The News of the Day in a Flippant Way
The Panel, Radio New Zealand National, Tuesday 26 March 2013
Jim Mora, Anna Chinn, Bernard Hickey
It’s billed as “The News of the Day in a Different Way”, but in fact Radio NZ National’s chat show “The Panel” is rarely much different from the insultingly vulgar rubbish on commercial talk radio. Look at the way Jim Mora handles the horrifying first story here: it is typical of his approach to many issues. First there is the unctuous protestation of concern, then the flippant comment that betrays a lack of moral seriousness or substantial engagement with the issue….
JIM MORA: Okay it’s quarter to four, and Noelle McCarthy is here, with what the WORLD is talking about! What have you got for us today?
NOELLE McCARTHY: Well, first up is this terrible story from Texas, about a high school cheerleader who was kicked off the squad because she refused to cheer for the basketball player who raped her.
….[Mora is silent for several seconds, to emphasize how appalled he is.]
JIM MORA:[incredulous tone] How could this BE?
NOELLE McCARTHY: She has now been ordered to pay forty-five thousand dollars for “filing a frivolous lawsuit”.
MORA: But SURELY, this cannot BE. Mind you, the question has to be: why did she let herself get into this situation?
….Another long silence ensues, with Noelle McCarthy no doubt biting her tongue.….
MORA: Okay, what else have you got?
NOELLE McCARTHY: A Swedish firm has come up with the idea of letting people experience what it is like to be HOMELESS. They pay a twenty-dollar fee and they can sleep for a night on the street, or on a park bench or—-
MORA:[fervently] Oh now, surely, THIS is frivolous. SURELY….
A $1 million multi-purpose training facility is under way at the Mines Rescue station, although the number of underground miners on the West Coast has plummeted with the closure of the Pike River and Spring Creek mines.
They should have done this before 29 men lost their lives
It seems a bit late in the piece to invest in such things now. After the deaths, the scandal, the economic uncertainty, the climate worries, the continuing pollution of air and water, all pointing toward the terminal decline of this industry.
The new safety training and rescue facility is available for other industries as well. So it won’t be a complete waste. Otherwise they would have just wasted $1 million on asbestos mine rescue, and dodo conservation.
Maybe the money would have been better, divested to the remaining 56 underground coal miners still remaining on the coast, to help them exit this dieing industry.
After all, prevention is better than cure.
Mines Rescue West Coast general manager Trevor Watts said today that although there were now only 56 underground miners left on the Coast, the development was still needed.
While the coal industry was going through hard times currently he was sure it would bounce back.
I think there were reasons why Pike River was not open cast. Something to do with it not being economical to move about 130m of solid rock from above the bits they wanted to get at.
A report commissioned by the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a partnership of 20 developing countries threatened by climate change was released to the media in September 2012. The report concluded that:
More than 100 million people will die…
The causes of this mega-death were listed as:
….five million deaths occur each year from air pollution, hunger and disease as a result of climate change and carbon-intensive economies, and that toll would likely rise to six million a year by 2030 if current patterns of fossil fuel use continue.
More than 90 percent of those deaths will occur in developing countries….
Reuters LONDON, Sept 26, 2012
“A combined climate-carbon crisis is estimated to claim 100 million lives between now and the end of the next decade,” the report said.
Yesterday lots of people here banged on with solutions to the woes of our economy etc, with traditional formulae…”.if only we printed money”….”tax companies”…”create jobs”….etc etc etc . I said game up, whose phantom cash do you wish to spend on yourself? What chimera of reality? Orlov summed it up well for me this morning…
Quite a few people wrote to me over the past week asking about all the noise coming out of Cyprus. If you haven’t heard, there is a financial collapse that is unfolding there: banks are closed and people can’t get at their money. The Cypriot banks are insolvent. This is no surprise: all banks everywhere are insolvent, and would fail immediately were the various types of ongoing bailouts to suddenly stop. These bailouts include an ever-longer list of annoying financial jargon—liquidity injections, quantitative easing, toxic-asset-purchasing by central banks, accounting tricks such as “mark-to-fantasy,” which allows them to make bogus claims as to the value of their assets, yadda-yadda. The point is, the financial system failed in 2008, and stayed that way. The faulty formula behind all modern finance is debt raised to the power of time, and only works when there is exponential growth in economic activity and energy. Energy’s exponential growth stopped in 2005 due to resource depletion; three years later finance collapsed. Permanently. Since then we have been witnessing a global game of “extend and pretend,” which cannot be played indefinitely. If something can’t go on forever, it doesn’t.
Banksters are like mafiosos. Get read of the head man and another slides right into place. Need to pull the whole thing out by the root. Put an end to the debt based monetary system.
All money is fiat. No getting away from that and so we need rules governing it that essentially bring modern banking to an end. We may no longer have the banking sector but we will still need the economy and that’s where the government printing money comes in and even then I believe that will only be short term as, over time, we go to full democratic control of resources.
The monetary system doesn’t work. The Great Depression, the GFC and every other recession and depression of the last two or three centuries proves that it’s just that now it’s coming to its natural end and people are seeing the absolute BS that is being done by the politicians at seemingly the demand of business to prop it up at their expense and they’re getting pissed off with it. So what we need is a valid system and a vision of how that system works that can take us away from the inherent corruption of the capitalist system. Some of us are trying to build that system and vision.
You are right we need to bring modern finance to an end….I suspect it will reach that point regardless. What follows who knows?
One reassuring thing to remember is that we have endured most of human trading history where transactions were not based upon cash….we traded one thing for another, no money. We may need to get that going again, and perhaps trade social “capital” as well as good.
How about this load of tosh contained in DOC’s press release about the savage cuts the conservation estate is going to experience:
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is proposing a new streamlined and outwardly focused operational structure to better position DOC for the future.
DOC presented the new structure to staff at a series of meetings around the country today.
Director-General Al Morrison says the new structure will maintain DOC’s own conservation delivery work while setting the department up to work more effectively with external partners.
“DOC must adapt if it is going to meet the conservation challenges that New Zealand faces – even if you doubled DOC’s budget tomorrow we would still be going ahead with this proposal.”
Mr Morrison says the proposal will mean changes in the way DOC is organised across the country and will involve the loss of about 140 largely regional management and administration positions.
He says DOC will continue to operate out of the same number of offices as it currently does with more than 1200 operational staff.
The proposal removes DOC’s existing 11 regional conservancy boundaries and replaces them with six new regions. The regions will be managed across two functions; delivering field conservation work and growing conservation through partnerships.
He says the resulting flatter organisational structure will see the loss of about 118 management and administrative positions.
“There will also be a reduction in 22 operational roles through efficiencies gained by setting up new support hubs for activities such as asset management, inspections and work planning.”
Al Morrison says the proposal has been sized to ensure DOC meets its current $8.7 million savings targets and continues to meet its current delivery work.
Mr Morrison said DOC has begun consulting with staff about the proposals and no final decisions will be taken until staff feedback has been considered.
Mr Morrison says DOC will work with staff and their representatives on the new proposals and any changes will not take effect for some months.
“I acknowledge this will mean a difficult period for many staff and we will be making every effort to ease the impact of these proposals.”
Mr Morrison said DOC has had a freeze on hiring new staff and is currently holding about 160 vacancies.
“It is simply too early to say what impact these proposals will have on individuals – we will look at all options such as redeployment and relocation to minimise redundancies.”
If it contained any more buzzwords it would become a bee.
I just wish that the Government would use plain English.
I knew him a little bit in previous life.
Imo, no he doesn’t. He’s doing what he is very well-paid to do, and he is excelling in his profession – PR for whoever pays the piper.
Decrease the resources and the manpower that an organisation has available to it and there’s no way that they will be able to do the same work especially when that organisation is as hands on as DoC. On top of that they’re cutting the administrative staff – so who’s going to actually coordinate what the people in the field are doing?
No, this is just more of Nationals attack on the environment so as to improve the profits of their rich mates.
Reducing the wage gap between NZ & OZ http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10873868 was just a snake oil pitch used to gain power for National in 2008. They formed a working group on the issue and then disbanded it when the groups recommendations were released. Salt to the wound is the recent introduction of the youth rates, which will drive the wage gap wider!
Ok you are a go getter & used it as a stepping stone which is great, however many people for varies reasons don’t get out of a low paying job.
Like many your being fooled as youth rates put downward pressure on adult rates also. If you applied for a job & were told the paying rate was the minimum adult rate, & you queried the rate as a bit below what you were expecting. The boss can put pressure back on you by saying I was thinking of taking on a younger person…take it or leave it. If you were unemployed & claiming a benefit the new welfare changes will see your entitlement to the dole axed for refusing to take a job opportunity.
Most probably, and infused would be typical of many small business owners.
Enough nous to fill in a form, not enough to realise how to actually manage staff. So they think that trial periods are a new idea, the concept of “good faith” perplexes them, and they expect employees to carry the same risk as the manager but without the same reward.
Let’s not argue about who sucks more.
They both suck – big businesses institutionalise all the abuses they can get away with, while small businesses have no idea what they are supposed to do or not do.
“I think at times people could be more hungry and more ambitious for growth and prosperity than they demonstrate – sometimes they do seem content to enjoy the lifestyle they have got rather than improve and build on it.”
When people don’t have the resources available to make a difference because they’re all going to the rich few then they can’t actually do anything no matter how much they want to.
CV is just repeating the kind of line from Shearer’s supporters who keep saying Shearer is improving and will come good soon – with CV’s tongue firmly in his cheek.
Well, to be fair Shearer is improving in his media performances and framing. He’d be a more than capable Minister for a middling size portfolio in 2014.
He’s better on talkback, but there’s just something about him. He sounds regressive, but it comes across really ‘try hard’. Like someone said a long time ago, he’s not being himself, and it’s obvious.
Key does so well, because his ‘laid back’ approach is him being himself. It’s not forced like Shearer.
I’ve maintained for a while that Labour (since 1984) is National’s natural coalition partner… perhaps Labour is doing what it has to to ensure National return to power in 2014? Damn… should’ve seen it earlier!
It was good to hear this morning that the government has thrown the Ombudsman a bone with funding for 6 new lawyers. Of course, it would be cheaper if organisations were a bit more open with information.
In large and complex organisations it’s easy for large numbers of people to be involved in a negligently run project with no one person left holding the smoking gun.
Surely if large numbers are involved then large numbers need to be held accountable. Yes, some will be more accountable than others but everyone involved in a project that causes death needs to be held responsible.
DTB… You’re mixing up responsibility and accountability. Accountability lies at the top… the CEO and/or Board (or Minister with Government bodies). Responsibility can be shared.
The Government said yesterday that it was putting 8261 square kilometres of land up for tender to gold prospectors later this year, and had already begun consulting local iwi and councils.
The 38 year old state prosecutor pressing investigating charges against the 2002 Venezuelan coup leaders was killed by a remote controlled car bomb in 2004.
Due to the nature of the death you can’t run your skeptics ‘tin foil hat’ argument, in that particular case.
A few days ago, the chief of Colorado’s prison system was shot dead as he opened his front door. Nothing was taken from his body.
There are lots of ways to send political messages, some of them not very nice at all. With very highly skilled people well trained and available to take such actions. And they are used.
Sandy Hook malarky?!? Is that your name for when the coroner and the judiciary suppress information and standard procedures for a mass casualty incident are disregarded? Or does it describe the appearance of the response units before the initial shooting takes place?
The selection and arrangement of experts by corporate media guarantees a continued monopoly on “truth,” particularly when presented to an uninquisitive and politically dormant public. Yet this phenomenon extends to ostensibly more trustworthy media outlets such as public broadcasting, where a heightened utilization of credentialed expertise is required to ensure the consensus of those who perceive themselves as more refined than the Average Joe…
The net is an ever shifting place with a lot of sites that we have links to and a ever changing set of “problem site” references. Hell I have seen the Granny come up on one of those blockers.
There are several reasons that could be happening. A likely reason is that the block is manual and they put sites with a lot of traffic on it and few people in NZ actually read Whaleoil (and they do read KB and TS). From the type of content he has been posting recently, it appears to be mostly orientated towards picking up international page views and visitors. It is what you do when you want to drive ad revenue.
However, in this case I suspect it is a differnet cause. Google sitemaps last week informed me of a problem on an early post from 2007 that had a iframe in it linking to wp-stats.com page that has recently been tagged for having malware on it. The iframe looks like some kind of mistake in a plugin dropping into the post. But I scanned the database for the entire rest of the site and didn’t find another iframe apart from some old youtude and vimeo embedds. Was fixed on the weekend.
It will now take some time to clear out of all of the reference sites that read off google’s problem post list.
Well, there are a couple of alternative possibilities.
One is that Cameron’s blog is considered less offensive than thestandard or kiwiblog. Another is that Cameron likes to play silly games by making complaints about other blogs.
Few if any of the blockers consider complaints about content apart from malware any more because of silly buggers complaining. The only ones that do are the ones that cater for kiddie blockers or corporate download issues like porn or traffic volumes – and they all do their own checks before they believe a complaint.
As childish as I find Whaleoil to be, it is unlikely he would pass a kiddie site filter.
We don’t have porn and the only way that we’d cause traffic problems is with obsessive reading because we don’t have much on download.
So I think you’re deluding yourself. It is most likely the malware link that google found in a 5 and a half year old post. It wouldn’t surprise me if Kiwiblog has the same kind of issue. WP_stats was around and used by many sites because it gave some good stats on who wrote comments.
Occasional, yes, and usually jumped on by other commenters or mods, compared to the near constant threats of violence at Cameron’s site which are such a normalised part of the culture there that you probably don’t even see it anymore.
However on this site threats of violence are condoned and justified, if they’re from the left.
Link to example comments where a threat of violence has been issued… And please these have to be actual threats of violence. I’m afraid that being called a dickhead doesn’t qualify.
I suspect that you are confusing it with abuse (as in your first paragraph) which isn’t controlled apart from “pointless abuse” which has a specific meaning in the policy and attacking authors which is also in the policy. The rules for left or right are exactly the same – there is no cordoning.
The only real difference between how people are treated by moderators is a question of repeated behaviour and previous good behaviour. Basically if you’re a newbie on site or have a history of causing us to warn or ban you, then your probability of getting abrupt or harsh treatment goes up a lot. Newbies to a site should always learn the rules of the site, and wasting moderator time makes us grumpy – both forewarned in the policy.
r0b is pretty damn clear on what he considers to be threats and deals with them abruptly, as do I if I see them. They seem to have disappeared since he started banning heavily for uttering them.
Although it seems odd to me that the economic violence of throwing whole families out of their homes into the street, destroying peoples dignities and self respect, doesn’t count to the Right as being “violence”.
