Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step right up to the mike…
As a chiropractor and pain management expert I support that 100%, particularly under the auspices of formal health sector regulation. Common medical pain management approaches are not effective or suitable for tens of thousands of New Zealanders, and there should be more options on the table.
Just consider how drugs like morphine and fentanyl are legal in NZ for pain management, but marijuana is not. It simply reflects a very outdated historical situation.
Time we get over ourselves and put more options on the table.
If I were a chiropractor cynical about Big Pharma I’d wonder where some of the opposition to the use of marijuana for pain management was coming from. Luckily, I’m not 😈
It would probably be cheaper than those other drugs too. No big pharma company cut to pay.
And that’s probably the only reason as to why it’s still illegal. It’s certainly nothing to do with it being bad for you else alcohol and cigarettes would be illegal.
Why would it have anything to do with “big pharma” making it illegal? If it were legal pharmaceutical companies could patent aspects of THC and make a killing as they do with other chemicals.
You miss the point Draco. I don’t mean patenting THC itself but using THC to create a whole new class of drugs and patenting those. It doesn’t make sense to say the only reason it is illegal is because pharmaceutical companies could make a killing on patenting drugs derived from cannabis.
Was reading an article a while back (may have linked to it on TS) about magic mushrooms. Limited research is showing that it’s far better than Prozac. It does the same job, doesn’t have anywhere near the side effects that Prozac does and only requires one treatment rather than daily doses.
Of course, that’s magic mushies but it has the same problem, commercially, as marijuana – anybody can grow it and we don’t actually need any derived drugs.
As for the TPPA: A large chunk of it seems to be about IP and that means we probably won’t be able to change our IP laws to boost innovation. One such change that needs to happen, IMO, is that patents should not be allowed to apply to things that are based upon the natural laws of the universe (same as maths formula aren’t allowed to be patented/copyrighted). That would kill the drug and life patenting that we presently see.
We don’t ‘need’ the derived drugs but considering some people don’t like being stoned and magic mushroom can have unpleasant physical side effects (as well as being hard to control dosage given difference mushrooms have varying levels of the active ingredient) there is still a big market for derived versions to be created.
Your comment about big pharma blocking cannabis legalisation doesn’t make sense.
Missing the point again.
Some people don’t like to get stoned therefore there is an commercial industry in creating a drug which delivers the benefits without the high. I can’t make it more simple than that.
TatLoo..
.”Just consider how drugs like morphine and fentanyl are legal in NZ for pain management, but marijuana is not. It simply reflects a very outdated historical situation.”
Very well stated…in a nutshell.Should be quoted a lot.
For a science dude you are a bit short on the logic there doc. It reflects what is registered by medsafe, but that’s not the only thing it reflects. People can use all sorts of things for pain relief that have never been ciminilised. Why was cannabis?
If you remove the addictive nature of morphine and look primarly on it’s effect on the body it is less dangerous than marijuana. Purely from a physiological standpoint.
Call me naive, but isn’t the addictive nature what makes it so dangerous? I mean, if you go one step further and add the derivative heroine it hardly gets any more suicidal. This is by my reckoning by far – pretty much as far as it gets – dangerous than marijuana.
Some recognizable people who died from a Morphine overdose:
Hank Williams, Janet Achurch, Lenny Bruce, Tim Buckley, Chris Farley, Sigmund Freud, Paul Gray, Brent Mydland, Gram Parsons, Brad Renfro, Count Gottfried from Biesmark, Edward E. Hannegan
If you remove the addictive nature of morphine and look primarly on it’s effect on the body it is less dangerous than marijuana. Purely from a physiological standpoint.
That is the stupidest, and most dangerous incorrect statement that I’ve come across all day. I daresay it’s probably a deliberate lie.
It’s virtually impossible for someone overusing marijuana to die from it. Maybe if they choke on an accidentally swallowed joint?
In comparison it’s dead simple to die from overusing morphine (or sometimes even appropriately using it). A combination of respiratory suppression, coma and shock/cardiac arrest will typically do it.
Yes overdose is easy but in a controlled circumstance (like a hospital) morphine is extremely clean and does little to no damage to the body. That’s why it continues to be the gold standard in pain relief.
“Just consider how drugs like morphine and fentanyl are legal in NZ for pain management, but marijuana is not. It simply reflects a very outdated historical situation.”
yeah, but I wouldn’t like to see cannabis as a plant only legal by prescription. If big pharma wants to develop medicines from cannabis once its legal, more power to them. But let people use the plant itself as they see fit too.
“If big pharma wants to develop medicines from cannabis ”
Weka, they already do manufacture pain relief meds from cannabis. In Sth Africa it is available in liquid form. Can’t remember the Pharma at the moment, but will post link if I find it.
“No it should not there are plenty of proven options on the table at present.”
I don’t know about cancer – but for inflammatory arthritis flares another pain reduction option that works without knocking you out would be gratefully received.
Yes there are plenty of proven options. And there should be more. Because for plenty of patients today’s options may start off being effective but eventually end up being unsuitable, with the development of many unwanted adverse effects and reduced efficacy, over a period of months or years.
TC You have the choice to read and ‘hear’ the personal message and experience shared or move on by. Why choose to criticise the structure? Try a little kindness.
I have no prejudicial views towards drug addicts. I’m making fun of his syntax, not his former drug abuse. What do I care what he did with himself in the past or the future.
I don’t believe you. Either you think there is something wrong with being and addict and/or that being an addict = x,y,z, or you are moron. How can inferring that being a former junkie makes one stupid when it comes to English grammar not be a comment on that person’s past?
My former junkie days had no discernible effect on my ability to construct sentences, nor on my ability to solve differential equations. Your constant harping, on the other hand, has quite an effect on my ability to see good in all people.
If a person is in pain for whatever reason and finds that smoking a joint every now and then, or drinking cannabis tea, helps them, why should the medical profession or law enforcement even be involved?
I take morphine every day quite legally and don’t like the effects of cannabis on my thinking, so I don’t smoke it. There are people who have the opposite experience. Bloody hell, let them light up.
I tend to get a bit annoyed with posts like your first one regarding leukaemia as it is misleading in the extreme a bit like the pharma company who sold few million in mussel extract a few years back after misleading items suggesting it was useful for cancer and then got slapped with a wetbusticket 40k fine.
..are you suggesting all that research currently going on is a fools’ errand..?
..and if a doc..are you a cancer-treatment specialist..?
..or a g.p..?
..(just trying to get yr informed-opinion into some kinda context..eh..?..)
..and why not legalise it for those reasons/benefits you cite as being ‘useful’..
..’the analgesic and and anticachexic effects.’..?
..aren’t they enough to be getting on with ..?
..and i will counter yr link..(in which..b.t.w..many/most of the cited references are at least 20 yrs old..with an alarming number dating back to the 70’s..)..
..with what i have compiled over more recent times..
The last time I saw my mother, Momina Bibi, was the evening before Eid al-Adha. She was preparing my children’s clothing and showing them how to make sewaiyaan, a traditional sweet made of milk. She always used to say: the joy of Eid is the excitement it brings to the children.
Last year, she never had that experience. The next day, 24 October 2012, she was dead, killed by a US drone that rained fire down upon her as she tended her garden.
I nearly cried. I’m trying to get my head around in how many ways this is truly awful.The people who order this stuff are criminals (but even that label is too simple for them).
It was a temporary expedient from the 3.7 update. Looks like there was a bug to do with the identicons at gravator with it. It was giving the empty person display
Fixed now.
But I’ll leave these icons on over the weekend for their amusement value..
Soon to be joined by Shonky? Then it will be Rats on the run. And I also wonder how many Nats will be buying new suitcases to leave, after the next election, before the vitriol of the country descends upon their heads.
The Herald hits the panic button as their finest Jonolists, O’Sullivan and Armstrong, tag team to tell us why Shonkey’s in charge and got options for a win in 2014.
They have to lay the ground now to make Colin Craig sound palatable to the National voters of the North Shore. “This cup-of-tea candidate won’t make you look like total pawns the way Banks did to your mates in Epsom! Honest!”
According to this NZ Herald article, rent in Auckland is going through the roof. So who is this policy (LVR) favouring? Existing house owners but mostly LANDLORDS. This National government is just atrocious, they are really fucking up so much.
Another major FAIL.
The answer is clearly a CGT (comprehensive, not half arsed like Australia’s) also taking away the tax deductibility of interest cost on investment houses. And a massive social housing programme focussed on Auckland, this shit that National talk about increasing supply of land will lead to a reduction in the cost of housing is absolute bull shit…greedy land owners will simply not sell as soon as there is a slight reduction in their value of the land.
Trying to fit more than 30% of NZ’s population on less than 0.3% of the country’s land area isn’t a great move.
IMO it’s time for extensive regional development. Let’s get businesses and industry moving to centres like… Whangarei, Rotorua, Napier/Hastings, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Blenheim, Timaru, Oamaru, Dunedin, Invercargill.
“Trying to fit more than 30% of NZ’s population on less than 0.3% of the country’s land area isn’t a great move.”
When its framed like that Tat, it does seem ridiculous. But yes, there is some real need for policy that will rebalance some aspects in our economy and currently house prices in Auckland are way out of whack, in my view New Zealand’s biggest issue because expensive house rentals (which are a function of house prices) are one of the main causes of poverty.
IMO, one of the biggest drivers of regional development in previous decades was the awards rates as moving out of the big cities wouldn’t result in a massive decrease in income.
1. Bring in comprehensive capital gains tax.
2. Get rid of interest deductibility cost on mortgages for residential rentals (actually probably a very tricky policy to write without causing preserve consequences and incentives)
3. End government “accommodation supplement”.
These policies if acted in tandem would probably drop house prices by 20-30% overnight.
This National government is just atrocious, they are really fucking up so much.
No they’re not as they’re doing precisely what the rentier class want – upping the incomes of the rentiers without the rentiers having to do any more or even to produce any wealth.
Ennui is very much a socialist on social issues….during the work week Ennui manages companies which employ lots of people. This week E was hatching plans for one company to increase jobs from 25 to 35 over the next year despite the hard trading conditions. Thats called creating employment and expanding the tax base. E deals with lots of companies, most are struggling, they don’t pay tax because they don’t make a profit…the tax is raised via PAYE and GST. The owners of these companies get short return for risking their money to create more, in the process of which people get jobs. That risk goes without recognition by most of the workers, most of the contributors to this column.
The point of the above is this: every other person on this column rants about who the government should be funding, paying, subsidising etc etc etc. Nobody stops to consider where the cash comes from. The assumption is that even if the pot is unlimited that they have a divine right to some part of it.
This might sound like some RWNJ post: it is not. It merely states how real places of work function, how the real economy is underpinned. before you next demand subsidies for your own interests please take a pause and ask: where will the cash come from? Who pays? What does that mean to other employers and workers?
Excellent point Ennui. Where does the money come from? I am an employer myself, although on a smaller scale than you.
Consider this in terms of the macroeconomy:
– If the Government is making a surplus, it is taking more money from households and the private sector than it is putting back in, to the dollar.
– If the Government is making a deficit, it is providing more money to households and the private sector than it is taking out, to the dollar.
Also:
There are a huge amount of non-circulating hoarded dollars at the moment. If you think about it as tens of millions of hundred dollar notes sitting in a deep freezer the size of a small warehouse, not getting anything useful done in the community (but helping the banks and wall St out a great deal) you get the idea.
Last point: only one entity in the world can manufacture valid NZD and issue them – the NZ Government.
Ennui: You’ll have probably noticed over time that I’m kind of obsessed with exports – especially ones that have little to do with animals and trees. There is a reason for that.
..a capital gains tax..yes..(and increases in tax paid only for the top earners..not those struggling/juggling in the middle..)
..but perhaps the simplest/most straightforward/least painful revenue-gatherer..
..is a financial transaction tax..where each inter-bank transaction accrues a miniscule bite on it..with the volume of transactions adding up to a serious amount of money..
..and don’t forget that treasury research showed that a financial transaction tax on the banks/ters..
..would raise enough revenue to enable us to do away with g.s.t..
..whoar..!..eh..?
..so the question has to be:..why not..?
..hope that helps answer yr ‘where will the money come from?’-question..
