind this same poll has national on 47% !!! on tv3 news…
I am at the Auckland anti GCSB and the Mt Albert hall is packed. There must be 600 people here and the crowd is spilling out into the foyer. The sense of anger is palpable. Thomas Beagle has put the case very well. If the Government wants to take away our rights it should justify this and it has not done this.
I saw this in an email. Does the Benefit woman know about anything to do with the real world? Hon. Paula Bennetts statements that ‘feminism is out of fashion’ and ‘out of step with modern times’ are not true, except for a certain class.
Well this is a stunning article. Shelley Bridgeman writing about how she was caught short at the supermarket and had to choose between the hummus and the filled pasta, so now she has an insight into how the other 99.5% live.
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
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Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
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Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
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We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+. If you love a dark comedy: Bodkin (Netflix, May 9)An English podcaster, an Irish podcaster and American podcaster walk into a pub and…make a TV show? ...
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Keeping up with online communication can be exhausting, so Fran Barclay enlisted the help of Meta’s new ‘intelligent assistant’ to respond to all her messages. Could her mates tell the difference? For centuries, technology has ruled the ways in which we communicate. From the dawn of written language, to the ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luis Gómez Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, University of Wollongong Fifty years ago, Australian feminist Anne Summers denounced “the ideology of sexism” governing over so many women’s lives. Unfortunately, sexism is as lethal today as it ...
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For the past 12 years, Georgia-Rose Brown has balanced on the brink of making an Olympic Games – but always landed gracefully on the wrong side. Reaching the Olympics is a dream the gymnast has harboured since she was a six-year-old; a dream that would dwindle every four years, yet ...
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Comment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...
Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
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Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
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By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
Having moved away from a no-fault welfare system, to playing workers off against those on benefit (even though most of them have worked to pay for their own assistance and if they haven’t their parents have) we now move into the notion of deserving beneficiaries versus undeserving:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8959919/Grandparent-carers-forced-back-to-work
I thought you wanted people whose kids were older to go to work?
I thought you hated those who breed for a business? Inter-generational breeding must be a business right? Pop out a kid for yourself and another or Mum? Keep the family business going!
I feel dirty typing those words and the right doesn’t need me portraying their arguments but I’d much rather grandparents raising grandchildren make a stand against the marginalising of all beneficiaries and understand that any issue with their own particular niche (lobby) group is as result of the attack on the whole system.
In suggesting their group should be treated differently than anyone else raising a child they just buy into the whole deserving / undeserving concept.
Anyone raising a child is deserving of support to do so.
+1
It seems the media is “OK” sending those mother bitches back to work…they brought it upon themselves! But for anyone else DOING THE EXACT SAME JOB they appear sympathetic. Truly sickening how this country places different levels of acceptability depending on who is doing the raising.
Is this the same grandparents’ group that a few months back was holding hands with Paula Bennet and smiling out from the pages of the media? I seem to remember discussion on ts about it only being a matter of time before Bennett stabbed them in the back.
Yep, QoT wrote a post about it
http://thestandard.org.nz/when-paula-bennett-is-positive-about-a-group-of-beneficiaries-be-suspicious/
Heh
https://ideologicallyimpure.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/oh-look-diane-vivian-paula-bennett-did-come-for-you/
There are also all the cases where benefits are cut when they shouldn’t be due to an over-rigourous application of the rules borne out of all the excitement whipped up within Work and Income by all the “get tough on beneficiaries” ranting from the right. It’s easy for Bennett to come out and say this shouldn’t be happening in any particular individual case but the same problems are happening all over the country and never get fixed. Tell the likes of Bennett about it and she’ll say “I need individual cases”. Leaving the majority of widespread failure to get things right suit Bennett and their agenda.
The global war against humanity by the fossil fuel companies and government quislings around the world heats up. (literally)
Scientists have confidently predicted that the permanent ice shelf of the high arctic will completely disappear during the Northern summer, from 2054 to 2058 on.
Good News for the Fossil Fuel criminals……
But, good news for the oil companies, is bad news for everyone else.
But we won’t have to wait for 40 years for this to happen.
To bring on this catastrophe the New Zealand government and state is mobilising all the forces it can. A harsh crackdown, aided by broad spectrum surveilliance of the general population. From just merely arresting and fining anti arctic drilling protesters like Lucy Lawless. With harsh new legislation enabled targetting protesters, the New Zealand state will begin jailing anti-mining and drilling protesters for two years and fining them $50 thousand dollars each. If they refuse or unable to pay the fine they could be held in jail for much longer than two years. This could see a huge rise the in the permanent number of political prisoners in this country.
Will our opposition parties speak up. Or will they keep their silence?
Dammit, Jenny !
What would you have us do ?
She hasn’t yet figured out that politicians are followers, not leaders.
Some are, some aren’t.
