oh my goodness, as i clutch my pearls, cunliffe has been caught using a cell phone in his car, front page news, end of the world, obviously the police to media hotline is redhot!
Yep why investigate possible corruption when they can investigate a talking on the cellphone minor infringement. This story is sourced from Slater as is the picture of the dating site. You would have to wonder at how he “stumbled” on it and I wonder who put it up.
Meanwhile there was a significant development in the Donghua Liu story and questions of when Woodhouse met him to discuss immigration policy and the relationship with the timing of his donation to the National Party.
But of course talking on a cellphone is more serious …
* It says a motorist made the complaint and the complaint said Cunliffe was driving ‘erratically’ which Cunliffe has denied.
Because of the nature of the complaint, I am curious to know WHO the complainant was. Was it a set up ? Was this complainant deliberately following Cunliffe? Was he or one of the accomplices themselves instigate the whole episode? How come the media came to know about this incident promptly? Did the police leak the information or was it the minister of police? Was this to distract the news away from the various messes that the government is in? Is this all part of dirty politics? Something is fishy here.
* The report also strangely said this:
“he admitted he had “made a cellphone call or two” in hands-free mode and had been given an infringement notice. He was fined $80 by a police officer, NZME reported”
If it was in ‘hands-free mode’ as the report says, was that illegal?
It definitely is black-ops work.
Cunliffe certainly didn’t call the media!
Had the person following being an ordinary Joe and called Police, because of concerns about his driving, then the matter should be a private matter between Cunliffe and the Police.
If the person is a Nat lackie who followed Cunliife from Parliament in his hire car (he is an Auckland MP) and called the Police then that person would be the source for the Media. Why then did the Police confirm? Is that their normal procedure? No.
This news story required cooperation from both the snitch/lackie and the police.
Dirty Politics continues.
Fuck the Stasi, the American driven FVEY apparatus turned on each of us is four or five orders of magnitude more powerful than what the Stasi could ever manage.
I never nark or inform on anyone for that very reason.
You clearly don’t Facebook, email, call or txt your friends and family then.
I never nark or inform on anyone for that very reason.
So, what you’re saying is that if you see a crime or an injustice happening you’re not going to do anything about it? That would probably explain your support of Key and his lies.
You already see it in many areas of the world – including western ones. People seeking justice outside of the official system when they know or feel that the official system has no interest in delivering justice.
Crimes against life or property are a different matter, but I will not report people for arbitrary offences such as exceeding drink driving limits, speeding, talking on their cellphone, any of that stuff. Its just divisive left wing shit that eventually corrodes a country and you end up like East Germany above.
And please stop saying I support Key.
When Little takes power, you may be able to say to most of the other dipshits on Kiwiblog et al that you didn’t see them complaining when Key was doing it, but you won’t be able to say that about me.
Crimes against life or property are a different matter, but I will not report peopel for arbitrary offence ssuch as exceeding drink driving limits, sopeeding, talking on their cellphone. any of that shit.
You managed to contradict yourself in the same sentence. The reason why we have speed and drink drive limits and rules against driving while using the cell phone is because it kills people and often not the person doing the really stupid thing. In other words, these things are crimes against life.
In fact, as it stands I’d say that there’s enough evidence to say that capitalism itself is a crime against life as it continues to destroy the environment in its drive for profit but I’m sure that we will never see you call for capitalism to be abolished because of that crime.
No it does not. Take the drink driving limit. A person can exceed that limit and drive home every night of their life and never hit or kill or maim anyone. Its an arbitrary amount that has no real relationship to the committing of an offence.
If a person crashes into someone and kills or maims them, and they have been drinking, and the drinking is proved to be an influence, then charge them and make sure the sentence is punitive enough to discourage them and others from taking the risk.
You do not make criminals out of innocent people. Set up roadblocks and carry out suspicionless searches. That is another characteristic of left wing tyranny. It begins small and gets bigger. As in East Germany under the Stasi.
Don’t any of you Leftists know anything of history?
What Bullshit. Dirty Politics is an organised programme of media dirt designed to attack Labour and distract from National Government incompetence and misdeeds at key junctures.
Asked whether he was driving dangerously, Mr Cunliffe said: “I always indicate if I think I am approximate to traffic. I may have changed lanes, but I do not believe I was driving erratically at any point.”
Fuck that shit! You should always indicate before you change lanes whether you think anyone else in nearby or not. Cunliffe sounds like someone trying to excuse pointing a gun at a crowd by claiming he didn’t think it was loaded.
I’m saying this as someone who thought that Cunliffe had better ideas than any other leader in Labour in decades. Little may turn out to be a more effective leader due to less caucus hostility, but I’m yet to be impressed (though still early days).
Also; Clemgeopin, the quote in the ODT (haven’t looked at Stuff yet) is:
Mr Cunliffe said the phone was on “hands-free” mode and he “didn’t realise it was an offence”, though he clarified that he was holding the phone with one hand. He was fined $80 by a police officer.
Even with a genuine legal hands-free set-up; research demonstrates that phone calls are a distraction to driving competence. Simply using the loudspeaker mode on a normal cellphone would surely be even worse. Not quite as idiotic as txtng while driving though.
Is the timing of media release suspicious? Hell yes. Should that excuse an MP ignoring the law for personal convenience? Fuck no!
I’m pretty sure that any comment I might make linking MPs with indecent assaults on children would be breaking name suppression, and don’t want to put TS in that position.
I am perhaps a bit sensitive when it comes to road safety. But I imagine many who have experience with those who have suffered vehicular death or injury feel similarly.
The casualty rate for motor vehicles is higher than all forms of assault (including both your example of; child-assault, and mine of; firearms). In 2010 (most recent year easy to access through Statistics NZ) this was 8.6/ 100000 vs 1.2/100000 (vehicular injury rate at 321/100000). The only good news is that the road toll in 2013 was half what it was in 2000.
I suppose it does seem a lot of drama about an $80 ticket. Though if I had my way, driving while phoning would be automatic loss of license (once proven in court, and possibly just a 3month suspension on first offense). I really don’t have a sense of humour about that shit.
I entirely agree with you. If Cunliffe broke the law, he should be ticketed and pay the fine. No issue about that. He should know better.
My issue is about the aspects I have mentioned connected with the news reports in our media, such has HOW and WHY and by WHOM did this leak take place and became public knowledge. Is it legal and fair to do so? Was the police or the minister or the PM involved in this leak of privacy? Have no other MPs ever broken a traffic rule and fined? If any do exist, have all those cases too been exposed in the media?
The stuff link I posted is still as it was in the morning I think. I have now read your ODT link.
I wish our MSM, the journalists, the political commentators are fairer, show more integrity and professionalism and delve deep into HEAPS of other important issues such as the truth and cost behind the Iraq armed deployment, electronic surveillance of all, the Lu donation truth, the bio security inefficiency, the dirty politics, black ops operations, the truth about the Charter schools, the $50,000/day or so spent on a social Welfare Ministry’s CEO visit somewhere, the 43K review cost we have to pay for Brownlee jumping over the security gate without being charged etc just as a few examples
They don’t seem to hold the National Party Ministers and their MPs to the same degree of minute scrutiny as they do for Labour. Something is just not right.
I’ve looked at question time for yesterday, and can’t find it, phil.
There was one mention of the average wage in regards to benefit levels, and joyce made a passing reference to the starting out wage, but I can’t find anything close to what you mentioned.
Hang on, so now I need to find evidence to support an assertion that you can’t show ever existed?
Whatever you “heard”, it wasn’t where you claim it was said. So at best you’re mistaken about where it was said, at worst you made it up, and the middle ground is that you simply heard wrong.
And you get pissy when people like wayne and northshoredoc just plain ignore you most of the time…
i am possibly mistaken about where i heard it..(i spend my days in a sea of information..)
..but i definitely heard it..
..and if that isn’t good enough for you..
..that’s tough-bikkies..eh..?
..and yep..! northshoredoc just won’t answer about the freebies he gets from big-pharma..(‘conferences’ in exotic-locales being just one..eh doc..?..)
..and ‘wayne’ has been nowhere near general debate since i asked him about the war-crimes committed by nz soldiers (handing prisoners over to be tortured) while he was minister of defence..
..(war-crimes he initially denied..then he just ran to his fox-hole..
..where he has remained ever since..)
i wd like to ask him those questions again..and hopefully get a straight answer from him..
Seems hard to believe that an extra 200,000 people are ‘on or near’ the min wage in just a year. Suppose it depends on far ‘near’ is from the minimum wage.
Phil, after a lot of reading, your point number 2 does not appear in the transcripts of Parliament for this past week, so if you do happen to remember who/when it was said, just let us know and perhaps we can search the videos for it but I’m not going to do that without a bit more detail.
Seeing as you eventually have admitted you may have misheard or mistakenly assigned the source to question time, why all the animosity? No one was having a go at you, (apart from draco of course but isn’t that what you two do for fun ?)
Asking for more details is something you do all time, so maybe….
..and ‘wayne’ has been nowhere near general debate since i asked him about the war-crimes committed by nz soldiers (handing prisoners over to be tortured) while he was minister of defence..
🙄
Wayne’s been commenting regularly, just not to you. In fact, I definitely remember correcting you on that claim before, I just can’t remember where. Oh, I know, rather than expecting you to do my work for me, I’ll do the search myself: oh look, it was a week and a half ago. So now I have reason to doubt your memory of what was said on any particular topic, rather than just where it was said.
The fact that you are quite probably delusional is most likely the reason you will not get what you want from folk like wayne or northshoredoc – no matter what they say, even if they are in the right you will merely “hear” what you have already decided to hear and go off on a rabid, unintelligible tangent.
How long have you been carrying this torch? Because I’ve got some bad news for you, phil: wayne seems to have commented on an open mike once, in late 2013. And you missed your opportunity to righteously challenge him – for shame.
That single comment is what stands between you and your “back” being complete bullshit.
Yes that’s right Phil I’m currently sunning myself in Jamaica – all expenses paid by multinational pharmaceutical companies all in return for changing all my patients onto their drugs once I return to NZ.
They are flying me back via Mars where their hypnotoad overlords will be further indoctrinating me.
….and not playing this game anymore all your questions have been answered …in all honestly it’s probably more useful trying to have an online conversation with one of your deceased canines than trying to engage with yourself….eh ?
“..and a slur/slag around my recently deceased 16 yr old dog..?
..that i am still seriously grieving over..?”
Perhaps you should’ve had the dear old thing stuffed and mounted next to your computer ….. then you could commune with it rather than typing your ellipsis loaded diatribes……….eh ?
Oh dear, what’s with all the ellipsoidal abuse……….eh ?
I thought you didn’t dislike anyone…….eh ?
…. and here’s me thinking that all that pot was supposed to mellow you out…eh ?
….hopefully I never have to have your mug in front of me…if your incoherent tosh on this site is anything to go by……your gobbledegook in person must be completely intelligible dribble……eh.
Poor old pooch having to put up with a human like you, wouldn’t surprise me if the poor old dear gave up the ghost after listening to your rambling on another pot fuelled afternoon………….eh ?
It claims 54,000 are on the minimum wage. However, the figure quoted in the previous year’s report was 80K, so they may have changed the recording mechanism. Also, firms are advised to pay marginally more than the minimum so that their workers are less likely to get assistance from MBIE if they need it (they are required to help minimum wage workers, but not necessarily minimum +10c per hour workers).
The effect of raising the minimum also sweeps up groups of workers who used to be above minimum, but who have not kept pace due to not getting annual rises. So that 54,000 probably rose in 2013/14.
However, I can’t see how even the 80,000 figure quoted in 2012 could become 160,000 a couple of years later.
Having said that, Phil’s point remains; under National more workers are on the bare minimum. Not only that, many are on 90 day fire at will contracts, zero hour arrangements and the like, so certainty of employment has also diminished.
“We would love to see wages drop.” John Key, 2008.
MBIE said 54k in 2013 and the previous year (2012) they said 80k. I was quoting MBIE, not the Nats.
Which I wrote as: “It claims 54,000 are on the minimum wage. However, the figure quoted in the previous year’s report was 80K, so they may have changed the recording mechanism.”
I think it’s entirely likely that it was 40k when the Tories took over and that it’s got worse since then.
I almost forgot in the excitement, that John Key is sending our troops into an illegal war in Iraq without UN or Security Council approval.
As our assistance has been requested the UN doesn’t come into it. Of course, the fact that the government was talking about going before the request came does indicate that we would have gone with or without the Iraqi request.
Our assistance was requested by the Shia side of the sectarian Parliament, and no official paperwork drawn up around it. It’s very minimal cover for our intervention in a civil war.
I got the distinct impression that the request from Iraq was done at the behest of the USA to give a cover for their invasion that they weren’t going to get any other way.
Pretty much – I think your conclusion makes sense. And I think the USA already checked in with John Key to ensure that our answer would indeed be “yes.”
The rich praise the rich.
Importing massive amounts of sweatshop produce, building big boxes that close down other retail and destroy town centres, create lousy low paid work.
Yes Tindall really did make life better for thousands of NZers.
The shareholders of the Warehoise.
It’s like the Walmart family being awarded in the US
Yup and team tindall have been acquiring other niche kiwi etailers etc to ensure the empire of crap continues to prosper. The many brands one owner strategy you see in logistics, booze, dairy products etc.
I only shop at red shed when I don’t expect my purchase to be well made or have longevity but hey that’s the world we live in….never mind the quality feel the width.
Posted the link to Auckland Conversations last week on the topic of housing, and the introduction to the event was full of praise for Stephen Tindall (who attended) and the Warehouse. (Youth & Community Economic Development – David Turner)
I haven’t heard Len Brown speak in public for a while, and was not impressed. Very sycophantic to business overall, and Tindall and the Warehouse specifically on this occasion. I had to only listen with moderate attention to this lovefest, and so could look at these guys and ponder whether their egos are so fragile they must constantly puff each other up at every opportunity: “Like me, like me, – I like you – d’ya like me…?”
The Warehouse has some form of school to work programme, called “Red Shirts in Schools”. If you are interested in seeing the disaster that can be if not managed properly – go and have a look at some the Academy schools in the US. Particularly in areas that are struggling.
The feature speaker, David Turner was – by contrast – much more interesting to listen to.
He spoke of the success of the Swiss system which provides long-term and extensive work business relationships to students, and the experience and effort that goes into ensuring apprenticeships and students have a good fit. This includes a vast resource of independent career counselors and a “three strikes and your in” understanding. That is, businesses are aware that some students who have had no prior experience in industry will require three placements before they have the skills and knowledge to be ready to participate.
He also said that businesses meet regularly to discuss the progress of their “apprenticeships” and keep up with the progress of students that have moved on to other placements. While there is some degree of financial strategy, they recognise they are contributing to the common good. When was the last time we heard that phrase in NZ in the same sentence as business?
He also suggested that he believed that fundamentally business owners in Switzerland got involved in these programmes because of their humanity.
And for the RWNJ reading this, the word is not synonymous with public relations.
Without being undiplomatic, he stated that the business relationships in Australia – where he is from – is not set up to do this kind of support, and until it is, it is likely that repeats of past exploitation of young people would happen. He said he was unqualified to comment on NZ, but if business networks were similar it would have to undergo a big change.
Almost worth listening to Len Brown’s valentine at the beginning – to hear the words business, humanity and common good linked together.
(Unfortunately, Len Brown left after his introduction – so missed an opportunity for a bit of education himself.)
followed by Money laundering from the National party donations,
Greens actually spent more money on the election than Labour (again Labour not listening on the moral issues here so missing out on votes and donations),
GCSB’s obsession with “network security” (which, thanks to Snowden, we now know means “making sure people don’t plug the backdoors we use”) is killing research and driving tech companies out of the country.
SIS’s slow vetting procedures appear to have interfered with the establishment of IGIS’s office and their recruitment of staff. Vetting is their core function, but apparently it still takes months.
IGIS currently has an own-motion inquiry into the SIS underway “which arose from the regular inspection of intelligence warrants [and] is the first Inspector-General inquiry into the “propriety” of particular activities of an intelligence and security agency”. Which sounds as if SIS are abusing their powers. Unfortunately, as its “operational”, all the details are classified, and we’ll only be getting a summary at the end of it. Its unclear whether the victims of any SIS impropriety will be informed of the violation of their rights so they may take legal action against the spies.
Because they’d only been in the role for seven weeks, the IGIS can not certify that GCSB and SIS are complying with their legislation.
So, it turns out that Sky City’s surprise “cost overrun” on their crony-deal convention centre was their plan all along, and that the government knew about it from the beginning:
Here is an article on a crucial aspect of the Iraq conflict that is not getting discussed but is most certainly going to play an ever increasing role in the (re)establishment of a stable Iraq nation.
Iran has always had a hands on influence in many parts of Iraq but appears to be strengthening its presence. As there is little information on this area of the political situation in Iraq, we have no way to know the veracity of the claims, but that can be said of most aspects of this conflict. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-irans-military-chiefs-operate-in-iraq-2015-2
I adapted the map to show where “behind the wire” puts our troops
Addendum:
“Here is an article on a crucial aspect of the Iraq conflict that is not getting discussed..”
I should have said …discussed in the mainstream public arena and the MSM news services…
..i have been offered (much-needed) ‘dirty money’..
..the facts of the matter are that i have a hellish job keeping up with the costs etc. of running whoar..+ life..on the dole..
..(i actually went totally ‘dark’ on tues…pre-paid electricity ran out sooner than expected..and no money to top it up..that was an interesting 24hrs….)
..and i have received an offer to host some paid-content..for an online gambling casino…
..what to do..?..
