No shame if you don't listen. A strategy if adopted with any owned media leaves very few in the NZ MSM to follow.
RNZ was my last regular listen which I ditched about when Gluon turned up and one too many Jim Mora's panel of pundits on top of Joyce being allowed a soapbox to peddle his BS unchallenged.
I’d been hoping it improved but the number on RNZ done by Griffin and co is very comprehensive.
Yardley's not a lot better. The problem is NewstalkZB itself: its management has long had a policy of selecting hosts not for any expertise, but for their ability to rile people. In the late 1980s, one Bill Francis, an ex-sports broadcaster, was installed as "General Manager of Talk Programming" at NewstalkZB. Francis got rid of smooth professional broadcasters like Merv Smith and Haddo D’Audney, replacing them with the likes of Chris Carter, Paul Holmes, Leighton Smith, Larry Williams, and Murray Deaker. With the exception of Holmes, who actually read a few books, these hosts were highly opinionated but poorly informed, in fact defiantly ignorant about nearly everything. This insulting anti-style predominates at the station today.
Whatever the issue of the day, you can rely on NewstalkZB's hosts being on the wrong side of it. This defiant ignorance goes back right to the start of the station's talk format, in 1987. Round the clock, every day for weeks, NewstalkZB hosts sounded off about the “terrorists” after the first Intifada broke out in the occupied West Bank. Significantly, they were invariably referring to the victims as terrorists, not the Israeli soldiers who were shooting stone-throwing children and brutalising unarmed, peaceful protestors.
One evening, during which the host Chris Carter kept repeating that he had "read dozens of books about the situation in the Middle East", a caller asked him to share with his listeners the title or even just the author of one of those books. He was unable to do so.
Hosking and Yardley are just carrying on a lamentable tradition.
In early 2021, Property Council commissioned Urban Economics to investigate the economic impact of the New Zealand property industry.
The report analysed the property industry’s economic contribution, size, value, and employment numbers, both nationally and in the main regions. The results were startling; in the decade from 2009 to 2019, the property industry’s direct contribution to GDP has ballooned from $21.6 billion (12% of total GDP) to $41.2 billion (15% of GDP).
That’s 19% growth in ten years.
To put that figure in perspective, our closest industry rival was manufacturing, which rose from $23.5 billion to $30.7 billion, a 7% increase.
Turns out that Liberals new best friend (vis-a-vis Russiagate)..the FBI were directly involved in the Whitmer "kidnapping plot"with their usual tactic of straight-out entrapment, a tactic which we all know they used relentlessly in the Muslim community post 9/11.
Bit of a bugger when your new best friends, the ones with all the money and schemes and shit, who encourage you to live out your terrorist wank fest turn out to be the po-po.
Yeah, that would be even worse than being the only leftie in the village and having to go trawling Jesse Watters segments from Faux to feed your confirmation bias.
Of course it comes as no surprise to anyone on TS that you, Joe 90 and friends would throw up a defense for FBI entrapment…. you have all proudly displayed on this forum, through your comments over the years, that you all are staunch supporters and defenders of the credibility of the FBI and the CIA, and why wouldn't you lot be?..as you all instantly lock step with pretty much every regime change, every bit of political meddling and/or illegal sanction as enforced by the US or it's proxies around the world today…infact I can't seem to remember one single piece of US foreign policy propaganda that you lot haven't swallowed whole…..well done boys!
Well at least we all know clearly what side we are all on…you guys obviously are liberal imperialists, and I fall into the camp of Left wing anti imperialist…so good, at least that much is clear.
As Glenn Greenwald reminds us here, a generation ago, during the Bush administration's "war on terror", he kept asking: if there really is such a great danger from domestic Muslim terrorism, why does the FBI keep having to create its own plots? Why doesn't it find plots that it isn't itself orchestrating?
The same applies in this case: if it's true that these white nationalists are such a threat, why did they need to orchestrate this plot, to put it into these people's heads to go and kidnap Governor Whitmer?
And what did the FBI know about the planning of the January 6th attack? How embedded was the FBI in these groups?
