Is there a Democratic Party specialist out there who can tell me how the second vote brings the Superdelegates back in with at least as much power as lat times' Presidential nominee selection?
This discussion on MSNBC on how Biden really goes head to head with Sanders in the Democratic primaries is instructive:
He doesn’t talk up progressive policies like some candidates….
I think Biden's negative attack line is ill founded. This sort of attack line will not convince anyone, for one simple reason, it buys into Trump's underdog status, that he is being unfairly victimised by the establishment. And bolsters Trump's claims that he is a victim of a conspiracy by the jealous liberals. The same with calls from the Democratic Party establishment for impeaching the President.
Biden’s negative attack politics avoids the issues that really matter to voters. And plays into Trump’s brand of personality politics.
Rather than concentrate on Trump's negative traits and build his campaign around it, Biden needs to be putting up some positive progressive policy.
In contrast to Biden who avoids raising progressive issues, to the surprise of the Fox presenters Bernie Sanders wins over a picked Fox audience by talking about single payer health care.
Biden's video is an odd one for a Democrat primary pitch, which needs about how your policies pitch to Democrat segments, not speaking over their heads to Trump-waverers.
But that doesn't get to my particular question of how this is going to play out any different to Clinton V Sanders in the nomination shit fight.
"……..how this is going to play out any different to Clinton V Sanders in the nomination shit fight."
That's a good question. As Sanders says @17:14 minutes in the above video
….look, if we spent all of our time attacking Trump, you know what, the democrats are gonna lose, alright?
The remarkable thing is that Sanders said this before Biden had launched his campaign, and immediately did what Sanders said the Democrats shouldn't.
Sanders didn't know Biden was going to do this, and is probably aghast that he has. Sanders was replying to question put to him, to which he replied ‘we’ [the Democrats], shouldn't do this.
If Biden is picked over Sanders in the Democratic Primary it will be an exact repeat of what happened before.
Ms. Hill said that Judge Thomas had repeatedly asked her to go out with him in a social capacity and would not take no for an answer. She said he would talk about sex in vivid detail, describing pornography he had seen involving women with large breasts, women having sex with animals, group sex and rape scenes.
Judge Thomas would also talk about his own “sexual prowess” in workplace conversations, Ms. Hill said. And he once mentioned a pornographic film whose star was called “Long Dong Silver,” which turned into an infamous name in American political lore.
“It would have been more comfortable to remain silent,” she said. “But when I was asked by a representative of this committee to report my experience, I felt that I had to tell the truth. I could not keep silent.”
After Ms. Hill’s opening statement, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr.*, the Delaware Democrat who was then chairman of the committee, began questioning her on the specific locations of her harassment allegations. She mentioned the “incident of the Coke can,” which — as she had described a half-hour earlier — involved Judge Thomas asking her who had put pubic hair on his can of cola.
Mr. Biden asked, “Can you describe it, once again, for me please?”
Two of the large corporate donars that Biden courted at this fundraiser were internet company Comcast who are opposed to Net Neutrality, and large private insurance company Blue Cross, whose business model will suffer if Bernie's Medicare For All gets through.
If the Swedish allegations against Julian Assange were genuine and not simply a ruse to arrest him for extradition to the United States, where is the arrest warrant now from Sweden and what are the charges?
Only the more minor allegation has passed the statute of limitations deadline. The major allegation, equivalent to rape, is still well within limits. Sweden has had seven years to complete the investigation and prepare the case. It is over two years since they interviewed Julian Assange in the Ecuadorean Embassy. They have had years and years to collect all the evidence and prepare the charges.
So where, Swedish prosecutors, are your charges? Where is your arrest warrant?
Julian Assange has never been charged with anything in Sweden. He was merely “wanted for questioning”, a fact the MSM repeatedly failed to make clear. It is now undeniably plain that there was never the slightest intention of charging him with anything in Sweden. All those Blairite MPs who seek to dodge the glaring issue of freedom of the media to publish whistleblower material revealing government crimes, by hiding behind trumped-up sexual allegations, are left looking pretty stupid.
What is the point of demanding Assange be extradited to Sweden when there is no extradition request from Sweden? What is the point in demanding he face justice in Sweden when there are no charges? Where are the charges from Sweden?
The answer to that is silence.
Sweden was always a fit-up designed to get Assange to the USA. And now they don’t need it, so Sweden has quietly gone away. All the false left who were taken in by the security services playing upon a feminist mantra should take a very hard look at themselves. ….
Welcome to another Morrissey rape culture special.
Sweden was always a fit-up designed to get Assange to the USA.
We have to assume you endorse that offensive claim, given that you troubled yourself to post it here. You now need to support it, in two ways:
1. Demonstrate that the two women complainants made false complaints and were participants in a criminal conspiracy (hence this being another Morrissey "rape culture" special).
2. Come up with a plausible explanation for why the US government couldn't request Assange's extradition from the UK seven years ago and instead needed him extradited to Sweden first, but now can simply request extradition from the UK (This one's not rape culture, just the usual Morrissey nutbar conspiracy theory).
I was the one who posted comment 2? Best go back for another look, it's got your name on it. Comment 2 makes a bold claim with nothing to support it, hence the 2.x comments underneath it asking for the poster of that claim to support it with evidence. If you need to have this stuff explained to you, maybe you should just leave your computer switched off.
Leaving aside for a moment the comical notion that Craig Murray is one of the most respected commentators in Britain (not least because you're making an implied argument from authority and we've been over that ground so many times before), Craig Murray didn't post that assertion here, you did.
Unless you were just dropping some random spam on the thread because you don't have voluntary control over your actions, you posted that claim here as an endorsement of it. That means it's effectively your claim on this thread. If you can't support it, just say so.
You're free to hold whatever opinions of me you like. At issue is whether you can offer anything to support the claim you posted in comment 2. I note that the answer is still "No."
Any of us is free to demand that people making bold and unlikely assertions provide some supporting evidence for them. There's no penalty for failure to comply, beyond the embarrassment of having been exposed as a bullshitter – assuming one feels embarrassment at such exposure, that is. I think Morrissey's impervious to it.
"that people making bold and unlikely assertions… "
That is only you at this point. Anyone with some nous long ago worked out this was about journalism, not rape culture. Hence why any decent independent journo has dismissed your talking point.
In that case, any decent independent journo would be able to substantiate the claim "Sweden was always a fit-up designed to get Assange to the USA." Where is the support for this assertion?
Thanks francesca; insightful links within links within links.
"Take my loathing of Assange, for example. I feel like I can’t even write a column condemning his arrest and extradition without gratuitously mocking or insulting the man. When I try to, I feel this sudden fear of being denounced as a “Trump-loving Putin-Nazi,” and a “Kremlin-sponsored rape apologist,” and unfriended by all my Facebook friends. Worse, I get this sickening feeling that unless I qualify my unqualified support for freedom of press, and transparency, and so on, with some sort of vicious, vindictive remark about the state of Assange’s body odor, and how he’s probably got cooties, or has pooped his pants, or some other childish and sadistic taunt, I can kiss any chance I might have had of getting published in a respectable publication goodbye."