Al, if you are a Labour Party member, you could ask that your Party issue a belated congratulations to the USA President Barack Obama congratulating him on the launch of his “War On Coal”. As the EU, the UN, the UK government and our own Green Party, and others have done.
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27062013/#comment-654365
Do you know a Labour MP personally? if not, don’t worry, your local Labour MP will do. Approach them, make an appointment if necessary, and ask them if they would ever consider supporting a private members bill, calling for, (in a world first, and as an example for our ANZAC partner), the end of all coal exports as a deadly threat to the future of humanity.
Without revealing their identity let us know their response.
With your friends, agitate inside your LEC for them to agree to write to the parliamentary caucus asking them to give the LEC their guarantee that there will be no deep sea oil wells off our coasts under a Labour/Green government.
Demand that action against climate change be made an election issue.
If you are shouted down, closed down, or ignored. Leave the Labour Party and join the Greens. Make the same demands of the Greens.
Finally as well as all that. Join your local anti coal mining, anti-fracking ,or anti-deep sea oil drilling activist group.
Goodness knows there are a lot of them.
Here’s some
http://coalactionnetworkaotearoa.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/what-is-coal-action-network-aotearoa/
http://aucklandcoalaction.org/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-The-Mining-Of-Northland-New-Zealand/142311012454431
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-deep-sea-oil-drilling-in-NZ-waters/279823005402277
http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/support-us/save-denniston-plateau
https://www.facebook.com/StopFrackingNZ
Last and most importantly of all.
Get ready to protest.
Dear Old Boardroom Trout Fran O’Sullivan……..in overdrive and sucking cock !
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10902592
Well sometimes an apparent crudity conveys more than a lengthy earnest essay.
It doe doesn’t it! 🙂
correct me but i always thought a crudite was bright fresh crunchy turgid and healthgiving……..
A balanced article on the level-headed Mr English, whose economic performance during the crisis cannot be faulted. All power to him.
He’s no David Shearer !
English is perhaps the most vacuous trougher of all amongst the National party, what has he achieved during his time in politics apart from filling his and his brothers bank accounts.
It doe doesn’t it! 🙂
Santi, if you believe the words you write, as if it was not obvious enough already, you are a troollip!
English has no understanding of basic economic concepts, or finance, and has shown that over and over again with his bumbling language, while he attempts to convey the messages he is is given to repeat!
Add this his enjoyment of fragrant ripping off the public purse, and you have the makings of someone who will be remembered in the 2 lines of the history books, as an incompetent crook!
As for Fran, she is in the position she is in, because, like Hooton et al, she is a paid agent, paid to speak against the interest of NZ, and it’s peoples!
I would ask you a question, Santi, but you have shown yourself incapable of answering, even the most simple questions, which would account for why you’re enamoured by the performance of English!
Santi — is it morning on your planet or a different time of day ? Do you have a 24 hour cycle like we do ?
Groan. Not you again panties.
Must…eliminate….all….doubleplusbad…perspectives.
Must…eliminate….all….doubleplusbad…perspectives.
Err, what? By drawing attention to them?
Well fucking said as always North
No I didn’t need that…. North
Well, it does show the sociopathy of our CEOs. They think that this government is doing well while the majority of people are worse off while they get tax cuts.
I started to read the Mood of the Boardroom supplement attached to Granny Herald this morning – totally agree North, and the rest was just as sad and depressing. Got my day off to a pretty bad start. Some of the quotes attributed to these CEOs were simply disgusting.
Fran is hopeless and exemplifies why New Zealand is still so reliant on Primary Industry exports, she, like our CEO’s lacks imagination, brains and creativity. The only thing English has done is hold back spending, which has contracted the economy so that our interest rates have stayed low and as the economy has come back to normal post GFC, back into surplus. Any monkey could have done what he has done. To Fran, the poor and vulnerable don’t count, they are irrelevant.
What a horrible, dumb and unproductive cow she is…if she was a real cow she would have been sent to the works long ago
Nope, if he’d done that then we wouldn’t be looking at our highest levels of government debt ever.
Mediocrity Watch
No. 1: SUSIE FERGUSON
It’s difficult to stand out as especially stupid in the desperately mediocre world of New Zealand radio. But listeners to (or sufferers of) Radio NZ National have over the last few months probably noticed the increasing frequency of one Susie Ferguson, formerly of the BBC and ITN. Ferguson is yet another Irish voice on Radio New Zealand National; her Ulster inflections provide a complement to Noelle McCarthy’s Cork accent. But while Noelle McCarthy has a high degree of urbanity and sophistication, and obviously reads and thinks a great deal, the same cannot be said for Susie Ferguson. Her interviews stand out for their lack of empathy, or basic understanding of an issue; her style is often confrontational and downright rude.