..while loathing how the gambling-industry exploits the weakest..
..i am not actually opposed to people having the right to throw their money away in whatever stupid way they choose…
hee hee classic dilemma mr ure… whatcha gonna do? Firstly, don’t worry about electricity it is entirely over-rated unless you have a freezer full of food. I know a few who stay off the grid and it works fine…. biggest problem likely to be punching out the daily squawk online.
so, to be or not to be – whether tis nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of struggles…..
you know what you are going to do – you are just temporarily weakened by the devil of temptation.
don’t do it!…its the beginning of the end…and you will lose credibility…the great thing about this site is that it is classy and clean ….has no tacky or amoral or immoral ads
Agree with trp below. It’s well and good to maintain principles and decency – all for it – but you’ve got to live Phil. The constant worry about having no money (been there) means you can’t be much help to anybody let alone yourself. Go for it.
Well, that explains why you didn’t comment on my post on Tuesday, Phil!
For my tuppenceworth, I think you should put the ads up. I don’t see it as a moral compromise or lowering your site’s credibility. It’s just not that kind of website, it’s a news aggregator, not a forum for philosophical discussion. Unlike dope, casino’s are legal, though I wish the situation was reversed.
Use the money to get a regular power account (pre-pay is a total rip off) and maybe think about solar, if that’s possible where you live.
i’ll do that after i’ve got the pony all sorted out..eh..?..
..and i am well aware glo-bug pre-pay is a total gouge..
.the power company forced me onto it..against my will/protestations..
..(their reason..?..my payments were not always on the day..(tho’ i note my power had never been disconnected..the bills were paid..)
..this is one of the ways the poorest get fucked over…
..and here’s another one…!
..fucken animal control..and the fascist bitches (yes..!..i meant to say that..!..stick yer fucken p.c..!..) that drive around in those red vans..
a few months ago..they came to my house..having received a complaint that my dogs weren’t registered..
..my old dog had been registered..but it had expired..and the little one wasn’t..
..i pointed out that it wasn’t deliberate..more an outcome of poverty..
..(and i noted that the old-dog was on her death-legs..was nearly gone..(she died about three weeks later..)
..and this meant nothing..despite this fascist-bitch agreeing that yes..she was clearly near the end..
..so i went and borrowed the money to get both dogs registered..
..and then..here is the kicker..!
..as well as these two horror-shows talking to me in a way they would never address say..a gang-member..?
..(the true mark of the coward-bully..the careful selection of who they will fuck over..)
..i maintained politeness..(with great difficulty..)
..and then..two weeks later..hand-delivered to my letterbox..
..two tickets..back-dated..for $300 each..for having unregistered dogs…
..(a malicious afterthought..?..it was never mentioned to me..)
..i was unable to pay that $600 fine..
..so it has worked its’ way thru the system..
..and i have just been told it + the requisite penalties – will be taken from my benefit..
..(so that was over $1,000 ..that they screwed me for..seems fair..?..eh..?..).
..i see in the media that there will be an inquiry into animal-services auckland..and how they operate..after allegations of cruelty by their officers..
..i would like to give evidence to that inquiry..
..about what would seem to be their ‘normal-practices’..
..because if these pieces of human excrement did this to me..
..you can bet that is what they are doing to everyone,..
…sounds pretty bad alright!….and for many a dog or pet companion is crucial for emotional health when you are down and out ( the people who enforce these rules male or female have to be callous…no other person could do the job)
….maybe yu or others should keep a poverty diary somewhere on line….so people can see in detail what a hard struggle it is…even in New Zealand
I have some idea because i was brought up by a solo parent, who had a professional job, but it was still a struggle ….and i also have a very well educated professional friend who has a long term chronic health problem and is invalided in a state house which could be sold out from under him
….the day to day worry and grind of poverty and living on benefits should be chronicalled for all to see in dairy form…maybe 7 people each take a day of the week?
Things sound a tad grim sorry to hear Phil, however your a stoic chap and harvest
time is near, just remember to give the taxman his share and all will be fine. Take the money from whoever is trying to scam your morals.
I would rather dog owners were registered, I think its sucks they fine you on your own property. Caught in public would be inline with cars. You don’t get fined for having an unregistered car on your property only in public.
Maybe we could fund raise for you, say if you had a wash, a short back and sides, a shave and if you get a real job a hold it we could top up your pay.
Another Vital JB-SFC
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By Turd Ferguson | Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at 8:46 am
I cannot emphasize strongly enough how critically important it is for you to listen to these weekly Ukraine discussions and last night’s episode was no different. Please make the time to give this a thorough listen.
Among the topics covered last evening:
– The inside details of the peace negotiations held last week in Minsk
– A thorough summary of the devastating UAF retreat from Debaltsevo
-The increasing possibility of a coup to depose Ukraine president Poroshenko (and it is this possibility and aftermath that has me most concerned right now)
-The ongoing demonization of Russia and Putin by the war parties of the west
” the gulf between Cabinet ministers and top executives”
I read this line and just about threw up…. a Minister occupies a wholly different role in society than a ceo, different responsibilities, different obligations, different purposes, different organisations, different people, different powers…….
doing the commentaries on q-time means i see the disconnect between how people are suffering..
..and how these fucken clowns spend their days point-scoring against each other..
..seemingly oblivious to the shit so many nz’ers are going thru..
..(and it is not just the fucken tories..!..it is also the useless arse-wipes in give-the-poorest-fuck-all!/no way will we legalise cannabis!..mine/drill/spying on nz’ers’is ok with us!..
Don’t agree with all his scientific positions – at the end he makes statements about climate change that are not founded in any studies – but the history he outlines about his employment with EPA, and his treatment is very interesting.
Also, he studied the likelihood of infection from endoscopes, and attempted to have the accepted sterilisation of the equipment improved, as current practices not only did not remove all infectious material, practitioners were not even following that.
He suggests that most ethical scientists left or were pushed out in the early 1990s.
Perhaps never before have science and private industry collaborated in search of material gains to the extent that they do now. Consumers are becoming unwitting, and in some cases unwilling, test subjects in experiments carried out by government officials working with private industry. The products they sell may change, but their objective stays the same, which is to make a killing without anyone finding out how many people they kill. To this end, government and industry manipulate science to promote nonexistent benefits and create the illusion of safety. On the other hand, scientists who publish valid data in the public interest are incresingly at risk of having their careers ended and reputations destroyed.”
The revolving door of corporate execs and government panels is as dangerous as it is extraordinary. Thanks for the tip, will see if the local library has it/can get it in.
Business don’t like science as it gets in the way of them doing whatever they want. Same can be said of some politicians who only do the bidding of business anyway.
Women are more likely to be religious and so vote more conservatively. Power, money, are harder to obtain for women. So of course conservatives pander to companies and individuals who like them want to stifle change. And hey who wants change. But everyone who loathes change also wants to chase profits and wealth where it enriches themselves, so its not about companies or theists being anti-science, its about hypocrisy, taking the bounty of science and using the wealth created to shout how loathsome science is. You see the history of conservativismis the history of hypocritical lying two faced anti freedom,anti american, anti anything that gets in their way. imho its stupidity but others would call it a opportunity to scare the begeezous out of their comfort fantasies.
Climate change,banking collapses, economics of oil peak, its all revenge on the stupid, and they deserve to have truth spoken to them.
But, into whose arms does this deal push Greece Gossy? Out of the EU, and towards Moscow? I also think the Germans may have just played the fubar play. Austerity is a loss loss solution – the ultimate degenerate play to support greed culture – it’s time as a economic solution appears to be limited – as it’s being exposed for what it is.
So it seems to be that muslims do not accept responsibility for jihadists, despite some/many suggesting that they should shoulder more of the responsibility because they share the same religion. And those that do suggest they are more responsible have been pilloried and even fired – evidence the crazy pastor down south http://www.anglicantaonga.org.nz/Features/Extra/Apology
On a few occasions on here last year it was strongly suggested, and accepted by many, that men should shoulder more of the responsibility for the actions of rapists because they share the same gender.
These two things don’t add up it seems. The cogs don’t mesh, the standards vary, the eyes refuse to see, the mind refuse to think ….
Cunliffe is also an example of this confused, mixed-up and wrong-headed thinking, when he apologised for being a man. If he was also a muslim would he have apologised for being a muslim?
So who is right? Both propositions cannot be right.
“On a few occasions on here last year it was strongly suggested, and accepted by many, that men should shoulder more of the responsibility for the actions of rapists because they share the same gender.”
That’s not how I would put it. I would say that men have a particular responsibility that women don’t because its men’s business (how men relate in the world). And I would say that women have been shouldering the burden way more than is ok because in the past men haven’t been taking their responsibilities seriously. So it’s more about evening up the load.
And by men, I mean men collectively. Obviously it varies hugely when it comes to individuals. But essentially we have rape culture, it’s not enough to say that that’s soley about men who rape, it’s about the things that promote rape, and of course men as a class have huge influence on that, including in ways that women don’t.
tl;dr, women are already doing the work, when are men going to step up.
hi weka,
to be blunt, your comments , to me, are reminiscent of the statement (forgive me i do not recall who said it) “all men are rapists” from the ’80s.
“women are already doing the work, when are men going to step up.”
who are raising these men who are doing the raping?
to be blunt, your comments , to me, are reminiscent of the statement (forgive me i do not recall who said it) “all men are rapists” from the ’80s.
Which means that you truly don’t understand what I meant 🙂
(the statement “all men are rapists” is by a fictional character in a novel by Marilyn French. In order to understand why the character said that, you really need to look at it in context. It’s not what you think it is).
“women are already doing the work, when are men going to step up.”
who are raising these men who are doing the raping?
Presumably their parents. Are you suggesting that men rape because of their upbringing?
My statement about women doing the work refers to the women that have been doing the anti-rape work for decades (eg Rape Crisis). Where are the men’s organisations doing this work?
hi weka,
perhaps you are right, i may have got the wrong end of the stick about your comment.
re the all men are rapists, i do recall that line being used (it may have been by a spokesperson from womens refuge) and getting repeated in the media, causing a stir, both because of the provocative nature of the comment and also how it was defended.
it was in a climate where peter ellis was able to be convicted in the chch civic creche case.
i am suggesting that men rape partly because of their upbringings, and i feel it is a lack of parents as opposed to a parent contributes to this.
(a male in the household showing respect to women).
to the best of my knowledge there are a few male groups (manline, court appointed anger management groups), all running on a tenuous shoestring budget. relying on goodwill of volunteers, much like rape crisis, i suspect.
i would also point to groups like scouts and sports teams where civics, self esteem, cooperation are encouraged in our boys/young men.
“So it seems to be that muslims do not accept responsibility for jihadists, despite some/many suggesting that they should shoulder more of the responsibility because they share the same religion.”
I think you are confusing responsibility and blame (which also explains your views in gender). I see Muslims being responsible when their communities work towards reducing fundamentalism. Men can do the same in reducing rape culture. That’s a different thing than Muslims being to blame for jihadists or men being to blame for individual rapists.
The bishop in your link appears to be blaming individuals for other individuals’ actions over which they have no control. He also appears judgemental (Jews should have learned lessons from the holocaust) and hypocritical (why aren’t individual Muslims doing more to prevent their fundamentalists). Hard to tell from such a short article though.
Cunliffe didn’t apologise for being a man. He apologised for the fact that domestic/sexual violence against women is overwhemingly done by men. And then he told men to wake up and man up and start doing the right things.
There is not contradiction between all these things. The bishop was blaming individuals for things outside of their control. Everyone else is saying x, y, z isn’t ok, let’s work collectively to change that.
Mike Hosking must be a wonderful chap. It says so at the “disclaimer” at the bottom of his applause for his hero Key.
” Mike’s insightfulness and knowledge makes him one of New Zealand’s most successful broadcasters.”
Mike Hosking is just another schoolyard loudmouth, it says more about the people that actually listen to his rantings/opinions then what comes out of his mouth.
He’s not credible and only has his presenter/commentator status because people higher up think he’ll attract viewers/listeners to their medium. More punters = more cash in advertising. I’d rather listen to commentators like Rod Oram / Dame Anne Salmond , at least they are credible, can back opinions with researched facts and are not in it for the show.
Mmm, seem to have my grumpy hat on today, again..
Just finding the media more and more disappointing these days and getting sick of pointing out inconsistencies / false truths to friends. Like asking people if they know the full “I’m ashamed to be a man” quote when they bring it up. Once they realise what he actually said in context, opinions change very quickly.
After more than a decade of testing and demonstrations, Australian company Carnegie Wave Energy has switched on a pilot project that has begun feeding wave-generated electricity into a local WA grid.
“This is the first array of wave power generators to be connected to an electricity grid in Australia and worldwide,” said Ivor Frischknecht, CEO of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, in a statement. The Agency has provided $13 million of the $32 million project.
More renewable energy successfully connected to the grid. Will be interesting to see how this goes.
Not also that that project was only possible due to government support.
God created everything, including adam (this one, but that one too).
When adam got some ‘education’ and reasoning ‘power’, he became cleverer than God and stronger than God and killed him easily without bullets, just with his own powerful thoughts! Cool ye? God of course disappeared from adam’s life while adam was still alive.
But, (there is always a but! ask PG)
God did not really kick the bugger(strike out!) bucket at all. Having been rejected, He waited patiently for adam to die too, hoping to meet the poor soul once again someday sometime somewhere somehow.
Materialists, measurementalists and the acolytes of scientism have always been such a self righteous bunch, in my experience. Forever wanting to force their own beliefs on to others, looking down on those heathen who refuse to adopt the faith, insisting that their way of looking at the universe and all the rich phenomena within it is the one and only way, and declaring knowledge from all other sources and especially from prophets without PhDs false and misleading.
Wow, that makes me think that you lot have a heck of a lot in common with the fundamentalist Christians. You guys should get together and compare notes.
Would you prefer to build a house using measured strengths or just believing that a 4×2 is strong enough to hold up a skyscraper?
Once we have things measured then they’re no longer beliefs. That’s the point. And at that point if you don’t accept them then you’re being delusional.
I have no faith in PhDs. What I do is accept the facts that the research has shown. Creationism has nothing to back it, no research and no observable data. In fact, the observable data precludes Creationism and many other items of faith within religious doctrine.
and declaring knowledge from all other sources and especially from prophets without PhDs false and misleading.
What other sources of gaining quantifiable knowledge are available?
Once we have things measured then they’re no longer beliefs. That’s the point. And at that point if you don’t accept them then you’re being delusional.
Ahhhh, the delightful certainty of the measurementalist. (I made the term up myself, it’s actually an offshoot of the managerialism which has plagued western civilisation for the last 20 years).
So, according to your statement, once you have successfully measured something it is transmogrified and becomes sanctified in the faith as a known “fact”.
Such a fascinating belief system you have.
What other sources of gaining quantifiable knowledge are available?
You are treading close to heresy here! Do you dare imply that there are types of knowledge which cannot be quantified (measured)???
It is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mind-bogglingly useful [as a babelfish] could have evolved purely by chance that some have chosen to see it as the final proof of the NON-existence of God. The argument goes something like this:
“I refuse to prove that I exist,” says God, “for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.”
“But,” says Man, “the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn’t it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves that You exist, and so therefore, by Your own arguments, You don’t. QED”
“Oh dear,” says God, “I hadn’t thought of that,” and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic.
“Oh, that was easy,” says Man, and for an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next zebra crossing.
But, if he gets killed on a zebra crossing, it proves that God does not exist because zebra crossings are definitely meant to stop people dying on zebra crossings.
Well you need to take that up with draco – he said, “Easy. You point out that god was only ever an incorrect belief system that has now been replaced by actual research and facts.”
Take it up with me. The person making the extraordinary claim: that a god-creature exists in the form they assert (as opposed to the ones people from other countries propose), has to provide the evidence.
Actually, they don’t. unless they foist the performance upon children
When they demand the right to child victims, the crimes act provides the solution. Strangle the last priest with the entrails of the last homeopathist.
Fuck that. Why should someone from a different belief system have to satisfy the tenets of your belief system to be seen as valid.
What children should be taught, and what they will rarely be taught, is how to critically and creatively think about things beyond the realms of materialism and logic.
Strangle the last priest with the entrails of the last homeopathist.
Homeopath.
By the way, its science and technology which is losing credibility in the world right now, not homeopathy.
Just as the complex mechanism of a watch requires a magician to hit it with a mallet, so too the complex nature of the universe requires a roll of multicoloured handkerchieves to surreptitiously unravel…
lol but where did that watch and handkerchiefs (never would have believed that that was how you spell that word but there you go) come from. Anyway my original comment was about the killing god bit – I’m struggling to engage with this stuff tbh
Existential kicking-around is fun, but largely pointless (other than as a logical exercise). I generally figure that if I wait a few decades (hopefully that long) I’ll find out either way, or not (as the case may be) 🙂
Science is great. But no one, including Science, can ever in this life ‘PROVE’ or ‘DISPROVE’ there is a God, if there is a God, who is more powerful and the most powerful of all. Transcending dimensions, if you believe in the scientific theories of dimensions. Beyond the realm of known physics and science.
May be, by definition of divine and God, you shouldn’t expect any such worldly explanation or proof because God by definition transcends our dimension, reasoning, brain power, science and he/she/it is not of this world. So one has to have faith or a sense of life, soul, God, ethics, morals, conscience….or not.
OAB, why should anyone bother to submit to you types and categories of evidence that your personal belief system finds acceptable and valid?
How is it that your personal belief system led you to be so totally incurious and close minded? Is this really how science and technology advanced so far over the last 500 years of western civilisation?