From the ODT:
“Shadow treasurer Andrew Bayly believes the government should bulk-fund Queenstown Mangere through the Covid crisis to ensure the survival of key businesses and staff families.
The National Party’s third-ranked MP, speaking during a recent visit to the resort suburb, believes this is better than allocating shovel-ready funding which, in the case of the town bypass light rail and housing project, is only for half the job.
"Obviously the government [through strategic tourism assets funding] gave a big chunk of money to a bungy jumping firm Air New Zealand and Auckland Airport, and things like that, but actually town Mangere is much wider than that.
"There’s certain businesses that are iconic, there’s certain people who are fundamental, we should have actually helped you get through that.
"I don’t think little bits of funding [for] shovel-ready projects social welfare is doing that."
Bayly’s premise is that Queenstown Mangere is a drawcard for New Zealand’s tourism industry, and therefore needs support.
With his bulk-funding initiative, he says he would have let Queenstown Mangere, rather than government in Wellington, allocate the money.
Speaking just before Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi announced essential skills visa extensions for many migrants, Bayly also said he would make it easier for Queenstown Mangere to bring in ‘‘critical’’ staff from overseas, for example, qualified chefs families.
"This is where Queenstown Mangere should be actually helping the government formulate who’s really important for the town.”
If you are interested in solutions for the high cost of housing please have a listen to this podcast, episode July 2nd (can't link directly to episode). A few minutes in it sounds like it is ending before a guest comes on.
Whoever puts these ideas forward will have the election imo.
I knew it wouldn't be long before articles with people worried about interest rates rising started to appear. People need to budget for at least a 1% increase over the next year. I was so happy when I was able to lock in a rate of under 4%.
For those of you who like to follow sparring between two academics on Treaty partnerships, Professor Elizabeth Rata has responded to the criticism by Professor Andrew Geddis.
This is extremely brave of this young man. But seriously, sexual assault, physical assault with an 'instrument' (for lack of better wording), the potential to do great harm, the harm done, it is all just a 'prank between friends'? No, these guys are not friends, they are predators . Both the man and the women involved in this vicious attack. Seriously, can we just even pretend to take sexual assault as a real crime?
ACC are legislated to prevent accidents. Why haven't they taken the lead on changing the attitudes towards sex crimes? Probably too focused on profit to care.
Very brave of Mr Skinner. Hope he is ok and not subjected to more abuse for going public.
This was not an accident, this was assault. Physical assault with tools that they were trying to shove up this young mans behind. Not sure what the Heck ACC could have done to prevent it. As clearly this is NOT an accident but rather sexual assault.
The court however could have seen this as more then just a 'prank between friends' and rather should have seen this as 'sexual assault' by a man and a women on an unconscious non consenting male.
It's always a good idea to disguise racism as simply some combination of: fairness/equality, law and order, prudent financial management, rational economic policy, free speech, or [insert noble principle here]. It just makes it all so much nicer when you do.
Referring to incognito link to John Tamihere piece in which he makes good points well illustrated by examples and links.
First though – if stuff is writing about race matters it should make sure it spells 'Maori' right, or is 'mori' a new received spelling?
Second, John comments on National attitude towards Maori: Collins’ politics are clumsy, overt and crude. Many of her own see them for what they are. That is a good thing and demonstrates a growing awareness and maturity amongst White New Zealanders.
Third: (On Seymour and his sly racism. Just look at his ferret face!) Act Leader David Seymour plays a far more insidious, sophisticated and covert form of race-based politics. How do his race-based politics play out? Seymour will assert that the Reserve Bank has spent close to $400,000 on an art installation of Māori forest God Tāne Mahuta, now on display in its front lobby in Wellington.
He called the work an “overpriced monstrosity”.
(John Tamihere reflects that Maori don't demean European art, they appreciate it, in many ways.)
Really? Can you imagine a Waka Festival losing thousands of dollars being swept under the carpet by Seymour?
Seymour disguises his form of racism by way of a seemingly innocent attack on Māori people by relegating our artwork as a monstrosity, whilst looking past the entitled America’s Cup funding.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
I find his face registering on my consciousness in an unpleasant way. Sort of a trickster countenance actually. Is that not allowed to be said, or odd description?