For this morning’s show, the producers of Morning Report gave her an easy assignment: interview someone about the minor furore that has blown up about the film Maniac, starring Elijah Woods. This Festival movie has been bizarrely attacked by the New Zealand Chief Censor. In his wisdom, he has decreed that it can be shown only to Film Festivals and tertiary study classes. The producers no doubt trusted that even Susie Ferguson would be capable of getting a few straight, even interesting, comments from Neil Foley, of the distributor Monster Films. But no, even that simple assignment was beyond her; she succeeded in flabbergasting Foley, and no doubt any sentient listeners, by asking one of the stupidest questions of the year, not counting any press conference involving Television One’s Andrew Saville.
Neil Foley explained to Ferguson that, while the violence is graphic, it is supposed to be from the serial killer’s point of view, and that this is an established horror convention. Ferguson, though just did not get it….
SUSIE FERGUSON: If, as you say, this has all been done before, why do it all again?
NEIL FOLEY: [snorts in derision] You could say that about any film. These are conventions.
The rest of the interview went nowhere. Susie Ferguson used to work for the BBC. That tells you a lot about that organization.
I think you are being overly harsh on Ms Ferguson. Her interview with Helen Kelly last week was one of the best I have heard on National Radio. She didn’t but in and cut Helen off during her answers. As well, she listened to what Helen said and asked the next question accordingly. A really refreshing change.
That’s good to hear. Are you sure it was Susie Ferguson?
“her Ulster inflections provide a complement to Noelle McCarthy’s Cork accent.”
Isn’t she Scottish?
hush now, with that mistrust, it’s an accurate transcript…
hush now, with that mistrust, it’s an accurate transcript…
It is, actually, in this case. Even this writer, i.e. moi, isn’t going to blow it with a mere two-line transcript. Where I get myself into trouble is when I start condensing thirty minutes of dull inanity into twenty or thirty lines of Neil Simon-quality dialogue.
And, of course, whether she’s from Scotland or Ulster doesn’t affect what she said.
it does tend to suggest that you don’t always accurately interpret what you hear, though.
it does tend to suggest that you don’t always accurately interpret what you hear, though.
Good point. Though I’m sure I’m not the only one to have mistaken Susie Ferguson’s for an Ulster accent.
“It is, actually, in this case. Even this writer, i.e. moi, isn’t going to blow it with a mere two-line transcript.”
Except you did blow it. These words you wrote are not the actual words spoken. Some you have made up. Some you have omitted.
And the “snorts in derision” is entirely imaginary. If anything he chuckles.
[snorts in derision] much lols
[snorts in derision] much lols
Poor Susie Ferguson did not laugh out loud. She was clearly mortified by Neil Foley’s contemptuous reaction.
Except you did blow it. These words you wrote are not the actual words spoken. Some you have made up. Some you have omitted.
You, of course, will provide us with a verbatim transcript, so that you can back up your allegation.
And the “snorts in derision” is entirely imaginary.
I’ve had to publicly call you out only the other day for your propensity to overstate your case. “Entirely imaginary” is of the same extreme order as your claim that Chris Trotter did not deliver a windy lecture about the need to respect lynch law in the Deep South. When you overstate your case, felix, it renders suspect everything else that you say.
If anything he chuckles.
You have in your previous sentence just claimed that it was “entirely imaginary”. Now you have, carelessly, invalidated that claim. I will for the sake of civility do you the favour of conceding that Neil Foley chuckled derisively at Susie Ferguson’s foolish question—but I’m sure anyone who heard it will recognize my rendition of his reaction is more accurate and honest than yours.
1. I don’t need to provide a transcript Mozz, the audio is available to anyone who cares and anyone who listens to it will be rewarded with the knowledge that it does not match your transcript.
This is doubly disturbing because in your comment above you assured us all that in spite of your previous lapses of concentration, errors of omission, inventions, flights of fancy, misquotes, and extremely liberal use of artistic license, this time you’d finally got one right.
And you still hadn’t.
2. Trotter didn’t say what you claimed he said, and not in the context you claimed. Again the audio is available to all so I’m not going to play silly games with you.
“need to respect the lynch law”?? FFS do you ever read your own words before you post them? He said nothing of the sort.
3. I’ve invalidated nothing. It’s not my fault you don’t know the difference between a derisive snort and a hearty chuckle.
“I’m sure anyone who heard it”
I’m not convinced that you actually go back and listen after you write your impressions. If you did, you’d never be here defending their accuracy like the black knight.
1. I don’t need to provide a transcript Mozz, the audio is available to anyone who cares and anyone who listens to it will be rewarded with the knowledge that it does not match your transcript.
You keep saying that, possibly in the hope nobody will actually check. I stand by the substance of what I wrote; there might well be the odd “um” I have either missed or gratuitously inserted, but what I wrote, whether or not it technically qualifies as a “transcription”, was accurate and fair.