How is it that someone like you knows so much better and so much more confidently than scientific geniuses like Einstein and Newton?
Well, Einstein’s work superceded Newton’s, and when he said “God does not play dice”, he was wrong, as delayed choice quantum erasure demonstrates.
That said, it’s pretty clear from your comment that you haven’t the first idea what I’m talking about. Again. Thus you twist my words into a new shape all your own.
In the first place I’m not asking you to submit evidence. I couldn’t give a toss about the brainless witterings of an anti-science fundie.
Secondly, I’m simply observing that if all phenomena are explicable by “natural” causes, there’s no room for miracles, and your sky fairy is just as bound by universal laws as the rest of us.
Clem, there are masses of things that are “beyond the realm of known physics and science.”
Some, like out-of-body experiences, are replicable and as yet unexplained. Others, like dark matter, are areas of pure conjecture arising from observed phenomena.
This is called “the god of the gaps” – asserting that deity exists in the unknown, and then finding that the unknown keeps getting smaller.
Transcendental experiences lead deists to assert deity, and yet some of the oldest books in the world explain such things as evidence that everything is connected, and urge us to “trust in our senses”, while explicitly denying the existence of gods.
Meanwhile, religion is an accident of birth. Perhaps I’d be more accepting had I been born a Viking.
The girl’s mother, who did not wish to be named because she feared further exclusion for her daughter, said frustrations boiled over when she saw the school’s Christian Religious Education (CRE) volunteer approach her daughter and other young children before school.
It was understood he worked nearby and would come onto school grounds during break times to speak to children about religious matters.
The girl said he approached her and other children “often” and spoke to them about God, heaven and angels.
Not a “medical dictatorship”, a corporate dictatorship. Hence the TTPA. If the government introduces regulations which limit the use of, and hence the profitability of, a given drug, corporations have the rights to get those regulations re-examined and potentially rescinded.
“While we welcome the New Zealand government’s engagement with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, the rejection of key recommendations to address social inequality is deeply concerning,” said Amanda Brydon, Advocacy Manager at Amnesty International New Zealand.
“Unfortunately New Zealand has failed to show the world and our own people that the Government is willing to close the gap when it comes to human rights protection in our own country.”
The Government accepted 121 of the recommendations made by States during New Zealand’s review process in January and rejected 34.
Of the 34 that were rejected, a significant number offered specific advice on strengthening New Zealand’s legal protection of economic, social and cultural rights that would guide genuine solutions to addressing New Zealand’s poor performance on issues such as child poverty.
New Zealand has one of the highest rates of relative child poverty in the developed world, with children frequently missing out on meals, getting sick with third-world diseases, living in poor housing conditions, underachieving at school and feeling marginalised in their communities.
“Unfortunately, despite commitments to do so, the Government isn’t doing its utmost to address this, as by accepting some recommendations while rejecting others they are simply taking a band aid approach,” said Amanda Brydon.
It’s a tuff job no doubt but they seem to get pretty big raises fairly often, I’d have a crack for 100k . not sure which party would have me though.:-)
I notice our leader is making a bit of political hay going round saying he doesn’t want it but can’t do anything about it , funny he seems to be able to change laws when it suits him.
give the kid an overdose, pump his stomach and the charge the parents for the pumping ffs
Graeme Dagg has also revealed he had to pay to save his son’s life because the mishap happened in a private hospital — which meant he was billed for pumping his son’s stomach.
No McFlock it has to be more personal and intimate than that. It’s like a hospital that amputated your leg wrongly, and then charged you for the surgery and the legal counsel they needed to answer your complaint.
The mother said she commented on the size of the syringe for the little boy, you would have thought it would have prompted a check by the nurse who was either distracted, rushing, or robotic. 85 mils instead of, appropriate for the child/s weight, a tenth or a hundredth of that.
Just putting one aspect of it it in more identifiable terms. Frankly, I’m intrigued that he was billed for the cost of their misconduct, in addition to being concerned that the misconduct occurred in the first place.
I’ve no idea what it’s like to have a limb amputated, correct one or otherwise.
His son was supposed to be given 8.5mg of codeine before the operation, but he was given 85mg after both a nurse and senior nurse misread the prescription.
The nurses discussed that it was a large dose but neither checked with the anaesthetist.
The report also criticised the legibility and comprehensiveness of the anaesthetist’s documentation.
Which tends to indicate that they were using hand-written documentation and that is just not acceptable. Some peoples handwriting is just simply unreadable and so we need to remove that from the equation.
While Key talks about the Iraq deployment being the ‘price of the club’, it will be ordinary people in Iraq who pay that price not people like him or his kids (can anyone imagine Max or Stephanie Key on the frontline?)
I was disappointed by the much talked about Shaw. What was with the shiny suit, more fitting for the ACT party, the fit was terrible. This guy is a non event and should be kept to making Norman’s morning coffee. It will be the Nat/Greens if this guy is made co leader.
I just think it was average at best, considering he wants to be leader. The other bloke has better creds although mollyhawk Hughes still fancies his chances.
..and hughes has the unfortunate-blessing/curse of a young/baby-face..
..and as one similarly cursed/blessed i can tell him he can console himself with the fact he will appreciate that more and more..the older he gets..(heh..!)
..when all the craggy-faced ones are looking like shit..he won’t..
..but as for gravitas..?..nah..!..
..he always seems so ‘perky’..
..and he does try just a little bit too much/hard..
i was very impressed with Shaw’s end of year speech to parliament ….is he really, really a right winger?
….I mean can Shaw be more right wing and wissey wussy than the Little Labour Party putting in Shearer instead of Norman or Metiria Turei on the spy committee …..and taking paid advice from right wing journalist David Cohen?…pot calling kettle black?
….really what is needed for the Green Party is someone with the charisma and abilities of Shaw to sock it to John Key Nactional…Shaw does have this ability
…it has to be proven Shaw is a right winger and worse than the Labour Party before he is discounted imo…where is the proof ? I say…or is it just a smear campaign against someone with considerable ability who really can stick it to both Nactional and Little Labour ?
+100 Ad….yes I for one would be very interested to see Shaw’s real colours flying from the mast…he must come clean as to where he stands if he expects to get the Green vote for co-leadership…and he must be held to account to be true to his word
…sometimes people who come from the right of the spectrum ( either by birth or education privilege or profession position) are nevertheless true democrats and Lefties eg Tony Benn ….so it does not pay to right them off without evidence…the Greens need the best and truest person for the job
@ Ad re your statement: “Shaw is getting extremely experienced help from strong and longtime right activists”
….where is the EVIDENCE?!
….we have evidence Little and Labour got paid advice/help from right wing journalist David Cohen…the same journalist who dissed and smeared Hone Harawira?
Did anyone else notice in Parliament yesterday, when Key was questioned about the Lui donation dinner, he said he was there in his capacity as leader of the National Party! Wearing another hat again, other than that of PM!
Key gets caught out time and time again, yet nothing happens to him! Who or what is protecting him?
,i>”when Key was questioned about the Liu donation dinner, he said he was there in his capacity as leader of the National Party!”
Yeah right!
If any one, any one at all, believes that Liu invited Key as the leader of National party and not because he is Prime Minister, then such a person is not only an idiot, but a stupid idiot.
And is Liu such a nice innocent man that he would invite Key and his little boy Ross, to eat some dumplings and stuff, without having any ulterior dodgy motives like cash for favours? If yes, he should be knighted if not cannonaded as our very first Saint of Aotearoa NZ, along with Key and Jamie. Three in one, like the three way handshake for the troty. Cool bananas!
There’s a reason the Conservatives and their allies in the reactionary press invoke this phantom of the ‘underclass’. They are wrong, but not, as is often said, ‘out of touch’.
That article mentions a study that shows that even poor people think that there are people who are work shy. The study couldn’t find these work shy people though.
Divisive film Triumph des Willens took home a single Academy Award on Sunday night. Naturally, Sean Hannity and others were quick to come up with their reasons why this movie, which is about their favorite politician, did not nab top honors: “liberal Hollywood.”
Hannity took to Twitter to share this “hot take.” Here were the right’s reactions to Triumph des Willens‘ loss:
Sean Hannity: Triumph des Willens snubbed by liberal hwood Predictable. #CluelessOscars
6:07 PM – 23 Feb 1936
Terri Green @TerriGreenUSA
Follow
Hey @TheAcademy from Americans all over this county you know who won at the Box Office? Triumph des Willens
6:12 PM – 23 Feb 1936
Ernesto @Liberty4480
Follow
#Oscars1936 snub of #TriumphDesWillens is as bad as giving #wilson #NobelPeacePrize. Not surprised w #Hollywood #liberalbias #tcot #p2
6:12 PM – 23 Feb 1936
Brandon Morse @TheBrandonMorse
Follow
Don’t worry about #TriumphDesWillens not winning an Oscar folks. It already won the award for best MUTHA FUCKIN MONAY! #Oscars1936
7:17 PM – 23 Feb 1936
Spencer Hawes ✔ @spencerhawes00
Follow
Triumph des willens got absolutely robbed imho. Incredible story of an even more incredible man. #RIPHorstWessel
6:10 PM – 23 Feb 1936
He sure did. This taxpayer gravy train has to stop. $100 million feeds a lot of kids. How on earth kiwi’s are easily conned is beyond me, the egotistical captains of industry must be laughing their heads off.
Bullshit they were out walleted the yanks did shit to there boat that was’nt covered under the rules , the fact that the holders w
right the rules is problem.
Cricko, we live in a society predicated on a unchanging pool of the unemployed that keeps wages down, workers subservient and poverty permanent. The real question isn’t about Phil, it’s about you. If you’re that fucken clever, why don’t you offer Phil a job?
I’m personaly not in a position to offer Phil Ure a job.
However, people must apply for a job in order to be offered a job.
Thats the way it normaly works.
A bludger who sits on his arse, pontificates upon the shortfalls of others, and is happy to believe that his fellow citizens owe him, is never likely to apply for a job.
Ask your mate Phillip Ure what year was it when he last even applied for a job.
Nope. You’re pointless. I think there is a lot to be said about the dignity of work, but equally, I have no problem with those who aren’t, or can’t, be a model worker. Phil annoys me regularly, but I have more respect for him than I’ll ever have for you.
There’s a search function up on the right hand side. Enter ‘cricko’ and you’ll see why you haven’t earned my respect. Phil ‘works’, just not for someone else and (unless he’s taken the casino’s coin 😉 ) not for profit. From what little I know of him, I think he probably could do a ‘job’, but I know nothing about his circumstances, where he lives, what job options there are in his community.
Phil seems to me to very capable of holding down a job, but everything I know about how WINZ are geared to punishment these days suggests to me that there must be valid reasons why that’s not an option.
If you want to stand in judgement, then more fool you.
You’re assuming all people are put together the same and can deal with getting up in the morn to go do something that in a lot of cases is drudgery
I give Mr Ure a bit of stick on occasion but the world is a richer place with people in it that refuse to bow down to the norm.
I’d rather a few of my tax dollars go to him than fucking sky city.
cricko
Everyone has something useful to do in society. For you it is working at some job that you can manage. For somebody else it is coping with an chronic illness and working when there is work available that that person can do. If they are using their brain to think and communicate information that is helpful to society, then that could be the best thing that they can do.
You obviously have trouble understanding how society works and how people’s
needs and abilities differ and you want simple answers, so stick to doing simple jobs that you can manage.
It’s a fucking Americanism is what it is, like “full spectrum dominance” and “total information awareness” and all the other lovely things they’ve brought to the language.
hey cricko,
can i reccomend a couple of looks on you tube at guy standings lectures.
he highlights (amongst other things) how tories see the monetary system as rewarding ‘good’ people and punishing’bad’ people.
ie if you have money you are ok.
he also points at the lack of empathy or compassion that right wing folk show.
also the need for a ubi ( an idea supported by hard right folk such as milton friedman).
Oh piss off there isn’t enough work to go around, what with slave import labour, zero hours work. Obviously Phil is making a sacrifice so others can at least say they are working to idiots like you. Thanks Phil.
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As polling day in the American presidential election draws closer, things are looking bad for Donald Trump. The polls show that he is tracking well behind his Democrat rival. Most people assume that the President will be striving might and main to avoid what looks increasingly likely to be a ...
Our health professionals do an amazing job. Image credit: Wikipedia – Cardiac surgery. Finally, I have got back to these rankings. A long period in hospital and computer problems meant the June 2020 rankings were abandoned. Now, with a new personal defibrillator implanted in my chest and a new hard ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 26 through Sat, Aug 1, 2020Editor's ChoiceThe four types of climate denier, and why you should ignore them allThe shill, the grifter, the egomaniac and the ideological ...
Over the last few days, reports have emerged of people travelling from New Zealand and testing positive for Covid-19 upon arrival at their destination. First in South Korea and now in Australia. What might these positive tests mean?They’re false-positives As Toby Morris and I have explained before, there are ...
Former National Minister - Wayne MappYou could tell that the Hit and Run book by investigative journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson was right on the money by the way former National Party Minister of Defence, Wayne Mapp, reacted to its now largely vindicated claims.Even though the recent inquiry into ...
So, the Hit and Run inquiry has reported back, and found some appalling shit at NZDF and NZSIS. And while they quibble a few of the details - the name of a dead child - they basicly uphold Hager and Stephenson's version of events. The SAS went to those villages. ...
We are failing to think though the interdependencies in an economy. We miss economist Bryan Philpott (1921-2000). I miss him personally – we used to have such great discussions – but this column is about how the nation misses his economic experience and wisdom. We tend to ...
Michelle Boag - LeakerThe Heron report (PDF) was released yesterday, and it was a bit disappointing to say the least. It correctly found that former National Party president Michelle Boag and National Party MP Hamish Walker were politically motivated in leaking peoples private medical information, but didn’t look further into ...
Adam Smith, Massey UniversityA recent global assessment of shark populations at 371 coral reefs in 58 countries found no sharks at almost 20% of reefs and alarmingly low numbers at many others. The study, which involved over 100 scientists under the Global FinPrint project, gave New Zealand a good ...
On different trajectories and from different ends of the political spectrum, last night’s One News/Colmar Brunton poll has the Green Party and ACT converging around the five percent mark. And, as odd as it may sound, they head into the election campaign with a lot in common.Putting the Greens and ...
Janet Stephenson, University of OtagoA proposed multibillion-dollar project to build a pumped hydro storage plant could make New Zealand’s electricity grid 100% renewable, but expensive new infrastructure may not be the best way to achieve this. New Zealand’s electricity generation is already around 80% renewable, with just over half ...
Truth In Advertising: Labour, it would seem, is the party that knows nothing about running the economy right up until the moment that it does. HOW DID LABOUR acquire its reputation for being a poor economic manager? As with most things political and historical, it’s a long story.In the beginning, the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Government rulemakers looking to decide how much money to spend to avoid adding more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere need a good estimate of what a warming climate will cost in social damages, for example through more extreme weather events. That point makes ...
Fact Check: New Zealand’s own relationship with China might, however, be salvageable if our own Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was willing to equip its minister, Winston Peters, with a few facts. Legislating for the protection of national security – the very action our Foreign Minister is decrying – ...
I hope we can all agree that charging only certain returning expats for isolation costs is the right call. Instead of a blanket fee, which may have resulted in a small number of Kiwis deciding not to return home because of financial reasons, the Government has chosen to implement a ...
Back at the beginning of this government, the Greens made a foolish decision to support the Electoral Integrity Act - demanded by Winston Peters to keep his own backbench in line as part of his coalition deal with Labour - as an act of good faith within the coalition. It ...
SATURDAY AUGUST 1Artefact (Prime, 7.30pm). The series presented by Dame Anne Salmond screened on Māori Television, but is totally worth revisiting if you saw it the first time. Dame Anne tells the stories of taonga that highlight the history of Aotearoa. Further reading: this 2013 interview with Dame Anne by the lovely ...
Have unions and the Government sold workers short with their attempt at fixing the so-called “Hobbit Law”? Unionist Ian Powell argues that the union movement has been outmanoeuvered, and the Government has agreed to a new piece of anti-worker legislation that retains the principles of the previous National Government’s hated ...
Most of the claims made by anti-fluoride propagandists are simply wrong. Image source:Fluoridation and the ‘sciency’ facts of critics Anti-fluoride propagandists continually cite studies from areas of endemic fluorosis in their arguments against ...
An article in the EETimes suggests that advances in autonomous vehicles are not moving as quickly as expected because those working on them have confused complicated problems with complex ones. Engineering can only take you so far in complex worlds. Complicated systems tend to have fairly predictable inputs, processes and outputs. Complex systems (like ...
Last week, after Judith Collins announced that National would be cruel and vicious to kiwis caught overseas by the pandemic, and rob them at the border if they returned home, Labour looked like it was falling all over itself to cry "me too". But now, it looks like kindness has ...
If entry into New Zealand from abroad is safe, it should be allowed. People arriving from places that are Covid-free, or no more risky than New Zealand, and who get here on flights that do not intersect with risky places, should return to normal travel arrangements. Currently, the Cook ...
Liz SlootenScientists from the University of Otago, working with colleagues from around the world, have found that New Zealand right whales are doing much better than right whales in other parts of the world. The research was published as the feature article in the journal Marine Ecology Progress ...
Back in 2019, the government asked for a comprehensive, independent review of the Resource Management Act and associated legislation. That review has now reported back and recommended a complete repeal and re-enactment. Despite the headlines, this is not a "scrapping" - we're still going to have a resource management law, ...
