This is absolutely magnificent: Toby Manhire puts together an album of National's Greatest Hits. There have been so many it's hard to keep up, so here's a reminder …
Bridges made a comment about 'folk wisdom on conceiving girls or boys', depending on how the act of copulation is undertaken, as I understand. This was taken offence at. Can I ask why? I have read the msm to try and understand why but have come up short. I am genuinely curious how the offence arose – it seems everyone is offended today and the curiousity stems from this wider point. I suspect some simple facts are simply missing…
On a related point I read somewhere in an opinion about males in the National Party (good grief, what a horrid thought, having to spend time with them, bleeaaargh…) that jokes about women should all stop..
.. which led to one of the obvious follow-on questions – that jokes about all people should stop… which is … well … isn't that nonsensical given the human reality of laughing at each other?? No more comedy? Do we laugh at flora and fauna instead? What can we laugh at?
Note, I am not coming down on any particular side of these issues – I am simply genuinely curious to understand what others are thinking in this very sober arena
No more comedy? Well, every day I watch shows and clips on YouTube that make me laugh, a tonic in these troubled times. Anything from Taskmaster to Mock The Week to Would I Lie To You to Cats Does Countdown and dozens more. Of course everyone has different tastes, so I'm not suggesting everyone else should laugh at the same things. But for me, there's not enough time in the day to watch it all.
Simon Bridges being an overgrown adolescent has nothing to do with comedy, really. (And Collins using it as an obvious pretext had nothing to with it either).
Bridges has seemed to show a profound lack of self awareness. Although the "old wives tale' has been replaced with 'folk wisdom'.
In a related vein, I read this article about a long serving female teacher resigning from PNBHS.
"When she started there were only 10 women on staff out of 68 and she said there were some disparaging views towards women, but the atmosphere has changed.
“You learnt how to deal with it … you just need to say pull your head in and there’s no problem.”
Also, once I thought I would chip a buddy who was good at golf, with a line I had heard from Billy Connolly. Something along the lines of golfers being wankers.
His reply has stayed with me. He replied with the question; "Asking that, how did you want me to feel?"
I guess there are no hard and fast rules. Context is everything and if it can't pass the Nana test (would you say that to your Nana?) don't say it.
Being genuinely funny has little to do with the whether or not the race, sex, religion or politics is the theme – some of the greatest comedians of all time relied on these all the time.
Humans may have evolved humour and laughter for a number of reasons I can imagine. It is also the adult manifestation of the 'playfulness' we find in children – a critical stage of development where they discover the boundaries between reality and fantasy, and that of successful risk taking and danger. Rough and tumble play teaches them how to invoke a reaction from others without provoking them to anger or resentment. In children its a critical development phase – and if they miss it for some reason they remain socially on the back foot the rest of their lives.
As we become teenagers our adult sense of humour starts to manifest. But doing it well is not easy, and those who are good at it are signaling high intelligence and social aptitude. Nor is it surprise to anyone that high on the female sexual selection shopping list is always 'good sense of humour'.
The reason for this is that life is never easy, there always will be challenges, failures and suffering – but people who can respond to these with humour, and succeed in lifting the mood of those around them, keeping the group morale afloat in the face of loss and disaster, will always be more likely to survive biologically and thrive socially.
Our unique human capacity to successfully operate in large social groups – beyond that of our immediate genetic relatives – while retaining individual agency, is fundamental to our ability to build large complex adaptive societies. That humans are also virtually unique in our enormous capacity for laughter is no accidental correlation. (Yes I realise cats laugh at us all the time )
All maladaptive social systems, political ideologies and their tyrannies, insist on crushing the fun out of life as a matter of instinctive priority. There is an implicit understanding that allowing people to poke fun at their obvious moral nakedness – is their Achilles Heel.
Seems he was very specific in the techniques to be applied.
Not exactly workplace conversation – you have to pick your audience.
There's also the separation factor – some jokes work better if they are about third parties but are a bit icky if told from the first person. And vice versa.