This is doubly disturbing because in your comment above you assured us all that in spite of your previous lapses of concentration, errors of omission, inventions, flights of fancy, misquotes, and extremely liberal use of artistic license,
Your language is extreme and prosecutorial; once again you have chosen to go out on a limb with your carping and trivial allegations. You know perfectly well by now what the intention of my transcripts is: it is to catch the zeitgeist of the often foolish and sometimes depraved stuff that surrounds us on the air. Do I always get it word-perfect? No, of course not—I have no BASF tapes currently operable, and my shorthand is imperfect. You choose to focus on that and make an issue of it; I stand by my interpretation of Foley’s reaction to Susie Ferguson’s utterly stupid question; you may choose to pretend he “chuckles” indulgently. Such cockeyed generosity is not surprising in light of your indulgent view of Trotter’s fustian oratory on behalf of that Florida lynch-mob.
…this time you’d finally got one right. And you still hadn’t.
I got it exactly right. You are the one who claimed that Mr. Foley’s derisive snorts were “entirely imaginary” and then in the very next sentence quibbled about the description of those snorts: “If anything he chuckles.”
2. Trotter didn’t say what you claimed he said,
He said it in the way I showed it. I didn’t get his immortal words down perfectly, but he DID deliver an absurdly self-important lecture to his inferiors (that’s clearly the way he thinks of most people) about the need to “respect” the decision of that Florida jury. If anything, I modified the extreme pomposity of his delivery.
…and not in the context you claimed.
The others on the Panel all expressed disdain and horror at that obscene travesty; Trotter decided he’d deliver a lecture about the need to respect any jury decision, no matter how harebrained or unjust it might appear to be. That was the context; are you trying to suggest something else was going on in that studio? What “context” did we miss?
Again the audio is available to all…
Then you will provide a transcript of the bit that shows Trotter did NOT deliver a windy and self-important caution to his fellow Panelists.
…so I’m not going to play silly games with you.
That’s a bit late, I’m afraid. You are playing silly games, and so far you have not done very well at all. Putting up that word-perfect transcript might help your case.
“need to respect the lynch law”?? FFS do you ever read your own words before you post them? He said nothing of the sort.
Of course Trotter did not use those words. But that’s exactly what he meant.
3. I’m not convinced that you actually go back and listen after you write your impressions. If you did, you’d never be here defending their accuracy like the black knight.
You are correct there, felix.
Oh well spruiked Morrissey !
What wit….. I’ll wager you were the doyen of the debating crowd back in the day.
Oh well spruiked Morrissey!
Thanks, buddy!
What wit…..
THANK you!
http://www.hdwallpapers.in/walls/i_love_you_teddy_bear-wide.jpg
I’ll wager you were the doyen of the debating crowd back in the day.
Oh no, no, no. My idea of debating “back in the day” consisted of pontificating to my long-suffering compañeros in the public bar of the King’s Arms. Still does, pretty much.
Documentary on Helen Clark was on TV3 last night at 9:30, covers her entry into politics, up to winning the 1999 election and becoming the first elected female PM. Has heaps of archive film footage, interviews with Helen, Jim Bolger, Jim Anderton, Roger Douglas and others.
Available on demand here: http://www.tv3.co.nz/DOCUMENTARY-Helen-Clark-Part-1/tabid/3692/articleID/94222/MCat/2955/Default.aspx
There’s a 2nd part that covers her prime ministership next week.
Quite well done, and interesting. The only disturbing part of it came when her dad was proudly listing all the movers and shakers Helen mixes with. “She’s got contacts all over the world,” he beamed. “Um, Blair, Gordon Brown, uh, Clinton. She knows them all.”
The poor old fellow seemed to approve of his daughter being involved with those blood-soaked criminals.
Did they mention Clark’s staunchly marxist ideological beliefs?
Well, yes of course they did, her dads mention of the contacts, Blair/Brown, more than enough!
Yes, how silly it is for the leader of the nation to have contact with the heads of NZ’s major trading partners.
Yes, how silly it is for the leader of the nation to have contact with the heads of NZ’s major trading partners.
They are criminals, every one of them. They should all be in prison. At least Clark, as vacillating as she was, had the courage to speak out, however guardedly, against the crimes of the first two.
Yeah well…….my mother (born 1918 – first job at 13 in a greengrocer’s in Onehunga) used to proudly cluck her lovely Old Labour self to sleep after I’d call “on tolls” from Wellington to relate my often ginned-up late-night progress office to office through the corridors of Parliament commencing early 70s. Mike Moore, Roger Douglas, Bassett et al……….look how those pricks turned out !
That’s parents for you. Completely understandable. Thank Christ it took that woman’s son only a decade and a half to stop being a slimey little Soymin Brudges wankfest !