C. J. Hopkins (15 April, 2019) [“If you do not appreciate Mr. Hopkins’ work and would like to write him an abusive email, please feel free to contact him directly.“]
Thank you francesca for that link. An admirable piece, well written, meticulously argued and above all … correct in it's conclusions.
Of course, the real point here, which the advocates of this line are pretending to miss and energetically trying to disappear from everyone’s line of sight, is that Sweden is no more interested in prosecuting Assange for his alleged sexual offense than the UK is for his bail jumping. The sex allegation from Sweden, like the bail jumping allegation in the UK, is just a doorway to his extradition to the United States.
The sex allegation from Sweden … is just a doorway to his extradition to the United States.
I keep seeing this asserted as an article of faith, with no supporting evidence for the assertion. Is there anything, other than that some people fervently believe it?
The indictment is, however, a snare and a delusion. It is surprisingly spare and seems to have been written with a particular purpose in mind — to extradite Assange from England. Once he is here, he will be hit, no doubt, with multiple charges.
Under the U.S.-U.K. extradition treaty, one cannot be extradited from the United Kingdom if the extradition is for “political purposes.” This explains why the indictment does not contain any charges alleging that Assange conspired with the Russians to impact the 2016 presidential election. It may also explain why the indictment focuses on hacking government computers rather than on leaking stolen government information, in as much as leaking could be characterized as being done for political purposes.
When Assange arrives in the United States through extradition, as many expect he will, the government will then be able to indict him for his participation in that election. It is not out of the question that the government will come up with additional charges against Assange.
U.S. Justice Department officials would not confirm that the U.S. agreed to take any sentence off the table. But they pointedly noted that the charge the U.S unsealed against Assange does not represent a capital offense and carries a maximum of five years in prison.
The Justice Department has 60 days from the time of the request for extradition to add any charges and would not comment on future charges.
The indictment is, however, a snare and a delusion. It is surprisingly spare and seems to have been written with a particular purpose in mind — to extradite Assange from England. Once he is here, he will be hit, no doubt, with multiple charges.
Again, this is opinion. All of these opinions assert that the Swedish request to extradite Assange was made on behalf of the USA, with no basis other than that the author firmly believes it.
The USG is not going to signal in advance any charges that carry the death penalty or imply 'political reasons'. Otherwise extradition to the USA will likely fail legally in the UK and quite possibly Sweden as well. Demanding the production of impossible evidence is a logical fallacy akin to demanding one perfect piece of evidence to support climate change.
What I can rely on is the preponderance of evidence, the reasonable balance of probabilities given what they've already done to Manning (and would do to Snowden if they could) … and the indisputable fact that the Justice Dept has unsealed one charge already. An act that only makes sense if they intend to extradite when the opportunity avails itself.
Sure, a reasonable person wouldn't put any duplicity past the US government. However, the claim that the Swedish complaints were a conspiracy on behalf of the US government is an extraordinary claim requiring extraordinary evidence. And any evidence presented has a severe uphill struggle ahead of it, against the fact that the US could just have requested Assange's extradition from the UK back then, just like it has now.
The Justice Department has 60 days from the time of the request for extradition to add any charges and would not comment on future charges.
According to the doctrine of specialty protection, once he's extradited he can only be tried on the charges in the extradition paperwork. Or if the US really really wants to add more charges, the rules say they have to get approved by the same UK courts that approved the extradition.
If Assange ends up going to Sweden before winding up in the US, then he's got the extra protection that both the UK and Sweden have to agree to what he gets charged with.
Of course, wannabe Dictator Donny might just slap on the extra charges after they get their hands on him and say to the UK and/or Sweden "waddaya gonna do abouddit?".
There's that irony that the Tinyfingers Tyrant that Assange was so keen and active in helping elect is much more likely to just blow off international norms and obligations than Hillary would have been. Let alone that Obama and Holder decided way back in 2013 that trying to prosecute Assange would have a real and seriously chilling effect on real journalism, so the national interest was best served by not prosecuting. The so-called "New York Times" problem. Hillary would most likely have respected and gone along with that prior assessment.
A legal process that will be dragged out for years. The USG doesn't need to get to a conviction as long as they have Assange in prison somewhere.
The entire game has been a cynical abuse of legal process from the outset. What makes you think anything will change once they have their hands on him? Read this story from another whistle-blower and let us know what you think his chances are:
The government will invoke something in Julian’s case called CIPA – the Classified Information Protection Act. That means that the court must do everything possible to “protect” classified information from being revealed, even to the jury. The first thing that’s done in a CIPA trial is that the courtroom is sealed. The only people allowed inside are the defendant and the defendant’s attorneys, the prosecutors, the bailiff, the clerk, and the judge. The jury also would be there in the event of a jury trial, but it gets a little more complicated in that case. The bailiff will lock the courtroom doors and put tape around them, and he’ll cover the windows with plastic or canvas, all so that nobody outside can hear anything.
This is another round of that cowardly game where liberal pundits pretend to believe in the professed objectives of the government so they can claim to be abetting its actions in innocent good faith, and when it all turns to shit they can say: “We didn’t know that was gonna happen!”
The entire game has been a cynical abuse of legal process from the outset.
Yeah, it might look that way if you don't attach any significance to the allegations Assange scarpered from Sweden the same day his lawyers learned he was about to be arrested, nor to the way he scarpered to the Ecuadorean Embassy when he learned he lost his fight not to be extradited to Sweden.
Note that while all this was going on in 2010 through 2012, the doctrine of specialty protection would made him safer from the US if he had been extradited back to Sweden from the UK. Because then both the UK and Sweden would have to OK him getting sent to the US, rather than just the UK. According to some pieces I've seen, extraditing him to Sweden from the UK would also give him recourse to an EU court to fight a further extradition to the US, which he wouldn't have in a direct UK to US extradition.
If Assange had fled to the Ecuadorian Embassy to escape Swedish justice, then logically he would have left that Embassy when the Swedish investigation was dropped and no charges laid. But of course that was never the reason why he sought asylum; it was always about escaping American injustice.
And please stop pretending the Americans will be satisfied with a minor 'hacking' charge that carries a five year (out in three) sentence. That just insults everyone's intelligence.
And please stop pretending the Americans will be satisfied with a minor 'hacking' charge that carries a five year (out in three) sentence. That just insults everyone's intelligence.
Please link to where I have made any claim that might be interpreted like that.
Misrepresenting someone else's position like that does you no credit.
That's a statement of what the rules require. It's not expressing an opinion that the Drumpf administration will be satisfied with just the one charge that has so far been unsealed.
If you don't want to be misrepresented, be clear on what you mean. Can I take it that you now accept the USG will likely lay more charges once they have their hands on him, regardless of any 'specialty protection'?
Lets be real here, the USG doesn't give a shit about how long this process takes; as long as they have Assange in a prison somewhere, they have the outcome they want.
I have no doubt the likes of Barr and the loofah-faced shitgibbon would like to nail Assange on a huge array of charges. On any useful facts, and completely fabricated too if they think they can get away with it. For the express purpose of getting convictions to set precedents expanding dictatorial presidential powers. Assange sitting in a UK or Swedish prison is useless for that.
But the point of getting convictions to set precedents is one aspect where specialty protection might play a role. Because if specialty protection provisions are violated, those are solid grounds for appealing a conviction. Because correct judicial processes were not followed. By the time an appeal rolls through, there may be a new prez and AG not inclined to fight the appeal and uphold the conviction. And if a conviction is overturned on appeal, then it's not a precedent.