Yep. I have been looking to purchase a small business over the last year, all of the businesses that I have seen for sale NONE seem to be making decent taxable profits, if any. But GST is a real prick of a tax for small businesses, as small businesses often sell at “price points” that customers are really resistant to pay above, so English’s GST increase in Oct 2010 basically meant that many small businesses have had to absorb the 2.5% GST increase therefore reducing margin and taxable income. So I think your comment shows why Income Tax should be raised before GST…the Top Marginal tax rate needs to be increased and CGT needs to be implemented, it seems that the only houses and farms that are being purchased these days are by people who already own several and dont actually need them.
Small businesses are really struggling in New Zealand, no doubt about that. Brian Gaynor on RNZ the other day mentioned that people above 55 have a lot of money and people below 30 have plenty of money to spend but most people between these age groups are struggling, I guess this group are trying to raise a family and buy a house.
This is where DC”s Labour will encourage policy that stimulates the economy (I think he mentioned “new keynesian” in TS once?) I hope (perhaps a decrease in GST would help stimulate at the same time as helping the poor). And also as Iprent points out…we need more exports, but Im happy if it comes from farms as long as it doesn’t stuff up our rivers/environment.
Saarbo
That’s a good point. I can’t see why anyone thoughtful would consider it good to have a two figure rate, and more to be continually raising the flat tax of GST. Isn’t it collected on all the things that lower income people would put their money towards? Though does that include rent? I don’t pay rent and I’ve forgotten.
But it’s a great way to get a large proportion back by the government of every $ going into the hand of beneficiaries. Sort of like a flag fall for purchases.
Why should I have to pay 15% to the government for every step in living and transacting I make with others trying to make a living. Now I do regard that as theft!
And I first came across it in Switzerland. In the 70’s it was a country so wealthy that they hardly seemed to have any sale for second hand utility goods. They tended to update and store the older still useful ones in the basement. Which most of them had as a design feature.
They were wealthy enough to pay 15% VAT or gst. We are not. It would be a useful and reasonable tax if it was 5%. More becomes a burden on the lower income who are actually more in outcome mode.
GST is payable on commercial rent, but not on domestic rent. I don’t really know why this is so. It could be argued that rent is an investment return, like interest, but that argument would apply just as much to commercial rent as to domestic.
GST needs to be reduced to 5.0%, but kept as a mechanism with which the government can control consumption and money supply if necessary, in the future.
GST is actually a quite unjust tax as it is applied as a one size fits all approach to gather revenue. A person earning $ 15.00 per hour is by far harder hit with GST on every living expense that anyone at $ 30.00. Hence it is inherently unjust. The role of any government, regardless what colors they fly, is the fair and just treatment of its citizen/residents. My feeling is that income tax should be teared in incremental steps – the more you earn, the more tax you pay – and GST reduced (8% ?). I don’t belief that a universal transaction tax will help either as this is just another way to grab money from those who can ill afford this. Most transactions these days are electronic and hence will have the tax deducted straight away. Giving cash deals that can be manipulated in tax terms even more reason to exist.
Yes Greywarbler, There have been a number of suggestion that we need to put the GST rate up to 17.5% to deal with our aging population http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1102/S00020/threat-of-175-gst-sickening.htm . One of the reason I understand that Treasury like GSt is that they believe that it is difficult to avoid paying, which is incredibly naive…there are plenty of people dealing in cash deals to avoid gst. I reckon it should be 10% at the most. I understand that GST makes up $15 billion of tax revenue, so if it was reduced to 10% then the Govt would have to find around $5 billion from other sources….its a really horrible tax in my view, it amazes me that treasury and other economic commentators often talk about raising it more.
Saarbo
Thanks interesting. This business about Treasury wanting things simpler. Its such an oxymoron when you think that computers are supposed to be great because it makes calculation and number crunching simpler, so why Treasury bothers about simpler as if we have rows of clerks perched at desks with quill pens.
It’s just bloody laziness and poverty of mind. It’s the same thinking that wants to introduce flat tax rather than have progressive as needed. It’s the same sort of thinking that won’t be bothered with tax tables where wage tax is calculated from different columns, used to be general and then for people with dependent children, F1, F2, F3 which I think was where the tax breaks stopped.
More help for larger families might then have involved applying for a state house to help with their care. A change in this method of up-front tax breaks had been replaced by special help for working families which gets a hostile reaction from members of society who view themselves as self-generated special treasures to the world now they have landed. Other babies and little ones can go jump. If it was Treasury that acrtivated the tax changes – they lack common sense. Call in a child of five (G.Marx) or Peter Dunne (interchangeable).
(Referring to families, I am listening to Radionz 11.12 Paul Ehrlich – Predicting Collapse on Radionz saying that modern people who love children choose to have small families, not large ones. They care about the type of future their children will have by joining with others in limiting the overpopulation we already have.)
Nobody stops to consider where the cash comes from.
Actually, I’ve considered that for quite some time and have said on numerous occasions (another time down thread) that we need to stop the cash coming from the private banks bearing interest and that it should come from government without interest.
The assumption is that even if the pot is unlimited that they have a divine right to some part of it.
They do. It is, after all, the peoples economy and their resources being used.
It merely states how real places of work function, how the real economy is underpinned.
It represents how the present system works. There’s one thing wrong with that – the present system doesn’t work and thus it needs to be changed.
[sigh] . . . another John Key lie. He told Failfax that the tip off regarding Len Brown’s affair was just Mark Mitchell gossiping at a cocktail party. Turns out, that’s not true. According to the now sorrowful Penny Webster . . .
. . . the comment Mr Mitchell made to her was not at a cocktail party or as part of idle gossip.
“I was in a business meeting with Mark over electoral/council matters when our conversation turned to local government elections and the mayoral campaign.
“Mark made a passing comment, something like ‘scuttlebutt floating around for a while about the mayor having a skeleton in his closet; if there is a skeleton I hope that his wife and children know because families are always the victims in these sort of things’.
I laughed, saying, ‘I’m sure it isn’t correct,’ and he agreed with me . . .
. . . when lies designed to distance National Ltd™ from the attempted blackmail of Len Brown come straight from the top and, now, involve public apologies for even involving a National Ltd™ MP, my spidey senses start tingling. The New Zealand Fox News Herald Sunday paper apparently has an interview with Luigi Weewedgie; it will be interesting to see if the distancing efforts are carried through there as well.
Mark Mitchell, MP for North Shore, is a former NZ Policeman who..
“launched an international business career which included the start-up of my own company specialising in hostage rescue, supply chain security and risk management. Working closely with the World Economic Forum, I helped to establish Logistic Emergency Response Teams…. ”
see http://www.markmitchell.co.nz/mark-mitchell-profile.html
Mitchell’s father-in-law Frank Gill was a National Party North Shore MP as well as being a minister and ambasador to Washington.
Mitchell is a well integrated into the National Party real power structures. Mitchell is also well integrated into the Special Services network, the Police and the Intelligence Services.
Mark Mitchell knew about the Len Brown affair because there was a professional project to displace Len that went beyond the Palino/Slater/Wewege amateurs.
The Nats/Rodney Hide wanted control over Auckland.
Wellington did not want an independent Auckland.
Had a Nat stooge like Palino or Williamson won Auckland the new Rail projects would be cancelled or hobbled. Urban sprawl would be encouraged. The Auckland Council would become a tame lapdog for National and Wellington.
The Council CEO and many of the CCO Boards and C level execs were appointed by National, Rodney Hide and Wellington. They are all for replacement under a Leftish Len and Council.
There are many powerful people who were disappointed that Len could not be challenged by a credible candidate. The prospect of a damaging scandal was a god-send.
John Key, for whom Mark Mitchell seconds for the busy neighbouring Helensville MP from time to time, knows more about the plan to displace Len than he is saying.
Yes because the plan was to make Len have numerous affairs, get free or cheap rates from hotels, be a reference for his mistress, send threatening texts, go on record as saying theres nothing else and then go into hiding after the story breaks
or
Len can’t keep it in his pants, tells far too many lies and brought it all on himself
Yes because the plan was to make tempt Len into having numerous an affairs, enabled by mates at SkyCity get free or cheap rates from hotels, then set up to be a reference for his mistress, while operatives send threatening texts, while John Key goes on record as saying “there’s nothing” here else to see here, and then go send Luigi into hiding after the story breaks
Sorry but I’m sticking with the more obvious explanation that a very ordinary mayor who should know better displayed some stunning lack of judgement over a prolonged period the rest is all just a rise show.
It does look like that, with first prize being Len’s resignation, and second prize being a Len who is weakened by public scandal, and hence compliant. I personally hope it goes the other way, and that Len seeks to redeem himself by doing battle against them for his city.
I don’t think Len has been weakened by the affair as most people just don’t care. What has happened is that most people are sickened by the RWNJs poking their nose into other peoples bedrooms.
“I don’t think Len has been weakened by the affair as most people just don’t care.”
I wouldn’t be to sure about that. Sure I don’t care, you don’t care and it seems most people here don’t care but I wonder about the left-wing yet socially conservative, religious faction who may have voted because of Brown’s self professed religious values. Something to take into account.
I think the question isn’t really whether Len has been weakened, as we’re just not in a situation where weakening him crowns another person. The vast majority of left voters aren’t going to defect to Minto or Bright, and the right doesn’t have a solid candidate.
If there were the option of a by-election with someone right enough for the right and socially liberal enough for a chunk of the left (coughMauriceWilliamsoncough) then it could be a completely different matter.
Ah ! I think you’ve got it, Olwyn. I’ve been wondering what’s behind it all.
Mark Mitchell – with his background of security and SIS – would not have deliberately tipped off Penny Webster without some sort of ulterior motive. This way the “real powers” in National give a drubbing to Collins’ mates – Slater, Palino – while at the same time putting Len more firmly in their power. I hope like you, Olwyn, that Len – silly stupid idiot that he’s been – can see he’s also been used by the top Nats, and redeems himself by battling more intensely for his city’s good, than for his own future.
The sad part about all this is that real people are involved, Mr Brown’s wife and children. I do not belief hat NZlanders are as vulgar as Americans when it comes to revealing and “marketing” affairs hoping for a “Bill Clinton”. The reality is that there should be more focus on the move to divide a country into city states. When I look at your comment, this is already taking place. Back to the times of the Medici then….
Mark Mitchell knew about the Len Brown affair because there was a professional project to displace Len that went beyond the Palino/Slater/Wewege amateurs.
Seems like it. Wewege has got “operative” written all over him. There’s a heap load of cash tied up in Auckland’s assets which, thus far, Len Brown has managed to keep largely intact. Must have been incredibly frustrating for the business elite to have had the carefully laid down plans, as put in place by Rodney Hide for John Banks to deliver, stymied by pesky democracy and some upstart from Manukau. Plenty of incentive to set up a honey-trap.
Air Commodore Frank Gill millsy. I am told he insisted on being called Air Commodore at all times. A leery old goat. How do I know? He tried it on me and no… he got short shrift!
Paid him back. He rang for a weather forecast one Xmas holiday many years ago. He and Muldoon were off for a summer boat cruise around North Cape. I told them not to go because there was a trop. cyclone moving into the area. They didn’t go. The cyclone trundled into the West Tasman and swiftly petered out which we already knew was going to happen. Gave me a few giggles.
Frank Gill ….. I remember how we used to ridicule the guy – including amongst the little Natty Khandallah Woodmancote Road ilk I once had the misfortune of dwelling amongst.
He was around during suspender-belt Skeith’s reign.
I have a vague recollection of his being referred to as “Taxi Frank”.
I could delve further into the annals of the brain, but I think I’d rather go and piss on his grave – so if you could give me directions as to where that is, I’ll remember next time I’m in his vicinity. As I relieve myself, I’ll be confident I’m expressing (figuratively) the feelings of most that ever had anything to do with the prick.
(I’ve a weak bladder dontcha know – I put it down to being the offspring of the tall story teller of WWII tales).
It’s a bugger though sometimes. I often wonder about the legacy some of these Nattyists think they’re leaving their offspring (when all/most of their bullshit emerges – as it surely will).
Simon Bridges …. Paula Bennett … Nucki Kaye?? … Hek Yea! Parata.
Christ! they’re full of it!.
Must be a bugger to know that – before you die – your offspring will come to know that you were an utter cunt
… Mitchell is also well integrated into the Special Services network, the Police and the Intelligence Services.
