Arctic ice melt could trigger uncontrollable climate change at global level.
Scientists warn increasingly rapid melting could trigger polar ‘tipping points’ with catastrophic consequences felt as far away as the Indian Ocean.
Arctic scientists have warned that the increasingly rapid melting of the ice cap risks triggering 19 “tipping points” in the region that could have catastrophic consequences around the globe.
The Arctic Resilience Report found that the effects of Arctic warming could be felt as far away as the Indian Ocean, in a stark warning that changes in the region could cause uncontrollable climate change at a global level.
Temperatures in the Arctic are currently about 20C above what would be expected for the time of year, which scientists describe as “off the charts”. Sea ice is at the lowest extent ever recorded for the time of year.
“The warning signals are getting louder,” said Marcus Carson of the Stockholm Environment Institute and one of the lead authors of the report. “[These developments] also make the potential for triggering [tipping points] and feedback loops much larger.”
The 13 impossible crises that humanity now faces.
From Trump to climate change, this multiheaded crisis presages collapse. And there’s no hope of exiting the ‘other side’ if political alternatives are shut down.
Please don’t read this unless you are feeling strong. This is a list of 13 major crises that, I believe, confront us. There may be more. Please feel free to add to it or to knock it down. I’m sorry to say that it’s not happy reading.
Humans ‘don’t have 10 years’ left thanks to climate change
There’s no point trying to fight climate change – we’ll all be dead in the next decade and there’s nothing we can do to stop it, a visiting scientist claims.
Guy McPherson, a biology professor at the University of Arizona, says the human destruction of our own habitat is leading towards the world’s sixth mass extinction.
Short term I believe Trump will de-escalate military tensions with Russia and China so the risk of super power war in the next couple of years has reduced. Other than that, we are in a dire situation and people are still running around pretending that we can still avoid 1.5 deg C and 2.0 deg C levels of warming.
When Trump cancels funding for data collection on the effects of climate change and puts it into space exploration want to come back and admit you were wrong?
But no president of the United States can go full on communists and stop the March of capitalism. I think it’s a mistake to view Trump as the most powerful man with in America.
“On Tuesday, March 11th, 2008, somebody — nobody knows who —made one of the craziest bets Wall Street has ever seen. The mystery figure spent $1.7 million on a series of options, gambling that shares in the venerable investment bank Bear Stearns would lose more than half their value in nine days or less. It was madness — “like buying 1.7 million lottery tickets,” according to one financial analyst.” …..
….”by the weekend, it was being knocked to its knees by the Fed and the Treasury, and forced at the barrel of a shotgun to sell itself to JPMorgan Chase (which had been given $29 billion in public money to marry its hunchbacked new bride) at the humiliating price of … $2 a share. Whoever bought those options on March 11th woke up on the morning of March 17th having made 159 times his money, or roughly $270 million. This trader was either the luckiest guy in the world, the smartest son of a bitch ever or…
more recent financial ‘news’ ….” At least 367 companies, or 73 percent
of the Fortune 500, operate one or more
subsidiaries in tax haven countries.
•
All told, these 367 companies maintain at
least 10,366 tax haven subsidiaries. http://ctj.org/pdf/offshoreshellgames2016.pdf …
Goldman Sachs
Group
987
Bahamas (1), Barbados (4), Bermuda (19), British Virgin Islands (6), Cayman Islands
(537), Channel Islands (17), Costa Rica (1), Cyprus (2), Gibraltar (1), Hong Kong
(19), Ireland (64), Isle of Man (3), Luxembourg (197), Mauritius (49), Monaco (1),
Netherlands (45), Panama (1), Singapore (18), Switzerland (2)
Morgan Stanley
669
Bermuda (4), Cayman Islands (280), Channel Islands (33), Cyprus (4), Gibraltar
(1), Hong Kong (18), Ireland (45), Luxembourg (76), Malta (1), Mauritius (16),
Netherlands (131), Singapore (58), Switzerland (2)
J.P. Morgan
Chase & Co.
385
Bahamas (7), Barbados (1), Bermuda (19), British Virgin Islands (9), Cayman Islands
(149), Channel Islands (18), Cyprus (1), Hong Kong (17), Ireland (13), Luxembourg
(61), Malta (13), Marshall Islands (3), Mauritius (33), Netherlands (12), Singapore
(25), Switzerland (4)
KKR
300
Cayman Islands (249), Channel Islands (6), Hong Kong (3), Ireland (19),
Luxembourg (9), Mauritius (5), Singapore (9)
Bank of New
York Mellon
Corp.
188
Bahamas (2), Bermuda (6), Cayman Islands (69), Channel Islands (13), Hong Kong
(2), Ireland (55), Luxembourg (16), Malta (1), Mauritius (1), Netherlands (18),
Singapore (4), Switzerland (1
Bank of
America Corp.
109
Bahamas (2), Bermuda (4), Cayman Islands (18), Channel Islands (13), Costa Rica
(1), Gibraltar (4), Hong Kong (3), Ireland (8), Luxembourg (13), Mauritius (6),
Netherlands (25), Netherlands Antilles (1), Singapore (8), Switzerland (3)
Clinton wasn’t going to do much about climate change, not with her corporate backing. It would be steady as she goes. Trump is the change agent, so even though he may be worse for climate change in the short term it puts us closer towards making the radical change we need.
I kinda agree with Maui – yes there is short term damage but Trump post reign might force radical change and awareness that the world needs.
Sometimes “thump thump” there is no climate change is easier to rebuttal than the democrats saying they want to do something, they get reports about the issues, they have media events – but the actually climate change doesn’t get done or is delayed by being put into a long ‘process’ with non binding requirements and governments are able to not do anything like the Key government buying polluting credits sorta converting it into a neoliberal process about money than actually about reducing emissions and doing quality research.
But the public and media are not up in arms, because it still looks like the governments are doing something.
You can’t have it both ways and expect to be taken seriously. Imo your support of denier trump shows any caring about cc from you is just crocodile tears. If trump could make money from cc he’d be on it like a rash. You don’t appear as dim as trump, you have less excuses for your deliberate ignorance.
I have never seen CV claim that Trump is good for dealing with Climate Change. He has only pointed out that HC would in fact be no better. Why do you see things so black and white, then put words into others’ mouths?
Perhaps someone could point out how disastrous Obama’s reign has been for actual climate change results. And despite his billions invested in solar power etc and lots of soothing talk about alternative energy. World now consistently over 400ppm, multiple years of record breaking temperatures during his term in office, no change in emissions trajectories, etc.
He’s the guy who greenlit deep sea oil drilling again after Deepwater Horizon ffs and the dems all fell into line behind him.
But somehow Demorats better than Repugs. They are on one count: creating the illusion of caring about climate change, despite their actual physical track record.
You cv the dude in dunners not denier trump. Getting pretend upset about the real and devastating effects of cc, whilst supporting even endorsing a cc denier who TWEETED that it was a hoax set up by the chinese, is incongruent imo.
Well, I got used to the incongruency because the real world is incongruent.
I’ve listened to a dozen or more Guy McPherson talks in the last few months and decided that Clinton versus Trump on the issue of climate change was like asking a WWII POW to choose between being held by the Germans, the Soviets, or the Japanese.
Multiple flavours of fuck all difference apart from the terminology.
At the point I wrote I was replying to both you and mickeysavage. Mickey said that, and it appeared to me that you were backing the same idea. You accuse CV of supporting ‘Denier Trump’. I have not seen that.
CV has always admitted Trump’s failings, but he sends you into an insane fury by giving info that suggests that HC is no better. CV is suggesting that it is not black and white. It appears to me that some cannot cope with that concept, choose their side, then regard all critics as supporters of the opponent. Life is not that simple. Kneejerks are.
He said ‘least suitable’ that is a long way from your made up lines. And I wasn’t writing about that at all so my ‘read’ line stands plus don’t make up stuff and say I’m putting words in someone elses mouth when that is not true it is just that you didn’t read the comments well enough – that is a kneejerk isn’t it?
cv has parroted trump supporter lines and links for months – AND he expressly used the ‘not 5ppm difference’ line as his defense when he says he believes in cc and trump is a declared denier. So all of that stuff you wrote is false – once again read instead of assuming or making stuff up eh.
I’m not in an insane fury now or then thanks – I can’t stand bullies and bullshitters like trump, cv and anyone else that does that.
Mate you’ve been an outstanding Clinton preferring bullyshamer last few months.
Me, I try not to use ugly demeaning labels and personal jibes against people who preferred Clinton.
As for Trump being a cc denier – well, I think he knows the truth about CC but he took campaign and policy positions of convenience. They won’t make even 5ppm of difference though.
Thanks cv – opposing fascist, racist misogynist 0.1%ers like trump and minitrumps like you makes me feel great. Yeah you do use smooth language often – just reminds me of 1984 really because the message behind the calm words is horrendously violent and disgusting imo – still it snared a few supporters for you on here eh so good strategy.
trump is a cc denier FACT he said it many times – sure he’s bullshitting now because even his peanut brain can work out that he is an idiot and the science is clear – oh and he might lose money on all of his billionaire property investments if they happen to be beside some water somewhere – yep a real man of the people that one LOL
Picking up the on-the-ground trends way ahead of time while the commentariat walk around in circles disconnected and lost in their own intellectual space.
Watching identity politics driven political correctness and self censoring stumble and fall over as a political force.
And now watching that same Clinton Preferring commentariat running around losing their minds and doubling down on their losing strategies instead of learning a single thing.
I’m happy to be an identity political, cc resilience building, hard leftie with a focus on equality. Like really happy.
I wouldn’t change a thing, as you wouldn’t for you,so we are both happy – cool again.
And I am also pleased we are on opposite sides of the political divide and we really are although you do seem to want to pretend sometimes but hey maybe it’s because you comment so prolifically here instead of a more natural home for your non left views. 🙂
I would say you do appear a bit cocky and that can lead to disappointment so a friendly heads up from a fellow dunners person.
I think that you also need to practise more careful reading comprehension (mainly with CV) and that it is strange that I like everything you have recently written apart from your virulent responses to CV. A message from CV brings out in you the same faults that you accuse me of.
I’m human. I do try not to let his stuff get under my skin. I can also get worked up with racists pretty strongly too. Anyway I’ll try to take your comments on board 🙂
– Trump closed the Democratic lead amongst African Americans by 7%.
– Trump closed the Democratic lead amongst Latinos by 8%.
– Trump closed the Democratic lead amongst Asian Americans by 11%.
– Trump increased the Republican lead amongst white voters by a negligible 1%.
So go ahead pick Donald Trump as the target of an anti-racist crusade, but in reality he did quite adequately with minorities and noticeably better than Mitt Romney in fact.
Trump will improve his performance further in 2020.
mate there are desperate people in all ethnicities – don’t you get that?
trump is a misogynist and a racist and a 0.1% billionaire real estate tycoon – that is all fact from his own twisted mouth – none of that is made up – HE SAID IT – do you get that? Sure now he’s backtracking and saying he didn’t mean it, different times, and so on. The truth of a person is what they actually do and not their political spin to keep the turkeys from getting restless.
please take this as the intrinsic power of the universe saying you are a fool for trusting trump – if you even do.
I don’t trust Trump at all. And although CV is sharp and well-informed, for the first time I think he is pushing it a bit with what I think is a tongue-in-cheek prediction about 2020. I think CV sometimes enjoys needling people – maybe because the debate gets too passionate.
it is the standard cv trick – doesn’t bother me because I needle him back.
I don’t think he is sharp or well informed and I’m pretty sure he knows I think that 🙂
Anyway, what is is and what will be will be.
I’m looking forward building the momentum to get rid of the gnats and key. And I’m looking forward to those who believe in left values, the left ethos to work together to throw the gnats and ALL of their supporters out – inside and outside parliament. But the truth is people here are getting as desperate as the usaians and key is a smooth liar like trump so unless we focus in on the real important bits then trouble. I don’t see any worthwhile contribution towards that cause coming from cv – the opposite in fact.
As you say, que sera sera. CV is very disillusioned with the left, but I don’t believe his criticisms mean he has turned right and no longer wants the left to have a positive influence.
And yes, he will also accelerate the implementation of charter schools, he will put conservative constitutional justices on to the Supreme Court, he will massively drop the tax rate on Apple and he will work with Russia to annhilate Islamic extremist militants in Syria.
Now we have an ultra-conservative veep and an alt-right named as advisor.
Bannon is a brilliant tactician who helped steer the Trump campaign to victory over Clinton.
And Pence is deeply conservative but also a very steady experienced hand with regards to the Republican house.
As for “alt-right” (ignoring the commentariat turning it into another in a long list of lefty smear terms) this phenomenon is exactly what was needed to up end the staid, neolib/neocon warmongering consensus of the Republican Party.
It is, as the term implies, a brand new alternative right wing.
Now, where is the alt-left phenomenon which is required to renew and reinvigorate the deeply status quo left.
Thanks for your concern, toryboy, but we can do without alt-left demagogues who match the alt-right for stupidity, bigotry, hate and fearmongering.
If we’re all very lucky, the latest blustering winds will blow themselves out without fucking the world up irreparably, and the deplorables (sorry, as you called them the “red meat” trump supporters) will be reduced to weeping and gnashing their teeth online.
The film ‘Netowrk’ predicted this dystopian future.
“Television is not the truth. Television’s a god-damned amusement park. Television is a circus, a carnival, a traveling troupe of acrobats, storytellers, dancers, singers, jugglers, sideshow freaks, lion tamers, and football players. We’re in the boredom-killing business. ”
Hey Paul take Guy Mcpherson advise as a declared anarchist, its not worth worrying about, hope is pointless and destructive ( quoting Nietzsche) live for now, hence the media is doing exactlty that, so give them some credit
Also something to cheer you up schrodinger had his uereka moment on quantum mechanics after a conservation with Eisenstein in which Einstein pontificated that it is quite wrong to find theory on observable magnitude alone, Often the theory drives what is observed Maybe apply some of this to your daily observations and doom reports, Here is some good news, google it, recent research on Antarctic show ice cover no different that 100 years ago, scientist can alter plants to absorb way more carbon than inially thought, the planet is greening, likewise cement manufacturing is a large creator of carbon is now believed by scientist to absorb most of it back, NASA impossible engine lifts the game re space travel Not saying the world is in a good place but it’s not all bad, everything You are not an oracle and there is a lot of good
That we have multiple unstoppable climate change positive feedback loops now engaged? Yep.
On his specific time frames however, I think there is a lot of uncertainty there. But I do think livable habitat for humanity will be largely gone within the next 30 or so years and that global population levels will be down to ~1B within 100 years..
You’re being a bit too positive there CV!
I think with there being many more factors than just cc in play that Capitalism/ greed etc will see us perish sooner rather than later.
By survivors accounts and personal experience the way through is to have a plan. “being the best person you can be” has not been shown to work, as far as I know.
By the way, would “being the best person you can be” stop you eating a human corpse ?
that report refers to sea ice ,the increase of which is amply explained by the models and is a result of decreasing salinity due to continental ice melt….so hardly good news
In the Herald Geoffrey Miller points out John Key v Donald Trump – the five similarities.
1. Highly pragmatic – and willing to compromise
Like Trump, Key has a long history of pragmatism over ideology – dating back to his early days as Opposition leader when he replaced Don Brash. For both Key and Trump, it’s all about the art of the deal.
2. Both are independently wealthy
As high net worth individuals, neither Key nor Trump are dependent on politics for income or status. Both have involved a high degree of financial risk and failure, as well as ultimate reward.
3. Neither are career politicians
There is a growing proportion of career politicians, who seem more intent on securing long term lucrative employment than risking rock the political boat. Key and Trump both buck this trend.
4. Strange behaviour is part of their political brand
One of the hallmarks of John Key’s enduring personal popularity has been his anti-politician style. It works for many, and it repels others. He gets it wrong sometimes – ie pony tail pulling and prison jokes, but gets away with it. Trump’s behaviour problems have been more extreme but he has got away with it too, so far.
5. The answer is golf
Trump recently said: “Golf is a great game for getting to know people…you can never ever get to know people at lunch or dinner like you can on a golf course”. Key, like Trump, has recognised the function of golf as an elite pastime to cultivate connections with people who matter – as proven by his success in ultimate success in gaining a tee time with Obama.
So has New Zealand already been experiencing our Brexit/Trump for the past eight years?
1. Key is establishment.
2. Key supports neo-liberal global trade deals such as the TPP.
3. Key comes from big finance.
4. Key has sold the country to foreign interests.
And one unmentioned similarity.
Their dreadful way the behave towards women. Pony tail pulling and pussy grabbing misogynists.
Key’s been in parliament since 2002. 14 years makes him a career politician. Your list is full of crap and reminds of those people who tried to draw similarities between Lincoln’s and Kennedy’s assassinations.
In casting around you missed things like
1. Both have histories of assaulting females
2. Both are male
3. Both are right handed
Meanwhile the dissimilarities are greater.
1. Key was in opposition benches for 6 years
2. Key had full support of the party and was eased in.
3. Key had no public profile before being PM.
4. Age
5. Work experience
6. Inheritance of wealth
7.Upbringing
8. Place of birth
And thousands of others.
Petty George didn’t “solve” anything: he simply plagiarised Geoffrey Miller’s opinion. In fact his whole comment contains nothing original, just like every other comment he’s ever made.
By that definition TS is full of plagiarism then. I summarised an article, I identified the author and I linked to the source, similar to what others do here fifty or a hundred times a day. The sort of thing that keeps sites like this going amongst the stupidity of inane attacks.
Pete George – I read the Herald piece as just another of the never-ending ShonKey public relations spin. And I don’t think I’m wrong. He’s realised (ie his polling shows) there’s some sympathy for Trump “out there” in the world he doesn’t inhabit, and so his Crosby-Textor mates put together a similarity piece.
Yeah Jenny, what if poor Geoff got offended and everything? I think someone needs to write a lengthy blog post on how mean you’re being to Geoff. expressing your opinion like that.
So we can be certain that the TPPA was discussed. Key’s invitation to golf and talk with Obama comes after the Singapore round of negotiations in December, where the US adopted very heavy-handed negotiating tactics, giving very few concessions, and before the next meeting of Ministers in January.
Nah. A plateau and a minor softening for a while at the $600-$900 end.
Standart balancing in Auckland apartments, but we are a long, long way off from an oversupply.
We are also hugely under-built in retirement villages and other seniors housing in all our cities.
We may just have to admit that Key’s policies to soften the market carefully are working.
Agree Ad – on a visit to Auckland the other day, I saw that “scale of activity” and thought yes, this does sort-of show a “good” economy at work ….. we all know that’s bullsh-t but it keeps the money spinning in Auckland and people feel good at seeing it. All part of the ShonKey perception that everything is rosy.
– City Rail Link $3.4b of needed public transport
– Waterview SH20 tunnels $1.4b of needed motorway completion
– Hobsonville Land Co $400m or thereabouts for basically a model town
– National Convention Centre $700 m or thereabouts
– University of Auckland, AUT, and other campus rebuilds $500m
– Waterfront Co $700m
– Tamaki Development Co $260m
– Squillions more on water and sewer upgrades, rail upgrades, and new housing,
It’s not bullshit. It’s real.
You don’t have to like it.
But this is the most Keynesian National government since Muldoon. They are doing what they should; supporting the growth of Auckland as the commercial centre of New Zealand with public investment which in turn supports more private investment and achieves policy goals.
Ad @ 7.1.1. I didn’t mean that the actual building going on in Auckland is bullshit – that is very clearly real, and keeps the Auck economy booming.
What is bullshit is that its claimed to be part of a good productive economy – yes, its necessary buildings but it is not new production and its only sustainable because the govt is putting money into it. And its borrowing heavily to do so.
The govt is not putting money into new trading ventures, into research, into developing new ways to build a good economy nor is it putting money into health services or public education, or into regional development, and so on.
Its a bit like the re-build of Ch’ch – that helped our perception of the economy being good, but it was only replacement of what had already been there.
The Auckland build is necessary infrastructure because of greater population, not anything new or innovative – but it does keep the economy spinning around and provides jobs for some.
wohoo lucky fools get to shackle themselves to massive mortgages on unproductive assets . good way to keep the masses with their nose to the grind stone.
Interesting, market is starting to turn.
if I was a first home buyer I’d hang off for at least the next six months. especially if interest rates begin to climb, you’ll find a lot of “investors” under the pump and need to off load there properties fast which will cause quite a lot of downward pressure on the real estate market.
If Key achieves a soft landing for the Auckland housing market due to the variety of measures his government has put in place, it will be nothing short of a policy miracle.
If he achieves that, and the propertied class of Auckland don’t rise up against him, that will be a political miracle.
Both together would take his largest risk to a fourth term in power largely away.
Reading that article, does rather point to the market starting to turn, read almost like the real estate sector desperately trying to pump a bit of air in a deflating market.
Once it starts gaining momentum you’re going to see a real cooling off of the property market for the next year or two.
It will come back to life rather rapidly though because you still have the underlying issues of under supply and a growing Auckland population.
This down turn will clear out the multi property investor who’s over extended themselves trying to make quick profit off capital gain.
The average property owner in Auckland will be left unscathed, really starting to look good for a National outright win in 2017.