So their opportunity to get the convictions and set the precedents might be just the next 21 months.
There's a big assumption right there; it assumes a sympathetic Democrat will be elected. If you were Assange I doubt very much you'd bet you life on that.
And even less likely that you'd bet on a fair hearing in a secret trial held in an East Virginia 'espionage court' that has never acquitted a defendant in all of it's history.
The only reason why we're talking about Assange all these years later has nothing to do with Sweden or the UK … it's absolutely been all about the USG's desire to make an example of Assange, to punish him for exposing their own illegal behaviour.
We abrogate our personal right to violent defense and retribution to the nation state. We have a legal system, police, courts and prisons to defend us within the state, and a military system to act outside of it. These systems are legally created and empowered to commit violence on our collective behalf. In an ideal world there would be no criminals, no aggressor states and we could disband them, but for the time being we are stuck with this morally ambiguous compromise. We may personally abhor violence as much as we like, but collectively we cannot abandon it. We justify this by placing rules and conventions on these systems; we require they act within the law, lest we become no better than the criminals, terrorists and invaders we pursue.
Yet the crucial irony is that Assange is being punished by the USG for exposing it's own illegal behaviour. You are pirouetting on a very thin patch of legal ice indeed, if you imagine the same govt will give one tiny shit what you or I think when they do finally get their hands on him.
That Polemicist piece is certainly a polemic. But I don't find it very credible when it misrepresents things like how the Swedish system works by trying to make a big deal out of the fact Assange hadn't been charged.
While elections aren't generally based upon one policy, CGT was a big policy that Labour spent many years building up support for.
Its potential to produce a strong revenue stream is not easily overlooked Nor is its potential to enable the Government to do more good.
Therefore, to throw it all away without a bat of an eyelid, how much damage to the party do you think Jacinda has caused?
Will their be a drop in support for Labour in the next poll?
This nationwide Horizon Research Poll – taken between February 28 and March 15 – found 44 per cent of New Zealand adults supported introducing a capital gains tax and 35 per cent opposed it.
A further 16 per cent are neutral on the new tax, while 6 per cent did not know.
Polling by political leaning showed 60% of Labour voters supported it.
Thanks, cleangreen. I don't think he's off his rocker; it's hard to admit for anyone to admit one has been completely wrong. He has to come to terms with it.
Poor fellow backed Hillary and her mad Russiagate conspiracy too.
No one has the Right to Rubbish and impoverish the Workers of Aotearoa
Everyone has the Right to demand National hands back the Decent Livings of the People.
Although the kindly Chairman has been mobbing on about the Labour Party not proceeding with a Capital Gains Tax presently, he fails to state that the Labour Party has not declared they will abandon seeking to even up The Have Nots – caused by the Greedy Mobsters.
Far from it. The National Politicians over a series of decades, have stolen equity from large numbers of New Zealanders. Mostly by paying very low wages, and by slugging workers with excessive regressive GST and also latterly – by Excruciating Rental Fees. And By Selling off State Houses.
On top of which, The Nationals are said not to have paid adequate owed Taxes.
I do not know by which methodology that is determined. But I do know that if Poor People fiidle with their payments to Winz they go quickly to Prison.
Whereas National wealthy nonpayers – go without so much as a naughty nod. Certainly not Jail. The cover – ups. The jaunty accountants; – Oh yes. The Bell does not Toll for the Chairman's lot.
Now the Chairman knows this. And he is piddling around as if he has found his teeth and inspiration in some sort of magic dirty bucket.
It will take a long time to get Equity back into New Zealand. The Distortions and The Theft that has gone on – as promoted by National – will have to be dragged out as from polluted Rivers and Lakes. It will take Years.
Above all, it will take Integrity on the part of the Wealthy.
He fails to state that the Labour Party has not declared they will abandon seeking to even up The Have Nots…
The question is, will they sufficiently live up to that?
To date, Jacinda did say the accompanying tax cuts (related to the CGT now dropped) are also being dumped. That was one way Labour were going to even the field.
They've told teachers as they did nurses there is no more money.
It was reported again the other day there's no more money for child poverty reduction via the families package.
And there is no talk of other beneficiaries getting any extra than what's already been stated.
They could build more state homes, further increase the minimum wage to the living wage and vastly increase all benefits to make a major impact, yet they don't.
Agreed, Labour is wedded to maintaining the neoliberal status quo, with ongoing poverty for many the result. Unfortunately I don't think this behaviour is being forced on Labour by coalition politics – deep down they still completely believe neoliberal ideology.
Genter told Newshub Nation host Emma Jolliff on Saturday the party has to be pragmatic.
She later went on to say the Green Party is committed to working with the Government for the rest of the current term, and the best way to ensure it can push harder in the next is to get more MPs in Parliament.
The question is, is being pragmatic working for them in regards to them securing more votes? Polls indicate otherwise.
Or is it the so called woke side turning potential supporters off?
Whatever it is, is it time for the Greens to have a rethink?
Additionally, there seems to be an emphasis on appropriate prices around pollution, minus any talk on offsetting the inflationary burden on the poor. Is this a result of being too pragmatic? A bluer shade of green?
The question is, is being pragmatic working for them in regards to them securing more votes? Polls indicate otherwise. Or is it the so called woke side turning potential supporters off?
Yes, to the second question. Yes to the first, but I agree it isn't showing in polls, so I suspect that each effect cancels the other. That is to say, centrists like them pragmatic and hate them woke.
is it time for the Greens to have a rethink?
No. They are stuck in the electoral cycle. That time will come after the next election. It will factor in the extent to which any blue-green alternative gets support. If so, the woke will shrivel on the vine – when anyone with half a brain realises that their survival requires authenticity (thus centrism). If not, woke identity politics will persist as an affliction. Too many activists within think the stance is real democracy!
there seems to be an emphasis on appropriate prices around pollution, minus any talk on offsetting the inflationary burden on the poor. Is this a result of being too pragmatic? A bluer shade of green?
No and no. Either poor messaging, poor reporting, or both. Greens ought to signal intelligent design of tax policy includes reducing income tax to the extent that govt income gets boosted by pollution taxes, ftt, land tax etc. They may have done so, but not being part of the coalition, could be the media haven't reported it (deeming it irrelevant). I've noticed in past years a tendency of our media to ignore press releases from the Greens.
They may be"stuck" in an electoral cycle but waiting to rethink things will be leaving it late to drum up more support – especially if it is due to them having no current backbone.
Genter had an opportunity in the interview to highlight how (within the confines of coalition) they are going to tackle the inflationary burden on the poor, she didn't.
They lack a fighting spirit in my view and it’s not enticing support. Many wanted the Greens to help take Labour left, seems by their lack of fight, they've gone the other way. And this, IMO is turning voters off. Along with rediscovering the word cunt etc…
To be brutally honest, we lack evidence that the poor are sufficiently motivated to be an effective force in politics. Recall the so-called `missing million' voters. Labour proclaimed a drive to recruit them but I noticed a lack of evidence of success at the following election. Can't blame the Green parliamentarians for learning from the Labour experience.
