Open mike 29/01/2015

Written By: - Date published: 6:50 am, January 29th, 2015 - 163 comments
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163 comments on “Open mike 29/01/2015 ”

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  1. b waghorn 1
    29 January 2015 at 7:28 am

    Patrick Gower making a complete fool of him self on TV the 1st minute was all about him .When will they sack the chump.

    • tc 1.1
      29 January 2015 at 7:33 am

      Paddy performs as expected and is valued by the DP movers and shakers as the attack dog with a national tv soapbox. Sacked ! ha more likely just some firm directions on toning it down to appear considered and suck more sheeple in.

      • b waghorn 1.1.1
        29 January 2015 at 7:39 am

        The size of his ego is unbelievable I reackon a paul henry/Paul Holmes type offensive outburst is the best chance of seeing the back of the fool.

    • Pete George 1.2
      29 January 2015 at 7:47 am

      That’s what I thought, all about him. A very pissy item from Gower.

      State of the Nation speeches aren’t supposed to be for the entertainment of journalists. They mark a serious start to the serious year of politics.

      Maybe Gower should take a longer holiday if that’s the best he can do. Awful.

    • Mainlander 1.3
      29 January 2015 at 9:19 am

      The whole current crop of so called journalists can go, im so sick of them telling us their views of the news instead of just reporting the news, Gower is the worst that pillock will burst a blood vessel one day while he is glorifying in somebody elses misfortune

  2. phillip ure 2
    29 January 2015 at 7:32 am

    how is it possible for labour under little to ‘move further away from social-policies’..

    ..when in 2014 they offered beneficiaries..nothing..

    ..so you wd think there was nowhere for them to ‘move’ to..

    ..what will they do in ’17…?

    ..promise to cut benefits..?

  3. Jenny Kirk 3
    29 January 2015 at 7:36 am

    I don’t believe it ! Yesterday the Herald had a column which commented favourably on Andrew Little’s state of nation speech, this morning there is another one PLUS an editorial which states :

    “Mr Little has the luxury of time to produce more definitive solutions to the issues still facing the country, Mr Key does not. He urgently needs to give his Government new themes and impetus. This time last year he announced an imaginative education initiative, yesterday was an opportunity lost. ”

    Are things finally starting to look up for Labour ? ?

    • phillip ure 3.1
      29 January 2015 at 7:40 am

      one editorial-chastisement of key – does not a labour govt make….

    • Pete George 3.2
      29 January 2015 at 7:54 am

      Are things finally starting to look up for Labour ? ?

      That’s how it looks. There’s a long way to go but up looks an attainable direction now.

      There’s evidence too that opponents see Little as a threat that they are not sure how to deal with.

      Key competing on the same day is one indication.

      And Slater has been running a long and frequent series of attempted hits on Little (at least five posts yesterday alone), including repeated digs at Little’s appearance and his temperament. It looks like flailing around trying to seed something to attack with. It’s not working.

      Another promising step along the way for Little yesterday. A lot still to do but it looks like the beginning of a recovery and rebuild, at last.

    • John Shears 3.3
      29 January 2015 at 9:26 am

      Good comment Jenny but don’t hold your breath, my guess is that they will swing back to the right ,hope I am wrong.

    • Karen 3.4
      29 January 2015 at 10:21 am

      The print version of the Herald has a half page devoted to rating the Key and Little speeches. The result according to them?
      8/10 for Key and 4/10 for Little. So, no, I am afraid there is no change of tack in that right wing rag.

      • Jenny Kirk 3.4.1
        29 January 2015 at 10:31 am

        Darn it ! thought for a brief moment there, might have been a change of tack ……
        obviously someone other than mr roughan wrote today’s editorial !

      • phillip ure 3.4.2
        29 January 2015 at 12:54 pm

        i wouldn’t give little more than 4/10 for that speech..

        ..that is quite a generous mark..

        • Clemgeopin 3.4.2.1
          29 January 2015 at 3:32 pm

          While driving about half an hour ago, I heard Chtis Trotter and Rodney Hide on roadio live analysing the speeches of key and Little.

          Both praised Little for the points he made in his speech and were luke worm about Key’s speech.

          Hide had NZH were wrong and pretty stupid in their two scores and said he would reverse that and give Little 7/10 and key, 4/10.

          http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Audio.aspx

          Listen in from 2 pm onwards today (Click on January 29, Thursday, 14:00)
          The first 8 minutes is news.

      • GregJ 3.4.3
        29 January 2015 at 7:13 pm

        Squalid right wing rag.

        FIFY 😈

    • Skinny 3.5
      29 January 2015 at 10:47 am

      The odd pat on the head for Little means nothing unless they take Key to task instead of sheltering him from scrutiny.

      Right at the moment they will be lining Little-Labour up in the business hearld with something stupid like “former Union Boss buckles to his union mates demands to abolish 90 day trial” (fire at will bill).

      Where is the attack on bullshit artist Key over selling state housing, something he lied about in his pre election campaign ‘no further assets sales’.

      How about, what exactly do you mean by part of the proceeds of state housing sales goes for capital infrastructure, what paying for roading projects?

      Or, won’t you be paper shuffling and applying colorful accounting, referring to the sale of state houses to balance (fudge) the books?

    • The Murphey 3.6
      29 January 2015 at 11:55 am

      Q. How is an ‘endorsement’ from the NZH a positive for Little ?

      A pat on the head for a status quo speech i would say

    • Macro 3.7
      29 January 2015 at 12:27 pm

      It’s no longer the Media – It’s “The Ministry of Truth”
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Truth

    • Adele 3.8
      30 January 2015 at 5:03 am

      Kiaora Jenny

      I thought the focus of Andrew’s speech excellent. Small and medium business are the heart and blood of this bilateral nation. A labour government focussed on job creation through improving conditions for small business is a vote winner.

      Positive and practical messaging and policies to increase the volume of money flowing through communities clogged by unemployment and impoverishment is a vote winner.

      The biggest and immediate issue confronting Māori communities is the lack of jobs. Young people are rotting on unemployment and many are not on benefits.

      Job creation should be the primary focus of any Labour Government otherwise it should relabel itself as Non-Labour Government.

  4. One Anonymous Bloke 4
    29 January 2015 at 8:25 am

    National Party values in the news.

    Police Association president Greg O’Connor says Sabin is entitled to natural justice. But he believes it is unfair the MP, who is an ex-cop, is not held accountable to the same standards as police staff put before him.

    “Any police officer who is under any sort of a cloud, generally, the first thing that happens is that they are stood down.