“One of the most significant and pernicious ways that members of the alt-right use trolling is to create a sincerity-proof chamber of distortion surrounding what their actual message is. They do this by pretending that what they’re really doing is satirically spoofing how progressives and members of the media view conservatives.”
So when it’s obvious what the plan is Weka why do people here indulge the trolls and allow discussion to be diverted and derailed so often?
There is no block button but people can use their own troll filter. Just imagine you’ve got troll-cancelling headphones (or glasses) on.
When I see certain names appear I just move on as I can’t be bothered to waste my time any further. Regular visitors to The Standard know who these people are, or recognise the same tactics under new names that pop up.
Please don’t give these people air. Ignore, don’t engage.
At the risk of not following my just-expressed advice: How do you infer that from what I said?
Same reaction for Pyscho Milt’s totally erroneous response.
I used troll in the throwaway, incorrect usage. I mean commenters with an agenda of diverting and derailing debate and causing confusion, who in my opinion and others, seem to have no real intention of genuinely debating.
I see ignoring as a perfectly legimate option. No-one is obliged to enter into debate with someone they consider has ulterior motives. It’s not being unwilling to argue a viewpoint or not being prepared to change yours, it can be a sensible option to choose not to play the game.
…why do people here indulge the trolls and allow discussion to be diverted and derailed so often?
Why do people here allow commenters Grey Area doesn’t like to post opinions Grey Area finds offensive? It’s one of those great mysteries of life that I guess will never be solved.
I try really hard to ignore them, and most of them time I can. But sometimes it’s just too hard to let a particularly harmful bit of bullshit stand unchallenged.
This is interesting – though more propaganda distribution, than trolling tactics. However, you do have to consider the motivations of the interviewee (who runs “Disinfomedia”, at least until his identity was revealed):
This is a right-wing issue. Sarah Palin’s famous blasting of the lamestream media is kind of record and testament to the rise of these kinds of people. The post-fact era is what I would refer to it as. This isn’t something that started with Trump. This is something that’s been in the works for a while. His whole campaign was this thing of discrediting mainstream media sources, which is one of those dog whistles to his supporters. When we were coming up with headlines it’s always kind of about the red meat. Trump really got into the red meat. He knew who his base was. He knew how to feed them a constant diet of this red meat.
We’ve tried to do similar things to liberals. It just has never worked, it never takes off. You’ll get debunked within the first two comments and then the whole thing just kind of fizzles out.
The mainstream media tried every angle of smear, stretched every truth, gave up all pretense of actual journalism, in their support of Clinton and undermining of Trump, over the last 6 months.
And large parts of the USA recognised it and turned them off.
This whole episode has been a business and professional disaster for these large corporates.
So much so now that the President-Elect of the United States is actively circumventing these mainstream media sites to talk directly to the American people.
Did you even read the linked article, CV? It was more about the; search for, and; interview with, someone who had been running a fake news organization (and whose words should thus be taken with a large amount of salt). Trump is only really mentioned as someone who took advantage of the credulity of the right-wing for his own purposes.
As for context; we could compare the billions in free advertising which the media gifted Trump by publicizing his antics for their own benefit. Compare to the long-sustained scrutinizing of the Clinton home email server (billions worth of attack ads for the Republican candidate). No charges for Clinton after the election, almost as if the entire thing was a beatup to create drama for the horse-race, and so fill the “news” space between ads.
Yes, in the end; most of the media had turned against Trump. Much in the same way that Baron Frankenstein turned against his Monster once he saw the mob with the pitchforks heading for his castle. In both cases, much too late.
I think you missed the wikileaks emails on how the Clinton campaign deliberately used its media contacts to elevate Trump whom they initially saw as an easily beatable “Pied Piper” fringe Republican candidate.
This was done in order to lock out serious competition like Jeb Bush and make the Republican party look extreme in the general election.
Actually, I didn’t mind the wikileaks emails; though I didn’t manage to get through them all. I do wish there had been a leak from the Trump camp though (even Stein & Johnson’s campaigns would have been interesting enough). I never really felt she had any authenticity to undermine though. Rather that the status quo was better than the status quo ante.
The media favoured Trump during the primaries, but slowly came around to condemning him as an actual candidate. If I recall correctly, all the polls showed that Trump was the only Republican that Clinton had a chance of beating, whereas Sanders would have wiped the floor with any of them.
“Journalists seemed unmindful that they and not the electorate were Trump’s first audience. Trump exploited their lust for riveting stories,”… The majority of Trump coverage was positive or neutral in all outlets studied, ranging from 63 percent by The New York Times to 74 percent by USA Today. [in June]…
in issue-related coverage of Clinton, an overwhelming 84 percent was negative in tone, the study found, compared with 43 percent for Trump, 32 percent for Cruz and just 17 percent for Sanders.
The media favoured Trump during the primaries, but slowly came around to condemning him as an actual candidate.
yes, but as wikileaks revealed, this early elevation of Trump by the mass media was part of a deliberate Clinton strategy to sideline ‘more serious’ Republican candidates like Jeb Bush.
I never find BM ads anything to a discussion, just takes up space in which someone might say something interesting. I guess that’s not precisely the same as trolling, more spamming.
Recently simple trolls like BM, PR, etc have pursued a policy of matiness and no personal abuse, just to avoid giving excuses for bans by moderators. As for the more subtle, deceptively destructive varieties, I wonder if we are not starting to see Reds under the beds. Very suitable accusation to make against somebody whose views one does not find convenient.
In Vino has a very accurate view of this issue, imo. Trolls like Puckish Rogue have adapted their behaviour to fit in but still maintain their intentions to subvert. Chumminess and self deprecation are tools of camouflage and our good natures are being cunningly exploited in a way that right wing commenters patrolling their own blogs, don’t allow. We need to sharpen up without becoming nasty. The best approach is to play the idea/strategy, not the man. That’s a more difficult route, but will improve understanding amongst everyone who comments here. Of course they’ll soon adapt to that strategy as well… 🙂
Beautifully written, Robert. It saddens me that some of our own side have opted for the quick gratification of the clever put-down involving personal abuse, thinking, I guess, that the end justifies the means. It does not help informative debate (nor do trolls). I have great sympathy for the moderators trying to deal with it all.
“If I was a troll wouldn’t I have been banned by now?”
Remind us how many times you’ve been banned and what for?
Personally I think your comments add to the site, but you do troll as well. It’s possible to troll within the site’s rules, because the site has a lot of latitude.
But the original comment wasn’t about trolling. It was about the behaviour and tactics of the alt-right. A completely different conversation that one, and I wouldn’t put what you do as even close to that. Whatever disagreements I have with your politics, you’re not a proto-fascist. It does present a problem for the right though, what to do about the co-option.
Creative tension is a vital ingredient for good debate, however if one party or other is insincere or intends to subvert, the feeling pervades the discussion and no one feels satisfied. That’s what we are sensing here, I reckon. Taking the wide view of any commenter here is easy; just click on their name and look at their comment history; like Leunig’s duck, it’ll show you.
If the establishment right wants to do something about the alt-right, they could stop providing them with shelter and sustenance, and instead they installed a rat-fucking unit in the Prime Minister’s office.
Andre: how is it the alt-right is doing a better and more efficient job of propagandising than the alt-radical-left?
I also note that outlets like VOX were so pro-Clinton campaign in the last few months they didn’t see a Trump victory coming until it smacked them in the face on Nov 8.
Articles like this demonstrate that they are still going through the stages of grief.
This is a fine summing up of the farcical and frightening persecution of Assange; I was even more impressed this time than I was when I read it last year.
Congratulations Lynn! And thanks to you, Xanthe, for bringing it to our attention again.
Thanks Xanthe. Lynn puts a pretty clear case of Swedish abuse of legal system. If they can get away with that with Assange, how many others in Sweden are abused?
MPs call for student allowance tax loopholes to be closed
(essentially people now can hide all their money into trusts and now look poor for tax purposes and be entitled to payments for genuinely poor students). That is why I support taxes like Robin Hood taxes so that people can’t use tax avoidance! Saying that just because someone parents are rich does not guarantee them to support their adult children at university!
essentially people now can hide all their money into trusts and now look poor for tax purposes and be entitled to payments for genuinely poor students).
It’s been like that for a long time. It’s how the truly rich in NZ always have less income than the top tax bracket.
This has been known for a long time as well and so we can only conclude that it’s that way now so that rich people can continue to rip off the country.
RT: Washington Post article on “sophisticated propaganda campaign” damaging Clinton’s election gets mocked
The Washington Post was blasted on social media for its latest hit-piece claiming a “sophisticated [Russian] propaganda campaign” influenced the US presidential election. Citing a Cold War think tank and an anonymous ‘anti-propaganda’ group, the piece used the word ‘propaganda’ 20 times.
Trends
Viral
The article references “independent researchers” who determined that Russian state media, including RT and Sputnik, produced misleading articles online with the purpose of “punishing Hillary Clinton, helping Republican Donald Trump and undermining faith in American democracy”.
The Twitterati were quick to accuse the media outlet, acquired by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in 2013, of hypocrisy.
Old fashioned news outlet that still believes in fact-checking and corrections when they get it wrong reports on subversion of news by propaganda and fake-news outlets. Gets ripped by propaganda and fake-news outfits that happily spread outright lies.
Sure, you can keep getting your news from these “old fashioned news outlets” which you claim believe in fact checking and issuing corrections, but then don’t complain about the biased and unfair coverage of the NZ Herald and the Dom Post eh.
Meanwhile, a huge proportion of Americans (ten to one) reckoned these unbiased old fashioned news outlets were completely in the tank for a Hillary Clinton win.
Perhaps they too have all had their minds contaminated by sophisticated Russian propaganda?
The American public thinks the media wants Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to win by an almost 10-to-1 margin, according to a new poll.
The Suffolk University/USA Today poll released Friday asks, “Who do you think the media, including major newspapers and TV stations, would like to see elected president: Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?”
Of the 1,000 adults surveyed, 75.9 percent answered Clinton, while just 7.9 percent picked Trump, the Republican nominee. Just more than 16 percent of respondents chose either “neither” or “undecided.”
BTW those numbers are from a USA Today/Suffolk poll. Reported in The Hill. Are they part of the sophisticated Russian propaganda machine now too, Andre?
CV
Russia Today and Ivandjiiski are the source of your rebuttal to the claim that Russian propaganda had a role in the election of Trump? I’m sure that they are completely unbiased (I’ve only read your RT excerpt, but it seems weak that their main source is social media outrage). But, yeah; the Washington Post is not unbiased either.
(I’ve only read your RT excerpt, but it seems weak that their main source is social media outrage)
When top independent journalists like Glenn Greenwald and Max Blumenthal are also ripping into this WaPo story (yes ok it is via Twitter admittedly) it tells me that it’s not all smoke and mirrors.
It never ceases to amaze me how one-sided we so called ‘enlightened’ people are when it comes to Western propaganda. Why ? It has been proven wrong so many times. Try a bit of balance and look at both sides. So many on this site will only accept the West’s version, as if it is the gospel truth(not).
Not unlike the faux-intelligentsia pretending that they are somehow too enlightened and too educated to be influenced by marketing campaigns, commercial branding, advertising etc.
When it is plainly obvious to everyone that they fall for it as hard as or even harder than most.
I’ve said before that I don’t see the BBC as much different to RT or Al Jazeera in terms of propaganda. They are all superior to anything on our television stations anyway. The thing is that Western media is much easier to access because it is written in English (translation isn’t quite the same), with an understanding of the concerns of the audience. The major problem I see is the tendency of people to seek out information that confirms their prejudices, and have to actively remind myself to be suspicious whenever I find myself in agreement with an information source.
I’m not so big on the; “look at both sides” idea of balanced reporting. Because that implies that both sides are sincerely representing their positions, denying the possibility of one being disingenuous. However, certainly don’t just accept the viewpoint of any one source as true without seeking independent verification.
LMFAO !!! The excuses some media are using to justify Hillarys loss, and all these ‘russian propaganda tools’ lolooloz no mention of the ‘american propaganda tools’ like Fox News etc.
Tooo funny. Wikileaks for the win… dang imagine people knowing the truth and making an informed decision.
Betcha Pepe Escobar is on ‘the list’ love his work.
Was thinking of you, Rosemary, wow, brilliant piece. Wondered if Gower knows someone affected, he was very emotional, even red eyed after the story, Most humane I’ve ever seen him, ever, was blown away by his reaction.
The outgoing government has been exploiting the families of those with disabilities, and it’s shocking. Even going so far as to change the law to try and prevent them from taking action while littering the way with red tape and ridiculous questions.
When someone is required to care for a person with a disability they should be paid to do so. If that person is a family member, then they should be paid, fairly, just the same as someone contracted to the state to do so.
Paying a family caregiver fairly would enable a better quality of life for the person with the disability. It’s a messed up system. Apparently a huge breach of human rights.
Highly recommended viewing, really moving stories. Much love to them all
TC and Cinny…thank you both for your thoughts…but please…avoid the handwringing (yeah, I know, its Paddy’s usual state.) and tears.
It is not the impairment that disables… it is how society treats the person with the impairment.
And those New Zealanders with disabilities who have been assessed as having high and very high care needs and who are not supported by ACC are treated like shit. Family carers are in many cases the best and often the safest option for support….and we are treated like shit.
In case its not obvious…there’s a recurring theme here….
Cliff is right…the Ministry of Health are a bunch of bastards and my partner and I wrote a letter that was published in a special interest group’s magazine in 2009 anticipating that the Government would do what they did with the PHDAct(2) 2013…we said then they were a bunch of miserable bastards.
Cliff, and Dianne and Margaret (from The Nation piece) are taking a real punt by going public like they have. The Misery of Health has had disabled people paralysed and struck mute with fear of punitive measures for over a decade…the reason I will personally post and comment in my own name about the Ministry’s crimes is that they can take nothing further from my tetraplegic partner and myself.
Thanks TC. There were a few gaps in the Sunday piece, but overall, (Paddy’s tearful handwringing aside ;-)) it reiterates how purely malicious the Misery of Health is.
The Nation piece…apart from the ‘pity porn’ intro from the studio crew (oh why do they do that???)…was brilliant. Those staunch women…asking for nothing but for the Ministry to do the right thing ,and looking dead into the camera and telling the Ministry… WE WON”T BACK DOWN!!!
The politicolinguists here on The Standard should read the ‘Funded Family Care Notice’, published in the NZ Gazette.
Bear in mind that this document is aimed at the disabled person….Johnny, Marita, Shane and Paul, who are the employers of their parent carers.
My most quoted piece from this devil’s work is the Ministry of Health’s definition of “good faith”. (footnotes)
“11 Good faith generally means to discuss with each other any matter which affects the delivery of the disability support services in an open way so that all matters are “on the table”, to be active and constructive in establishing and maintaining a good relationship, being responsive, providing information, and not doing anything that might mislead or deceive each other.”
The last thing the Misery did throughout this whole saga…16 years and two Governments… was act in ‘good faith’. They lied, they misrepresented, they grossly exaggerated. They took our expectations that they would treat us….the disabled person and their chosen family carer…with respect and consideration, and yes, perhaps a tad of fucking compassion and humanity, and trampled all over them. We will NEVER trust the Ministry of Health ever again.
How about that for being “active and constructive in establishing and maintaining a good relationship,”?
“With the amount of car accidents taking place in this country, any one of us could end up in this position.”
The Chairman….the people lucky enough to become members of the disability community as a result of a car accident will be covered by ACC.
A crip of a completely different species.
A species with legislated entitlements to treatment, rehabilitation, equipment, home modifications and care and support in their own home. Unlike their non ACC cousins…none of these entitlements are means or asset tested. They are entitled to care, and hence are entitled to choose family as their paid carers. The Human Rights Review Tribunal heard that over 50% of funded care through ACC is paid to family.
For significant permanent injuries there are lump sum payments…sometimes well over the $100,000 mark, and then there is the 80% of their pre accident earnings….or a cost of living/projected earnings living allowance which makes for a more comfortable life than a non ACC crip battling WINZ for the Supported Living payment.
If anyone is interested….the Miserly of Health and ACC got together back in 2012 and conducted a study into Spinal Cord Impairment.
When one considers that research shows that the household income for an ACC spinal impaired person is twice that of the household income of a non ACC spinal impaired person 30 months post incident….the picture for non ACC spinal impaired is pretty grim.
One area that particularly interests me is cement production. At the moment, cement production burns a lot of fossil fuel for process heat. But that process heat could easily come from zero-carbon electricity. Cement production also releases CO2 during the calcination process, but the resulting concrete reabsorbs most of that CO2 over its lifecycle. So by changing the process heat to zero-carbon, and capturing the CO2 produced during calcination, concrete production could actually become a tool for removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
Only the max CO2 levels achieved in the next 10 to 20 years matters.
The fact that concrete may reabsorb most of the CO2 released in its manufacture over say 50 to 100 years is largely irrelevant for this reason: if that additional CO2 tips our world into unstoppable positive feedback loops in the mean time.
This is what happens when governments impose austerity:
The number of hospital beds in England taken up by patients being treated for malnutrition has almost trebled over the last 10 years, in what charities say shows the “genuinely shocking” extent of hunger and poor diet.
Official figures reveal that people with malnutrition accounted for 184,528 hospital bed days last year, a huge rise on 65,048 in 2006-07. The sharp increase is adding to the pressures on hospitals, which are already struggling with record levels of overcrowding.
Critics have said the upward trend is a result of rising poverty, deep cutbacks in recent years to meals on wheels services for the elderly and inadequate social care support, especially for older people.
We’re seeing similar increases in poverty and rises in poverty related diseases under this government and yet they still have the gall to say that they’re managing the economy well.
“He has no background at all in any political activities. Never held office, been interested in office. He has no known political positions,” says Chomsky. “He’s basically a showman.”
Chomsky, who has spent decades critiquing US presidents, calls Trump an “ignorant, thin-skinned megalomaniac” and a “greater evil” than Hillary Clinton.
“Do you vote against the greater evil if you don’t happen to like the other candidate? The answer to that is yes,” says Chomsky, on Americans who cast their votes for third party candidates or simply stayed home on election day.
“If you have any moral understanding, you want to keep the greater evil out,” says Chomsky. “I didn’t like Clinton at all, but her positions are much better than Trump’s on every issue I can think of.”
Jesus, I imagine you’d be pretty pissed off with Chomsky for this, joe90.
After all, haven’t you spent the last few months angrily denouncing all criticism of Hillary as nothing more than diabolical Far Right smears ? (whilst screwing your eyes tight shut and sticking your fingers firmly in your ears)
I think you, and several others here who shall remain nameless, are deliberately, misunderstanding the stance of those rooting for Clinton over Trump. It is exactly as Chomsky says – read it carefully
“Do you vote against the greater evil if you don’t happen to like the other candidate? The answer to that is yes,” says Chomsky, on Americans who cast their votes for third party candidates or simply stayed home on election day.
“If you have any moral understanding, you want to keep the greater evil out,” says Chomsky. “I didn’t like Clinton at all, but her positions are much better than Trump’s on every issue I can think of.”
So Chomsky is completely aligned with what Joe has been saying. You twist his words to maintain anything else.
And there was a very dirty campaign run against Clinton (whether you liked her or not). In my opinion the head of FBI has a great deal to answer. As has the head of SIS here in NZ wrt the 2011 elections.
yep Macro – sad to someone like sordy going down this road of misrepresentation.
It still amazes me the thinking that thinks, ‘oh they don’t like trump because of everything he says, does, and is, so they must love clinton because she is standing against trump, and they don’t like trump’.
No wonder the world is going to hell in a handbasket with that sort of finking in play.
(1) My comment was premised on the assumption that Chomsky’s Vote for the Lesser of Two Evils argument was pretty bloody self-evident. In other words, I took it as read that anyone reading my comment would have been fully aware of Chomsky’s broader stance. My point lay elsewhere.
(2) Despite your assertions to the contrary, a number of those “rooting for Clinton over Trump” here (including joe 90) have taken a remarkably naïve innocent abroad” approach, using the deeply unconvincing apologetics of prominent Clintonistas in the US MSM to paint Our Hillary as whiter than white on a regular basis. A long way from Chomsky’s Vote for the Lesser of Two Evils argument.
(3) I’ve always had a lot of time for joe 90 (particularly his good sense on Israel-Palestine), which is why his ingénue naivity surrounding (dyed-in-the-wool-AIPAC-girl) Hillary was so (a) perplexing and (b) disappointing.
“It still amazes me the thinking that thinks, ‘oh they don’t like trump because of everything he says, does, and is, so they must love clinton because she is standing against trump, and they don’t like trump’.”
Furthermore – to argue against injustice – no matter where it is perpetuated is IMHO the morally right thing to do, and there was a vast amount of false news and misinformation and wrongful accusations levelled as much against Clinton as there ever was against Trump.
joe 90 was one of a number of commenters here specifically suggesting that all critiques of Hillary were entirely false. A long way from Chomsky’s Vote for the Lesser of Two Evils argument.
I certainly noticed, however, the precise reverse of what you’re suggesting – those critical of Hillary’s uber-Hawkish, pro-Aipac, Wall St/Corporate-shilling record (not to mention her ex post-facto enabling of Bill’s rape/abuse) being casually smeared as Trump fans.
no you are wrong, joe90 did not do that at all and I’m sure he will come and tell you that himself.