My calculator reckons Labour achieved 19.5% of their target million. Glass a fifth-full – better than empty, but evidence the Labour persuasion campaign failed to shift the 80% most alienated by democracy…
Yes, I do. And from memory, despite all their bluster, Labour did very little (policy wise) to entice them. No living wage on offer, no across the board benefit increase, no redistribution via tax cuts accompanying their CGT.
The Greens support spiked up when they reached out to beneficiaries.
If they were really pressing for safer roads why don't they put the roading money into providing them?
Do you really think that spending $100 million dollars on a combined cycling/walking track from Ngauranga to Petone in Wellington is a sensible expenditure when the money could have gone toward something useful like the Melling interchange which has just been put back for at least a decade?
The walking track might be used by 10 people/month. The cyclists might be a few more in Summer but I'll bet there won't be more than a dozen of them on a day like today.That woman's ideas on what should be done in transport are totally nuts.
Have a look at this. It sounds so impressive until the kicker in the last line saying, in effect. We are going to put this into the “come back in 10 years and then consider doing it file”. https://createsend.com/t/t-2E2B0FC1CEC333D52540EF23F30FEDED
I suppose we may assume that Paine was worth a little bit less than that when he died. That amount would convert to about £1,800,000 today or about $3.5 million. I suppose that would mean cutting an average Auckland house in two and giving half to the poor.
WTF did this get posted late missing a April 1st release?
Mourning the loss of Jacinda Ardern and Simon Bridges' friendship
The prime minister and the leader of the opposition are supposed to be enemies, but Madeleine Chapman just wants Jacinda Ardern and Simon Bridges to be friends again.
"Trump has said he will withdraw his country from the international Arms Trade Treaty. The agreement, signed by Barack Obama in 2013, aims to regulate the sale of weapons between countries." Aims, but fails to succeed. Sham regulation!
"In a statement released after Mr Trump's speech, the White House said the treaty "fails to truly address the problem of irresponsible arms transfers" because other top arms exporters – including Russia and China – have not signed up to it." https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48076262
BBC, a year ago: Which country dominates the global arms trade? "the total international trade in arms now worth about $100bn (£74bn) per year, Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), tells the BBC." https://www.bbc.com/news/business-43873518
"In its latest figures, the defence industry think tank says that major weapons sales in the five years to 2017 were 10% higher than in 2008-12. US now accounts for 34% of all global arms sales, up from 30% five years ago, and are now at their highest level since the late 1990s… The US's arms exports are 58% higher than those of Russia, the world's second-largest exporter. And while US arms exports grew by 25% in 2013-17 compared with 2008-12, Russia's exports fell by 7.1% over the same period."
China "is now the world's fifth largest seller of arms. This puts it behind the US, Russia, France, and Germany, but ahead of the UK. China's arms exports rose by 38% between 2008-12 and 2013-17, and the country now has the world's second-largest defence budget after the US – $150bn compared to the latter's $602bn in 2017."
"In 2014 the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) came into force, with the aim of regulating the international trade in conventional weapons. It requires states to monitor arms exports, and ensure that their weapons sale don't break existing arms embargoes, or end up being used for human-rights abuses, including terrorism. Yet so far its impact has been limited, say critics. "We are disappointed by the way a number of states have decided to implement it, says Amnesty's Oliver Feeley-Sprague."
"We think the UK, US and France among others, by continuing to sell arms to Saudi Arabia and its allies in the coalition operation in Yemen, are clearly violating the ATT's provisions."
"The ATT may have had a bigger impact on curbing the flow of weapons to non-state actors, says Sipri's Pieter Wezeman – but so far it has not had any visible impact on the overall trade in arms."
Bob Menendez, top Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee, said: “This is yet another myopic decision that jeopardizes US security based on false premises and fearmongering. While Americans from all walks of life have come to painfully understand the threat posed by not doing enough to prevent weapons from ending up in the wrong hands, it is disturbing to see this administration turn back the clock on the little progress we have made to prevent illicit arms transfers.”
The Senate has so far failed to approve the treaty because of Republicans’ “paralyzing fear of backlash from the NRA”, Menendez added. “This is another reminder that if we’re going to get anywhere to break the inaction on the kind of commonsense steps to stop gun violence and keep people safe, we must stop letting the NRA set the agenda in Washington.”
Rachel Stohl, the managing director of the Stimson Center thinktank in Washington, and a consultant to the arms trade treaty process, said: “Today the president once again walked away from America’s leadership role in the world and undermined international efforts to reduce human suffering caused by irresponsible and illegal arms transfers.
“Un-signing the treaty will undermine international peace and security, increase irresponsible and illegal sales of conventional weapons, and harm the American economy.”
Yes, Trump is exhibiting a lack of moral leadership from a global perspective. I doubt he sees the situation from that perspective – likely just doing realpolitik to represent his electoral base. I assume the sham regulation was a UN thing despite Obama leading it, so the failure to get China & Russia to support it seems evidence of the usual incompetence. They gave Trump no basis to take it seriously. Then the UK & France violated the agreement, to prove the point.
I'm just as happy about that as you. I was alerting everyone to the fact that TDS is distracting them from the cause of the problem. Solving the problem requires international agreements that nations adhere to. Not the current sham.
Inclined to agree, OT. I have always seen the so-called chairman as a concern troll, who instead of giving up, doubles down on pretending to be an ally. But I still don't think he is: he is here to spread discouragement.
Well, if it comes down to a choice between rabbiting on here or going out to the shed most of us old chaps find it is warmer inside at the keyboard than out in a drafty shed in the backyard.
But yes, geriatric seems a pretty fair description for the the people who comment here.Is anyone under 50?
,,,According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Portugal welcomed 6.8 million foreign tourists in 2010. By 2016, this figure had risen to 18.2 million, an increase of 168 per cent. Overall, only Japan experienced a more significant increase in visitors this decade….
As a reward for this success, the locals are paying a very high price for tourism. It is simple, the inhabitants of Porto and Lisbon can no longer stand it, strangled by the increase in the price of living. Boosted by very cheap flights and thousands of short-term Airbnb-type accommodation, mass tourism has driven housing prices up by 20%.
Salaries, on the other hand, do not keep pace with this increase. As a result, thousands of residents have to leave their homes because they cannot afford the rents. Let us take a striking example: in Lisbon, there are now nine tourists for every resident of the city. In Porto, there are eight tourists per inhabitant; in Albufeira, in the Algarve, there are 39 tourists per inhabitant. In comparison, the same ratio is about four to one in London and five to one in Barcelona. To house all these people, we need apartments, which do not benefit the locals. From 7,500 Airbnb in Lisbon in 2015, they rose to 12,700 in 2018, an increase of almost 70% in three short years.
However the latest is that with Brexit anxieties shifting the British Pound, tourists have shifted destination from Portugal to other locations with currencies that haven't moved much against the Pound. If we can control our freedom campers and try for higher priced tourists we might not get trashed along with our countryside.
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
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 ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
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Is there a Democratic Party specialist out there who can tell me how the second vote brings the Superdelegates back in with at least as much power as lat times' Presidential nominee selection?