    “So there would be a certain irony in police officers who would be subject to that being questioned. If one of those police officers in front of the select committee was under the same cloud, then they wouldn’t be there. However, we as police work on the principle innocent until proven guilty.”

    h/t Tracey.

    Conflict of interest much? How is this Key’s call?

    • Skinny 4.1
      29 January 2015 at 11:24 am

      Just heard the very good justice lawyer and friend Kelly Ellis rubbing Sabin’s nose into the dirt. Love that lady’s witty style. Yip what an ebarrasment Sabin is by pushing for the removal of a right to silence, and choosing silence himself, oh the hypocrisy makes me laugh.

      Maybe John Key will ‘break the silence’ and force Sabin into retirement from politics.

    • Murray Rawshark 4.2
      29 January 2015 at 6:40 pm

      My experience has been more along the lines of “However, we as police work on the principle innocent until bashed sufficiently to confess, or until we can do a deal with some jailhouse informant, or until we can fabricate sufficient evidence.”

  5. saveNZ 5
    29 January 2015 at 8:30 am

    Gower is an example of a TV presenter who believe they are more important than the message. Or worse maybe he is so deluded he thinks that people enjoy some rantings of a brown nosed National simpleton, with a brain smaller than his large teeth that he bares in some hideous attempt at entertainment. Again the Rugby thicko TV execs don’t notice that people are watching TV less and less in particular news …. I wonder why?

    • Murray Rawshark 5.1
      29 January 2015 at 6:43 pm

      We shouldn’t criticise Gower for his teeth….hmm, ok, maybe just the front ones. He reminds me of a rat looking around for some easy food.

  6. Mainlander 6
    29 January 2015 at 9:02 am

    What is it with these political commentators/radio hosts, listened to that muppet Duncan (gotcha) Garner with his “epic fail” comment r.e Littles speach yesterday, at least hes consistant as he pulls the same crap with everyone, he is nothing but a sound bite merchant but that sound bite is now being replayed every hour, and he tries to make out he left political life because of all the nastiness well i say that trait has a bit more to do with him than his previous job
    Rant over

    • JanM 6.1
      29 January 2015 at 9:19 am

      Yes, he’s incredibly thick and doesn’t present well – I’ve often wondered how he’s survived at all – are they that hard up?

  7. Molly 7
    29 January 2015 at 9:19 am

    The Germans again come up with a novel way to deal with intolerance and simplistic political debate.

    This time, giving out stickers and banners to anti-Islam marchers that direct people to a website that go over concerns with considered information and practical actions that are non-divisive.

  8. greywarshark 8
    29 January 2015 at 9:21 am

    New demands on the justice system requiring restorative justice talks even when the victirm doesn’t want it, are meaning three times the appearances for one very minor offence when only one was used to be needed. The system is grinding to a halt.
    Ideological not practical or pragmatic. In 2012 submissions were made against this.
    Perhaps we should call it the Bazley effect. Minister Amy Adams (not the celebrity) is looking at it. But it was pushed through by the previous Minimal of Justice so being new on the Block she might not have any authority. Has she the perspicacity?

    • vto 8.1
      29 January 2015 at 9:30 am

      This regime is fast gaining a deserved reputation for ignoring all expert on-the-ground advice in various areas and running solely on their own ideology.

      Third-termitis

      • greywarshark 8.1.1
        29 January 2015 at 9:45 am

        @ vto
        Let’s make it third-terminalitis!
        After all balloons filled with hot air and helium only stay out of reach at the ceiling for a time. What goes up must come down.

      • Draco T Bastard 8.1.2
        29 January 2015 at 10:08 am

        Considering that they were doing that right from the start I don’t think Third-termitis applies. Just pure arrogance and hubris.

  9. greywarshark 9
    29 January 2015 at 9:28 am

    As I listened to the talk about selling off, hiving off, our social housing I thought of a subtitle for our country – New Zealand/Aotearoa, the Islands of Reduced Circumstances.

    We are like the elderly ladies in many Brit stories I have read who have been living on Father’s legacy or annuity which has dwindled as they have got older, and gradually they have been forced to sell heirlooms and treasured family belongings. Poor old lady NZ reduced to poverty in the land of much milk and less honey, and suffering the kind attentions of loan sharks, hucksters and high rollers.
    edited

  10. Draco T Bastard 10
    29 January 2015 at 9:46 am

    Follow your convictions – this could be the end of the politics of fear

    A survey by the website voteforpolicies.org.uk reports that in blind tests (the 500,000 people it has polled were unaware of which positions belong to which parties), the Green party’s policies are more popular than those of any other. If people voted for what they wanted, the Greens would be the party of government.

    And that’s just a small taste. There is so much more in that article that can be directly transferred to NZ.

  11. Pat O'Dea 11
    29 January 2015 at 9:55 am

    The head of the US military has had to launch an essay competition to find someone to write something nice about the brutal ruler who John Key honoured this week by ordering the lowering of the New Zealand flag to half mast.

    Maybe General Martin Dempsey, Chair of the US Joint heads of staff could have saved himself the effort, and just instead asked the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to tell the world what he personally admired about the late King Addullah of Saudi Arabia.

    Maybe JK could wax lyrical about the multiply beheadings and dismemberments, and the jailing of government critics, or possibly the lack of civil rights for women. Or the Saudi Government’s legal sanction of child abuse, paternal rape and murder, or the flogging and jailing of bloggers and writers critical of the government. (Lynn Prentice, Eleanor Catton take note).

    I am certain that an essay written by John Key on these subjects as well as creating an international sensation would easily win US Chief of Staff General Dempsey’s prize. (As well as winning the approval of the US State Department and President Obama’s office, something John Key has always been mindful of.)

    Let us celebrate, moderate beheadings

    • BassGuy 11.1
      29 January 2015 at 10:41 am

      What with New Zealand being peacefully settled, you never know what previously unknown pearls of wisdom Key will come out with.

    • tracey 11.2
      29 January 2015 at 1:05 pm

      He had more important threats to democracy to deal with, A Man Booker Prize winner for starters.

      • BassGuy 11.2.1
        29 January 2015 at 3:12 pm

        I guess sometimes the truth hurts. I particularly liked this quote:

        “It has to belong to everybody or the country really doesn’t want to know about it.”

        It irritates me that the politicians and the wealthy in this country are very quick to celebrate their own achievements, which clearly result from their hard work, but if someone else does something worth of recognition it suddenly becomes “we did,” not “he did,” or “she did.” Even the phrase “New Zealand’s own…” suggests ownership.