No one, and I read a lot of those posts and comments, tried to excuse anything bill clinton did. Sure a couple of times the haters put up fake accusations and insinuations and often they were rebutted from snoopes or someone – they were rebutted because they were out and out lies.
Yep someone having an insecure mail server verses someone who is a misoginist prick and a threat to the free world and wants to pull out of the Paris protocol and put money into spacecraft rather than measuring climate change I would totally go for the misogynist, climate change denier any time …
The real questions are WHY hjc needed a private server outside of official oversight. WHY she deleted tens of thousands of emails from it after receiving a subpoena to preserve all evidence. And WHY she then lied to the FBI and Congress about her actions.
Clue: it probably wasn’t for the convenience of being able to print documents more easily.
As for misogynist racist Presidents of the USA, even if Trump was all those things (which he isn’t) the US has done fine with many such Presidents before.
Re: climate change, Trump’s position on this is worse than Clinton’s but not materially so in terms of CO2 ppm outcomes.
In terms of being a “threat to the free world” – well, he is a change agent with regards to the existing Anglo-US global military imperial order. But that’s not the same thing.
And here’s a dose of reality for the Democratic Party in the USA. Under Barack Obama they have lost hundreds of elected legislators. They have lost 10 US Senators. They control outright only 7 states out of 50 in terms of state houses, senates and governors.
The Republicans control 26 states outright.
And shortly, the Supreme Court is going to get another conservative justice who will probably serve on the bench for the next 25 years.
Perhaps one day Democrats will learn that prioritising identity politics, political correct languaging and labelling people racists, misogynists, bigots and xenophobes has done nothing more than lead them to a near total nationwide political collapse.
1) Neither Clinton nor Trump nor Obama were (are) going to do anything effective about minimising climate change.
2) Yes there has been some pretty ghastly manipulation of electorate boundaries. Nevertheless the underlying mood can be identified by those elected officials where gerrymandering is not a factor. Republicans hold 31 state governorships and Democrats just 18. That’s 10 states down from when Obama took office.
And the Republicans still hold the balance of power in the Senate. Those positions aren’t as susceptible to gerrymandering.
BTW here is a good summary of the Democratic elected officials hemorrhaging under Obama. Around a thousand democratic legislators toast.
You can blame this mostly on “gerrymandering” or you can blame it mostly on the Democrats out of touch and in steep decline. I reckon the latter.
Then question why Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court was not voted on. If you think it is fair then I suggest you go back to basics.
Of course it was totally, utterly unfair. But it was also an absolutely brilliant political move by Mitch McConnell Republican senate leader. One that the Democrats had no reply to.
And because of this move, the Republicans may be able to confirm ~two Supreme Court positions during Trump’s first term, changing the balance of the Supreme Court for an entire generation.
Now figure this – Barack Obama remains one of the most popular 2 term presidents ever, at the end of his second term. But the states have decided that they now want something completely different to him.
riiight so the fake progressives should have backed an actual left wing progressive candidate? Would they still be fake if they did that? Oh the humanity!!!
You bubbling on about what lefties and so forth should do is hilarious. Your man is in – roll in that shit and rejoice!
Come on now, boys—play nicely. I think we can all agree that Hillary is awful, and Trump is awful. It’s silly to squabble over which is worse, when the real problem is: WHY THE HELL WAS HILLARY CLINTON THE CANDIDATE INSTEAD OF THE FAR MORE POPULAR, AND DECENT, BERNIE SANDERS?
“Who cares?” Well, you should—and so should anyone who was disturbed by the Democratic establishment’s dirty tricks.
Sadly for them, no one bought their nonsense about the Russians backing Trump. And, judging by their shrill but utterly unconvincing repetition of the smear, they obviously didn’t believe it themselves.
Do you not have even the slightest quiver of anxiety that Trump surrounds himself with his kins folk even at such important international meetings as the meeting with the Japanese PM? (His daughter Ivanka attended) That he involves his son-in-law in much of his decision making? Or that Kushner may end up with a role in the White House?
” A source close to Kushner told NBC News late Wednesday that he was considering whether to serve in the White House in a role along the lines of a special adviser or special counsel after being approached by Trump’s Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Chief Strategist Steve Bannon.”
This, even after the US amended the consitution following JFK’s appointment of his brother Robert as Attorney General? The nepotism law has a purpose – and that is to stop the formation of Dynastic tyranny. Trump, apparently, has no such qualms about such matters.
Says a bunch of precious Clinton Preferrers who for so long appeared to have absolutely no issue with Hillary Clinton following on from Bill Clinton into the West Wing to continue on a Clinton dynasty.
I don’t believe that I ever said that I had any dynastic problem with the Clintons. My main problem with her following on from Bill Clinton’s foot steps is that she would bring a known sexual predator back into the White House.
I think a few lefties had issues with that.
Did you or Macro ever say that there was a serious problem with having a Clinton political dynasty? I don’t think so but am happy to be corrected.
So you don’t/didn’t have dynastic issues with clinton – really. I’m surprised by that.
Personally the bush’s, the clinton’s, the Obama’s, the trump’s and any dynastic family presidential revolving door is not a great thing imo – but I cannot say I ever said it so – I did think that Michelle Obama would be great at the top but not because she was an Obama, more rather I think she is smart and effective and likeable.
She is suposedly to run her fathers company. And sits in on affairs of state between foreign countries. Had she done that when Trump is President you can expect an impeachment order the next day!
Norman Eisen, Chief Ethics Counsel for Barack Obama, views the current situation as dire. If Trump is permitted to be sworn in as president without selling his companies, he says, the country is facing a “wholesale oligarchic kleptocracy of a kind that we have never seen before in our history.”
Article 9 of the US constitution states:
No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.
This provision was specifically created to prevent the President, most of all, from being corrupted by foreign influences
The only thing that would have helped the US and the world in this was if every single democrat and worker voted Jill Stein. If you wanted the lesser evil, there it was. Clinton sure as hell wasn’t it.
Still, the increased speed of collapse of the US with Trump and his lot in charge will probably bring about some good even if it’s going to take longer.
more people suffering and dying earlier as their society splinters as the ‘increased speed of collapse’ occurs.
What about the environment? A speedy collapse is certain death to many species as exploitative destruction of the land and water and air intensifies as desperation bites hard.
I personally don’t know Noam Chomsky but I hazard a guess that it is not the pursuit of happiness that drives him.
Many talented & gifted people and tortured souls have created and delivered their best when they were not exactly in a ‘happy place’.
The ones that say they are “relaxed and comfortable” are the ones to watch; they try to lull you into a false slumber of relative comfort and privilege AKA “happiness” and almost without exception manipulate perceptions to maintain status quo. They create nothing, they remove the “creative tension” [thank you Robert Guyton], i.e. the spark and driver of human behaviour and creativity. They are suffocating.
Countries slashing their donations to Clinton Foundation
All happening now that Hillary Clinton won’t be in the White House. Coincidence? Zero Hedge (warning – fake news lol!) reports:
For months we’ve been told that the Clinton Foundation, and it’s various subsidiaries, were simple, innocent “charitable” organizations, despite the mountain of WikiLeaks evidence suggesting rampant pay-to-play scandals surrounding a uranium deal with Russia and earthquake recovery efforts in Haiti, among others.
Well, if that is, in fact, true perhaps the Clintons could explain why wealthy foreign governments, like Australia and Norway, are suddenly slashing their contributions just as Hillary’s schedule has been freed up to focus exclusively on her charity work. Surely, these foreign governments weren’t just contributing to the Clinton Foundation in hopes of currying favor with the future President of the United States, were they?
I imagine the imminent auditing and investigation of the organization, despite assurances to the contrary, has something to do with the donor dry-up too. At least Clinton structured her (alleged/ probable) corruption so that it was legally plausible as a charity. Trump is so far refusing to do even that much:
“the founders did not want any foreign payments to the president. Period.” This principle is enshrined in Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution, which bars office holders from accepting “any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.”… Trump’s businesses, foreign and domestic, “are receiving a stream of such payments.” A prime example is Trump’s new hotel in Washington DC which, according to Eisen, is “actively seeking emoluments to Trump: payments from foreign governments for use of the hotel.”…
This problem will be repeated “over and over” again with Trump’s other properties and business interests. The only way to cure this Constitutional violation is for Trump to sell his companies and set up a blind trust before he takes office… Thus far, Trump has not shown a willingness to do anything. Trump told the New York Times that he is under no obligation to set up a trust and he “could run my business perfectly, and then run the country perfectly.” Instead, he plans on having his adult children run the company while he retains ownership.
Trump told a room full of reporters that “the law is totally on my side, meaning, the president can’t have a conflict of interest.”…
Meanwhile, Trump has already sought to leverage the office of the presidency to pressure foreign governments to take actions that would improve his bottom line. Trump admitted that he asked a group of British politicians to kill a proposed wind farm he believed would mar the views at a golf course he owns in Scotland. He reportedly asked the president of Argentina to approve permits for a high-rise in Buenos Aires. (Trump denied the allegation, although his local partner announced the project was moving forward the next day.) Trump has also had his daughter Ivanka, who is supposedly managing his day-to-day business interests, sit in on meetings with heads of state.
Eisen views the current situation as dire. If Trump is permitted to be sworn in as president without selling his companies, he says, the country is facing a “wholesale oligarchic kleptocracy of a kind that we have never seen before in our history.”
“In the small town of Riverton and the bottom of New Zealand’s South Island is Robert and Robyn Guyton’s amazing 23-year-old food forest. The two-acre property has been transformed from a neglected piece of land into a thriving ecosystem.
Living the Change
This film was made as part of our Living the Change series. For this series we’re traveling around New Zealand making short documentary films about permaculture farms, tiny houses, and sustainable living.”
Ha! It’s a great little film, I reckon; the Happen Films people were lovely and their work awesome. The drone footage is cool too, and the music they chose as background, excellent. I’m pleased you enjoyed it, marty. The film went online last night and is attracting a lot of positive attention.
I was reading our local (community) paper this week too Robert (and I’m up in the north island), and a familiar name appeared with a whole half page on gardening. I thought to myself what is going on here, is Mr Guyton trying to take over the world or something! But seriously, it was very refreshing to see, I just hope fairfax who I think owns the local rag is paying you.
While dressed to help struggling tenants, this will help provide landlords with some security that tenants will be able to sustain further rent increases going forward.
And of course while dressed to help struggling families, increasing Working for Families entitlements will reduce wage pressure on employers.
The question is, will voters vote for the extra funding?
Interesting that John Key mentions fairness as a consideration.
The problem with Working for Families and the accommodation supplement is that they are not a given [no pun]; people have to apply for these and meet (strict) criteria. Would these “tweaks” reach all people, would they reach the people that need it the most?
In any case, this Government has not changed its dogmatic stance on surpluses, debt reduction, and debt relative to GDP.
IMO the simplest, fairest, and very effective thing to do would be to lower GST back to 12.5%. In addition, the minimum hourly wage could be increased above and beyond CPI and the living wage could be more encouraged for public servants, for example.
Mentioning fairness as a consideration is all part of the sales pitch.
And yes, it will be limited to those that can meet the set criteria.
As GST is a harder tax to avoid, it has its positives. But it does impact upon lower income earners harder. Perhaps an exemption can be made, say through the use of community cards and gold cards or something similar?
Hi, mauī, yes, world domination is my aim 🙂 I’ve no complaints about Fairfax, as they recompense me generously for my efforts, such as they are. The sharing of my writing across the local papers is a bonus, as far as I’m concerned, as it’s the message that’s important, in my view.
Ah cool, yeah go global, don’t believe what they say about this globalism thing being in trouble.. haha. I shall be giving the gardening page a second glance from now on!
Does Leggat not comprehend that it was his Labourness which got him his success in Porirua – the only success he’s ever known. Now that he’s ditched Labour and all the constituents who trusted him he’s known nothing but failure.
People who are aligned to the Labour cause actually genuinely take action about improving housing, about lifting incomes, about making sure that schools are properly funded, and our hospitals are properly funded.
“What they don’t do is go around looking for those on the highest incomes to back them – to challenge whoever because that’s all they want. Labour people, passionate Labour in their heart – they stick with Labour, they campaign on Labour issues, and for the Labour Party. Nick’s not one of those people.”
Bang on Andrew Little. You can add the names of Phil Quin and Josie Pagani. None of them lifted a practical finger for Labour except when they once aspired to be the personal beneficiaries.
+1 Anne, totally agree, and what was that BS in the Newshub article that said: “Mr Leggett had previously been tipped as a future leader of the party”
When was that? Never heard of that before, have you?
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Dave HeatleyZero community transmission. Just a handful of active cases, all in quarantine. New Zealand is in an attractive situation, at least compared to much of the world. The situation could be robust and enduring – or it might be fragile, just one border incursion away from a “second ...
Is the consequence of the Simpson Report proposals for restructuring the health system poorer accountability to people? When in doubt, centralise‘ has been a persistent theme in New Zealand public policy throughout our history. The current government is no exception. Here are some examples. - The regional polytechs have been ...
I wrote earlier in the week about the Scientology front organisations Drug Free World and Drug Free Ambassadors and their quite prominent role in anti-cannabis reform "coalition" assembled by Family First and a newloca branch of the American prohibitionist organisation SAM.It turns out Family First aren't the only ones helping ...
Nik GreenMuch of the public debate about the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has focused on the extent to which government regulations have restricted personal and business activity.Oxford University Blavatnik School of Government Here in New Zealand, the question of when to change Alert Levels dominated the ...
Raising The Bar: Would that the Prime Minister and her colleagues would listen as intently to what the people – as opposed to the power elites – are saying as the Greens. Were they so disposed, the popular clamour for a transformational post-Covid reset would be loud in their ears. ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzDo you think the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown will slow or ...
A bit like a letter home. I have now been full-time at the University of Melbourne since 2019. Before that, I was 20 years at the University of Otago, Wellington. Indeed, I set up this very Public Health Expert Blog with Nick Wilson ten years ago. Now I am your ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections House Democrats have released a comprehensive report showing how – if they control the White House and both the Senate and the House of Representatives – they might move forward on climate change. Their “Climate Crisis Action Plan,” released June 30 by the ...
Not Ready: Todd Muller’s lack-lustre and self-contradictory performances offer conclusive proof that a political leader cannot be managed into competence. National’s new boss has Janet Wilson handling his media and Matthew Hooton writing his speeches. Both are highly professional political and public relations specialists, and Muller is lucky to have ...
Unfortunately, due to a medical emergency, I have landed in hospital so am not able to do a current update on the NZ blog statistics. Let’s hope I can get back to this in good time. ...
It started as a family story, about a step-father who went out one night to break into an embassy in Wadestown, Wellington. John Daniell wanted to understand what his family had been part of when his mother and then step-father work for New Zealand’s Security Intelligence. He wanted to know ...
The Greens have shaken up the election campaign with the announcement of their radical poverty and action plan to reform welfare provision and introduce a new wealth tax for millionaires. It’s a big-thinking, controversial policy and has generated a lot of disagreement over how radical it is, whether it could ...
My house is currently supplied electricity by Meridian. As soon as I can change I will because Meridian spilled water to hike electricity prices. They got consumers to spend an extra $80 million on power unnecessarily. Clever them. The Electricity Authority has called their behaviour an “undesirable trading situation”, or ...
When Jacinda Ardern unexpectedly became the Labour Party leader shortly before the 2017 general election, she promised to lead a government of transformation. After nearly three years occupying the Treasury benches, health professionals working in public hospitals have been keenly waiting for transformational progress, including in the capacity and quality ...
Last night, One News ran a follow-up story to its Colmar Brunton poll results on the cannabis referendum, headed here as Government accuses big American anti-cannabis group of interfering in NZ politics.In truth it wasn't just the government: Justice minister Andrew Little, National's Shane Reti and the Greens' Chloe Swarbrick ...
When the government refused to put cameras on fishing boats to ensure fishers obeyed the law, Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash claimed that coalition partner NZ First (which has received large donations from the fishing industry) was not responsible for the decision. He has repeated that claim repeatedly since then. But ...
Heroic Evasions: Labour needs to be unequivocal in its communications with the electorate. Either it has a plan to prevent their fellow New Zealanders from falling off the economic cliff, or it doesn’t. Either it has a fiscal policy equal to the task of funding that plan, or it hasn’t. ...
Prof John Potter*Elimination has been an effective strategy for New Zealand in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic virus (SARS-CoV-2). Most other countries have not pursued this goal and are ignoring the opportunity even now. SARS-CoV-2 is not manageable by the influenza playbook; its longer incubation period makes tracing ...
This is a re-post from Weather Underground by Bob HensonAbove: This rainbow appears unusually low in the sky because it has formed early in the afternoon, rather than toward sunset. For a rainbow to form, water droplets must be present in the air in front of an observer ...
On Monday, Todd Muller gave an important speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, He spoke firmly about his belief in the need for foreign investment, for the public sector to partner with the private sector rather than boss it around and, crucially, demanded the government deliver a clear strategy ...
Todd Muller's first act on become party leader was to appoint an all-white front bench. This understandably raised eyebrows, so he is now apparently reconsidering caucus and list rankings. Which is obviously necessary, but there's still the underlying problem: National doesn't have a lot of Māori MP's. And the reason ...
Meridian energy has been caught manipulating the electricity market for fun and profit: Meridian Energy pushed up power prices by unnecessary spilling water from its south dams in December that could have been used for generation, the Electricity Authority has ruled in a preliminary decision. The authority said the ...
When the Christchurch murderer pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder and a number of other violent assault charges a few months ago, he effectively closed the door on what the public will know about the lead up to and commission of the event. His plea means that no evidence ...
Daphna Whitmore The Philippines is enduring one of the longest lockdowns in the world. For President Duterte the lockdown provides an opportunity to garner more powers and to push through a brazen assault on human rights. A new law called the Anti-Terror Bill has been passed under urgency and it ...
Hearing the Prime Minister castigate the Warehouse for laying off 1,000 workers after receiving $52 million in wage subsidies reminds me of the fabled frog who agreed to carry a scorpion across a river. The scorpion stings the frog halfway across, dooming both to drown. The frog cries “Why on ...
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Prof Michael BakerCompared with other OECD countries NZ is a stand-out success story by ending community transmission of COVID-19. While there have been some well-publicised recent deficiencies (eg, quarantine organisation), there has still been no evidence of community transmission for many weeks. Nevertheless, ...
It’s June 30th, marked as Asteroid Day by many people of an astronomical bent around the globe. On this date in 1908, early in the morning in a remote part of central Siberia, the sky fell in. Well, not literally. What happened is a substantially-sized lump of cosmic detritus ...
There really is not much about Paula Bennett concerning her career trajectory, the policies she promoted, and most importantly, the socio-economic effect this had upon New Zealand (and particularly the most vulnerable in this, our oft-cited “egalitarian” society of this country) that can be said now that hasn’t already been ...
Don Franks Poverty, inequality – really – aren’t politicians paid to sort that stuff ? Why can’t they just get it together and come up with something fair and sensible? A cold rainy 2020 morning, a headline showed promise. “Green Party’s $8b plan would guarantee an income of $325 a ...
A guest repost by Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF) staff attorney Augusta Wilson. Fundraising is not the objective of this article but readers may wish to know that CSLDF is currently conducting a summer fundraiser to support defense of research scientists and research integrity from anti-science interference by politicians and industrial interests. The COVID-19 pandemic ...
Helloy… My name is Todd Muller and I am the leader of the National Party of New Zealand. Many people come up to me on the street and ask me who I am. I’m often walking through Tauranga, or in a mall in suburban Auckland, or maybe even a farmers’ ...
The US state of Mississippi has finally voted to remove the Confederate emblem from its state flag. Good. Its appalling that it was put there in the first place, but even more appalling that it took so long to remove it. Its basicly as if a German Länder still had ...
No one could have predicted when David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill was passed by Parliament last November that the referendum required to bring the legislation into force would be held against the backdrop of a deadly global pandemic. Since then, the mounting tally of casualties around the world ...
Paul GoldsmithYou can often tell just how effective a progressive policy proposal will be by how much the right wing criticise it. The more socially beneficial, the more vitriolic and unhinged they seem to become.That was the case when the Green Party announced their Poverty Action Plan yesterday. The response ...
Back at the beginning of April, when we had much else on our minds, I wrote this post urging some caution in interpreting the results of the latest Horizon poll, conducted in February, on voting intentions in this year's cannabis referendum, which was paid for by Helius Therapeutics.I wrote that ...
Over the weekend the Greens made their first election policy announcement, and promised transformational change: a more progressive tax system, with new rates applying to incomes of $100,000 and $150,000; a new wealth tax on net wealth over $1 million; and a guaranteed minimum income to eliminate poverty. Its bold, ...
Story of the Week... El Niño/La Niña Update... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Global Warming Is Melting Our Sense of Time Satellite image of smoke from active fires burning near the ...
. . Plague town? There are two things right now in Aotearoa New Zealand that are guaranteed to piss people off. Firstly, it’s National playing silly-bugger politics with the covid-19 pandemic. This cost Simon Bridges his job as National’s Leader. Lately, Michael Woodhouse has been playing fast and loose with ...
Tertiary fees in New Zealand versus Australia: Fees Are Important, but not as Important as Financing In Australia, the Education Minister Dan Tehan has proposed an overhaul of the existing higher education funding system to offer 39,000 additional study places by 2023 and 100,000 by 2030. The proposal has been ...