Very, very interesting. Thank you Not a PS Staffer. You appear to be an insider (sort of) on the politician in question. Could it be Mark Mitchell was instructed by someone to drop hints to a councillor associated with Len Brown about the impending scandal? If so, we can but speculate as to the reason why…
I enjoyed The Climate Casino, and felt that I learned a lot from it. Yet as I read it, I couldn’t help wondering whom, exactly, the book was written for. It is, after all, a calm, reasoned tract, marshaling the best available scientific and economic evidence on behalf of a pragmatic policy approach. And here’s the thing: just about everyone responsive to that kind of argument already favors strong climate action. It’s the other guys who constitute the problem.
An idea. For getting the meaning and value of young people, and their parents, thinking and involved in politics. Could work very well in South Auckland.
This morning 9..30ish on Radionz a biologist, dealing with amphibians, was talking about getting people in Haiti to take more interest in their environment and learn about it and how to preserve it. He referred to one mountain that has more frog types on it than most other places on the planet, and endangered.
He said they have lots of problems in Haiti and therefore they have not much time to think about such things. And there was not much factual knowledge about frogs. The idea was that frogs could pee or spit on you and you would go blind. So people tended to kill them on sight.
So the team got an idea for the youngsters to find out information as a project. They would go and observe and were given cameras to get a record of the habits and lifestyle and locations of these frogs and then of course they were all shown to the youngsters and their parents. In the few months before they finished that project the understanding of frogs was wide, the attitude had changed.
What if there were groups given subjects to cover, with teams who wanted to work together and choose a subject from a set list of aspects of society and be in charge of an inexpensive and appropriate camera? Making films is in. It would be awesome, and great record for family interest, cultural and neighbourhood interest and history, as background for interested local people to work for better conditions along with the children who wanted to participate. So Pacifica would get their children involved early in political forays into policy. Half of that non-voting group there would vanish and would continue to decrease to perhaps an 80/20 swing away from non-voting. Could be done I think.
I’m thinking that if shes not allowed unsupervised contact with her own kid then maybe its not a good idea to allow her unsupervised contact with many kids but thats only my opinion of course. I’m sure the parents of kids would be delighted if they were to find out (which of course they won’t)
I take it that you didn’t fully read the article and missed this bit:
Council spokesman Peter Lind said before any teacher was granted registration, they needed to demonstrate they had been satisfactorily trained to teach, were likely to be a satisfactory teacher, were of good character as evidenced by a police check and were fit to be a teacher.
Seems that she’s not automatically going to become a teacher and, to be honest, all the things that she’s accused of doing are the result of a crashed relationship. It’s more than likely that she’s over them.
People coming of benefits happens all the time, they’re just usually aren’t accompanied by news articles with judgemental subtexts from paid reporters pushing an agenda.
Anyway, when the present government gets fu*ked over next year, you’ll see a lot more ‘good news’, as everyone knows there are many less unemployed under a Labour led government.
That will make you happy too, no? 😉
It’s a fair cop, guvnor. Given how unemployment reached historic highs under national from the historic lows under the last Labour government, you’d think righties, who love to moan about job seekers, would be sworn socialists by now and eager to change leadership at a moments notice.
I’m guessing many aren’t really interested in reducing unemployment at all, and enjoy the easy meat, beat up scapegoating instead.
—–Hapless StandardistaTe Reo Putake tapped that out on one miserable Wednesday morning in August 2012. It has not yet been ascertained what hallucinogenic substance, if any, was responsible for that minor classic. http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01082012/#comment-500824
Crazy-ass predictions that make no sense is a series devoted to the deluded, the dull, and the dimwitted. Comments, suggestions and submissions for the series will be gratefully received.
Did you make a note of this post to reference at a later date or just go back through the archives until you found something?
I have a long memory. The other day, my old friend swam into my consciousness for some reason, and due to some untraceable series of synaptic connections, I recalled he had made a bizarre statement about the NRL. A quick boolean exercise soon found the offending statement. That’s the thing with the internet: as poor John Palino is finding out, whatever foolish or knavish message you post, tweet, reddit or email, it will come back to haunt you.
He’s a stalker, Chris. Fixated on me for what feels like years now. I suppose its a step up from his earlier efforts on other forums where he used to stalk himself under a variety of pseudonyms. Perhaps the meds are finally kicking in?
The funny thing about this post is that my prediction remains as true today as it was last year. The Pirates (for that is the name of the team) have already been formed. The NRL will look at confirming expansion post season next year and the two teams likely to be added in season 2017 are the Pirates and the provisionally named Brisbane Bombers. Though the latter is under pressure from a bid from the Central Coast that is extremely popular with fans across Oz.
Anyhoo, just another bit of Breen bullshit. Nothing to worry about, really.
He’s a stalker, Chris. Fixated on me for what feels like years now.
Oy vey! What rich irony coming from someone whose entire raison d’être seems to be the stalking of this writer, i.e., moi.
I suppose its a step up from his earlier efforts on other forums [sic] where he used to stalk himself under a variety of pseudonyms.
Oh? Could you provide some evidence to back up that remarkable allegation? I would note that you have already been burned on this forum, earning a stern warning from the headmaster Mr. Prent, after you had foolishly insinuated I was another poster.
Perhaps the meds are finally kicking in?
Oy vey! Can we work on the jokes, old buddy? You’re not achieving ANY cut-through at the moment.
The funny thing about this post is that my prediction remains as true today as it was last year. The Pirates (for that is the name of the team) have already been formed. The NRL will look at confirming expansion post season next year and the two teams likely to be added in season 2017 are the Pirates and the provisionally named Brisbane Bombers. Though the latter is under pressure from a bid from the Central Coast that is extremely popular with fans across Oz.
We look forward to the Perth Pirates taking Perth by storm. One thing is for sure if they DO get off the ground (something that NRL players rarely have to do, by the way) is that tickets will be easy to come by.
Anyhoo, just another bit of Breen bullshit. Nothing to worry about, really.
Hmmmmm. Judging by how exercised you are over this, I’d say you were more than a little worried.
Lanthanide, your inability to formulate a coherent reply comes out again, I see. Are you really that hopeless? No wonder you sprang to the defence of poor Hekia Parata when I outed her all that time ago; you were identifying with her inarticulateness as much as her crazy message.
Hey, Lanthanide, instead of hanging around our minor squabbles, shouldn’t you be hard at work trying to convince us why this morning’s tsunami in Fukushima poses no dangers? No dangers at all?
I don’t know if that howler is a reflection on your honesty or your perception or your state of mind, or all three.
What on earth are you going to say next? “Try-scoring occurs with monotonous regularity in cricket”? “Wimbledon AFC looking good to win this year’s European Champions League”? “Jumping occurs with monotonous regularity in ice hockey”?
Any or all of those would make more sense than your classic.
Jumping occurs with monotonous regularity in league. :rolleyes: About the fifth tackle of every second set, by my count. The other sets end in grubbers.
In that entire highlights reel, there were three, maybe four, modest attempts at jumping, not one of them contested.
Then there’s this collection which includes plenty more of the jumping you’ve apparently never spotted:
Citing that ground-hugging action as evidence of “plenty of jumping” is kind of like citing THIS as evidence of “plenty of finesse”…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3bVBmcvOOs
Oh sure, they play the odd game there, but the NRL has no hope of establishing itself in Perth. There’s too much competition from Australian football (two professional teams, one of which played in the AFL grand final last month), rugby (Go the Force!) and soccer.
There’s only one Perth team in the AFL, Moz. In this year’s AFL Grand Final, Hawthorn defeated the team from the city of Fremantle.
Okay, in the same way Counties-Manukau (South Auckland) is not really in Auckland, Port Adelaide is not really in Adelaide, Brooklyn is not really in New York, Salford is not really in Manchester and Everton is not really in Liverpool. You’ve got it on a technicality, my friend. Props to you!
Was very disturbed at the level of debate over the Meridian sale.
for all the dummies out there the price wan’t really the issue.
That was then and now the lucky buyers can sit back and enjoy the revenue stream for the rest of their lives.
nice for some.
1764 – Benjamin Franklin is asked by officials of the Bank of England to explain the prosperity of the colonies in America. He replies,
“That is simple. In the Colonies we issue our own money. It is called Colonial Scrip. We issue it in proper proportion to the demands of trade and industry to make the products pass easily from the producers to the consumers. In this manner creating for ourselves our own paper money, we control its purchasing power, and we have no interest to pay no one.”
As a result of Franklin’s statement, the British Parliament hurriedly passed the Currency Act of 1764. This prohibited colonial officials from issuing their own money and ordered them to pay all future taxes in gold or silver coins.Referring to after this act was passed, Franklin would state the following in his autobiography, “In one year, the conditions were so reversed that the era of prosperity ended, and a depression set in, to such an extent that the streets of the colonies were filled with the unemployed…
David Cunliffe has already said that he won’t be changing the banking system and so there’s no chance that he will be making life better as it really is the change that needs to be done before all other changes that will bring about prosperity for all.
What happened to the value of Colonial Scrip, and to the Colonial economy as a whole, when the foreign bankers demanded that remittances to them were made only in gold or silver?
I’m guessing that Cunliffe is well aware of that piece of history too.
Only if we let them which is why I’d change the system via referenda. If they tried to change it back afterwards then we’d know that they were working against democracy.
That knowledge is fine, but it won’t provide the foreign currency needed to pay our bills for fuel, drugs and critical chemicals/parts/machinery/technology.
Don’t need foreign currency for that. We buy them with our currency and then they can buy what they want of the resources/products we have available. They could even sell it on the Forex to get whatever currency the want at whatever the exchange rate is or they can negotiate.
DTB
Unfortunately the ability to learn, understand and accept lessons from the past are not part of our highly evolved development. In a generation the right wing have been able to change NZs culture and carry out practices that go against the country’s and the people’s interests long term.
In one generation the knowledge prevailing in the past one has largely gone. Though that knowledge was only partly considered, what was understood has not been passed on through formal education, parental discussion etc.
So Cunliffe has to get in with the promise of finding better ways of running the country and providing the economy with a proper system that suits the people. It’s a big ask without offering something even bigger and more different. Something done long ago that is bound to raise the highest hostility and howling derision from NACTs that would destabilise his procession to PM and scare off the middle classes.
They think they know a lot and that their putea saved up was a sign of their acumen, mental and physical, but many of them are mere children being handed foil wrapped chocolate and told its gold. They believe in the stability of NACTs and their wisdom, even with the evidence of failure before them. While it can be blamed on some externality NACT followers and most of the middle class as well, will cling onto their allegiance to the present economic system.
Yep, quite aware of that which is why I push for better education of these things but sometimes think that only the complete collapse of society will bring about the needed lessons.
Yes, you are right and the ground work is being laid at the education level. Unfortunately, this is not a NZ issue. What makes it so difficult to counter any perceived notion by the generation that we will see govern NZ in 20 years time, is the complete lack of world historical knowledge. Not propaganda, knowledge. I look at people like Mr Bridges and I cringe. A men without a conscience, his only drive is the satisfaction of his vanity and zest for celebrity status. Somebody must have raised this child to become what he is today.
The neoliberals knew that in order for their project to succeed, they had to enforce a kind of nationwide (global?) political economic amnesia. You can even see it in the USA where the lessons of the New Deal have been thoroughly forgotten/ignored.
And to dull down curiosity about both the past and the present.
Kiwi homes are being wrapped with plywood containing an arsenic treatment banned in several overseas countries because of toxicity concerns
Dr Meriel Watts, who has a PhD in pesticide risk assessment and policy, said CCA-treated timber products posed an “unacceptable risk for public health”, particularly for young children.
“Basically wrapping homes in CCA-treated plywood is a very bad idea,” she told The Press.
One senior figure in the Canterbury construction industry, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the sealant properties of some forms of the plywood created dangerously unhealthy homes, trapping toxins and moisture inside.
“[Timber] workers have to handle it with gloves and full body suits, and we are wrapping our houses with it,” he said.
“Why on earth are we using these products?”
Workmate Alistair Young said he knew the timber products were “all full of a lot of s…”.
“Cutting it all the time, that’s a problem. A lot of guys get headaches cutting it, so we’ve got masks and gloves but I don’t use them.”
In my considered opinion, the 2013 Auckland Mayoral election, was phony as.
In my considered opinion, those who really run the Auckland region, the (unelected) Committee for Auckland are actually very happy with Mayor Len Brown and Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse.