You’re absolutely deluded. WhaleSpew is full of exhortations to violence, gutshots, police dogs to be used on protestors, anal rape for prisoners, police to use Glocks on almost everyone……….
Not to mention the great grub himself carrying on about how physically tough he is, which he proves by calling ten year olds dumb.
The fact that they’re just masturbatory fantasies by net jockeys doesn’t make them any less offensive.
I can’t remember seeing anything remotely comparable here.
The standard approach to policymaking and advice in economics implicitly or explicitly ignores politics and political economy, and maintains that if possible, any market failure should be rapidly removed. This essay explains why this conclusion may be incorrect; because it ignores politics, this approach is oblivious to the impact of the removal of market failures on future political equilibria and economic efficiency, which can be deleterious. We outline a simple framework for the study of the impact of current economic policies on future political equilibria — and indirectly on future economic outcomes. We then illustrate the mechanisms through which such impacts might operate using a series of examples. The main message is that sound economic policy should be based on a careful analysis of political economy and should factor in its influence on future political equilibria.
Interesting. I’m reading their book Why Nations Fail at the moment. I’m only a couple of chapters in, and it seems like they’re economists who are trying to save their academic discipline from irrelevance as a social science by throwing in a theory of politics to bolster it. They have huge dislike of the imbalance of power and opportunities for greed in extractive regimes.
So far I’ve been thinking that if they’re going to go down that road they can only but become more left wing in their thinking. Good to see that might be the case. Unions would fit their theory because it’s all about the strength and balance of institutions in holding back the exploiters – and they’re right in that traditional economics doesn’t deal with this very well.
“Housing shortages in ChCh, yet commercial construction permits up.”
RNZ- Sexual assault convictions have risen by 30% over last 5 years. (Collins reckons this is due to increased reporting based on increased confidence in police process.) Yet, only 10% of victims report such assaults to police.
According to “award-winning” MSM columnist Eva Bradley, the new fashion trend for young women is “Skank” and today I read an editorial that identifies the “thigh gap” as the new “must have” body image requirement of young women keeping up with the Kardashians. *sigh*.
…same as it ever was…same as it ever was…watching the days go by…Once In A Lifetime…water flowing underground (read today that the underground gas they want to extract round these here parts is often so close to the aquifiers that a lighted match near a flowing water tap can produce a glow.
*Sigh #2*
Loved these lines, “This is what people who aren’t from America, or who grew up somewhere like Portland or whatever, don’t get: America’s love of guns in most cases has nothing to do with actually using them. It’s all about what they symbolize. And what they symbolize is God, and cocks.”
The other thing I found fascinating was the gas oven and bridge barriers thing. Delay the impulse fulfilment by a few seconds or minutes, and they don’t usually make another attempt.
the analysis of the columbine shooters fitted with what I think the situation is – that they are either mad, bad or sad rather than employed by a quasi-government department to sow seeds of panic and wreck destruction on innocent people
Question time a debacle with the Speaker’s performance abysmal, resulting in Mallard and Hipkins having to leave.
And now Judith Collins in General Debate has just referred to Eddie’s post on the internal Labour Caucus positions. And tried to ‘out’ Eddie as being a female who works for the EPMU….
The Virulent Judith Collins had a field day after Question Time, leaning heavily on Eddie’s homework which fitted in so well with the National Agenda. Saved Judith Collins a lot of work. Well done Eddie.
yes, QT was a joke indeed;
talk about a “spinning top”; That Speaker is turning the House into a farce Indeed, in front of the “international guests” he referred to; nothing like the children playing up in front of invited company! (put me off me Merlot Pinotage it did).
Collins calls “Mr Robinson” (a slip methinks), and then the TS ammo; oh well, interesting to establish the link between the “woman” Eddie, the EPMU and Little. *sigh*; even the normally composed Metiria shook her head…
still, try to remember, Lest We Forget (John), NZ’s International Liabilities as a % of GDP, with the government / public component increasing under National.
The Ghost Rider does enjoy that Michael Woodhouse though…
Come on ian – all the labour mp’s had to do was issue individual, or a collective press release detailing that they weren’t in the faction described or that there were in fact no factions, or different ones, and the whole thing would have stayed as a molehill and not be used against them – sheesh mate political knife-fighting 101.
A collective press release in denial gives Eddie’s post the credibility of having to be denied.
Personally I might have gone more for the “If the minister believes everything she reads on the internet, how much money does her department spend on tinfoil hats?” response.
re:rhino – Nah. S/he’s probably busy at work or something. I kind’ve figured if we didn’t sort it there the months-old argument would be rehashed somewhere else. Apologies to Eddie – between Collins crowing and us two, their analysis has been detracted from, imo. Even if the names of members and some of the labels might be widened, it’s probably a fair reflection of the policy/personality pressures within labour and other left wing parties.
I suspect national is a more complex beast of patronage and rural/urban pressures.
Oh please, if Labour sorted itself out and got a decent leader Eddie wouldn’t have written his piece. The presence of Shearer, Mallard, and others at the top of the party is what saves Collins a lot of work, not anything written here.
I’m even Facebook friends with him, but I’m glad to see your idea of proof is at least consistent.
I imagine the following scenario: if Mana and the Greens both won 20 seats, who on Eddie’s list would be prepared to form a coalition with National in the interests of “national unity”? I’m pretty sure Cunliffe wouldn’t be. For all his attachment to tinkering with capitalism, I think he believes he can tinker with it in favour of the workers. Most of them see their mission as tinkering with the workers in the interests of capitalism.
Everything would be rosy for Labour if only The Standard was like Red Alert!
Is that it ianmac?
We would not be at the same level in the polls, for th past 5 years, were it not for The Standard?
We would have a united and motivated party if only those Standinistas went back to the Alliance Party?
Is that it ianmac?
Shearer would have broad support and be widely respected if only LPrent was more like Mike Smith?
Is that it ianmac?
oh, and don’t forget the NZLast MP reminding us of the Morning Report on sex-work in South Auckland; 13 years of age and Six Hundy a night (at least some family member or associate ain’t riding for free). and, and, she helpfully pointed out that 30% of Auckland sex-workers are Chinese; you don’t say! Yummy!
Lifetime membership to the Dark Side?
A soul so tarnished she’d be rejected by hell?
A letter from “A. H. in Argentina” suggesting she “chillax a bit, it’s nicht worth it, ja?”
Actual skeletons in the closet?
Love It Flockie (whats with you and Rhinocrates; jest or joust? clear that you both have Very fast minds, though I haven’t bothered “clocking” the comments) 🙂
It’s not only Collins as to whom/which you don’t know stuff Chris but really, that comment is offensive. Were I her husband, and I presume she retains the one she had years ago, (big burly Polynesian ex-cop turned lawyer and a genuinely decent man), I’d be pissed off !
In light of your nonsense about threats of violence on TS you’d better not tell us that you’d kill for a piece of the likes of her.
In that case Chris, and according to your own “standards” (lol), I’d have to denounce you not only as a sex beast but also as a violent sex beast.
furthermore, if that is a demonstration of the political “class” in this country, might as well start hewing rice terraces into Kahuranaki now, oh wait, not enough water; Beaujolais anyone?
“If you tried to sack me for joining a union I would kick the shit out of you where you stand, And I would take plesuare in it”
“Do you want to Americanise heath care. I am warning you, I will come for you if you do. I will come for you. I will kick the shit out of you 10 times over you mean nasty horrible person. All those poor and working people and unionists you denigrate will cheer me on and probably join in.”
“The best thing to happen to Thatcher is for a gunman to splatter her brains over the 10 Downing Street door.”
“Pity those IRA guys didnt succed is blowing her to bits. Would have saved a lot of UKers from the misery you wanted imposed on them.”
“Addison, if you even think about banning unions and Americanising our health care, I will, come for you.”
“You nasty fascist cunt. You should have your head kicked in for that.”
“Im sick of people who want to lock up unionists and bring back slavery. They derserve to be strung up with piano wire”
Probably more but thats probably enough to get my point across. I will concede it was from one person, though some people agreed with him (and others didn’t)
[lprent: Is that what you describe as ‘condoning’ – pointing to a single commentator who regularly gets warnings and has spent extended periods banned for it. I notice that you skipped the dates and links. Probably because having someone sprouting crap with weeks or months between (often because they are banned) instances doesn’t exactly follow your thesis.
FFS are you really so stupid that you can’t recognize yourself sprouting a myth? Silly nutters standing around telling each other tales and never bothering to check. ]
we all know millsy is over the top, down the hill, and up the other side but that is just bigbad talk which I’m sure you’ve heard enough of over the years – hardly credible enough for you to say, “I can quite easily say there are more realistic threats of violence and abuse on this site in comparison to whaleoil” – that statement is just not true.
btw – there have been a lot more piano wire ones which is weird because keyboards are the rage and have been for a while now.
You have every right to be offended as I have every right to state what I feel. What a great society we live in that we can have differing views aired out in public.
So you unprompted, linked to comments from someone you think you know and who has not threatened you, to show how there are lots of threats on this site – that’s called a fail chris.
Merely pointing out why, and with examples, this site is as bad as and sometimes worse than whaleoils (yes I realize I’m speaking heresy)
[lprent: I would described it as simple lying myself. But I guess you came directly from Whale so I guess we could be generous and just describe as stupid gullibility of someone listening to a congenital liar. Just look at who he has asserted our authors are in real life.. ]
Depends on how one imparts values on a tool.
You believe they are useful, where as I’d have written they have a use. Almost the same, but not quite.
Trust me, mr conditioned, you can let your belly and chest flop out and down now, and you don’t have to polish your shoes until you see your twin heads in them all stood to attention.
The France 24 Debate a few days ago had a commentator (Thomas Klau – Head of the Paris Bureau, European Council on Foreign Relations) who made similar points about Germany’s role in the Eurozone crisis as the last of your links. One comment he made really caught my attention – that for historic reasons a Europe perceived as having the authority for Eurozone issues looking like they are coming out of Berlin was not a good things for Europe or for Germany!
His view was that the issue for the Eurozone is that there is no Government body directly answerable to the citizenry – as he expressed it “someone electable, who is then ejectable”. It means it makes decisions on things like the Cyrus bailout look like it is being made by bureaucrats behind closed doors and citizens have no recourse to hold them accountable.
I like a lot of what Costas Lapavitsas was saying though – really challenging the orthodoxy of the “solutions” to this Global Depression.
As an aside I prefer France 24 (in English – my French isn’t good enough!) to any of the other cable news providers – including BBC and Al Jazeera. They give a different perspective from the usual suspects.
It means it makes decisions on things like the Cyrus bailout look like it is being made by central banker nominated Goldman Sachs alumni behind closed doors and citizens have no recourse to hold them accountable.
I am getting a bit sick of the Berlin and Germany focus of the blame to be laid for Cyprus, Spain, Greece, Italy and so forth. It was a problem with the way the common Euro currency was designed and introduced, not something that happened in Germany that brought it all about. Others assented and agreed, and the Greeks were overly keen to join.
So this is crap populism, especially comparing Merkel with Hitler and stuff. Hey, get some real info and learn what really happened, perhaps. I do not hit out at you as commenter, but the media and others are blind on one eye.
Every country involved made mistakes and has to carry some shit.
It is disgusting to blame Germany for every thing.
All debt is subordinate primarily to German creditors. Including French, Italian, Greek, Spanish debt.
Don’t think that this is by accident, or that Germany has not been exporting its manufacturing unemployment to other countries using the Eurozone as a mechanism.
Also notice that Merkel is pushing the hardline on Eurozone defaulters…because she has elections to face in a few months.
It was a problem with the way the common Euro currency was designed and introduced, not something that happened in Germany that brought it all about. Others assented and agreed, and the Greeks were overly keen to join.
Yes, this has been a phenomenon which has come from the Eurozone’s intrinsic design. A design which said that capital could move freely across every border, and where sovereign governments no longer had any say over the value of their own currency. The engineering firms of Greece had to compete on the same terms as the engineering firms of Germany. Guess who the loser in such a fight was.
Yes, the governments of these countries got short term highs from voluntarily signing up to the Eurozone. But its the ordinary people of those same countries suddenly realising that they’ve had to wake up with very bad hangovers. Where are the leaders who originally signed their peoples up to this pact? Staying very quiet and out of the way, I notice.
“All debt is subordinate primarily to German creditors. Including French, Italian, Greek, Spanish debt.”
Sorry, CV, the European banking network and the interwoven creditor and debtor dependencies are actually quite a bit more complex and diverse than what you imply here.
Like the French banks have a lot more in Greek and Spanish bonds on their books than German banks. And while some banks in Spain are rotten and about to fold, others are still fairly stable and healthy.
It was not some evil design that came out of Berlin, and there are not secret string pullers in Berlin, that hold Europe to ransom. I agree that Merkel has a fair bit to answer to, and there are other politicians in Germany, especially in the opposition SPD and Green parties, that follow a different approach to Merkel and her government, which is more in line with what Hollande in France may also wish to follow.
I was thinking of the average man and woman in the streets of Nikosia, Athens or Madrid or Rome, holding up pictures of Merkel with a swastika on her chest. That is stupid ignorant populism there. And it must be accepted that certain governments in Greece and Italy especially have some responsibility for the present situation. Berlusconi gave tax cuts to his supporters and let the finances stay too much in the red at the same time.
Now is the NZ government not doing something similar at present?
“Yes, this has been a phenomenon which has come from the Eurozone’s intrinsic design. A design which said that capital could move freely across every border, and where sovereign governments no longer had any say over the value of their own currency. The engineering firms of Greece had to compete on the same terms as the engineering firms of Germany.”
As for the Euro, it ran into trouble (once the GFC sped up the process) due to every country in the Eurozone and EU still running their own finance, taxation, social, internal economic and other differing regulatory systems.
One currency necessitates to also introduce the same fiscal and some other policies (primarily economic) to make the one currency system function.
Allowing different countries to follow different policies in such areas, and also having very differing economic and social realities to face, yet take advantage of the same low interest rates to take up credit, this led to distortions, which now have come back to bite in certain countries like Greece, Spain, Portugal and increasingly Italy. Cyprus is a special case, and it stuffed up due to some exposure to the Greek banking system, also having attracted deposits from other foreign sources, by running a banking system inviting tax evaders from Russia and so forth.
You cannot have one common economic zone and especially not one common currency, and at the same time quite different taxation, fiscal, economic and other policies in member countries.
“Accumulation of wealth at one pole is at the same time accumulation of misery, agony of toil, slavery, ignorance, brutality, mental degradation, at the opposite pole,” Marx wrote.