The latest opinion poll forecasts a landslide win by Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party, but when taken alongside other polling, it illustrates New Zealand politics remains volatile and the contest is still very open. According to the Colmar Brunton poll published by TVNZ last night, Labour would easily romp back ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, June 21 through Sat, June 27, 2020Editor's ChoiceFacebook creates fact-checking exemption for climate deniers Facebook is "aiding and abetting the spread of climate misinformation,” said Robert Brulle, an ...
The images and reports delivered to us by the world’s media leave us in no doubt that the rest of the world is still in the grip of a coronavirus pandemic that shows no signs of slackening, but is actually uncontrolled and picking up pace in many countries; and even ...
Minister of Health - David ClarkIf you follow politics at all in New Zealand, David Clark is likely a name you’re a bit familiar with. The current Minister of Health is perhaps the most disliked Member of Parliament at the moment, which amongst very stiff competition is really saying something. ...
SATURDAY JUNE 27Banksy and the Rise of Outlaw Art (Sky Arts, Sky 017, 8.00pm). There was graffiti before Banksy, but perhaps his pungent political messages hit home a bit harder. Anyways, a doco about his influence on street art featuring a bunch of cool people.SUNDAY JUNE 28Beat the Chasers (TVNZ 1, ...
SUNDAY JUNE 28Beat the Chasers (TVNZ 1, 8.30pm). Judging by the tweets, which is probably a bad idea, over lockdown, all of New Zealand found itself in front of The Chase every night at 5pm. It is a brilliant fomat: hardly anyone wins any money ...
We have been assailed by Fox News-style headlines, lurid stories of “a breach!”. An almost nuclear level disaster on the horizon scream, “Fiasco!” here, “Hero to Zero!” there… Oh quick, panic everyone!This has fueled an unbelievably stupid environment of panic among some, and spurred useless, counterproductive political ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters A massive dust storm formed over the Sahara Desert last week and invaded the Caribbean over the June 20-21 weekend, bringing dangerous levels of air pollution and low visibility to the islands. The dust is accompanied by a large amount ...
Will the Covid Crisis lead to a dramatic redirection for New Zealand and the World? A hinge in history occurs where the past and present are connected but they point in different directions. Big hinges are rare but crucial in the development of humankind. Not in Narrow Seas identifies six. ...
RNZ reports that Refining NZ is considering shutting down Marsden Point and effectively turning itself into a fuel distribution service. The problem they're immediately trying to address is that running a refinery is expensive, and it is cheaper just to import processed fuel. But there's a longer-term problem too: climate ...
We all know that the COVID-19 virus is a terrible infectious disease that has already caused untold misery and numerous deaths around the world. Nearly half a million people have already died, and those are just the cases we know about.But how bad could things actually get exactly?Today, the NZ ...
This essay by Alex Hochuli examines the global phenomena of BLM protests . He is a freelance writer and research consultant based in São Paulo, Brazil. He is the co-host of the global politics podcast, Aufhebunga Bunga, and co-author of the forthcoming Politics at the End of the End of History (Zero ...
Are You Still Here? Just like his colleague, Phil Twyford – of KiwiBuild fame – David Clark juts out his chin and shamelessly apportions blame to everybody but himself. Even worse, he has turned viciously on Ashley Bloomfield, the nearest approximation to a competent, decent, humble and accountable public servant ...
. . 20 June The bad news: Aotearoa New Zealand has two new cases of covid-19. The good news: the two cases were picked up at an Auckland quarantine facility. The terrifying news: had the story of the two women leaving quarantine without testing not broken four days ...
Willing Victims: What would all those Americans in MAGA hats be left with if they abandoned Trump? Just the sick feeling of having been cheated. Just the knowledge that the man in the White House is nothing more than a shape-shifting New York grifter; and that they have always been ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Like an earthquake rumbling down the San Andreas Fault, Jeff Gibbs’ and Michael Moore’s controversial film “Planet of the Humans” tore a rift through the environmental movement, a rift its leaders would not yearn for in an election year. After activists have spent ...
There have been a number of articles written about the voting in the final statges of the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill, during which National MPs voted alongside the Green Party to force a change that would prevent the removal of sentenced prisoners from the Electoral Roll. You can ...
Last night should have been a cause for muted celebration in Parliament. The Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Bill’s final passage through the House partially erases a stain on New Zealand’s democratic system. It’s a drum I’ve been beatingfor thepast decade, but denying all sentenced prisoners the right to vote is a ...
Jordan WilliamsIt’s pretty obvious to all and sundry that the Taxpayers Union, run by Jordan Williams, isn’t really a union at all. Instead it’s a small lobby group for privileged white folk, namely the old fools behind the scenes of the corrupt and largely defunct Act Party.With an incorrectly attributed ...
Last year, I highlighted a secrecy problem with the government's Infrastructure Funding and Financing Bill. The Bill would establish a new class of public entity, "special purpose vehicles", to hide debt from local government balance sheets fund infrastructure such as roads and sewers in "high-growth" councils. The SPVs would collect ...
Both the leader of the opposition Todd Muller and University of Auckland Professor Des Gorman have gone on the record as saying they suspect Covid-19 is spreading in the community in New Zealand once again. Let me explain why I don’t agree with them. As best I can tell there ...
By Geoffrey Miller A former MP and Associate Minister of Defence says that New Zealand’s Covid-19 border and quarantine issues illustrate why a new dedicated national security agency is needed. Heather Roy, a former deputy leader of the Act Party who held the associate defence portfolio from 2008-10, told the ...
Annual fishing report It's been about a year since we swapped out the Research News deckhand. It seems longer— particularly the past 4 months— and not because of this particular work. Over the course of the year somewhere in the neighborhood of 17,500 articles have been caught in our net, ...
This article on Feminist Current by Meghan Murphy looks at the Karen/Becky meme and argues it has officially gone too far The male centered progressive left has successfully made woman-hating trendy. Today, yet another “Karen” video went viral online. This time, it seems a woman flipped off a male driver, ...
Over the past few weeks, there's been a lot of attention on the question of why American police are so violent, and so often murder people. There are a pile of reasons for this, including the racist roots of their entire policing system, but part of the answer seems to ...
This week we moved into the second half of 2020 - and our Government delivered another week of big changes and major progress for New Zealanders. Read below for a wrap of the key things moments from the week - from extending paid parental leave, to making major investments in ...
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson is calling for the introduction of a Guaranteed Minimum Income to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and prevent more families entering into further debt with the Ministry of Social Development. ...
There has been renewed focus on New Zealand First acting as a handbrake on the Government after our decision to not support Auckland light rail. We are a handbrake for bad ideas, that istrue, but our track record since 2017 has seen New Zealand First constructively also serve as an ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP New Zealand First’s Fair Residency for Superannuation Bill passed its First Reading in Parliament today. The Bill makes a significant change to NZ Super by raising the minimum residency requirement from 10 to 20 years, after age 20. “Currently, a migrant of ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill in the name of Darroch Ball introducing a six-month minimum prison sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its second reading in Parliament. The new offence of "injuring a first responder or corrections officer with ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Deputy Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the launch of the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, gifted with the name from Waikato-Tainui - Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, announced in Hamilton today by Justice Minister Andrew Little. “New Zealand First has long believed in and ...
The Green Party is celebrating over $800m in new funding for green projects, which will get people into jobs while solving New Zealand’s long-term challenges. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is appalled that Meridian seems to have been unnecessarily spilling water from its dams to drive up its profits."While New Zealanders have been coming together in some of our darkest hours, we don’t expect power gentailers to waste water and ...
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has welcomed the appointment of Maurice Davis and his deep infrastructure and construction experience to the board of the Infrastructure Commission. Mr Davis (Ngāti Maniapoto), is the seventh and final appointment to the board led by former Reserve Bank Governor ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand’s click bait journalism is taking a turn for the worse, with yet another example of sensationalist, wilful-misrepresentation of the facts. “New Zealand First has worked constructively with its Coalition partner on hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy, and ...
The Green Party is today unveiling its Poverty Action Plan, which includes a Guaranteed Minimum Income to ensure people have enough to live with dignity. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Rotorua Museum redevelopment and Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forest projects will be accelerated thanks to a $2.09 million Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) boost, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
This week, we rolled out the next steps of our recovery plan, with new infrastructure investment, extra support for tourism operators, and a new programme to get Kiwis into agriculture careers. The global economic consequences of COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge, but we have a detailed plan to ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its final reading in Parliament today fulfilling a coalition agreement commitment. “This is an important step in saving the lives of New Zealanders and delivers a key coalition commitment ...
Whakatāne has been given a $2.5 million boost to speed up previously funded projects and create more than 450 jobs in the next decade. Of those, the equivalent of 160 full-time jobs could be delivered in the next six weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is in town to make ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $2.5 million to accelerate three infrastructure projects in Whakatāne, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “This package is about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is throwing his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River. And he's coming out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign. "It is my ...
The Green Party is thrilled to see changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that mean consents for large projects can be declined if they will have significant climate change implications that are inconsistent with the Zero Carbon Act and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Paris Agreement obligations. ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence The Royal New Zealand Navy’s new ship, Aotearoa, set sail for New Zealand on 10 June from the Republic of Korea, and is due to arrive in Auckland tomorrow, announced Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “Aotearoa is the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new fleet ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Racing Racing Minister Winston Peters has today welcomed the Racing Industry Bill passing its third reading, creating the legislative framework for revitalising the racing industry while limiting the need for future government intervention. “For too long our domestic racing industry has ...
The Green Party has today put forward an amendment to the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill to ensure all people in prisons can vote in general elections. ...
The Green Party welcomes the decision to not proceed with Public Public Investment (PPI) delivery of Auckland’s light rail project and to instead run the process through the public service. ...
Hon Ron Mark, New Zealand First List MP based in the Wairarapa New Zealand First List MP Hon Ron Mark welcomes the announcement of Provincial Growth Funding investment of $1.4 million to help secure the Wairarapa’s water supply. The funding boost will allow the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC), and ...
New Zealand First list MP Mark Patterson has been selected to represent the party in the newly formed Taieri electorate at the upcoming election. Mr Patterson, his wife Jude and two daughters farm sheep and beef at Lawrence and Waitahuna. He previously stood in the Clutha-Southland electorate however boundary changes ...
Hon Shane Jones, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises A new ‘super depot’ to be built for NZ Post in Wellington will create around 350 jobs during construction, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises Shane Jones says. Shane Jones today attended a ground-breaking and blessing ceremony for the parcel-processing depot ...
Our strong economic management prior to COVID-19 - with surpluses, low debt and near-record-low unemployment - put us in a good position to weather the impact of the virus and start to rebuild our economy much earlier than many other countries.Now we're putting our plan to recover and rebuild ...
Darroch Ball MP, New Zealand First Spokesperson for Law and Order Recently released Police fleeing driver statistics have shown yet another increase in incidents with another record-high in the latest quarter. “This new quarterly record-high is the latest in a string of record-high numbers since 2014. The data shows incidents ...
New Zealand First MP Fletcher Tabuteau is pleased to be confirmed today as the party’s candidate for the Rotorua electorate. Speaking at the Rotorua AGM for New Zealand First, Mr Tabuteau said this is an election that is incredibly important for the people of Rotorua. “The founding principles of New ...
The Human Rights Commission’s PRISM report on the issues impacting people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) provides an excellent programme of work for future governments to follow, say the Greens. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said the trans-Tasman bubble had not been jeopardised after aborder botch-upresulted in New Zealand having two active cases of COVID-19. On Friday, Mr Peters told RNZ's Morning Report he had heard from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison that borders for trans-Tasman travel would open by ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said today he was pleased the army was now running the quarantine and isolation process - up until now it has been the Ministry of Health. Peters told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking that the army knew how to introduce and follow protocols and instil discipline. ...
Hon Ron Mark, New Zealand First List MP based in the Wairarapa New Zealand First MP and Minister for Defence and Veteran’s Affairs Ron Mark has confirmed his bid for the Wairarapa seat.“The Coalition Government has done a lot of good work throughout the Wairarapa, but many constituents have told ...
New Zealand First is pleased to release the names of its next tranche of candidates for the 2020 election. We’re proud to announce these hardworking New Zealanders that have put their hand up to fight for a commonsense and resilient future.Jamie Arbuckle – Kaikoura Mark Arneil – Christchurch Central Jackie ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence A massive joint effort between New Zealand Government agencies, employers, and the Vanuatu Government is underway to repatriate over 1000 Vanuatu nationals stranded in New Zealand, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Ron ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development Reprioritised funding of $40 million from the Provincial Growth Fund will support up to 1000 regional apprenticeships, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones said today. The Regional Apprenticeship Initiative is part of the wider Apprenticeship Boost announced by Education Minister Chris Hipkins ...
The Green Party welcomes the ACC’s announcement to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 but emphasises the need to go further, and faster to truly meet the climate change challenge. ...
Farmers are rejoicing after Labour agreed to an amendment pushed by New Zealand First in the firearms bill that will allow the use of restricted guns for pest control. Concessions on gun control mean farmers will be able to apply for a licence to use restricted firearms for pest control. ...
A new programme, which sets a firm course for the Building and Construction sector to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has been announced by the Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa. “A significant amount of New Zealand’s carbon emissions come from the building and construction sector. If we’re serious ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing more than $7.5 million in Northland ventures to combat the economic impact of the COVID-19 virus, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) investment is going to the Northern Adventure Experience and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Education Minister Chris Hipkins today announced significant funding for Auckland’s Northcote College as part of the first wave of a new nationwide school redevelopment programme to upgrade schools over the next 10 years. The $48.5 million project brings the total investment in Northcote College to ...
The Government has opened an urgent response fund to support schools and early learning services to get children and young people back on track after the Covid-19 lockdown. “While we are seeing improvements in attendance under Alert Level 1 Ministry of Education data shows that attendance rates in our schools ...
The law to boost the economic recovery from the impact of COVID-19 by speeding up resource consenting on selected projects has passed its second and third readings in the House today. “Accelerating nationwide projects and activities by government, iwi and the private sector will help deliver faster economic recovery and ...
Five port-related projects in Whanganui will receive a $26.75 million Provincial Growth Fund investment to support local economic recovery and create new opportunities for growth, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This is a significant investment that will support the redevelopment of the Whanganui Port, a project governed ...
Whanganui’s Sarjeant Gallery will receive an investment of up to $12 million administered by the Provincial Growth Fund to support its redevelopment, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. The project is included in a $3 billion infrastructure pipeline announced by Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Shane Jones yesterday. ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing nearly $2.5 million into three Te Ara Mahi programmes to support Manawatū-Whanganui jobseekers and employees to quickly train and upskill, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Up to 154 local people will be supported into employment within the first year by these ...
This morning I have formally tendered my resignation as Minister of Health, which was accepted by the Prime Minister. Serving as Minister of Health has been an absolute privilege – particularly through these extraordinary last few months. It’s no secret that Health is a challenging portfolio. I have given ...
Scholarships for 57 early-career agricultural emissions scientists from 20 developing countries is another example of New Zealand’s international leadership in primary sector sustainability, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. Mr O’Connor, announcing the scholarships today, says hundreds of applications were received for this fourth round of the CLIFF-GRADS programme (Climate, Food ...
A project to help rejuvenate the Horowhenua town of Foxton will receive a Provincial Growth Fund investment of $3.86 million, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This funding for the Foxton Regeneration project will be used to make the well-known holiday town even more attractive for visitors and ...
Moa bones and other sub-fossil remains of extinct species are set to have improved protection with proposals to prevent the trade in extinct species announced the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today. “We have lost too many of our native species, but these lost species, such as moa, remain an ...
The Government’s free and healthy school lunches programme moves south for the first time creating jobs for around 30 people in Otago and Southland. “Eighteen schools with 3000 students are joining the programme – 11 have already begun serving lunches, and seven are preparing to start during Term 3. This is ...
Thousands of Kiwi jobs and investment in New Zealand productions will be protected through a screen sector support package announced today by Associate Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Economic Development Phil Twyford and Minister for Broadcasting Kris Faafoi. The package also includes investment in broadcasting ...
The Government has established a new $10 million fund for the domestic events sector to help save jobs and protect incomes as it recovers from the impacts of COVID-19, Minister of Economic Development Phil Twyford announced today. This funding from Budget 2020 follows talks with the event sector designed to ...
The Government has taken another step in its commitment to making sure New Zealanders get a fairer deal at the petrol pump with the introduction of legislation to improve competition in the retail fuel market, says Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods. “The fuel market study that this Government ordered ...
New Zealand has joined a global initiative that aims to enable all countries to access a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters announced today. The COVAX Facility was recently launched by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The Alliance includes the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank ...
From today new legislation takes effect to both restore the right to legal representation at the start of a Care of Children (CoCA) dispute in the Family Court, and allow parties to those proceedings to access legal aid where eligible. During a visit to the Family Court in Auckland today, ...
Home-based early childhood education (ECE) subsidised by the government will transition to a fully qualified workforce by 2025 to ensure better and more consistent quality, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. “Quality early learning helps provide children with a strong foundation for their future,” Chris Hipkins said. From 1 January ...
The new Criminal Cases Review Commission | Te Kāhui Tātari Ture (CCRC) has started work and can now independently investigate claimed miscarriages of justice. “Even though we have appeal rights and safeguards against unsafe convictions, from time to time our justice system does get things wrong. The design of the ...
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha, tēnā koutou Ki a koutou Te Āti Awa, Taranaki Whānui, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, ngā mana whenua o te rohe nei, tēnā koutou Ko Te Whare Wānanga o Aotearoa ki ngā take o te Ao (NZIIA), Ko te Rōpū Tohu Tono ...
The Government’s increase to paid parental leave kicks in today with another 4 weeks taking New Zealand up to a full 6 months (26 weeks, up from 22 weeks) leave for new parents, and the maximum weekly payment will increase by $20pw, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. ...
A new package of infrastructure investments will help kick-start the post-COVID rebuild by creating more than 20,000 jobs and unlocking more than $5 billion of projects up and down New Zealand. Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones today outlined how the $3 billion infrastructure fund in the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today expressed the New Zealand Government’s deep disappointment at the passage by China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee of a national security law for Hong Kong. “New Zealand has consistently emphasised its serious concern about the imposition of this legislation on Hong Kong without inclusive ...
More jobs and more family time with newborns are the centrepiece of a suite of Government initiatives coming into effect today. July 1 is a milestone day for the Government as a host of key policies take effect, demonstrating the critical areas where progress has been made. “The Coalition Government ...
Environment Minister David Parker has today “called in” Auckland’s application to the Waikato Regional Council to take an extra 200 million litres of water a day from the lower reaches of the Waikato River for Auckland drinking water and other municipal uses. The call-in means the application has been referred ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker announced today that New Zealand’s hosting of APEC in 2021 will go ahead using virtual digital platforms. Mr Peters said the global disruption caused by COVID-19, including resultant border restrictions, had been the major factor in the ...
The start of construction on a new link road between Matakana Road and State Highway 1 will create jobs and support the significant population growth expected in the Warkworth area, Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Mayor Phil Goff announced today. Transport Minister Phil Twyford said construction of the Matakana Link ...
The Government is prioritising its latest investment in PPE for frontline health workers, including staff at managed isolation and quarantine facilities, Health Minister David Clark says. “With no community transmission of COVID-19 our response now has a firm focus on keeping our border safe and secure. “We must ensure that ...
The Parihaka Papakāinga Trust in Taranaki will receive up to $14 million for a new visitor centre and other improvements at the historic settlement that will boost the local economy and provide much-needed jobs, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little have ...
Protections for workers who are employees of one employer but working under the direction of another business or organisation have come into force, closing a gap in legislation that made the personal grievance process inaccessible for some workers, says Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. “This Government is working hard to ...
A range of improvements are already underway to address issues identified in the rapid review of the Managed Isolation and Quarantine system released today, Housing Minister Megan Woods said. The review was commissioned just over a week ago to identify and understand current and emerging risks to ensure the end-to-end ...
The important brown kiwi habitat around Whakatāne will receive added protection through an Iwi-led predator free project announced by Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau. “The Government is investing nearly $5 million into Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa’s environmental projects with $2.5 ...
An extra 4,000 tonnes of offcuts and scraps of untreated wood per year will soon be able to be recycled into useful products such as horticultural and garden mulch, playground safety surfacing and animal bedding as a result of a $660,000 investment from the Waste Minimisation Fund, Associate Environment Minister ...
The Governor-General has referred Scott Watson’s convictions for murder back to the Court of Appeal, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced today. Mr Watson was convicted in 1999 of the murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope. His appeal to the Court of Appeal in 2000 was unsuccessful, as was his ...
A new five-year funding agreement for the Reserve Bank will mean it can boost its work to protect New Zealanders’ finances, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. “New Zealand has a strong and stable financial system. Financial stability is an area that we are not prepared to cut corners for, particularly ...
A law change has been introduced to make it easier for forgotten funds in institutional accounts to be returned more easily to their rightful owners. Revenue Minister Stuart Nash has introduced an amendment to the Unclaimed Money Act 1971. It will update the rules controlling forgotten sums of money held ...
The Government is delivering on election commitments and a key recommendation of He Ara Oranga: Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction with the establishment of a permanent independent Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, Health Minister Dr David Clark says. Legislation enabling the establishment of the fully ...