But – to keep up appearances that this Auckland Mayoral election was ‘left’ vs ‘right’ – as opposed to the reality of the corporate minority vs the public majority, enter political ‘newby’ / ‘novice’ John Palino, who has never attended a single Council meeting in his life.
Having the former President of the National Party, John Slater, as his ‘campaign manager'(?), helped to give the Palino camp the ‘right’ stamp of approval (as it were).
But, in my considered opinion, John Palino was never expected or supposed to win the Auckland Mayoralty.
Unfortunately, for those who REALLY run Auckland, with the very public revelations of the Len Brown ‘affair’ – things have now got quite ‘out of hand’ (as it were).
So – how best to deal with this?
Simple.
Get an ‘inquiry’ / ‘investigation’ set up, which will slap Len Brown on the hand, censure him, do anything but require him to stand down?
Look who is organising this ‘inquiry’:
Doug McKay, CEO of Auckland Council ( a member of the Committee for Auckland), passes the inquiry to Ernst and Young (a member company of the Committee for Auckland).
Who else is a member of the Committee for Auckland?
Where I think Len Brown has ‘crossed the line’, is in the alleged use of a Sky City hotel room (rooms), for his illicit sexual liaison(s), which, in my considered opinion, make him effectively ‘beholden’ and arguably potentially subject to blackmail.
I note that on 27 June 2013, Len Brown argued in favour of the International Convention Centre (Sky City) Bill (deal), at the Auckland Council Governing Body Meeting.
I also note that it appears that Auckland Council has failed to do any ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering at Sky City arising from this International Convention Centre (Sky City) Bill (deal).
That is why, it is my intention on Tuesday 29 October 2013, to formally request the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to conduct an investigation into these matters.
High time for a New Zealand Independent Commission Against Corruption, and enforceable ‘Codes of Conduct’ for both local and central government elected representatives?
Because wordpress 3.7 had a wee bug to do with the usual identicon – it wasn’t displaying them, but was displaying an empty head (which is what it still shows at the backend).
I flipped it to a different type of gravatar at the front end and that worked. After I solved how to set it correctly, I had a whim that said to leave it on the “new” ones for this weekend. sysop’s choice for people using default identicons 😈
The best way to “fix” it is to upload one or more images to gravatar ( http://en.gravatar.com ) against your email “address”. From memory, the email address doesn’t even have to be valid for the second and subsequent ones on an account.
The image you choose can be uploaded from anything. Most people just put a query into google, select image(s), save them to their hard disk and then upload them. Personally I use gimp ( http://www.gimp.org/ ) to make mine unique.
The image will then show on most wordpress (and blogger? and others?) websites whenever you use that email “address”
I shunt my image on all my social media including facebook etc
BTW: I thought that the “grumpy face icon” suited you..
And I thought Shearer had poor delivery. Follow the punctuation, buddy. And don’t stop when the line on the cue card ends… read on to the next line without missing a beat.
No, it’s not the first time Lanthanide. He’s been practising his elocution in front of a mirror. You can tell by the emphasis on some of the words. What a dick! I used to talk like that when I was a kid practising my poetry reading in front of a mirror. Fancied myself as being good at it… and I fancied myself.
The ultrafast broadband project is the proof that privatisation of infrastructure doesn’t work. If we hadn’t privatised Telecom we wouldn’t have to be forking billions of taxpayer dollars to get Telecom to what needs to be done because it would have been done already.
We have been over this before Draco – it isn’t proof of anything outside of proof positive of what you think might have happened if what Draco thinks would have happened happened.
…what he has shown us over the last few years has exposed him as being ‘emotionally, spiritually and compassionately unintelligent.
Good comments Vanessa. Of course that is an apt description of most right-wingers. That is why they are right-wingers. They have little to no empathy for people outside their own self serving circles. They are spiritually barren – especially the conservative rump church goers like Colin Craig. Their thinking processes are simplistic and almost philistine in nature. Here’s an example:
was reading a profile of this Nat MP, Mark Mitchell – the one who leaked the Brown scandal to councillor, Penny Webster and who apparently has close ties to the police, defence force and our intelligence agencies. In his own words “I’m passionate about law and order. I just want to see the bad ones locked up”. That no doubt includes climatological scientists, so-called tree huggers and anyone who is associated with that subversive organisation called Greenpeace. And one of the most primeval of all of them is that monkey the Aussies have just elected as their prime minister. Despite the rapidly increasing size and frequency of the bush fires etc., he still scoffs at and denies the overwhelming evidence of Global Warming/Climate Change.
These are the real bad ones. The ones who should be locked up and throw away their keys.
[lprent: shunted to OpenMike as some rich moron thinks that they can read science and has therefore gone quite off topic… ]
Anne,
Do you still seriously believe in global warming ??
Fact , no temperature increase in the last 15 years , when is it going to start again, 5,15, 50 , 500, or 5million years ????????.
Wake up , it’s a con which has become political not factual .
Lucy is a real example of the delusional green brigade.
You have got to hand it to green peace , they have her fooled and are happy to take advantage of her falling profile, with a bit of luck they will con her into making a protest Russia.
Throw away the key.
NASA scientists say 2012 was the ninth warmest of any year since 1880, continuing a long-term trend of rising global temperatures. With the exception of 1998, the nine warmest years in the 132-year record all have occurred since 2000, with 2010 and 2005 ranking as the hottest years on record.
Question for rich the other: are the years 2005 and 2010 (the hottest years on record according to NASA) within “the last 15 years”?
Supplementary: do you even give a shit, if they are?
Tat loo
So what you are saying is the 2000 IPCC page report on this con is wrong , the 15 years of NO warming is their figure , the actual truth is 18yrs but we won’t quibble over 3yrs.
This topic has become highly political because some governments around the world have been completely fooled and their reputations are at stake.
Lucy might like to make a movie on the topic , perhaps the title should be [ The Greatest Con on Earth ] and may I suggest she asks Joyce for a SUBSIDY which would be funded from tax from workers pay packets.
Have you looked at the summary figures for ocean warming?
Actually – strike that. We know that you are merely repeating some other moron and haven’t bothered to read the report.
Perhaps you could tell us what the IPCC found for heat storage in the oceans over the last 15 years? Possibly what the heat storage capacity of salt water is compared to seal level air? In fact demonstrate ANY ability to read and understand the IPCC report section one?
You really are a wanker too incapable of doing your own work. You just echo the strokes for some other fool.
So what you are saying is the 2000 IPCC page report on this con is wrong , the 15 years of NO warming is their figure
NASA does the business, my man. Remote sensing is what they do. One good thing about having an active superpower in the world. So let’s run the quote again- with just one exception, the 9 warmest years in the 132 year record have happened since 2000.
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TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/25/marijuana-cancer_n_4158865.html
“..A scientist in the United Kingdom has found that compounds derived from marijuana can kill cancerous cells found in people with leukemia..”
phillip ure..
Interesting Phil but a lot of work still to do before there’s any place for cannabinoids in the treatment of any cancers.
We could decriminalise now for management of pain and side effects of treatments though.
As a chiropractor and pain management expert I support that 100%, particularly under the auspices of formal health sector regulation. Common medical pain management approaches are not effective or suitable for tens of thousands of New Zealanders, and there should be more options on the table.
Just consider how drugs like morphine and fentanyl are legal in NZ for pain management, but marijuana is not. It simply reflects a very outdated historical situation.
Time we get over ourselves and put more options on the table.
+1
It would probably be cheaper than those other drugs too. No big pharma company cut to pay.
If I were a chiropractor cynical about Big Pharma I’d wonder where some of the opposition to the use of marijuana for pain management was coming from. Luckily, I’m not 😈
And that’s probably the only reason as to why it’s still illegal. It’s certainly nothing to do with it being bad for you else alcohol and cigarettes would be illegal.
🙄
🙄 😆 😈 😛
Why would it have anything to do with “big pharma” making it illegal? If it were legal pharmaceutical companies could patent aspects of THC and make a killing as they do with other chemicals.
Why would they be able to patent that which they didn’t invent?
You miss the point Draco. I don’t mean patenting THC itself but using THC to create a whole new class of drugs and patenting those. It doesn’t make sense to say the only reason it is illegal is because pharmaceutical companies could make a killing on patenting drugs derived from cannabis.
Was reading an article a while back (may have linked to it on TS) about magic mushrooms. Limited research is showing that it’s far better than Prozac. It does the same job, doesn’t have anywhere near the side effects that Prozac does and only requires one treatment rather than daily doses.
Of course, that’s magic mushies but it has the same problem, commercially, as marijuana – anybody can grow it and we don’t actually need any derived drugs.
As for the TPPA: A large chunk of it seems to be about IP and that means we probably won’t be able to change our IP laws to boost innovation. One such change that needs to happen, IMO, is that patents should not be allowed to apply to things that are based upon the natural laws of the universe (same as maths formula aren’t allowed to be patented/copyrighted). That would kill the drug and life patenting that we presently see.
We don’t ‘need’ the derived drugs but considering some people don’t like being stoned and magic mushroom can have unpleasant physical side effects (as well as being hard to control dosage given difference mushrooms have varying levels of the active ingredient) there is still a big market for derived versions to be created.
Your comment about big pharma blocking cannabis legalisation doesn’t make sense.
Choice: Grow your own and get stoned or pay out huge amounts of cash you don’t have to big pharma?
Missing the point again.
Some people don’t like to get stoned therefore there is an commercial industry in creating a drug which delivers the benefits without the high. I can’t make it more simple than that.
No doubt when they have us sign the TPPA…
I fail to see what the TPPA has to do with whether or not a pharmaceutical companies could patent a drug made from THC
TatLoo..
.”Just consider how drugs like morphine and fentanyl are legal in NZ for pain management, but marijuana is not. It simply reflects a very outdated historical situation.”
Very well stated…in a nutshell.Should be quoted a lot.
No it reflects what is registered by medsafe.
For a science dude you are a bit short on the logic there doc. It reflects what is registered by medsafe, but that’s not the only thing it reflects. People can use all sorts of things for pain relief that have never been ciminilised. Why was cannabis?
No it shows what can be controlled, regulated and taxed. Do you propose that Marijuana is more dangerous than Morphine?
“Marijuana is more dangerous than Morphine?”
If you remove the addictive nature of morphine and look primarly on it’s effect on the body it is less dangerous than marijuana. Purely from a physiological standpoint.
Call me naive, but isn’t the addictive nature what makes it so dangerous? I mean, if you go one step further and add the derivative heroine it hardly gets any more suicidal. This is by my reckoning by far – pretty much as far as it gets – dangerous than marijuana.
Some recognizable people who died from a Morphine overdose:
Hank Williams, Janet Achurch, Lenny Bruce, Tim Buckley, Chris Farley, Sigmund Freud, Paul Gray, Brent Mydland, Gram Parsons, Brad Renfro, Count Gottfried from Biesmark, Edward E. Hannegan
That is the stupidest, and most dangerous incorrect statement that I’ve come across all day. I daresay it’s probably a deliberate lie.
It’s virtually impossible for someone overusing marijuana to die from it. Maybe if they choke on an accidentally swallowed joint?
In comparison it’s dead simple to die from overusing morphine (or sometimes even appropriately using it). A combination of respiratory suppression, coma and shock/cardiac arrest will typically do it.
Yes overdose is easy but in a controlled circumstance (like a hospital) morphine is extremely clean and does little to no damage to the body. That’s why it continues to be the gold standard in pain relief.
“Just consider how drugs like morphine and fentanyl are legal in NZ for pain management, but marijuana is not. It simply reflects a very outdated historical situation.”
yeah, but I wouldn’t like to see cannabis as a plant only legal by prescription. If big pharma wants to develop medicines from cannabis once its legal, more power to them. But let people use the plant itself as they see fit too.
“If big pharma wants to develop medicines from cannabis ”
Weka, they already do manufacture pain relief meds from cannabis. In Sth Africa it is available in liquid form. Can’t remember the Pharma at the moment, but will post link if I find it.
Agreed. However for the treatment of cancer associated pain (not for the treatment of cancer itself), it should be one of the options on the table.
I think there is a derivative (forgot the name) that is available to chronic pain sufferers, but it is a whopping $500 a month.
You may be thinking of sativex which is registered for MS.
http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/RIss/Sativex.asp
No it should not there are plenty of proven options on the table at present.
“No it should not there are plenty of proven options on the table at present.”