By Associate Professor Mik Black, Department of Biochemistry, University of OtagoThe increased availability of complex biological data sets means that analysis and computation are becoming critically important skills for New Zealand’s future scientists. Because of this, we need to be doing everything we can to help our students develop ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzIs humanity doomed? If in 2030 we have not reduced ...
Britain's spy agencies are supposedly overseen by various watchdogs, including the investigatory powers tribunal. But it turns out that MI6 at least has contempt for those watchdogs, and attempted to interfere with the operations of the tribunal by concealing evidence from its judges: MI6 has been accused of “inappropriate interference” ...
Daphna Whitmore So far this year over 7.4 million people have died from preventable communicable diseases. There were 4.3 million children who died under the age of five. Nearly one million people have died of HIV/AIDS in the past six months. A similar number of people have died from malaria ...
Four weeks ago I wrote about the last time a sizable asteroid hit our planet – the ‘Tunguska Event’ of 1908, when an object about 50 metres across exploded above the Siberian taiga – but smaller cosmic rocks shoot close by Earth fairly frequently. In the past 42 hours ...
Last month, China imposed a new "national security law" on Hong Kong. The law imposes a penalty of life imprisonment for secession, subversion, and "colluding with foreign forces" - which basicly means peacefully advocating for democracy or independence. It has been used to crush peaceful protests and interpreted by the ...
Powerful Connection: Neoliberalism is the antithesis of everything that has traditionally been associated with the feminine aspects of human nature. Kindness and compassion, nurturance and inclusiveness: such qualities have no place in the neoliberal order. When Jacinda proclaimed her determination to practice the “politics of kindness”, she was, wittingly or ...
The bad news: Jacinda Ardern still wants to bill exiled kiwis for returning home. The good news: it would require a law change, which the Greens won't back, so she'll need to go grovelling to National. The other good news: she's running out of time to do it. This ...
. . For the mainstream media, today (22 July) was even a better day than yesterday. More Sex. More Politics. More Sex AND Politics. Yesterday, the msm dealt with Andrew Falloon. The obscure backbench MP had been found to have sent pornographic images to at least four women. The woman’s ...
If you want to understand what is happening in this year’s election campaign, it’s worth looking to the past for guidance. Colin James delves into recent contests and finds some interesting parallels. July 28 is 53 days before the 2020 election. Just 53 days before the 2017 election ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters Wildfires burned much less acreage in the U.S. than average during the first half of the year, but with hot and dry conditions expected over much of the nation in the coming months, fire activity is likely to ramp up. ...
Today a full bench of the High Court is hearing Andrew Borrowdale's challenge to the legality of the COVID-19 lockdown. That lockdown ended two months ago, so the point seems moot - but it was never about ending it. Instead, as Andrew Geddis points out, its about a key principle ...
So far, this has been a relatively policy-free election campaign. The government has been trying to keep a low profile, on the basis that anything they say will only piss someone off, so better to say as little as possible. When its not knifing its leader, National has promised roads, ...
I hardly ever comment on polls, because horse-race politics is superficial and boring and most changes are statistically meaningless and so unworthy of attention (let alone the excitement they provoke amongst mathematically illiterate political journalists desperate to fill airtime). But we've now had two polls in a row showing Labour ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on its inquiry into the operation of the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020. As you'd expect, they find that the law was "necessary and appropriate", but would like to see a permanent replacement providing for health emergency powers as the Health ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... John Cook in the News... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Major new climate study rules out less severe global warming scenariosAn analysis finds the most ...
It hasn’t taken long for the advent of Judith Collins as National party leader to change the tone of the political debate. After several days of headlines and airwaves dominated by reports of a National MP sending pornographic images to young women, the National leader had had enough of that ...
On 1 August, we marked the anniversary of Jacinda Ardern becoming the Leader of the Labour Party. On that day in 2017, Leader Andrew Little nominated Jacinda Ardern to succeed him and lead the party to victory.Now, three years on, we look back at some of the key moments ...
With the June 2020 quarter showing underemployment increasing, the Green Party is calling for a Guaranteed Minimum Income and an increase to the abatement threshold to ensure everyone has a dignified income. ...
We went hard and we went early in our health response to COVID-19, and we did everything we could to cushion the economic impact too. In fact, we can fill every letter of the alphabet with the steps we took to fight COVID-19 and ensure we were in a position ...
Investing in our people, backing businesses, and upgrading infrastructure and housing throughout the country - it's been another week of progress for New Zealanders as we deliver our plan to recover and rebuild. ...
July was another busy month, packed with key investments aimed at progressing our economic recovery as we rebuild New Zealand. We extended support for businesses, helped create jobs through local infrastructure projects, and kept working to clean up our waterways so Kiwis can access safe clean water. Check out the ...
The Green Party is calling for the Defence Force Chiefs in place between 2010-2017 to front up and explain how dishonesty, process and policy failures within the Defence Force led to ‘a series of incorrect statements in briefings to ministers and public releases’ regarding alleged breaches of international torture prevention ...
Thanks to our strong health response, New Zealand’s economy is more open than many other countries. But as COVID continues to surge around the world, the economic consequences of the virus will continue to be a challenge, which is why we have a detailed plan to help New Zealand bounce ...
Thanks to our strong health response, New Zealand’s economy is more open than many other countries. But as COVID continues to surge around the world, the economic consequences of the virus will continue to be a challenge, which is why we have a detailed plan to help New Zealand bounce ...
The Green Party are ensuring that New Zealanders who were overseas when COVID-19 hit will not be charged for the cost of isolation or quarantine if they return home to live. ...
It's been another week of creating jobs, supporting local businesses, and investing in infrastructure up and down the country - all of which are helping to keep our economy moving post-COVID-19. ...
Law changes to end tenure review and provide for better management of Crown pastoral lands in the South Island high country were considered by Parliament today with the first reading of the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill says Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage. ...
The Green Party have secured legislative amendments in a bill expected to pass third reading this week, to ensure better rules for school teachers and staff, so they can de-escalate children with diverse needs and cognitive differences, such as autism, rather than using unnecessary and often traumatising force. ...
New Zealand needs to be more aggressive in pursuing economic opportunities and resist the short-term thinking affecting some of its major industry, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says.Mr Peters told Wellington Chamber of Commerce members this morning that the planned closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter will have ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has ridiculed the National Party "circus", with the politician saying it was in "chaos" after the resignation of another MP.Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon announced on Monday he would retire from politics after he allegedly sent inappropriate pornographic images to a young woman. Following a ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters today outlined what he saw as the requirements to re-open New Zealand's borders for tourists and travellers. If New Zealand was dealing solely with an Australian state such as Tasmania, we wouldn't need a vaccine, said Mr Peters, but these moves were complicated by the ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters appears to have prompted last-minute alterations to proposed legislation for commercial landlords and their tenants. Mr Peters told reporters on Wednesday said that he was making sure the proposed bill was in step with what the parties had actually agreed to. He said he ...
Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprise and New Zealand First List MP Shane Jones attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new NZ Post "super depot" in Wellington. The state-owned postal service, which got $280 million from the Coalition Government last month, is expanding its operations to handle surging parcel volumes. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First CHECK AGAINST DELIVERYIntroduction Good afternoon. Welcome to you all here today and party supporters watching from around the country. We appreciate your hard work keeping New Zealand First strong; thank you for keeping the faith. Sixty-three days out from Election Day, ...
The diversity of conservation boards around Aotearoa is increasing with 47 appointments to 14 of the 15 conservation boards across New Zealand announced today by the Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage. ...
The Green Party is honoured to be remembering former co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons today at a public memorial service in the heart of Wellington at the Cathedral of St. Paul’s. Following her passing in March, this celebration of her life brings together her friends, family and colleagues to honour her life ...
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage has announced a $2.5 million boost for South Westland to help a regional alliance of local businesses and government agencies provide nature based jobs. ...
Investing in infrastructure is one major way we can create jobs, stimulate the economy, and keep New Zealand moving post COVID-19. That's why this week we rolled out a massive number of infrastructure announcements - in Tairāwhiti, Wairarapa, Otago, Southland and more! ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters says the National Party’s Auckland Transport announcement today is a breath-taking plan on the never never. While it is promising to see that National all of a sudden has rediscovered railways in Auckland, including trains ...
New Zealand and Australia reaffirmed today the need for the closest possible collaboration as they tackle a global environment shaped by COVID-19, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said. “In these challenging times, our close collaboration with Australia is more vital than ever,” said Mr Peters. Mr Peters and his Australian ...
The Government has confirmed a community-wide trial of CovidCard technology as it explores options for COVID-19 contact tracing. “Effective contact tracing is a vital part of the COVID-19 response,” Minister of Health Chris Hipkins said. “While manual processes remain the critical component for contact tracing, we know digital solutions can ...
A new Department of Conservation (DOC) action plan tackles the impacts of climate change on New Zealand’s biodiversity and DOC managed infrastructure including tracks, huts and cultural heritage. Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage says extreme weather events around the country have really brought home our vulnerability to changing weather patterns. ...
A heavily scaled back international Antarctic season will commence this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods have confirmed. “Antarctica is the only continent that is COVID-19 free,” Mr Peters said. “Throughout the global pandemic, essential operations and long-term science have continued at ...
The Government is providing up to $30 million to help fund the NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport in Upper Hutt - an investment that will create 244 jobs. “The sports hub is designed to be a world-leading shared service for a range of sports, offering the level of facilities ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today transport projects currently in construction will continue at pace due to extra Government support for transport projects to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. To keep the $16.9 billion 2018-21 National Land Transport Programme going the Government has allocated funding from the COVID Response and ...
$50 million for further rural broadband digital connectivity has been allocated from the $3 billion infrastructure fund in the COVID Response and Recovery Fund has been announced by Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure and Kris Faafoi, Minister for Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media. The investment will go to boosting broadband ...
The Minister for Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media has congratulated the Ultra-fast Broadband (UFB) programme on its major milestone of connecting more than 1 million New Zealand households and businesses to UFB. “This milestone has been 10 years in the making and demonstrates the popularity of the UFB network. “Uptake ...
Landmark legislation passed today puts New Zealand on track to saving thousands of lives and having a smokefree generation sooner rather than later, Associate Health Minister, Jenny Salesa says. The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill regulates vaping products and heated tobacco devices. “There has long been concern ...
A discriminatory law that has been a symbol of frustration for many people needing and providing care and support, has been scrapped by the Government. “Part 4A of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill (No 2) was introduced under urgency in 2013 by a National Government,” Associate ...
Kiwi motorists are set to reap the benefits of a more competitive fuel market following the passing of the Fuel Industry Bill tonight, Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods says. “This Act is where the rubber meets the road in terms of our response to the recommendations made in the ...
The Government has delivered on its promise to New Zealanders to modernise tenancy laws with the passing of the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill 2020 today, says Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing), Kris Faafoi. “The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 was out-dated and the reforms in the RTA modernise our ...
New rules to protect and restore New Zealand’s freshwater passed into law today. Environment Minister David Parker and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor welcomed the gazetting of the new national direction on freshwater management. “These regulations deliver on the Government’s commitment to stop further degradation, show material improvements within five years and ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced the appointment of Jeremy Clarke-Watson as New Zealand’s new Consul-General in Los Angeles. “New Zealand and the United States share a close and dynamic partnership, based on a long history of shared values and democratic traditions,” Mr Peters said. “Mr Clarke-Watson is a ...
Victims of family violence can end a tenancy with two days’ notice Landlords can terminate tenancies with 14 days’ notice if tenants assault them Timeframe brought forward for limiting rent increases to once every 12 months Extension of time Tenancy Tribunal can hear cases via phone/video conference Reform of New ...
Two employment schemes – one new and one expanded – going live today will help tens of thousands of people continue training on the job and support thousands more into work, the Government has announced. Apprenticeship Boost, a subsidy of up to $12,000 per annum for first year apprentices and ...
The Government is funding a significant infrastructure package at Omokoroa which will create 150 new jobs and help transform the Western Bay of Plenty peninsula, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Phil Twyford says the Government is investing $14 million towards the $28 million roading and water package. This ...
The Bill allowing the Government to recover some costs for managed isolation and quarantine passed its third reading today, with charges coming into force as soon as regulations are finalised. Putting regulations into force is the next step. “The COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill and its supporting regulations will ...
Today’s unemployment data shows the Government’s plan to protect jobs and cushion the blow for businesses and households against the economic impact of COVID-19 was the right decision, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. Stats NZ said today that New Zealand’s unemployment rate in the June quarter – which includes the ...
A new role of New Zealand Reading Ambassador for children and young people is being established, Prime Minister and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Internal Affairs and for Children, Tracey Martin announced today. The Reading Ambassador, announced at a Celebration of Reading event at ...
Community Law Centres will receive a funding boost to meet the increased need for free legal services due to COVID-19, Justice Minister Andrew Little said. The $3.5m funding is for the next three financial years and is additional to the almost $8 million for Community Law Centres announced in Budget ...
New Zealand has joined Canada and Chile in a new trade initiative aimed at increasing women’s participation in global trade. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker, together with Canada’s Minister for Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade Mary Ng, Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrés Allamand, and Chile’s Vice ...
Building owners around New Zealand have benefited from the latest round of Heritage EQUIP funding with grants totalling $2,230,166. “The Heritage EQUIP grants for seismic strengthening assist private building owners to get the professional advice they need to go ahead with their projects or support them to carry out the ...
• New paediatric facilities, including a Special Baby Care Unit • Up to 50 extra inpatient beds • New lab facilities Northland babies and their whānau will soon have access to improved hospital care when they need it with Health Minister Chris Hipkins today confirming new paediatric facilities and more ...
People walking and cycling between Featherston and Greytown, or along Wellington’s Eastern Bays will soon have a safe shared path, as part of a $220 million shovel-ready cycleways package announced by Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter. “During lockdown we saw many more families and kids out on their bikes, ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today extended New Zealand’s condolences following the death of Vanuatu’s High Commissioner to New Zealand, Johnson Naviti, who passed away yesterday afternoon in Wellington. “Our thoughts are with the High Commissioner’s family and colleagues during this difficult time. This is a terrible loss both to ...
The Government has today set out the regional allocations of the $761 million Three Waters stimulus and reform funding for councils announced by Prime Minister Hon Jacinda Ardern this month. "I want to thank Councils around the country for engaging with the Central Local Government Steering Group who have been ...
Students with high and complex learning needs, as well as their teachers and parents, will benefit from a substantial increase to Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding, Associate Education Minister Martin announced today. “Nearly $160 million will go towards helping these students by lifting their base support over the next four ...
Funding for innovative projects to connect Kiwis with affordable, safe and wholesome food, reduce food waste, and help our food producers recover from COVID-19 has been announced today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “COVID-19 has seen an increasing number of families facing unprecedented financial pressure. Foodbanks and community food service ...
Eight shovel-ready projects within Kāinga Ora large-scale developments, and the Unitec residential development in Auckland have been given the go-ahead, Minister for Housing Dr Megan Woods announced today. Megan Woods says these significant infrastructure upgrades will ensure that the provision of homes in Auckland can continue apace. “The funding announced ...
The Government is funding a new separated walking and cycleway path along Napier’s Chambers and Ellison streets to provide safer access for local students and residents across Marine Parade and State Highway 51, Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Police Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Funding of $2.7 million has been ...
More than 13,000 people have been employed so far thanks to the Coalition Government’s Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has today announced. The number of jobs created by Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) investments has outstripped the 10,000 jobs target that the Government and Provincial Development Unit ...
Scientists and innovative fishing operators from Stewart Island and Fiordland to Nelson, Marlborough and Wellington have been honoured in the first ever Seafood Sustainability Awards. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash has congratulated the winners of the inaugural Seafood Sustainability Awards held at Parliament. “The awards night honours six winners, from a wide ...
The Government is providing an investment totalling more than $100 million for regions to protect against and mitigate the effects of climate change, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones have announced. Six regions will receive funding from the $3 billion allocated to infrastructure projects from the ...
Three major local projects at Te Kuiti and Otorohanga have been given the money to get moving after the impact of Covid 19, says the Minister of Māori Development Hon Nanaia Mahuta. The projects range from a Sports Centre for Te Kuiti, a redevelopment of the Otorohanga Kiwi House and ...
The Coalition Government has extended three New Zealand Defence Force deployments to the Middle East and Africa by two years, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Ron Mark announced today. “These deployments promote peace in the Middle East and Africa by protecting civilians and countering the spread of ...
The release of the National Climate Change Risk Assessment shows that the progress this Government has made to solve the climate crisis is essential to creating cleaner and safer communities across New Zealand. “Because of this report, we can see clearer than ever that the action our Government is taking ...
The second round of the Community Resilience Fund is now open for applications for sport and recreation organisations experiencing financial hardship between 1 July and 30 September 2020. “The fund opens today for five weeks – closing on September 6. The amount awarded will be decided on a case-by-case basis ...
Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today declared Rakitū Island, off the coast of Aotea/Great Barrier Island, predator free. “I’m delighted to announce that with rats now gone, Rakitū is officially predator free. This is a major milestone because Rakitū is the last DOC administered island in the Hauraki Gulf Marine ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing $8.75 million to restore significant historic sites at Ōhaeawai in the Far North, upgrade marae and fund fencing and riparian planting. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones made the announcements following a service at the historic St Michael’s Anglican Church at Ōhaeawai today. Just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Aroney, Professor of Constitutional Law, The University of Queensland There is a theory that despite all the commotion, religious freedom faces no significant threat in Western democracies like Australia. Therefore, the argument goes, we do not need a federal Religious Discrimination ...