So worthy of complaint, but I'd be interested to see what processes JC went through before throwing Bridges to the back bench and publicly disgracing him.
I waiting on some new comedic genius in the mould of Douglas Adams (Hitchikers guides) or the beloved Terry Pratchet to take the proverbial our of the modern world and cause outrage VTO.
Just imagine the opening lines.
"Transmissions from Planet WokeLBGTXYZ are fading. Let’s see what Dr Carl Sourgum can bring up on his Encyclopedia Galatica.
‘So, there it is; whoman civilisation has annihilated itself in a paroxysm of hysteria, self-flagellation, anti-scientific gender politics and simply no longer breeding. because they were taught sex no longer exists, if it does it’s rape and there’s no point raising children if the earth warms up by 1 degree. No nuclear power, just broken windmills turning over to dribble a few kilowatts here and there to an infrastructure in tatters. I’m glad I died in 1996.’
That colleague was Dean, who told the Otago Daily Times she mentioned the incident to Collins during a conversation which followed meetings she had attended as assistant Speaker regarding recommendations from the Francis review of Parliament's workplace culture.
"I approached Judith several weeks ago about my concerns and the conversation was in the context of the work I have been doing with the Francis review, and I found myself disclosing my experience," Dean said.
She could have said any of this publicly, before Collins got rolled. But just like Goodfellow, she waited until after the vote of confidence before "clarifying". Like a courtier, now she knows Collins is gone, it's "the Queen is dead, long live the next King".
And this may be the closest to the truth assessment yet
“Events, dear boy, events.” Something you didn’t expect, and can’t fix, happens, and it all just gets too much. All the plotting and scheming. All the arm-twisting and political assassinating. Suddenly, the whole shitty business no longer seems worth the effort, and the all people around you start looking too hopelessly fucked-up to bother with.
I believe I saw some of that on Tuesday when she was questioning the PM at Question Time- testy, tired, getting her serves returned with ease, slow at the net and once fouled out for serving over the line.
True to form, Judith kept that "Pearl" of knowledge about Bridges behaviour as a lever. She did not "leak' it to journalists as she had made that an issue for her Leadership. "No Leaks" She liked having ammunition at the ready, especially gossip and bad behaviour, and this was a gem.
Interesting that MP Dean is seen as a "whining woman", conniving more like it, when she discussed that incident with Judith as an example of the behaviour a committee was tasked with reviewing outside the committee room. If you can not trust a Leader to keep a confidence, who can you trust? Or was it "here is an item about Bridges" A conundrum of their own creation?
I am more inclined to think Jacquie Dean did not think it through, was used by Judith Collins as a weapon later to try to damage Bridges without any consideration, as otherwise why wait “several weeks”?
Remember her motto "Give back double" with a silent "Take no prisoners".
Both women have behaved badly, but let us not forget how it began, with loose talk, by someone who wanted to be PM, who does not really seem to respect women or have a sense of propriety.
Dean did not think it through? If the environment is such that a mere verbal detail could be used as a nuclear weapon, nothing can be said and written by anyone without doubt and risk.
Let investigations begin of which MPs did what behind the shelter shed when they were at school, what they did on a sports trip when they were university students, the jokes they told at a party in 1999.
Collins knew she was done and wanted to undermine any chance of Bridges returning to leadership (speaks to National Party needing to win back woman voters from Labour).
Her support for Luxon is to seek protective patronage of her continuance as an MP (a spokesperson role improves her chances of staying as an electorate spokesperson MP and or having a placement on the list).
Despite being prepared to have the second shot and going with husband Paul, who received his second vaccination on October 9, the clinic refused to administer it due to her on-going reaction to the first vaccine.
The following weeks were filled with suffering relapses, brain fog, extreme head pain, fatigue and an uncontrollable severe body twitch.
Unable to work, and initially refused an ACC claim, Rozanne found herself in what she says was “a very scary place having just been given a life-altering diagnosis”.
She didn’t know if she would recover or get worse and reached out to others who like her were suffering severe symptoms.