I don’t know about cancer – but for inflammatory arthritis flares another pain reduction option that works without knocking you out would be gratefully received.
Yes there are plenty of proven options. And there should be more. Because for plenty of patients today’s options may start off being effective but eventually end up being unsuitable, with the development of many unwanted adverse effects and reduced efficacy, over a period of months or years.
@ tat loo +1..
..it is also good for the treatment of nausea from the side-effects of chemo..
and @ northshoredoc..
..do you have any logical/rational reasons for being opposed to cannabis being an alternative-option for many drugs..?
..drugs that often have serious side-effects..?
..and as a personal testimony of sorts..i was recently cured of the hepatitis i had been lugging around since junkie-days..
..and i have found..in hindsight..is that an effect of hep..is feeling shit..
..you wake up in the morning feeling pretty shit..
..so for decades i self-medicated with cannabis..
..and once again..in hindsight..i am glad i did..
..and tho’ i still use cannabis..i use far less..
..it is now more recreational..
..and there is no longer that need/drive to use it as medicine..
..to stop feeling crap..
..so..once again..in hindsight..
..i would urge all those with hep be offered the option of medical-cannabis..
..to help them stop feeling like shit all the time..
..’cos i know..it works..
..phillip ure..
Did your former junkie days also have an effect on your ability to construct sentences?
inhalations and exhalations
integrations and excavations
TC You have the choice to read and ‘hear’ the personal message and experience shared or move on by. Why choose to criticise the structure? Try a little kindness.
@ contrarian..
..quite possibly..but not really..
..i blame ee cummings..(for showing me the option of stripping away of the false-honorifics that are capital letters..)
..and writing words that are designed to be spoken out aloud..(blame bfm 4 that..)
..a bit of a shocker for traditionalists..eh..?
..that throwing all the rules out the window..
..but if you like..
..you can run with the junkie-reason..
..and really..that moniker you have chosen is a contradiction..eh..?
..’cos you really are one of those traditionalists..eh..?
..wot with yr clinging to the wreckage of capital letters..
..eh..?
..phillip ure..
Sorry, what?
“Did your former junkie days also have an effect on your ability to construct sentences?”
How about first you explain to the rest of us why you have such prejudicial and dickhead views on drug addicts?
I have no prejudicial views towards drug addicts. I’m making fun of his syntax, not his former drug abuse. What do I care what he did with himself in the past or the future.
Asshole.
I don’t believe you. Either you think there is something wrong with being and addict and/or that being an addict = x,y,z, or you are moron. How can inferring that being a former junkie makes one stupid when it comes to English grammar not be a comment on that person’s past?
Ok don’t believe me.
Ok, ignore my argument and I’ll just assume you are both bigoted and stupid.
Whatever suits you.
If you really are inclined to help you first have to stop judging.
My former junkie days had no discernible effect on my ability to construct sentences, nor on my ability to solve differential equations. Your constant harping, on the other hand, has quite an effect on my ability to see good in all people.
If a person is in pain for whatever reason and finds that smoking a joint every now and then, or drinking cannabis tea, helps them, why should the medical profession or law enforcement even be involved?
I take morphine every day quite legally and don’t like the effects of cannabis on my thinking, so I don’t smoke it. There are people who have the opposite experience. Bloody hell, let them light up.
@ nthshore doc..
..of course this story is just one thread in a yarn of investigations into the health benefit possibilities of/from cannabis..
..and a manifestation of the madness that is prohibition..
..is that illegality has stopped all such research for decades..
..that has now changed..
..and so yes..it is early days..
..but many researchers are excited about what they are finding..
..with the above story just the latest in a litany..
..phillip ure..
Oh there’s a bit going on Phil – early days yet and certainly no cause to think that it will useful beyond the analgesic and and anticachexic effects.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/healthprofessional/page5
I tend to get a bit annoyed with posts like your first one regarding leukaemia as it is misleading in the extreme a bit like the pharma company who sold few million in mussel extract a few years back after misleading items suggesting it was useful for cancer and then got slapped with a wetbusticket 40k fine.
@ northshoredoc….’annoyed’..?..really..?
..are you suggesting all that research currently going on is a fools’ errand..?
..and if a doc..are you a cancer-treatment specialist..?
..or a g.p..?
..(just trying to get yr informed-opinion into some kinda context..eh..?..)
..and why not legalise it for those reasons/benefits you cite as being ‘useful’..
..’the analgesic and and anticachexic effects.’..?
..aren’t they enough to be getting on with ..?
..and i will counter yr link..(in which..b.t.w..many/most of the cited references are at least 20 yrs old..with an alarming number dating back to the 70’s..)..
..with what i have compiled over more recent times..
http://whoar.co.nz/?s=cannabis+cancer
..fill yer boots..!..eh..?
..phillip ure..
Thats cool I’ll just keep taking my ‘medicine’ the same way thanks.
Not even collateral damage – Assassinated.
Drones deliberately kill rescuers in “double tap” tactic
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24557333
Isn’t attacking the rescuers the thing that makes terrorist attacks doubly despicable?
… Oh riiight, it’s different when it’s the unknown ‘other’ who are the targets.
If you can finish the article without yelling at the monitor you’ll have done better than me.
http://www.gq.com/news-politics/big-issues/201311/drone-uav-pilot-assassination?printable=true
I nearly cried. I’m trying to get my head around in how many ways this is truly awful.The people who order this stuff are criminals (but even that label is too simple for them).
They’ve started to use this technology against their own citizens too. Not going to end well, I suspect.
Wewege, off to Florida? Rat on the run.
rat in the sun..
(btw..like the icon..
..the similarities are spooky/uncanny..
..and that’s on a good day..!..)
phillip ure..
Can he take the other rat that’s holed up under the desk in the mayor’s office with him ?
Edit yes I like the icons too – hope it makes for a happier blog !
It was a temporary expedient from the 3.7 update. Looks like there was a bug to do with the identicons at gravator with it. It was giving the empty person display
Fixed now.
But I’ll leave these icons on over the weekend for their amusement value..
just wanting to see what icon I get.
Mine’s better n’yours.
A pussy cat? Not sure which end though.
can i petition to retain my icon..?
..phillip ure..
While I agree the icon suits you, the wherewithal is at your disposal.
Maybe it’s the smoke getting in your eyes 😉
Right click on the image, save image as, and then go to gravitar and log it. http://thestandard.org.nz/faq/gravatar/#GravatarSignup
@ allen..there is so much to be icony about…
..and you just stop talking that dirty microsoft talk to me..
..’right click’..indeed..!..
..phillip ure..
Still, you know how to do it now, so no need to mobilise the petition force over your green with envy, miserable mush. 😆
Suicide nets under the windows at apple factories, I trust you’re on linux, comrade. 😉
If google can have infrequent creative outbursts so can The Standard! I thought that Halloween might have been the theme – pumpkins etc.
I loves it when we get surprise icons!
Wanna see what I get.
Edit: erm. no. same old.
“Rat on the run.”
Or sent packing.
First class material for the American political scene – – – Tea Party probably.
The real rat will also be on the run before we see too many more sunsets.
Soon to be joined by Shonky? Then it will be Rats on the run. And I also wonder how many Nats will be buying new suitcases to leave, after the next election, before the vitriol of the country descends upon their heads.
Hope he doesn’t leave an oil slick.
So it’s pretty obvious Wewege is the agreed upon scapegoat for the Nat factions.
Sunday Exclusive, will have to wait to see what the rat says.
Liked the trailer to 7 Days with David Shearer. (bugger, not again!) Perfect self-deprecation. Very funny. He’s like a different person now.
Yes, I thought it was a great reintroduction. Excellent use of humour. Well done David Shearer.
Russel Brand’s editorial in the New Statesman (it is very long) –
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/10/russell-brand-on-revolution
… and a counter argument, of sorts –
http://www.salon.com/2013/10/25/i_dont_stand_with_russell_brand_and_neither_should_you/
The Herald hits the panic button as their finest Jonolists, O’Sullivan and Armstrong, tag team to tell us why Shonkey’s in charge and got options for a win in 2014.
I can smell the fear.
hahahaha and Keys fist is oh so scarey bahahahhahahahaha
They have to lay the ground now to make Colin Craig sound palatable to the National voters of the North Shore. “This cup-of-tea candidate won’t make you look like total pawns the way Banks did to your mates in Epsom! Honest!”
lol 😈
National’s LVR policy was always going to have this affect.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11146480
According to this NZ Herald article, rent in Auckland is going through the roof. So who is this policy (LVR) favouring? Existing house owners but mostly LANDLORDS. This National government is just atrocious, they are really fucking up so much.
Another major FAIL.
The answer is clearly a CGT (comprehensive, not half arsed like Australia’s) also taking away the tax deductibility of interest cost on investment houses. And a massive social housing programme focussed on Auckland, this shit that National talk about increasing supply of land will lead to a reduction in the cost of housing is absolute bull shit…greedy land owners will simply not sell as soon as there is a slight reduction in their value of the land.
Trying to fit more than 30% of NZ’s population on less than 0.3% of the country’s land area isn’t a great move.
IMO it’s time for extensive regional development. Let’s get businesses and industry moving to centres like… Whangarei, Rotorua, Napier/Hastings, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Blenheim, Timaru, Oamaru, Dunedin, Invercargill.
“Trying to fit more than 30% of NZ’s population on less than 0.3% of the country’s land area isn’t a great move.”
When its framed like that Tat, it does seem ridiculous. But yes, there is some real need for policy that will rebalance some aspects in our economy and currently house prices in Auckland are way out of whack, in my view New Zealand’s biggest issue because expensive house rentals (which are a function of house prices) are one of the main causes of poverty.
Indeed. Expensive rentals feed the capitalist/banker class by creating a huge updraft from workers’ wages going straight into their pockets.
IMO, one of the biggest drivers of regional development in previous decades was the awards rates as moving out of the big cities wouldn’t result in a massive decrease in income.
True. So much went when workers lost the power to organise…
yes, even re-reading this point Draco, it suggests a lot.
1. Bring in comprehensive capital gains tax.
2. Get rid of interest deductibility cost on mortgages for residential rentals (actually probably a very tricky policy to write without causing preserve consequences and incentives)
3. End government “accommodation supplement”.
These policies if acted in tandem would probably drop house prices by 20-30% overnight.
“preserve” – one of the better alphabet soup mixups I’ve seen
perversly so
No they’re not as they’re doing precisely what the rentier class want – upping the incomes of the rentiers without the rentiers having to do any more or even to produce any wealth.
Ennui is very much a socialist on social issues….during the work week Ennui manages companies which employ lots of people. This week E was hatching plans for one company to increase jobs from 25 to 35 over the next year despite the hard trading conditions. Thats called creating employment and expanding the tax base. E deals with lots of companies, most are struggling, they don’t pay tax because they don’t make a profit…the tax is raised via PAYE and GST. The owners of these companies get short return for risking their money to create more, in the process of which people get jobs. That risk goes without recognition by most of the workers, most of the contributors to this column.
The point of the above is this: every other person on this column rants about who the government should be funding, paying, subsidising etc etc etc. Nobody stops to consider where the cash comes from. The assumption is that even if the pot is unlimited that they have a divine right to some part of it.
This might sound like some RWNJ post: it is not. It merely states how real places of work function, how the real economy is underpinned. before you next demand subsidies for your own interests please take a pause and ask: where will the cash come from? Who pays? What does that mean to other employers and workers?
Excellent point Ennui. Where does the money come from? I am an employer myself, although on a smaller scale than you.
Consider this in terms of the macroeconomy:
– If the Government is making a surplus, it is taking more money from households and the private sector than it is putting back in, to the dollar.
– If the Government is making a deficit, it is providing more money to households and the private sector than it is taking out, to the dollar.
Also:
There are a huge amount of non-circulating hoarded dollars at the moment. If you think about it as tens of millions of hundred dollar notes sitting in a deep freezer the size of a small warehouse, not getting anything useful done in the community (but helping the banks and wall St out a great deal) you get the idea.
Last point: only one entity in the world can manufacture valid NZD and issue them – the NZ Government.
Ennui: You’ll have probably noticed over time that I’m kind of obsessed with exports – especially ones that have little to do with animals and trees. There is a reason for that.
@ ennui..’where does the money come from..?’
..a capital gains tax..yes..(and increases in tax paid only for the top earners..not those struggling/juggling in the middle..)