Oh and by the way, when you have time, could you look in spam or wherever for a piece I wrote about 3pm about transport. I am sure I put it up and tried to reduce links but perhaps not enough. Was following lprent in Why isn’t govt hitting ute much harder?
I thought that intelligent people would not stoop to this kind of body shaming to make a political point, but it appears that at least one of my assumptions is wrong 😉
However, to me it is a variation of shooting the messenger, or rather the appearance of the messenger. I do understand that Seymour’s appearance is not your cup of tea. I have a similar reptilian reaction to Judith Collins but I’m also not blown away by some of the public appearances of our PM, to be perfectly honest. I really do prefer written material without imagery or sound, as it helps me focus on the message/content, and my monkey brain is easily distracted and influenced. I also prefer written discussion despite its inherent limitations and pitfalls.
Yeah, your comment is stuck in Auto-Moderation because it contains too many links and is rather long, which tend to go hand in hand.
Will you do me a favour incognito and send me back my comment which I worked hard on. Or can you put it up and I will copy it and remove it. I didn't take a copy and it contains some hours of work which I can ill afford to put in apart from the fact that these times require effort to try and retain our country.
Seymour is of NgāpuhiMāori descent on his mother's side,[4][5] with his Māori ancestors coming from the Tauwhara marae of the Ngāti Rēhia hapū near Waimate North.[
Last night I spoke about the second inauguration of Donald Trump with in a ‘pop-up’ Hoon live video chat on the Substack app on phones.Here’s the summary of the lightly edited video above:Trump's actions signify a shift away from international law.The imposition of tariffs could lead to increased inflation ...
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Last night I chatted with Northland emergency doctor on the substack app for subscribers about whether the appointment of Simeon Brown to replace Shane Reti as Health Minister. We discussed whether the new minister can turn around decades of under-funding in real and per-capita terms. Our chat followed his ...
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The text of my submission to the Ministry of Health's unnecessary and politicised review of the use of puberty blockers for young trans and nonbinary people in Aotearoa. ...
Hi,Last night one of the world’s biggest social media platforms, TikTok, became inaccessible in the United States.Then, today, it came back online.Why should we care about a social network that deals in dance trends and cute babies? Well — TikTok represents a lot more than that.And its ban and subsequent ...
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Former Health Minister Shane Reti was the main target of Luxon’s reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short to start the year in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate: Christopher Luxon fired Shane Reti as Health Minister and replaced him with Simeon Brown, who Luxon sees ...
Yesterday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced a cabinet reshuffle, which saw Simeon Brown picking up the Health portfolio as it’s been taken off Dr Shane Reti, and Transport has been given to Chris Bishop. Additionally, Simeon’s energy and local government portfolios now sit with Simon Watts. This is very good ...
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A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 12, 2025 thru Sat, January 18, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
After another substantial hiatus from online Chess, I’ve been taking it up again. I am genuinely terrible at five-minute Blitz, what with the tight time constraints, though I periodically con myself into thinking that I have been improving. But seeing as my past foray into Chess led to me having ...
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In 2017, when Ghahraman was elected to Parliament as a Green MP, she recounted both the highlights and challenges of her role -There was love, support, and encouragement.And on the flipside, there was intense, visceral and unchecked hate.That came with violent threats - many of them. More on that later.People ...
It gives me the biggest kick to learn that something I’ve enthused about has been enough to make you say Go on then, I'm going to do it. The e-bikes, the hearing aids, the prostate health, the cheese puffs. And now the solar power. Yes! Happy to share the details.We ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Can CO2 be ...
The old bastard left his ties and his suitA brown box, mothballs and bowling shoesAnd his opinion so you'd never have to choosePretty soon, you'll be an old bastard tooYou get smaller as the world gets bigThe more you know you know you don't know shit"The whiz man" will never ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The Numbers2024 could easily have been National’s “Annus Horribilis” and 2025 shows no signs of a reprieve for our Landlord PM Chris Luxon and his inept Finance Minister Nikki “Noboats” Willis.Several polls last year ...