A growing dossier of evidence suggests that he may have been right. It is sadly all too easy to find statistics that show the rich are getting richer while the middle class and poor are not. A September study from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in Washington noted that the median annual earnings of a full-time, male worker in the U.S. in 2011, at $48,202, were smaller than in 1973. Between 1983 and 2010, 74% of the gains in wealth in the U.S. went to the richest 5%, while the bottom 60% suffered a decline, the EPI calculated. No wonder some have given the 19th century German philosopher a second look. In China, the Marxist country that turned its back on Marx, Yu Rongjun was inspired by world events to pen a musical based on Marx’s classic Das Kapital. “You can find reality matches what is described in the book,” says the playwright.
The evidence grows daily – Marx was right about capitalism.
This raises an important point. Thirty-five percent, mainly the upper middle class have been improving their lot. That’s quite a big chunk of the middle class with a vested interest in the status quo. Often these people are richer than they could have imagined themselves to be. There are a disproprtionate number of baby boomers in this statistic.
And most will fight for every last designer kitchen fitting.
We also might need to start talking households, not voters, when it comes to political economic income brackets (which is what you might have done above? Top 35% of households probably have an annual income of $85K and up).
For instance, if I earn fuck all income but my corporate exec spouse pulls in an income in the high $200K range. I’m going to be counted in the bottom 10% of earners (sub $15K pa). But I’m not going to be struggling in poverty and the people I socialise with are not going to be unwashed losers. My voting patterns will be influenced accordingly.
That’s a very good point CV. There are a lot of wealthy people with partners earning a huge whack, but whose household income is no reflection of the comparative ‘pin money’ they bring in themselves. Their own personal income may be going backwards but their household income is steaming ahead.
I’m often struck by the relatively large numbers of people who live very comfortably – huge houses, flash baches, overseas hols etc., and I’ve been puzzled about why their numbers aren’t entirely reflected in income stats.
Next time you hear elected officials or advocates say they want more tests, ask them if they are willing to take the high school graduation test themselves.
Anyone note the gliding swagger of Commissioner of Police Marshall on 3 News tonight, in the lift lobby of the Beehive I think. Bedecked in more fruit salad than a Jakarta hotel carpark attendant !
Refusing to comment on the appallingly grave miscarriage of justice in the Teina Pora case. When asked whether he would resign were the obvious to be exposed there was the hint of a Freudian stammer. In unmistakeable contrast to the glide. The Teina Pora case is huge and he clearly knows it.
But, the underlying morality betrayed by the stammer was quickly rectified by the crushed car vixen Madame Tolley who quickly got things back on track with – “it’s not a good look…..”, “decided in the media……” , “blah blah blah”.
You bet it’s not a good look, privileged, mutton-dressed-up-as-lamb worse than Shitley cow ! A 17 year old, I’d suspect illiterate (then) kid, used as an ingredient in a police “cook-a- cake-of- your-choice” exercise for which no doubt the very senior police personnel involved were lauded to Kingdom Come.
20 years in the slammer poor little bugger.
Good to see Toryana and Peter exercised about the boy. They might finally prove of some worth. Pity it took the destruction of a young man’s life.
John Key, please, please don’t let Chris 73’s self-gratification fodder Judy Collins anywhere near the compensation issue.
I wander if the anger in Cyprus begins to have a feedback loop to Greece? It will be interesting to see if the protests in Greece continue again after the latest wave in February and early March.
To be fair they’re holding up their hands because they have ‘NO’ written on their palms.
However, yeah, a re-run of Germany in the ’30s somewhere else is a scary prospect and all too likely if political/bureaucratic decisions inflicting joblessness, increasing wealth divisions within and between nations, and hopelessness in the general population aren’t changed soon.
While I wrote the post above I had a weather-eye on “3rd Degree” on TV3.
A debate ??? What alot of shit ! In part at least a bunch of wannabee TV celebrities-in-training with Garner, the lisping wee Gee-On, and the perennial yet newly-careered “lawyer” Linda Clark.
They’ll have graduated and be on “Afternoons With Jimmy” within a month.
Still, all of the above said, I give real heartfelt thanks to 3rd Degree for its Teina Pora investigation.
What’s happened to that poor guy is absolutely disgusting. Any police involved in this carriage of injustice should have to do time equal to what they got him sentenced to.
In paragraph 3.34, the [UK] Treasury makes plain that the monetary authorities could finance increased government spending on infrastructure “through the creation of money“.
There is a money tree, and it’s called the Bank of England.
Same applies to the RBNZ. Now just need to the politicians of the left (the ones on the right will only ever have the country borrowing from their rich mates) to realise it.
In what has been one of her most important diplomatic mission, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has opened the door for a visit to Beijing by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins later this year. Such a mission is regarded as vital with a new Prime Minister Li Qiang settling into office. ...
Saturday morning, we went to Albert Park.We were there to show support, to challenge words of demonisation.To repeat those words from Michèle A’Court:Making them sound “other” is a technique used by racists and homophobes to dehumanise whole groups of people who “aren’t like them”. If you dehumanise people, it is ...
Too Strong For The Law’s Web: But, if the USA is too big to punish, why isn’t the Russian Federation? Russia’s economy may be roughly the size of Italy’s, but it’s nuclear arsenal is more than capable of laying human civilisation to waste. Threatening to arrest Vladimir Putin - especially when ...
Nobody likes a fascist, except other fascist’s of course. Thankfully they were completely outnumbered in Auckland last Saturday when a supposed advocate for women’s rights, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull aka Posie Parker, tried to give a public speech about how transgender people are worthy of persecution.You can understand why Parker and her ...
On Friday I sent out a newsletter called Posie Parker vs Transgender Rights to provide information about the visit to our shores of Ms Parker. I attempted to show there were multiple points of view but on balance my sympathies were strongly with the counter protest group standing up for ...
Brian Easton writes – Evaluating the recent crashes of Silicon Valley Bank in the US and Credit Suisse in Switzerland plus two other banks (perhaps more by the time you read this) needs to begin with a review of the inevitable instability in the financial sector. The financial sector ...
Oh, the irony. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has made a career out of inciting public hostility against the trans community, only to find herself on the receiving end of public hostility at her Auckland rally. In a further case of karmic justice, the people who brought her into the country ended up ...
In 1972, British soldiers tortured a false confession out of Liam Holden, resulting in him being given Britain's last death sentence. While it was commuted to life imprisonment, Holden was wrongly imprisoned for 17 years. Now, the courts have finally recognised that it was torture: In 1973 Liam Holden ...
Taxpayers are not only subsidising already-very-profitable private banks via the cheap ‘Funding For Lending’ loans that helped pumped up house prices in 2021, but are also paying the banks upwards of $2 billion a year in interest for cash kept with the Reserve Bank. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: ...
This weekend saw a showdown between two tribes of contemporary gender politics: those in favour of progressing transgender rights versus women wishing to defend their spaces. It’s a debate with huge passion, outrage and consequences. The figure at the centre of the clash was the British “trans-exclusionary radical feminist” Posie ...
Tomorrow the Auckland Transport board meet again. Here are some of the highlights from their board papers. The open session starts at 9am and can be watched on this Teams link. Closed Session The closed session is typically where the most interesting items are discussed. Items for Approval ...
Mutual Support: Democracy in New Zealand will not be saved by pitting Pakeha against Māori, but by joining together with every other citizen who still understands the meaning of working together to build something good that will last. Call that co-governance if you like, or call it something else – ...
Imagine being a great big business success enjoying your lavish Waiheke island property with infinity pool and ballroom and riparian rights and heli-pad. Sweeeet. But imagine, also, having to take orders from some little bureaucratic oik about how often you can land a chopper on it.I can’t, really, but it ...
Hi,New Zealand’s Life megachurch has confirmed to Webworm it was paid $10,000 by Hillsong for investigating Brian Houston’s sexual misconduct allegations.Following Webworm publishing this piece about the $10,000 payment, Life’s Corporate Communications Manager Phil Irons has confirmed what it was for:Paul [de Jong] was engaged by Hillsong to assist in ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 19, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 25, 2023. Story of the Week Q&A: IPCC wraps up its most in-depth assessment of climate change The final part of the world’s most comprehensive assessment of ...
by Daphna Whitmore I thought the #LetWomenSpeak meeting would be a good time to talk about free speech and why it is important for the left. Then the mob stampeded the open-air gathering and no one got to speak. Here’s what I was had prepared. Today I want to talk ...
By Don Franks Today my friend Ani O’Briien went to a meeting in Auckland and wrote: “No sooner had Kellie-Jay Keen Minshull arrived at the Rotunda, a protestor (who had managed to get past the barrier) ran at her and threw a red substance all over her and a security ...
Jonathan Milne, managing editor for Newsroom Pro, has expressed his indignation about the outcome of a court decision yesterday in an article headed Posie Parker wins the beautiful freedom to make an ugly argument.Newsroom Pro laments: High Court Justice David Gendall has regretfully allowed an outspoken anti-trans activist to enter New ...
imagine my surprise this week when the National Party, in their infinite wisdom, decided to release an education policy. As you can imagine, this got us so riled up here in the office that we dusted off our Windows XP laptop, waiting 17 hours for all the updates to be ...
Come on Jess thought Mr Evans come on. He watched the large clock on the wall tick closer to 8:40am. Come on girl.In two minutes he had to submit the class attendance report and with Jess having already been late once that term it’d mean an automatic visit from the ...
This week’s UN IPCC report warned climate emissions will need to be cut by almost half by 2030, if warming is to be limited to 1.5°C. Bronwyn Hayward points out in The Hoon podcast how far behind NZ’s government and councils are now on climate action compared to the rest ...
Chris Hipkins, after he became prime minister, committed to defeating the cost-of- living crisis. He proceeded to make a bonfire of policies that were at the heart of Jacinda Ardern’s administration. But, as Richard Prebble pointed out this week, “the government has not just U-turned, it has repudiated the ...
There are some wellness, crystal-gazing, holistic spiritual guidance types in my disaster-hit coastal community who insist that the power of positive thinking will overcome the physical and material damages incurred by the community. They object to restrictions on road travel … Continue reading → ...
Evaluating the recent crashes of Silicon Valley Bank in the US and Credit Suisse in Switzerland plus two other banks (perhaps more by the time you read this) needs to begin with a review of the inevitable instability in the financial sector. The financial sector is inherently unstable, like military ...
1. We see here new police minister Ginny Andersen. Which larger than life NZ political figure was her great-uncle?a. Rob Muldoonb. Bill Andersenc. Richard John Seddond. Norman Kirk2. We see here archival footage of Ginny Andersen coming out of her electorate office to ask ex-tobacco lobbyist Chris Bishop if he ...
Buzz from the Beehive Stuart Nash, speaking as Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, one of his remaining portfolios after he was dropped down the Hipkins Government batting order, has drawn attention to the blue economy and its potential. Nash says the government is investing in the blue economy, or – ...
Photo by Josh Mills on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:The runs on Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank on the west coast of the United States that forced the ...
Roundup is back! We skipped last week’s Friday post due to a shortage of person-power – did you notice? Lots going on out there… Our header image this week shows a green street that just happens to be Queen St, by @chamfy from Twitter. This week (and last) in ...
After threatening Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of consequences if he dared to bar her entry, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has been given her visa, regardless. This will enable her to hold rallies in Auckland and Wellington this weekend, and spread her messages of hostility against an already marginalised trans community. Neo-Nazis may, ...
* Bryce Edwards writes – The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as ...
Boomers voted him in, but Brown’s Trumpish moments might spook Aucklanders worried about what a change to National nationally might mean. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR:Auckland MayorWayne Brown has become our version of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, except without any of the insatiable appetite for media appearances. He ...
The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as part of its Aukus pact with the ...
Recently you might have heard of a person called Posie Parker and her visit to Aotearoa. Perhaps you’re not quite sure what it’s all about. So let’s start with who this person is, why their visit is controversial, and what on earth a TERF is.Posie Parker is the super villain ...
The chair of Parliament’s Select Committee looking at the Government’s resource management legislation wants the bills sent back for more public consultation. The proposal would effectively kill any chance of the bills making it into law before the election. Green MP, Eugenie Sage, stressing that she was speaking as ...
Open access notables The United States experienced some historical low temperature records during the just-concluded winter. It's a reminder that climate and weather are quite noisy; with regard to our warming climate,, as with a road ascending a mountain range we may steadily change our conditions but with lots of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The Nanny State has scored some wins (or claimed them) in the past day or two but it faltered when it came to protecting Kiwi citizens from being savaged by one woman armed with a sharp tongue. The wins are recorded by triumphant ministers on the ...
Sometimes you see your friends making the case so well on social media you think: just copy and share.On acceptance and decency, from Michèle A’CourtA notable thing about anti-trans people is they way they talk about transgender women and men as though they are strangers “over there” when in fact ...
Not that long ago, things were looking pretty good for climate change policy in Aotearoa. We finally had an ETS, and while it was full of pork and subsidies, it was delivering high and ever-rising carbon prices, sending a clear message to polluters to clean up or shut down. And ...
Comparing (and switching) electricity providers has become easier, but bundling power up with broadband and/or gas makes it more challenging. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā TL;DR: The new Consumer Advocacy Council set up as a result of the Labour Government’s Electricity Price Review in 2019 has called on either ...
Hokitika-based Westland Milk Products has put the heat on dairy giant Fonterra with a $120m profit turnaround in 2022, driven by record sales. Westland paid its suppliers a 10c premium above the forecast Fonterra price per kilo, contributing $535m to the West Coast and Canterbury economies. The dairy ...
* Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public ...
New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public office and becoming lobbyists and ...
This is a guest post by accessibility and sustainable transport advocate Tim Adriaansen It originally appeared here. A friend calls you and asks for your help. They tell you that while out and about nearby, they slipped over and landed arms-first. Now their wrist is swollen, hurting like ...
Floating offshore wind turbines offer incredible opportunities to capture powerful winds far out at sea. By unlocking this wind energy potential, they could be a key weapon in our arsenal in the fight against climate change. But how developed are these climate fighting clean energy giants? And why do I ...
Over the past two or three weeks, a procession of Maori iwi and hapu in a series of little-noticed appearances before two Select Committees have been asking for more say for Maori over resource management decisions along the co-governance lines of Three Waters. Their submissions and appearances run counter ...
The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue war crimes arrest warrants for the Russian President and the Russia Children Ombudsman may have been welcomed by the ideologically committed but otherwise seems to have been greeted with widespread cynicism (see Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants ...
Let’s say you’re clasping your drink at a wedding, or a 40th, or a King’s Birthday Weekend family reunion and Drunk Uncle Kevin has just got going.He’s in an expansive frame of mind because we’re finally rid of that silly girl. But he wants to ask an honest question about ...