Rozanne found herself having to make it clear to people that she is not an anti-vaxer but a realist, recognising that a vaccine is essential to dealing with the Covid-19 virus.
This is the first MSM article I have read about a person's adverse reaction to the Covid vaccine. May this be the first of many. Way past time that these severe side effects were hauled into the light.
Aye, that's my sense as well – a WHOLE "lot more disruption" coming society's way. Never mind – there's still time to score a few more deals in the BLACK Friday sales.
Have you come across the term Affluenza? It's reached pandemic proportions among the golden billion – maybe the aforementioned disruption will offer a cure of sorts.
Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss’s book, Affluenza: When Too Much is Never Enough, poses the question: “If the economy has been doing so well, why are we not becoming happier?” They argue that affluenza causes overconsumption, “luxury fever“, consumer debt, overwork, waste, and harm to the environment. These pressures lead to “psychological disorders, alienation and distress“, causing people to “self-medicate with mood-altering drugs and excessive alcohol consumption“.
They note that a number of Australians have reacted by “downshifting” — they decided to “reduce their incomes and place family, friends and contentment above money in determining their life goals“. Their critique leads them to identify the need for an “alternative political philosophy“, and the book concludes with a “political manifesto for wellbeing“.
Not for everyone, of course – at least not voluntarily.
While it's possible that societal disruption will deprive “the poor” of "their hope of a better life", my sense is that the effects of disruption will not be confined to the poor, and that within two or three decades almost everyone is "in for a LOT more disruption than most people are imagining."
What practical steps might be taken this decade to best prepare societies for the inevitable “LOT more disruption” that you alluded to @12.2?
This last comment of yours speaks to your usual agenda – it's painfully obvious that you're more consumed with resentment at those who are better off than you, than a useful concern to improve the life of those less fortunate than you.
it's painfully obvious that you're more consumed with resentment at those who are better off than you
It's painfully obvious that you would trot out that stale jibe. Fwiw I'm content with my lot and (hand on heart) hold no resentment towards those who have convinced themselves they’re "better off" than me – seems so shallow
Back to your perceptive comment @12.2
It's my sense we're in for a LOT more disruption than most people are imagining.
That's my sense too (spaceship Earth has limits) – but what to do about it?
1.5-Degree Lifestyles:Towards A Fair Consumption Space for All[PDF; 2021] This report introduces the concept of a fair consumption space — an ecologically healthy perimeter that supports within it an equitable distribution of resources and opportunities for individuals and societies to fulfil their needs and achieve wellbeing. Within this space, there are a range of regenerative options (which this report details), but there are also clear demarcating limits to over- and under-consumption: with a cap in emissions, overconsumption by one person affects the prospects of another, and encroaches into another’s consumption space, requiring collectively working toward a more equitable distribution of limited carbon budgets.
That is where I am now ,equipping a bus well and hitting the road early next year.As I reach my late 60s I want to set off and a wake up to a new beach panorama often.No more rates ,insurance ,maintenence upkeep etc etc ,just a reliable Isuzu and an open road,devil take the hindmost.If you see my beauty ,Starship Enterprise ,and Captain Max Viagra,co captain Hot Lips Houlihan ,wave us down,have a chat there will always be a cold stubby and glass of chardy in the fridge.
“Defence lawyer Mike Antunovic said Soper was remorseful and ashamed of kicking the victim to the head. Soper had never had the opportunity of telling them how he feels or saying he is sorry, he said. “He extends his apologies through me.””
G: Smells like BS.
“Judge Davidson sentenced Soper, who is the son of Newstalk ZB political journalist Barry Soper, to seven months’ home detention, ordered him to stay away from alcohol, and to pay $4000 emotional harm reparation.
He said reparation could never be seen to adequately compensate the victims for what happened.
The judge said the attack was very much spur of the moment, impulsive and a significant overreaction on his part.”
G: Does seem rather light a fine; dunno what other sentence you would think more appropriate, B? Care to enlighten us?
“Davidson said Soper suffered from anxiety, which left him prone to erupting spontaneously in certain circumstances.”