Ah what refreshing prose, both Morrissey and North together and firing on all cylinders all we need now is erudite Prof Longhair to join the conflagration and one’s life is complete.
Ah what refreshing prose, both Morrissey and North together and firing on all cylinders all we need now is erudite Prof Longhair to join the conflagration and one’s life is complete.
Hmmmmmm…. Just what are you allegitating there, “sockpuppet”?
Nothing more than that this fine site could only benefit from such contributors continuing ….. nay increasing their wondrous commentary.
………. or perhaps …..dare we say it one of them starting their own blog perhaps funded under the fine auspices of daisycutter sports ?
sockpuppet
What about you getting your own blog. Are you a forerunner of RWNJs we are going to ‘enjoy’ in the run up to the election, putting your tainted little toes in a left wing pond to gauge how warm it is. Back home, nearer to hell it’s really warm, you probably would be more comfortable there.
Enjoyed it, although was a bit superficial. Guess it has to cater for a mainstream television audience, no just politicos inside the beltway.
Would love to have heard more dirt about her time in opposition and the issues and events of the day. The older footage was pretty interesting.
Yeah, same. I think it was a product of trying to cram such a long period of time into a single episode.
If the whole series was 4 shows rather than 2, they could devote 2 episodes to the early years, and 2 episodes to her PMship, and that’d be a good amount of depth I think.
Yeah, two hours is far too short for a Prime Minister.
Thought the whole U.N. thing was pretty pointless too.
I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, but I might be able to fill in some of the dirt prior to… and in the first three years of her time in opposition. Lprent can probably fill in the rest. Will watch it this evening. Thanks for link Lanthanide.
John Key’s comments amused me. “She lived and breathed politics 24 hrs a day.” She no more lived and breathed politics 24/7 than he does now.
Jane Clifton’s comment re- the death stare. I was the recipient once when she was still just the candidate for Mt. Albert. At a campaign meeting I decided to play the role of devil’s advocate to see how she would handle it. Never again.
There is a little known aspect to that candidate selection that Helen Clark won. During the long lead up to the selection meeting there were two local factions. One faction supported Helen Clark and another supported the electorate chairman, Keith Elliott. It seemed like the two groups were roughly equal in support. But a third faction appeared about two months before the scheduled meeting and they were pushing for Malcolm Douglas – Roger Douglas’ brother. Malcolm was a young lawyer, personable and articulate. The hope was Helen and Keith would cancel each other out and Malcolm would come through the middle. They conducted a campaign that was largely under the radar and quite dirty in content. (Won’t go into details here.) It could have succeeded if it wasn’t for the fact that Helen made such an outstanding speech on the night, nobody else got a look-in.
Years later most of that third faction ended up in ACT and I don’t think they ever forgave Helen for giving their candidate a thrashing.
Thanks for the link Lanthanide.
I found the doco really interesting, and to be honest, I had kind of hoped that when I opened TS this morning I’d find that one of our wonderful writers had written a review. There were many things that I’d be interested to know others’ views on.
I was also chilled when Clark’s father proudly proclaimed his daughter’s “friendships” with those particular culprits. But it’s worth remembering that family loyalty and paternal pride aside, Clark’s Dad was and is an arch conservative and that list probably represents leaders that he has great respect for, and may not reflect HC’s attitudes. I’d certainly like to think not.
It seemed to me that Anderton was strongly suggesting that Clark was a social dmocrat and that her actual politico/economic views were more aligned to the Alliance policy than to Labour’s.
He WAS an arch conservative just saying. Indeed back in the 1970s he and Helen had many rows which became so heated that Helen’s mother banned all talk of politics. They were estranged for a number of years, but when she became the candidate for Mt.Albert her father swallowed his pride and her parents’ wholly supported her. They eventually joined the Labour Party and became enthusiastic members. That was my understanding anyway.
But I love her accent. Leave Susie alone.
I don’t mind Hillary Clinton’s accent. It’s what she says that horrifies me. Similarly, I don’t mind Susie Ferguson’s accent..
Fair comment, Santi, but please click on the “Reply” button at the bottom right of the comment to which you are replying.
I think it’s a different time of day on Santi’s planet .. maybe the lights haven’t come on yet ?
Mediocrity Watch
No. 2: GAVIN GRAY
“King Charles had his head cut off, but there have never been any problems associated with the name King George. … The couple don’t like conformity.”
London correspondent Gavin Gray, speaking about the naming of George Alex Louis, Prince of Cambridge, NewstalkZB, 7:10 a.m.
Mediocrity Watch aims to keep you informed of—or, to quote the epically mediocre Simon Dallow, to be “right across”—the least professional, most insulting, shoddiest journalism from all over the world, but especially New Zealand. It is produced by DeakerWatch®, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc.
See also….
No. 1 Susie Ferguson: “If, as you say, this has all been done before, why do it all again?”