National Party leader Christopher Luxon may be feeling glum about his poll ratings, but he could be tapping into a rich political vein in describing the current state of education as “alarming”. Luxon said educational achievement has been declining, with a recent NCEA pilot exposing just how far it has ...
Way Beyond Reform: Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have no more interest in remaining permanent members of “New Zealand’s” House of Representatives than did Lenin and Trotsky in remaining permanent members of Tsar Nicolas II’s “democratically-elected” Duma. Like the Bolsheviks, Te Pāti Māori is a party of revolutionaries – not reformists.THE CROWN ...
Buzz from the Beehive Auckland was wiped off the map, when Education Minister Jan Tinetti delivered her speech of welcome as host of the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers “here in Tāmaki Makaurau”. But – fair to say – a reference was made later in the speech to a ...
Morning mate, how you going?Well, I was watching the news last night and they announced this scientific report on Climate Change. But before they got to it they had a story about the new All Blacks coach.Sounds like important news. It’s a bit of a worry really.Yeah, they were talking ...
Always a bailout: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Government would fully guarantee all savers in all smaller US banks if needed. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: No wonder an entire generation of investors are used to ‘buying the dip’ and ‘holding on for dear life’. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ...
Wealthy vested interests have an oversized influence on political decisions in New Zealand. Partly that’s due to their use of corporate lobbyists. Fortunately, the influence lobbyists can have on decisions made by politicians is currently under scrutiny in Guyon Espiner’s in-depth series published by RNZ. Two of Espiner’s research exposés ...
Yesterday afternoon it rained and traffic around the region ground to a halt, once again highlighting why it is so important that our city gets on with improving the alternatives to driving. For additional irony, this happened on the same day the IPCC synthesis report landed, putting the focus on ...
The Beginning: Anti-Co-Governance agitator, Julian Batchelor, addresses the Dargaville stop of his travelling roadshow across New Zealand . Fascism almost always starts small. Sadly, it doesn’t always stay that way. Especially when the Left helps it to grow.THERE IS A DREADFUL LOGIC to the growth of fascism. To begin with, it ...
Hi,From an incredibly rainy day in Los Angeles, I just wanted to check in. I guess this is the day Trump may or may not end up in cuffs? I’m attempting a somewhat slower, less frenzied week. I’ve had Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s new record on non-stop, and it’s been a ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
RNZ has been shining their torch into corners where lobbyists lurk and asking such questions as: Do we like the look of this?and Is this as democratic as it could be?These are most certainly questions worth asking, and every bit as valid as, say:Are weshortchanged democratically by the way ...
RNZ has continued its look at the role of lobbyists by taking a closer look at the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Andrew Kirton. He used to work for liquor companies, opposing (among other things) a container refund scheme which would have required them to take responsibility for their own ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has left for Beijing for the first ministerial visit to China since 2019. Mahuta is to meet China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang where she might have to call on all the diplomatic skills at her command. Almost certainly she will face questions on what role ...
TL;DR:The Opportunities Party’s Leader Raf Manji is hopeful the party’s new Teal Card, a type of Gold card for under 30s, will be popular with students, and not just in his Ilam electorate where students make up more than a quarter of the voters and where Manji is confident ...
When I was a kid New Zealand was actually pretty green. We didn’t really have plastic. The fruit and veges came in a cardboard box, the meat was wrapped in paper, milk came in a glass bottle, and even rubbish sacks were made of paper. Today if you sit down ...
Looking back through the names of our Police Ministers down the years, the job has either been done by once or future party Bigfoots – Syd Holland, Richard Prebble, Juduth Collins, Chris Hipkins – or by far lesser lights like Keith Allen, Frank Gill, Ben Couch, Allen McCready, Clem Simich, ...
Chris Trotter writes – The Crown is a fickle friend. Any political movement deemed to be colourful but inconsequential is generally permitted to go about its business unmolested. The Crown’s media, RNZ and TVNZ, may even “celebrate” its existence (presumably as proof of Democracy’s broad-minded acceptance of diversity). ...
Four out of the five people who have held the top role of Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff since 2017 have been lobbyists. That’s a fact that should worry anyone who believes vested interests shouldn’t have a place at the centre of decision making. Chris Hipkins’ newly appointed Chief of ...
Feedback on Auckland Council’s draft 2023/24 budget closes on March 28th. You can read the consultation document here, and provide feedback here. Auckland Council is currently consulting on what is one of its most important ever Annual Plans – the ‘budget’ of what it will spend money on between July ...
by Molten Moira from Motueka If you want to be a woman let me tell you what to do Get a piece of paper and a biro tooWrite down your new identification And boom! You’re now a woman of this nationSpelled W O M A Na real trans woman that isAs opposed ...
Buzz from the Beehive New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti is hosting the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers for three days from today, welcoming Education Ministers and senior officials from 18 Pacific Island countries and territories, and from Australia. Here’s hoping they have brought translators with them – or ...
Let’s say you’ve come all the way from His Majesty’s United Kingdom to share with the folk of Australia and New Zealand your antipathy towards certain other human beings. And let’s say you call yourself a women’s rights activist.And let’s say 99 out of 100 people who listen to you ...
James Shaw gave the Green party's annual "state of the planet" address over the weekend, in which he expressed frustration with Labour for not doing enough on climate change. His solution is to elect more Green MPs, so they have more power within any government arrangement, and can hold Labour ...
RNZ this morning has the first story another investigative series by Guyon Espiner, this time into political lobbying. The first story focuses on lobbying by government agencies, specifically transpower, Pharmac, and assorted universities, and how they use lobbyists to manipulate public opinion and gather intelligence on the Ministers who oversee ...
Nick Matzke writes – Dear NZ Herald, I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. I teach evolutionary biology, but I also have long experience in science education and (especially) political attempts to insert pseudoscience into science curricula in ...
MINISTER DAVIDSON MUST RESIGN AFTER 'VIOLENCE' COMMENTS Marama Davidson should stand down as ‘Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence’ for the clear and outrageous statement she made at the Posie Parker protest that ‘white straight men’ are the cause of violence. Her offensive, racist, and sexist remarks ...
In response to Newshub and Amelia Wade’s obvious and ham-fisted attempt at a typical and predicted political hit job. As any politically aware reporter would know, any Cabinet subcommittee has a duty and obligation as a part of any government to respond to any UN declaration, in this case ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for the invitation to speak with you today and in your busy lives turning up to this meeting. Forty five years ago, in Howick, often described as racist, and where few Maori lived because it had been a ‘Fencible’ settlement at the time of the Anglo-Maori ...
The Green Party has marked the National Party’s new education policy and given it a fail, especially for its failure to address the underlying drivers of school performance. ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised in their State of the Planet speech today. ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party after the election must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised today. ...
You will never truly understand, from the pictures you’ve seen in the newspapers or on the six o-clock news, the sheer scale of the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle. ...
We’re boosting incomes and helping ease cost of living pressures on Kiwis through a range of bread and butter support measures that will see pensioners, students, families, and those on main benefits better off from the start of next month. ...
The error Labour Ministers made by stopping work on a beverage container return scheme will be reversed by the Greens at the earliest opportunity as part of the next Government. ...
“Cabinet needs to do better - and today has shown exactly why we need Green Ministers in cabinet, so we can prioritise action to cut climate pollution and support people to make ends meet,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. ...
Biggest increase in food prices for over three decades shows the need for an excess profit tax on corporations to help people put food on the table. ...
The Green Party has today launched a submission guide to help Aucklanders give crucial input and prevent potentially disastrous Auckland Council budget proposals. ...
With calls growing for inquiries and action on bank profits, the Greens say the Government has all the information it needs to act now and put a levy on banks. ...
The Government has introduced the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Bill to further support the recovery and rebuild from the recent severe weather events in the North Island. “We know from our experiences following the Canterbury and Kaikōura earthquakes that it will take some time before we completely understand the ...
Further assistance is now available to businesses impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle, with Customs able to offer payment plans and to remit late-payments, Customs Minister Meka Whaitiri has announced. “This is part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to assist economic recovery in the regions,” Meka Whaitiri said. “Cabinet has approved the ...
More than 41,000 sole parent families will be better off with a median gain of $20 a week Law change estimated to help lift up to 14,000 children out of poverty Child support payments will be passed on directly to people receiving a sole parent rate of main benefit, making ...
A major investment by Government-owned New Zealand Green Investment Finance towards electrifying the public bus fleet is being welcomed by Climate Change Minister James Shaw. “Today’s announcement that NZGIF has signed a $50 million financing deal with Kinetic, the biggest bus operator in Australasia, to further decarbonise public transport is ...
A world-leading payments system is expected to provide a significant cash flow boost for Kiwi innovators, Minister of Research, Science, and Innovation Ayesha Verrall says. Announcing that applications for ‘in-year’ payments of the Research and Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) were open, Ayesha Verrall said it represented a win for businesses ...
Minister of Transport Michael Wood joined crowds of keen cyclists and walkers this morning to celebrate the completion of the Te Awa shared path in Hamilton. “The Government is upgrading New Zealand’s transport system to make it safer, greener, and more efficient for now and future generations to come,” Michael ...
Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little has delivered the Crown apology to Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua for its historic breaches of Te Tiriti of Waitangi today. The ceremony was held at Queen Elizabeth Park in Masterton, hosted by Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua, with several hundred ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta has concluded her visit to China, the first by a New Zealand Foreign Minister since 2018. The Minister met her counterpart, newly appointed State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gang, who also hosted a working dinner. This was the first engagement between the two ...
World-class satellite positioning services that will support much safer search and rescue, boost precision farming, and help safety on construction sites through greater accuracy are a significant step closer today, says Land Information Minister Damien O’Connor. Damien O’Connor marked the start of construction on New Zealand’s first uplink centre for ...
Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Christopher John Dellabarca of Wellington, Dr Katie Jane Elkin of Wellington, Caroline Mary Hickman of Napier, Ngaroma Tahana of Rotorua, Tania Rose Williams Blyth of Hamilton and Nicola Jan Wills of Wellington as District Court Judges. Chris Dellabarca Mr Dellabarca commenced his ...
A new Government-backed project will help ocean-related businesses in the Nelson Tasman region to accelerate their growth and boost jobs. “The Nelson Tasman region is home to more than 400 blue economy businesses, accounting for more than 30 percent of New Zealand’s economic activity in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing,” ...
After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment. “National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education ...
People aged over 50 with innovative business ideas will now be able to receive support to advance their ideas to the next stage of development, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen said today. “Seniors have some great entrepreneurial ideas, and this programme will give them the support to take that next ...
A cross government target for relevant government procurement contracts for goods and services to be awarded to Māori businesses annually will increase to 8%, after the initial 5% target was exceeded. The progressive procurement policy was introduced in 2020 to increase supplier diversity, starting with Māori businesses, for the estimated ...
77,000 fewer children living in low income households on the after-housing-costs primary measure since Labour took office Eight of the nine child poverty measures have seen a statistically significant reduction since 2018. All nine have reduced 28,700 fewer children experiencing material hardship since 2018 Measures taken by the Government during ...
Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tēnā koutou katoa, ni sa bula vinaka saka, namaste. Deputy Prime Minister, a very warm welcome to Aotearoa. I trust you have been enjoying your time here and thank you for joining us here today. To all delegates who have travelled to be ...
$2.9 million convertible loan for Scapegrace Distillery to meet growing national and international demand $4.5m underwrite to support Silverlight Studios’ project to establish a film studio in Wanaka Gore’s James Cumming Community Centre and Library to be official opened tomorrow with support of $3m from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood has today launched the first national EV (electric vehicle) charging strategy, Charging Our Future, which includes plans to provide EV charging stations in almost every town in New Zealand. “Our vision is for Aotearoa New Zealand to have world-class EV charging infrastructure that is accessible, affordable, ...
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan has today launched the Love Better campaign in a world-leading approach to family harm prevention. Love Better will initially support young people through their experience of break-ups, developing positive and life-long attitudes to dealing with hurt. “Over 1,200 young kiwis told ...
Hon Rino Tirikatene, Minister for Courts, welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s appointment of Dr Garry Clearwater as New Zealand’s first Chief Clinical Advisor working with the Coroners Court. “This appointment is significant for the Coroners Court and New Zealand’s wider coronial system.” Minister Tirikatene said. Through Budget 2022, the Government ...
The Government via the Cyclone Taskforce is working with local government and insurance companies to build a picture of high-risk areas following Cyclone Gabrielle and January floods. “The Taskforce, led by Sir Brian Roche, has been working with insurance companies to undertake an assessment of high-risk areas so we can ...
E te huia kaimanawa, ko Ngāpuhi e whakahari ana i tau aupikinga ki te tihi o te maunga. Ko te Ao Māori hoki e whakanui ana i a koe te whakaihu waka o te reo Māori i roto i te Ao Ture. (To the prized treasure, it is Ngāpuhi who ...
113,400 exits into work in the year to June 2022 Young people are moving off Benefit faster than after the Global Financial Crisis Two reports released today by the Ministry of Social Development show the Government’s investment in the COVID-19 response helped drive record numbers of people off Benefits and ...
The Government’s priority to keep New Zealand at the cutting edge of food production and lift our sustainability credentials continues by backing the next steps of a hi-tech vertical farming venture that uses up to 95 per cent less water, is climate resilient, and pesticide-free. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visited ...
E nga mana, e nga iwi, e nga reo, e nga hau e wha, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou kātoa. Warm Pacific greetings to all. It is an honour to host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers here in Tāmaki Makaurau. Aotearoa is delighted to be hosting you ...
The new renal unit at Taranaki Base Hospital has been officially opened by the Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall this afternoon. Te Huhi Raupō received around $13 million in government funding as part of Project Maunga Stage 2, the redevelopment of the Taranaki Base Hospital campus. “It’s an honour ...
Defence Minister Andrew Little has marked the arrival of the country’s second P-8A Poseidon aircraft alongside personnel at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Base at Ohakea today. “With two of the four P-8A Poseidons now on home soil this marks another significant milestone in the Government’s historic investment in ...
Aotearoa New Zealand will provide further humanitarian support to those seriously affected by last month’s deadly earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, says Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. “The 6 February earthquakes have had devastating consequences, with almost 18 million people affected. More than 53,000 people have died and tens of thousands more ...
Migrant communities across New Zealand are represented in the new Migrant Community Reference Group that will help shape immigration policy going forward, Immigration Minister Michael Wood announced today. “Since becoming Minister, a reoccurring message I have heard from migrants is the feeling their voice has often been missing around policy ...