The Government has announced it will test run the CovidCard contact tracing system in Rotorua, Marc Daalder reports The plan to give every New Zealander a Bluetooth-enabled CovidCard for contact tracing is one step closer to fruition. On Thursday, Health Minister Chris Hipkins and Government Digital Services Minister Kris Faafoi ...
The joint campaign to push the Government to commit to safer staffing levels in aged care continues around the country with two North Island actions. E tū members and delegates will be holding two photo opportunities in Gisborne on Thursday to ...
6 August 2020: We have written to the chief executives of public organisations with 30 June balance dates about the extended reporting time frames for 2020. Kia ora koutou katoa As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the amount of work that will be ...
On the Rag meets two women advocating for the legalisation of cannabis to hear why they’re voting yes in this year’s referendum.The prevailing image of weed users in the media might be Seth Rogen and men who look like Seth Rogen ripping epic bong hits in front of a Bob ...
The Motor Trade Association says the Government has failed independent service station operators and missed the opportunity to create to truly competitive fuel market. “Sadly for New Zealand motorists, the Bill passed last night is not going to make ...
Evening Report Live: This week in A View from Afar with Paul G. Buchanan and Selwyn Manning, we examine the Beirut explosion and what is going on behind the headlines. We also debate how leaders around the world are using authoritarianism as a mask to cover their weak handling of ...
Though the COVID-19 pandemic has been the death knell of New Zealand immigration as we know it, it also presents a much-needed opportunity for improvement. What might the new immigration system look like? Aaron Martin , principal lawyer at New Zealand ...
When they weren’t distributing money to an array of projects and programmes that met with their approval, our ministers were busy braying about the new laws they have promoted to improve – we hope – our wellbeing. Megan Woods was chuffed about two news laws passed into law on her ...
Over lockdown, mental health hotlines saw a massive spike in calls and texts from distressed New Zealanders. Their numbers still haven’t returned to normal, and growing research suggests demand won’t be going away anytime soon. In April and May, Lifeline experienced a 25% increase in calls and texts from people in ...
The Smokefree Environments (Vaping) Amendment Bill passed into law last night will help keep people smoking cigarettes, and caves into big tobacco interests, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . Union spokesman Jordan Williams says, “The vaping ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk A medical authority has warned that the spike in covid-19 cases in Papua New Guinea is to be expected and could reach thousands between September and December, reports The National today. Professor Glen Mola had predicted early last month, when the number of cases of infection ...
The government’s new freshwater laws, signed off this week, have the potential to create significant unnecessary costs for ratepayers, farmers and entire communities, Federated Farmers says. "We all want good water quality, that’s why farmers ...
Roughly 11,000 people lost their jobs from Covid-19, and 10,000 of them were women. But as Leonie Morris from Auckland’s Womens Centre writes, this shows the need to address industrial patriarchy and create opportunities for women where they’re needed most.Just as predicted, Covid-19 has affected unemployment and under-employment rates for ...
The Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner says the government needs to do more to ensure women aren't left behind after employment figures showed they were disproportionately affected. ...
Political heavyweights took the immediate headlines, but Auckland's economic summit was broad and deep with business and community leaders predicting the return of good things from some time between late 2021 and 2024. Tim Murphy reports The call that 'we need to have a conversation' about almost anything in public ...
Disabled people and their families have been returned the right to complain to the Human Rights Commission or seek redress through the Courts about discriminatory family funding policies they may face. Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero said ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom (AJF) has called on the Malaysian government to desist its current investigation of Al Jazeera English as the current methods of investigation are an attack on free, independent journalism. If the Malaysian government takes issue with Al Jazeera’s work – or ...
Whānau and families will sleep better at night knowing their homes can’t be taken away from them without good reason thanks to the new residential tenancies law, says the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). "Worry about keeping a roof over their ...
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill introduces a range of regulations that will be phased in over the next two years. ...
The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill is now law. Mark Todd, long-time landlord and founder of Ockham Residential, welcomes the new legislation – and says hysterical critics need to get a grip.Hell hath no fury like the landlord lobby trying to thwart some fairly innocuous legislation that’ll help tenants feel a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Huaiyu Yuan, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Macquarie University Far beneath the city of Dongshen in northern China, we have discovered what may be the 2 billion-year-old birthmarks of Earth’s first supercontinent. An ancient dipping structure in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liam Smith, Director, BehaviourWorks, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University With new rules restricting Victorians’ activities and movements to try and stem the second wave of coronavirus cases comes the question of whether people will actually stick to them. There are at ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elin Charles-Edwards, Senior Lecturer in Population Geography, The University of Queensland In the early stages of COVID-19, much of the focus of demographers – who study populations – has understandably been on mortality and morbidity. But as the pandemic rolls on, attention ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claire Breen, Professor of Law, University of Waikato With COVID-19 vaccine developers reporting promising results, it is probable we will one day face a major public health question: can the government compel New Zealanders to be vaccinated? Just as inevitably, some people ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Smith, Associate Professor in Disaster and Emergency Response, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University Melburnians have now been wearing mandatory face coverings in public for two weeks. Yet Premier Daniel Andrews yesterday announced another grim milestone in Victoria’s ...
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Open mike 26/02/2015 
Open mike is your post.
Can we postpone this year’s election? Quite frankly, the political parties don’t seem ready for it, and aren’t about to offer voters the necessary policy choices for the unprecedented times we’re in. We’ve ended up with a campaign focused on scandal, personality and leadership, with a policy void that’s worse ...37 mins ago
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oh my goodness, as i clutch my pearls, cunliffe has been caught using a cell phone in his car, front page news, end of the world, obviously the police to media hotline is redhot!
did you miss the ‘brighton’ story..?
Yep why investigate possible corruption when they can investigate a talking on the cellphone minor infringement. This story is sourced from Slater as is the picture of the dating site. You would have to wonder at how he “stumbled” on it and I wonder who put it up.
Meanwhile there was a significant development in the Donghua Liu story and questions of when Woodhouse met him to discuss immigration policy and the relationship with the timing of his donation to the National Party.
But of course talking on a cellphone is more serious …
reckon, i don’t believe the chinese dating site for a second, thats gotta be a set up that any idiot can see through, …well most idiots i guess.
The Nats are smarting after the Donghua Liu story hit John Key.
Key is rattled: it showed in his bad tempered performance in Parliament yesterday.
He should have known better than to do that.
However, is there more than meets the eye in this story? The stuff article had me wondering about a few aspects in the story.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/66672455/cunliffe-fined-for-using-cellphone-while-driving
* It says a motorist made the complaint and the complaint said Cunliffe was driving ‘erratically’ which Cunliffe has denied.
Because of the nature of the complaint, I am curious to know WHO the complainant was. Was it a set up ? Was this complainant deliberately following Cunliffe? Was he or one of the accomplices themselves instigate the whole episode? How come the media came to know about this incident promptly? Did the police leak the information or was it the minister of police? Was this to distract the news away from the various messes that the government is in? Is this all part of dirty politics? Something is fishy here.
* The report also strangely said this:
“he admitted he had “made a cellphone call or two” in hands-free mode and had been given an infringement notice. He was fined $80 by a police officer, NZME reported”
If it was in ‘hands-free mode’ as the report says, was that illegal?
Yep it reeks of a set up to me how they just happened to find a witness to comment on his driving.
It definitely is black-ops work.
Cunliffe certainly didn’t call the media!
Had the person following being an ordinary Joe and called Police, because of concerns about his driving, then the matter should be a private matter between Cunliffe and the Police.
If the person is a Nat lackie who followed Cunliife from Parliament in his hire car (he is an Auckland MP) and called the Police then that person would be the source for the Media. Why then did the Police confirm? Is that their normal procedure? No.
This news story required cooperation from both the snitch/lackie and the police.
Dirty Politics continues.
Its the left who always encourage narking and denouncements. You reap what you sow.
cite pls. CF:the greasy cetacean
Slater is a leftie for the purposes of Bedwetter’s feeble stories.
East German Stasi had 189000 informers study says.
I never nark or inform on anyone for that very reason.
Fuck the Stasi, the American driven FVEY apparatus turned on each of us is four or five orders of magnitude more powerful than what the Stasi could ever manage.
You clearly don’t Facebook, email, call or txt your friends and family then.
So, what you’re saying is that if you see a crime or an injustice happening you’re not going to do anything about it? That would probably explain your support of Key and his lies.
This kind of phenomena will increase as trust in the activities and motivations of the authorities decrease.
BTW In know that it’s obvious to you, but the authorities aren’t really interested in correcting “injustice.”
Don’t need authority to point out an injustice and to try and remove it from society if it’s systemic.
You already see it in many areas of the world – including western ones. People seeking justice outside of the official system when they know or feel that the official system has no interest in delivering justice.
Crimes against life or property are a different matter, but I will not report people for arbitrary offences such as exceeding drink driving limits, speeding, talking on their cellphone, any of that stuff. Its just divisive left wing shit that eventually corrodes a country and you end up like East Germany above.
And please stop saying I support Key.
When Little takes power, you may be able to say to most of the other dipshits on Kiwiblog et al that you didn’t see them complaining when Key was doing it, but you won’t be able to say that about me.
Here is just one example.
You managed to contradict yourself in the same sentence. The reason why we have speed and drink drive limits and rules against driving while using the cell phone is because it kills people and often not the person doing the really stupid thing. In other words, these things are crimes against life.
In fact, as it stands I’d say that there’s enough evidence to say that capitalism itself is a crime against life as it continues to destroy the environment in its drive for profit but I’m sure that we will never see you call for capitalism to be abolished because of that crime.
No it does not. Take the drink driving limit. A person can exceed that limit and drive home every night of their life and never hit or kill or maim anyone. Its an arbitrary amount that has no real relationship to the committing of an offence.
If a person crashes into someone and kills or maims them, and they have been drinking, and the drinking is proved to be an influence, then charge them and make sure the sentence is punitive enough to discourage them and others from taking the risk.
You do not make criminals out of innocent people. Set up roadblocks and carry out suspicionless searches. That is another characteristic of left wing tyranny. It begins small and gets bigger. As in East Germany under the Stasi.
Don’t any of you Leftists know anything of history?
Translation: redbaiter refuses to report violations of laws he is too stupid to understand…
The Stasi were just carrying on the great tradition of Himmler and the earlier brownshirts, A mass informer society.
The spanish fascists were the same for longer.
What Bullshit. Dirty Politics is an organised programme of media dirt designed to attack Labour and distract from National Government incompetence and misdeeds at key junctures.
says in the article that using a handheld phone was illegal. My understanding is that handsfree is legal.
Doesn’t actually say whether the infringement was for the phone or, say, failing to indicate a lane change.
The ODT has (in a reprint of the NZH article):
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/politics/334494/cunliffe-nabbed-using-phone-while-driving
Fuck that shit! You should always indicate before you change lanes whether you think anyone else in nearby or not. Cunliffe sounds like someone trying to excuse pointing a gun at a crowd by claiming he didn’t think it was loaded.
I’m saying this as someone who thought that Cunliffe had better ideas than any other leader in Labour in decades. Little may turn out to be a more effective leader due to less caucus hostility, but I’m yet to be impressed (though still early days).
Also; Clemgeopin, the quote in the ODT (haven’t looked at Stuff yet) is:
Even with a genuine legal hands-free set-up; research demonstrates that phone calls are a distraction to driving competence. Simply using the loudspeaker mode on a normal cellphone would surely be even worse. Not quite as idiotic as txtng while driving though.
Is the timing of media release suspicious? Hell yes. Should that excuse an MP ignoring the law for personal convenience? Fuck no!
lol ah, so he had it on speakerphone.
Amazing the mileage on an $80 traffic ticket, though…
Wouldn’t you be more worried about more serious offending? Like indecent assaults on children?
mickysavage
I’m pretty sure that any comment I might make linking MPs with indecent assaults on children would be breaking name suppression, and don’t want to put TS in that position.
I am perhaps a bit sensitive when it comes to road safety. But I imagine many who have experience with those who have suffered vehicular death or injury feel similarly.
The casualty rate for motor vehicles is higher than all forms of assault (including both your example of; child-assault, and mine of; firearms). In 2010 (most recent year easy to access through Statistics NZ) this was 8.6/ 100000 vs 1.2/100000 (vehicular injury rate at 321/100000). The only good news is that the road toll in 2013 was half what it was in 2000.
http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/snapshots-of-nz/nz-social-indicators/Home/Individual%20safety%20and%20security/m-v-casualties.aspx
http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/snapshots-of-nz/nz-social-indicators/Home/Individual%20safety%20and%20security/death-assault.aspx
McFlock
I suppose it does seem a lot of drama about an $80 ticket. Though if I had my way, driving while phoning would be automatic loss of license (once proven in court, and possibly just a 3month suspension on first offense). I really don’t have a sense of humour about that shit.
You will understand the reason for my bewilderment at David being criticised for this.
Drivers with pets and small kids in the car are just as distracted, if not more so.
We’re not going to start disqualifying them from driving too are we?
Regardless, the way we need to go is to get 90% of private motor vehicle transport off the roads.
I entirely agree with you. If Cunliffe broke the law, he should be ticketed and pay the fine. No issue about that. He should know better.
My issue is about the aspects I have mentioned connected with the news reports in our media, such has HOW and WHY and by WHOM did this leak take place and became public knowledge. Is it legal and fair to do so? Was the police or the minister or the PM involved in this leak of privacy? Have no other MPs ever broken a traffic rule and fined? If any do exist, have all those cases too been exposed in the media?
The stuff link I posted is still as it was in the morning I think. I have now read your ODT link.
I wish our MSM, the journalists, the political commentators are fairer, show more integrity and professionalism and delve deep into HEAPS of other important issues such as the truth and cost behind the Iraq armed deployment, electronic surveillance of all, the Lu donation truth, the bio security inefficiency, the dirty politics, black ops operations, the truth about the Charter schools, the $50,000/day or so spent on a social Welfare Ministry’s CEO visit somewhere, the 43K review cost we have to pay for Brownlee jumping over the security gate without being charged etc just as a few examples
They don’t seem to hold the National Party Ministers and their MPs to the same degree of minute scrutiny as they do for Labour. Something is just not right.
factoids:..
1)..america has only not been at war..for 21 yrs out of the 237 since the founding of the country..
(‘if not them..who..?’..eh..?..)
2)..when national took power there were 40,000 nz’ers on the minimum wage..
..there are now 160,000 nz’ers on the minimum wage..
..(well done john key/the tories..!..eh..?..)
3)..in a country that once had no homeless…
..there are now over 30,000 nz’ers ‘sleeping-rough’..
..(well done both national and labour..!..eh..?..)
4)..alcohol is 114 times more dangerous than cannabis..
5)..cunnliffe has a new nickname..it is the name he is known as on a chinese dating-site..
..meet ‘brighton’…
and if you see cunnliffe out and about..
..can i suggest u call out to him:..’brighton..!..is that you..?’…
oh..!..i almost forgot..!
..we ‘can’t afford’ to do anything about poverty/homelessness..
..but we can afford to spend $65 million to be spear-carriers for the psycopathic/war-mongering fucken americans..
Morning Phil, where did you get the info for your second fact? It is interesting…
morena hutty..
..from q-time @ parliament yesterday…
..and that’s not even going near the abomination that is zero hours-contracts..
Do you know whose speech/speaking it was in? Cheers
don’t quote me..but i think question 4..
..(parliamentary website has full-transcript..u shd b able find it there..)
You mentioned it, you find it.
u get fucked..!..eh..?..
(then get back to me..)
It’s real simple. You made a claim and now you have to back it up.
I’ve looked at question time for yesterday, and can’t find it, phil.
There was one mention of the average wage in regards to benefit levels, and joyce made a passing reference to the starting out wage, but I can’t find anything close to what you mentioned.
oh well..i don’t make things up..it was said..
..(n.b..i am not making the claim..i am reporting what i heard..)
..and if ball-busting over it..surely labour dept stats wd help you..?
Hang on, so now I need to find evidence to support an assertion that you can’t show ever existed?
Whatever you “heard”, it wasn’t where you claim it was said. So at best you’re mistaken about where it was said, at worst you made it up, and the middle ground is that you simply heard wrong.
And you get pissy when people like wayne and northshoredoc just plain ignore you most of the time…
i am possibly mistaken about where i heard it..(i spend my days in a sea of information..)
..but i definitely heard it..
..and if that isn’t good enough for you..
..that’s tough-bikkies..eh..?
..and yep..! northshoredoc just won’t answer about the freebies he gets from big-pharma..(‘conferences’ in exotic-locales being just one..eh doc..?..)
..and ‘wayne’ has been nowhere near general debate since i asked him about the war-crimes committed by nz soldiers (handing prisoners over to be tortured) while he was minister of defence..
..(war-crimes he initially denied..then he just ran to his fox-hole..
..where he has remained ever since..)
i wd like to ask him those questions again..and hopefully get a straight answer from him..
In recent articles on the Minimum wage increases over the last two years:
In April 2014, the min wage rose to $14.25, CTU economist Bill Rosenberg said “…More than 100,000 people were on or close to the new minimum wage…”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/9758228/Minimum-wage-up-50c
However on this years rise to $14.75, Helen Kelly said “…Helen Kelly said over 300,000 workers were on or near the minimum wage.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/better-business/66627971/minimum-wage-rises-to-1475
Seems hard to believe that an extra 200,000 people are ‘on or near’ the min wage in just a year. Suppose it depends on far ‘near’ is from the minimum wage.