A Bill to replace New Zealand’s Privacy Act passed its third reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Andrew Little has announced. “The protections in the Privacy Bill are vitally important. The key purpose of the reforms is to promote and protect people’s privacy and give them confidence that their personal ...
Extra support is being provided to tourism businesses operating on public conservation land announced Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage today. The Government is providing $25m worth of support to tourism operators impacted by COVID-19, with a decision to waive most Department of Conservation tourism related concession ...
As Auckland suffers its worst drought in 27 years, many of the city’s self-service car washes are doing a roaring trade. Michael Andrew finds out how these businesses are getting around the strict water restrictions.Car washing may seem like a wasteful luxury in the middle of a drought, but take ...
Call it last, call it the foundation: Georgie Dansey is 84th on the Labour Party list for the 2020 election. Here she explains how she got there.What does it take to come last on the Labour list? It’s a bit of a story, so if you’re feeling tl;dr then just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne At Saturday’s Eden-Monaro byelection, Labor’s Kristy McBain currently leads the Liberals’ Fiona Kotvojs by a 50.7-49.3 projected margin in The Poll Bludger’s Eden-Monaro election page. This page has all the ...
The controversial MP says his former party put a target on the minister’s back, but Melissa Lee insists there was no concerted campaign.The MP who exited the National Party in a tailspin attack on former leader Simon Bridges has publicly apologised to Clare Curran for his role in the treatment ...
By Jane Patterson, political editor of RNZ News The State Services Minister says the government will do everything it can to track down who is responsible for a massive privacy breach relating to New Zealand’s active covid cases, and is not ruling out pursuing criminal charges. An investigation has been ...
The National editorial Hundreds walked the Sir John Guise drive on Thursday calling for justice for the brutal death of 19-year-old mother-of-two – Jenelyn Kennedy last week. Jenelyn’s battered lifeless body was taken into the Port Moresby General Hospital last Tuesday by four men (one believed to be the father ...
*Watch the full video in the player below*In the first 48 hours of life, blood from newborn New Zealand babies is taken and tested. Most parents will never hear back. For others, it’s life-changing, and life-saving. Frank Film investigates. Performed 48 hours after birth, it’s a medical procedure ...
Latest from the Beehive Shane Jones, the Minister of Munificence, in a joint statement with fellow Northlander and Deputy PM Winston Peters, wrapped up a week of handout investment announcements with news of more millions for the people of his patch in the Far North. This time it was a ...
By Rebecca Kuku in Port Moresby A passionate plea by men, women and children has echoed around the Papua New Guinean capital of Port Moresby – that it is time to turn the corner on addressing gender-based violence in the country. Gatherings, a peaceful march and a vigil were staged ...
Former Race Relations Commissioner Gregory Fortuin has called out National MP Hamish Walker for his racist comments towards people of colour. This follows Walker's press release objecting to people from Pakistan, India and Korea potentially being quarantined ...
Khruangbin have established their live reputation with spacious instrumentals, but the band’s third album, Mordechai, features prominent vocals and disco-funk jams. Andrew Drever interviews the Texas-based trio upon its release.While the Covid-19 pandemic continues to rage in the US, the situation has actually been a blessing in disguise for Khruangbin ...
The State Services Minister says the government will do everything it can to track down who is responsible for a massive privacy breach relating to New Zealand's active Covid cases, and is not ruling out pursuing criminal charges. ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this ...
With the collapse of Bauer NZ resulting in Australian magazines flooding our shelves, Wendyl Nissen looks back at her battle to get homegrown content given the star billing it deserved.Thanks to some hard-fought battles 30 years ago, New Zealand women have been enjoying their own version of Woman’s Day and ...
Extending the franchise to prisoners is the latest in a series of contentious electoral reforms enacted by this government, but history suggests the ‘convention’ for consensual election reform is more imagined than real.The Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Act, passed last week and corrected this week, extends the franchise ...
Since publication of Newsroom’s extensive investigation into serious issues at Oranga Tamariki, our inbox has been flooded with stories from more current and former employees. In less than 48 hours after Newsroom’s in-depth inquiry into the children's ministry was published we received a high volume of correspondence from current and former ...
“She’d come into town on the bus. The photographer, so her mother had told her, was famous”: a short story by Wellington writer Elspeth Sandys. It was to be a present for her father who was dying. A photograph of her in her first ball gown. When she reached for ...
Those who can’t afford to travel will “attend” the terror sentencing via video link, the Immigration Minister says. David Williams reports The Immigration Minister is demanding officials give urgent help to overseas victims of the Christchurch terror attack and their families. Yesterday, High Court Justice Cameron Mander announced the terrorist, ...
Controversy over Wellington's Shelly Bay has ensnared iwi, the council and politicians for years. Investigative journalist Nicky Hager uses official documents to lay out the roles of money, power and wheels-within-wheels on this most contentious of developments. Any time I am asked whether we have corruption in New Zealand, I ...
Is the answer to saving New Zealand's professional sports teams creating super-franchises? The Extra Time podcast asks sports leaders. Professional sport is slowly emerging from the grip of the pandemic but its financial future is far from certain. Covid-19 highlighted a weakness in the structure of professional sport in New ...
Before Covid-19, it’d take a long flight and half a grand to see Hamilton in the flesh. Now, the biggest musical of the past two decades is available to watch on Disney+. Sam Brooks takes stock of this extraordinary move. Right now, Broadway is a sleeping dragon. New York theatres ...
Sacked cabinet minister Clare Curran speaks for the first time about the brutal end to her political career – and what she calls the toxicity and bullying that marked her years in parliament. By Donna Chisholm.Of all the humiliations – often self-inflicted – that Clare Curran endured during her 12-year ...
On 03 July Children’s Commissioner was given additional responsibility by the Minister of Justice which extended its role as the independent monitor of the conditions and treatment of children and young people in secure detention centres. The Children’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, ARC Future Fellow, UNSW The term “heatwave” is no stranger to Australians. Defined as when conditions are excessively hot for at least three days in a row, these extreme temperature events have always punctuated our climate. With many of us ...
Pacific Media Watch A senior Indonesian government official and a New Zealand journalism professor have clashed over differing perspectives on access for journalists and media to the West Papua region. Speaking on a webinar organised by the Jubi newspaper in Jayapura, Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ director of the European affairs ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Barbara Mintzes, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sydney To beat the coronavirus pandemic, countries need to collaborate. We need the best possible science to develop vaccines and drugs, and to test, track and contain the virus. If we’ve learned anything ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Russell Dean Christopher Bicknell, Post-doctoral researcher in Palaeobiology , University of New England Let’s turn back the hands of time. Before extinction knocked dinosaurs off their pillar, before the “Great Dying” extinction wiped out 95% of all organisms – we had the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Williams, Researcher at the Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine (VELiM), University of Sydney Last week, outgoing chief medical officer Brendan Murphy announced all returned travellers would be tested for COVID-19 before and after quarantine. Some were surprised ...
A new package to help foreign nationals stuck in New Zealand due to Covid-19 is inadequate and needs to be supplemented with the emergency benefit, say Community Law Centres O Aotearoa (CLCA) and the Human Rights Commission (HRC). The assistance ...
With Shortland Street’s 7,000th episode screening tonight, Tara Ward salutes the soap for keeping calm and carrying on through level three lockdown. It’s been one heck of a week on Shortland Street. Leanne lost her winning $8 million Lotto ticket, Louis slipped over in a pile of vomit, and Desi tried ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Clift, Teaching Fellow and PhD candidate, University of Melbourne In recent days, the prime ministers of the UK and Australia each declared they are working toward providing safe haven visas for Hong Kong residents. In the US, lawmakers passed a bill ...
How two multi-millionaires, two pandemic futurists, Air NZ’s former boss, a dairy executive on a break, a retired anaesthetist (and a few others) nearly saved NZ. ...
A commitment from Labour to protect productive farmland from blanket afforestation if re-elected is a step in the right direction, Federated Farmers Meat & Wool Chairperson William Beetham says. "We’re really pleased there is now ...
Tomorrow, 4 July, will see protests in at least nine centres around New Zealand against Israeli plans to steal more Palestinian land (Details are at the end of this media release) “Virtually the entire international community is standing together ...
Pacific Media Watch Australia’s ABC has revealed the Australian Federal Police (AFP) recommendation regarding the Afghan Files investigative journalism report is for the Commonwealth DPP to consider charging journalist Dan Oakes for his role in the leak. The revelation has prompted a renewed call by the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom ...
While we’re growing in confidence that we are in the enviable position of basically eliminating Covid-19, our trading nation at the bottom of the world is also in the unenviable position of locking off our economy to the world. “No is not an answer ...
Netflix’s new adaptations of The Baby-Sitters Club makes long-time fan Tara Ward fall in love with the series all over again. When I was 12 years old, my class had to write a letter to a famous person. Some of my classmates wrote to an All Black, Tom Cruise or ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is questioning the scale and value of the Government’s $230m screen industry recovery package. Union spokesperson Jordan Williams says: “The official justification for this ‘recovery package’ is the impact of COVID-19 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Former Ambassador and Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland Chinese activity in Papua New Guinea was not the only factor behind Australia’s Pacific “Step-Up”. As a former high commissioner to PNG, I know it ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk A Papuan church leader and advocate for social justice has penned an open letter to the Indonesian government calling for justice and an end to racism to enable a genuine self-determination process for the Melanesian region. “The problem of Papua has become increasingly complex and severe ...
Latest from the Beehive – Nine press releases (when we checked this morning) had flowed from the Beehive since we last reported. Eight of them brayed about the money Ministers have been spending and (as they prefer to put it) investing. The sole exception came from Environment Minister David ...
CEAC pre-election review of National Party ‘climate change policy’, is lacking in substance without any clear policy, that will leave voters with no idea of what National Party plans for saving our climate, and glancing at their ‘Transport plans’, ...
Film crews can get exemptions to enter New Zealand, so why not the families and supporters of terror victims, David Williams asks. OPINION: If the public needs a sign last year’s terrorist attack has slipped off the Government’s radar, this is it. A sentencing date has been set for the ...
A new poem by Michaela Keeble.Only the ocean only the oceanturns me overlike this only the oceanturns meon like this only the oceangives warning: what will changeand when so it doesn’t comeacrosslike violence white capsdrift inon the rising tide i feel likeopening my legs i don’t wantto do anything elsetoday i don’t wantto goto work i want to lie downwith ...
As the Covid-19 pandemic rages round the world, New Zealanders are re-discovering food production is the fundamental engine of the economy. And farming is not a sunset industry. Instead of being rubbished by lobby groups for so-called “dirty dairying”, the country’s core export industry has the chance to transform itself ...
The world-famous 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 Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman (Bloomsbury, $34)This is the one that kicks off with the essay about the Tongan ...
The New Zealand Down syndrome community is urging the Government to ignore the recommendations in the recent Health and Disability Sector Review. “New Zealand has made terrific progress to enhance the quality of life for people with Down syndrome and other disabilities ...
The Covid Plan B group says New Zealand can minimise the economic consequences of Covid-19 if it opens its borders following the rest of the world. The group, which has critiqued the Government's lockdown response since March, has today added its ...
Auckland will soon be receiving an additional 75 million litres of water per day from the Waikato River as an interim measure to help ease the worst water shortage in 25 years. A Ngāti Whātua historian says this sharing of resources between Tāmaki Makaurau and Waikato goes back a very ...
Athletes from the Papua New Guinea’s national team joined the peaceful “cry for justice” march in the nation’s capital of Port Moresby. Video: EMTV NewsBy EMTV News Many wore black yesterday in rallies against gender-based violence in Papua New Guinea in a day chosen to remember the young mother ...
The government will remain "cautious" when it comes to the border as despite calls for a pragmatic strategy for reopening, new Health Minister Chris Hipkins says. ...
A new report measuring New Zealanders’ financial wellbeing highlights how key sectors of our population are feeling stressed over money, and how Covid-19 has made that worse.Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure can help. After all, it’s what puts food on the table, a roof over our heads, and ...
The Tahr Foundation is asking the Conservation Authority to represent all New Zealanders and their recreational pursuits in National Parks, including the tens of thousands of hunters who flock to them every year. The Foundation’s plea is in response to ...
Councils can now borrow money equivalent to 300% of annual revenue, and the Public Service Association says this will allow them to maintain operational expenditure, invest in important community services and proceed with long-overdue infrastructure ...
Dunedin's mayor says conversations about managed isolation and quarantine can be held in a mature fashion without "getting into an unhelpful conversation about where our citizens might be returning from". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, PhD candidate in Astrophysics, Swinburne University of Technology What does the Sun’s core look like? Sophie, aged 8, Perth What does the Sun’s core look like? This is a fantastic question Sophie, and one we will need ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Spencer Zifcak, Allan Myers Chair of Law/Professor of Law, Australian Catholic University After a lengthy delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, the legal case that constitutes the most significant threat to freedom of expression in this country will soon play out in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Williamson, Professor of Microbiology, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity A cornerstone of containing the COVID-19 pandemic is widespread testing to identify cases and prevent new outbreaks emerging. This strategy is known as “test, trace and isolate”. The standard ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Research Fellow (Food Policy and Law), George Institute for Global Health As you read this, health officials are busy finalising the government’s review of the health star rating system on packaged foods. One of the issues the review is looking ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Briggs, Research Principal, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney As the global renewables transition accelerates, the future for coal regions has become a big worry. This raises an important question: can renewables create the right jobs in the right ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joel Barnes, Research Associate, Australian Centre for Public History, University of Technology Sydney The government’s recently proposed restructure of university fees would see students pay 113% more for many humanities subjects. The package is not a case of “humanities vs STEM (science, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ross Guest, Professor of Economics and National Senior Teaching Fellow, Griffith University The Australian government is planning to spend A$190 billion to support the economy in response to COVID-19, according to the latest Parliamentary Budget Office estimate. The total impact of COVID-19 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW For all the things we don’t know about COVID-19 one thing is certain: our economic recovery will depend on boosting productivity. Everyone from the Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe to Prime Minister Scott Morrison ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosslyn Almond, Literature Lecturer, Australian Catholic University The Baby-Sitters Club, the popular series by Ann M. Martin, defined my childhood. I collected the books until I was 11. I played it in the school yard (I was Dawn because I had long ...
Open Mike 26/11/2016 
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, June 28 through Sat, July 4, 2020 Editor's Choice '2040': A funny, entertaining, upbeat climate documentary A timely Australian documentary takes a 'solutions' approach, with the filmmaker inspired by visions of ...3 hours ago
Racist National MP Hamish WalkerEven before Todd Muller's coup ousted Simon Bridges by a single vote, it was patently obvious that the National Party promotes and stands for white privilege. In fact they’ve always worked to ensure the discriminatory status quo in New Zealand doesn’t change.So it’s no surprise that ...17 hours ago
Dave Heatley Zero community transmission. Just a handful of active cases, all in quarantine. New Zealand is in an attractive situation, at least compared to much of the world. The situation could be robust and enduring – or it might be fragile, just one border incursion away from a “second ...23 hours ago
Is the consequence of the Simpson Report proposals for restructuring the health system poorer accountability to people? When in doubt, centralise‘ has been a persistent theme in New Zealand public policy throughout our history. The current government is no exception. Here are some examples. - The regional polytechs have been ...2 days ago
I wrote earlier in the week about the Scientology front organisations Drug Free World and Drug Free Ambassadors and their quite prominent role in anti-cannabis reform "coalition" assembled by Family First and a newloca branch of the American prohibitionist organisation SAM.It turns out Family First aren't the only ones helping ...2 days ago
Three years ago the ABC used leaked information to expose war crimes by Australian troops in Afghanistan. Since then the chief of Australia's special forces has admitted that his troops committed war crimes. But guess who the Australian government is prosecuting? Police have referred allegations against an ABC journalist relating ...2 days ago
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Unfortunately, due to a medical emergency, I have landed in hospital so am not able to do a current update on the NZ blog statistics. Let’s hope I can get back to this in good time. ...3 days ago
The Greens have shaken up the election campaign with the announcement of their radical poverty and action plan to reform welfare provision and introduce a new wealth tax for millionaires. It’s a big-thinking, controversial policy and has generated a lot of disagreement over how radical it is, whether it could ...4 days ago
When the Christchurch murderer pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder and a number of other violent assault charges a few months ago, he effectively closed the door on what the public will know about the lead up to and commission of the event. His plea means that no evidence ...5 days ago
Daphna Whitmore The Philippines is enduring one of the longest lockdowns in the world. For President Duterte the lockdown provides an opportunity to garner more powers and to push through a brazen assault on human rights. A new law called the Anti-Terror Bill has been passed under urgency and it ...5 days ago
There really is not much about Paula Bennett concerning her career trajectory, the policies she promoted, and most importantly, the socio-economic effect this had upon New Zealand (and particularly the most vulnerable in this, our oft-cited “egalitarian” society of this country) that can be said now that hasn’t already been ...5 days ago
Helloy… My name is Todd Muller and I am the leader of the National Party of New Zealand. Many people come up to me on the street and ask me who I am. I’m often walking through Tauranga, or in a mall in suburban Auckland, or maybe even a farmers’ ...6 days ago
. . Plague town? There are two things right now in Aotearoa New Zealand that are guaranteed to piss people off. Firstly, it’s National playing silly-bugger politics with the covid-19 pandemic. This cost Simon Bridges his job as National’s Leader. Lately, Michael Woodhouse has been playing fast and loose with ...6 days ago
Tertiary fees in New Zealand versus Australia: Fees Are Important, but not as Important as Financing In Australia, the Education Minister Dan Tehan has proposed an overhaul of the existing higher education funding system to offer 39,000 additional study places by 2023 and 100,000 by 2030. The proposal has been ...6 days ago
The images and reports delivered to us by the world’s media leave us in no doubt that the rest of the world is still in the grip of a coronavirus pandemic that shows no signs of slackening, but is actually uncontrolled and picking up pace in many countries; and even ...1 week ago
We have been assailed by Fox News-style headlines, lurid stories of “a breach!”. An almost nuclear level disaster on the horizon scream, “Fiasco!” here, “Hero to Zero!” there… Oh quick, panic everyone! This has fueled an unbelievably stupid environment of panic among some, and spurred useless, counterproductive political ...1 week ago
This week we moved into the second half of 2020 - and our Government delivered another week of big changes and major progress for New Zealanders. Read below for a wrap of the key things moments from the week - from extending paid parental leave, to making major investments in ...2 days ago
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...2 days ago
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...3 days ago
A new programme, which sets a firm course for the Building and Construction sector to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has been announced by the Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa. “A significant amount of New Zealand’s carbon emissions come from the building and construction sector. If we’re serious ...2 days ago
As Auckland suffers its worst drought in 27 years, many of the city’s self-service car washes are doing a roaring trade. Michael Andrew finds out how these businesses are getting around the strict water restrictions.Car washing may seem like a wasteful luxury in the middle of a drought, but take ...2 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne At Saturday’s Eden-Monaro byelection, Labor’s Kristy McBain currently leads the Liberals’ Fiona Kotvojs by a 50.7-49.3 projected margin in The Poll Bludger’s Eden-Monaro election page. This page has all the ...6 hours ago
...15 hours ago
Covid-19 will dominate campaigning ahead of September's election and Labour's congress this weekend is no exception. ...16 hours ago
*Watch the full video in the player below* In the first 48 hours of life, blood from newborn New Zealand babies is taken and tested. Most parents will never hear back. For others, it’s life-changing, and life-saving. Frank Film investigates. Performed 48 hours after birth, it’s a medical procedure ...19 hours ago
Latest from the Beehive Shane Jones, the Minister of Munificence, in a joint statement with fellow Northlander and Deputy PM Winston Peters, wrapped up a week of handout investment announcements with news of more millions for the people of his patch in the Far North. This time it was a ...20 hours ago
Since publication of Newsroom’s extensive investigation into serious issues at Oranga Tamariki, our inbox has been flooded with stories from more current and former employees. In less than 48 hours after Newsroom’s in-depth inquiry into the children's ministry was published we received a high volume of correspondence from current and former ...1 day ago
“She’d come into town on the bus. The photographer, so her mother had told her, was famous”: a short story by Wellington writer Elspeth Sandys. It was to be a present for her father who was dying. A photograph of her in her first ball gown. When she reached for ...1 day ago
Those who can’t afford to travel will “attend” the terror sentencing via video link, the Immigration Minister says. David Williams reports The Immigration Minister is demanding officials give urgent help to overseas victims of the Christchurch terror attack and their families. Yesterday, High Court Justice Cameron Mander announced the terrorist, ...1 day ago
Controversy over Wellington's Shelly Bay has ensnared iwi, the council and politicians for years. Investigative journalist Nicky Hager uses official documents to lay out the roles of money, power and wheels-within-wheels on this most contentious of developments. Any time I am asked whether we have corruption in New Zealand, I ...1 day ago
Is the answer to saving New Zealand's professional sports teams creating super-franchises? The Extra Time podcast asks sports leaders. Professional sport is slowly emerging from the grip of the pandemic but its financial future is far from certain. Covid-19 highlighted a weakness in the structure of professional sport in New ...1 day ago
How two multi-millionaires, two pandemic futurists, Air NZ’s former boss, a dairy executive on a break, a retired anaesthetist (and a few others) nearly saved NZ. ...2 days ago
Latest from the Beehive – Nine press releases (when we checked this morning) had flowed from the Beehive since we last reported. Eight of them brayed about the money Ministers have been spending and (as they prefer to put it) investing. The sole exception came from Environment Minister David ...2 days ago
Film crews can get exemptions to enter New Zealand, so why not the families and supporters of terror victims, David Williams asks. OPINION: If the public needs a sign last year’s terrorist attack has slipped off the Government’s radar, this is it. A sentencing date has been set for the ...2 days ago
As the Covid-19 pandemic rages round the world, New Zealanders are re-discovering food production is the fundamental engine of the economy. And farming is not a sunset industry. Instead of being rubbished by lobby groups for so-called “dirty dairying”, the country’s core export industry has the chance to transform itself ...2 days ago
Sobering news.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/25/arctic-ice-melt-trigger-uncontrollable-climate-change-global-level
Sobering news 2.