Construction has begun on major works that will deliver significant safety improvements on State Highway 3 from Waitara to Bell Block, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan announced today. “This is an important route for communities, freight and visitors to Taranaki but too many people have lost their lives or ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has today appointed Ginny Andersen as Minister of Police. “Ginny Andersen has a strong and relevant background in this important portfolio,” Chris Hipkins said. “Ginny Andersen worked for the Police as a non-sworn staff member for around 10 years and has more recently been chair of ...
Six further bailey bridge sites confirmed Four additional bridge sites under consideration 91 per cent of damaged state highways reopened Recovery Dashboards for impacted regions released The Government has responded quickly to restore lifeline routes after Cyclone Gabrielle and can today confirm that an additional six bailey bridges will ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for China tomorrow, where she will meet with her counterpart, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, in Beijing. This will be the first visit by a New Zealand Minister to China since 2019, and follows the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions between New Zealand and China. ...
Education Ministers from across the Pacific will gather in Tāmaki Makaurau this week to share their collective knowledge and strategic vision, for the benefit of ākonga across the region. New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti will host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers (CPEM) for three days from today, ...
A vital transport link for communities and local businesses has been restored following Cyclone Gabrielle with the reopening of State Highway 5 (SH5) between Napier and Taupō, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan says. SH5 reopened to all traffic between 7am and 7pm from today, with closure points at SH2 (Kaimata ...
Internal Affairs Minister Barbara Edmonds has thanked generous New Zealanders who took part in the special Lotto draw for communities affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. Held on Saturday night, the draw raised $11.7 million with half of all ticket sales going towards recovery efforts. “In a time of need, New Zealanders ...
The Government has announced funding of $3 million for providers to help people, and whānau access community-based Building Financial Capability services. “Demand for Financial Capability Services is growing as people face cost of living pressures. Those pressures are increasing further in areas affected by flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle,” Minister for ...
Minister of Education, Hon Jan Tinetti, has announced appointments to the Board of Education New Zealand | Manapou ki te Ao. Tracey Bridges is joining the Board as the new Chair and Dr Therese Arseneau will be a new member. Current members Dr Linda Sissons CNZM and Daniel Wilson have ...
Fifteen ākonga Māori from across Aotearoa have been awarded the prestigious Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships and Awards for 2023, Associate Education Minister and Ngarimu Board Chair, Kelvin Davis announced today. The recipients include doctoral, masters’ and undergraduate students. Three vocational training students and five wharekura students, ...
High Court Judge Jillian Maree Mallon has been appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal, and District Court Judge Andrew John Becroft QSO has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Mallon graduated from Otago University in 1988 with an LLB (Hons), and with ...
A requiem for Shiv and Tom, who would like to make love one last time (but can’t).Major spoilers follow for the first episode of Succession’s fourth season. Her eyes flared. His voice wobbled. “Do you want to… talk?” said Tom Wambsgans, the corporate ladder-climbing schmuck who could see his ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute Shutterstock Labor and the Greens have reached a compromise on the safeguard mechanism after months of tense negotiations, giving the government the numbers it needs to pass the bill into law. Greens leader ...
Wayne Brown vowed to stop new roading projects until existing ones finish - and to unclog the city centre's streets - but he now finds himself enthusiastically backing new upheaval for the key crossroad of Victoria St A $50 million beautification project for CBD's Victoria St - which will disrupt businesses from ...
The Green Party co-leader says she was in shock from being hit by a motorcycle, and her comments about white men committing violence should have been clearer. ...
The prime minister has labelled comments made by one of his ministers over the weekend as inappropriate, and revealed his office asked her to walk them back. Marama Davidson, co-leader of the Green Party and a minister, was captured on video ahead of a rally against anti-trans speaker Posie Parker ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Becky Freeman, Associate Professor, School of Public Health, University of Sydney Shutterstock On Friday, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) updated its review of proposed reforms to the regulation of nicotine vaping products. It reported the federal government is now “actively ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam John, Senior Lecturer in Neural Engineering, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Since it was founded in 2016, Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface (BCI) company Neuralink has had its moments in biotech news. Whether it was the time Musk promised ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Chart by Keith Rankin. The ‘Young Elderly’ are in essence the post-war baby-boomers. An average young elderly person in these charts was born around 1950 to 1952. The charts look at ‘quarterly excess deaths’, so do not show week-by-week fluctuations in deaths. For example, data ...
The co-leader of the Green Party has clarified comments she made at Saturday’s counter-protest against anti-trans speaker Posie Parker. Caught on camera by a representative for the conspiracy theorist website Counterspin, Marama Davidson claimed: “I am the prevention violence minister, and I know who causes violence in the world, and ...
A friendly reminder that your best intentions of promoting a New Zealand-made film are not actually supporting the artists behind it.For many of us, documenting our day or sharing highlights of our week is a common occurrence on social media. For some, that meant uploading full scenes onto TikTok ...
After two and a half weeks, the Auckland Arts Festival comes to a close with another eclectic week. Sam Brooks reviews (with assistance from Shanti Mathias).The headline show of the week was undoubtedly The Unruly Tourists, which has had more coverage than any opera I can think of in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yu Tao, Senior Lecturer in Chinese Studies, The University of Western Australia State Library of Western Australia Does the discovery of a Ming Dynasty Buddha sculpture found near Shark Bay in remote Western Australia “rewrite history” and suggest the Chinese ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert G. Patman, Professor of International Relations, University of Otago Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.Getty Images Russia’s invasion of Ukraine appears to be a defining moment in the evolution of the post-Cold War world. In particular, it is highlighting problems that do ...
If you saw the demonstration at Pasifika Festival – or if you’ve just always wanted to know how it’s done – here’s a step-by-step guide to preparing your own umu oven.A Sāmoan umu is an above-ground oven of hot volcanic rocks. Traditionally, an umu was laid out three times ...
The official Covid-19 death toll has risen by 33 this week, bumping the total to 2,662. The Ministry of Health’s latest update reports 76 new Covid-attributed deaths, but the overall death toll rises by 33 when adjusted to include non-Covid and other unrelated deaths. The daily average number of new ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Shutterstock Global warming has led to higher summer temperatures across Sydney over the past 30 years. However, our data analysis shows very hot summer days are ...
Two of the best games of the Super Rugby Aupiki season were saved for finals weekend in Hamilton. Alice Soper recaps.Third/fourth playoff: Blues vs Hurricanes Poua Sometimes a bronze playoff can be a bit of a flop. Still in recovery from the disappointment of missing out on the ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: The Ugly stoking of a culture war in election year This weekend saw a showdown between two tribes of contemporary gender politics: those in favour of progressing transgender rights versus women wishing to defend their spaces. It’s a debate with huge passion, outrage and ...
One of New Zealand’s spy agencies foiled three possible terror events on our shores, it’s been revealed. The Security and Intelligence select committee met today, with bosses from the SIS and GCSB facing questions from MPs including prime minister Chris Hipkins. It was during this hearing that Andrew Hampton, the ...
An anonymous lawyer for children explains what she does, and why it matters. I’m a lawyer who is appointed by courts to represent children in cases where there are concerns about their safety or where the court thinks it necessary. In almost all cases involving disputes around the care of ...
As banks face scrutiny over the size of their profits, it’s been revealed the finance minister looked at a possible “bank tax”. The Herald’s Jenée Tibshraeny reported this morning that Grant Robertson asked for advice from the Reserve Bank on whether it would be possible to save the Crown money ...
The Green Party has announced Neelu Jennings as the candidate for Hutt South. Neelu Jennings is a disabled disability advocate and former athlete. The mother of two aims to use her platform to call for a fair and inclusive Aotearoa where disabled ...
Marama Davidson should stand down as ‘Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence’ for the clear and outrageous statement she made at the Posie Parker protest that ‘white straight men’ are the cause of violence. Her offensive, racist, ...
ColensoBBDO has been appointed as the new creative agency of record by pay-gap advocacy group MindTheGap to bring renewed attention to the issue of gender and ethnic pay gaps within New Zealand businesses and government. In the 50 years since the Equal ...
Thousands of women across the country are joining Facebook groups that seek to answer one simple question. This article contains reference to domestic violence and emotional abuse, please take care.A quick scroll through the biggest “Do We Have The Same Boyfriend” Facebook group in the country reveals a sea ...
Bluebridge’s Connemara ferry was back in service yesterday after a mechanical issue caused a string of cancellations on Saturday. It was the third time Connemara had broken down in less than two months of service, according to the NZ Herald. “We understand this is very disruptive to our customers’ travel plans ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marie-Claire Seeley, PhD Candidate, Australian Dysautonomia and Arrhythmia Research Collaborative, University of Adelaide Shutterstock There is growing interest in a connective tissue condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. As more adults are diagnosed with autism, some might not be aware their history ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hattie, Professor, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock In 2008, I published my book Visible Learning, which aimed to explain what works best to help student learning. At the time, others claimed it was the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Naylor, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Massey University Getty Images As New Zealand considers how to better prepare for a future affected by climate change, the insurance sector needs to be part the discussion on where and how we build ...
The scenes that unfolded at Auckland’s Albert Park on Saturday morning were, according to counter-protesters, largely peaceful and non-violent. British anti-trans campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen Minshull (or Posie Parker) fled New Zealand after her attempts to host a rally in Auckland city were stopped by thousands of protesters. Keen-Minshull has claimed ...
He’s got one of the most prestigious journalism careers in the country, but RNZ’s Guyon Espiner is not slowing down anytime soon. His new series “Mate, Comrade, Brother” on political lobbying in New Zealand has already exposed a number of troubling incidents. He sits down with Duncan Greive to discuss why he ...
Posie Parker said she wanted to ‘speak up for women’. Hundreds of protesters spoke up for trans rights instead, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.A day of anger and joy ...
The foreign minister has returned from a visit to China saying the relationship is very important and complex, requiring "continual management" to make sure the two countries do not lose sight of each others' views and perspectives. ...
Shock but not surprise – that’s how an Auckland woman reacted to a racist depiction of a black person up for sale at a Mt Eden auction house Diana Phillips felt "immediate straight-up fury" on seeing a racist caricature of a black person for sale in the window of a Mt ...
The inquiry into forestry slash destruction in Tairāwhiti, and review of the Emissions Trading Scheme, should prioritise the state of the planet not the balance sheets of global corporations, writes Dame Anne Salmond. Over the past few weeks, New Zealanders have been exposed to shocking images of local landscapes ravaged ...
Exclusive: A new report into the cultural and economic benefits of Shortland Street shows its power – but as with any good soap, trouble is coming. Duncan Greive reports on its findings.When Shortland Street debuted in 1992, no one could have predicted what it would become. NZ on Air, ...
Keep calm and charge up: an etiquette guide for those wanting to use public EV chargers without leaving a trail of chaos in their wake. It looks like a petrol pump. It is like a petrol pump. But this one doesn’t have any fossil fuels flowing out the hose. Electric ...
The explosive opening chapter of a new novel Identity remains secretA thirty-nine-year-old Point Heed businessman and father of two convicted for possession and distribution of child pornography has been granted permanent name suppression. Bridget’s throat caught. Point Heed: lovely, leafy Point Heed. Her neighbourhood. It was ...
The explosive opening chapter of a new novel Identity remains secretA thirty-nine-year-old Point Heed businessman and father of two convicted for possession and distribution of child pornography has been granted permanent name suppression. Bridget’s throat caught. Point Heed: lovely, leafy Point Heed. Her neighbourhood. It was ...
The explosive opening chapter of a new novel Identity remains secretA thirty-nine-year-old Point Heed businessman and father of two convicted for possession and distribution of child pornography has been granted permanent name suppression. Bridget’s throat caught. Point Heed: lovely, leafy Point Heed. Her neighbourhood. It was ...
Watch video: In part 5 of our video series, The Way Forward, Rod Oram looks at big new ideas that can lead our response to climate change and improve sustainability. If we humans are to stand any chance of a liveable future, we must transform everything we do so ...
The Government's Emissions Trading Scheme incentivises the planting of pine forest. But a company looking to cash in on the scheme has left a farm on the East Coast prone to significant erosion within months of taking over. Aaron Smale reports. Satellite images of a former sheep station on the East Coast show a stark ...
Newsroom's Nikki Mandow went hunting for organisations run using a co-governance model and found some have been doing it quietly for years. No power grab, no stolen assets. The Detail hears from leaders of these bodies about what co-governance looks like in practice, and asks - does it work? For Bob ...
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By Johnny Blades, RNZ The House journalist An increased appetite to learn te reo Māori among members and staff from different parts of the Parliamentary system means the work of Parliament’s Māori Language Service is in demand more than ever. Compared to several years ago there’s now also significantly more acknowledgement ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andy Marks, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Strategy, Government and Alliances, Western Sydney University Dean Lewins/AAP Sometimes defeat can come with small victories. In his NSW election concession speech, defeated Liberal-National Coalition Premier Dominic Perrottet remarked the campaign had been a “race to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Mikey Burnet Byelections for leaders are rather like steeplechases for horses: there is always the risk of serious injury. Ahead of the 2018 super-Saturday contests, Bill Shorten had an impatient Anthony Albanese ...
National Party leader Christopher Luxon says a controversial British activist has the right to free speech in New Zealand, following the clash at Auckland's counter protest on Saturday. ...
The Queer Endurance / Defiance group had organised this rally for trans acceptance and reproductive rights as soon as they heard Posie Parker planned to come to Wellington. And while the anti-trans campaigner never ended up making it to the nation’s capital after her failed Auckland event, around 3,000 members ...
ANALYSIS:By Nicholas Khoo, University of Otago Former Australian prime minister Paul Keating’s recent strident criticism of the A$368 billion nuclear-powered submarine deal announced under the AUKUS security pactwill have little effect on Australian policy. Canberra’s deepening level of security cooperation is underpinned by a deep political consensus. But the ...
RNZ News British gender activist Posie Parker has left New Zealand, calling it the “worst place for women she has ever visited”. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, also known as Posie Parker, shared a photo on social media showing her being escorted by police through Auckland Airport. She left her rally at Albert ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff (right) is now the only non-Labor leader at federal or state level.Mick Tsikas/AAP When Dominic Perrottet gave a gracious concession speech after ...
Hundreds of people have gathered by Christchurch’s Bridge of Remembrance to show support for the trans community in the wake of anti-transgender activist Posie Parker’s brief visit to Aotearoa. Bubbles filled the air against a backdrop of trans rights flags and hundreds of signs of support for the LGBTQIA+ community, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Dean Lewins/AAPThis article was updated March 26. With 36% of enrolled voters counted in today’s New South Wales ...
Coated in two spices and ready in five minutes. Easy as.I first heard of marsala chicken when I moved to New Zealand as a 15-year-old. The dish confused me as it didn’t have any spices in it except for garlic. In my head I had confused it with the ...