Phil, after a lot of reading, your point number 2 does not appear in the transcripts of Parliament for this past week, so if you do happen to remember who/when it was said, just let us know and perhaps we can search the videos for it but I’m not going to do that without a bit more detail.
Seeing as you eventually have admitted you may have misheard or mistakenly assigned the source to question time, why all the animosity? No one was having a go at you, (apart from draco of course but isn’t that what you two do for fun ?)
Asking for more details is something you do all time, so maybe….
🙄
Wayne’s been commenting regularly, just not to you. In fact, I definitely remember correcting you on that claim before, I just can’t remember where. Oh, I know, rather than expecting you to do my work for me, I’ll do the search myself: oh look, it was a week and a half ago. So now I have reason to doubt your memory of what was said on any particular topic, rather than just where it was said.
The fact that you are quite probably delusional is most likely the reason you will not get what you want from folk like wayne or northshoredoc – no matter what they say, even if they are in the right you will merely “hear” what you have already decided to hear and go off on a rabid, unintelligible tangent.
@ freedom..no..i did not mishear..i did not say i misheard..
..i am very certain about what i heard..
..i said i was not sure where i heard it..
…but it was yesterday..
@ flock..
..’wayne’ has not been back to where i can ask him..the general debate..
..asking him where he appeared..wd have been clear thread-disruption..
..i presume yr links are not general-debate..?
lol
I disappeared for a wee while to search @wayne.
How long have you been carrying this torch? Because I’ve got some bad news for you, phil: wayne seems to have commented on an open mike once, in late 2013. And you missed your opportunity to righteously challenge him – for shame.
That single comment is what stands between you and your “back” being complete bullshit.
It seems it might not be all about you…
“and yep..! northshoredoc just won’t answer about the freebies he gets from big-pharma..(‘conferences’ in exotic-locales being just one..eh doc..?..)”
Already answered this a couple of times during your previous diatribes Phil, perhaps you were otherwise engaged or it has slipped your memory.
remind us all..doc..
That’s what the search engine on the site is for phil.
oh..!..u r so coy on this subject..aren’t you..?
..why is that..?
..from memory u said these holidays (sorry..!.’conventions’..) in exotic locales..
..were part of yr ongoing ‘training’..?
..is that correct..?
..and the lobbying/wh.y. from big-pharma reps has absolutely no influences on yr prescribing..eh..?..
“….. from memory ….”
I thought this thread had offered some confirmation that you should not rely on your memory.
u duck and weave like a sweating tory politician..
..don’t you..?
@phil…. no…..eh
‘no’..that you are not ducking and weaving like a sweating tory politician..?
..or ..’no’..that u won’t talk about yr ongoing relationship with big-pharma..?
..btw..when is yr next paid-for-by-drug-company-holiday..(sorry..!..medical-conference..) scheduled..?
..and which exciting/exotic locale will it be in..?
Yes that’s right Phil I’m currently sunning myself in Jamaica – all expenses paid by multinational pharmaceutical companies all in return for changing all my patients onto their drugs once I return to NZ.
They are flying me back via Mars where their hypnotoad overlords will be further indoctrinating me.
astonishing how you seem to so blissfully deny the well-documented phenomenon of the influence big-pharma has over doctors-prescribing..
..and the ‘bribes’ that are given to doctors to achieve those ends..
..are you denying this internationally recognised fact/evil..?
(and maybe not jamaica..but wanaka is nice this time of yr..eh..?..)
i will try again to ask you the question:..what/where was the last ‘conference’ you went to..?
..and what financial-assistance did you receive from big-pharma to attend..?
..and when/where is the next one..?
Melbourne …. and no.
….and not playing this game anymore all your questions have been answered …in all honestly it’s probably more useful trying to have an online conversation with one of your deceased canines than trying to engage with yourself….eh ?
and how much financial assistance from big-pharma did you get to attend..?
..and a slur/slag around my recently deceased 16 yr old dog..?
..that i am still seriously grieving over..?
..really putting the ass/arse in ‘class’..
.aren’t you..?..eh..?
..you fucken shabby piece of crap….
and yes..readers here can see yr evasions..
..and we all know you are just another big-pharma tool…
..pimping their poisonous shit for them…
..bought/owned by them..
..the hypocratic-oath..eh..?
..you clearly live by it..
@phil……
“..and a slur/slag around my recently deceased 16 yr old dog..?
..that i am still seriously grieving over..?”
Perhaps you should’ve had the dear old thing stuffed and mounted next to your computer ….. then you could commune with it rather than typing your ellipsis loaded diatribes……….eh ?
do you usually hit the turps on a friday nite..?
..is that where u get yr bravado from..?
..and you wouldn’t say that to my fucken face..wd u..?
..u gutless piece of shite…
..and u a north shore doctor…eh..?
..flying the flag for the profession..eh..?
that’s a definition of cowardice..isn’t it..?
..saying something hiding behind a nom de plume..
..that you wd not say to that persons’ face..
..and be assured..
..i wd love to question you about yr big-pharma links..
..face to face..
..but/bet u wouldn’t like that..wd u..?
@phil
Oh dear, what’s with all the ellipsoidal abuse……….eh ?
I thought you didn’t dislike anyone…….eh ?
…. and here’s me thinking that all that pot was supposed to mellow you out…eh ?
….hopefully I never have to have your mug in front of me…if your incoherent tosh on this site is anything to go by……your gobbledegook in person must be completely intelligible dribble……eh.
Poor old pooch having to put up with a human like you, wouldn’t surprise me if the poor old dear gave up the ghost after listening to your rambling on another pot fuelled afternoon………….eh ?
Actually, avoiding being stalked by deranged stoners is a very good example of why some people prefer to use pseudonyms.
a bit more of that piss-bravery in you..eh..?
..and you don’t like yr doctor-infallibility being questioned/laughed at..do ya..
..ya fucken pill-pusher..
Standard Phil – this happens daily.
“I heard something but can’t find any evidence of it but I know I heard it so get fucked and go find the info the supports it.”
“.. this happens daily. ..
..care to cite/link to..oh..!..let’s say just two of these ‘daily occurances’..?
..you bullshit-artist you..
Why should I have to cite anything to you?
@ contrarian..
..maybe not to prove you are a total bullshit artist..’daily occurance’..
..but ok..’total bullshit-artist’ can/will stand..
..your call..
lol
So if you refuse to cite, we should trust you, but when someone else refuses to cite, they’re total bullshit artists.
Fish, meet barrel. You’ll be happy there for a while, no troubles.
This is the most recent report I can find:
It claims 54,000 are on the minimum wage. However, the figure quoted in the previous year’s report was 80K, so they may have changed the recording mechanism. Also, firms are advised to pay marginally more than the minimum so that their workers are less likely to get assistance from MBIE if they need it (they are required to help minimum wage workers, but not necessarily minimum +10c per hour workers).
The effect of raising the minimum also sweeps up groups of workers who used to be above minimum, but who have not kept pace due to not getting annual rises. So that 54,000 probably rose in 2013/14.
However, I can’t see how even the 80,000 figure quoted in 2012 could become 160,000 a couple of years later.
Having said that, Phil’s point remains; under National more workers are on the bare minimum. Not only that, many are on 90 day fire at will contracts, zero hour arrangements and the like, so certainty of employment has also diminished.
“We would love to see wages drop.” John Key, 2008.
the figure quoted was from when the tories came to power..not 2012..
..it was 2008 ’till now…
..40,000 then..160,000 now…
(shall we all have a group-dance on the head of a fucken pin..?..
..oh..!..hang on..!..we’re already doing that..!..)
Er, I was backing you up, Phil.
MBIE said 54k in 2013 and the previous year (2012) they said 80k. I was quoting MBIE, not the Nats.
Which I wrote as: “It claims 54,000 are on the minimum wage. However, the figure quoted in the previous year’s report was 80K, so they may have changed the recording mechanism.”
I think it’s entirely likely that it was 40k when the Tories took over and that it’s got worse since then.
@ trp..
..and i was just correcting yr claim that i had said 2012….
I didn’t claim you said 2012, Phil!
alright..my bad..
No worries, cobber.
His name is Cunliffe NOT CuNNliffe FFS it’s in the papers enough
u get todays’ pedant-award..
..i mean..who cares..?..
..and anyway..i much prefer his chinese-dating-site name…
..’brighton’…
..and i shall call him ‘brighton’ from here on in..
..u ok with that spelling..?
Gosh that is more exciting that TV1 expose a few weeks ago that Cadbury were reducing their bar size!
I almost forgot in the excitement, that John Key is sending our troops into an illegal war in Iraq without UN or Security Council approval.
As our assistance has been requested the UN doesn’t come into it. Of course, the fact that the government was talking about going before the request came does indicate that we would have gone with or without the Iraqi request.
Our assistance was requested by the Shia side of the sectarian Parliament, and no official paperwork drawn up around it. It’s very minimal cover for our intervention in a civil war.
I got the distinct impression that the request from Iraq was done at the behest of the USA to give a cover for their invasion that they weren’t going to get any other way.
Pretty much – I think your conclusion makes sense. And I think the USA already checked in with John Key to ensure that our answer would indeed be “yes.”
The rich praise the rich.
Importing massive amounts of sweatshop produce, building big boxes that close down other retail and destroy town centres, create lousy low paid work.
Yes Tindall really did make life better for thousands of NZers.
The shareholders of the Warehoise.
It’s like the Walmart family being awarded in the US
http://m.tvnz.co.nz/news/top_stories/6242222
Yup and team tindall have been acquiring other niche kiwi etailers etc to ensure the empire of crap continues to prosper. The many brands one owner strategy you see in logistics, booze, dairy products etc.
I only shop at red shed when I don’t expect my purchase to be well made or have longevity but hey that’s the world we live in….never mind the quality feel the width.
i know..!..i am still gathering my (gobsmacked) thoughts over that one..
..and not to mention the third world slave-workers/children he made his money off/thru..
..and you are right..it wd be like america making walton american-of-the-year..
Posted the link to Auckland Conversations last week on the topic of housing, and the introduction to the event was full of praise for Stephen Tindall (who attended) and the Warehouse. (Youth & Community Economic Development – David Turner)
I haven’t heard Len Brown speak in public for a while, and was not impressed. Very sycophantic to business overall, and Tindall and the Warehouse specifically on this occasion. I had to only listen with moderate attention to this lovefest, and so could look at these guys and ponder whether their egos are so fragile they must constantly puff each other up at every opportunity:
“Like me, like me, – I like you – d’ya like me…?”
The Warehouse has some form of school to work programme, called “Red Shirts in Schools”. If you are interested in seeing the disaster that can be if not managed properly – go and have a look at some the Academy schools in the US. Particularly in areas that are struggling.
The feature speaker, David Turner was – by contrast – much more interesting to listen to.
He spoke of the success of the Swiss system which provides long-term and extensive work business relationships to students, and the experience and effort that goes into ensuring apprenticeships and students have a good fit. This includes a vast resource of independent career counselors and a “three strikes and your in” understanding. That is, businesses are aware that some students who have had no prior experience in industry will require three placements before they have the skills and knowledge to be ready to participate.
He also said that businesses meet regularly to discuss the progress of their “apprenticeships” and keep up with the progress of students that have moved on to other placements. While there is some degree of financial strategy, they recognise they are contributing to the common good. When was the last time we heard that phrase in NZ in the same sentence as business?
He also suggested that he believed that fundamentally business owners in Switzerland got involved in these programmes because of their humanity.
And for the RWNJ reading this, the word is not synonymous with public relations.
Without being undiplomatic, he stated that the business relationships in Australia – where he is from – is not set up to do this kind of support, and until it is, it is likely that repeats of past exploitation of young people would happen. He said he was unqualified to comment on NZ, but if business networks were similar it would have to undergo a big change.
Almost worth listening to Len Brown’s valentine at the beginning – to hear the words business, humanity and common good linked together.
(Unfortunately, Len Brown left after his introduction – so missed an opportunity for a bit of education himself.)
Really good stuff on
http://www.norightturn.blogspot.co.nz
Including Cash for Questions in UK,
followed by Money laundering from the National party donations,
Greens actually spent more money on the election than Labour (again Labour not listening on the moral issues here so missing out on votes and donations),
GCSB’s obsession with “network security” (which, thanks to Snowden, we now know means “making sure people don’t plug the backdoors we use”) is killing research and driving tech companies out of the country.
SIS’s slow vetting procedures appear to have interfered with the establishment of IGIS’s office and their recruitment of staff. Vetting is their core function, but apparently it still takes months.
IGIS currently has an own-motion inquiry into the SIS underway “which arose from the regular inspection of intelligence warrants [and] is the first Inspector-General inquiry into the “propriety” of particular activities of an intelligence and security agency”. Which sounds as if SIS are abusing their powers. Unfortunately, as its “operational”, all the details are classified, and we’ll only be getting a summary at the end of it. Its unclear whether the victims of any SIS impropriety will be informed of the violation of their rights so they may take legal action against the spies.
Because they’d only been in the role for seven weeks, the IGIS can not certify that GCSB and SIS are complying with their legislation.
So, it turns out that Sky City’s surprise “cost overrun” on their crony-deal convention centre was their plan all along, and that the government knew about it from the beginning:
Well worth reading!
Here is an article on a crucial aspect of the Iraq conflict that is not getting discussed but is most certainly going to play an ever increasing role in the (re)establishment of a stable Iraq nation.
Iran has always had a hands on influence in many parts of Iraq but appears to be strengthening its presence. As there is little information on this area of the political situation in Iraq, we have no way to know the veracity of the claims, but that can be said of most aspects of this conflict.
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-irans-military-chiefs-operate-in-iraq-2015-2
I adapted the map to show where “behind the wire” puts our troops
Addendum:
“Here is an article on a crucial aspect of the Iraq conflict that is not getting discussed..”
I should have said …discussed in the mainstream public arena and the MSM news services…
“Canada’s electronic surveillance agency is covertly monitoring vast amounts of Canadians’ emails as part of a sweeping domestic cybersecurity operation, according to top-secret documents.”
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/02/25/canada-cse-pony-express-email-surveillance/
Bet the GCSB is doing the same. What are Palintir here for, now?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10899920
i am caught on the horns of a moral dilemma..
..i have been offered (much-needed) ‘dirty money’..
..the facts of the matter are that i have a hellish job keeping up with the costs etc. of running whoar..+ life..on the dole..
..(i actually went totally ‘dark’ on tues…pre-paid electricity ran out sooner than expected..and no money to top it up..that was an interesting 24hrs….)
..and i have received an offer to host some paid-content..for an online gambling casino…
..what to do..?..
..while loathing how the gambling-industry exploits the weakest..
..i am not actually opposed to people having the right to throw their money away in whatever stupid way they choose…
..aarrgghh..!..those horns are sharp..!
hee hee classic dilemma mr ure… whatcha gonna do? Firstly, don’t worry about electricity it is entirely over-rated unless you have a freezer full of food. I know a few who stay off the grid and it works fine…. biggest problem likely to be punching out the daily squawk online.
so, to be or not to be – whether tis nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of struggles…..
you know what you are going to do – you are just temporarily weakened by the devil of temptation.
aye..!
don’t do it!…its the beginning of the end…and you will lose credibility…the great thing about this site is that it is classy and clean ….has no tacky or amoral or immoral ads
chooky..i am talking about whoar..not here..
..’y’know..!..that ‘cartoony-site’ you make sure you stay well away from..?
i know that…if you start advertising gambling that makes it worse…even although i dont look at it
Agree with trp below. It’s well and good to maintain principles and decency – all for it – but you’ve got to live Phil. The constant worry about having no money (been there) means you can’t be much help to anybody let alone yourself. Go for it.
Well, that explains why you didn’t comment on my post on Tuesday, Phil!
For my tuppenceworth, I think you should put the ads up. I don’t see it as a moral compromise or lowering your site’s credibility. It’s just not that kind of website, it’s a news aggregator, not a forum for philosophical discussion. Unlike dope, casino’s are legal, though I wish the situation was reversed.
Use the money to get a regular power account (pre-pay is a total rip off) and maybe think about solar, if that’s possible where you live.
“.. and maybe think about solar..”
i’ll do that after i’ve got the pony all sorted out..eh..?..
..and i am well aware glo-bug pre-pay is a total gouge..
.the power company forced me onto it..against my will/protestations..
..(their reason..?..my payments were not always on the day..(tho’ i note my power had never been disconnected..the bills were paid..)
..this is one of the ways the poorest get fucked over…
..and here’s another one…!
..fucken animal control..and the fascist bitches (yes..!..i meant to say that..!..stick yer fucken p.c..!..) that drive around in those red vans..
a few months ago..they came to my house..having received a complaint that my dogs weren’t registered..
..my old dog had been registered..but it had expired..and the little one wasn’t..
..i pointed out that it wasn’t deliberate..more an outcome of poverty..
..(and i noted that the old-dog was on her death-legs..was nearly gone..(she died about three weeks later..)
..and this meant nothing..despite this fascist-bitch agreeing that yes..she was clearly near the end..
..so i went and borrowed the money to get both dogs registered..
..and then..here is the kicker..!
..as well as these two horror-shows talking to me in a way they would never address say..a gang-member..?
..(the true mark of the coward-bully..the careful selection of who they will fuck over..)
..i maintained politeness..(with great difficulty..)
..and then..two weeks later..hand-delivered to my letterbox..
..two tickets..back-dated..for $300 each..for having unregistered dogs…
..(a malicious afterthought..?..it was never mentioned to me..)
..i was unable to pay that $600 fine..
..so it has worked its’ way thru the system..