        Why not suggest support, instead? My degree contributed nothing toward her success, nor did anything else I’ve done in the last year. Perhaps a few cents from my taxes did, in some small way, but it was her talents that won her the award, not my taxes or even her nationality.

        I’m disgusted by the behaviour of the media toward Miss Catton, but I can’t find a suitable word to describe my feelings for the Prime Minister, a man who brags that he had the support of the taxpayer as a child and made his way unaided after that, forgetting his free degree, and he now deserves his wealth and power.

        When do we get our slice of the fortune our taxes created for him?

        Oh, I forgot. He achieved that on his own.

  12. greywarshark 12
    29 January 2015 at 10:15 am

    In NZ I notice that any time the UNACTS want to smear goo on a policy they label it Green. The worst sort of thing that could be imagined. They must huddle together at parties and down their alcohol in buckets while they shiver fearfully at some gory story about the frightening Greens, the new vampires.

  13. BassGuy 13
    29 January 2015 at 10:45 am

    Not directly relevant to us, but the Koch brothers are preparing to spend $889 million on the next election.

    • Kiwiri - Raided of the Last Shark 13.1
      29 January 2015 at 10:57 am

      Is that the going rate?
      $889 p.r.o.i. (political return on ‘investment’)
      Political candidates on sale and to be bought by the 0.1%!

      • BassGuy 13.1.1
        29 January 2015 at 6:50 pm

        Maybe we could all chip in a few coins and buy ourselves a US politician to lobby for us.

        • Kiwiri - Raided of the Last Shark 13.1.1.1
          29 January 2015 at 7:29 pm

          🙂 chump change

          i inadvertently left out the ‘m’ (millions) but, yah, big money buys big politicians.

  14. greywarshark 14
    29 January 2015 at 11:20 am

    On 4 July 2014 USA population given as 318,881,992. How much average per person of Koch $889,000,000?
    In NZ the 2014 popuation was 4,500,000. How much if this is multipled by USA individual
    amount?
    And think of the spending and influence power of just one uber-rich group.

    • Murray Rawshark 14.1
      29 January 2015 at 6:59 pm

      $2.79 per person.
      $12.5 million equivalent in Aotearoa. Much more than Dotcom spent.

      • Colonial Rawshark 14.1.1
        29 January 2015 at 7:12 pm

        And Koch is giving that money to media and PR firms who already have all the infrastructure and staff in place and are ready to roll. So the $$$ will go much further.

  15. Gosman 15
    29 January 2015 at 11:34 am

    I do so enjoy reading leftist excuses for failed policies. This one about Venezuela takes the prize for most bizarre rant.

    http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/01/27/revolution-counter-revolution-and-the-economic-war-in-venezuela/

    “The government position is that basic commodity shortages are being caused by elements of the private sector that control the importation, production and distribution of food and other products and criminal speculators and smugglers who are sometimes allied with this sector. These actors are allegedly responsible or complicit in the illegal stockpiling of products in warehouses aimed at bringing about artificial shortages. There is empirical evidence for such claims. Thousands of tons of products, including subsidized items, have been diverted from the marketplace for sale in Colombia in 2014. Warehouses full of goods that ought to be on store shelves are frequently discovered by the authorities. Subsidized food items are often purchased by speculators for resale at higher prices in the domestic market. Some importers have been buying products at the subsidized currency exchange rate but then selling those products as though they were purchased at the much higher parallel rate. Fictitious “importers” are also blamed for massive amounts of currency fraud by obtaining divisas (dollars) at the preferential exchange rate under pretext of importing priority goods and then selling those dollars on the parallel market or holding on to them in expectation of further devaluation of the bolivar, a practice that suggests the corruption of some public servants as well. What are we to make of these observations about scarcity?”

    Wow! Who would have thought that distorting the economy by providing subsidies or imposing price controls would lead to people taking advantage of these to make money?

    The solution seems obvious. You remove the distortions and then the people won’t sell subsidised goods in neighbouring countries.

    • Gosman 15.1
      29 January 2015 at 11:40 am

      Also I love how some leftists think they can just dictate problems away.

      “For Maduro, the game is up for the economic coup being waged by the political opposition and its allied collaborators in the private sector. He has delivered an ultimatum to food distributors to cooperate with efforts to overcome food shortages…”

      What a complete moron.

      • adam 15.1.1
        29 January 2015 at 12:55 pm

        Replying to your own posts now Gossy?

        Sheesh, must be a lonely world your in…

      • tricledrown 15.1.2
        29 January 2015 at 2:40 pm

        Goostepper i do so like pointing out that you have only used parts of your own link that suits your agenda.
        Trying to dictate what we think and say.
        But your own link points out that the right wing in Venezuela are trying to undermine a democratically elected govt the same way as the CIA did in Chile underming Allende and installing a murdurous Dictator.
        South America is littered with the mass graves of American foreign Policy of keeping corrupt murderous dictators and drug lords in power!

    • The Murphey 15.2
      29 January 2015 at 12:12 pm

      Q. Can you use “I do so enjoy” more often ?

      Not convinced you have completely overused it just yet

    • crashcart 15.3
      29 January 2015 at 1:09 pm

      Thankfully we live in a capatlist society where the free market allows people to operate in an honest and open way never taking advantage of the lack of regulation and controls. In our great system people making huge amounts off speculation alone would never create a situation that endangers the economy of the enitre world for their own profit.

      Stupid socialists identifying people breaking their laws designed to try and help people. They should totally do things the way we do.

      • Gosman 15.3.1
        29 January 2015 at 1:48 pm

        If you think you can construct laws that solve problems of economic distribution and supply you are very, very wrong. Attempting to legislate prices at a level below what people are willing to pay for them will just lead to exactly the problem the Venezuelan government is facing now. People will stop producing and/or sell the items on the black market or across the border in places where they can get higher prices. You may try to claim this behaviour is unethical or immoral but then many people always try to blame others for problems they themselves have caused.

        • tricledrown 15.3.1.1
          29 January 2015 at 2:08 pm

          Gooseman you have only chosen selected parts of the story gooseman.
          The reason why food shortages are occuring is because the right wing are using the same tactics as the CIA used to overthrow a democratically elected Allende and installing a murderous fascist dictator!
          Fascist Murderous Dictators were installed in just about every South American country one stage or another.
          Maduro was elected the right wing are deliberately with the collusion of the CIA underming democracy.
          Don’t get me started on the war on drugs in South America.
          Fact is South America is littered with mass graves as a direct result of American nihilistic foreign policy.
          Democracy freedoms have been undermined!

          • Philip Ferguson 15.3.1.1.1
            29 January 2015 at 2:38 pm

            Yes, it’s funny how the most freedom for the market seems to require the least freedom for workers and the strongest state apparatus.