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-25072013/#comment-667846
Not sure they thought through the initials though .. Prince GAL ? hmmmmmm
(Actually, George Louis Alexander Michael would have been great fun gifting us .. Prince GLAM !!)
YESHE: Not sure they thought through the initials though .. Prince GAL ? hmmmmmm
JIM MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
NOELLE McCARTHY: He he he he he he he!
JOCK ANDERSON: Hrrumph!
YESHE: Actually, George Louis Alexander Michael would have been great fun gifting us .. Prince GLAM !!
JIM MORA: Hur, hur, hur, hur! “Prince Glam.” That’s very good!
GLAW means rain in Welsh. The W is for Wales, which is the surname. Eventually the bubba will be the Prince of Wales.
I realise the initials are GALW and I got distracted by them being changed by yeshe.
For those who’re being driven quietly around the bend by a particularly gross earworm – here’s the antidote: (nsfw)
Ask first
No way to know I want it
No way to know I want it
Unless I say I want it
Ask first
Cause if you grab me
I’ll get nasty
I’ll break your fucking knees
What kind of perverse logic is this?
Brian Fallow: China’s slowdown may be good for NZ
When China slows down, its demand for minerals drops and Australia will suffer. If our two largest trading partners are faring poorly, then it is not going to be good for NZ.
China’s slowdown is bad for our finances but good for our real environment. Its also good for China’s real environment. Less consumption, less energy use, less GHGs.
That’s the paradox we’ve locked ourselves into, in this current system.
Because in a slowing Chinese economy, the Chinese will cut back on building new factories, not on buying their children baby milk. (By slowdown they mean economic growth of 7% rather than 10%)
A slowdown in Australia would be of more concern, however every year they are becoming less and less dependant as China becomes more important.
If we had our economy rationalised it wouldn’t really matter what the economies of our trading partners were doing as they’d only be a minor part of our economy.
Hullo, WINZ getting restructured now? This looks interesting:
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/18140721/claims-winz-to-undergo-staff-restructure/
Yep. I find it amazing that the know that they’ll be dropping 35 workers before they’ve finished the review. This would indicate that the review was nothing but validation for the predetermined loss of jobs.
This will be necessary in response to the reforms.
There will be some WINZ staff who know it is inhumane to place added pressure on jobless people to find work that isn’t out there.
They will need to be culled.
Does anyone know anything about who the contractors are who will receive many thousands of dollars from WINZ for placing ex beneficiaries in work ? So peculiar imho.
Jami-Lee Ross meets his nemesis
David Shearer keelhauls a National backbench head-nodder
Back Benchers, Prime TV, Wednesday 24 July 2013, 10:40 p.m.
Hosted by WALLACE CHAPMAN and DAMIAN CHRISTIE
Politicians: David Shearer (Labour), Jami-Lee Ross (National), Russell Norman (Green).
There was a real energy discernible in tonight’s program, an “Auckland Special” filmed in the Britomart Country Club. I was impressed by the performances of Len Brown, Ngarimu Blair, David Shearer and Russell Norman. I was deeply unimpressed by Jami-Lee Ross and the glib, weaselly Wallace Chapman. And viewers of the program were introduced to an unpleasant new phenomenon, albeit one that will not last: the moronic Moonie-like disciples of right wing restaurant-fixer John Palino.
The program began with a diverting little travelogue of some of Auckland’s lesser-known spots. Hosts Chapman and Christie were entertaining and informative. A little later, Ngarimu Blair wittily upbraided Damian Christie for using only Pākehā names instead of the original Māori names; Christie riposted quite well: “I did say Rangitoto though!”
Mayor Len Brown was relaxed, affable and confident. And, surprisingly and most gratifyingly, so was Labour leader David Shearer. He was at ease and in command throughout the program; in fact he was likable. He did not stammer or forget what he was saying, and he spoke clearly. When he smiled, it was a genuine smile, not the anxious forced rictus grin we have seen too often. Late in the program, he provided the highlight of the evening when he pulled rank and firmly squashed National lightweight Jami-Lee Ross.
Jami-Lee Ross was exactly how he always is: smarmy, nasty, arrogant and bumptious. But worst of all—and this proved to be his undoing—he was disrespectful. Throughout the hour, he referred to Shearer as “this guy”, and to Shearer and Norman as “these guys”. To compound this display of offhand disrespect, every sentence he uttered started with “Look”. I was impressed with the way Shearer handled himself in this difficult situation; not only did he have to deal with Ross’s vexatious and ridiculous comments, but he also had to contend with Chapman’s offensive and partial behavior. While Chapman’s childishness was something he just had to put up with, he did not have to let Ross go unchallenged. Twice during the early part of the program, he effectively refuted Ross’s nasty comments, then at the end he put Ross firmly in his place—right at the bottom of the pecking order.