George Monbiot.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/25/13-crises-we-face-trump-soil-loss-global-collapse
Sobering news 3.
Guy McPherson.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/world/humans-dont-have-10-years-left-thanks-to-climate-change—scientist-2016112408
Short term I believe Trump will de-escalate military tensions with Russia and China so the risk of super power war in the next couple of years has reduced. Other than that, we are in a dire situation and people are still running around pretending that we can still avoid 1.5 deg C and 2.0 deg C levels of warming.
And Trump is the least suitable leader imaginable for dealing with climate change. So why support him?
because most Americans are not single issue voters, and if they were on the issue of climate change, Jill Stein would have won.
Also my rationale – which people around here seem to hate – is that there wasn’t (and isn’t) 5ppm difference between the Repugs and the Demorats.
I will admit that Clinton’s words on climate change was much nicer sounding to environmentalist ears, however.
Conspiracy theorists on right see our own govt & elite behind every incomprehensible outrage. Those pushing tinfoil from left see Trump.
When Trump cancels funding for data collection on the effects of climate change and puts it into space exploration want to come back and admit you were wrong?
Wrong: https://youtu.be/_GBnJNLoBuw
And wrong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX
And, no. I’m difinitley not wrong. I’ll put my forecasting skills up against yours any day my boy.
There is no doubt that Trump is powerful and he is 1 state legislature away from gaining the majority needed to amend the US constitution: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/18/republicans-build-on-their-dominance-in-state-legislatures.html
But no president of the United States can go full on communists and stop the March of capitalism. I think it’s a mistake to view Trump as the most powerful man with in America.
The march of corruption would be more apt ….
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/wall-streets-naked-swindle-20100405
“On Tuesday, March 11th, 2008, somebody — nobody knows who —made one of the craziest bets Wall Street has ever seen. The mystery figure spent $1.7 million on a series of options, gambling that shares in the venerable investment bank Bear Stearns would lose more than half their value in nine days or less. It was madness — “like buying 1.7 million lottery tickets,” according to one financial analyst.” …..
….”by the weekend, it was being knocked to its knees by the Fed and the Treasury, and forced at the barrel of a shotgun to sell itself to JPMorgan Chase (which had been given $29 billion in public money to marry its hunchbacked new bride) at the humiliating price of … $2 a share. Whoever bought those options on March 11th woke up on the morning of March 17th having made 159 times his money, or roughly $270 million. This trader was either the luckiest guy in the world, the smartest son of a bitch ever or…
more recent financial ‘news’ ….” At least 367 companies, or 73 percent
of the Fortune 500, operate one or more
subsidiaries in tax haven countries.
•
All told, these 367 companies maintain at
least 10,366 tax haven subsidiaries.
http://ctj.org/pdf/offshoreshellgames2016.pdf …
Goldman Sachs
Group
987
Bahamas (1), Barbados (4), Bermuda (19), British Virgin Islands (6), Cayman Islands
(537), Channel Islands (17), Costa Rica (1), Cyprus (2), Gibraltar (1), Hong Kong
(19), Ireland (64), Isle of Man (3), Luxembourg (197), Mauritius (49), Monaco (1),
Netherlands (45), Panama (1), Singapore (18), Switzerland (2)
Morgan Stanley
669
Bermuda (4), Cayman Islands (280), Channel Islands (33), Cyprus (4), Gibraltar
(1), Hong Kong (18), Ireland (45), Luxembourg (76), Malta (1), Mauritius (16),
Netherlands (131), Singapore (58), Switzerland (2)
J.P. Morgan
Chase & Co.
385
Bahamas (7), Barbados (1), Bermuda (19), British Virgin Islands (9), Cayman Islands
(149), Channel Islands (18), Cyprus (1), Hong Kong (17), Ireland (13), Luxembourg
(61), Malta (13), Marshall Islands (3), Mauritius (33), Netherlands (12), Singapore
(25), Switzerland (4)
KKR
300
Cayman Islands (249), Channel Islands (6), Hong Kong (3), Ireland (19),
Luxembourg (9), Mauritius (5), Singapore (9)
Bank of New
York Mellon
Corp.
188
Bahamas (2), Bermuda (6), Cayman Islands (69), Channel Islands (13), Hong Kong
(2), Ireland (55), Luxembourg (16), Malta (1), Mauritius (1), Netherlands (18),
Singapore (4), Switzerland (1
Bank of
America Corp.
109
Bahamas (2), Bermuda (4), Cayman Islands (18), Channel Islands (13), Costa Rica
(1), Gibraltar (4), Hong Kong (3), Ireland (8), Luxembourg (13), Mauritius (6),
Netherlands (25), Netherlands Antilles (1), Singapore (8), Switzerland (3)
……….
And have I got a political donation for you 😉 …. https://www.icij.org/offshore/leaked-records-reveal-offshore-holdings-chinas-elite#
Clinton wasn’t going to do much about climate change, not with her corporate backing. It would be steady as she goes. Trump is the change agent, so even though he may be worse for climate change in the short term it puts us closer towards making the radical change we need.
I kinda agree with Maui – yes there is short term damage but Trump post reign might force radical change and awareness that the world needs.
Sometimes “thump thump” there is no climate change is easier to rebuttal than the democrats saying they want to do something, they get reports about the issues, they have media events – but the actually climate change doesn’t get done or is delayed by being put into a long ‘process’ with non binding requirements and governments are able to not do anything like the Key government buying polluting credits sorta converting it into a neoliberal process about money than actually about reducing emissions and doing quality research.
But the public and media are not up in arms, because it still looks like the governments are doing something.
You can’t have it both ways and expect to be taken seriously. Imo your support of denier trump shows any caring about cc from you is just crocodile tears. If trump could make money from cc he’d be on it like a rash. You don’t appear as dim as trump, you have less excuses for your deliberate ignorance.
I have never seen CV claim that Trump is good for dealing with Climate Change. He has only pointed out that HC would in fact be no better. Why do you see things so black and white, then put words into others’ mouths?
Exactly.
Perhaps someone could point out how disastrous Obama’s reign has been for actual climate change results. And despite his billions invested in solar power etc and lots of soothing talk about alternative energy. World now consistently over 400ppm, multiple years of record breaking temperatures during his term in office, no change in emissions trajectories, etc.
He’s the guy who greenlit deep sea oil drilling again after Deepwater Horizon ffs and the dems all fell into line behind him.
But somehow Demorats better than Repugs. They are on one count: creating the illusion of caring about climate change, despite their actual physical track record.
You cv the dude in dunners not denier trump. Getting pretend upset about the real and devastating effects of cc, whilst supporting even endorsing a cc denier who TWEETED that it was a hoax set up by the chinese, is incongruent imo.
Well, I got used to the incongruency because the real world is incongruent.
I’ve listened to a dozen or more Guy McPherson talks in the last few months and decided that Clinton versus Trump on the issue of climate change was like asking a WWII POW to choose between being held by the Germans, the Soviets, or the Japanese.
Multiple flavours of fuck all difference apart from the terminology.
Yeah well if you are a doomer then guy would appeal. Just an iteration of disaster porn imo.
All of trumps rhetoric around change is fake because he isn’t considering cc. It is part of where the con comes in.
It is good imo that you are honest about your view of cc and your membership of doomer Inc. Thanks for that.
You’re always welcome.
Makes Obamas campaign slogan of Hope a total farce with his track record in this and other areas and of course the pipeline at Standing Rock.
I wasn’t saying that. How about you read instead of kneejerking to me – I’d appreciate it or even better make some actual argument.
At the point I wrote I was replying to both you and mickeysavage. Mickey said that, and it appeared to me that you were backing the same idea. You accuse CV of supporting ‘Denier Trump’. I have not seen that.
CV has always admitted Trump’s failings, but he sends you into an insane fury by giving info that suggests that HC is no better. CV is suggesting that it is not black and white. It appears to me that some cannot cope with that concept, choose their side, then regard all critics as supporters of the opponent. Life is not that simple. Kneejerks are.
He said ‘least suitable’ that is a long way from your made up lines. And I wasn’t writing about that at all so my ‘read’ line stands plus don’t make up stuff and say I’m putting words in someone elses mouth when that is not true it is just that you didn’t read the comments well enough – that is a kneejerk isn’t it?
cv has parroted trump supporter lines and links for months – AND he expressly used the ‘not 5ppm difference’ line as his defense when he says he believes in cc and trump is a declared denier. So all of that stuff you wrote is false – once again read instead of assuming or making stuff up eh.
I’m not in an insane fury now or then thanks – I can’t stand bullies and bullshitters like trump, cv and anyone else that does that.
Mate you’ve been an outstanding Clinton preferring bullyshamer last few months.
Me, I try not to use ugly demeaning labels and personal jibes against people who preferred Clinton.
As for Trump being a cc denier – well, I think he knows the truth about CC but he took campaign and policy positions of convenience. They won’t make even 5ppm of difference though.
Thanks cv – opposing fascist, racist misogynist 0.1%ers like trump and minitrumps like you makes me feel great. Yeah you do use smooth language often – just reminds me of 1984 really because the message behind the calm words is horrendously violent and disgusting imo – still it snared a few supporters for you on here eh so good strategy.
trump is a cc denier FACT he said it many times – sure he’s bullshitting now because even his peanut brain can work out that he is an idiot and the science is clear – oh and he might lose money on all of his billionaire property investments if they happen to be beside some water somewhere – yep a real man of the people that one LOL
You’re well on the way to becoming the very thing that you hate.
what’s it like?
It’s pretty good.
Picking up the on-the-ground trends way ahead of time while the commentariat walk around in circles disconnected and lost in their own intellectual space.
Watching identity politics driven political correctness and self censoring stumble and fall over as a political force.
And now watching that same Clinton Preferring commentariat running around losing their minds and doubling down on their losing strategies instead of learning a single thing.
cool
I’m happy to be an identity political, cc resilience building, hard leftie with a focus on equality. Like really happy.
I wouldn’t change a thing, as you wouldn’t for you,so we are both happy – cool again.
And I am also pleased we are on opposite sides of the political divide and we really are although you do seem to want to pretend sometimes but hey maybe it’s because you comment so prolifically here instead of a more natural home for your non left views. 🙂
I would say you do appear a bit cocky and that can lead to disappointment so a friendly heads up from a fellow dunners person.
I think that you also need to practise more careful reading comprehension (mainly with CV) and that it is strange that I like everything you have recently written apart from your virulent responses to CV. A message from CV brings out in you the same faults that you accuse me of.
I’m human. I do try not to let his stuff get under my skin. I can also get worked up with racists pretty strongly too. Anyway I’ll try to take your comments on board 🙂
NB compared to Obama/Romney (2012):
– Trump closed the Democratic lead amongst African Americans by 7%.
– Trump closed the Democratic lead amongst Latinos by 8%.
– Trump closed the Democratic lead amongst Asian Americans by 11%.
– Trump increased the Republican lead amongst white voters by a negligible 1%.
So go ahead pick Donald Trump as the target of an anti-racist crusade, but in reality he did quite adequately with minorities and noticeably better than Mitt Romney in fact.
Trump will improve his performance further in 2020.
Cool Marty. I am never quite sure about myself either…
mate there are desperate people in all ethnicities – don’t you get that?
trump is a misogynist and a racist and a 0.1% billionaire real estate tycoon – that is all fact from his own twisted mouth – none of that is made up – HE SAID IT – do you get that? Sure now he’s backtracking and saying he didn’t mean it, different times, and so on. The truth of a person is what they actually do and not their political spin to keep the turkeys from getting restless.
please take this as the intrinsic power of the universe saying you are a fool for trusting trump – if you even do.
I don’t trust Trump at all. And although CV is sharp and well-informed, for the first time I think he is pushing it a bit with what I think is a tongue-in-cheek prediction about 2020. I think CV sometimes enjoys needling people – maybe because the debate gets too passionate.
it is the standard cv trick – doesn’t bother me because I needle him back.
I don’t think he is sharp or well informed and I’m pretty sure he knows I think that 🙂
Anyway, what is is and what will be will be.
I’m looking forward building the momentum to get rid of the gnats and key. And I’m looking forward to those who believe in left values, the left ethos to work together to throw the gnats and ALL of their supporters out – inside and outside parliament. But the truth is people here are getting as desperate as the usaians and key is a smooth liar like trump so unless we focus in on the real important bits then trouble. I don’t see any worthwhile contribution towards that cause coming from cv – the opposite in fact.
As you say, que sera sera. CV is very disillusioned with the left, but I don’t believe his criticisms mean he has turned right and no longer wants the left to have a positive influence.
Well, as you say, let’s work for the left…
Yep. And they are figuring out that they owe the Democratic Party zero.
Yep. Yet the Left keeps harping on and on about what people SAY and how they SAY it.
Trump’s actually beginning to do political things. All we had previously were his words and his trail of dodgy dealings.
Now we have an ultra-conservative veep and an alt-right named as advisor.
He has said he’ll backtrack on some of his nuttier policies, and yet his proposed appointments suggest the world is in for a bumpy ride.
And yes, he will also accelerate the implementation of charter schools, he will put conservative constitutional justices on to the Supreme Court, he will massively drop the tax rate on Apple and he will work with Russia to annhilate Islamic extremist militants in Syria.
Bannon is a brilliant tactician who helped steer the Trump campaign to victory over Clinton.
And Pence is deeply conservative but also a very steady experienced hand with regards to the Republican house.
As for “alt-right” (ignoring the commentariat turning it into another in a long list of lefty smear terms) this phenomenon is exactly what was needed to up end the staid, neolib/neocon warmongering consensus of the Republican Party.
It is, as the term implies, a brand new alternative right wing.
Now, where is the alt-left phenomenon which is required to renew and reinvigorate the deeply status quo left.
Thanks for your concern, toryboy, but we can do without alt-left demagogues who match the alt-right for stupidity, bigotry, hate and fearmongering.
If we’re all very lucky, the latest blustering winds will blow themselves out without fucking the world up irreparably, and the deplorables (sorry, as you called them the “red meat” trump supporters) will be reduced to weeping and gnashing their teeth online.
Plenty of alt-radical-left bullyshamers to pick from.
awwww, do bigots not like having their prejudices named? They should be ashamed.
#sorrynotsorry
Meanwhile the msm focuses on the really important stuff.
The All Blacks’ holiday plans.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11754383
The film ‘Netowrk’ predicted this dystopian future.
“Television is not the truth. Television’s a god-damned amusement park. Television is a circus, a carnival, a traveling troupe of acrobats, storytellers, dancers, singers, jugglers, sideshow freaks, lion tamers, and football players. We’re in the boredom-killing business. ”
http://www.wnyc.org/story/how-network-predicted-todays-media-culture/
Hey Paul take Guy Mcpherson advise as a declared anarchist, its not worth worrying about, hope is pointless and destructive ( quoting Nietzsche) live for now, hence the media is doing exactlty that, so give them some credit
Also something to cheer you up schrodinger had his uereka moment on quantum mechanics after a conservation with Eisenstein in which Einstein pontificated that it is quite wrong to find theory on observable magnitude alone, Often the theory drives what is observed Maybe apply some of this to your daily observations and doom reports, Here is some good news, google it, recent research on Antarctic show ice cover no different that 100 years ago, scientist can alter plants to absorb way more carbon than inially thought, the planet is greening, likewise cement manufacturing is a large creator of carbon is now believed by scientist to absorb most of it back, NASA impossible engine lifts the game re space travel Not saying the world is in a good place but it’s not all bad, everything You are not an oracle and there is a lot of good
I don’t agree with McPherson on doing nothing.
That’s suits selfish people like you.
Yes dear
Yes dear
McPherson has NEVER said that individuals and communities should “do nothing.”
As far as I can tell he has a simple message – be the best person you can be for yourself, and for others.
It does concern me that his views encourage climate deniers to promote doing nothing.
I can’t work out if he is right or not.
McPherson isn’t responsible for the various delusions of climate change deniers.
For me, I simply realised that there was no difference between ‘doing nothing’ and ‘effectively doing nothing’.
Do you agree with his conclusions?
That we have multiple unstoppable climate change positive feedback loops now engaged? Yep.
On his specific time frames however, I think there is a lot of uncertainty there. But I do think livable habitat for humanity will be largely gone within the next 30 or so years and that global population levels will be down to ~1B within 100 years..
You’re being a bit too positive there CV!
I think with there being many more factors than just cc in play that Capitalism/ greed etc will see us perish sooner rather than later.
By survivors accounts and personal experience the way through is to have a plan. “being the best person you can be” has not been shown to work, as far as I know.
By the way, would “being the best person you can be” stop you eating a human corpse ?
http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-historic-famines-caused-cannibalism.php
My plan is to keep the hell away from Auckland and the other big cities.
that report refers to sea ice ,the increase of which is amply explained by the models and is a result of decreasing salinity due to continental ice melt….so hardly good news
In the Herald Geoffrey Miller points out John Key v Donald Trump – the five similarities.
1. Highly pragmatic – and willing to compromise
Like Trump, Key has a long history of pragmatism over ideology – dating back to his early days as Opposition leader when he replaced Don Brash. For both Key and Trump, it’s all about the art of the deal.
2. Both are independently wealthy
As high net worth individuals, neither Key nor Trump are dependent on politics for income or status. Both have involved a high degree of financial risk and failure, as well as ultimate reward.
3. Neither are career politicians
There is a growing proportion of career politicians, who seem more intent on securing long term lucrative employment than risking rock the political boat. Key and Trump both buck this trend.
4. Strange behaviour is part of their political brand
One of the hallmarks of John Key’s enduring personal popularity has been his anti-politician style. It works for many, and it repels others. He gets it wrong sometimes – ie pony tail pulling and prison jokes, but gets away with it. Trump’s behaviour problems have been more extreme but he has got away with it too, so far.
5. The answer is golf
Trump recently said: “Golf is a great game for getting to know people…you can never ever get to know people at lunch or dinner like you can on a golf course”. Key, like Trump, has recognised the function of golf as an elite pastime to cultivate connections with people who matter – as proven by his success in ultimate success in gaining a tee time with Obama.
So has New Zealand already been experiencing our Brexit/Trump for the past eight years?
More details: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11754436
There are many differences as well.
1. Key is establishment.
2. Key supports neo-liberal global trade deals such as the TPP.
3. Key comes from big finance.
4. Key has sold the country to foreign interests.
And one unmentioned similarity.
Their dreadful way the behave towards women. Pony tail pulling and pussy grabbing misogynists.
Key’s been in parliament since 2002. 14 years makes him a career politician. Your list is full of crap and reminds of those people who tried to draw similarities between Lincoln’s and Kennedy’s assassinations.
In casting around you missed things like
1. Both have histories of assaulting females
2. Both are male
3. Both are right handed
Meanwhile the dissimilarities are greater.
1. Key was in opposition benches for 6 years
2. Key had full support of the party and was eased in.
3. Key had no public profile before being PM.
4. Age
5. Work experience
6. Inheritance of wealth
7.Upbringing
8. Place of birth
And thousands of others.
Pete George has just solved the countries problems by declaring the answer is golf.
That will increase the membership down at the club.
They will be thrilled sharing the greens and facilities with a discount membership rate so everyone can join.
They will need bigger car parks for all the people movers and vans.
The clubs and their current members are going to really get to know people and solve all those problems.
Petty George didn’t “solve” anything: he simply plagiarised Geoffrey Miller’s opinion. In fact his whole comment contains nothing original, just like every other comment he’s ever made.
By that definition TS is full of plagiarism then. I summarised an article, I identified the author and I linked to the source, similar to what others do here fifty or a hundred times a day. The sort of thing that keeps sites like this going amongst the stupidity of inane attacks.
Your tedious regurgitation does not keep this site going. The authors and moderators do.
If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say this is another of your feeble attempts to boost site visits at Yawnz.
Pete George – I read the Herald piece as just another of the never-ending ShonKey public relations spin. And I don’t think I’m wrong. He’s realised (ie his polling shows) there’s some sympathy for Trump “out there” in the world he doesn’t inhabit, and so his Crosby-Textor mates put together a similarity piece.
Jenny do you have any evidence of that? If not it’s quite offensive to Geoff Miller making things up like that.
Yeah Jenny, what if poor Geoff got offended and everything? I think someone needs to write a lengthy blog post on how mean you’re being to Geoff. expressing your opinion like that.
It’s just so unfair! 😆
Actually, it seems to be a great game to getting to know certain types of people – notably the psychopaths.