..but perhaps the simplest/most straightforward/least painful revenue-gatherer..
..is a financial transaction tax..where each inter-bank transaction accrues a miniscule bite on it..with the volume of transactions adding up to a serious amount of money..
..and don’t forget that treasury research showed that a financial transaction tax on the banks/ters..
..would raise enough revenue to enable us to do away with g.s.t..
..whoar..!..eh..?
..so the question has to be:..why not..?
..hope that helps answer yr ‘where will the money come from?’-question..
..phillip ure..
Yep. I have been looking to purchase a small business over the last year, all of the businesses that I have seen for sale NONE seem to be making decent taxable profits, if any. But GST is a real prick of a tax for small businesses, as small businesses often sell at “price points” that customers are really resistant to pay above, so English’s GST increase in Oct 2010 basically meant that many small businesses have had to absorb the 2.5% GST increase therefore reducing margin and taxable income. So I think your comment shows why Income Tax should be raised before GST…the Top Marginal tax rate needs to be increased and CGT needs to be implemented, it seems that the only houses and farms that are being purchased these days are by people who already own several and dont actually need them.
Small businesses are really struggling in New Zealand, no doubt about that. Brian Gaynor on RNZ the other day mentioned that people above 55 have a lot of money and people below 30 have plenty of money to spend but most people between these age groups are struggling, I guess this group are trying to raise a family and buy a house.
This is where DC”s Labour will encourage policy that stimulates the economy (I think he mentioned “new keynesian” in TS once?) I hope (perhaps a decrease in GST would help stimulate at the same time as helping the poor). And also as Iprent points out…we need more exports, but Im happy if it comes from farms as long as it doesn’t stuff up our rivers/environment.
Saarbo
That’s a good point. I can’t see why anyone thoughtful would consider it good to have a two figure rate, and more to be continually raising the flat tax of GST. Isn’t it collected on all the things that lower income people would put their money towards? Though does that include rent? I don’t pay rent and I’ve forgotten.
But it’s a great way to get a large proportion back by the government of every $ going into the hand of beneficiaries. Sort of like a flag fall for purchases.
Why should I have to pay 15% to the government for every step in living and transacting I make with others trying to make a living. Now I do regard that as theft!
And I first came across it in Switzerland. In the 70’s it was a country so wealthy that they hardly seemed to have any sale for second hand utility goods. They tended to update and store the older still useful ones in the basement. Which most of them had as a design feature.
They were wealthy enough to pay 15% VAT or gst. We are not. It would be a useful and reasonable tax if it was 5%. More becomes a burden on the lower income who are actually more in outcome mode.
Residential rents are excluded from GST, commercial rents are not.
Residential electricity and residential phone/internet should also be made GST exclusive.
GST on rates for properties valued over $1M should be doubled. Also known as a quick and dirty land tax.
GST is payable on commercial rent, but not on domestic rent. I don’t really know why this is so. It could be argued that rent is an investment return, like interest, but that argument would apply just as much to commercial rent as to domestic.
GST needs to be removed as it’s regressive and hurts the poor the most.
DTB
+1 (and 15%).
GST needs to be reduced to 5.0%, but kept as a mechanism with which the government can control consumption and money supply if necessary, in the future.
GST is actually a quite unjust tax as it is applied as a one size fits all approach to gather revenue. A person earning $ 15.00 per hour is by far harder hit with GST on every living expense that anyone at $ 30.00. Hence it is inherently unjust. The role of any government, regardless what colors they fly, is the fair and just treatment of its citizen/residents. My feeling is that income tax should be teared in incremental steps – the more you earn, the more tax you pay – and GST reduced (8% ?). I don’t belief that a universal transaction tax will help either as this is just another way to grab money from those who can ill afford this. Most transactions these days are electronic and hence will have the tax deducted straight away. Giving cash deals that can be manipulated in tax terms even more reason to exist.
Foreign Waka I like your joke about tax being teared, not tiered. 😀
sorry, it must have brought tears to my eyes when I wrote this. Of cause it should read tiered. Thanks 🙂
Yes Greywarbler, There have been a number of suggestion that we need to put the GST rate up to 17.5% to deal with our aging population http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1102/S00020/threat-of-175-gst-sickening.htm . One of the reason I understand that Treasury like GSt is that they believe that it is difficult to avoid paying, which is incredibly naive…there are plenty of people dealing in cash deals to avoid gst. I reckon it should be 10% at the most. I understand that GST makes up $15 billion of tax revenue, so if it was reduced to 10% then the Govt would have to find around $5 billion from other sources….its a really horrible tax in my view, it amazes me that treasury and other economic commentators often talk about raising it more.
The only reason Treasury (and the RWNJs) like it is because it means that taxes don’t have to be put up on the rich.
Saarbo
Thanks interesting. This business about Treasury wanting things simpler. Its such an oxymoron when you think that computers are supposed to be great because it makes calculation and number crunching simpler, so why Treasury bothers about simpler as if we have rows of clerks perched at desks with quill pens.
It’s just bloody laziness and poverty of mind. It’s the same thinking that wants to introduce flat tax rather than have progressive as needed. It’s the same sort of thinking that won’t be bothered with tax tables where wage tax is calculated from different columns, used to be general and then for people with dependent children, F1, F2, F3 which I think was where the tax breaks stopped.
More help for larger families might then have involved applying for a state house to help with their care. A change in this method of up-front tax breaks had been replaced by special help for working families which gets a hostile reaction from members of society who view themselves as self-generated special treasures to the world now they have landed. Other babies and little ones can go jump. If it was Treasury that acrtivated the tax changes – they lack common sense. Call in a child of five (G.Marx) or Peter Dunne (interchangeable).
(Referring to families, I am listening to Radionz 11.12 Paul Ehrlich – Predicting Collapse on Radionz saying that modern people who love children choose to have small families, not large ones. They care about the type of future their children will have by joining with others in limiting the overpopulation we already have.)
Yes, this Saarbo
Actually, I’ve considered that for quite some time and have said on numerous occasions (another time down thread) that we need to stop the cash coming from the private banks bearing interest and that it should come from government without interest.
They do. It is, after all, the peoples economy and their resources being used.
It represents how the present system works. There’s one thing wrong with that – the present system doesn’t work and thus it needs to be changed.
‘
[sigh] . . . another John Key lie. He told Failfax that the tip off regarding Len Brown’s affair was just Mark Mitchell gossiping at a cocktail party. Turns out, that’s not true. According to the now sorrowful Penny Webster . . .
. . . when lies designed to distance National Ltd™ from the attempted blackmail of Len Brown come straight from the top and, now, involve public apologies for even involving a National Ltd™ MP, my spidey senses start tingling. The New Zealand Fox News Herald Sunday paper apparently has an interview with Luigi Weewedgie; it will be interesting to see if the distancing efforts are carried through there as well.
Good on Penny for apologising…..
So we’ll completely ignores the lefts (well mainly Lens highly paid spin doctors) attempts to paint this as a right-wing conspiracy then? Good to know
Mark Mitchell, MP for North Shore, is a former NZ Policeman who..
“launched an international business career which included the start-up of my own company specialising in hostage rescue, supply chain security and risk management. Working closely with the World Economic Forum, I helped to establish Logistic Emergency Response Teams…. ”
see http://www.markmitchell.co.nz/mark-mitchell-profile.html
Mitchell’s father-in-law Frank Gill was a National Party North Shore MP as well as being a minister and ambasador to Washington.
Mitchell is a well integrated into the National Party real power structures. Mitchell is also well integrated into the Special Services network, the Police and the Intelligence Services.
Mark Mitchell knew about the Len Brown affair because there was a professional project to displace Len that went beyond the Palino/Slater/Wewege amateurs.
Nope I guess the conspiracy is still strong
‘
Did John Key lie about how the information got to Len Brown . . . Yes or No?
Sook sook. Nobody gives a shit about your comments. Focus on the message and don’t get hung up how it was delivered. Your post is childish.
Sometimes how and why the message was delivered is more important than the message. This is one of those times.
‘
Precisely, Draco.
The Nats/Rodney Hide wanted control over Auckland.
Wellington did not want an independent Auckland.
Had a Nat stooge like Palino or Williamson won Auckland the new Rail projects would be cancelled or hobbled. Urban sprawl would be encouraged. The Auckland Council would become a tame lapdog for National and Wellington.
The Council CEO and many of the CCO Boards and C level execs were appointed by National, Rodney Hide and Wellington. They are all for replacement under a Leftish Len and Council.
There are many powerful people who were disappointed that Len could not be challenged by a credible candidate. The prospect of a damaging scandal was a god-send.
John Key, for whom Mark Mitchell seconds for the busy neighbouring Helensville MP from time to time, knows more about the plan to displace Len than he is saying.
Yes because the plan was to make Len have numerous affairs, get free or cheap rates from hotels, be a reference for his mistress, send threatening texts, go on record as saying theres nothing else and then go into hiding after the story breaks
or
Len can’t keep it in his pants, tells far too many lies and brought it all on himself
FIFY – no charge.
Sorry but I’m sticking with the more obvious explanation that a very ordinary mayor who should know better displayed some stunning lack of judgement over a prolonged period the rest is all just a rise show.
‘
Ah, c’mon, live up to your moniker.
It does look like that, with first prize being Len’s resignation, and second prize being a Len who is weakened by public scandal, and hence compliant. I personally hope it goes the other way, and that Len seeks to redeem himself by doing battle against them for his city.
I don’t think Len has been weakened by the affair as most people just don’t care. What has happened is that most people are sickened by the RWNJs poking their nose into other peoples bedrooms.
“I don’t think Len has been weakened by the affair as most people just don’t care.”
I wouldn’t be to sure about that. Sure I don’t care, you don’t care and it seems most people here don’t care but I wonder about the left-wing yet socially conservative, religious faction who may have voted because of Brown’s self professed religious values. Something to take into account.
You mean the few percent who vote NZ1st?
No.
I think the question isn’t really whether Len has been weakened, as we’re just not in a situation where weakening him crowns another person. The vast majority of left voters aren’t going to defect to Minto or Bright, and the right doesn’t have a solid candidate.
If there were the option of a by-election with someone right enough for the right and socially liberal enough for a chunk of the left (coughMauriceWilliamsoncough) then it could be a completely different matter.
Ah ! I think you’ve got it, Olwyn. I’ve been wondering what’s behind it all.
Mark Mitchell – with his background of security and SIS – would not have deliberately tipped off Penny Webster without some sort of ulterior motive. This way the “real powers” in National give a drubbing to Collins’ mates – Slater, Palino – while at the same time putting Len more firmly in their power. I hope like you, Olwyn, that Len – silly stupid idiot that he’s been – can see he’s also been used by the top Nats, and redeems himself by battling more intensely for his city’s good, than for his own future.
Yes
The sad part about all this is that real people are involved, Mr Brown’s wife and children. I do not belief hat NZlanders are as vulgar as Americans when it comes to revealing and “marketing” affairs hoping for a “Bill Clinton”. The reality is that there should be more focus on the move to divide a country into city states. When I look at your comment, this is already taking place. Back to the times of the Medici then….
Seems like it. Wewege has got “operative” written all over him. There’s a heap load of cash tied up in Auckland’s assets which, thus far, Len Brown has managed to keep largely intact. Must have been incredibly frustrating for the business elite to have had the carefully laid down plans, as put in place by Rodney Hide for John Banks to deliver, stymied by pesky democracy and some upstart from Manukau. Plenty of incentive to set up a honey-trap.
I’ve seen some delusional clap trap in my time mostly from those on the right side of the political spectrum but this takes the cake.
Len is of exactly the same ilk as Hide and Banks – in it for himself and his mates.
Love your one-eyed icon.
Wing Commander Frank Gill.
FYI: One of the hardliners in Muldoon’s cabinet I believe..
Air Commodore Frank Gill millsy. I am told he insisted on being called Air Commodore at all times. A leery old goat. How do I know? He tried it on me and no… he got short shrift!
Paid him back. He rang for a weather forecast one Xmas holiday many years ago. He and Muldoon were off for a summer boat cruise around North Cape. I told them not to go because there was a trop. cyclone moving into the area. They didn’t go. The cyclone trundled into the West Tasman and swiftly petered out which we already knew was going to happen. Gave me a few giggles.