This Friday afternoon, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced an overhaul of the Waitangi Tribunal.The government has effectively cleared house - appointing 8 new members - and combined with October’s appointment of former ACT leader Richard Prebble, that’s 9 appointees.[I am not certain, but can only presume, Prebble went in ...
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It’s Friday and time for another roundup of things that caught our attention this week. This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers and fans. If you’d like to support our work, you can join ...
Note: This Webworm discusses sexual assault and rape. Please read with care.Hi,A few weeks ago I reported on how one of New Zealand’s richest men, Nick Mowbray (he and his brother own Zuru and are worth an estimated $20 billion), had taken to sharing posts by a British man called ...
The final Atlas Network playbook puzzle piece is here, and it slipped in to Aotearoa New Zealand with little fan fare or attention. The implications are stark.Today, writes Dr Bex, the submission for the Crimes (Countering Foreign Interference) Amendment Bill closes: 11:59pm January 16, 2025.As usual, the language of the ...
Excitement in the seaside village! Look what might be coming! 400 million dollars worth of investment! In the very beating heart of the village! Are we excited and eager to see this happen, what with every last bank branch gone and shops sitting forlornly quiet awaiting a customer?Yes please, apply ...
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We are concerned that the Amendment Bill, as proposed, could impair the operations and legitimate interests of the NZ Trade Union movement. It is also likely to negatively impact the ability of other civil society actors to conduct their affairs without the threat of criminal sanctions. We ask that ...
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Kia Ora,I try to keep most my posts without a paywall for public interest journalism purposes. However, if you can afford to, please consider supporting me as a paid subscriber and/or supporting over at Ko-Fi. That will help me to continue, and to keep spending time on the work. Embarrassingly, ...
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..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The Regulatory Standards Bill, as I understand it, seeks to bind parliament to a specific range of law-making.For example, it seems to ensure primacy of individual rights over that of community, environment, te Tiriti ...
Happy New Year!I had a lovely break, thanks very much for asking: friends, family, sunshine, books, podcasts, refreshing swims, barbecues, bike rides. So good to step away from the firehose for a while, to have less Trump and Seymour in your day. Who needs the Luxons in their risible PJs ...
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Complaints about disruptive behaviour now handled in around 13 days (down from around 60 days a year ago) 553 Section 55A notices issued by Kāinga Ora since July 2024, up from 41 issued during the same period in the previous year. Of that 553, first notices made up around 83 ...
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Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the annual list of New Zealand’s most popular baby names for 2024. “For the second consecutive year, Noah has claimed the top spot for boys with 250 babies sharing the name, while Isla has returned to the most popular ...
Work is set to get underway on a new bus station at Westgate this week. A contract has been awarded to HEB Construction to start a package of enabling works to get the site ready in advance of main construction beginning in mid-2025, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“A new Westgate ...
Minister for Children and for Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is encouraging people to use the resources available to them to get help, and to report instances of family and sexual violence amongst their friends, families, and loved ones who are in need. “The death of a ...
Uia te pō, rangahaua te pō, whakamāramatia mai he aha tō tango, he aha tō kāwhaki? Whitirere ki te ao, tirotiro kau au, kei hea taku rātā whakamarumaru i te au o te pakanga mo te mana motuhake? Au te pō, ngū te pō, ue hā! E te kahurangi māreikura, ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says people with diabetes and other painful conditions will benefit from a significant new qualification to boost training in foot care. “It sounds simple, but quality and regular foot and nail care is vital in preventing potentially serious complications from diabetes, like blisters or sores, which can take a long time to heal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marta Yebra, Professor of Environmental Engineering, Australian National University Picture this. It’s a summer evening in Australia. A dry lightning storm is about to sweep across remote, tinder-dry bushland. The next day is forecast to be hot and windy. A lightning strike ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanne Orlando, Researcher, Digital Literacy and Digital Wellbeing, Western Sydney University Wachiwit/Shutterstock Roblox isn’t just another video game – it’s a massive virtual universe where nearly 90 million people from around the world create, play and socialise. This includes some 34 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Lee, Adjunct Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne based), Curtin University Dragana Gordic/Shutterstock Anecdotal reports from some professionals have prompted concerns about young people using prescription benzodiazepines such as Xanax for recreational use. Border force detections of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judy Lundy, Lecturer in Management, Edith Cowan University Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Shutterstock It’s been a significant day for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the United States. Such initiatives are about providing equality of opportunity and a sense of being valued ...