Russell Norman was urbane and convincing as always, especially considering that he, like Shearer, was constantly being undermined by the rodentine Wallace Chapman. Idiotically, Chapman tried to taunt Norman about being Australian, and about being brought up in Brisbane.
I am increasingly concerned by the behavior of Chapman. I have already commented on his pathetic behavior on TV1’s Good Morning show [1]. Earlier this year he also acted as a guest host for some ostensibly serious discussion on Radio NZ National; due to his antics the program was rendered utterly banal and more or less a waste of time. Tonight, he decided to pander to a sizable coterie of loud, drunken ACT, National and Palino groupies, who occasionally managed to rouse themselves to bellow out moronic right wing slogans, like “Who’s gonna PAY for it?” At one point in the program, Russell Norman was talking about a rational transport policy for Auckland. Suddenly Chapman interrupted him….
WALLACE CHAPMAN: It sounds like a Green Party PIPE DREAM! [mimics smoking a joint]
NATIONAL SUPPORTERS: Ha ha ha ha ha ha! That’s right!
A little later, Chapman again tried to play to those drunken yobbos….
WALLACE CHAPMAN: How many people used public transport to go to work today? [Many hands go up all over the venue] Not very many.
DAMIAN CHRISTIE: Actually it’s about fifty-fifty.
Another thing that many people must have noticed was that Chapman let Jami-Lee Ross talk on and on, often making little sense, without interrupting him. In stark contrast, whenever Russell Norman or David Shearer spoke, Chapman rang a bell to stop him.
Halfway through the evening, Chapman poked his microphone in front of Ngarimu Blair, who announced a new Ngati Whatua-run housing scheme. This was quite a coup for the program; Mayor Brown seemed ecstatic about it, and so did the audience. (The ACT-National-Palino morons were silent—they had nothing to contribute, not even the normal vacuous snickering that they indulged in for the rest of the time.)
After that major piece of excitement, the intellectual and moral tone of the evening took a precipitous dive: Chapman interviewed a Palino supporter. The young man had amassed over $100,000 in savings; this pointless piece of information was apparently supposed to impress us. It certainly impressed Wallace Chapman, who might have been interviewing a Nobel Prize winner rather than a complacent rich kid who is dumb enough to think John Palino knows anything more than how to organize the interior decoration and menu for a small cafeteria.
After that, it’s back to the politicians. Jami-Lee Ross makes a swingeing personal attack on Shearer, who is about to thrash him for a third time when Chapman cuts him off. See, he has a really important issue to go onto….
WALLACE CHAPMAN: What we want to know is this: Are Aucklanders just JAFAs?
For the next five excruciating minutes, we see video of Chapman approaching people on Auckland streets and asking them: “Are Aucklanders wankers?” He goes up to a couple of young girls and asks, “Are Aucklanders UP THEMSELVES?” This terrible, witless segment seems to go on forever, but eventually, mercifully, it is time for the Quiz. This is won by David Shearer, but what it will be remembered for is the way he dispatched Jami-Lee Ross to the boundary straight after it….
WALLACE CHAPMAN: And the winner of the Back Benchers Quiz is DAVID SHEARER!
….[Good natured applause from the crowd, including the drunken ACT-NAtional-palino contingent]….
JAMI-LEE ROSS: One competition he’s won.
….[Silence, and a slight pause]….
DAVID SHEARER: This guy is sad. You’ve been sitting next to Chris Finlayson way too long, I think.
The laughter is probably ringing in poor Jami-Lee Ross’s ears even now.
[1] http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-08062013/#comment-645516
The whole program is unwatchable stuff, bollocks.
The whole program is unwatchable stuff, bollocks.
It is, largely, I agree. But the sight of David Shearer hanging, drawing and quartering that snide National moron last night made for great television.