Author Marty Smith writes from her home, the flood-damaged region of Hawke’s Bay, excavating the extraordinary facets of life amid a disaster.Wednesday 22 February 22, eight days after the flood.It’s easy to drive down Puketitiri Rd: diggers cleared silt and slips on the second day. Looters slide at ...
My trainer said she was happier than she’d ever been. I wanted that.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Illustrations by Note: This essay discusses and describes disordered eating. Please take care.Just 10 burpees to go.I threw myself against the carpet. ...
Bard Billot on the bumbling BaronRace for the Polls Baron Luxon speeds across the polar wastes aboard his electric blue jet sled “Titanic.” The sky is cloudless and the way is clear and the Baron is well in the lead. In his toasty warm fine mink cossack hat ...
Māori women are the backbone of the Warriors and always have been, writes Briar Pomana.Since before I can remember, my mum has been a Warriors fan. Her and other wāhine Māori I know are some of the staunchest supporters out and, in my opinion, are the true face of ...
Reports have described the protest held at Albert Park on Saturday as angry, chaotic and ugly. This attendee found it to be joyful, life-affirming and full of love.Climbing the stairs up to Saturday’s counter-rally where anti-trans activist Posie Parker was meant to speak, my husband and I were hit ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Dean Lewins/AAP With 36% of enrolled voters counted in today’s New South Wales state election, the Poll Bludger’s results currently ...
A former entertainment mecca in the middle of Auckland is up for grabs. The problem? It’s been run into the ground. Have you got spare cash sitting around? Do you want to buy something grand, something special? How does a nine-storey complex covering 3,486 square metres in the middle of ...
Posey Parker appeared in Auckland today for a brief few moments, but it was clear that she was going to have a hard time being heard above thousands of people exercising their own right to free speech The streets of Auckland’s city centre were thick today with the noise of tubas, ...
The News of the Day in a Flippant Way
The Panel, Radio New Zealand National, Tuesday 26 March 2013
Jim Mora, Anna Chinn, Bernard Hickey
It’s billed as “The News of the Day in a Different Way”, but in fact Radio NZ National’s chat show “The Panel” is rarely much different from the insultingly vulgar rubbish on commercial talk radio. Look at the way Jim Mora handles the horrifying first story here: it is typical of his approach to many issues. First there is the unctuous protestation of concern, then the flippant comment that betrays a lack of moral seriousness or substantial engagement with the issue….
JIM MORA: Okay it’s quarter to four, and Noelle McCarthy is here, with what the WORLD is talking about! What have you got for us today?
NOELLE McCARTHY: Well, first up is this terrible story from Texas, about a high school cheerleader who was kicked off the squad because she refused to cheer for the basketball player who raped her.
….[Mora is silent for several seconds, to emphasize how appalled he is.]
JIM MORA: [incredulous tone] How could this BE?
NOELLE McCARTHY: She has now been ordered to pay forty-five thousand dollars for “filing a frivolous lawsuit”.
MORA: But SURELY, this cannot BE. Mind you, the question has to be: why did she let herself get into this situation?
….Another long silence ensues, with Noelle McCarthy no doubt biting her tongue.….
MORA: Okay, what else have you got?
NOELLE McCARTHY: A Swedish firm has come up with the idea of letting people experience what it is like to be HOMELESS. They pay a twenty-dollar fee and they can sleep for a night on the street, or on a park bench or—-
MORA: [fervently] Oh now, surely, THIS is frivolous. SURELY….
….et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseam….
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/05/06/164194/scotus-texas-cheerleader/?mobile=nc
“Radio NZ National’s chat show “The Panel” is rarely much different from the insultingly vulgar rubbish on commercial talk radio.”
This, a thousand times this.
How did he let himself get in that situation? Oh right, he raped.
Christ! Thanks Morrisey, these are always illuminating.
‘
When it comes to safety; As for coal industry tragedies, as it is for climate change. Prevention is better than cure.
“Mines Rescue presses ahead with expansion”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10873533
They should have done this before 29 men lost their lives
It seems a bit late in the piece to invest in such things now. After the deaths, the scandal, the economic uncertainty, the climate worries, the continuing pollution of air and water, all pointing toward the terminal decline of this industry.
The new safety training and rescue facility is available for other industries as well. So it won’t be a complete waste. Otherwise they would have just wasted $1 million on asbestos mine rescue, and dodo conservation.
Maybe the money would have been better, divested to the remaining 56 underground coal miners still remaining on the coast, to help them exit this dieing industry.
After all, prevention is better than cure.
Yeah Right
Over our dead bodies
This is the key bit…..
“that although there were now only 56 underground miners left on the Coast”
Right, it’s all open cast now – as Pike River should have been.
I am going to vote for a government which bans farming so as to turn all farmland back into native flora and fauna.
I think there were reasons why Pike River was not open cast. Something to do with it not being economical to move about 130m of solid rock from above the bits they wanted to get at.
This may be a new concept to you but the rest of us don’t actually want to destroy our environment.
‘
Above ground, or below ground, no one is safe
More deadly than asbestos. More poisonousness than uranium.
Coal kills minors
Coal Kills!
Kill Coal!
Jenny, chill. Coal is not more deadly than asbestos.
While it’s common sense to look after your environment, the issue has become as politicised as the threat of Al CIAda,
Really?
A report commissioned by the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a partnership of 20 developing countries threatened by climate change was released to the media in September 2012. The report concluded that:
The causes of this mega-death were listed as:
“A combined climate-carbon crisis is estimated to claim 100 million lives between now and the end of the next decade,” the report said.
Yesterday lots of people here banged on with solutions to the woes of our economy etc, with traditional formulae…”.if only we printed money”….”tax companies”…”create jobs”….etc etc etc . I said game up, whose phantom cash do you wish to spend on yourself? What chimera of reality? Orlov summed it up well for me this morning…
Quite a few people wrote to me over the past week asking about all the noise coming out of Cyprus. If you haven’t heard, there is a financial collapse that is unfolding there: banks are closed and people can’t get at their money. The Cypriot banks are insolvent. This is no surprise: all banks everywhere are insolvent, and would fail immediately were the various types of ongoing bailouts to suddenly stop. These bailouts include an ever-longer list of annoying financial jargon—liquidity injections, quantitative easing, toxic-asset-purchasing by central banks, accounting tricks such as “mark-to-fantasy,” which allows them to make bogus claims as to the value of their assets, yadda-yadda. The point is, the financial system failed in 2008, and stayed that way. The faulty formula behind all modern finance is debt raised to the power of time, and only works when there is exponential growth in economic activity and energy. Energy’s exponential growth stopped in 2005 due to resource depletion; three years later finance collapsed. Permanently. Since then we have been witnessing a global game of “extend and pretend,” which cannot be played indefinitely. If something can’t go on forever, it doesn’t.
http://cluborlov.com/
So who disagrees? Enjoy the cliff face or make your own plans.
The Global Finance sector needs cleaning out – shoot some Banksters like Jamie Dimon head of JP Morgan.
Things would improve a lot then.
[awaiting lprent]
Banksters are like mafiosos. Get read of the head man and another slides right into place. Need to pull the whole thing out by the root. Put an end to the debt based monetary system.
All money is fiat. No getting away from that and so we need rules governing it that essentially bring modern banking to an end. We may no longer have the banking sector but we will still need the economy and that’s where the government printing money comes in and even then I believe that will only be short term as, over time, we go to full democratic control of resources.
The monetary system doesn’t work. The Great Depression, the GFC and every other recession and depression of the last two or three centuries proves that it’s just that now it’s coming to its natural end and people are seeing the absolute BS that is being done by the politicians at seemingly the demand of business to prop it up at their expense and they’re getting pissed off with it. So what we need is a valid system and a vision of how that system works that can take us away from the inherent corruption of the capitalist system. Some of us are trying to build that system and vision.
Not all fiat currency is the same. Bitcoin redistributes wealth in a reasonably random fashion, unlike the system used by the banksters.
You are right we need to bring modern finance to an end….I suspect it will reach that point regardless. What follows who knows?
One reassuring thing to remember is that we have endured most of human trading history where transactions were not based upon cash….we traded one thing for another, no money. We may need to get that going again, and perhaps trade social “capital” as well as good.
It will get there regardless, it’s just a question of time.
An ideal opportunity to switch to an honourable currency.
How about this load of tosh contained in DOC’s press release about the savage cuts the conservation estate is going to experience:
If it contained any more buzzwords it would become a bee.
I just wish that the Government would use plain English.
This piece of fiction can be found at http://doc.govt.nz/about-doc/news/media-releases/doc-proposes-changes-to-increase-conservation/
I doubt there was ANYONE who believed Al Morrison DoC CEO when he spouted forth at his press conference – but maybe some people are still gullible !
Corporate gobble-de-gook… yuk! Do you think Al Morrison actually believes what he said?
I knew him a little bit in previous life.
Imo, no he doesn’t. He’s doing what he is very well-paid to do, and he is excelling in his profession – PR for whoever pays the piper.
Decrease the resources and the manpower that an organisation has available to it and there’s no way that they will be able to do the same work especially when that organisation is as hands on as DoC. On top of that they’re cutting the administrative staff – so who’s going to actually coordinate what the people in the field are doing?
No, this is just more of Nationals attack on the environment so as to improve the profits of their rich mates.
Reducing the wage gap between NZ & OZ http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10873868 was just a snake oil pitch used to gain power for National in 2008. They formed a working group on the issue and then disbanded it when the groups recommendations were released. Salt to the wound is the recent introduction of the youth rates, which will drive the wage gap wider!
Vote these Tory barstards out!
At least it will get some young people in to work. Once things pick up again, then it can be changed.
“At least it will get some young people in to work.”
You mean into debt slavery/serfdom.
[awaiting lprent]
You don’t sit in the job forever. My first job was at bk on youth rates… I was there 10 months and never had those rates again.
It’s fine to start on.
So you think it’s fine to get paid youth rates once?
Ok you are a go getter & used it as a stepping stone which is great, however many people for varies reasons don’t get out of a low paying job.
Like many your being fooled as youth rates put downward pressure on adult rates also. If you applied for a job & were told the paying rate was the minimum adult rate, & you queried the rate as a bit below what you were expecting. The boss can put pressure back on you by saying I was thinking of taking on a younger person…take it or leave it. If you were unemployed & claiming a benefit the new welfare changes will see your entitlement to the dole axed for refusing to take a job opportunity.
Did you consider things like I’ve mentioned ?
People need to be able to pay their rent/bills etc. Youth rates will leave a lot of people unable to cover basic living expenses.
To endorse this is criminal. Plain and simple.
“Once things pick up again, then it can be changed.”
do you honestly think thats going to happen?
Yeah, just like the 90 day Fire at Will bill got people into work…
Oh, wait…
Well it did, actually. I hired because of it, my first employee at the time. Many of the businesses I look after have said the same.
what was stopping you specifying a trial period pre 90 day bill?
it was covered by legislation so completely legal and all that
In infused case, probably ignorance.
Most probably, and infused would be typical of many small business owners.
Enough nous to fill in a form, not enough to realise how to actually manage staff. So they think that trial periods are a new idea, the concept of “good faith” perplexes them, and they expect employees to carry the same risk as the manager but without the same reward.
It’s bigger business owners and executives who are the main problem.
Think of the shift “manager” at a standard Burger King. On less than $15/hr, in charge of half a dozen or more staff.
It’s a sick joke.
Let’s not argue about who sucks more.
They both suck – big businesses institutionalise all the abuses they can get away with, while small businesses have no idea what they are supposed to do or not do.
When people don’t have the resources available to make a difference because they’re all going to the rich few then they can’t actually do anything no matter how much they want to.
Hang on. I already have the beemer and the yacht.
Why should I spend then turn around and try and find ever more creative ways of ripping off my fellows, to make more money, when I have enough.
I prefer to spend my time helping make sure that everyone has the same opportunities I had.
And going sailing!
Both infused and KP avoided the original point – National pretended to be serious about closing the wage gap, but it was just a rouse from the start.
Labour desperately needs to get rid of Shearer.
Just give him 6 (or so) more months.
Even so, would he actually step down? I don’t think so some how.
CV is just repeating the kind of line from Shearer’s supporters who keep saying Shearer is improving and will come good soon – with CV’s tongue firmly in his cheek.
Ah right. too early for me. Need a coffee
Well, to be fair Shearer is improving in his media performances and framing. He’d be a more than capable Minister for a middling size portfolio in 2014.
He’s only barely improving. He looks to me like his press conferences are well rehearsed and he has to try and remember what it is he’s meant to say.
He’s improved from consistently disasterous to occasionally competent.
He’s better on talkback, but there’s just something about him. He sounds regressive, but it comes across really ‘try hard’. Like someone said a long time ago, he’s not being himself, and it’s obvious.
Key does so well, because his ‘laid back’ approach is him being himself. It’s not forced like Shearer.
Meh dunno about that, Key always seems like he’s forcing it too.
Thing is everyone expects him to be a phoney salesman, so his phoney schtick just comes across as “being himself” anyway.
So how do you save 50 million lives with one half eaten mango skin any way?
The standard neo-liberal way – the magical market will provide.
No they don’t, they need to keep him where he is. I’d also suggest promoting T. Mallard and C. Curran and give them as much air time as possible.
I’ve maintained for a while that Labour (since 1984) is National’s natural coalition partner… perhaps Labour is doing what it has to to ensure National return to power in 2014? Damn… should’ve seen it earlier!
Labour has had 54 months and counting…….
http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/features/top-story/stories/state-500-reward-turning-illegal-gun-owners-7024.shtml
Think this could happen here?
nah, not really needed here. Lots of NZers report criminals with no expectation of reward.
It was good to hear this morning that the government has thrown the Ombudsman a bone with funding for 6 new lawyers. Of course, it would be cheaper if organisations were a bit more open with information.
yep. they gotta recruit them now; overwhelmed with a backlog of files.
Corporate manslaughter Bill already on the cards
Surely if large numbers are involved then large numbers need to be held accountable. Yes, some will be more accountable than others but everyone involved in a project that causes death needs to be held responsible.
DTB… You’re mixing up responsibility and accountability. Accountability lies at the top… the CEO and/or Board (or Minister with Government bodies). Responsibility can be shared.
And more mining on conservation land:-
Failed to consult the people though.
umm iwi are comprised of people too
but you are correct in that the consultation with iwi is a sham much like the approach used in yesteryear
http://mars2earth.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/killing-me-softly-with-his-song.html
The way I read it was that they asked the iwi leaders and the councils but didn’t even think of asking the people.
perhaps iwi leaders who might agree with them I suspect. Sorry didn’t mean to be pedantic.