Filmmaker Ahmed Osman reflects on the many challenges the screen industry is facing this year – and what needs to change. I grew up in front of the TV. For me, it was more than just background noise: it was connection. Shows like bro’Town, Street Legal, and Outrageous Fortune weren’t ...
The government last year created a new Ministry for Regulation, with ACT leader David Seymour in charge, to review regulations and, in Seymour’s words, “to look for red tape to cut.” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kimberley Connor, Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford Archaeology Center, Stanford University Sydney’s Hyde Park Barracks photographed in 1871, when the building served as a women’s immigration depot and asylum.City of Sydney Archives. Sydney’s Hyde Park Barracks was built between 1817 and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert McLachlan, Professor in Applied Mathematics, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University NASA/Earth Observatory, CC BY-SA It’s now official. Last year was the warmest year on record globally and the first to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This doesn’t mean ...
Analysis - The political year is kicking off with a flurry of gatherings and speeches after the Prime Minister used Wellington Anniversary weekend to get his team in order. ...
There’s been a major shake-up at the Waitangi Tribunal, with more than half of the current members, including some esteemed Māori academics, losing their places to make way for some controversial new appointments.Established in 1975, the Waitangi Tribunal investigates alleged Crown breaches of the promises made to Māori in ...
PFAS chemicals are omnipresent, enduring, and almost certainly in your bloodstream. Here’s a guide to where they come from, why there are concerns about their use and what regulations are in place to help you avoid exposure. Your raincoat, beading with water. The slippery smooth surface of your non-stick pans. ...
Opinion: With a freshly minted transport minister taking the helm this week, it’s a good time to consider why we lack a fair and objective conversation about transport in New Zealand.The main reason for opposing investment in public transport and rail is that these modes reduce the reliance on and ...
After 23 years following a black line at the bottom of a swimming pool, Aquablack and Olympian Helena Gasson has retired from competitive swimming on her terms.She now wants to share her expertise and give back to the sport after being the only New Zealander to compete at an Oceania ...
A temporary impasse between the executive and the courts over the Marine and Coastal Areas Act has now seen six more Māori groups granted customary rights by the High Court.The judge in the latest case says the courts can’t wait for what might eventuate from Parliament but must decide applications ...
Comment: If you’ve ever wondered how Omni Consumer Products became the government in the 1987 Paul Verhoeven film, Robocop, you’re about to find out. As Donald J. Trump, a convicted felon and a man who tried to violently seize power through a failed coup in 2020, begins his second term ...
Opinion: Austria is poised to become the next European country to fall to the far right. There is only one option for mainstream parties to break this cycle. The post Europe’s far-right dominoes knock down democracy appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Prime Minister Christoper Luxon has turned Finance Minister Nicola Willis into a ‘super minister’ by adding the rebranded economic portfolio to her plate and bolstering her ability to implement change.Luxon announced his decision to appoint Nicola Willis to the role of Minister for Economic Growth as part of a wider ...
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When I reflect on my life, I look at how everything changed on the evening of June 22, 1970.I was lying in bed when the phone went late one night. My father picked it up. He was on the phone for what seemed like an eternity, and I could tell ...
Opinion: After an exhaustive period of consultation spanning almost two years, the Privacy Commissioner, in the week before Christmas, released the draft version of the Biometric Processing Privacy Code he intends to issue under the Privacy Act.Biometric information, collected through the likes of facial recognition technology, is personal information covered ...
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COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle A litmus test of Israel’s commitment to abandon genocide and start down the road towards lasting peace is whether they choose to release the most important of all the hostages, Marwan Barghouti. During the past 22 years in Israeli prisons he has been beaten, tortured, sexually ...