            A good example was the military dictatorship in Chile, the students of Milton Friedman economics.

            Apparently you can’t tell the market what to do, but the state required by the ‘free’ market can not only tell you what to do but lock you up, torture you and kill you if you don’t obey.

            Phil

          • Gosman 15.3.1.1.2
            29 January 2015 at 5:02 pm

            How exactly is the right wing doing this? They seem terribly effective if they are as well. the economy is close to collapse. Perhaps it is best not to start a fight with them.

    • Murray Rawshark 15.4
      29 January 2015 at 7:05 pm

      Of course you could try prosecuting the corrupt public servants. We could set an example by prosecuting those who handed out SFC assets to Key’s neighbour, for cents in the dollar.

      But yeah Gooseman, you are right on one point. Capitalist scum like yourself cannot be trusted not to enrich themselves at the cost of the rest of us. You lot are criminals and should be treated as such. Funny that you are all willing to trot out the traitor label for someone who makes some mild criticisms.

  16. Milk Shake 16
    29 January 2015 at 12:32 pm

    I was told by a good source that Waiariki Institute of Technology is charging Indian Students $20k to do its Agricultural course, which is fine (nothing like exploiting people who are desperate to get out of their country)

    BUT

    Farmers can employ these students between May and November (busy calving time) for $200 per week. This needs to be investigated because these students are being exploited, its displacing local people and there is no way that this falls within minimum pay rates legislation.

    Right up Winston’s alley.

  17. TruthWillOut 17
    29 January 2015 at 1:01 pm

    Dirty politics, yet again.

    Look who is on the team at the Taxpayer’s Union…

    If you want to know who was behind Jordan Williams’s attack on Eleanor Catton yesterday, look no further than David Farrar: http://www.taxpayers.org.nz/who_we_are

    The Taxpayers Union is just a thinly disguised recruiting tool for National Party members.

    • weka 17.1
      29 January 2015 at 2:39 pm

      Danyl at Dimpost pointing out the two tracks is up and running again,


      There are lots of good pieces on the Eleanor Catton contretemps – Morgan Godfrey, Brian Easton, Gordon Campbell, Andrew Geddis, Simon Wilson – all focusing on issues around intellectuals and criticism and New Zealand attitudes towards same, which are all valid points. But what’s also meaningful, I think, is that this is a reprise of National’s two-track communications strategy we spent so much time talking about last year. Sean Plunket isn’t just a talk-radio dofus: he’s very close to the National government and, just like his mate Cameron Slater, Plunket is there to smear and bully and intimidate anyone who speaks out against John Key or National, so that National themselves don’t have to.

      If – like most of the country – you haven’t heard anything from Plunket since he left Morning Report a few years back then his attack on Catton probably seemed very strange. But if you listened to him during the 2014 election campaign, most of which he spent in a state of flat-out hysteria ranting about terrorists and traitors, culminating in Plunket phoning Paddy Gower live on air and accusing him of being involved in a conspiracy against the government because he was reporting on Dirty Politics, it’s easier to see that abusing critics of the National Party – real or imaginary – is pretty much just his day to day role.

      https://dimpost.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/back-to-two-track/

    • David 17.2
      29 January 2015 at 2:52 pm

      Much as I dislike mocking people for there last names, one guy there has the last name Craven. Pretty fitting really.

  18. Philip Ferguson 18
    29 January 2015 at 1:11 pm

    The past year has seen a massive upsurge of working class communities in the south of Ireland against the attempt of the Fine Gael/Labour coalition to impose a household water tax. This follows on the household tax itself, cuts in social welfare payments, the raising of the retirement age and other anti-working class measures.

    In a rake of working class communities people are physically preventing the installation of meters and sabotaging them where the state-capitalist water company, Irish Water, does manage to install them.

    This is all very different from New Zealand, where workers remain almost obdurately passive in the face of the whittling away of rights and conditions and living standards by the bosses and by successive National and Labour governments.

    Why is the NZ working class so passive compared to workers in Ireland?

    https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/dublin-working-class-communities-show-how-resistance-is-done/

    Phil

    • phillip ure 18.1
      29 January 2015 at 1:40 pm

      “..Why is the NZ working class so passive..”

      this has long puzzled me..

      ..and the example of this passivity (amongst working class leadership esp.) that could not be more potent..

      ..was the rightwing revolution in the 80’s..

      ..in australia the union movement stood up and said: ‘no yer fucken not..!..’

      ..here they pulled down their pants..bent over..and then went and waited to get their rewards..knighthood/seats on company boards..etc..

      ..and today..?..we have a low-wage economy..australia doesn’t..

      ..the union-leadership from that time are/were traitors..

      ..both to those they purported to represent..

      ..and to the country as a whole..

      • Philip Ferguson 18.1.1
        29 January 2015 at 2:10 pm

        We’ve tentatively explored the question a few times on Redline, but we need to do a lot more work on it.

        I agree with you about the 1980s (and early 1990s).

        But even at its most militant, the labour movement in NZ wasn’t really all that militant.

        Take, for instance, 1913. In NZ workers fought for a few weeks. (And, in terms of workers involved, this was the most significant labour dispute in NZ history). At the same time the most significant industrial dispute in Irish history was taking place. Impoverished Dublin workers fought for *six months*.

        When Massey’s Cossacks clubbed workers here, they complained about it. When the police in Dublin clubbed workers, the workers formed a workers militia, got armed, and paraded around Dublin streets tooled up; the cops kept their distance.

        Those workers, the Irish Citizen Army, went on to be the driving force of the 1916 Rebellion. A number of their officers and a section of the ranks were women.

        One reason I’ve become sympathetic to the idea of Australia and NZ merging is that the Aussies are much more Bolshie in defending their rights and we need some damn thing to harden up the working class here.

        I think if I was young and had kids, I’d emigrate. I just couldn’t bear my kids growing up in a society where workers are so supine; I wouldn’t want my kids thinking that eating shit sandwiches is normal. I’d go to Oz or to Ireland.

        Phil

        • phillip ure 18.1.1.1
          29 January 2015 at 2:31 pm

          “..I think if I was young and had kids, I’d emigrate…”

          ..+ 1..

          ..and i hafta say..littles’ speech i found quite depressing..

          ..as there is little/no sign of any changes from the neo-lib paradigm..

          ..just more of the same old fucken same old..

          ..i am just holding out hope that the sight of a leftwing with some balls..in greece..and spain/scotland etc..

          ..a leftwing really/actually doing the job they are meant to do..