This discussion on MSNBC on how Biden really goes head to head with Sanders in the Democratic primaries is instructive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g2klnsYw6Y
I think Biden's negative attack line is ill founded. This sort of attack line will not convince anyone, for one simple reason, it buys into Trump's underdog status, that he is being unfairly victimised by the establishment. And bolsters Trump's claims that he is a victim of a conspiracy by the jealous liberals. The same with calls from the Democratic Party establishment for impeaching the President.
Biden’s negative attack politics avoids the issues that really matter to voters. And plays into Trump’s brand of personality politics.
Rather than concentrate on Trump's negative traits and build his campaign around it, Biden needs to be putting up some positive progressive policy.
In contrast to Biden who avoids raising progressive issues, to the surprise of the Fox presenters Bernie Sanders wins over a picked Fox audience by talking about single payer health care.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uco6HDQswNM
Biden's video is an odd one for a Democrat primary pitch, which needs about how your policies pitch to Democrat segments, not speaking over their heads to Trump-waverers.
But that doesn't get to my particular question of how this is going to play out any different to Clinton V Sanders in the nomination shit fight.
"……..how this is going to play out any different to Clinton V Sanders in the nomination shit fight."
That's a good question. As Sanders says @17:14 minutes in the above video
The remarkable thing is that Sanders said this before Biden had launched his campaign, and immediately did what Sanders said the Democrats shouldn't.
Sanders didn't know Biden was going to do this, and is probably aghast that he has. Sanders was replying to question put to him, to which he replied ‘we’ [the Democrats], shouldn't do this.
If Biden is picked over Sanders in the Democratic Primary it will be an exact repeat of what happened before.
With a good chance of the same awful consequence.
A snowball has a better chance in Hell than Biden has of winning the nomination. To say he's toxic is to insult toxins.
Biden is another trough money hunter and he will be corrupted again by big money as all others have been.
Biden was close to big Corporations as Hillary was.
He's repulsive and unelectable.
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/12/gropers-no-62-his-dishonor-clarence.html
Possibly even closer….
Hours After Entering 2020 Race, Biden to Attend Big-Money Fundraiser Hosted by Comcast, Blue Cross Execs
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So Where is the Swedish Warrant?
by CRAIG MURRAY, Apr. 27, 2019
If the Swedish allegations against Julian Assange were genuine and not simply a ruse to arrest him for extradition to the United States, where is the arrest warrant now from Sweden and what are the charges?
Only the more minor allegation has passed the statute of limitations deadline. The major allegation, equivalent to rape, is still well within limits. Sweden has had seven years to complete the investigation and prepare the case. It is over two years since they interviewed Julian Assange in the Ecuadorean Embassy. They have had years and years to collect all the evidence and prepare the charges.
So where, Swedish prosecutors, are your charges? Where is your arrest warrant?
Julian Assange has never been charged with anything in Sweden. He was merely “wanted for questioning”, a fact the MSM repeatedly failed to make clear. It is now undeniably plain that there was never the slightest intention of charging him with anything in Sweden. All those Blairite MPs who seek to dodge the glaring issue of freedom of the media to publish whistleblower material revealing government crimes, by hiding behind trumped-up sexual allegations, are left looking pretty stupid.
What is the point of demanding Assange be extradited to Sweden when there is no extradition request from Sweden? What is the point in demanding he face justice in Sweden when there are no charges? Where are the charges from Sweden?
The answer to that is silence.
Sweden was always a fit-up designed to get Assange to the USA. And now they don’t need it, so Sweden has quietly gone away. All the false left who were taken in by the security services playing upon a feminist mantra should take a very hard look at themselves. ….
Read more….
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2019/04/so-where-is-the-swedish-warrant/
Welcome to another Morrissey rape culture special.
Sweden was always a fit-up designed to get Assange to the USA.
We have to assume you endorse that offensive claim, given that you troubled yourself to post it here. You now need to support it, in two ways:
1. Demonstrate that the two women complainants made false complaints and were participants in a criminal conspiracy (hence this being another Morrissey "rape culture" special).
2. Come up with a plausible explanation for why the US government couldn't request Assange's extradition from the UK seven years ago and instead needed him extradited to Sweden first, but now can simply request extradition from the UK (This one's not rape culture, just the usual Morrissey nutbar conspiracy theory).
The amount of stuff written about Assange may soon match the size of the Wikileaks release.
Smearing is no argument. That won't deter the likes of you, of course.
In other words, no you can't support your claim.
You're the one who has to support your sleazy allegations.
I was the one who posted comment 2? Best go back for another look, it's got your name on it. Comment 2 makes a bold claim with nothing to support it, hence the 2.x comments underneath it asking for the poster of that claim to support it with evidence. If you need to have this stuff explained to you, maybe you should just leave your computer switched off.
No, it was posted yesterday by Craig Murray, one of the most credible and respected independent commentators in Britain.
Leaving aside for a moment the comical notion that Craig Murray is one of the most respected commentators in Britain (not least because you're making an implied argument from authority and we've been over that ground so many times before), Craig Murray didn't post that assertion here, you did.
Unless you were just dropping some random spam on the thread because you don't have voluntary control over your actions, you posted that claim here as an endorsement of it. That means it's effectively your claim on this thread. If you can't support it, just say so.
"Comical". Craig Murray is “comical”. Coming from a Russiagate truther, that really is comical.
You're free to hold whatever opinions of me you like. At issue is whether you can offer anything to support the claim you posted in comment 2. I note that the answer is still "No."
Morrissey, 100% absolutely correct. Thank you.
"You now need to…
1. Demonstrate that etc
2. Come up with a plausible explanation etc"
And if Morrisey doesn't, will he get lines?
What a bossy bitches you are Psycho.
Perhaps you should leave it to PM and Morrissey to argue about and hold your own thoughts in abeyance Brigid.
Any of us is free to demand that people making bold and unlikely assertions provide some supporting evidence for them. There's no penalty for failure to comply, beyond the embarrassment of having been exposed as a bullshitter – assuming one feels embarrassment at such exposure, that is. I think Morrissey's impervious to it.
"that people making bold and unlikely assertions… "
That is only you at this point. Anyone with some nous long ago worked out this was about journalism, not rape culture. Hence why any decent independent journo has dismissed your talking point.
In that case, any decent independent journo would be able to substantiate the claim "Sweden was always a fit-up designed to get Assange to the USA." Where is the support for this assertion?
Morrissey
This is a long one but its a serious essay and the most comprehensive I've read so far
http://www.thepolemicist.net/2019/04/avoiding-assange.html
Thanks very much, Francesca.
Thanks francesca; insightful links within links within links.
Thank you francesca for that link. An admirable piece, well written, meticulously argued and above all … correct in it's conclusions.
The sex allegation from Sweden … is just a doorway to his extradition to the United States.
I keep seeing this asserted as an article of faith, with no supporting evidence for the assertion. Is there anything, other than that some people fervently believe it?
with no supporting evidence for the assertion.
https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/438709-pentagon-papers-lawyer-indictment-of-assange-snare-and-delusion
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-gave-verbal-pledge-death-penalty-assange-sources/story?id=62414643
We cannot know what the US Justice Dept plans to do, but we can know for certain what they have not ruled out.
Besides a 'verbal' commitment from the Trump govt would have to be worth less than the paper it was not written on.