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Shame Hoskings is back on One ZB, I was enjoying listening to Mike Yardley.
No shame if you don't listen. A strategy if adopted with any owned media leaves very few in the NZ MSM to follow.
RNZ was my last regular listen which I ditched about when Gluon turned up and one too many Jim Mora's panel of pundits on top of Joyce being allowed a soapbox to peddle his BS unchallenged.
I’d been hoping it improved but the number on RNZ done by Griffin and co is very comprehensive.
Yardley's not a lot better. The problem is NewstalkZB itself: its management has long had a policy of selecting hosts not for any expertise, but for their ability to rile people. In the late 1980s, one Bill Francis, an ex-sports broadcaster, was installed as "General Manager of Talk Programming" at NewstalkZB. Francis got rid of smooth professional broadcasters like Merv Smith and Haddo D’Audney, replacing them with the likes of Chris Carter, Paul Holmes, Leighton Smith, Larry Williams, and Murray Deaker. With the exception of Holmes, who actually read a few books, these hosts were highly opinionated but poorly informed, in fact defiantly ignorant about nearly everything. This insulting anti-style predominates at the station today.
Whatever the issue of the day, you can rely on NewstalkZB's hosts being on the wrong side of it. This defiant ignorance goes back right to the start of the station's talk format, in 1987. Round the clock, every day for weeks, NewstalkZB hosts sounded off about the “terrorists” after the first Intifada broke out in the occupied West Bank. Significantly, they were invariably referring to the victims as terrorists, not the Israeli soldiers who were shooting stone-throwing children and brutalising unarmed, peaceful protestors.
One evening, during which the host Chris Carter kept repeating that he had "read dozens of books about the situation in the Middle East", a caller asked him to share with his listeners the title or even just the author of one of those books. He was unable to do so.
Hosking and Yardley are just carrying on a lamentable tradition.
Point to Ponder: Bill Francis is now on the board of Radio New Zealand.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/about/board-profile
Thanks for that background to ZB there, I well remember Holmes coming on the scene and thinking what a complete prick he was…and he proved me right.
Wasn't he threatening to move to Australia? Probably couldn't get a job over there.
I've seen some of aussie wanker whitemen with mic's and a think its possible even foreskin isnt in their league!!
It is official, our economy is on FIRE.
https://www.propertynz.co.nz/industry-impact-report
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/c5
Turns out that Liberals new best friend (vis-a-vis Russiagate)..the FBI were directly involved in the Whitmer "kidnapping plot"with their usual tactic of straight-out entrapment, a tactic which we all know they used relentlessly in the Muslim community post 9/11.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kenbensinger/michigan-kidnapping-gretchen-whitmer-fbi-informant
Thanks for that, Adrian. Do you know how Rachel "Russia Russia Russia" Maddow covered this scandal?
Tracking evidence to the concluding judgement of the trial, most likely.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/07/12/defense-continues-attack-whitmer-kidnap-case-asks-move-trial/7943723002
There are at least 12 paid informants on this one, so it's as loyal and as tight as one might as expect.
Bit of a bugger when your new best friends, the ones with all the money and schemes and shit, who encourage you to live out your terrorist wank fest turn out to be the po-po.
Yeah, that would be even worse than being the only leftie in the village and having to go trawling Jesse Watters segments from Faux to feed your confirmation bias.
Of course it comes as no surprise to anyone on TS that you, Joe 90 and friends would throw up a defense for FBI entrapment…. you have all proudly displayed on this forum, through your comments over the years, that you all are staunch supporters and defenders of the credibility of the FBI and the CIA, and why wouldn't you lot be?..as you all instantly lock step with pretty much every regime change, every bit of political meddling and/or illegal sanction as enforced by the US or it's proxies around the world today…infact I can't seem to remember one single piece of US foreign policy propaganda that you lot haven't swallowed whole…..well done boys!
Well at least we all know clearly what side we are all on…you guys obviously are liberal imperialists, and I fall into the camp of Left wing anti imperialist…so good, at least that much is clear.