G: More BS. I’ve suffered from anxiety all my fracking life. The last thing anxiety makes you want to do is beat someone up. You’re too fearful of the likely adverse consequences. That claim’s a total crock of shit.
In a statement, Barry Soper said the family was “deeply upset and disappointed”. “We support Hugh as he takes responsibility for his actions and sets about rebuilding his life. “The family is devastated for the victims and we wholeheartedly apologise for the effect this has had on their lives.”
G: It’s not the offender’s family that should be issuing a grovelling apology, Baz. It’s your PoS son, mate. 😠
Especially in comparison to a first offence for, say, one of our browner-skinned brothers? Yes. Might be interesting. Altho I seem to recall some rather light sentences for violent first offences for some of those offenders have attracted criticism on blogs in the past too.
One wonders if having well-known celebrity journo parents may have played a part.
I’m more puzzled with why the young prick hasn’t had the either the gonads or sufficient remorse to have apologised to them directly. He’s certainly had a cery long time to write them a decent aoology before he came up for sentencing
I'm not very impressed either. In my book once you kick or stomp on someone's head when they're on the ground – you are trying to kill them. In our grandparents generation, kicking a man when he was on the ground was considered the lowest most cowardly act.
If they live it was only a matter of good luck or good emergency medical treatment. And even then there is a high chance of permanent brain injury that will stay with the victim all their life. (Another stat that I read years ago, was that around 90% of male prison inmates in NZ have a brain injury of some kind.)
Still regardless of the outcome I maintain your intent was to kill or seriously maim- and the law around assault should be changed to reflect this.
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In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
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. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara Solomon Islands’ incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected in the East Choiseul constituency. It is the opening move in the political chess match to form the country’s next government. Returning officer Christopher Makoni made the declaration late last night after ...
Headline: The moment of friction. – 36th Parallel Assessments In strategic studies “friction” is a term that it is used to describe the moment when military action encounters adversary resistance. “Friction” is one of four (along with an unofficial fifth) “F’s” in military strategy, which includes force (kinetic mass), ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
This is absolutely magnificent: Toby Manhire puts together an album of National's Greatest Hits. There have been so many it's hard to keep up, so here's a reminder …
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/26-11-2021/the-five-most-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-days-in-recent-national-party-history
Curious, very curious….
Bridges made a comment about 'folk wisdom on conceiving girls or boys', depending on how the act of copulation is undertaken, as I understand. This was taken offence at. Can I ask why? I have read the msm to try and understand why but have come up short. I am genuinely curious how the offence arose – it seems everyone is offended today and the curiousity stems from this wider point. I suspect some simple facts are simply missing…
On a related point I read somewhere in an opinion about males in the National Party (good grief, what a horrid thought, having to spend time with them, bleeaaargh…) that jokes about women should all stop..
.. which led to one of the obvious follow-on questions – that jokes about all people should stop… which is … well … isn't that nonsensical given the human reality of laughing at each other?? No more comedy? Do we laugh at flora and fauna instead? What can we laugh at?
Note, I am not coming down on any particular side of these issues – I am simply genuinely curious to understand what others are thinking in this very sober arena
No more comedy? Well, every day I watch shows and clips on YouTube that make me laugh, a tonic in these troubled times. Anything from Taskmaster to Mock The Week to Would I Lie To You to Cats Does Countdown and dozens more. Of course everyone has different tastes, so I'm not suggesting everyone else should laugh at the same things. But for me, there's not enough time in the day to watch it all.
Simon Bridges being an overgrown adolescent has nothing to do with comedy, really. (And Collins using it as an obvious pretext had nothing to with it either).
Stuff published an article several years ago about trying to “select” the sex of a baby. It was informative.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/life-style/parenting/pregnancy/conception/trying-to-conceive/10939837/The-myths-and-truths-of-gender-swaying
Bridges has seemed to show a profound lack of self awareness. Although the "old wives tale' has been replaced with 'folk wisdom'.
In a related vein, I read this article about a long serving female teacher resigning from PNBHS.