Frank Gill ….. I remember how we used to ridicule the guy – including amongst the little Natty Khandallah Woodmancote Road ilk I once had the misfortune of dwelling amongst.
He was around during suspender-belt Skeith’s reign.
I have a vague recollection of his being referred to as “Taxi Frank”.
I could delve further into the annals of the brain, but I think I’d rather go and piss on his grave – so if you could give me directions as to where that is, I’ll remember next time I’m in his vicinity. As I relieve myself, I’ll be confident I’m expressing (figuratively) the feelings of most that ever had anything to do with the prick.
(I’ve a weak bladder dontcha know – I put it down to being the offspring of the tall story teller of WWII tales).
It’s a bugger though sometimes. I often wonder about the legacy some of these Nattyists think they’re leaving their offspring (when all/most of their bullshit emerges – as it surely will).
Simon Bridges …. Paula Bennett … Nucki Kaye?? … Hek Yea! Parata.
Christ! they’re full of it!.
Must be a bugger to know that – before you die – your offspring will come to know that you were an utter cunt
Very, very interesting. Thank you Not a PS Staffer. You appear to be an insider (sort of) on the politician in question. Could it be Mark Mitchell was instructed by someone to drop hints to a councillor associated with Len Brown about the impending scandal? If so, we can but speculate as to the reason why…
Krugman reviews The Climate Casino:
I enjoyed The Climate Casino, and felt that I learned a lot from it. Yet as I read it, I couldn’t help wondering whom, exactly, the book was written for. It is, after all, a calm, reasoned tract, marshaling the best available scientific and economic evidence on behalf of a pragmatic policy approach. And here’s the thing: just about everyone responsive to that kind of argument already favors strong climate action. It’s the other guys who constitute the problem.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/nov/07/climate-change-gambling-civilization/
edit: i do like my new avatar – muchly WTF…ish
An idea. For getting the meaning and value of young people, and their parents, thinking and involved in politics. Could work very well in South Auckland.
This morning 9..30ish on Radionz a biologist, dealing with amphibians, was talking about getting people in Haiti to take more interest in their environment and learn about it and how to preserve it. He referred to one mountain that has more frog types on it than most other places on the planet, and endangered.
He said they have lots of problems in Haiti and therefore they have not much time to think about such things. And there was not much factual knowledge about frogs. The idea was that frogs could pee or spit on you and you would go blind. So people tended to kill them on sight.
So the team got an idea for the youngsters to find out information as a project. They would go and observe and were given cameras to get a record of the habits and lifestyle and locations of these frogs and then of course they were all shown to the youngsters and their parents. In the few months before they finished that project the understanding of frogs was wide, the attitude had changed.
What if there were groups given subjects to cover, with teams who wanted to work together and choose a subject from a set list of aspects of society and be in charge of an inexpensive and appropriate camera? Making films is in. It would be awesome, and great record for family interest, cultural and neighbourhood interest and history, as background for interested local people to work for better conditions along with the children who wanted to participate. So Pacifica would get their children involved early in political forays into policy. Half of that non-voting group there would vanish and would continue to decrease to perhaps an 80/20 swing away from non-voting. Could be done I think.
Very nice
Big societal change for very little money, producing a lot of creativity and community involvement. Win win win.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11146498
– Well this seems fair, banned from seeing your own kid without supervision but set to become a teacher…
Image, a woman with a troubled past endeavours to put it all behind her with hopes of a better future – the nerve.
/
I’m thinking that if shes not allowed unsupervised contact with her own kid then maybe its not a good idea to allow her unsupervised contact with many kids but thats only my opinion of course. I’m sure the parents of kids would be delighted if they were to find out (which of course they won’t)
I take it that you didn’t fully read the article and missed this bit:
Seems that she’s not automatically going to become a teacher and, to be honest, all the things that she’s accused of doing are the result of a crashed relationship. It’s more than likely that she’s over them.
scraping by chris73
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/9329346/Daughters-words-motivate-mum-to-get-off-benefits
– About time we had a more of these stories
Don’t worry Chris. As we get closer to the election and Fairfax and the Herald get more panicky, there will be lots more of these stories.
Good because we need a balanced media rather then the media supporting one side only
The media is on your side haven’t you noticed?
People coming of benefits happens all the time, they’re just usually aren’t accompanied by news articles with judgemental subtexts from paid reporters pushing an agenda.
Anyway, when the present government gets fu*ked over next year, you’ll see a lot more ‘good news’, as everyone knows there are many less unemployed under a Labour led government.
That will make you happy too, no? 😉
Cor Blimey!
It’s a fair cop, guvnor. Given how unemployment reached historic highs under national from the historic lows under the last Labour government, you’d think righties, who love to moan about job seekers, would be sworn socialists by now and eager to change leadership at a moments notice.
I’m guessing many aren’t really interested in reducing unemployment at all, and enjoy the easy meat, beat up scapegoating instead.
Bet we don’t see a story of a reformed tax dodger though…
Crazy-ass predictions that make no sense
No.1: TE REO PUTAKE
My team has trawled the internet in search of the millennium’s maddest, most moronic statements. We’re kicking off with a real doozy. Enjoy….
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The NRL will be expanding to WA and they will make it work.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
—–Hapless Standardista Te Reo Putake tapped that out on one miserable Wednesday morning in August 2012. It has not yet been ascertained what hallucinogenic substance, if any, was responsible for that minor classic.
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01082012/#comment-500824
Crazy-ass predictions that make no sense is a series devoted to the deluded, the dull, and the dimwitted. Comments, suggestions and submissions for the series will be gratefully received.
Did you make a note of this post to reference at a later date or just go back through the archives until you found something?
Did you make a note of this post to reference at a later date or just go back through the archives until you found something?
I have a long memory. The other day, my old friend swam into my consciousness for some reason, and due to some untraceable series of synaptic connections, I recalled he had made a bizarre statement about the NRL. A quick boolean exercise soon found the offending statement. That’s the thing with the internet: as poor John Palino is finding out, whatever foolish or knavish message you post, tweet, reddit or email, it will come back to haunt you.
He’s a stalker, Chris. Fixated on me for what feels like years now. I suppose its a step up from his earlier efforts on other forums where he used to stalk himself under a variety of pseudonyms. Perhaps the meds are finally kicking in?
The funny thing about this post is that my prediction remains as true today as it was last year. The Pirates (for that is the name of the team) have already been formed. The NRL will look at confirming expansion post season next year and the two teams likely to be added in season 2017 are the Pirates and the provisionally named Brisbane Bombers. Though the latter is under pressure from a bid from the Central Coast that is extremely popular with fans across Oz.
Anyhoo, just another bit of Breen bullshit. Nothing to worry about, really.
Weapon of Choice Slim.
He’s a stalker, Chris. Fixated on me for what feels like years now.
Oy vey! What rich irony coming from someone whose entire raison d’être seems to be the stalking of this writer, i.e., moi.
I suppose its a step up from his earlier efforts on other forums [sic] where he used to stalk himself under a variety of pseudonyms.
Oh? Could you provide some evidence to back up that remarkable allegation? I would note that you have already been burned on this forum, earning a stern warning from the headmaster Mr. Prent, after you had foolishly insinuated I was another poster.
Perhaps the meds are finally kicking in?
Oy vey! Can we work on the jokes, old buddy? You’re not achieving ANY cut-through at the moment.
The funny thing about this post is that my prediction remains as true today as it was last year. The Pirates (for that is the name of the team) have already been formed. The NRL will look at confirming expansion post season next year and the two teams likely to be added in season 2017 are the Pirates and the provisionally named Brisbane Bombers. Though the latter is under pressure from a bid from the Central Coast that is extremely popular with fans across Oz.
We look forward to the Perth Pirates taking Perth by storm. One thing is for sure if they DO get off the ground (something that NRL players rarely have to do, by the way) is that tickets will be easy to come by.
Anyhoo, just another bit of Breen bullshit. Nothing to worry about, really.
Hmmmmm. Judging by how exercised you are over this, I’d say you were more than a little worried.
🙄
Lanthanide, your inability to formulate a coherent reply comes out again, I see. Are you really that hopeless? No wonder you sprang to the defence of poor Hekia Parata when I outed her all that time ago; you were identifying with her inarticulateness as much as her crazy message.
Hey, Lanthanide, instead of hanging around our minor squabbles, shouldn’t you be hard at work trying to convince us why this morning’s tsunami in Fukushima poses no dangers? No dangers at all?
Like you did last time.
🙄
Knock yourself out, saddo:
http://nz.general.narkive.com/gJVa8B9c/public-notice-morrissey-breen-is-still-banned
“One thing is for sure if they DO get off the ground (something that NRL players rarely have to do, by the way):…”
Jumping occurs with monotonous regularity in league. About the fifth tackle of every second set, by my count. The other sets end in grubbers.
Then there’s this collection which includes plenty more of the jumping you’ve apparently never spotted:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ1yu61Okq0
Anyhoo, hope the first link is a suitable aid to your arvo’s onanistic delights.. I’m off to finish the lawns. Daisies don’t cut themselves, y’know.
It just gets better! Look what our friend has written….
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Jumping occurs with monotonous regularity in league.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I don’t know if that howler is a reflection on your honesty or your perception or your state of mind, or all three.
What on earth are you going to say next? “Try-scoring occurs with monotonous regularity in cricket”? “Wimbledon AFC looking good to win this year’s European Champions League”? “Jumping occurs with monotonous regularity in ice hockey”?
Any or all of those would make more sense than your classic.
Jumping occurs with monotonous regularity in league. :rolleyes: About the fifth tackle of every second set, by my count. The other sets end in grubbers.
In that entire highlights reel, there were three, maybe four, modest attempts at jumping, not one of them contested.
Then there’s this collection which includes plenty more of the jumping you’ve apparently never spotted:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ1yu61Okq0
Citing that ground-hugging action as evidence of “plenty of jumping” is kind of like citing THIS as evidence of “plenty of finesse”….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3bVBmcvOOs
Not so sure about your assertion that the NRL won’t be expanding to WA …
http://www.nrl.com/bulldogs-to-bring-nrl-game-to-perth/tabid/10874/newsid/75154/default.aspx
Oh sure, they play the odd game there, but the NRL has no hope of establishing itself in Perth. There’s too much competition from Australian football (two professional teams, one of which played in the AFL grand final last month), rugby (Go the Force!) and soccer.
There’s only one Perth team in the AFL, Moz. In this year’s AFL Grand Final, Hawthorn defeated the team from the city of Fremantle.
You really must try harder, try hard.
There’s only one Perth team in the AFL, Moz. In this year’s AFL Grand Final, Hawthorn defeated the team from the city of Fremantle.
Okay, in the same way Counties-Manukau (South Auckland) is not really in Auckland, Port Adelaide is not really in Adelaide, Brooklyn is not really in New York, Salford is not really in Manchester and Everton is not really in Liverpool. You’ve got it on a technicality, my friend. Props to you!
You really must try harder, try hard.
Good one! I see what you’ve done there….
Was very disturbed at the level of debate over the Meridian sale.
for all the dummies out there the price wan’t really the issue.
That was then and now the lucky buyers can sit back and enjoy the revenue stream for the rest of their lives.
nice for some.
Hmmmmm only if their remaining lives are just 3-6 years long…
David Cunliffe has already said that he won’t be changing the banking system and so there’s no chance that he will be making life better as it really is the change that needs to be done before all other changes that will bring about prosperity for all.
DTB
What happened to the value of Colonial Scrip, and to the Colonial economy as a whole, when the foreign bankers demanded that remittances to them were made only in gold or silver?
I’m guessing that Cunliffe is well aware of that piece of history too.
– CV.
Damn, fucked up the link: Here:
As to what happened: Colonial scrip was made illegal crashing the economy and creating poverty all so the banksters could have more.
Yes. And they could do it again. So it’s a pretty good idea to tread very carefully re: the international banking system.
Only if we let them which is why I’d change the system via referenda. If they tried to change it back afterwards then we’d know that they were working against democracy.
That knowledge is fine, but it won’t provide the foreign currency needed to pay our bills for fuel, drugs and critical chemicals/parts/machinery/technology.
Don’t need foreign currency for that. We buy them with our currency and then they can buy what they want of the resources/products we have available. They could even sell it on the Forex to get whatever currency the want at whatever the exchange rate is or they can negotiate.
See, no banks needed.