          ..i am hoping there will be some contagion down here..

          ..but i’m not holding my breath..

          ..the right is fully in control..in both national and labour..

          ..and i think little will get quite a soft-ride from the media..

          ..as their bosses don’t see him as anyway a ‘threat’ to their sweet-rides/the current paradigm…

          ..and at a time when we are screaming out for ‘threats to the current paradigm’…

        • tracey 18.1.1.2
          29 January 2015 at 2:44 pm

          maybe cos we have tended to lead the world, our work force swallow the oft fed line “you are not as badly off as xxx,”, with its implication to not seem ungrateful… we tend to be a polite and deferential lot

          8 hour day
          40 hour week
          women voting
          labour govts
          ACC
          health and safety

          • phillip ure 18.1.1.2.1
            29 January 2015 at 2:54 pm

            maybe then..but not now…

            ..rightwingers in labour/national have ensured that..

            • tracey 18.1.1.2.1.1
              29 January 2015 at 3:01 pm

              every day someone tells the poor or the workers of New Zealand how grateful they should be, they just use different and more nasty words. Kiwis apparently dont like to stick out from the crowd to be seen to be making a fuss, not risk-takers our fellow average kiwis.

      • BassGuy 18.1.2
        29 January 2015 at 2:46 pm

        For some reason, this country is infested with the idea of “I’ve got mine, screw you.” Everyone thinks they’re on their way up, through their own hard work, but nobody else is.

        Anecdotes:

        My brother overheard some (highly paid) managers at the last election time, saying that they were going to vote National because Labour were just going to give money to poor people, and why should they get something for nothing?

        (Funny. I recall working long days and getting bitchy emails from my manager, telling me that I wasn’t working enough unpaid hours. He got a lot of something for nothing.)

        I hear that kind of thing a lot. Before he retired, one of my father’s co-workers said that he worked 40 years to get whatever his wage was, he doesn’t see why he should help anybody else.

        Many of us pride ourselves on our charity and thoughtfulness toward others, most especially Christians, but so very many of us seem to act contrary to that.

        Then there’s the whole ideal that if a manager gets a pay increase, they deserve it for working hard, but if I want more than minimum wage I’m just being greedy.

        Three or four years ago, one of the guys who worked with me was getting $15/hour. He was senior staff, and asked for a pay increase. I heard our boss tell him that if he wants a pay increase then he’d better upskill and become more valuable to the company.

        I can do everything that other guy did with a single exception, and a whole lot more than he ever learned. I get minimum wage and there are no pay increases. According to my boss the only guy who gets a pay increase (and a Christmas bonus) is the CEO. The rest of us munters are just out of luck.

        I’ve tried organising. Supporting my initial statements, one guy doesn’t care, he’s just funding his studies while another feels that he’ll be recognised as a true talent any day now, either promoted or hired somewhere else, and this is just his investment in his career.

        These are only symptoms of the issue, though. I don’t know what’s causing it, or why we think we’re special and everyone else is lazy. I do know that it makes us easy prey for reducing our rights, and creating a low-wage economy.

    • Murray Rawshark 18.2
      29 January 2015 at 7:27 pm

      Kiwis grow up in a culture that says you should have your own business and your own house to be a success. We really are Napoleon’s nation of shopkeepers and never developed a deeply entrenched sense of class. Even Bomber, a supposed left wing mouthpiece, carries on about rubbish like generational differences and almost never gives an analysis in terms of class. I wish it was different.

      With regard to Oz, there is also the important factor that the ostensibly Labour government of Lange was the one that achieved a tko on its supporters. The union bureaucrats were busy agreeing with Douglas rather than building resistance. In Oz it was a Liberal government that tried most of it on, and the unions instinctively fought back, even if only to protect their relationship with the Labor Party.

      But don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s much better over here. You might find militant class warriors marching in support of “Stop the Boats” or complaining about Kiwis taking their jobs. It’s no proletarian paradise, comrade.

      • millsy 18.2.1
        30 January 2015 at 1:36 am

        “The union bureaucrats were busy agreeing with Douglas rather than building resistance. ”

        They got big fat redundancy payouts for themselves and their members. Then they could set their own businesses, contract back to the SOE’s, and pole vault themselves into the middle bourgeois class.

        30 odd years later, National has a new layer of voters.

  19. just saying 19
    29 January 2015 at 2:02 pm

    I’ve been bouncing back in time, thse past few days, when I click on comments and even the “feeds”.
    Oddly, usually to the same two places, one a blog from 2014. I’m starting to feel like my computer, or ths site has some misguided Hal* which is trying to bring something to my attention.

    * as in ‘2001 a space odyssey’.

  20. Philip Ferguson 20
    29 January 2015 at 2:11 pm

    Wikipedia tell us: “The Imitation Game was both a critical and commercial success. The film was included in both the National Board of Review’s and American Film Institute’s “Top 10 Films of 2014″. At the 87th Academy Awards, it has been nominated in eight categories including Best Picture, Best Director for Tyldum, Best Actor for Cumberbatch and Best Supporting Actress for Keira Knightley. It also garnered five nominations in the 72nd Golden Globe Awards and was nominated in three categories at the 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards including Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. In addition, it received nine British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominations including Best Film and Outstanding British Film.”

    Alan Turing, the person the film is mainly about, was the guy mainly responsible for cracking the Nazis’ ‘enigma code’ during WW2. In 1952, however, Turing was convicted of ‘gross indecency’, the usual name for male homosexual acts.

    Last August the British queen announced a royal pardon of Turing.

    An interesting indication of the changes in capitalism and in bourgeois ideology in recent decades:

    https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/alan-turing-capitalism-and-the-changes-in-bourgeois-ideology/

    • tracey 20.1
      29 January 2015 at 2:47 pm

      and he possibly committed suicide when a nation turned on him because of who he loved…

      “Turing was prosecuted in 1952 for homosexual acts, when such behaviour was still criminalised in the UK. He accepted treatment with oestrogen injections (chemical castration) as an alternative to prison. Turing died in 1954, 16 days before his 42nd birthday, from cyanide poisoning. An inquest determined his death a suicide; his mother and some others believed it was accidental.[9] In 2009, following an Internet campaign, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an official public apology on behalf of the British government for “the appalling way he was treated”. Queen Elizabeth II granted him a posthumous pardon in 2013.[10][11][12]”

      The Brits did a pretty good job of taking hate on the road too when they colonised…

    • Murray Rawshark 20.2
      29 January 2015 at 7:37 pm

      I’m not sure Turing was the guy mainly responsible. The effort began with the Polish military and mathematicians even before WW2. Commandos and Royal Marines also played an important role, as well as spies and French intelligence. Turing played a crucial role and it would have taken longer without him, but others were important as well. There is an interesting book:

      http://www.amazon.com/Enigma-Battle-Code-Hugh-Sebag-Montefiore/dp/0471490350/ref=la_B001ITRR5I_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422513372&sr=1-1

  21. Ross 21
    29 January 2015 at 3:59 pm

    Conspicuously missing: the Labour party.