"When she started there were only 10 women on staff out of 68 and she said there were some disparaging views towards women, but the atmosphere has changed.
“You learnt how to deal with it … you just need to say pull your head in and there’s no problem.”
Now there are 30 female staff out of 113 and she tells the boys “manners maketh the man”."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/300463144/longserving-boys-high-languages-teacher-retiring
Also, once I thought I would chip a buddy who was good at golf, with a line I had heard from Billy Connolly. Something along the lines of golfers being wankers.
His reply has stayed with me. He replied with the question; "Asking that, how did you want me to feel?"
I guess there are no hard and fast rules. Context is everything and if it can't pass the Nana test (would you say that to your Nana?) don't say it.
Some 'nana's' have offensive senses of humour…..what happened to encouraging diversity?
Being genuinely funny has little to do with the whether or not the race, sex, religion or politics is the theme – some of the greatest comedians of all time relied on these all the time.
Humans may have evolved humour and laughter for a number of reasons I can imagine. It is also the adult manifestation of the 'playfulness' we find in children – a critical stage of development where they discover the boundaries between reality and fantasy, and that of successful risk taking and danger. Rough and tumble play teaches them how to invoke a reaction from others without provoking them to anger or resentment. In children its a critical development phase – and if they miss it for some reason they remain socially on the back foot the rest of their lives.
As we become teenagers our adult sense of humour starts to manifest. But doing it well is not easy, and those who are good at it are signaling high intelligence and social aptitude. Nor is it surprise to anyone that high on the female sexual selection shopping list is always 'good sense of humour'.
The reason for this is that life is never easy, there always will be challenges, failures and suffering – but people who can respond to these with humour, and succeed in lifting the mood of those around them, keeping the group morale afloat in the face of loss and disaster, will always be more likely to survive biologically and thrive socially.
Our unique human capacity to successfully operate in large social groups – beyond that of our immediate genetic relatives – while retaining individual agency, is fundamental to our ability to build large complex adaptive societies. That humans are also virtually unique in our enormous capacity for laughter is no accidental correlation. (Yes I realise cats laugh at us all the time )
All maladaptive social systems, political ideologies and their tyrannies, insist on crushing the fun out of life as a matter of instinctive priority. There is an implicit understanding that allowing people to poke fun at their obvious moral nakedness – is their Achilles Heel.
Seems he was very specific in the techniques to be applied.
Not exactly workplace conversation – you have to pick your audience.
There's also the separation factor – some jokes work better if they are about third parties but are a bit icky if told from the first person. And vice versa.
So worthy of complaint, but I'd be interested to see what processes JC went through before throwing Bridges to the back bench and publicly disgracing him.
I waiting on some new comedic genius in the mould of Douglas Adams (Hitchikers guides) or the beloved Terry Pratchet to take the proverbial our of the modern world and cause outrage VTO.
Just imagine the opening lines.
"Transmissions from Planet WokeLBGTXYZ are fading. Let’s see what Dr Carl Sourgum can bring up on his Encyclopedia Galatica.
‘So, there it is; whoman civilisation has annihilated itself in a paroxysm of hysteria, self-flagellation, anti-scientific gender politics and simply no longer breeding. because they were taught sex no longer exists, if it does it’s rape and there’s no point raising children if the earth warms up by 1 degree. No nuclear power, just broken windmills turning over to dribble a few kilowatts here and there to an infrastructure in tatters. I’m glad I died in 1996.’
Some context for the issue!!
That colleague was Dean, who told the Otago Daily Times she mentioned the incident to Collins during a conversation which followed meetings she had attended as assistant Speaker regarding recommendations from the Francis review of Parliament's workplace culture.
"I approached Judith several weeks ago about my concerns and the conversation was in the context of the work I have been doing with the Francis review, and I found myself disclosing my experience," Dean said.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/jacqui-dean-says-she-was-surprised-judith-collins-raised-the-simon-bridges-incident/YSSOPO5TYAKIWKZSTKOLBERQPQ/
Above all the ODT thing suggests the manic desperation of Collins.