The indictment is, however, a snare and a delusion. It is surprisingly spare and seems to have been written with a particular purpose in mind — to extradite Assange from England. Once he is here, he will be hit, no doubt, with multiple charges.
Again, this is opinion. All of these opinions assert that the Swedish request to extradite Assange was made on behalf of the USA, with no basis other than that the author firmly believes it.
The USG is not going to signal in advance any charges that carry the death penalty or imply 'political reasons'. Otherwise extradition to the USA will likely fail legally in the UK and quite possibly Sweden as well. Demanding the production of impossible evidence is a logical fallacy akin to demanding one perfect piece of evidence to support climate change.
What I can rely on is the preponderance of evidence, the reasonable balance of probabilities given what they've already done to Manning (and would do to Snowden if they could) … and the indisputable fact that the Justice Dept has unsealed one charge already. An act that only makes sense if they intend to extradite when the opportunity avails itself.
Sure, a reasonable person wouldn't put any duplicity past the US government. However, the claim that the Swedish complaints were a conspiracy on behalf of the US government is an extraordinary claim requiring extraordinary evidence. And any evidence presented has a severe uphill struggle ahead of it, against the fact that the US could just have requested Assange's extradition from the UK back then, just like it has now.
The Justice Department has 60 days from the time of the request for extradition to add any charges and would not comment on future charges.
According to the doctrine of specialty protection, once he's extradited he can only be tried on the charges in the extradition paperwork. Or if the US really really wants to add more charges, the rules say they have to get approved by the same UK courts that approved the extradition.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-wikileaks-assange-could-beat-the-us-and-stay-out-of-jail?ref=home
If Assange ends up going to Sweden before winding up in the US, then he's got the extra protection that both the UK and Sweden have to agree to what he gets charged with.
https://www.aklagare.se/en/nyheter–press/media/the-assange-matter/kan-assange-utlamnas-fran-sverige-till-usa/
Of course, wannabe Dictator Donny might just slap on the extra charges after they get their hands on him and say to the UK and/or Sweden "waddaya gonna do abouddit?".
There's that irony that the Tinyfingers Tyrant that Assange was so keen and active in helping elect is much more likely to just blow off international norms and obligations than Hillary would have been. Let alone that Obama and Holder decided way back in 2013 that trying to prosecute Assange would have a real and seriously chilling effect on real journalism, so the national interest was best served by not prosecuting. The so-called "New York Times" problem. Hillary would most likely have respected and gone along with that prior assessment.
A legal process that will be dragged out for years. The USG doesn't need to get to a conviction as long as they have Assange in prison somewhere.
The entire game has been a cynical abuse of legal process from the outset. What makes you think anything will change once they have their hands on him? Read this story from another whistle-blower and let us know what you think his chances are:
https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/56007-rsn-the-railroad-that-awaits-julian-assange
http://www.thepolemicist.net/2019/04/avoiding-assange.html
The entire game has been a cynical abuse of legal process from the outset.
Yeah, it might look that way if you don't attach any significance to the allegations Assange scarpered from Sweden the same day his lawyers learned he was about to be arrested, nor to the way he scarpered to the Ecuadorean Embassy when he learned he lost his fight not to be extradited to Sweden.
Note that while all this was going on in 2010 through 2012, the doctrine of specialty protection would made him safer from the US if he had been extradited back to Sweden from the UK. Because then both the UK and Sweden would have to OK him getting sent to the US, rather than just the UK. According to some pieces I've seen, extraditing him to Sweden from the UK would also give him recourse to an EU court to fight a further extradition to the US, which he wouldn't have in a direct UK to US extradition.
If Assange had fled to the Ecuadorian Embassy to escape Swedish justice, then logically he would have left that Embassy when the Swedish investigation was dropped and no charges laid. But of course that was never the reason why he sought asylum; it was always about escaping American injustice.
And please stop pretending the Americans will be satisfied with a minor 'hacking' charge that carries a five year (out in three) sentence. That just insults everyone's intelligence.
And please stop pretending the Americans will be satisfied with a minor 'hacking' charge that carries a five year (out in three) sentence. That just insults everyone's intelligence.
Please link to where I have made any claim that might be interpreted like that.
Misrepresenting someone else's position like that does you no credit.
Precisely where you say this:
Or if the US really really wants to add more charges, the rules say they have to get approved by the same UK courts that approved the extradition.
That's a statement of what the rules require. It's not expressing an opinion that the Drumpf administration will be satisfied with just the one charge that has so far been unsealed.
If you don't want to be misrepresented, be clear on what you mean. Can I take it that you now accept the USG will likely lay more charges once they have their hands on him, regardless of any 'specialty protection'?
Lets be real here, the USG doesn't give a shit about how long this process takes; as long as they have Assange in a prison somewhere, they have the outcome they want.
I have no doubt the likes of Barr and the loofah-faced shitgibbon would like to nail Assange on a huge array of charges. On any useful facts, and completely fabricated too if they think they can get away with it. For the express purpose of getting convictions to set precedents expanding dictatorial presidential powers. Assange sitting in a UK or Swedish prison is useless for that.
From that point of view, time is of the essence for them. They will be well aware that Obama and his admin decided in 2013 that they weren't going to try to prosecute Assange. (edit: Assange should have been aware of that in 2013 too https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/julian-assange-unlikely-to-face-us-charges-over-publishing-classified-documents/2013/11/25/dd27decc-55f1-11e3-8304-caf30787c0a9_story.html?utm_term=.7ac6ab87cd23 sorry about the messy link added in). And that the next Dem prez may be inclined to take the same view. So their opportunity to get the convictions and set the precedents might be just the next 21 months.
But the point of getting convictions to set precedents is one aspect where specialty protection might play a role. Because if specialty protection provisions are violated, those are solid grounds for appealing a conviction. Because correct judicial processes were not followed. By the time an appeal rolls through, there may be a new prez and AG not inclined to fight the appeal and uphold the conviction. And if a conviction is overturned on appeal, then it's not a precedent.
So their opportunity to get the convictions and set the precedents might be just the next 21 months.
There's a big assumption right there; it assumes a sympathetic Democrat will be elected. If you were Assange I doubt very much you'd bet you life on that.
And even less likely that you'd bet on a fair hearing in a secret trial held in an East Virginia 'espionage court' that has never acquitted a defendant in all of it's history.
The only reason why we're talking about Assange all these years later has nothing to do with Sweden or the UK … it's absolutely been all about the USG's desire to make an example of Assange, to punish him for exposing their own illegal behaviour.
We abrogate our personal right to violent defense and retribution to the nation state. We have a legal system, police, courts and prisons to defend us within the state, and a military system to act outside of it. These systems are legally created and empowered to commit violence on our collective behalf. In an ideal world there would be no criminals, no aggressor states and we could disband them, but for the time being we are stuck with this morally ambiguous compromise. We may personally abhor violence as much as we like, but collectively we cannot abandon it. We justify this by placing rules and conventions on these systems; we require they act within the law, lest we become no better than the criminals, terrorists and invaders we pursue.
Yet the crucial irony is that Assange is being punished by the USG for exposing it's own illegal behaviour. You are pirouetting on a very thin patch of legal ice indeed, if you imagine the same govt will give one tiny shit what you or I think when they do finally get their hands on him.