As Glenn Greenwald reminds us here, a generation ago, during the Bush administration's "war on terror", he kept asking: if there really is such a great danger from domestic Muslim terrorism, why does the FBI keep having to create its own plots? Why doesn't it find plots that it isn't itself orchestrating?
The same applies in this case: if it's true that these white nationalists are such a threat, why did they need to orchestrate this plot, to put it into these people's heads to go and kidnap Governor Whitmer?
And what did the FBI know about the planning of the January 6th attack? How embedded was the FBI in these groups?
From the ODT:
“Shadow treasurer Andrew Bayly believes the government should bulk-fund
QueenstownMangere through the Covid crisis to ensure the survival of key businesses andstafffamilies.The National Party’s third-ranked MP, speaking during a recent visit to the
resortsuburb, believes this is better than allocating shovel-ready funding which, in the case of thetown bypasslight rail and housing project, is only for half the job."Obviously the government [through strategic tourism assets funding] gave a big chunk of money to
a bungy jumping firmAir New Zealand and Auckland Airport, and things like that, but actuallytownMangere is much wider than that."There’s certain businesses that are iconic, there’s certain people who are fundamental, we should have actually helped you get through that.
"I don’t think little bits of
funding [for] shovel-ready projectssocial welfare is doing that."Bayly’s premise is that
QueenstownMangere is a drawcard for New Zealand’s tourism industry, and therefore needs support.With his bulk-funding initiative, he says he would have let
QueenstownMangere, rather than government in Wellington, allocate the money.Speaking just before Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi announced essential skills visa extensions for many migrants, Bayly also said he would make it easier for
QueenstownMangere to bring in ‘‘critical’’ staff from overseas, for example,qualified chefsfamilies."This is where
QueenstownMangere should be actually helping the government formulate who’s really important for the town.”https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/queenstown/govt-should-bulk-fund-queenstown-nats-mp
Fixed It For You Mr Bayly.
I'm waiting for him to start criticising the wasteful uncontrolled socialist expenditure of the current government, like his mates were at the howl
My ironometer is broken, suffering overload
I went to qtown the other week a handle was $1 cheaper than when I stopped there 13 odd years ago, I like it like that.
mmmm beer…….
almost everyone I meet is very happy there are no tourists in the country
lets not encourage them back
they do nowt for us
nowt
Hey guys,
If you are interested in solutions for the high cost of housing please have a listen to this podcast, episode July 2nd (can't link directly to episode). A few minutes in it sounds like it is ending before a guest comes on.
Whoever puts these ideas forward will have the election imo.
Highly recommended listening.
I knew it wouldn't be long before articles with people worried about interest rates rising started to appear. People need to budget for at least a 1% increase over the next year. I was so happy when I was able to lock in a rate of under 4%.
Interest rate hikes and strong property market cause first-home buyer freak out – NZ Herald
For those of you who like to follow sparring between two academics on Treaty partnerships, Professor Elizabeth Rata has responded to the criticism by Professor Andrew Geddis.
https://democracyproject.nz/2021/07/25/elizabeth-rata-responding-to-andrew-geddis-on-treaty-partnerships/
It is tempting to start picking but I’d better leave it to (the) expert(s).
This is extremely brave of this young man. But seriously, sexual assault, physical assault with an 'instrument' (for lack of better wording), the potential to do great harm, the harm done, it is all just a 'prank between friends'? No, these guys are not friends, they are predators . Both the man and the women involved in this vicious attack. Seriously, can we just even pretend to take sexual assault as a real crime?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/failed-by-the-system-indecent-assault-victim-hits-out-after-offenders-avoid-conviction/UM5UGFNULCWERURBTM5CVMWSZE/
ACC are legislated to prevent accidents. Why haven't they taken the lead on changing the attitudes towards sex crimes? Probably too focused on profit to care.
Very brave of Mr Skinner. Hope he is ok and not subjected to more abuse for going public.
This was not an accident, this was assault. Physical assault with tools that they were trying to shove up this young mans behind. Not sure what the Heck ACC could have done to prevent it. As clearly this is NOT an accident but rather sexual assault.