Obama plays 300th round of golf as POTUS
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-obama-plays-300th-round-of-golf-as-president/
So? That is 37 rounds a year or three every four weeks. He has put the time into the job. Dig out the time records and then try again.
The thread is about meeting people at the golfing range and how that can influence peoples actions.
Recall that one of the people who played golf with Obama was Key:
More shakes in Wellington.
4.6 this morning.
http://www.geonet.org.nz/quakes/2016p890807
Gee paul you are gloomy for this early on a Saturday morning.
Here is some good news for you – http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11755007
You think Auckland’s housing situation is good news.
My goodness, the Key fans are truly delusional.
I’m saying it’s changing – slowly – which is a good things. Nationals plan is starting to work.
would you have preferred it to stay the same ??
I concern myself with more pressing issues than how much you plan to make out of nth investment property.
Check out the state of the apartment market in cities like Sydney Melbourne New York London.
A crash is coming soon…
Nah. A plateau and a minor softening for a while at the $600-$900 end.
Standart balancing in Auckland apartments, but we are a long, long way off from an oversupply.
We are also hugely under-built in retirement villages and other seniors housing in all our cities.
We may just have to admit that Key’s policies to soften the market carefully are working.
Luckily I don’t have to admit any such thing as I am uninterested in the Auckland apartment market 😛
Come up for a visit and I’ll show you the scale of activity going on – much of it is underpinned by public money not private.
Cheers Ad 🙂
Agree Ad – on a visit to Auckland the other day, I saw that “scale of activity” and thought yes, this does sort-of show a “good” economy at work ….. we all know that’s bullsh-t but it keeps the money spinning in Auckland and people feel good at seeing it. All part of the ShonKey perception that everything is rosy.
Well, just from the public realm:
– City Rail Link $3.4b of needed public transport
– Waterview SH20 tunnels $1.4b of needed motorway completion
– Hobsonville Land Co $400m or thereabouts for basically a model town
– National Convention Centre $700 m or thereabouts
– University of Auckland, AUT, and other campus rebuilds $500m
– Waterfront Co $700m
– Tamaki Development Co $260m
– Squillions more on water and sewer upgrades, rail upgrades, and new housing,
It’s not bullshit. It’s real.
You don’t have to like it.
But this is the most Keynesian National government since Muldoon. They are doing what they should; supporting the growth of Auckland as the commercial centre of New Zealand with public investment which in turn supports more private investment and achieves policy goals.
Your biggest pressing issue is steering back at you in the mirror 😀
Too thick to even see the red lines under his spelling errors.
Facepalm. 🙄
You really are a waste of space Red.
Love 💕you to Ropo
National has a plan?? bwwaaahahahaha, please explain this said plan.
Ad @ 7.1.1. I didn’t mean that the actual building going on in Auckland is bullshit – that is very clearly real, and keeps the Auck economy booming.
What is bullshit is that its claimed to be part of a good productive economy – yes, its necessary buildings but it is not new production and its only sustainable because the govt is putting money into it. And its borrowing heavily to do so.
The govt is not putting money into new trading ventures, into research, into developing new ways to build a good economy nor is it putting money into health services or public education, or into regional development, and so on.
Its a bit like the re-build of Ch’ch – that helped our perception of the economy being good, but it was only replacement of what had already been there.
The Auckland build is necessary infrastructure because of greater population, not anything new or innovative – but it does keep the economy spinning around and provides jobs for some.
wohoo lucky fools get to shackle themselves to massive mortgages on unproductive assets . good way to keep the masses with their nose to the grind stone.
Interesting, market is starting to turn.
if I was a first home buyer I’d hang off for at least the next six months. especially if interest rates begin to climb, you’ll find a lot of “investors” under the pump and need to off load there properties fast which will cause quite a lot of downward pressure on the real estate market.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11724396
Next year or so could be a bit grim for the over extended property investor.
If Key achieves a soft landing for the Auckland housing market due to the variety of measures his government has put in place, it will be nothing short of a policy miracle.
If he achieves that, and the propertied class of Auckland don’t rise up against him, that will be a political miracle.
Both together would take his largest risk to a fourth term in power largely away.
Reading that article, does rather point to the market starting to turn, read almost like the real estate sector desperately trying to pump a bit of air in a deflating market.
Once it starts gaining momentum you’re going to see a real cooling off of the property market for the next year or two.
It will come back to life rather rapidly though because you still have the underlying issues of under supply and a growing Auckland population.
This down turn will clear out the multi property investor who’s over extended themselves trying to make quick profit off capital gain.
The average property owner in Auckland will be left unscathed, really starting to look good for a National outright win in 2017.
More cooling would be good.
But very very hard to do with the massive greenfield and brownfield growth going on.
Regional growth will also continue in Tauranga, Christchurch, and Central Otago.
Just as a matter of interest, James, how do you find anything about the melting Arctic to be cheerful about?
I try to be upbeat about most things. So I enjoy the longer warmer summers.
Possibly also balancing bad news re artic been offset by good new in Antartica
A climate denier.
My my…
Not at all, just not a sanctimonious. dooms day know all tosser
Hi Red. I missed the good news about Antarctica – can you tell me what that was?
Upbeat about catastrophic climate change…..
Wow.
Whereas you happily support the gloomy outcomes that National always bring about with their sociopathic policies.
@ James (7) … so you think Paul @ (6) should be jumping for joy over the earthquakes, a frightening fact of life for some Kiwis?
How trolls mess with people’s heads.
“One of the most significant and pernicious ways that members of the alt-right use trolling is to create a sincerity-proof chamber of distortion surrounding what their actual message is. They do this by pretending that what they’re really doing is satirically spoofing how progressives and members of the media view conservatives.”
http://www.vox.com/2016/11/23/13659634/alt-right-trolling
There’s lots more in the whole article. Sadly some of these techniques are even appearing here on The Standard.
Thanks, useful link. The politics of confusion. I agree about what is happening on ts.
So when it’s obvious what the plan is Weka why do people here indulge the trolls and allow discussion to be diverted and derailed so often?
There is no block button but people can use their own troll filter. Just imagine you’ve got troll-cancelling headphones (or glasses) on.
When I see certain names appear I just move on as I can’t be bothered to waste my time any further. Regular visitors to The Standard know who these people are, or recognise the same tactics under new names that pop up.
Please don’t give these people air. Ignore, don’t engage.
Yes, there is much less head pain just sticking to political perspectives which are congruent with your own ever-narrowing world view.
At the risk of not following my just-expressed advice: How do you infer that from what I said?
Same reaction for Pyscho Milt’s totally erroneous response.
I used troll in the throwaway, incorrect usage. I mean commenters with an agenda of diverting and derailing debate and causing confusion, who in my opinion and others, seem to have no real intention of genuinely debating.
I see ignoring as a perfectly legimate option. No-one is obliged to enter into debate with someone they consider has ulterior motives. It’s not being unwilling to argue a viewpoint or not being prepared to change yours, it can be a sensible option to choose not to play the game.
thanks for your explanation Grey Area, my knee did jerk a bit there, I must admit.
…why do people here indulge the trolls and allow discussion to be diverted and derailed so often?
Why do people here allow commenters Grey Area doesn’t like to post opinions Grey Area finds offensive? It’s one of those great mysteries of life that I guess will never be solved.
I try really hard to ignore them, and most of them time I can. But sometimes it’s just too hard to let a particularly harmful bit of bullshit stand unchallenged.
This is interesting – though more propaganda distribution, than trolling tactics. However, you do have to consider the motivations of the interviewee (who runs “Disinfomedia”, at least until his identity was revealed):
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/11/23/503146770/npr-finds-the-head-of-a-covert-fake-news-operation-in-the-suburbs?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
I think you’re missing the context here.
The mainstream media tried every angle of smear, stretched every truth, gave up all pretense of actual journalism, in their support of Clinton and undermining of Trump, over the last 6 months.
And large parts of the USA recognised it and turned them off.
This whole episode has been a business and professional disaster for these large corporates.
So much so now that the President-Elect of the United States is actively circumventing these mainstream media sites to talk directly to the American people.
Did you even read the linked article, CV? It was more about the; search for, and; interview with, someone who had been running a fake news organization (and whose words should thus be taken with a large amount of salt). Trump is only really mentioned as someone who took advantage of the credulity of the right-wing for his own purposes.
As for context; we could compare the billions in free advertising which the media gifted Trump by publicizing his antics for their own benefit. Compare to the long-sustained scrutinizing of the Clinton home email server (billions worth of attack ads for the Republican candidate). No charges for Clinton after the election, almost as if the entire thing was a beatup to create drama for the horse-race, and so fill the “news” space between ads.
Yes, in the end; most of the media had turned against Trump. Much in the same way that Baron Frankenstein turned against his Monster once he saw the mob with the pitchforks heading for his castle. In both cases, much too late.
I think you missed the wikileaks emails on how the Clinton campaign deliberately used its media contacts to elevate Trump whom they initially saw as an easily beatable “Pied Piper” fringe Republican candidate.
This was done in order to lock out serious competition like Jeb Bush and make the Republican party look extreme in the general election.
The Clinton strategy backfired on them.
http://www.salon.com/2016/11/09/the-hillary-clinton-campaign-intentionally-created-donald-trump-with-its-pied-piper-strategy/
Yes. And the daily drip of wikileaks emails undermined her positions and authenticity continuously.
Nevertheless, 76% of the American public picked up that the mass media were totally in the tank for a Hillary Clinton win. And many didn’t like it.
Actually, I didn’t mind the wikileaks emails; though I didn’t manage to get through them all. I do wish there had been a leak from the Trump camp though (even Stein & Johnson’s campaigns would have been interesting enough). I never really felt she had any authenticity to undermine though. Rather that the status quo was better than the status quo ante.
The media favoured Trump during the primaries, but slowly came around to condemning him as an actual candidate. If I recall correctly, all the polls showed that Trump was the only Republican that Clinton had a chance of beating, whereas Sanders would have wiped the floor with any of them.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/media-study-trump-helped-clinton-hurt-224300
yes, but as wikileaks revealed, this early elevation of Trump by the mass media was part of a deliberate Clinton strategy to sideline ‘more serious’ Republican candidates like Jeb Bush.
Backfired is an under statement CV.
This was nuclear for Clinton.
Yes mosa. I wonder if this campaign was the worst the Dems have ever run. It must be right up there – a total cock up.
Personally, I think there’s very few trolls on the standard.
I see disagreement, I don’t see trolling.
Any trolls that do show up get the big bold font rather quickly.
Do you not consider yourself a troll, BM?
Don’t confuse a standard centrist grumpie for a troll.
They are different species.
If the left and the greens don’t persuade people like BM to vote for them, they may as well shut up shop.
I never find BM ads anything to a discussion, just takes up space in which someone might say something interesting. I guess that’s not precisely the same as trolling, more spamming.
Not really.
If I was a troll wouldn’t I have been banned by now?
Recently simple trolls like BM, PR, etc have pursued a policy of matiness and no personal abuse, just to avoid giving excuses for bans by moderators. As for the more subtle, deceptively destructive varieties, I wonder if we are not starting to see Reds under the beds. Very suitable accusation to make against somebody whose views one does not find convenient.
In Vino has a very accurate view of this issue, imo. Trolls like Puckish Rogue have adapted their behaviour to fit in but still maintain their intentions to subvert. Chumminess and self deprecation are tools of camouflage and our good natures are being cunningly exploited in a way that right wing commenters patrolling their own blogs, don’t allow. We need to sharpen up without becoming nasty. The best approach is to play the idea/strategy, not the man. That’s a more difficult route, but will improve understanding amongst everyone who comments here. Of course they’ll soon adapt to that strategy as well… 🙂
Beautifully written, Robert. It saddens me that some of our own side have opted for the quick gratification of the clever put-down involving personal abuse, thinking, I guess, that the end justifies the means. It does not help informative debate (nor do trolls). I have great sympathy for the moderators trying to deal with it all.
“If I was a troll wouldn’t I have been banned by now?”
Remind us how many times you’ve been banned and what for?
Personally I think your comments add to the site, but you do troll as well. It’s possible to troll within the site’s rules, because the site has a lot of latitude.
But the original comment wasn’t about trolling. It was about the behaviour and tactics of the alt-right. A completely different conversation that one, and I wouldn’t put what you do as even close to that. Whatever disagreements I have with your politics, you’re not a proto-fascist. It does present a problem for the right though, what to do about the co-option.
Creative tension is a vital ingredient for good debate, however if one party or other is insincere or intends to subvert, the feeling pervades the discussion and no one feels satisfied. That’s what we are sensing here, I reckon. Taking the wide view of any commenter here is easy; just click on their name and look at their comment history; like Leunig’s duck, it’ll show you.
If the establishment right wants to do something about the alt-right, they could stop providing them with shelter and sustenance, and instead they installed a rat-fucking unit in the Prime Minister’s office.
Yet you are a blatant troll.
I’d suggest there are less trolls on this site then most comparable political sites, due in no small part to the moderators
And you a troll baiter so part of the problem
Says the master baiter.
Andre: how is it the alt-right is doing a better and more efficient job of propagandising than the alt-radical-left?
I also note that outlets like VOX were so pro-Clinton campaign in the last few months they didn’t see a Trump victory coming until it smacked them in the face on Nov 8.
Articles like this demonstrate that they are still going through the stages of grief.
Here is an interesting and well researched article from Dec 2015 about the fake prosecution of assange
http://theindicter.com/prosecutor-marianne-ny-is-just-embarrassing-the-swedish-legal-system/
Written by one lynn prentice of thestandard fame
This is a fine summing up of the farcical and frightening persecution of Assange; I was even more impressed this time than I was when I read it last year.
Congratulations Lynn! And thanks to you, Xanthe, for bringing it to our attention again.
Thanks Xanthe. Lynn puts a pretty clear case of Swedish abuse of legal system. If they can get away with that with Assange, how many others in Sweden are abused?
MPs call for student allowance tax loopholes to be closed
(essentially people now can hide all their money into trusts and now look poor for tax purposes and be entitled to payments for genuinely poor students). That is why I support taxes like Robin Hood taxes so that people can’t use tax avoidance! Saying that just because someone parents are rich does not guarantee them to support their adult children at university!
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/mps-call-for-student-allowance-tax-loopholes-to-be-closed-2016112515?ref=newshubFB
It’s been like that for a long time. It’s how the truly rich in NZ always have less income than the top tax bracket.
This has been known for a long time as well and so we can only conclude that it’s that way now so that rich people can continue to rip off the country.
RT: Washington Post article on “sophisticated propaganda campaign” damaging Clinton’s election gets mocked
https://www.rt.com/usa/368182-election-russia-propaganda-claim/
Zero Hedge, also singled out as a Russian propaganda tool also covered the story
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-25/washington-post-names-drudge-zero-hedge-anti-clinton-sophisticated-russian-propagand
It seems anyone who disagrees with the corporate mainstream media perspective is now part of a ‘sophisticated Russian propaganda tool.’
Old fashioned news outlet that still believes in fact-checking and corrections when they get it wrong reports on subversion of news by propaganda and fake-news outlets. Gets ripped by propaganda and fake-news outfits that happily spread outright lies.
Thank you for that excellent precis – nicely summed up.
Sure, you can keep getting your news from these “old fashioned news outlets” which you claim believe in fact checking and issuing corrections, but then don’t complain about the biased and unfair coverage of the NZ Herald and the Dom Post eh.
Meanwhile, a huge proportion of Americans (ten to one) reckoned these unbiased old fashioned news outlets were completely in the tank for a Hillary Clinton win.
Perhaps they too have all had their minds contaminated by sophisticated Russian propaganda?
BTW those numbers are from a USA Today/Suffolk poll. Reported in The Hill. Are they part of the sophisticated Russian propaganda machine now too, Andre?
http://thehill.com/media/303552-poll-public-overwhelmingly-thinks-media-is-in-the-tank-for-clinton
CV
Russia Today and Ivandjiiski are the source of your rebuttal to the claim that Russian propaganda had a role in the election of Trump? I’m sure that they are completely unbiased (I’ve only read your RT excerpt, but it seems weak that their main source is social media outrage). But, yeah; the Washington Post is not unbiased either.
When top independent journalists like Glenn Greenwald and Max Blumenthal are also ripping into this WaPo story (yes ok it is via Twitter admittedly) it tells me that it’s not all smoke and mirrors.
Just partially smoke and mirrors 😛
It never ceases to amaze me how one-sided we so called ‘enlightened’ people are when it comes to Western propaganda. Why ? It has been proven wrong so many times. Try a bit of balance and look at both sides. So many on this site will only accept the West’s version, as if it is the gospel truth(not).
It’s such a totally colonial attitude.
Not unlike the faux-intelligentsia pretending that they are somehow too enlightened and too educated to be influenced by marketing campaigns, commercial branding, advertising etc.
When it is plainly obvious to everyone that they fall for it as hard as or even harder than most.
I’ve said before that I don’t see the BBC as much different to RT or Al Jazeera in terms of propaganda. They are all superior to anything on our television stations anyway. The thing is that Western media is much easier to access because it is written in English (translation isn’t quite the same), with an understanding of the concerns of the audience. The major problem I see is the tendency of people to seek out information that confirms their prejudices, and have to actively remind myself to be suspicious whenever I find myself in agreement with an information source.
I’m not so big on the; “look at both sides” idea of balanced reporting. Because that implies that both sides are sincerely representing their positions, denying the possibility of one being disingenuous. However, certainly don’t just accept the viewpoint of any one source as true without seeking independent verification.
LMFAO !!! The excuses some media are using to justify Hillarys loss, and all these ‘russian propaganda tools’ lolooloz no mention of the ‘american propaganda tools’ like Fox News etc.
Tooo funny. Wikileaks for the win… dang imagine people knowing the truth and making an informed decision.
Betcha Pepe Escobar is on ‘the list’ love his work.
The Nation….TV3….Right now!!!!
Hear how the ‘worst piece of legislation in NZ history’ has affected NZ’s most vulnerable.
A heart-wrenching story, but one that needs to be highlighted nonetheless.
Check out Sunday tonight on TVNZ
Was thinking of you, Rosemary, wow, brilliant piece. Wondered if Gower knows someone affected, he was very emotional, even red eyed after the story, Most humane I’ve ever seen him, ever, was blown away by his reaction.
The outgoing government has been exploiting the families of those with disabilities, and it’s shocking. Even going so far as to change the law to try and prevent them from taking action while littering the way with red tape and ridiculous questions.
When someone is required to care for a person with a disability they should be paid to do so. If that person is a family member, then they should be paid, fairly, just the same as someone contracted to the state to do so.
Paying a family caregiver fairly would enable a better quality of life for the person with the disability. It’s a messed up system. Apparently a huge breach of human rights.
Highly recommended viewing, really moving stories. Much love to them all
http://www.newshub.co.nz/tvshows/thenation/are-family-carers-getting-a-fair-deal-2016112611
TC and Cinny…thank you both for your thoughts…but please…avoid the handwringing (yeah, I know, its Paddy’s usual state.) and tears.
It is not the impairment that disables… it is how society treats the person with the impairment.
And those New Zealanders with disabilities who have been assessed as having high and very high care needs and who are not supported by ACC are treated like shit. Family carers are in many cases the best and often the safest option for support….and we are treated like shit.
In case its not obvious…there’s a recurring theme here….
Cliff is right…the Ministry of Health are a bunch of bastards and my partner and I wrote a letter that was published in a special interest group’s magazine in 2009 anticipating that the Government would do what they did with the PHDAct(2) 2013…we said then they were a bunch of miserable bastards.
Cliff, and Dianne and Margaret (from The Nation piece) are taking a real punt by going public like they have. The Misery of Health has had disabled people paralysed and struck mute with fear of punitive measures for over a decade…the reason I will personally post and comment in my own name about the Ministry’s crimes is that they can take nothing further from my tetraplegic partner and myself.
Link is up
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/uncaring-bastards-health-ministry-slammed-over-treatment-elderly-man-cares-disabled-adult-children?auto=5225568796001
Thank you for the link TC, I missed Sunday tonight.
Glad this is issue is getting good coverage at present, the stories need to be told and solutions found. Because what is happening, is just wrong
Wrong indeed.
Lets hope the media continue to hold their feet to the fire. The Government need to correct this and they need to do it now.
Thanks TC. There were a few gaps in the Sunday piece, but overall, (Paddy’s tearful handwringing aside ;-)) it reiterates how purely malicious the Misery of Health is.
The Nation piece…apart from the ‘pity porn’ intro from the studio crew (oh why do they do that???)…was brilliant. Those staunch women…asking for nothing but for the Ministry to do the right thing ,and looking dead into the camera and telling the Ministry… WE WON”T BACK DOWN!!!
The politicolinguists here on The Standard should read the ‘Funded Family Care Notice’, published in the NZ Gazette.
https://gazette.govt.nz/notice/id/2013-go6248
Bear in mind that this document is aimed at the disabled person….Johnny, Marita, Shane and Paul, who are the employers of their parent carers.
My most quoted piece from this devil’s work is the Ministry of Health’s definition of “good faith”. (footnotes)
“11 Good faith generally means to discuss with each other any matter which affects the delivery of the disability support services in an open way so that all matters are “on the table”, to be active and constructive in establishing and maintaining a good relationship, being responsive, providing information, and not doing anything that might mislead or deceive each other.”