Day after Day (the show must go in) 😎
DTB
Unfortunately the ability to learn, understand and accept lessons from the past are not part of our highly evolved development. In a generation the right wing have been able to change NZs culture and carry out practices that go against the country’s and the people’s interests long term.
In one generation the knowledge prevailing in the past one has largely gone. Though that knowledge was only partly considered, what was understood has not been passed on through formal education, parental discussion etc.
So Cunliffe has to get in with the promise of finding better ways of running the country and providing the economy with a proper system that suits the people. It’s a big ask without offering something even bigger and more different. Something done long ago that is bound to raise the highest hostility and howling derision from NACTs that would destabilise his procession to PM and scare off the middle classes.
They think they know a lot and that their putea saved up was a sign of their acumen, mental and physical, but many of them are mere children being handed foil wrapped chocolate and told its gold. They believe in the stability of NACTs and their wisdom, even with the evidence of failure before them. While it can be blamed on some externality NACT followers and most of the middle class as well, will cling onto their allegiance to the present economic system.
Yep, quite aware of that which is why I push for better education of these things but sometimes think that only the complete collapse of society will bring about the needed lessons.
Complete societal and economic collapse usually brings about far worse forms of rule, and far worse kinds of rulers. Best not go there.
Yep, know that too. There’s a reason why they’re called hard lessons.
Yes, you are right and the ground work is being laid at the education level. Unfortunately, this is not a NZ issue. What makes it so difficult to counter any perceived notion by the generation that we will see govern NZ in 20 years time, is the complete lack of world historical knowledge. Not propaganda, knowledge. I look at people like Mr Bridges and I cringe. A men without a conscience, his only drive is the satisfaction of his vanity and zest for celebrity status. Somebody must have raised this child to become what he is today.
The neoliberals knew that in order for their project to succeed, they had to enforce a kind of nationwide (global?) political economic amnesia. You can even see it in the USA where the lessons of the New Deal have been thoroughly forgotten/ignored.
And to dull down curiosity about both the past and the present.
Not forgotten or ignored but overwritten by lies.
We are lied to, instead of dealing with high home prices causing home affordability crisis,
the government makes high home prices sound cool.
Pic
Sliced and Diced
Is this a worry? Seems like a very stupid solution
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/the-rebuild/9329188/Arsenic-used-in-home-building-materials
Kiwi homes are being wrapped with plywood containing an arsenic treatment banned in several overseas countries because of toxicity concerns
Dr Meriel Watts, who has a PhD in pesticide risk assessment and policy, said CCA-treated timber products posed an “unacceptable risk for public health”, particularly for young children.
“Basically wrapping homes in CCA-treated plywood is a very bad idea,” she told The Press.
One senior figure in the Canterbury construction industry, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the sealant properties of some forms of the plywood created dangerously unhealthy homes, trapping toxins and moisture inside.
“[Timber] workers have to handle it with gloves and full body suits, and we are wrapping our houses with it,” he said.
“Why on earth are we using these products?”
Workmate Alistair Young said he knew the timber products were “all full of a lot of s…”.
“Cutting it all the time, that’s a problem. A lot of guys get headaches cutting it, so we’ve got masks and gloves but I don’t use them.”
Following minor surgery I had a shit of a time dealing with a staphylococcus infection so news like this is rather alarming.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/health-science-technology/hunting-the-nightmare-bacteria/dr-arjun-srinivasan-weve-reached-the-end-of-antibiotics-period/
No money in developing new antibiotics
That was inevitable. The short life bacteria would evolve faster than what either our own immune system could or the drugs that we produce.
CALLING LANTHANIDE! CALLING LANTHANIDE!
We need the comfort of your calm and considered words
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/10/25-4
Please calm our fears, Lanthanide. What comforting words does the Japanese Government have to say THIS time?
FYI
In my considered opinion, the 2013 Auckland Mayoral election, was phony as.
In my considered opinion, those who really run the Auckland region, the (unelected) Committee for Auckland are actually very happy with Mayor Len Brown and Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse.
But – to keep up appearances that this Auckland Mayoral election was ‘left’ vs ‘right’ – as opposed to the reality of the corporate minority vs the public majority, enter political ‘newby’ / ‘novice’ John Palino, who has never attended a single Council meeting in his life.
Having the former President of the National Party, John Slater, as his ‘campaign manager'(?), helped to give the Palino camp the ‘right’ stamp of approval (as it were).
But, in my considered opinion, John Palino was never expected or supposed to win the Auckland Mayoralty.
Unfortunately, for those who REALLY run Auckland, with the very public revelations of the Len Brown ‘affair’ – things have now got quite ‘out of hand’ (as it were).
So – how best to deal with this?
Simple.
Get an ‘inquiry’ / ‘investigation’ set up, which will slap Len Brown on the hand, censure him, do anything but require him to stand down?
Look who is organising this ‘inquiry’:
Doug McKay, CEO of Auckland Council ( a member of the Committee for Auckland), passes the inquiry to Ernst and Young (a member company of the Committee for Auckland).
Who else is a member of the Committee for Auckland?
Nigel Morrison, CEO of Sky City.
(If you don’t believe me – check for yourselves http://www.committeeforauckland.co.nz membership …)
Where I think Len Brown has ‘crossed the line’, is in the alleged use of a Sky City hotel room (rooms), for his illicit sexual liaison(s), which, in my considered opinion, make him effectively ‘beholden’ and arguably potentially subject to blackmail.
I note that on 27 June 2013, Len Brown argued in favour of the International Convention Centre (Sky City) Bill (deal), at the Auckland Council Governing Body Meeting.
I also note that it appears that Auckland Council has failed to do any ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering at Sky City arising from this International Convention Centre (Sky City) Bill (deal).
That is why, it is my intention on Tuesday 29 October 2013, to formally request the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to conduct an investigation into these matters.
High time for a New Zealand Independent Commission Against Corruption, and enforceable ‘Codes of Conduct’ for both local and central government elected representatives?
I think so.
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption /anti-privatisation’ campaigner
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
This comes across as a conspiracy theory.
Yes but a pretty plausible one.
Thanks Penny I’d love to see you on the council they wouldn’t know what hit them………… or as they used to say on dads army……
‘ they don’t like it up ’em ‘
Why write a 10 word comment when you can publish a 1000 word essay?
PB : shrill, boring, and slightly mental. Avoid
Just want to see my weekend gravatar…
Me too. Anything but blue! 🙂
Only 800+k mansions being built, no sign of affordable housing anywhere.
So much for living it to the free market fairy.
*leaving it*
Would you like a Monsanto Round Up flavoured Milkshake?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/9310148/Tests-show-milk-clear-of-Roundup-used-for-silage
Well then, let him drink up then. Lets see whether he can put the money where the mouth is.
Why have I got a grumpy face icon, and how do i change it.
If you don’t like it, how about you just stay off this forum?
It’s a pain but you can use another email address as your login. A mod will need to approve your post the first time you use your new email.
However, I’m under the impression that the system is going back to the old gravatars in a couple of days so you could just wait it out.
Or he could actually put up his own gravatar.
That link goes to the ts front page.
Gravatar
Goddamn WordPress being (un)helpful.
Tat Loo
Cool, thanks for the info.
Typical, image is everything a Brett.
MrSmith:
No but a hoverboard or a clive bixby avater would be cool.
so post Modern family
Because wordpress 3.7 had a wee bug to do with the usual identicon – it wasn’t displaying them, but was displaying an empty head (which is what it still shows at the backend).
I flipped it to a different type of gravatar at the front end and that worked. After I solved how to set it correctly, I had a whim that said to leave it on the “new” ones for this weekend. sysop’s choice for people using default identicons 😈
The best way to “fix” it is to upload one or more images to gravatar ( http://en.gravatar.com ) against your email “address”. From memory, the email address doesn’t even have to be valid for the second and subsequent ones on an account.
The image you choose can be uploaded from anything. Most people just put a query into google, select image(s), save them to their hard disk and then upload them. Personally I use gimp ( http://www.gimp.org/ ) to make mine unique.
The image will then show on most wordpress (and blogger? and others?) websites whenever you use that email “address”
I shunt my image on all my social media including facebook etc
BTW: I thought that the “grumpy face icon” suited you..
An unemployed (or possibly about to be unemployed) used car salesman, auditioning for a role on the Shopping Channel. Selling a fish infectif, an upta debt infas chucked ya.
Sorry. No call back.
And I thought Shearer had poor delivery. Follow the punctuation, buddy. And don’t stop when the line on the cue card ends… read on to the next line without missing a beat.
Wow, that’s abysmal.
He clearly is reading the text for the first time. So lazy!
Check out the left-to-right shuffling of his eyes as he reads the words. *Groan*.
That is FANTASTIC!
This should get wider publicity.
(What a lovely avatar)
No, it’s not the first time Lanthanide. He’s been practising his elocution in front of a mirror. You can tell by the emphasis on some of the words. What a dick! I used to talk like that when I was a kid practising my poetry reading in front of a mirror. Fancied myself as being good at it… and I fancied myself.
Perhaps you and Mr Key have more in common than you think? 😈
Yeah… but I grew up.
Investing smart in infrastructure
The ultrafast broadband project is the proof that privatisation of infrastructure doesn’t work. If we hadn’t privatised Telecom we wouldn’t have to be forking billions of taxpayer dollars to get Telecom to what needs to be done because it would have been done already.
We have been over this before Draco – it isn’t proof of anything outside of proof positive of what you think might have happened if what Draco thinks would have happened happened.
Good comments Vanessa. Of course that is an apt description of most right-wingers. That is why they are right-wingers. They have little to no empathy for people outside their own self serving circles. They are spiritually barren – especially the conservative rump church goers like Colin Craig. Their thinking processes are simplistic and almost philistine in nature. Here’s an example:
was reading a profile of this Nat MP, Mark Mitchell – the one who leaked the Brown scandal to councillor, Penny Webster and who apparently has close ties to the police, defence force and our intelligence agencies. In his own words “I’m passionate about law and order. I just want to see the bad ones locked up”. That no doubt includes climatological scientists, so-called tree huggers and anyone who is associated with that subversive organisation called Greenpeace. And one of the most primeval of all of them is that monkey the Aussies have just elected as their prime minister. Despite the rapidly increasing size and frequency of the bush fires etc., he still scoffs at and denies the overwhelming evidence of Global Warming/Climate Change.
These are the real bad ones. The ones who should be locked up and throw away their keys.
[lprent: shunted to OpenMike as some rich moron thinks that they can read science and has therefore gone quite off topic… ]
Anne,
Do you still seriously believe in global warming ??
Fact , no temperature increase in the last 15 years , when is it going to start again, 5,15, 50 , 500, or 5million years ????????.
Wake up , it’s a con which has become political not factual .
Lucy is a real example of the delusional green brigade.
You have got to hand it to green peace , they have her fooled and are happy to take advantage of her falling profile, with a bit of luck they will con her into making a protest Russia.
Throw away the key.
Always nice to meet rich idiots like you who don’t understand statistics… They have the generic name of “suckers” or “marks”.
Question for rich the other: are the years 2005 and 2010 (the hottest years on record according to NASA) within “the last 15 years”?
Supplementary: do you even give a shit, if they are?
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012-temps.html
Tat loo
So what you are saying is the 2000 IPCC page report on this con is wrong , the 15 years of NO warming is their figure , the actual truth is 18yrs but we won’t quibble over 3yrs.
This topic has become highly political because some governments around the world have been completely fooled and their reputations are at stake.
Lucy might like to make a movie on the topic , perhaps the title should be [ The Greatest Con on Earth ] and may I suggest she asks Joyce for a SUBSIDY which would be funded from tax from workers pay packets.
Have you looked at the summary figures for ocean warming?
Actually – strike that. We know that you are merely repeating some other moron and haven’t bothered to read the report.
Perhaps you could tell us what the IPCC found for heat storage in the oceans over the last 15 years? Possibly what the heat storage capacity of salt water is compared to seal level air? In fact demonstrate ANY ability to read and understand the IPCC report section one?
You really are a wanker too incapable of doing your own work. You just echo the strokes for some other fool.
silly puppet..
NASA does the business, my man. Remote sensing is what they do. One good thing about having an active superpower in the world. So let’s run the quote again- with just one exception, the 9 warmest years in the 132 year record have happened since 2000.
Seems pretty definitive to me.
Beautiful prose Anne
Thank you RT.
It helps when you feel angry. 🙂