She could have said any of this publicly, before Collins got rolled. But just like Goodfellow, she waited until after the vote of confidence before "clarifying". Like a courtier, now she knows Collins is gone, it's "the Queen is dead, long live the next King".
Pathetic.
"Pathetic"
Thats generous!!! Ob
Imagine how we feel down here with Dean as our MP year after year after year after….
She was the one who asked the Minister of Health to investigate the toxicity of dihydrogen monoxide … H2O
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/38005/National-MP-falls-victim-to-water-hoax
Thats water under(mining) the bridge
Context
1.Bridges was talking to Jaime Lee Ross who was having an affair with another blonde MP at the time.
2. Simon Bridges (who has a blonde wife) had two sons and wanted to become father of a daughter in the year ahead.
Footnote – in 2017 Simon Bridges wife gave birth to a biological female.
And this may be the closest to the truth assessment yet
“Events, dear boy, events.” Something you didn’t expect, and can’t fix, happens, and it all just gets too much. All the plotting and scheming. All the arm-twisting and political assassinating. Suddenly, the whole shitty business no longer seems worth the effort, and the all people around you start looking too hopelessly fucked-up to bother with.
And. You. Snap."
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2021/11/judiths-last-stand.html
And aligns with Collins cryptic remark as she got into the taxi afterward "It's a relief".
The other observation is a fish rots from the head first. By that I mean the culture, standard of behaviour etc is a reflection of the board.
A bit like Foster is coping criticism for the ABs last two performances.
Goodfellow and his crew seem untouchable.
The PM called her the other leader of the Opposition
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-delta-outbreak-jacinda-ardern-told-to-apologise-over-judith-collins-jibe/ZW6XGUDEZRSDFAPK45KCQ54IJQ/
One answer for Collins is that she is unwell. Her ability to think clearly looks tired and shambolic. Maybe she needs a long long rest.
I believe I saw some of that on Tuesday when she was questioning the PM at Question Time- testy, tired, getting her serves returned with ease, slow at the net and once fouled out for serving over the line.
True to form, Judith kept that "Pearl" of knowledge about Bridges behaviour as a lever. She did not "leak' it to journalists as she had made that an issue for her Leadership. "No Leaks" She liked having ammunition at the ready, especially gossip and bad behaviour, and this was a gem.
Interesting that MP Dean is seen as a "whining woman", conniving more like it, when she discussed that incident with Judith as an example of the behaviour a committee was tasked with reviewing outside the committee room. If you can not trust a Leader to keep a confidence, who can you trust? Or was it "here is an item about Bridges" A conundrum of their own creation?
I am more inclined to think Jacquie Dean did not think it through, was used by Judith Collins as a weapon later to try to damage Bridges without any consideration, as otherwise why wait “several weeks”?
Remember her motto "Give back double" with a silent "Take no prisoners".
Both women have behaved badly, but let us not forget how it began, with loose talk, by someone who wanted to be PM, who does not really seem to respect women or have a sense of propriety.
Dean did not think it through? If the environment is such that a mere verbal detail could be used as a nuclear weapon, nothing can be said and written by anyone without doubt and risk.
Let investigations begin of which MPs did what behind the shelter shed when they were at school, what they did on a sports trip when they were university students, the jokes they told at a party in 1999.
Collins knew she was done and wanted to undermine any chance of Bridges returning to leadership (speaks to National Party needing to win back woman voters from Labour).
Her support for Luxon is to seek protective patronage of her continuance as an MP (a spokesperson role improves her chances of staying as an electorate spokesperson MP and or having a placement on the list).
"Five people in court following murder of Christchurch teen
… All five facing charges relating to the murder will appear in the High Court for a case review hearing on February 18.
The agreed date for the start of the defendants’ trial is May 8, 2023."
May 2023!
link please.
On RNZ this morning.
if people quote here, they have to also link.