    I keep waiting for someone (anyone?) to lay into these dogs who think they are running our country.

    Housing: The governments action is a lie. Bald faced. In your face: yeah we said we wouldn’t. We are. Waddaya gunna do?

    Where is the damn opposition?

    Sabin: Yeah he can have power over the people who are investigating him. So what.

    Opposition?

    Stupid greeny hippy know nothing writer; sure, gut the RMA: more cows; less welfare…

    Has anyone said anything about the Greek election.

    Opposition where?

    • phillip ure 21.1
      29 January 2015 at 4:10 pm

      “..Where is the damn opposition?..”

      parliament re-opens soon..

      ..then we will see if they intend to sleepwalk for the next few yrs..

      ..or if they will get off their arses..(literally)..

      ..and do what they are paid/voted in to do..

      ..them and the greens..

    • The Murphey 21.2
      29 January 2015 at 4:22 pm

      ‘Controlled Opposition’ is the phrase you are seeking

    • b waghorn 21.3
      29 January 2015 at 4:29 pm

      Little had some good digs at the current government in his speech and all we get is bull shit from the press about lack of policy when Little said he wasn’t doing policy .
      Reporters are either thick as pigshit or owned.

    • Te Reo Putake 21.4
      29 January 2015 at 4:30 pm

      Ross, the NZLP was in the news all day yesterday and again today. The party (mainly Andrew Little) got some decent coverage on their own initiatives, National’s housing fail and Sabin’s case. It’s not compulsory to watch the TV news or read the papers, but it’s a good idea before you make comments like that to do some prep, lest you look like a bridge dweller.

      • Ross 21.4.1
        29 January 2015 at 4:48 pm

        TRP. Unfortunately, I no longer live in my own country. I wish I could. I subscribe to feeds and get my thrills through TS. What you say is, no doubt, correct. But I do the research I can. That research, for now, reveals almost zero penetration of the fog by Labour or any opposition. I often get more news about NZ from the Guardian than I do through Stuff. That’s a comment about the media. An opposition’s job is to find a way around that. Why doesn’t a Labour MP get a shovel and dig a spud patch on the front lawn at parliament? Why? To feed our starving kids! Why doesn’t one of the useless fools order a truck load of concrete sewerage pipes to be dumped alongside the potato patch? Why? To house our homeless!

        My question remains, where?

    • Clemgeopin 21.5
      29 January 2015 at 4:54 pm

      Here one for you and for everyone that opposes these Key’s State house sell off:

      Take a look, make a stand and sign the petition now.

      This is the email message I received from Phil Twyford.

      “Key finally admitted his plans to sell off thousands of our state houses over the next two and a bit years.

      Now he’s fronted the policy, it raises the stakes. He’ll want to push the sell-off through as soon as possible as he’ll be scared of losing face if his plans fall through.

      It means if we’re going to have a chance to stop the sell-off, we need to move quickly. In our tens of thousands. But it also means John Key is vulnerable.

      The first step of this campaign is proving the levels of public opposition to the sell-off. Already, nearly 22,000 of us have signed a petition against it.

      We need thousands more. If you’ve not yet added your name, time is running out to act – so please add your name today”

      http://action.labour.org.nz/save-our-state-houses

      You may also donate to fund the campaign

      https://contribute-nzlabour.nationbuilder.com/housing_campaign_thanks?utm_campaign=150128_sotn_k&utm_medium=email&utm_source=nzlabour

      Once your name’s on the petition, please forward this email to your friends and family – every name on the petition will make our campaign stronger.

      Next week, we’ll be in touch with an exciting plan to use our huge petition to make sure the Government can’t just force this issue through without the rest of New Zealand being made aware of their plans. But first, we need to work together to get as many people to sign the petition as possible.

      Please take a minute to sign the petition and forward it on to other people you know who will be concerned about John Key’s state house sell-off.

      Thanks,

      Phil Twyford
      Labour Housing Spokesperson

  22. phillip ure 22
    29 January 2015 at 4:46 pm

    (one for labour and greens to read..learn..and inwardly digest..)

    “..‘Hope begins today was their mantra’: the inside story of Syriza’s rise to power..

    ..Ten years ago – Syriza scraped just 4% of the vote in Greek elections.

    This week – the leftwing party took control under the charismatic leadership of Alexis Tsipras.

    How did it do it?

    For 22 days Paul Mason followed the party’s campaign trail –

    – and saw an anti-austerity message delivered with youthful plausibility –

    – win over a nation..”

    (cont..)

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/28/greek-people-wrote-history-how-syriza-rose-to-power

  23. phillip ure 23
    29 January 2015 at 4:53 pm

    (maybe northshoredoc..or anyone else..can tell us if this goes on in nz..)

    “..Doctors in the dock: Scandal of GPs who get cash from healthcare firms for patient referrals..

    ..Investigation shows healthcare companies offer inducements to send patients to their hospitals –

    – leading to calls for financial interests of all UK practitioners to be made public..”

    (cont..)

    http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/doctors-in-the-dock-scandal-of-gps-who-get-cash-from-healthcare-firms-for-patient-referrals-10009380.html

    • northshoredoc 23.1
      29 January 2015 at 8:25 pm

      @Phil not that I know of and i would think it is very very unlikely that this occurs in NZ.

      The larger issue in NZ is the continuing limiting of registration of certain medical specialties to ensure a large enough practice and waiting lists – although to some extent for example in orthopaedics this is a function of limited theatre space.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 23.1.1
        29 January 2015 at 8:37 pm

        That implies the limitations are more demographic than political?

        Or do you find evidence of the crime that the National Party is often accused of: deliberately running public health down for money.

        • northshoredoc 23.1.1.1
          30 January 2015 at 7:19 am

          “Or do you find evidence of the crime that the National Party is often accused of: deliberately running public health down for money.”

          No evidence of that whatsoever.

          Health services in NZ are generally speaking of a very high quality and from memory the money going into vote health has been rising year on year for quite some time – as i’m sure you understand we could put our entire GDP into health and there’d still be unmet demand for services.