That Polemicist piece is certainly a polemic. But I don't find it very credible when it misrepresents things like how the Swedish system works by trying to make a big deal out of the fact Assange hadn't been charged.
While elections aren't generally based upon one policy, CGT was a big policy that Labour spent many years building up support for.
Its potential to produce a strong revenue stream is not easily overlooked Nor is its potential to enable the Government to do more good.
Therefore, to throw it all away without a bat of an eyelid, how much damage to the party do you think Jacinda has caused?
Will their be a drop in support for Labour in the next poll?
This nationwide Horizon Research Poll – taken between February 28 and March 15 – found 44 per cent of New Zealand adults supported introducing a capital gains tax and 35 per cent opposed it.
A further 16 per cent are neutral on the new tax, while 6 per cent did not know.
Polling by political leaning showed 60% of Labour voters supported it.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12217405
Morrissey,
Thanks for the Swedish stuff as we were suspicious of them, and now it is laid bare they were complicit.
Ignore Psyhco-Milt he is off his rocker today.
Thanks, cleangreen. I don't think he's off his rocker; it's hard to admit for anyone to admit one has been completely wrong. He has to come to terms with it.
Poor fellow backed Hillary and her mad Russiagate conspiracy too.
Ignore Psyhco-Milt he is off his rocker today.
I've refrained from publicly drawing a fairly obvious conclusion from some the stuff you post here – could the same courtesy perhaps be extended?
No one has the Right to Rubbish and impoverish the Workers of Aotearoa
Everyone has the Right to demand National hands back the Decent Livings of the People.
Although the kindly Chairman has been mobbing on about the Labour Party not proceeding with a Capital Gains Tax presently, he fails to state that the Labour Party has not declared they will abandon seeking to even up The Have Nots – caused by the Greedy Mobsters.
Far from it. The National Politicians over a series of decades, have stolen equity from large numbers of New Zealanders. Mostly by paying very low wages, and by slugging workers with excessive regressive GST and also latterly – by Excruciating Rental Fees. And By Selling off State Houses.
On top of which, The Nationals are said not to have paid adequate owed Taxes.
I do not know by which methodology that is determined. But I do know that if Poor People fiidle with their payments to Winz they go quickly to Prison.
Whereas National wealthy nonpayers – go without so much as a naughty nod. Certainly not Jail. The cover – ups. The jaunty accountants; – Oh yes. The Bell does not Toll for the Chairman's lot.
Now the Chairman knows this. And he is piddling around as if he has found his teeth and inspiration in some sort of magic dirty bucket.
It will take a long time to get Equity back into New Zealand. The Distortions and The Theft that has gone on – as promoted by National – will have to be dragged out as from polluted Rivers and Lakes. It will take Years.
Above all, it will take Integrity on the part of the Wealthy.
The question is, will they sufficiently live up to that?
To date, Jacinda did say the accompanying tax cuts (related to the CGT now dropped) are also being dumped. That was one way Labour were going to even the field.
They've told teachers as they did nurses there is no more money.
It was reported again the other day there's no more money for child poverty reduction via the families package.
And there is no talk of other beneficiaries getting any extra than what's already been stated.
They could build more state homes, further increase the minimum wage to the living wage and vastly increase all benefits to make a major impact, yet they don't.
Agreed, Labour is wedded to maintaining the neoliberal status quo, with ongoing poverty for many the result. Unfortunately I don't think this behaviour is being forced on Labour by coalition politics – deep down they still completely believe neoliberal ideology.
Genter told Newshub Nation host Emma Jolliff on Saturday the party has to be pragmatic.
She later went on to say the Green Party is committed to working with the Government for the rest of the current term, and the best way to ensure it can push harder in the next is to get more MPs in Parliament.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2019/04/greens-focused-on-delivering-what-we-can-genter.html
The question is, is being pragmatic working for them in regards to them securing more votes? Polls indicate otherwise.
Or is it the so called woke side turning potential supporters off?
Whatever it is, is it time for the Greens to have a rethink?
Additionally, there seems to be an emphasis on appropriate prices around pollution, minus any talk on offsetting the inflationary burden on the poor. Is this a result of being too pragmatic? A bluer shade of green?
The question is, is being pragmatic working for them in regards to them securing more votes? Polls indicate otherwise. Or is it the so called woke side turning potential supporters off?
Yes, to the second question. Yes to the first, but I agree it isn't showing in polls, so I suspect that each effect cancels the other. That is to say, centrists like them pragmatic and hate them woke.
is it time for the Greens to have a rethink?
No. They are stuck in the electoral cycle. That time will come after the next election. It will factor in the extent to which any blue-green alternative gets support. If so, the woke will shrivel on the vine – when anyone with half a brain realises that their survival requires authenticity (thus centrism). If not, woke identity politics will persist as an affliction. Too many activists within think the stance is real democracy!
there seems to be an emphasis on appropriate prices around pollution, minus any talk on offsetting the inflationary burden on the poor. Is this a result of being too pragmatic? A bluer shade of green?
No and no. Either poor messaging, poor reporting, or both. Greens ought to signal intelligent design of tax policy includes reducing income tax to the extent that govt income gets boosted by pollution taxes, ftt, land tax etc. They may have done so, but not being part of the coalition, could be the media haven't reported it (deeming it irrelevant). I've noticed in past years a tendency of our media to ignore press releases from the Greens.
They may be"stuck" in an electoral cycle but waiting to rethink things will be leaving it late to drum up more support – especially if it is due to them having no current backbone.
Genter had an opportunity in the interview to highlight how (within the confines of coalition) they are going to tackle the inflationary burden on the poor, she didn't.
They lack a fighting spirit in my view and it’s not enticing support. Many wanted the Greens to help take Labour left, seems by their lack of fight, they've gone the other way. And this, IMO is turning voters off. Along with rediscovering the word cunt etc…
Bring back Russel Norman.
To be brutally honest, we lack evidence that the poor are sufficiently motivated to be an effective force in politics. Recall the so-called `missing million' voters. Labour proclaimed a drive to recruit them but I noticed a lack of evidence of success at the following election. Can't blame the Green parliamentarians for learning from the Labour experience.
Have an idea Swordfish did some analysis on the turnout post election…but cant recall detail and a brief search hasnt found it
2017: 79%, 2,605,854 whereas 2014: 76.8%, 2,410,857
https://www.elections.org.nz/events/2017-general-election/2017-general-election-results/voter-turnout-statistics
https://www.elections.org.nz/events/2014-general-election/election-results-and-reporting/2014-general-election-voter-turnout
My calculator reckons Labour achieved 19.5% of their target million. Glass a fifth-full – better than empty, but evidence the Labour persuasion campaign failed to shift the 80% most alienated by democracy…
his attention was more granular IIRC
Yes, I do. And from memory, despite all their bluster, Labour did very little (policy wise) to entice them. No living wage on offer, no across the board benefit increase, no redistribution via tax cuts accompanying their CGT.
The Greens support spiked up when they reached out to beneficiaries.
Yes Chairman, we agree.
Russel Norman was a far more 'effective leader' of the Green's as he always was actively defending the environment..
This lot seem to be wishy washy and are more a 'social activist party' now rather than defender of the Environment.
Cannot remember when the Greens talked up ''NZ wide rail restoration' this year at all.