I should not have quoted. Should simply have said some people in a murder case were in court in November 2021 and would next be in court in May 2023.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/127106250/five-people-in-court-following-murder-of-christchurch-teen
Well – you have to allow for the snail's pace legal system to crawl along – so lawyers etc can screw the max out of legal aid funds.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/127106250/five-people-in-court-following-murder-of-christchurch-teen
Hard Brexit, with fish.
French fishers to block Channel tunnel in Brexit licences row | Brexit | The Guardian
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/127108563/schools-locked-down-as-police-hunt-man-who-stole-cars-and-fled-after-crash
Real life GTA, for the win!
*The man was not armed with a firearm, and police arrested him “without incident” on Weedons Ross Rd shortly before midday, the spokeswoman said.
He was hurt in the incident, and was taken to Christchurch Hospital and treated for moderate injuries.*
I imagine the hurt was likely a dog bite? So … if he was hurt … how exactly is that “without incident”? 🤔
The Police must have a different concept of “incident” than I do. 😳
Good dog
.
🐶 Ruff❗️
Sunlive publishes an article detailing a local woman's battle with a severe adverse reaction the the Pfizer product.
https://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/281866-rozannes-fight-after-vaccine-anguish.html
Despite being prepared to have the second shot and going with husband Paul, who received his second vaccination on October 9, the clinic refused to administer it due to her on-going reaction to the first vaccine.
The following weeks were filled with suffering relapses, brain fog, extreme head pain, fatigue and an uncontrollable severe body twitch.
Unable to work, and initially refused an ACC claim, Rozanne found herself in what she says was “a very scary place having just been given a life-altering diagnosis”.
She didn’t know if she would recover or get worse and reached out to others who like her were suffering severe symptoms.
Rozanne found herself having to make it clear to people that she is not an anti-vaxer but a realist, recognising that a vaccine is essential to dealing with the Covid-19 virus.
This is the first MSM article I have read about a person's adverse reaction to the Covid vaccine. May this be the first of many. Way past time that these severe side effects were hauled into the light.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/127108563/school-lockdowns-lifted-as-police-arrest-man-who-stole-cars-and-fled-after-crash
Well that ended quietly
A question for the economists.
With rising inflation, and fair pay awards on their way, how are we going to avoid the ole wage price spiral?
Supply problems and fuel costs are areas that are not going to be fixed quickly.
The only option reduced liquidity interest rate hikes.
International shipping is going to be much more expensive for many years.
The economies of the world will suffer.
And with the hated Boomers all busy retiring across much of the world, skilled labour supply will shrink as well.
It's my sense we're in for a LOT more disruption than most people are imagining.
Aye, that's my sense as well – a WHOLE "lot more disruption" coming society's way. Never mind – there's still time to score a few more deals in the BLACK Friday sales.
Have you come across the term Affluenza? It's reached pandemic proportions among the golden billion – maybe the aforementioned disruption will offer a cure of sorts.
Not for everyone, of course – at least not voluntarily.
No. The people that will be hurt the most will be the poor in the world who will have their hope of better life taken from them.
While it's possible that societal disruption will deprive “the poor” of "their hope of a better life", my sense is that the effects of disruption will not be confined to the poor, and that within two or three decades almost everyone is "in for a LOT more disruption than most people are imagining."
What practical steps might be taken this decade to best prepare societies for the inevitable “LOT more disruption” that you alluded to @12.2?
https://grantcraft.org/content/blog/learning-from-disruption-two-case-examples-of-resilience/
This last comment of yours speaks to your usual agenda – it's painfully obvious that you're more consumed with resentment at those who are better off than you, than a useful concern to improve the life of those less fortunate than you.
It's painfully obvious that you would trot out that stale jibe. Fwiw I'm content with my lot and (hand on heart) hold no resentment towards those who have convinced themselves they’re "better off" than me – seems so shallow
Back to your perceptive comment @12.2
That's my sense too (spaceship Earth has limits) – but what to do about it?