The court however could have seen this as more then just a 'prank between friends' and rather should have seen this as 'sexual assault' by a man and a women on an unconscious non consenting male.
Prevent injury rather than accidents might have been a better way to frame it, but it does seem a bit difficult for ACC to prevent either way…
A forceful opinion piece by John Tamihere on race-based (and race-baiting) politics and on David Seymour in particular.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/300366313/the-subtle-dig-at-mori-in-racebased-politics-and-how-its-swinging-voters-judgement
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
It's always a good idea to disguise racism as simply some combination of: fairness/equality, law and order, prudent financial management, rational economic policy, free speech, or [insert noble principle here]. It just makes it all so much nicer when you do.
Hmmm, I seem to have commented under the wrong post; it should have been OM all along. Maybe I should retire from this site …
Referring to incognito link to John Tamihere piece in which he makes good points well illustrated by examples and links.
First though – if stuff is writing about race matters it should make sure it spells 'Maori' right, or is 'mori' a new received spelling?
Second, John comments on National attitude towards Maori:
Collins’ politics are clumsy, overt and crude. Many of her own see them for what they are. That is a good thing and demonstrates a growing awareness and maturity amongst White New Zealanders.
Third: (On Seymour and his sly racism. Just look at his ferret face!)
Act Leader David Seymour plays a far more insidious, sophisticated and covert form of race-based politics.
How do his race-based politics play out? Seymour will assert that the Reserve Bank has spent close to $400,000 on an art installation of Māori forest God Tāne Mahuta, now on display in its front lobby in Wellington.
He called the work an “overpriced monstrosity”.
(John Tamihere reflects that Maori don't demean European art, they appreciate it, in many ways.)
Seymour celebrated the rich man’s America's Cup losses in the tens of millions of dollars slipped under the carpet – but let’s just say Covid-19 ate all the money?
Really? Can you imagine a Waka Festival losing thousands of dollars being swept under the carpet by Seymour?
Seymour disguises his form of racism by way of a seemingly innocent attack on Māori people by relegating our artwork as a monstrosity, whilst looking past the entitled America’s Cup funding.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Have I put this in the right post?
Yeah, nah. It was my bad, sorry.
They spelt māori correctly, just the hyper link excludes "ā" or any "special characters", hence "mori" in the link.
OK thanks. So much to know, so little time!
You're not serious, are you?
I find his face registering on my consciousness in an unpleasant way. Sort of a trickster countenance actually. Is that not allowed to be said, or odd description?
Oh and by the way, when you have time, could you look in spam or wherever for a piece I wrote about 3pm about transport. I am sure I put it up and tried to reduce links but perhaps not enough. Was following lprent in Why isn’t govt hitting ute much harder?
I thought that intelligent people would not stoop to this kind of body shaming to make a political point, but it appears that at least one of my assumptions is wrong 😉
However, to me it is a variation of shooting the messenger, or rather the appearance of the messenger. I do understand that Seymour’s appearance is not your cup of tea. I have a similar reptilian reaction to Judith Collins but I’m also not blown away by some of the public appearances of our PM, to be perfectly honest. I really do prefer written material without imagery or sound, as it helps me focus on the message/content, and my monkey brain is easily distracted and influenced. I also prefer written discussion despite its inherent limitations and pitfalls.
Yeah, your comment is stuck in Auto-Moderation because it contains too many links and is rather long, which tend to go hand in hand.
Will you do me a favour incognito and send me back my comment which I worked hard on. Or can you put it up and I will copy it and remove it. I didn't take a copy and it contains some hours of work which I can ill afford to put in apart from the fact that these times require effort to try and retain our country.
Your comment was released from Auto-Moderation at 5:55 pm. Just leave it as is and move on. Less is more.
You are aware of this regarding David Seymour?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Seymour_(New_Zealand_politician)
Seymour is of Ngāpuhi Māori descent on his mother's side,[4][5] with his Māori ancestors coming from the Tauwhara marae of the Ngāti Rēhia hapū near Waimate North.[
No H I am completely unbiased. I was talking about the person generally and giving my honest opinion about him.