..and i have just been told it + the requisite penalties – will be taken from my benefit..
..(so that was over $1,000 ..that they screwed me for..seems fair..?..eh..?..).
..i see in the media that there will be an inquiry into animal-services auckland..and how they operate..after allegations of cruelty by their officers..
..i would like to give evidence to that inquiry..
..about what would seem to be their ‘normal-practices’..
..because if these pieces of human excrement did this to me..
..you can bet that is what they are doing to everyone,..
(except gang-members..!..of course..!..)
…sounds pretty bad alright!….and for many a dog or pet companion is crucial for emotional health when you are down and out ( the people who enforce these rules male or female have to be callous…no other person could do the job)
….maybe yu or others should keep a poverty diary somewhere on line….so people can see in detail what a hard struggle it is…even in New Zealand
I have some idea because i was brought up by a solo parent, who had a professional job, but it was still a struggle ….and i also have a very well educated professional friend who has a long term chronic health problem and is invalided in a state house which could be sold out from under him
….the day to day worry and grind of poverty and living on benefits should be chronicalled for all to see in dairy form…maybe 7 people each take a day of the week?
(btw…where is Xtasy these days ?)
+1 on xtasy. Was wondering the same thing just the other day. Would like to hear from them again.
Things sound a tad grim sorry to hear Phil, however your a stoic chap and harvest
time is near, just remember to give the taxman his share and all will be fine. Take the money from whoever is trying to scam your morals.
I would rather dog owners were registered, I think its sucks they fine you on your own property. Caught in public would be inline with cars. You don’t get fined for having an unregistered car on your property only in public.
Maybe we could fund raise for you, say if you had a wash, a short back and sides, a shave and if you get a real job a hold it we could top up your pay.
Have you looked at applying for jobs in your area? Works for me
…..what
…. fucking work
……..it’s oppression is work
…..enslavement I tell ya
….for whoars sake s
Hot war on it’s way
http://www.tfmetalsreport.com/podcast/6645/another-vital-jb-sfc
Another Vital JB-SFC
Tweet
By Turd Ferguson | Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at 8:46 am
I cannot emphasize strongly enough how critically important it is for you to listen to these weekly Ukraine discussions and last night’s episode was no different. Please make the time to give this a thorough listen.
Among the topics covered last evening:
– The inside details of the peace negotiations held last week in Minsk
– A thorough summary of the devastating UAF retreat from Debaltsevo
-The increasing possibility of a coup to depose Ukraine president Poroshenko (and it is this possibility and aftermath that has me most concerned right now)
-The ongoing demonization of Russia and Putin by the war parties of the west
Any bets on what the MPs’ salary numbers will look like by the end of the day ?
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2013/0462/latest/DLM5736806.html
“After the last round of wage rises, authority chairman John Errington warned the gulf between Cabinet ministers and top executives was growing and would be addressed in the next determination.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/66672796/mps-in-line-for-a-pay-rise
Will the Ministerial Salary break the $300,000 mark ? Or will it slip in at $295,000
(allowances taking it closer to $350k+ of course )
+ I’m picking the base MP rate to hit $155,000
and when you think of the incompetent clowns pulling down $300 grand..
(we’re looking at you..!..foss-the-hapless..!..and the minister with the faraway-eyes..!..)
” the gulf between Cabinet ministers and top executives”
I read this line and just about threw up…. a Minister occupies a wholly different role in society than a ceo, different responsibilities, different obligations, different purposes, different organisations, different people, different powers…….
there is no comparison
shit of the horse
And, of course, the employers of MPs don’t get a say in how much we should pay them. I think this should be determined by referendum.
The senators of Rome sit back in their luxurious bubble while the serfs in the provinces slowly starve.
doing the commentaries on q-time means i see the disconnect between how people are suffering..
..and how these fucken clowns spend their days point-scoring against each other..
..seemingly oblivious to the shit so many nz’ers are going thru..
..(and it is not just the fucken tories..!..it is also the useless arse-wipes in give-the-poorest-fuck-all!/no way will we legalise cannabis!..mine/drill/spying on nz’ers’is ok with us!..
..fucken labour..!
..the disconnect is the size of cook straight..
and we know many of them are truly fiddling …
I wonder if Bill English is going to say no thank you since he is so concerned about the growing debt and the need to cut government expenses.
It will be interesting to see if any MP is going to say no thank you.
The PM has answered with the usual pathetic line ‘i don’t want it but my hands are tied’
If the ministers and MP are not paid a good salary how will you get competent managers?
Oh but wait……
How soon before we see a law like this? 🙁
Pesky damn science folk and all their facts pfft who needs that sort of hassle when you are trying to make some bloody money!
http://inhabitat.com/house-passes-bill-that-prohibits-expert-scientific-advice-to-the-epa/
Here’s hoping the veto promise is kept.
Just put down the book Science for Sale – by David L Lewis, a microbiologist who previously worked for the EPA in the 1990’s.
Don’t agree with all his scientific positions – at the end he makes statements about climate change that are not founded in any studies – but the history he outlines about his employment with EPA, and his treatment is very interesting.
Also, he studied the likelihood of infection from endoscopes, and attempted to have the accepted sterilisation of the equipment improved, as current practices not only did not remove all infectious material, practitioners were not even following that.
He suggests that most ethical scientists left or were pushed out in the early 1990s.
The revolving door of corporate execs and government panels is as dangerous as it is extraordinary. Thanks for the tip, will see if the local library has it/can get it in.
I have it from the Auckland City libraries, so it’ll be back in circulation there in the next week or so…
Business don’t like science as it gets in the way of them doing whatever they want. Same can be said of some politicians who only do the bidding of business anyway.
Women are more likely to be religious and so vote more conservatively. Power, money, are harder to obtain for women. So of course conservatives pander to companies and individuals who like them want to stifle change. And hey who wants change. But everyone who loathes change also wants to chase profits and wealth where it enriches themselves, so its not about companies or theists being anti-science, its about hypocrisy, taking the bounty of science and using the wealth created to shout how loathsome science is. You see the history of conservativismis the history of hypocritical lying two faced anti freedom,anti american, anti anything that gets in their way. imho its stupidity but others would call it a opportunity to scare the begeezous out of their comfort fantasies.
Climate change,banking collapses, economics of oil peak, its all revenge on the stupid, and they deserve to have truth spoken to them.
For those of you who have argued the Greeks achieved what they wanted during the recent negotiations here is a reality check
http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21644592-deal-struck-extend-bail-out-after-greece-caves-now-syriza-must-answer-its
Viva la revolution indeed.
Nope some of us did not see a revolution in Greece, just a slight shift.
http://libcom.org/blog/alternative-voting-systems-are-no-alternative-21022015
But, into whose arms does this deal push Greece Gossy? Out of the EU, and towards Moscow? I also think the Germans may have just played the fubar play. Austerity is a loss loss solution – the ultimate degenerate play to support greed culture – it’s time as a economic solution appears to be limited – as it’s being exposed for what it is.
You do understand the notion of “war” versus “battle” right Gos?
So it seems to be that muslims do not accept responsibility for jihadists, despite some/many suggesting that they should shoulder more of the responsibility because they share the same religion. And those that do suggest they are more responsible have been pilloried and even fired – evidence the crazy pastor down south http://www.anglicantaonga.org.nz/Features/Extra/Apology
On a few occasions on here last year it was strongly suggested, and accepted by many, that men should shoulder more of the responsibility for the actions of rapists because they share the same gender.
These two things don’t add up it seems. The cogs don’t mesh, the standards vary, the eyes refuse to see, the mind refuse to think ….
Cunliffe is also an example of this confused, mixed-up and wrong-headed thinking, when he apologised for being a man. If he was also a muslim would he have apologised for being a muslim?
So who is right? Both propositions cannot be right.
“On a few occasions on here last year it was strongly suggested, and accepted by many, that men should shoulder more of the responsibility for the actions of rapists because they share the same gender.”
That’s not how I would put it. I would say that men have a particular responsibility that women don’t because its men’s business (how men relate in the world). And I would say that women have been shouldering the burden way more than is ok because in the past men haven’t been taking their responsibilities seriously. So it’s more about evening up the load.
And by men, I mean men collectively. Obviously it varies hugely when it comes to individuals. But essentially we have rape culture, it’s not enough to say that that’s soley about men who rape, it’s about the things that promote rape, and of course men as a class have huge influence on that, including in ways that women don’t.
tl;dr, women are already doing the work, when are men going to step up.
hi weka,
to be blunt, your comments , to me, are reminiscent of the statement (forgive me i do not recall who said it) “all men are rapists” from the ’80s.
“women are already doing the work, when are men going to step up.”
who are raising these men who are doing the raping?
to be blunt, your comments , to me, are reminiscent of the statement (forgive me i do not recall who said it) “all men are rapists” from the ’80s.
Which means that you truly don’t understand what I meant 🙂
(the statement “all men are rapists” is by a fictional character in a novel by Marilyn French. In order to understand why the character said that, you really need to look at it in context. It’s not what you think it is).
“women are already doing the work, when are men going to step up.”
who are raising these men who are doing the raping?
Presumably their parents. Are you suggesting that men rape because of their upbringing?
My statement about women doing the work refers to the women that have been doing the anti-rape work for decades (eg Rape Crisis). Where are the men’s organisations doing this work?
hi weka,
perhaps you are right, i may have got the wrong end of the stick about your comment.
re the all men are rapists, i do recall that line being used (it may have been by a spokesperson from womens refuge) and getting repeated in the media, causing a stir, both because of the provocative nature of the comment and also how it was defended.
it was in a climate where peter ellis was able to be convicted in the chch civic creche case.
i am suggesting that men rape partly because of their upbringings, and i feel it is a lack of parents as opposed to a parent contributes to this.
(a male in the household showing respect to women).
to the best of my knowledge there are a few male groups (manline, court appointed anger management groups), all running on a tenuous shoestring budget. relying on goodwill of volunteers, much like rape crisis, i suspect.
i would also point to groups like scouts and sports teams where civics, self esteem, cooperation are encouraged in our boys/young men.
“So it seems to be that muslims do not accept responsibility for jihadists, despite some/many suggesting that they should shoulder more of the responsibility because they share the same religion.”
I think you are confusing responsibility and blame (which also explains your views in gender). I see Muslims being responsible when their communities work towards reducing fundamentalism. Men can do the same in reducing rape culture. That’s a different thing than Muslims being to blame for jihadists or men being to blame for individual rapists.
The bishop in your link appears to be blaming individuals for other individuals’ actions over which they have no control. He also appears judgemental (Jews should have learned lessons from the holocaust) and hypocritical (why aren’t individual Muslims doing more to prevent their fundamentalists). Hard to tell from such a short article though.
Cunliffe didn’t apologise for being a man. He apologised for the fact that domestic/sexual violence against women is overwhemingly done by men. And then he told men to wake up and man up and start doing the right things.
There is not contradiction between all these things. The bishop was blaming individuals for things outside of their control. Everyone else is saying x, y, z isn’t ok, let’s work collectively to change that.
Mike Hosking must be a wonderful chap. It says so at the “disclaimer” at the bottom of his applause for his hero Key.
” Mike’s insightfulness and knowledge makes him one of New Zealand’s most successful broadcasters.”
Mike Hosking is just another schoolyard loudmouth, it says more about the people that actually listen to his rantings/opinions then what comes out of his mouth.
He’s not credible and only has his presenter/commentator status because people higher up think he’ll attract viewers/listeners to their medium. More punters = more cash in advertising. I’d rather listen to commentators like Rod Oram / Dame Anne Salmond , at least they are credible, can back opinions with researched facts and are not in it for the show.
Mmm, seem to have my grumpy hat on today, again..
Just finding the media more and more disappointing these days and getting sick of pointing out inconsistencies / false truths to friends. Like asking people if they know the full “I’m ashamed to be a man” quote when they bring it up. Once they realise what he actually said in context, opinions change very quickly.
yea and what’s happened to the best journalist /writer in NZ ..Wayne Brittendon?
my little scooter-dog really really loves porridge…(loaded with fruit etc..)
..and he is just getting all waggy…saying ‘thanks..!’..
World’s first grid-connected wave power station switched on in Australia
More renewable energy successfully connected to the grid. Will be interesting to see how this goes.
Not also that that project was only possible due to government support.
It’s a military project. At least they get it.
Creationism in New Zealand schools.
Xians, this is why people don’t trust you: telling lies to four year old children is bearing false witness.
Still think if they going to do this. I should have the opportunity to teach Atheism in schools.
I even have a name for the programme.
Children positivity classes – God is dead, and I killed him.
if there is no god then how could you have killed him?
huum, tricky question that!
Let me guess:
God created everything, including adam (this one, but that one too).
When adam got some ‘education’ and reasoning ‘power’, he became cleverer than God and stronger than God and killed him easily without bullets, just with his own powerful thoughts! Cool ye? God of course disappeared from adam’s life while adam was still alive.
But, (there is always a but! ask PG)
God did not really kick the bugger(strike out!) bucket at all. Having been rejected, He waited patiently for adam to die too, hoping to meet the poor soul once again someday sometime somewhere somehow.
just saying….
Easy. You point out that god was only ever an incorrect belief system that has now been replaced by actual research and facts.
lol – actual research and facts eh – what disproves god?
Disproving the beliefs that surround the god phenomenon. The existence or not of god(s) is immaterial to the human condition.
I would have thought that one was even harder and well beyond ‘easy’ if it could be achieved at all.
No, it’s easy – we’ve already done it after all. The problem is that some people refuse to believe.
Materialists, measurementalists and the acolytes of scientism have always been such a self righteous bunch, in my experience. Forever wanting to force their own beliefs on to others, looking down on those heathen who refuse to adopt the faith, insisting that their way of looking at the universe and all the rich phenomena within it is the one and only way, and declaring knowledge from all other sources and especially from prophets without PhDs false and misleading.
Wow, that makes me think that you lot have a heck of a lot in common with the fundamentalist Christians. You guys should get together and compare notes.
Would you prefer to build a house using measured strengths or just believing that a 4×2 is strong enough to hold up a skyscraper?
Once we have things measured then they’re no longer beliefs. That’s the point. And at that point if you don’t accept them then you’re being delusional.
I have no faith in PhDs. What I do is accept the facts that the research has shown. Creationism has nothing to back it, no research and no observable data. In fact, the observable data precludes Creationism and many other items of faith within religious doctrine.
What other sources of gaining quantifiable knowledge are available?
Ahhhh, the delightful certainty of the measurementalist. (I made the term up myself, it’s actually an offshoot of the managerialism which has plagued western civilisation for the last 20 years).
So, according to your statement, once you have successfully measured something it is transmogrified and becomes sanctified in the faith as a known “fact”.
Such a fascinating belief system you have.
You are treading close to heresy here! Do you dare imply that there are types of knowledge which cannot be quantified (measured)???
+100 CR
It is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mind-bogglingly useful [as a babelfish] could have evolved purely by chance that some have chosen to see it as the final proof of the NON-existence of God. The argument goes something like this:
But, if he gets killed on a zebra crossing, it proves that God does not exist because zebra crossings are definitely meant to stop people dying on zebra crossings.
“what disproves god”
It isn’t about disproving god, god must be proved. Not the other way round.
why?
Burden of proof. The burden rests on the person making the positive assertion not the negative.
Well you need to take that up with draco – he said, “Easy. You point out that god was only ever an incorrect belief system that has now been replaced by actual research and facts.”
Take it up with me. The person making the extraordinary claim: that a god-creature exists in the form they assert (as opposed to the ones people from other countries propose), has to provide the evidence.
Actually, they don’t. unless they foist the performance upon children
When they demand the right to child victims, the crimes act provides the solution. Strangle the last priest with the entrails of the last homeopathist.
Fuck that. Why should someone from a different belief system have to satisfy the tenets of your belief system to be seen as valid.
What children should be taught, and what they will rarely be taught, is how to critically and creatively think about things beyond the realms of materialism and logic.
Homeopath.
By the way, its science and technology which is losing credibility in the world right now, not homeopathy.
🙄
Says an anti-science conspiracy theorist.
“By the way, its science and technology which is losing credibility in the world right now, not homeopathy.”
Bahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahha! Homeopathy is complete horseshit
Just as the complex mechanism of a watch requires a magician to hit it with a mallet, so too the complex nature of the universe requires a roll of multicoloured handkerchieves to surreptitiously unravel…
lol but where did that watch and handkerchiefs (never would have believed that that was how you spell that word but there you go) come from. Anyway my original comment was about the killing god bit – I’m struggling to engage with this stuff tbh
This might help
The horologist is the watch’s god…
Existential kicking-around is fun, but largely pointless (other than as a logical exercise). I generally figure that if I wait a few decades (hopefully that long) I’ll find out either way, or not (as the case may be) 🙂
In the meantime, good to live a good, kind and ethical life anyway.
” god must be proved”
Only upon your dead body, like the saying goes. Until then, it is for each one to believe or not whatever one thinks or feels is ‘true’.
Is science the most powerful thing in the universe?
Anyway, as an aside, I have a plan for my dead body and science.
Most powerful? Doubt it.
Most curious and inquisitive? Probably.
Science is great. But no one, including Science, can ever in this life ‘PROVE’ or ‘DISPROVE’ there is a God, if there is a God, who is more powerful and the most powerful of all. Transcending dimensions, if you believe in the scientific theories of dimensions. Beyond the realm of known physics and science.
As an aside, for the curious:
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/ciencia_hyperspace02.htm
Oh you could prove it alright, if only you had evidence of one, (just one) phenomenon with no possibility of rational explanation.