If it shifts us that bit closer to understanding then it’s not a prob.
Ah, I thought it came from the Shearer faction.
I gather that the use of the rack is now being officially discouraged.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/expanding-guantanamo/5328583
A penal colony on an outlying island near an Australian refugee camp, perhaps – without an internet connection ?
Don’t laugh, someone is bound to take it seriously.
[lprent: Off topic – moved to OpenMike. ]
What do you reckon conspiracy theorists?
http://beforeitsnews.com/strange/2013/03/5-mississippi-lawmakers-die-in-months-pro-agenda-21-legislator-jessica-upshaw-found-dead-of-gunshot-wound-2447982.html
I reckon it’s a bunch of bullshit myself, but still more likely than all ya’ll ‘spree shooter was a false flag’ malarky.
The 38 year old state prosecutor pressing investigating charges against the 2002 Venezuelan coup leaders was killed by a remote controlled car bomb in 2004.
Due to the nature of the death you can’t run your skeptics ‘tin foil hat’ argument, in that particular case.
A few days ago, the chief of Colorado’s prison system was shot dead as he opened his front door. Nothing was taken from his body.
There are lots of ways to send political messages, some of them not very nice at all. With very highly skilled people well trained and available to take such actions. And they are used.
So?
Would make a good movie.
Sandy Hook malarky?!? Is that your name for when the coroner and the judiciary suppress information and standard procedures for a mass casualty incident are disregarded? Or does it describe the appearance of the response units before the initial shooting takes place?
Yeah, that’s the one.
But what do you think of the thing I linked to?
http://www.globalresearch.ca/false-flags-fake-media-reporting-deceiving-the-public-social-engineering-and-the-21st-century-truth-emergency/5325982
🙂
You’ll like this…maybe
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2013/03/so-who-are-the-notorious-bloggers-then/
The net is an ever shifting place with a lot of sites that we have links to and a ever changing set of “problem site” references. Hell I have seen the Granny come up on one of those blockers.
There are several reasons that could be happening. A likely reason is that the block is manual and they put sites with a lot of traffic on it and few people in NZ actually read Whaleoil (and they do read KB and TS). From the type of content he has been posting recently, it appears to be mostly orientated towards picking up international page views and visitors. It is what you do when you want to drive ad revenue.
However, in this case I suspect it is a differnet cause. Google sitemaps last week informed me of a problem on an early post from 2007 that had a iframe in it linking to wp-stats.com page that has recently been tagged for having malware on it. The iframe looks like some kind of mistake in a plugin dropping into the post. But I scanned the database for the entire rest of the site and didn’t find another iframe apart from some old youtude and vimeo embedds. Was fixed on the weekend.
It will now take some time to clear out of all of the reference sites that read off google’s problem post list.
A likely reason is that the block is manual and they put sites with a lot of traffic on it and few people in NZ actually read Whaleoil.
– Lol
Well, there are a couple of alternative possibilities.
One is that Cameron’s blog is considered less offensive than thestandard or kiwiblog. Another is that Cameron likes to play silly games by making complaints about other blogs.
But clearly both of those are absurd.
One is that Cameron’s blog is considered less offensive than thestandard…might be onto something there
Few if any of the blockers consider complaints about content apart from malware any more because of silly buggers complaining. The only ones that do are the ones that cater for kiddie blockers or corporate download issues like porn or traffic volumes – and they all do their own checks before they believe a complaint.
As childish as I find Whaleoil to be, it is unlikely he would pass a kiddie site filter.
We don’t have porn and the only way that we’d cause traffic problems is with obsessive reading because we don’t have much on download.
So I think you’re deluding yourself. It is most likely the malware link that google found in a 5 and a half year old post. It wouldn’t surprise me if Kiwiblog has the same kind of issue. WP_stats was around and used by many sites because it gave some good stats on who wrote comments.
Less offensive to RWNJs, perhaps.
“One is that Cameron’s blog is considered less offensive than thestandard…might be onto something there”
Only if you’re not offended by sexism, racism, homophobia, and religious intolerance.
But apart from that, yeah probably.
As opposed to occasional threats of violence you get on here…
Occasional, yes, and usually jumped on by other commenters or mods, compared to the near constant threats of violence at Cameron’s site which are such a normalised part of the culture there that you probably don’t even see it anymore.
I can quite easily say there are more realistic threats of violence and abuse on this site in comparison to whaleoil
However on this site threats of violence are condoned and justified, if they’re from the left.
“Hes passionate” or blaming the govt is a good one “what do you expect the reaction to be when the govt does…”
Link to example comments where a threat of violence has been issued… And please these have to be actual threats of violence. I’m afraid that being called a dickhead doesn’t qualify.
I suspect that you are confusing it with abuse (as in your first paragraph) which isn’t controlled apart from “pointless abuse” which has a specific meaning in the policy and attacking authors which is also in the policy. The rules for left or right are exactly the same – there is no cordoning.
The only real difference between how people are treated by moderators is a question of repeated behaviour and previous good behaviour. Basically if you’re a newbie on site or have a history of causing us to warn or ban you, then your probability of getting abrupt or harsh treatment goes up a lot. Newbies to a site should always learn the rules of the site, and wasting moderator time makes us grumpy – both forewarned in the policy.
r0b is pretty damn clear on what he considers to be threats and deals with them abruptly, as do I if I see them. They seem to have disappeared since he started banning heavily for uttering them.
You’re a bit of a knob, Chris.
What threats have you seen here that made you fear for your own or the safety of someone else?
Surely an ex boot camp, toy soldier like you should be looking right past piddle on the internet.
Although it seems odd to me that the economic violence of throwing whole families out of their homes into the street, destroying peoples dignities and self respect, doesn’t count to the Right as being “violence”.
You’re absolutely deluded. WhaleSpew is full of exhortations to violence, gutshots, police dogs to be used on protestors, anal rape for prisoners, police to use Glocks on almost everyone……….
Not to mention the great grub himself carrying on about how physically tough he is, which he proves by calling ten year olds dumb.
The fact that they’re just masturbatory fantasies by net jockeys doesn’t make them any less offensive.
I can’t remember seeing anything remotely comparable here.
Some sanity?.
http://crookedtimber.org/2013/03/19/economists-and-the-theory-of-politics/
abstract:
The standard approach to policymaking and advice in economics implicitly or explicitly ignores politics and political economy, and maintains that if possible, any market failure should be rapidly removed. This essay explains why this conclusion may be incorrect; because it ignores politics, this approach is oblivious to the impact of the removal of market failures on future political equilibria and economic efficiency, which can be deleterious. We outline a simple framework for the study of the impact of current economic policies on future political equilibria — and indirectly on future economic outcomes. We then illustrate the mechanisms through which such impacts might operate using a series of examples. The main message is that sound economic policy should be based on a careful analysis of political economy and should factor in its influence on future political equilibria.
Interesting. I’m reading their book Why Nations Fail at the moment. I’m only a couple of chapters in, and it seems like they’re economists who are trying to save their academic discipline from irrelevance as a social science by throwing in a theory of politics to bolster it. They have huge dislike of the imbalance of power and opportunities for greed in extractive regimes.
So far I’ve been thinking that if they’re going to go down that road they can only but become more left wing in their thinking. Good to see that might be the case. Unions would fit their theory because it’s all about the strength and balance of institutions in holding back the exploiters – and they’re right in that traditional economics doesn’t deal with this very well.
“Housing shortages in ChCh, yet commercial construction permits up.”
RNZ- Sexual assault convictions have risen by 30% over last 5 years. (Collins reckons this is due to increased reporting based on increased confidence in police process.) Yet, only 10% of victims report such assaults to police.
According to “award-winning” MSM columnist Eva Bradley, the new fashion trend for young women is “Skank” and today I read an editorial that identifies the “thigh gap” as the new “must have” body image requirement of young women keeping up with the Kardashians. *sigh*.
…same as it ever was…same as it ever was…watching the days go by…Once In A Lifetime…water flowing underground (read today that the underground gas they want to extract round these here parts is often so close to the aquifiers that a lighted match near a flowing water tap can produce a glow.
*Sigh #2*
Here’s acool thying on the gun control debate that some have been talking about:
http://www.cracked.com/article_20396_5-mind-blowing-facts-nobody-told-you-about-guns.html
Yeah, Cracked magazine, but yeah, it’s good.
That was very good – thanks Pb
Loved these lines, “This is what people who aren’t from America, or who grew up somewhere like Portland or whatever, don’t get: America’s love of guns in most cases has nothing to do with actually using them. It’s all about what they symbolize. And what they symbolize is God, and cocks.”
Some interesting points, especially how overall gun deaths are down and dropping.
laugh.
Dunno why’d you’d find that to be the especially interesting part. Haven’t you been banging on about that all week?
What did you think about the ads that pretty clearly show that the target market has insecurities in the penis related area?
Or the fact that owning a gun is the biggest risk factor for suicide?
The other thing I found fascinating was the gas oven and bridge barriers thing. Delay the impulse fulfilment by a few seconds or minutes, and they don’t usually make another attempt.
and that stuff about the spree-shooters really dispelled the old ‘false flag’ bullshit I thought
Why did you think that Marty ?
the analysis of the columbine shooters fitted with what I think the situation is – that they are either mad, bad or sad rather than employed by a quasi-government department to sow seeds of panic and wreck destruction on innocent people
Parliament today
Question time a debacle with the Speaker’s performance abysmal, resulting in Mallard and Hipkins having to leave.
And now Judith Collins in General Debate has just referred to Eddie’s post on the internal Labour Caucus positions. And tried to ‘out’ Eddie as being a female who works for the EPMU….
The Virulent Judith Collins had a field day after Question Time, leaning heavily on Eddie’s homework which fitted in so well with the National Agenda. Saved Judith Collins a lot of work. Well done Eddie.
The buck stops with Team Shearer, because of mismanagement of the caucus.
PS: As for Collins, which National faction does she lead again, and who is in her faction?
yes, QT was a joke indeed;
talk about a “spinning top”; That Speaker is turning the House into a farce Indeed, in front of the “international guests” he referred to; nothing like the children playing up in front of invited company! (put me off me Merlot Pinotage it did).
Collins calls “Mr Robinson” (a slip methinks), and then the TS ammo; oh well, interesting to establish the link between the “woman” Eddie, the EPMU and Little. *sigh*; even the normally composed Metiria shook her head…
still, try to remember, Lest We Forget (John), NZ’s International Liabilities as a % of GDP, with the government / public component increasing under National.
The Ghost Rider does enjoy that Michael Woodhouse though…
+1 Karol.
Hopefully she’ll be the next leader of National (and of course the country)
The last thing we need is a poor man’s Maggie Thatcher.
Come on ian – all the labour mp’s had to do was issue individual, or a collective press release detailing that they weren’t in the faction described or that there were in fact no factions, or different ones, and the whole thing would have stayed as a molehill and not be used against them – sheesh mate political knife-fighting 101.
I dunno.
A collective press release in denial gives Eddie’s post the credibility of having to be denied.
Personally I might have gone more for the “If the minister believes everything she reads on the internet, how much money does her department spend on tinfoil hats?” response.
I was being facetious but good point you making are.
btw – have you and rhino sorted it out yet I haven’t been over to that thread to check yet.
Ah. lol 🙂
re:rhino – Nah. S/he’s probably busy at work or something. I kind’ve figured if we didn’t sort it there the months-old argument would be rehashed somewhere else. Apologies to Eddie – between Collins crowing and us two, their analysis has been detracted from, imo. Even if the names of members and some of the labels might be widened, it’s probably a fair reflection of the policy/personality pressures within labour and other left wing parties.
I suspect national is a more complex beast of patronage and rural/urban pressures.
Oh please, if Labour sorted itself out and got a decent leader Eddie wouldn’t have written his piece. The presence of Shearer, Mallard, and others at the top of the party is what saves Collins a lot of work, not anything written here.
With this comment you have clearly proven that you are a Priest at the Temple of Cunliffe.
I’m even Facebook friends with him, but I’m glad to see your idea of proof is at least consistent.
I imagine the following scenario: if Mana and the Greens both won 20 seats, who on Eddie’s list would be prepared to form a coalition with National in the interests of “national unity”? I’m pretty sure Cunliffe wouldn’t be. For all his attachment to tinkering with capitalism, I think he believes he can tinker with it in favour of the workers. Most of them see their mission as tinkering with the workers in the interests of capitalism.
Everything would be rosy for Labour if only The Standard was like Red Alert!
Is that it ianmac?
We would not be at the same level in the polls, for th past 5 years, were it not for The Standard?
We would have a united and motivated party if only those Standinistas went back to the Alliance Party?
Is that it ianmac?
Shearer would have broad support and be widely respected if only LPrent was more like Mike Smith?
Is that it ianmac?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10873858
Seems private run prisons aren’t so bad after all…
http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/search?q=private+prison
After reading that article I’d take what was said with a truck load of salt.
So you reckon they should privatise the army? Perhaps the police?
oh, and don’t forget the NZLast MP reminding us of the Morning Report on sex-work in South Auckland; 13 years of age and Six Hundy a night (at least some family member or associate ain’t riding for free). and, and, she helpfully pointed out that 30% of Auckland sex-workers are Chinese; you don’t say! Yummy!
The last 11 mins of question time today in which Speaker Carter loses his rag: http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/17831
Andrew Little is an angry little man
Yep. Doesn’t mean he’s wrong though.
Carter is thick as pigshit, wrong about everything, and an angry little man.
Judith Collins has something though…
yeah, a comb-over her forehead.(though definite in Black and White)
Really? What?
Lifetime membership to the Dark Side?
A soul so tarnished she’d be rejected by hell?
A letter from “A. H. in Argentina” suggesting she “chillax a bit, it’s nicht worth it, ja?”
Actual skeletons in the closet?
Love It Flockie (whats with you and Rhinocrates; jest or joust? clear that you both have Very fast minds, though I haven’t bothered “clocking” the comments) 🙂
Judith Collins has something though…
yep. An empty place where her apology and retraction from Mallard and Little was supposed to be.
A certain je ne sais quoi, her husbands a lucky man…
“… her husbands a lucky man…”
He will be the guy with all the bruises.
It’s not only Collins as to whom/which you don’t know stuff Chris but really, that comment is offensive. Were I her husband, and I presume she retains the one she had years ago, (big burly Polynesian ex-cop turned lawyer and a genuinely decent man), I’d be pissed off !
In light of your nonsense about threats of violence on TS you’d better not tell us that you’d kill for a piece of the likes of her.
In that case Chris, and according to your own “standards” (lol), I’d have to denounce you not only as a sex beast but also as a violent sex beast.
.
Yeah she would have the same infections that other sewer rats carry.