      • phillip ure 23.1.2
        29 January 2015 at 8:47 pm

        at first glance i thought we wd not have the critical mass of private hospitals etc..

        ..for there to be such competition/opportunity for corruption….

        ..but if looking..you wd throw the rock in the water in epsom..

        ..and see if there are any surprising patterns in gp’s referrals there….

      • phillip ure 23.1.3
        29 January 2015 at 8:58 pm

        which specialties is that prevalent in..?

        • northshoredoc 23.1.3.1
          30 January 2015 at 7:22 am

          The Urologists and ophthalmologists used to limit the numbers admitted into their particular specialties to make sure there were enough population per surgeon to ensure a good patient stream in public and private.

          There are other surgical specialties which tend to do the same.

  24. phillip ure 24
    29 January 2015 at 5:24 pm

    (how could u not want one of these..?..video..)

    “..Tesla’s ‘Insane’ Button – Totally Freaks People Out..

    ..What kind of car would come with an ‘insane mode?

    A Tesla – specifically a Tesla Model S P85D- the $120,000 electric speedster with a 221-horsepower front motor and a 470-horsepower rear motor.

    Hitting the ‘insane’ button engages both at the same time –

    – allowing you to reach 60 mph in just over 3 seconds –

    – and scare the pants off friends and family members –

    – if you use it without warning..”

    (cont..)

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/28/tesla-insane-button-video_n_6560170.html

  25. Draco T Bastard 25
    29 January 2015 at 5:53 pm

    Oh, this is going to hurt:

    Cabinet minister Nick Smith has chartered another helicopter for television cameras – this time using tax-payer cash set aside for the families of the Pike River victims.

    Why does the minister even have access to that money?

  26. Draco T Bastard 26
    29 January 2015 at 6:11 pm

    Uber’s Business Model Could Change Your Work

    But of all the ways that Uber could change the world, the most far-reaching may be found closest at hand: your office. Uber, and more broadly the app-driven labor market it represents, is at the center of what could be a sea change in work, and in how people think about their jobs. You may not be contemplating becoming an Uber driver any time soon, but the Uberization of work may soon be coming to your chosen profession.

    Contrary to many Leftists I’m actually cautiously optimistic about this but it does, IMO, show that these types of services need to be run through government servers. Running it through government servers will get rid of the capitalist bludgers that are making millions from other people being paid minimum wage or less. The government will just be getting the taxes and so the dead-weight loss of profit will be removed from the equation.

    Also shows the needs for a UBI for two reasons. Firstly if you don’t get enough work you’ll still have enough to get by on with out dropping into poverty or having the risk of losing everything. Secondly it would remove the need to ‘have a job’. Essentially you could tell your employer to fuck off and still have work. Again, it helps remove the dead-weight loss of profit.

    It’ll be the one thing that National and employers really hate – an actual free and flexible labour market. How do I know that they hate it? Because that’s what an unemployment benefit allows and National always undermines that.

    • joe90 26.1
      29 January 2015 at 6:37 pm

      Yeah, ain’t it great how capital can use apps and smartphones to wring profits from the desperation of the unemployed/underemployed.
      /

      http://www.wsj.com/articles/uber-gets-uber-valuation-of-18-2-billion-1402073876

      • Draco T Bastard 26.1.1
        29 January 2015 at 6:53 pm

        That’s what capitalism is designed to do. Now how do we change it and get rid of the bludgers?

        • phillip ure 26.1.1.1
          29 January 2015 at 9:04 pm

          who are the ‘bludgers’..?

          ..the disrupters..or..(as in the case with taxis in ak..some of the most expensive in the world..) the current exploiters..?

          ..and lots of professionals should be very nervous..

          ..low-hanging fruit wd have to be those lawyers who make a nice income from clipping the ticket on property-transactions…

          ..either an uber-model..or a decent app..will render them redundant..

  27. Morrissey 27
    29 January 2015 at 6:13 pm

    If Russia killed a UN peacekeeper,
    it would be headline news for days on the BBC

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dsj_3jJQb4

    And of course, Israel can strike Syria without the UN batting an eyelid. Says it all about the state of of international law in at the present time. One law for official enemies, and quite another for us.

    http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/msg/1422491513.html

    • Colonial Rawshark 27.1
      29 January 2015 at 6:28 pm

      Draw cartoons mocking Muslims = freedom of speech.
      Draw cartoons mocking Jews = fired, fined, court appearance.

      • Morrissey 27.1.1
        29 January 2015 at 7:37 pm

        Colonial Rawshark, why did you make that comment? It has nothing to do with the item I posted.

        Also, I do not believe it is legitimate to “mock Jews”. Of course it’s perfectly legitimate to mock war criminals and sanctimonious, murderous hypocrites—including Israeli ones. But it’s their criminality, sanctimoniousness and hypocrisy that should be attacked, not their Jewishness.

        Leave the crude race-baiting to the likes of David Rankin, Leighton Smith, Larry “Lackwit” Williams and Nevil “Breivik” Gibson.

        • Ross 27.1.1.1
          29 January 2015 at 8:13 pm

          Seems to be an identical message to me Morrisey. A law for them, a law for us. How do you get CR mocking Jews out of that post?

          • Morrissey 27.1.1.1.1
            29 January 2015 at 8:23 pm

            I don’t think CR was mocking Jews. I don’t think he’s either that depraved or that foolish. I just think he needs to be careful how he expresses his ideas.

            In other words, abusing or mocking Jews as Jews is as unacceptable as the Charlie Hebdo speciality of mocking and antagonizing Algerians.

            • Colonial Rawshark 27.1.1.1.1.1
              29 January 2015 at 8:37 pm

              My comment paralleled the point you made about how Israel can act and attack with absolute impunity and immunity from criticism.

              Don’t get weak kneed about it now.

              BTW Jews are not a “race” therefore you cannot “race bait” by commenting on cartoons depicting Jews.

              • Morrissey …
                29 January 2015 at 8:58 pm

                Careful, Rawshark, you are treading a very dodgy line.

                The fact is: if you poke fun at Jews for being Jews you are in Paul Holmes territory. I advise you to think carefully before you go down that path.

                • Colonial Rawshark …
                  29 January 2015 at 9:13 pm

                  you’re the one who stated that Israel’s ability to act with impunity and with immunity to criticism was a sign of international degradation.

                  • Morrissey …
                    29 January 2015 at 9:21 pm

                    Yes, that is correct. I’m interested in serious analysis, not in crude ethnic or religious stereotyping. If you want to indulge in that dismal nonsense, ring Kerre McIvor on NewstalkZB.

                    Or Sean Plunket.