Sixty thousand years, no evidence. Does that make deist mumbo-pocus less credible than 9/11 conspiracy theories much?
May be, by definition of divine and God, you shouldn’t expect any such worldly explanation or proof because God by definition transcends our dimension, reasoning, brain power, science and he/she/it is not of this world. So one has to have faith or a sense of life, soul, God, ethics, morals, conscience….or not.
Is human evolution complete?
OAB, why should anyone bother to submit to you types and categories of evidence that your personal belief system finds acceptable and valid?
How is it that your personal belief system led you to be so totally incurious and close minded? Is this really how science and technology advanced so far over the last 500 years of western civilisation?
How is it that someone like you knows so much better and so much more confidently than scientific geniuses like Einstein and Newton?
Well, Einstein’s work superceded Newton’s, and when he said “God does not play dice”, he was wrong, as delayed choice quantum erasure demonstrates.
That said, it’s pretty clear from your comment that you haven’t the first idea what I’m talking about. Again. Thus you twist my words into a new shape all your own.
In the first place I’m not asking you to submit evidence. I couldn’t give a toss about the brainless witterings of an anti-science fundie.
Secondly, I’m simply observing that if all phenomena are explicable by “natural” causes, there’s no room for miracles, and your sky fairy is just as bound by universal laws as the rest of us.
As for incurious, fuck off Tat.
Clem, there are masses of things that are “beyond the realm of known physics and science.”
Some, like out-of-body experiences, are replicable and as yet unexplained. Others, like dark matter, are areas of pure conjecture arising from observed phenomena.
This is called “the god of the gaps” – asserting that deity exists in the unknown, and then finding that the unknown keeps getting smaller.
Transcendental experiences lead deists to assert deity, and yet some of the oldest books in the world explain such things as evidence that everything is connected, and urge us to “trust in our senses”, while explicitly denying the existence of gods.
Meanwhile, religion is an accident of birth. Perhaps I’d be more accepting had I been born a Viking.
With my “logical paradox disruptor cannon”.
single shot or rapid fire?
a couple of shots, then 15 minutes to reload.
“Children positivity classes – God is dead, and I killed him.”
Attaboy, get in with the fundamentalism while they’re so impressionable.
This one was disturbing
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/66533678/playground-preacher-upsets-parents
What they really think.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/idaho-republican-backs-faith-healer-parents-if-i-want-to-let-my-child-be-with-god-why-is-that-wrong/
This is worth a look
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) makes recommendations for
routine vaccination of adults in the United States
http://www.globalresearch.ca/u-s-government-moves-on-nationwide-adult-vaccination/5432582?print=1
Q. How much control could the pharmaceutical companies and those behind them gain from a medical dictatorship ?
A. 🙄
A2. probably not nearly as much as they’d get from treating an unvaccinated population
Smackdown! Use the chair! Actually, stuff the chair, use the pre-frontal lobotomy; it’s not like anyone will notice the difference.
….and punch the silly little docy face between the rolling eyes
🙄
Hope the computer screen is sturdy !
+1 there McFlock!
Q. So you are in favour of the direction this indicates doc ?
A. I’m concerned that the Blackcaps game plan for Saturday might be too dependent on a top of the order blitz.
Not a “medical dictatorship”, a corporate dictatorship. Hence the TTPA. If the government introduces regulations which limit the use of, and hence the profitability of, a given drug, corporations have the rights to get those regulations re-examined and potentially rescinded.
Do you still entertain the notion we might sign up to that?
It is a real and present danger, yes.
+100 Murphey
Yep. I have appreciated a lot of the material and links that The Murphey has pointed out.
Interesting stuff in Holland.
Student protesters – showing some defiance.
http://libcom.org/blog/student-protests-escalating-amsterdam-25022015
interesting coming from Holland….usually it is France with the student protests
fail newkeyland
http://www.amnesty.org.nz/news/new-zealand-rejects-international-recommendations-address-inequality
fix our issues up here before making worse issues for others.
+100 ….good points
http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/66672796/10k-payrise-tipped-for-Backbench-MPs
Shit I’m in the wrong job I got $15 a week extra this year ..
It’s because they deserve it….right???
It’s a tuff job no doubt but they seem to get pretty big raises fairly often, I’d have a crack for 100k . not sure which party would have me though.:-)
I notice our leader is making a bit of political hay going round saying he doesn’t want it but can’t do anything about it , funny he seems to be able to change laws when it suits him.
Steve Keen: Rethinking Economics at the London School of Economics
strange in a stranger land
give the kid an overdose, pump his stomach and the charge the parents for the pumping ffs
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11408317
yeah that seems a bit like a panelbeater smashing your windscreen and charging you for the new one…
No McFlock it has to be more personal and intimate than that. It’s like a hospital that amputated your leg wrongly, and then charged you for the surgery and the legal counsel they needed to answer your complaint.
The mother said she commented on the size of the syringe for the little boy, you would have thought it would have prompted a check by the nurse who was either distracted, rushing, or robotic. 85 mils instead of, appropriate for the child/s weight, a tenth or a hundredth of that.
Just putting one aspect of it it in more identifiable terms. Frankly, I’m intrigued that he was billed for the cost of their misconduct, in addition to being concerned that the misconduct occurred in the first place.
I’ve no idea what it’s like to have a limb amputated, correct one or otherwise.
The bit that concerns me in that article is this:
Which tends to indicate that they were using hand-written documentation and that is just not acceptable. Some peoples handwriting is just simply unreadable and so we need to remove that from the equation.
>>T he nurses discussed that it was a large dose but neither checked with the anaesthetist.
I wonder if there was a feeling of we mustn’t appear stupid by the nurses?
And won’t ACC cover the expense as it was a medical mistake?
Sorry, but the likelihood of the error was a pre-existing condition.
@ In vino
+1
If unsure, ask. I wonder why they didn’t? Only takes 5 mins to confirm a dose…
How to rid NZ of pests, rodents etc, drugs that irreparable cause rodents to miscarry would lead to a aging pop who could not reproduce.
While Key talks about the Iraq deployment being the ‘price of the club’, it will be ordinary people in Iraq who pay that price not people like him or his kids (can anyone imagine Max or Stephanie Key on the frontline?)
Veteran anti-imperialist activist Don Franks on the deployment:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/war-pigs/
The General Theory of Employment by J Keynes
It’s a shorter, more easily read version of The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money
it wd seem the green party male co-leadership contest is now a two-horse race..
http://whoar.co.nz/2015/new-zealand-parliament-list-of-questions-for-oral-answer-thursday-26-february-2015/
I was disappointed by the much talked about Shaw. What was with the shiny suit, more fitting for the ACT party, the fit was terrible. This guy is a non event and should be kept to making Norman’s morning coffee. It will be the Nat/Greens if this guy is made co leader.
i am aware he is a rightwinger..and dresses/looks like a young-tory-spiv..(think simon bridges..)
..and wd leap at the chance of a coalition with the tories…
..(and that if he did that..it wd cause the green party to implode..)
..and that he is most probably the most rightwing green party member in the country..
..i am not endorsing him..
..just pointing out that he was competent in his questioning of joyce..(who doesn’t usually divert from serial-sneering at any questioners..)
..and that it is likely a two-horse race between him and hague..
..(but if you watched the encounter between shaw and joyce..and thought shaw didn’t do ok..
..yr ideological-lenses are clearly affecting yr judgement-calls..)
I just think it was average at best, considering he wants to be leader. The other bloke has better creds although mollyhawk Hughes still fancies his chances.
i agree that dr no should get it..
..and hughes has the unfortunate-blessing/curse of a young/baby-face..
..and as one similarly cursed/blessed i can tell him he can console himself with the fact he will appreciate that more and more..the older he gets..(heh..!)
..when all the craggy-faced ones are looking like shit..he won’t..
..but as for gravitas..?..nah..!..
..he always seems so ‘perky’..
..and he does try just a little bit too much/hard..
@ In vino
+1
i was very impressed with Shaw’s end of year speech to parliament ….is he really, really a right winger?
….I mean can Shaw be more right wing and wissey wussy than the Little Labour Party putting in Shearer instead of Norman or Metiria Turei on the spy committee …..and taking paid advice from right wing journalist David Cohen?…pot calling kettle black?
….really what is needed for the Green Party is someone with the charisma and abilities of Shaw to sock it to John Key Nactional…Shaw does have this ability
…it has to be proven Shaw is a right winger and worse than the Labour Party before he is discounted imo…where is the proof ? I say…or is it just a smear campaign against someone with considerable ability who really can stick it to both Nactional and Little Labour ?
Shaw is getting extremely experienced help from strong and longtime right activists.
Shaw might want to post here to prove such fears wrong.
+100 Ad….yes I for one would be very interested to see Shaw’s real colours flying from the mast…he must come clean as to where he stands if he expects to get the Green vote for co-leadership…and he must be held to account to be true to his word
…sometimes people who come from the right of the spectrum ( either by birth or education privilege or profession position) are nevertheless true democrats and Lefties eg Tony Benn ….so it does not pay to right them off without evidence…the Greens need the best and truest person for the job
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/15/tony-benn-saw-ttip-coming-70s
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Benn
@ Ad re your statement: “Shaw is getting extremely experienced help from strong and longtime right activists”
….where is the EVIDENCE?!
….we have evidence Little and Labour got paid advice/help from right wing journalist David Cohen…the same journalist who dissed and smeared Hone Harawira?
Did anyone else notice in Parliament yesterday, when Key was questioned about the Lui donation dinner, he said he was there in his capacity as leader of the National Party! Wearing another hat again, other than that of PM!
Key gets caught out time and time again, yet nothing happens to him! Who or what is protecting him?
When is this SOB going to trip up?
,i>”when Key was questioned about the Liu donation dinner, he said he was there in his capacity as leader of the National Party!”
Yeah right!
If any one, any one at all, believes that Liu invited Key as the leader of National party and not because he is Prime Minister, then such a person is not only an idiot, but a stupid idiot.
And is Liu such a nice innocent man that he would invite Key and his little boy Ross, to eat some dumplings and stuff, without having any ulterior dodgy motives like cash for favours? If yes, he should be knighted if not cannonaded as our very first Saint of Aotearoa NZ, along with Key and Jamie. Three in one, like the three way handshake for the troty. Cool bananas!
The Phantom Underclass
That article mentions a study that shows that even poor people think that there are people who are work shy. The study couldn’t find these work shy people though.
Right wingers going batshit crazy on Twitter in 1936;
Sean Hannity & co. freaking out about Triumph des Willens‘ Oscar loss
Salon, February 23, 1936
http://www.salon.com/2015/02/23/sean_hannity_and_others_freaking_out_about_american_snipers_oscar_loss/
Divisive film Triumph des Willens took home a single Academy Award on Sunday night. Naturally, Sean Hannity and others were quick to come up with their reasons why this movie, which is about their favorite politician, did not nab top honors: “liberal Hollywood.”
Hannity took to Twitter to share this “hot take.” Here were the right’s reactions to Triumph des Willens‘ loss:
Sean Hannity: Triumph des Willens snubbed by liberal hwood Predictable. #CluelessOscars
6:07 PM – 23 Feb 1936
Terri Green @TerriGreenUSA
Follow
Hey @TheAcademy from Americans all over this county you know who won at the Box Office? Triumph des Willens
6:12 PM – 23 Feb 1936
Ernesto @Liberty4480
Follow
#Oscars1936 snub of #TriumphDesWillens is as bad as giving #wilson #NobelPeacePrize. Not surprised w #Hollywood #liberalbias #tcot #p2
6:12 PM – 23 Feb 1936
Brandon Morse @TheBrandonMorse
Follow
Don’t worry about #TriumphDesWillens not winning an Oscar folks. It already won the award for best MUTHA FUCKIN MONAY! #Oscars1936
7:17 PM – 23 Feb 1936
Spencer Hawes ✔ @spencerhawes00
Follow
Triumph des willens got absolutely robbed imho. Incredible story of an even more incredible man. #RIPHorstWessel
6:10 PM – 23 Feb 1936
http://www.salon.com/2015/02/23/sean_hannity_and_others_freaking_out_about_american_snipers_oscar_loss/
Triumph des Willens (1935) – Triumph of the Will
what is barker whining about..?
..he helmed the biggest-choke in nz sporting-history..
He sure did. This taxpayer gravy train has to stop. $100 million feeds a lot of kids. How on earth kiwi’s are easily conned is beyond me, the egotistical captains of industry must be laughing their heads off.
Bullshit they were out walleted the yanks did shit to there boat that was’nt covered under the rules , the fact that the holders w
right the rules is problem.
Team NZ were outsailed and Barker should have been fired long ago.
So if you don’t win you get sacked in you’re world ,I’m guessing you’re a key voter with that attitude.
Its not a union. He’s not a cleaner.
Its a multimillionaire’s play world. He’s paid to win. He didn’t.
Bet he’s been turning down big money offers from other syndicates for years to sail for nz.
when you’re a 3 time loser ,you really should change your name to…second.
Hi Phillip Ure,
Your opinion may carry some weight if you were to become a productive member of our society.
How many years now have you been sucking on the public tit ?
When did you last do an honest days work and receive a pay check ?
C’mon Phil, tell us, what year was it when you were last paid for honest work ?
Cricko, we live in a society predicated on a unchanging pool of the unemployed that keeps wages down, workers subservient and poverty permanent. The real question isn’t about Phil, it’s about you. If you’re that fucken clever, why don’t you offer Phil a job?
Hi te reo putake,
I’m personaly not in a position to offer Phil Ure a job.
However, people must apply for a job in order to be offered a job.
Thats the way it normaly works.
A bludger who sits on his arse, pontificates upon the shortfalls of others, and is happy to believe that his fellow citizens owe him, is never likely to apply for a job.
Ask your mate Phillip Ure what year was it when he last even applied for a job.
Get my point ?
Nope. You’re pointless. I think there is a lot to be said about the dignity of work, but equally, I have no problem with those who aren’t, or can’t, be a model worker. Phil annoys me regularly, but I have more respect for him than I’ll ever have for you.
What have I done to earn your disrespect ?
What has Phil Ure done to earn your respect?
How do you feel about those who could work but don’t and choose to be bludgers, just because they can ?
Do they have your respect ?
There’s a search function up on the right hand side. Enter ‘cricko’ and you’ll see why you haven’t earned my respect. Phil ‘works’, just not for someone else and (unless he’s taken the casino’s coin 😉 ) not for profit. From what little I know of him, I think he probably could do a ‘job’, but I know nothing about his circumstances, where he lives, what job options there are in his community.
Phil seems to me to very capable of holding down a job, but everything I know about how WINZ are geared to punishment these days suggests to me that there must be valid reasons why that’s not an option.
If you want to stand in judgement, then more fool you.
You’re assuming all people are put together the same and can deal with getting up in the morn to go do something that in a lot of cases is drudgery
I give Mr Ure a bit of stick on occasion but the world is a richer place with people in it that refuse to bow down to the norm.
I’d rather a few of my tax dollars go to him than fucking sky city.
b waghorn
You can’t be serious.
So, if tomorrow I decide I can’t deal with going to work any longer to support my family because it’s just drudgery.
Then thats OK with you and you’ll pay for me and my family because I make the world a richer place ?
How can I get in contact with you, because I’ve had a gutsfull of working. And I hate Sky City,
Your a bit of a twister of words I doubt people decide they can’t deal with stuff .
cricko
Everyone has something useful to do in society. For you it is working at some job that you can manage. For somebody else it is coping with an chronic illness and working when there is work available that that person can do. If they are using their brain to think and communicate information that is helpful to society, then that could be the best thing that they can do.
You obviously have trouble understanding how society works and how people’s
needs and abilities differ and you want simple answers, so stick to doing simple jobs that you can manage.
Jobs are way overrated.
People should be supported to do worthwhile work, for themselves, for their communities, and for NZ however.
+100 CR
WTF is a “pay check”?
It’s a fucking Americanism is what it is, like “full spectrum dominance” and “total information awareness” and all the other lovely things they’ve brought to the language.
Ok, I meant pay ‘cheque’
Big point scored by Saarbo,
maybe the first ever.
Well done Saarbo.
Your as smart as a tack.
Huge win.
Bet it made your week.
Since when did becoming a wage slave become such a point of pride???
+100 CR…what about all the creative people out there…and the caregivers?
hey cricko,
can i reccomend a couple of looks on you tube at guy standings lectures.
he highlights (amongst other things) how tories see the monetary system as rewarding ‘good’ people and punishing’bad’ people.
ie if you have money you are ok.
he also points at the lack of empathy or compassion that right wing folk show.
also the need for a ubi ( an idea supported by hard right folk such as milton friedman).
please have a look, its ok to be a tory, honest.
phillip is a very productive member of society …it is just that he doesn’t get enough money for it…we need a UBI
http://www.bigkahuna.org.nz/universal-basic-income.aspx
Oh piss off there isn’t enough work to go around, what with slave import labour, zero hours work. Obviously Phil is making a sacrifice so others can at least say they are working to idiots like you. Thanks Phil.
i hafta say i am humbled by the words of support from all..chrs..
..(and i wanta know how the hell can i lay into waghorn again..?
..when he/she has said something both intelligent and civilised..
..he/she has messed with my assumptions..)
i am watching top gear..
st petersburg is a very cool looking city…
City of Shadows: http://www.alexeytitarenko.com/
Nice work there!
Baltic definitely next big tour.
a heads-up for david mitchell fans (old and new..)
..he is on a new show on tvone @ 10 pm..
..called ‘was it something i said?’…
It was very good. As was the New Zealand comedy show before it.