”If people on benefits want to access Working for Families payments they should get a job”, those words the reason i couldn’t watch the ‘Helen years’ on the TV,
Those words which after years of being a staunch Labour supporter through even the abuses of Sir(spit)Roger Douglas inflicted upon us all lead to my abandonment of that party,
On a lighter note tho i did have a watch of ‘Backbenchers Auckland edition’ featuring leaders Dave Shearer, Russell Norman and what’s best described as a ‘nasty piece of work’ National’s Jamie Lee Ross who spent the entire time of the show making snide comments to both Shearer and Norman out of the side of His mouth like some b grade movie actor in a cheap American gangsta flick,
Any public bar that i have ever mis-spent too many hours in subjected to such snivelling, snide, vindictive drivel, Ross would have ended the night prone on the floor attempting to extract the silver spoon from a badly broken jaw,
Shearer tho was almost eloquent to the point where i imagined another 6 or 8 half-pints of the brown stuff would have had the bloke waxing positively lyrical, His last bit tho, a barracking Parliamentary style shouting of support for the way under-payed cleaning staff of the nation came across as forced, shouting at the TV camera just not a good look,
Russell Norman looked like he wanted to be somewhere else, anywhere else except that close to National’s Ross and i am sure had the show gone on for any longer we all might have been privy to an exhibition of Russell tossing up His dinner,
During the ad breaks i did a runner over to Maori TV’s Native affairs, missed earlier in the week, and got treated to a piece of theater which knowing the ‘actors’ was a great joy to behold,
Native Affairs was doing a piece on Wellington’s efforts to curb begging in the City, and although i didn’t catch all of this piece appeared to be in the vein of ‘woe are these poor homeless people’,
This little comic narrative unfolded into ‘the homeless couple’ being interviewed, first Her, in words barely intelligent to the average human babbling on about nothing in particular, (believe me you fully understand Her when She is after a cigarette, and the abuse that follows should you ignore Her),
Then Him, babbling away about some long ago day, then a quick switch along with some crocodile tears that wouldn’t quite flow barely able to tell the camera about His war service,(well not quite His, i know who’s war service He was borrowing for the event),
Yeah i know these two well, He begs along Courtney Place, ”please sir have you got a dollar”, an 1800’s London street urchin could not have mustered a better tone of forlorn supplication,
Meanwhile She is sitting in the pokies bar attached to a well known strip club and brothel owned by a pair of brothers known nation-wide, feeding the machine, when He arrives back having done a circuit of Courtney Place ”please sir have you got a dollar”, She gets a break for a ciggy while He baby sits that nights pokie machine of choice,
LOLZ, this little show goes on all night, most nights and when these two destitute beggars finish the night they catch a taxi home,
Maori television tho have scored a coup in discovering these two, they would make an excellent unscripted comedy routine, give them 30 minutes and tell them the topic and i reckon they would have audiences in fits of laughter, a huge waste of talent ‘begging’ on Wellington’s streets….
Wonder how the defence force heads will react in private to Abbott’s proposal.
http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/07/25/military-reshuffle-abbotts-operation-sovereign-borders/
Simon B. challenges
RedGreenpeacehttp://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/18143002/oil-company-didnt-ask-for-law-changes/
NZ Prime Minister facing prosecution for spying
Haven’t seen it anywhere else yet but it’s going to be interesting if true.
The guy pursuing Key is an obnoxious litigant whose chances are nil. Just a person seeking publicity for no other reason than enjoying his name out there.
After losing I hope he is asked to pay costs. That would teach him.
Interestingly enough, while he might be a jerk McCready can boast one or two successes in this area. About as good a score against MPs as the police prosecutor, anyway.
And it does seem that an illegal interception did indeed take place.
So really, it comes down to whether Key as minister was responsible for the actions of his department.
Sounds like a top bloke to me, Slippery IS the minister in charge of our spy agencies and ‘accountability and responsibility’ would strongly suggest as the Minister in Charge it is the Prime Minister who must carry the can for His agents illegal spying upon New Zealand citizens…
Try reading Judge Mills in the Wellington District Court judgement giving the go ahead to prosecute John Banks.
It is not the character of the person making the allegation but the quality of the allegation itself. Fancy legal way of saying play the ball and not the man.
Please Santi do try to understand the difference.
Actually he’s starting to look like not such a bad bloke.
Isn’t that the fucking nutty fraudster accountant who sued Mallard and is suing Banks?
He really needs a hobby.
Yeah – and won against mallard (or at least got a reduced plea, rather than being out on his ear and declared vexatious).
Yes it is and it seems that he’s got one – holding our corrupt politicians to account.
More like a full time job than a hobby.
I wish him luck. I hope I can find some way to contribute. In a worthwhile democracy, the Police would be prosecuting Key for this.
Round one to Mann.
http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/07/michael-mann-defamation-national-review-cei
Praise the Lord. There must be a God after all.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/8963054/Destiny-charter-school-bid-rejected
according to a reid research poll when asked ‘who do you trust, john key or kim dotcom’ 52% believed kim dotcom & 34% believed john key, & bear in mind this same poll has national on 47% !!! on tv3 news…
I am at the Auckland anti GCSB and the Mt Albert hall is packed. There must be 600 people here and the crowd is spilling out into the foyer. The sense of anger is palpable. Thomas Beagle has put the case very well. If the Government wants to take away our rights it should justify this and it has not done this.
I saw this in an email. Does the Benefit woman know about anything to do with the real world?
Hon. Paula Bennetts statements that ‘feminism is out of fashion’ and ‘out of step with modern times’ are not true, except for a certain class.
Well this is a stunning article. Shelley Bridgeman writing about how she was caught short at the supermarket and had to choose between the hummus and the filled pasta, so now she has an insight into how the other 99.5% live.