That is where I am now ,equipping a bus well and hitting the road early next year.As I reach my late 60s I want to set off and a wake up to a new beach panorama often.No more rates ,insurance ,maintenence upkeep etc etc ,just a reliable Isuzu and an open road,devil take the hindmost.If you see my beauty ,Starship Enterprise ,and Captain Max Viagra,co captain Hot Lips Houlihan ,wave us down,have a chat there will always be a cold stubby and glass of chardy in the fridge.
Well we have coped with house prices/rents exploding and no one gives a shit..so ..who cares!
HD seems like a very light sentence to me.
Unprovoked attack leaves Wellington bar owners with permanent injuries | Stuff.co.nz
“Defence lawyer Mike Antunovic said Soper was remorseful and ashamed of kicking the victim to the head. Soper had never had the opportunity of telling them how he feels or saying he is sorry, he said. “He extends his apologies through me.””
G: Smells like BS.
“Judge Davidson sentenced Soper, who is the son of Newstalk ZB political journalist Barry Soper, to seven months’ home detention, ordered him to stay away from alcohol, and to pay $4000 emotional harm reparation.
He said reparation could never be seen to adequately compensate the victims for what happened.
The judge said the attack was very much spur of the moment, impulsive and a significant overreaction on his part.”
G: Does seem rather light a fine; dunno what other sentence you would think more appropriate, B? Care to enlighten us?
“Davidson said Soper suffered from anxiety, which left him prone to erupting spontaneously in certain circumstances.”
G: More BS. I’ve suffered from anxiety all my fracking life. The last thing anxiety makes you want to do is beat someone up. You’re too fearful of the likely adverse consequences. That claim’s a total crock of shit.
In a statement, Barry Soper said the family was “deeply upset and disappointed”. “We support Hugh as he takes responsibility for his actions and sets about rebuilding his life. “The family is devastated for the victims and we wholeheartedly apologise for the effect this has had on their lives.”
G: It’s not the offender’s family that should be issuing a grovelling apology, Baz. It’s your PoS son, mate. 😠
Imo a jail term of at least 12 months minimum would be appropriate.
Be interesting to see a comparative re the sentencing.
Especially in comparison to a first offence for, say, one of our browner-skinned brothers? Yes. Might be interesting. Altho I seem to recall some rather light sentences for violent first offences for some of those offenders have attracted criticism on blogs in the past too.
One wonders if having well-known celebrity journo parents may have played a part.
I’m more puzzled with why the young prick hasn’t had the either the gonads or sufficient remorse to have apologised to them directly. He’s certainly had a cery long time to write them a decent aoology before he came up for sentencing
🙄 * cery = very
This is one of the problems with this government:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/andrew-little-says-he-will-reduce-the-prison-population/6NXHANBTJF3FVVSGZVBZT5QQUQ/
Reducing the prison population is easy. Hugh Soper should be going to prison but isn't.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-motorway-road-rage-shooters-jail-term-thrown-out-gets-home-detention-instead/YGIOSDMJMCVV3WQTFV2HGXBIYI/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/126651020/you-wont-survive-jail-judge-takes-pity-on-young-sex-offender
Lowering the prison population doesn't mean that people aren't committing crimes, it just means more criminals are walking the streets but hey on the bright side:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300163523/prisoner-numbers-fall-1089-over-last-12-months-largest-drop-in-over-20-years
They need to increase the prison population with a few of the people out in New Lynn and Glen Eden.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/glen-eden-gang-stoush-handguns-machetes-in-head-hunter-comancheros-confrontation/4UHQCTODLIMSIEK6YUNWJVW35Y/
Also consider that if less people are being sent to prison then the ones who are sent are worse than usual
I'm not very impressed either. In my book once you kick or stomp on someone's head when they're on the ground – you are trying to kill them. In our grandparents generation, kicking a man when he was on the ground was considered the lowest most cowardly act.
If they live it was only a matter of good luck or good emergency medical treatment. And even then there is a high chance of permanent brain injury that will stay with the victim all their life. (Another stat that I read years ago, was that around 90% of male prison inmates in NZ have a brain injury of some kind.)
Still regardless of the outcome I maintain your intent was to kill or seriously maim- and the law around assault should be changed to reflect this.