This weekend many died on roads.
But if rail passenger around the provinces was restored those lives would not have been lost.
Yes. And to be fair to the Greens, they are pushing for safer roads.
If they were really pressing for safer roads why don't they put the roading money into providing them?
Do you really think that spending $100 million dollars on a combined cycling/walking track from Ngauranga to Petone in Wellington is a sensible expenditure when the money could have gone toward something useful like the Melling interchange which has just been put back for at least a decade?
The walking track might be used by 10 people/month. The cyclists might be a few more in Summer but I'll bet there won't be more than a dozen of them on a day like today.That woman's ideas on what should be done in transport are totally nuts.
Have a look at this. It sounds so impressive until the kicker in the last line saying, in effect. We are going to put this into the “come back in 10 years and then consider doing it file”.
https://createsend.com/t/t-2E2B0FC1CEC333D52540EF23F30FEDED
An historian tweets about Thomas Paine's, dude must have been a crypto-Marxist, views on taxation.
https://twitter.com/SethCotlar/status/1051894334788751362
https://twitter.com/SethCotlar/status/1051895483453427717
https://tttthreads.com/thread/1051891074212327424.html
"(for him that amount was £23,000)".
I suppose we may assume that Paine was worth a little bit less than that when he died. That amount would convert to about £1,800,000 today or about $3.5 million. I suppose that would mean cutting an average Auckland house in two and giving half to the poor.
Thanks Joe90. Paine had the right idea!
The current 'low tax' ideology, is just that – mere ideology, promoted by and for the interest of the rich, at the expense of everyone else.
WTF did this get posted late missing a April 1st release?
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/health/lifestylefamily/mourning-the-loss-of-jacinda-ardern-and-simon-bridges-friendship/ar-BBWk6hT?li=BBqdg4K
Another distraction from Jacinda dumping the CGT?
Politics, as real as professional wrestling?
"Trump has said he will withdraw his country from the international Arms Trade Treaty. The agreement, signed by Barack Obama in 2013, aims to regulate the sale of weapons between countries." Aims, but fails to succeed. Sham regulation!
"In a statement released after Mr Trump's speech, the White House said the treaty "fails to truly address the problem of irresponsible arms transfers" because other top arms exporters – including Russia and China – have not signed up to it." https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48076262
BBC, a year ago: Which country dominates the global arms trade? "the total international trade in arms now worth about $100bn (£74bn) per year, Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), tells the BBC."
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-43873518
"In its latest figures, the defence industry think tank says that major weapons sales in the five years to 2017 were 10% higher than in 2008-12. US now accounts for 34% of all global arms sales, up from 30% five years ago, and are now at their highest level since the late 1990s… The US's arms exports are 58% higher than those of Russia, the world's second-largest exporter. And while US arms exports grew by 25% in 2013-17 compared with 2008-12, Russia's exports fell by 7.1% over the same period."
China "is now the world's fifth largest seller of arms. This puts it behind the US, Russia, France, and Germany, but ahead of the UK. China's arms exports rose by 38% between 2008-12 and 2013-17, and the country now has the world's second-largest defence budget after the US – $150bn compared to the latter's $602bn in 2017."
"In 2014 the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) came into force, with the aim of regulating the international trade in conventional weapons. It requires states to monitor arms exports, and ensure that their weapons sale don't break existing arms embargoes, or end up being used for human-rights abuses, including terrorism. Yet so far its impact has been limited, say critics. "We are disappointed by the way a number of states have decided to implement it, says Amnesty's Oliver Feeley-Sprague."
"We think the UK, US and France among others, by continuing to sell arms to Saudi Arabia and its allies in the coalition operation in Yemen, are clearly violating the ATT's provisions."
"The ATT may have had a bigger impact on curbing the flow of weapons to non-state actors, says Sipri's Pieter Wezeman – but so far it has not had any visible impact on the overall trade in arms."
Meanwhile in the US:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/26/trump-nra-united-nations-arms-treaty-gun-control
Yes, Trump is exhibiting a lack of moral leadership from a global perspective. I doubt he sees the situation from that perspective – likely just doing realpolitik to represent his electoral base. I assume the sham regulation was a UN thing despite Obama leading it, so the failure to get China & Russia to support it seems evidence of the usual incompetence. They gave Trump no basis to take it seriously. Then the UK & France violated the agreement, to prove the point.
I'm so pleased you are happy for US weapons to be legally sold to terrorists. It must be very reassuring for you.
I'm just as happy about that as you. I was alerting everyone to the fact that TDS is distracting them from the cause of the problem. Solving the problem requires international agreements that nations adhere to. Not the current sham.
The Chairman who writes on here has no idea of Poverty.
He is another Wealthy enemy of the population of New Zealand.
He is so happy to keep on crushing the people who do the work in NZ. A servant of The Bloated Wealthy.
Inclined to agree, OT. I have always seen the so-called chairman as a concern troll, who instead of giving up, doubles down on pretending to be an ally. But I still don't think he is: he is here to spread discouragement.
In Vino
Agree.
Agreed 100% Observer Tokoroa.
This blog seems to be very geriatric these days.
Probably a good thing there’s a place for old people to rant and rave and not drive their other halves insane.
Well done the standard, you deserve some sort of community award.
Well, if it comes down to a choice between rabbiting on here or going out to the shed most of us old chaps find it is warmer inside at the keyboard than out in a drafty shed in the backyard.
But yes, geriatric seems a pretty fair description for the the people who comment here.Is anyone under 50?
Is anyone commenting on any political blog under 50? It's not exactly the newest hit with the kids…
I can name a few blogs where there seem to be a considerable number under 50 – IQ that is.
hmmm…
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/huawei-new-zealand-1.5113504
I'm afraid Trudeau is last years flame.
The latest heartthrob is President Macron.
Portugal is having mass tourism problems as we are.
https://www.tourism-review.com/portugal-has-enough-of-mass-tourism-news10761
,,,According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Portugal welcomed 6.8 million foreign tourists in 2010. By 2016, this figure had risen to 18.2 million, an increase of 168 per cent. Overall, only Japan experienced a more significant increase in visitors this decade….
As a reward for this success, the locals are paying a very high price for tourism. It is simple, the inhabitants of Porto and Lisbon can no longer stand it, strangled by the increase in the price of living. Boosted by very cheap flights and thousands of short-term Airbnb-type accommodation, mass tourism has driven housing prices up by 20%.
Salaries, on the other hand, do not keep pace with this increase. As a result, thousands of residents have to leave their homes because they cannot afford the rents. Let us take a striking example: in Lisbon, there are now nine tourists for every resident of the city. In Porto, there are eight tourists per inhabitant; in Albufeira, in the Algarve, there are 39 tourists per inhabitant. In comparison, the same ratio is about four to one in London and five to one in Barcelona. To house all these people, we need apartments, which do not benefit the locals. From 7,500 Airbnb in Lisbon in 2015, they rose to 12,700 in 2018, an increase of almost 70% in three short years.
However the latest is that with Brexit anxieties shifting the British Pound, tourists have shifted destination from Portugal to other locations with currencies that haven't moved much against the Pound. If we can control our freedom campers and try for higher priced tourists we might not get trashed along with our countryside.