The last thing the Misery did throughout this whole saga…16 years and two Governments… was act in ‘good faith’. They lied, they misrepresented, they grossly exaggerated. They took our expectations that they would treat us….the disabled person and their chosen family carer…with respect and consideration, and yes, perhaps a tad of fucking compassion and humanity, and trampled all over them. We will NEVER trust the Ministry of Health ever again.
How about that for being “active and constructive in establishing and maintaining a good relationship,”?
Good faith, my arse.
One can only imagine the daily struggle the disabled and their family carers go through, let alone having to battle for funding.
The unnecessary anger, frustration and despair it causes is outrageous.
They should be treated with respect and understanding.
Frankly, it sickens me. The Government should be doing its best to make life easier for them.
With the amount of car accidents taking place in this country, any one of us could end up in this position.
Putting it right is long overdue.
“With the amount of car accidents taking place in this country, any one of us could end up in this position.”
The Chairman….the people lucky enough to become members of the disability community as a result of a car accident will be covered by ACC.
A crip of a completely different species.
A species with legislated entitlements to treatment, rehabilitation, equipment, home modifications and care and support in their own home. Unlike their non ACC cousins…none of these entitlements are means or asset tested. They are entitled to care, and hence are entitled to choose family as their paid carers. The Human Rights Review Tribunal heard that over 50% of funded care through ACC is paid to family.
For significant permanent injuries there are lump sum payments…sometimes well over the $100,000 mark, and then there is the 80% of their pre accident earnings….or a cost of living/projected earnings living allowance which makes for a more comfortable life than a non ACC crip battling WINZ for the Supported Living payment.
If anyone is interested….the Miserly of Health and ACC got together back in 2012 and conducted a study into Spinal Cord Impairment.
This document, http://www.acc.co.nz/PRD_EXT_CSMP/groups/external_providers/documents/project/wpc119428.pdf has a chart on pages 83-85 which compares ACC supports with MOH supports.
When one considers that research shows that the household income for an ACC spinal impaired person is twice that of the household income of a non ACC spinal impaired person 30 months post incident….the picture for non ACC spinal impaired is pretty grim.
True. I overlooked that vital point.
Thanks for pointing out the disparity in the treatment of the two.
A few glimmers on the horizon for actively removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
https://cleantechnica.com/2016/11/25/3-new-studies-show-promise-carbon-capture/
One area that particularly interests me is cement production. At the moment, cement production burns a lot of fossil fuel for process heat. But that process heat could easily come from zero-carbon electricity. Cement production also releases CO2 during the calcination process, but the resulting concrete reabsorbs most of that CO2 over its lifecycle. So by changing the process heat to zero-carbon, and capturing the CO2 produced during calcination, concrete production could actually become a tool for removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
Only the max CO2 levels achieved in the next 10 to 20 years matters.
The fact that concrete may reabsorb most of the CO2 released in its manufacture over say 50 to 100 years is largely irrelevant for this reason: if that additional CO2 tips our world into unstoppable positive feedback loops in the mean time.
additional information
http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/yes-concrete-pretty-much-terrible-climate-we-thought.html
This is what happens when governments impose austerity:
We’re seeing similar increases in poverty and rises in poverty related diseases under this government and yet they still have the gall to say that they’re managing the economy well.
Chomsky on the Ignorant, thin-skinned megalomaniac
.
“He has no background at all in any political activities. Never held office, been interested in office. He has no known political positions,” says Chomsky. “He’s basically a showman.”
Chomsky, who has spent decades critiquing US presidents, calls Trump an “ignorant, thin-skinned megalomaniac” and a “greater evil” than Hillary Clinton.
“Do you vote against the greater evil if you don’t happen to like the other candidate? The answer to that is yes,” says Chomsky, on Americans who cast their votes for third party candidates or simply stayed home on election day.
“If you have any moral understanding, you want to keep the greater evil out,” says Chomsky. “I didn’t like Clinton at all, but her positions are much better than Trump’s on every issue I can think of.”
“Chomsky. “I didn’t like Clinton at all …”
Jesus, I imagine you’d be pretty pissed off with Chomsky for this, joe90.
After all, haven’t you spent the last few months angrily denouncing all criticism of Hillary as nothing more than diabolical Far Right smears ? (whilst screwing your eyes tight shut and sticking your fingers firmly in your ears)
I think you, and several others here who shall remain nameless, are deliberately, misunderstanding the stance of those rooting for Clinton over Trump. It is exactly as Chomsky says – read it carefully
So Chomsky is completely aligned with what Joe has been saying. You twist his words to maintain anything else.
And there was a very dirty campaign run against Clinton (whether you liked her or not). In my opinion the head of FBI has a great deal to answer. As has the head of SIS here in NZ wrt the 2011 elections.
yep Macro – sad to someone like sordy going down this road of misrepresentation.
It still amazes me the thinking that thinks, ‘oh they don’t like trump because of everything he says, does, and is, so they must love clinton because she is standing against trump, and they don’t like trump’.
No wonder the world is going to hell in a handbasket with that sort of finking in play.
(1) My comment was premised on the assumption that Chomsky’s Vote for the Lesser of Two Evils argument was pretty bloody self-evident. In other words, I took it as read that anyone reading my comment would have been fully aware of Chomsky’s broader stance. My point lay elsewhere.
(2) Despite your assertions to the contrary, a number of those “rooting for Clinton over Trump” here (including joe 90) have taken a remarkably naïve innocent abroad” approach, using the deeply unconvincing apologetics of prominent Clintonistas in the US MSM to paint Our Hillary as whiter than white on a regular basis. A long way from Chomsky’s Vote for the Lesser of Two Evils argument.
(3) I’ve always had a lot of time for joe 90 (particularly his good sense on Israel-Palestine), which is why his ingénue naivity surrounding (dyed-in-the-wool-AIPAC-girl) Hillary was so (a) perplexing and (b) disappointing.
What marty says!
particularly
“It still amazes me the thinking that thinks, ‘oh they don’t like trump because of everything he says, does, and is, so they must love clinton because she is standing against trump, and they don’t like trump’.”
Furthermore – to argue against injustice – no matter where it is perpetuated is IMHO the morally right thing to do, and there was a vast amount of false news and misinformation and wrongful accusations levelled as much against Clinton as there ever was against Trump.
“What marty says !”
Re-read my point (2).
joe 90 was one of a number of commenters here specifically suggesting that all critiques of Hillary were entirely false. A long way from Chomsky’s Vote for the Lesser of Two Evils argument.
I certainly noticed, however, the precise reverse of what you’re suggesting – those critical of Hillary’s uber-Hawkish, pro-Aipac, Wall St/Corporate-shilling record (not to mention her ex post-facto enabling of Bill’s rape/abuse) being casually smeared as Trump fans.
no you are wrong, joe90 did not do that at all and I’m sure he will come and tell you that himself.
No one, and I read a lot of those posts and comments, tried to excuse anything bill clinton did. Sure a couple of times the haters put up fake accusations and insinuations and often they were rebutted from snoopes or someone – they were rebutted because they were out and out lies.
Nope. Consistently ABT.
Clinton set up an insecure, unofficial, email server to handle both her confidential SecState and private/personal business from.
As a bit of context, let’s recognise that the State Dept is used to setting up and and administering secure offsite private servers.
They do so for every US embassy and consulate in the world, scores and scores of them. They could have easily set one up for Hillary at her home.
But that’s not what Hillary Clinton wanted. She wanted something else.
This was a deliberate decision from her to hide her communications from official oversight and to hide her emails from official information requests.
And when asked about it, she lied about all of the above to the FBI and to Congress.
This pile of shit that she made herself was so high, and stunk so much, it buried her campaign in a defensive mode during the entire year.
Yep someone having an insecure mail server verses someone who is a misoginist prick and a threat to the free world and wants to pull out of the Paris protocol and put money into spacecraft rather than measuring climate change I would totally go for the misogynist, climate change denier any time …
You’re a lawyer MS.
The real questions are WHY hjc needed a private server outside of official oversight. WHY she deleted tens of thousands of emails from it after receiving a subpoena to preserve all evidence. And WHY she then lied to the FBI and Congress about her actions.
Clue: it probably wasn’t for the convenience of being able to print documents more easily.
As for misogynist racist Presidents of the USA, even if Trump was all those things (which he isn’t) the US has done fine with many such Presidents before.
Re: climate change, Trump’s position on this is worse than Clinton’s but not materially so in terms of CO2 ppm outcomes.
In terms of being a “threat to the free world” – well, he is a change agent with regards to the existing Anglo-US global military imperial order. But that’s not the same thing.
And here’s a dose of reality for the Democratic Party in the USA. Under Barack Obama they have lost hundreds of elected legislators. They have lost 10 US Senators. They control outright only 7 states out of 50 in terms of state houses, senates and governors.
The Republicans control 26 states outright.
And shortly, the Supreme Court is going to get another conservative justice who will probably serve on the bench for the next 25 years.
Perhaps one day Democrats will learn that prioritising identity politics, political correct languaging and labelling people racists, misogynists, bigots and xenophobes has done nothing more than lead them to a near total nationwide political collapse.
No the real question is why worry about this crap and work out which leader is going to do something about climate change. It aint Trump.
As for the loss of legislators read a bot about the gerrymander and corruption of the US electoral system that is happening and then blame Obama.
Then question why Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court was not voted on. If you think it is fair then I suggest you go back to basics.
Perhaps one day supposed lefties will learn that the right do not play by the rules.
1) Neither Clinton nor Trump nor Obama were (are) going to do anything effective about minimising climate change.
2) Yes there has been some pretty ghastly manipulation of electorate boundaries. Nevertheless the underlying mood can be identified by those elected officials where gerrymandering is not a factor. Republicans hold 31 state governorships and Democrats just 18. That’s 10 states down from when Obama took office.
And the Republicans still hold the balance of power in the Senate. Those positions aren’t as susceptible to gerrymandering.
BTW here is a good summary of the Democratic elected officials hemorrhaging under Obama. Around a thousand democratic legislators toast.
You can blame this mostly on “gerrymandering” or you can blame it mostly on the Democrats out of touch and in steep decline. I reckon the latter.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/democrats-lost-since-barack-obama-election-171598/
3)
Of course it was totally, utterly unfair. But it was also an absolutely brilliant political move by Mitch McConnell Republican senate leader. One that the Democrats had no reply to.
And because of this move, the Republicans may be able to confirm ~two Supreme Court positions during Trump’s first term, changing the balance of the Supreme Court for an entire generation.
Now figure this – Barack Obama remains one of the most popular 2 term presidents ever, at the end of his second term. But the states have decided that they now want something completely different to him.
What I reckon burns the faux-progressives deep into their souls late at night is that they KNOW that they could have easily beaten Trump.
All they needed to do was support an actual left wing progressive pro-working class candidate like Bernie Sanders.
Instead, the mass of middle of the road establishment minded Clinton Preferrers acted to deliver us President Elect Donald J Trump.
riiight so the fake progressives should have backed an actual left wing progressive candidate? Would they still be fake if they did that? Oh the humanity!!!
You bubbling on about what lefties and so forth should do is hilarious. Your man is in – roll in that shit and rejoice!
Going to watch a rerun Fox News election night coverage with a few beers this afternoon, it’s always good fun.
Especially the bit when Megyn Kelly announces that Wisconsin has gone for Trump and her blue wall has fallen in momentous fashion.
I’m sure you’ll have extra absorbent tissues handy for when Hail Trump comes in
The funniest lefty joke I’ve heard about that is of the Orangegrupenfuhrer.
The problem the Democrats have now is that Donald Trump is going to be a moderate who is determined to own the new middle ground of American politics.
a moderate just like adoof was…
do you think you’d ever do the stiff arm salute if you met him? trump that is
Come on now, boys—play nicely. I think we can all agree that Hillary is awful, and Trump is awful. It’s silly to squabble over which is worse, when the real problem is: WHY THE HELL WAS HILLARY CLINTON THE CANDIDATE INSTEAD OF THE FAR MORE POPULAR, AND DECENT, BERNIE SANDERS?
http://www.idiomartandgifts.com/idiom_all/no-brainer.jpg
the bernie meme – who cares – he didn’t run – he endorsed clinton – trump won – end of story.
“Who cares?” Well, you should—and so should anyone who was disturbed by the Democratic establishment’s dirty tricks.
Sadly for them, no one bought their nonsense about the Russians backing Trump. And, judging by their shrill but utterly unconvincing repetition of the smear, they obviously didn’t believe it themselves.
Do you not have even the slightest quiver of anxiety that Trump surrounds himself with his kins folk even at such important international meetings as the meeting with the Japanese PM? (His daughter Ivanka attended) That he involves his son-in-law in much of his decision making? Or that Kushner may end up with a role in the White House?
” A source close to Kushner told NBC News late Wednesday that he was considering whether to serve in the White House in a role along the lines of a special adviser or special counsel after being approached by Trump’s Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Chief Strategist Steve Bannon.”
This, even after the US amended the consitution following JFK’s appointment of his brother Robert as Attorney General? The nepotism law has a purpose – and that is to stop the formation of Dynastic tyranny. Trump, apparently, has no such qualms about such matters.
Says a bunch of precious Clinton Preferrers who for so long appeared to have absolutely no issue with Hillary Clinton following on from Bill Clinton into the West Wing to continue on a Clinton dynasty.
umm you had the dynastic problem with clinton (and trump hammered it) and now it’s all cool (cos it is a potential trump dynasty)
good you used the words ‘appeared to have’ – I think a few lefties had issues with that.
I don’t believe that I ever said that I had any dynastic problem with the Clintons. My main problem with her following on from Bill Clinton’s foot steps is that she would bring a known sexual predator back into the White House.
Did you or Macro ever say that there was a serious problem with having a Clinton political dynasty? I don’t think so but am happy to be corrected.
So you don’t/didn’t have dynastic issues with clinton – really. I’m surprised by that.
Personally the bush’s, the clinton’s, the Obama’s, the trump’s and any dynastic family presidential revolving door is not a great thing imo – but I cannot say I ever said it so – I did think that Michelle Obama would be great at the top but not because she was an Obama, more rather I think she is smart and effective and likeable.
Michelle Obama of the “when they go low, we go high” fame. She’s very likeable, like her husband.
Yep compared to her Trump is such a likeable person #sarc
her speeches were great and they did put trump under the blowtorch but the alt racist right don’t like people of colour, no matter how talented.
Better for Ivanka and that ten-year-old boy to make policy rather than the likes of Rudolf Giuliani and John Bolton.
Ivanka will have power in this administration and I would not be surprised if she decides she wants the top job at some point.
She is suposedly to run her fathers company. And sits in on affairs of state between foreign countries. Had she done that when Trump is President you can expect an impeachment order the next day!
Norman Eisen, Chief Ethics Counsel for Barack Obama, views the current situation as dire. If Trump is permitted to be sworn in as president without selling his companies, he says, the country is facing a “wholesale oligarchic kleptocracy of a kind that we have never seen before in our history.”
Article 9 of the US constitution states:
This provision was specifically created to prevent the President, most of all, from being corrupted by foreign influences
Seems flouting the law is a family thing.
http://crooksandliars.com/2016/11/russian-collaborator-trump-jr-met-russians
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_Act
The only thing that would have helped the US and the world in this was if every single democrat and worker voted Jill Stein. If you wanted the lesser evil, there it was. Clinton sure as hell wasn’t it.
Still, the increased speed of collapse of the US with Trump and his lot in charge will probably bring about some good even if it’s going to take longer.
what good?
more people suffering and dying earlier as their society splinters as the ‘increased speed of collapse’ occurs.
What about the environment? A speedy collapse is certain death to many species as exploitative destruction of the land and water and air intensifies as desperation bites hard.
The change in attitude of the people as civilisation continues it’s inexorable collapse.
Not even Noam Chomsky would keep Noam Chomsky happy.
I personally don’t know Noam Chomsky but I hazard a guess that it is not the pursuit of happiness that drives him.
Many talented & gifted people and tortured souls have created and delivered their best when they were not exactly in a ‘happy place’.
The ones that say they are “relaxed and comfortable” are the ones to watch; they try to lull you into a false slumber of relative comfort and privilege AKA “happiness” and almost without exception manipulate perceptions to maintain status quo. They create nothing, they remove the “creative tension” [thank you Robert Guyton], i.e. the spark and driver of human behaviour and creativity. They are suffocating.
I prefer ‘not happy’ Chomsky any time.
+1 Incognito. My Diddums comment was aimed at Ad.
🙂
Diddums.
Countries slashing their donations to Clinton Foundation
All happening now that Hillary Clinton won’t be in the White House. Coincidence? Zero Hedge (warning – fake news lol!) reports:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-25/australia-joins-norway-it-cuts-clinton-foundation-donations-0
I imagine the imminent auditing and investigation of the organization, despite assurances to the contrary, has something to do with the donor dry-up too. At least Clinton structured her (alleged/ probable) corruption so that it was legally plausible as a charity. Trump is so far refusing to do even that much:
https://thinkprogress.org/electoral-college-trump-top-lawyers-8a8b6e0ca916#.tri6j5itn
“Are Carers Getting a Fair Deal?” The Nation today gives a pretty awful outline of the rotten way carers are treated – still.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/tvshows/thenation/are-family-carers-getting-a-fair-deal-2016112611
Robert Guyton – you are a star
“In the small town of Riverton and the bottom of New Zealand’s South Island is Robert and Robyn Guyton’s amazing 23-year-old food forest. The two-acre property has been transformed from a neglected piece of land into a thriving ecosystem.
Living the Change
This film was made as part of our Living the Change series. For this series we’re traveling around New Zealand making short documentary films about permaculture farms, tiny houses, and sustainable living.”
http://happenfilms.com/film/permaculture-food-forest/
Ha! It’s a great little film, I reckon; the Happen Films people were lovely and their work awesome. The drone footage is cool too, and the music they chose as background, excellent. I’m pleased you enjoyed it, marty. The film went online last night and is attracting a lot of positive attention.
Just shared it on fbook which is where I found it. Onya mate.
I was reading our local (community) paper this week too Robert (and I’m up in the north island), and a familiar name appeared with a whole half page on gardening. I thought to myself what is going on here, is Mr Guyton trying to take over the world or something! But seriously, it was very refreshing to see, I just hope fairfax who I think owns the local rag is paying you.
Wonderful to see the vision as described in the articles you have posted here, Robert
“A great little film” , indeed
Gratitude for the inspired desire to absorb further information regarding, natural restoration, and contributing to it, somewhere, somehow…
MM , great link
Tax cuts
Key hinted that he’s leaning towards tweaks to Working for Families and the accommodation supplement.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/key-families-first-in-line-for-tax-cuts-2016112613
While dressed to help struggling tenants, this will help provide landlords with some security that tenants will be able to sustain further rent increases going forward.
And of course while dressed to help struggling families, increasing Working for Families entitlements will reduce wage pressure on employers.
The question is, will voters vote for the extra funding?
I agree.
Interesting that John Key mentions fairness as a consideration.
The problem with Working for Families and the accommodation supplement is that they are not a given [no pun]; people have to apply for these and meet (strict) criteria. Would these “tweaks” reach all people, would they reach the people that need it the most?
In any case, this Government has not changed its dogmatic stance on surpluses, debt reduction, and debt relative to GDP.
IMO the simplest, fairest, and very effective thing to do would be to lower GST back to 12.5%. In addition, the minimum hourly wage could be increased above and beyond CPI and the living wage could be more encouraged for public servants, for example.
Mentioning fairness as a consideration is all part of the sales pitch.
And yes, it will be limited to those that can meet the set criteria.
As GST is a harder tax to avoid, it has its positives. But it does impact upon lower income earners harder. Perhaps an exemption can be made, say through the use of community cards and gold cards or something similar?
Hi, mauī, yes, world domination is my aim 🙂 I’ve no complaints about Fairfax, as they recompense me generously for my efforts, such as they are. The sharing of my writing across the local papers is a bonus, as far as I’m concerned, as it’s the message that’s important, in my view.
Ah cool, yeah go global, don’t believe what they say about this globalism thing being in trouble.. haha. I shall be giving the gardening page a second glance from now on!
With Shaw now a Green co leader, will his higher profile increase his support in the Wellington Central seat?
And if so, doesn’t this run the risk of further splitting the left’s vote, potentially allowing National to come through the middle?
Castro!
Cuba Libre!
RIP comrade
RIP Fidel.
Solidarity, comrade.
Rest in peace; a leader, a fighter and a survivor.
RIP Fidel. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38114953
Andrew Little rips Nick Leggat a new one.
Does Leggat not comprehend that it was his Labourness which got him his success in Porirua – the only success he’s ever known. Now that he’s ditched Labour and all the constituents who trusted him he’s known nothing but failure.
Long may that continue.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/nick-leggett-wasnt-true-labour—andrew-little-2016112615
From the link:
Bang on Andrew Little. You can add the names of Phil Quin and Josie Pagani. None of them lifted a practical finger for Labour except when they once aspired to be the personal beneficiaries.
+1 Anne, totally agree, and what was that BS in the Newshub article that said: “Mr Leggett had previously been tipped as a future leader of the party”
When was that? Never heard of that before, have you?
+1 Muttonbird
Love this 😈
this may never appear which would be a great pity because its the sort of informed rational comment that is desperately needed.
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=767&Itemid=74&jumival=17692