Is she Slaters mother?
A front bum where her cock should be is what I imagine JT would say.
furthermore, if that is a demonstration of the political “class” in this country, might as well start hewing rice terraces into Kahuranaki now, oh wait, not enough water; Beaujolais anyone?
The Al1en …
27 March 2013 at 4:47 pm
You’re a bit of a knob, Chris.
What threats have you seen here that made you fear for your own or the safety of someone else?
Surely an ex boot camp, toy soldier like you should be looking right past piddle on the internet.
You’re a bit of a bell-end, The Allen.
Nowhere did I say I was worried about the safety of myself or others however to back up my point about threats on this site
“If you tried to sack me for joining a union I would kick the shit out of you where you stand, And I would take plesuare in it”
“Do you want to Americanise heath care. I am warning you, I will come for you if you do. I will come for you. I will kick the shit out of you 10 times over you mean nasty horrible person. All those poor and working people and unionists you denigrate will cheer me on and probably join in.”
“The best thing to happen to Thatcher is for a gunman to splatter her brains over the 10 Downing Street door.”
“Pity those IRA guys didnt succed is blowing her to bits. Would have saved a lot of UKers from the misery you wanted imposed on them.”
“Addison, if you even think about banning unions and Americanising our health care, I will, come for you.”
“You nasty fascist cunt. You should have your head kicked in for that.”
“Im sick of people who want to lock up unionists and bring back slavery. They derserve to be strung up with piano wire”
Probably more but thats probably enough to get my point across. I will concede it was from one person, though some people agreed with him (and others didn’t)
[lprent: Is that what you describe as ‘condoning’ – pointing to a single commentator who regularly gets warnings and has spent extended periods banned for it. I notice that you skipped the dates and links. Probably because having someone sprouting crap with weeks or months between (often because they are banned) instances doesn’t exactly follow your thesis.
FFS are you really so stupid that you can’t recognize yourself sprouting a myth? Silly nutters standing around telling each other tales and never bothering to check. ]
Sorry I missed this link as well
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2012/01/hate-mongering.html
we all know millsy is over the top, down the hill, and up the other side but that is just bigbad talk which I’m sure you’ve heard enough of over the years – hardly credible enough for you to say, “I can quite easily say there are more realistic threats of violence and abuse on this site in comparison to whaleoil” – that statement is just not true.
btw – there have been a lot more piano wire ones which is weird because keyboards are the rage and have been for a while now.
Well that maybe but his views are tolerated if not down right encouraged.
Bullshit chris, he regularly gets banned for those sort of comments.
On Cameron’s site they would be so commonplace as to go unnoticed.
In fact lol of lols, the very comments you quoted got him banned.
And you linked to it you fucking numpty. Do not pass go do not collect $200.
I find your wet dream fantasies of Collins as PM far more offensive.
Why don’t you go chat with the mirror some more or go back home to whalespew.
You have every right to be offended as I have every right to state what I feel. What a great society we live in that we can have differing views aired out in public.
” What a great society we live in that we can have differing views aired out in public.”
Collins will put an end to that.
Attractive woman that Collins.
She could whip me any day.
Hey look, chris – offensive bullshit.
B(DS)M,
Attractiveness comes from within, Collins is full of highly toxic pus.
Unsweetened cranberry juice.
Millsy, ha,ha he’d be as weak as old woman wees.
If you got in his face, I’m betting he’d piss his pants.
I saw a picture of him on the interwebs, he’s a chubby four eyed chappie, couldn’t intimidate a mouse if he tried.
I sort of know him in real life (kind of) or rather people who know me also know him…sort of, which is why he doesn’t try to threaten me.
“….which is why he doesn’t try to threaten me.”
This is also a threat, subtle but a threat nevertheless.
So you unprompted, linked to comments from someone you think you know and who has not threatened you, to show how there are lots of threats on this site – that’s called a fail chris.
Years ago Chris — on another internet forum.
“You’re a bit of a bell-end, The Allen.”
Been called worse, but go on…
“Nowhere did I say I was worried about the safety of myself or others however to back up my point about threats on this site”
So you’re having a little cry about nothing. Those threats you allude to, that you aren’t really worried about, can’t be that bad then.
Those ‘threats’ you quote, apart from number two and five, which are a bit weird = no problem.
Merely pointing out why, and with examples, this site is as bad as and sometimes worse than whaleoils (yes I realize I’m speaking heresy)
[lprent: I would described it as simple lying myself. But I guess you came directly from Whale so I guess we could be generous and just describe as stupid gullibility of someone listening to a congenital liar. Just look at who he has asserted our authors are in real life.. ]
No, you’re speaking bullshit.
You haven’t yet pointed to anything that would even stand out on Cameron’s site. And the examples you did point to got the commenter banned.
” (yes I realize I’m speaking heresy)”
Felix has already marked your card.
“Merely pointing out why, and with examples, this site is as bad as and sometimes worse than whaleoils”
No, you’re not, and just like most soldiers, you’re still a tool. 😆
Tools are useful, are you?
“Tools are useful”
Depends on how one imparts values on a tool.
You believe they are useful, where as I’d have written they have a use. Almost the same, but not quite.
Trust me, mr conditioned, you can let your belly and chest flop out and down now, and you don’t have to polish your shoes until you see your twin heads in them all stood to attention.
“are you?”
That all depends on how you’re defining useful. 😉
stuff you don’t read on Stuff
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/26/north-korea-combat-mode-targets-us
Eurozone, becoming a “zombie zone”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/26/europes-flesheaters-threaten-to-devour-all
Return of The Reich (a “German Europe”)
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/3/27/economy/crisis-and-making-german-europe
(schnitzel anyone?)
The France 24 Debate a few days ago had a commentator (Thomas Klau – Head of the Paris Bureau, European Council on Foreign Relations) who made similar points about Germany’s role in the Eurozone crisis as the last of your links. One comment he made really caught my attention – that for historic reasons a Europe perceived as having the authority for Eurozone issues looking like they are coming out of Berlin was not a good things for Europe or for Germany!
His view was that the issue for the Eurozone is that there is no Government body directly answerable to the citizenry – as he expressed it “someone electable, who is then ejectable”. It means it makes decisions on things like the Cyrus bailout look like it is being made by bureaucrats behind closed doors and citizens have no recourse to hold them accountable.
I like a lot of what Costas Lapavitsas was saying though – really challenging the orthodoxy of the “solutions” to this Global Depression.
As an aside I prefer France 24 (in English – my French isn’t good enough!) to any of the other cable news providers – including BBC and Al Jazeera. They give a different perspective from the usual suspects.
Edited for clarity 😈
Indeed! 🙂
I am getting a bit sick of the Berlin and Germany focus of the blame to be laid for Cyprus, Spain, Greece, Italy and so forth. It was a problem with the way the common Euro currency was designed and introduced, not something that happened in Germany that brought it all about. Others assented and agreed, and the Greeks were overly keen to join.
So this is crap populism, especially comparing Merkel with Hitler and stuff. Hey, get some real info and learn what really happened, perhaps. I do not hit out at you as commenter, but the media and others are blind on one eye.
Every country involved made mistakes and has to carry some shit.
It is disgusting to blame Germany for every thing.
All debt is subordinate primarily to German creditors. Including French, Italian, Greek, Spanish debt.
Don’t think that this is by accident, or that Germany has not been exporting its manufacturing unemployment to other countries using the Eurozone as a mechanism.
Also notice that Merkel is pushing the hardline on Eurozone defaulters…because she has elections to face in a few months.
Yes, this has been a phenomenon which has come from the Eurozone’s intrinsic design. A design which said that capital could move freely across every border, and where sovereign governments no longer had any say over the value of their own currency. The engineering firms of Greece had to compete on the same terms as the engineering firms of Germany. Guess who the loser in such a fight was.
Yes, the governments of these countries got short term highs from voluntarily signing up to the Eurozone. But its the ordinary people of those same countries suddenly realising that they’ve had to wake up with very bad hangovers. Where are the leaders who originally signed their peoples up to this pact? Staying very quiet and out of the way, I notice.
“All debt is subordinate primarily to German creditors. Including French, Italian, Greek, Spanish debt.”
Sorry, CV, the European banking network and the interwoven creditor and debtor dependencies are actually quite a bit more complex and diverse than what you imply here.
Like the French banks have a lot more in Greek and Spanish bonds on their books than German banks. And while some banks in Spain are rotten and about to fold, others are still fairly stable and healthy.
It was not some evil design that came out of Berlin, and there are not secret string pullers in Berlin, that hold Europe to ransom. I agree that Merkel has a fair bit to answer to, and there are other politicians in Germany, especially in the opposition SPD and Green parties, that follow a different approach to Merkel and her government, which is more in line with what Hollande in France may also wish to follow.
I was thinking of the average man and woman in the streets of Nikosia, Athens or Madrid or Rome, holding up pictures of Merkel with a swastika on her chest. That is stupid ignorant populism there. And it must be accepted that certain governments in Greece and Italy especially have some responsibility for the present situation. Berlusconi gave tax cuts to his supporters and let the finances stay too much in the red at the same time.
Now is the NZ government not doing something similar at present?
“Yes, this has been a phenomenon which has come from the Eurozone’s intrinsic design. A design which said that capital could move freely across every border, and where sovereign governments no longer had any say over the value of their own currency. The engineering firms of Greece had to compete on the same terms as the engineering firms of Germany.”
As for the Euro, it ran into trouble (once the GFC sped up the process) due to every country in the Eurozone and EU still running their own finance, taxation, social, internal economic and other differing regulatory systems.
One currency necessitates to also introduce the same fiscal and some other policies (primarily economic) to make the one currency system function.
Allowing different countries to follow different policies in such areas, and also having very differing economic and social realities to face, yet take advantage of the same low interest rates to take up credit, this led to distortions, which now have come back to bite in certain countries like Greece, Spain, Portugal and increasingly Italy. Cyprus is a special case, and it stuffed up due to some exposure to the Greek banking system, also having attracted deposits from other foreign sources, by running a banking system inviting tax evaders from Russia and so forth.
You cannot have one common economic zone and especially not one common currency, and at the same time quite different taxation, fiscal, economic and other policies in member countries.
Marx’s Revenge: How Class Struggle Is Shaping the World
The evidence grows daily – Marx was right about capitalism.
This raises an important point. Thirty-five percent, mainly the upper middle class have been improving their lot. That’s quite a big chunk of the middle class with a vested interest in the status quo. Often these people are richer than they could have imagined themselves to be. There are a disproprtionate number of baby boomers in this statistic.
And most will fight for every last designer kitchen fitting.
We also might need to start talking households, not voters, when it comes to political economic income brackets (which is what you might have done above? Top 35% of households probably have an annual income of $85K and up).
For instance, if I earn fuck all income but my corporate exec spouse pulls in an income in the high $200K range. I’m going to be counted in the bottom 10% of earners (sub $15K pa). But I’m not going to be struggling in poverty and the people I socialise with are not going to be unwashed losers. My voting patterns will be influenced accordingly.
That’s a very good point CV. There are a lot of wealthy people with partners earning a huge whack, but whose household income is no reflection of the comparative ‘pin money’ they bring in themselves. Their own personal income may be going backwards but their household income is steaming ahead.
I’m often struck by the relatively large numbers of people who live very comfortably – huge houses, flash baches, overseas hols etc., and I’ve been puzzled about why their numbers aren’t entirely reflected in income stats.
Would you take the test?
And NACT are following this prescription.
Anyone note the gliding swagger of Commissioner of Police Marshall on 3 News tonight, in the lift lobby of the Beehive I think. Bedecked in more fruit salad than a Jakarta hotel carpark attendant !
Refusing to comment on the appallingly grave miscarriage of justice in the Teina Pora case. When asked whether he would resign were the obvious to be exposed there was the hint of a Freudian stammer. In unmistakeable contrast to the glide. The Teina Pora case is huge and he clearly knows it.
But, the underlying morality betrayed by the stammer was quickly rectified by the crushed car vixen Madame Tolley who quickly got things back on track with – “it’s not a good look…..”, “decided in the media……” , “blah blah blah”.
You bet it’s not a good look, privileged, mutton-dressed-up-as-lamb worse than Shitley cow ! A 17 year old, I’d suspect illiterate (then) kid, used as an ingredient in a police “cook-a- cake-of- your-choice” exercise for which no doubt the very senior police personnel involved were lauded to Kingdom Come.
20 years in the slammer poor little bugger.
Good to see Toryana and Peter exercised about the boy. They might finally prove of some worth. Pity it took the destruction of a young man’s life.
John Key, please, please don’t let Chris 73’s self-gratification fodder Judy Collins anywhere near the compensation issue.
Cyprus youth rise up. They’ve figured out their ‘elders and betters’ have screwed their futures, permanently.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-03-26/cypriot-youth-rise-pictures-they-just-got-rid-all-our-dreams
Notice one of the photos there where the salutes look very much like seig heils.
Give it a few more years, Europe’s history is coming back.
I wander if the anger in Cyprus begins to have a feedback loop to Greece? It will be interesting to see if the protests in Greece continue again after the latest wave in February and early March.
To be fair they’re holding up their hands because they have ‘NO’ written on their palms.
However, yeah, a re-run of Germany in the ’30s somewhere else is a scary prospect and all too likely if political/bureaucratic decisions inflicting joblessness, increasing wealth divisions within and between nations, and hopelessness in the general population aren’t changed soon.
While I wrote the post above I had a weather-eye on “3rd Degree” on TV3.
A debate ??? What alot of shit ! In part at least a bunch of wannabee TV celebrities-in-training with Garner, the lisping wee Gee-On, and the perennial yet newly-careered “lawyer” Linda Clark.
They’ll have graduated and be on “Afternoons With Jimmy” within a month.
Still, all of the above said, I give real heartfelt thanks to 3rd Degree for its Teina Pora investigation.
What’s happened to that poor guy is absolutely disgusting. Any police involved in this carriage of injustice should have to do time equal to what they got him sentenced to.
It’s Official: There Is a Money Tree
Same applies to the RBNZ. Now just need to the politicians of the left (the ones on the right will only ever have the country borrowing from their rich mates) to realise it.
Damn the misleading headlines this week.
First it was “Collins in jail” – turned out to be some rugby player
Then it was “Farewell to Gerry” – turned out to be Marsden
Next it was “Labour MP’s kicked out” but it was only the speaker throwing a tantrum not the party.
Food stamp debit cards stop welfare being used for alcohol and cigarettes
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/mar/26/payment-cards-emergency-assistance-food-stamps
Got to love the UK Tories. Bash a few more bennies.
Best thing is to just provide soup kitchens and poor houses, that way you know exactly what the bennies are doing and spending every minute of the day