                    • Colonial Rawshark …
                      29 January 2015 at 9:32 pm

                      And exactly which of my replies above do you see as constituting “crude ethnic or religious stereotyping”???

                      Fuck you, you self aggrandising “Serious Analysis R Us” dick.

            • Te Reo Putake 27.1.1.1.1.2
              29 January 2015 at 8:57 pm

              “… Charlie Hebdo speciality of mocking and antagonizing Algerians.”

              Yeah, I’m totally sure you’ve got a cite for that, Moz. And CV, splitting hairs is pretty sad. Bigotry is bigotry. Anti-semitism is pathetic, whatever the specific religion turns out to be.

              • Morrissey …
                29 January 2015 at 9:02 pm

                Those cartoons were aimed at insulting, humiliating and antagonizing French Muslims—most of whom are Algerian. It’s an old tactic of the extreme right, made no more acceptable by the fact it has been taken up by people who like to think of themselves as liberals.

                Marine Le Pen knew perfectly well what the Charlie Hebdo folk were up to, and endorsed them completely. As did such liberal heroes as Binyamin Netanyahu and David Cameron.

                • Te Reo Putake …
                  29 January 2015 at 9:55 pm

                  So not aimed at Algerians, but at Muslims in general. Glad we cleared that up.

                  • Murray Rawshark …
                    29 January 2015 at 10:12 pm

                    It’s a French magazine. It attacked Muslims. It sells in France. Most Muslims in France are Algerians. French people would tend to identify Muslims in France as Algerians.

                    You haven’t cleared anything up.

                    • Te Reo Putake …
                      29 January 2015 at 10:20 pm

                      Really? You think that French people can’t recognise different ethnicities? Perhaps zay all look ze same to zem, non?

                      Algerians are not the majority in the Muslim religious demographic. Some folk might think that only a racist would think they were, but I’m sure that’s not the case with you, Murray.

                      CH attacks Muslims does not equal CH attacks Algerians. Moz was wrong.

                    • Murray Rawshark …
                      29 January 2015 at 11:41 pm

                      You’re trying to suggest I am racist, even though you’re sure that’s not the case. Fairly typical of your debating style.

                      There are more than 5 million Algerians in France. The majority of these are Sunni Muslim. There are estimated to be something like 6 million Muslims in France. Who are the majority?

                      I think Morrisey is correct on this one.

                      Nice try saying the French can recognise different ethnicities, followed by some stupid imitation of Franglais. Who said they couldn’t?

                    • Te Reo Putake …
                      30 January 2015 at 7:49 am

                      Your numbers are wrong, Murray. Algerians make up around a third of the ‘immigrant’ Muslim population of France. That is, about 1.5 million people. In fact, they are about half of the population that hails from the Maghreb.

                      So, if you want to avoid looking dodgy, check your facts before opining and don’t conflate one ethnic group with others.

                    • Murray Rawshark …
                      30 January 2015 at 12:46 pm

                      I did check my numbers and I am not conflating one ethnic group with another. Any further accusations, font of all that is true and righteous? Where does your figure of 1.5 million come from?

                      By the way, I couldn’t give a fuck if you think I look dodgy. Your life would have no meaning without the opportunity to try and look superior on a blog. You make a habit of it.

              • Colonial Rawshark …
                29 January 2015 at 9:17 pm

                And CV, splitting hairs is pretty sad. Bigotry is bigotry. Anti-semitism is pathetic, whatever the specific religion turns out to be.

                So now, stating facts = splitting hairs?

                I stated what had actually happened at Charlie Hebdo. A cartoonist got fired in 2009 and threatened with charges for something which was interpreted as being anti-Jewish. So much for the freedom of speech argument that Charlie Hebdo would later frequently use whenever they published things interpreted as being anti-Muslim.

                Again I stated that fact plain and simple, and contrasted to bring the hypocrisy in to distinct relief. Not my problem if you don’t like the illustration I used.

                • Te Reo Putake …
                  29 January 2015 at 10:00 pm

                  “So now, stating facts = splitting hairs?”

                  Yes, that’s one way of looking at it. Taking a semantic approach to an issue instead of recognising the wider truth. Yep, a good definition of splitting hairs.

                  The cartoonist that got fired all those years ago appealed the sacking and won. I’m sure the folk at CH learned a valuable lesson. Your bigotry is not based on anything substantial, CV, just word wankery.

                  Ps: “So much for the freedom of speech argument that Charlie Hebdo would later frequently use whenever they published things interpreted as being anti-Muslim.”

                  They never actually used that defence, because they didn’t need a defence. They were defiantly proud of being anti-religion.

                  • The Murphey …
                    30 January 2015 at 12:12 pm

                    Q. Are you an actor ?

                    Q. Do you believe in your own hype ?

                    Q. Are interactions ‘challenging’ for those who have to engage with you ?

  28. Clemgeopin 28
    29 January 2015 at 7:22 pm

    Watch a daring monKEY.

    Kind of how Key is teasing the people of this country with his harmful callous policies.

  29. Morrissey 29
    29 January 2015 at 8:20 pm

    The Petulant Entitlement Syndrome of Journalists
    by GLENN GREENWALD, The Intercept, 29 January 2015

    As intended, Jonathan Chait’s denunciation of the “PC language police” – a trite note of self-victimization he’s been sounding for decades – provoked intense reaction: much criticism from liberals and praise from conservatives (with plenty of exceptions both ways). I have all sorts of points I could make about his argument – beginning with how he tellingly focuses on the pseudo-oppression of still-influential people like himself and his journalist-friends while steadfastly ignoring the much more serious ways that people with views Chait dislikes are penalized and repressed – but I’ll instead point to commentary from Alex Pareene, Amanda Marcotte and Jessica Valenti as worthwhile responses. In sum, I fundamentally agree with Jill Filipovic’s reaction: “There is a good and thoughtful piece to be written about language policing & ‘PC’ culture online and in academia. That was not it.” I instead want to focus on one specific point about the depressingly abundant genre of journalists writing grievances about how they’re victimized by online hordes, of which Chait’s article is a very representative sample….

    Read more…..
    https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/01/28/petulant-entitlement-syndrome-journalists/

    • b waghorn 29.1
      29 January 2015 at 9:06 pm

      I’ll have to remember to put my robe on next time I victimise paddy gower.

      • Morrissey 29.1.1
        29 January 2015 at 9:08 pm

        You might like to ask Garth “The Knife” McVicar to lend you his.

        • b waghorn 29.1.1.1
          29 January 2015 at 9:19 pm

          I wish you hadn’t said that I’ve got a very visual mind ,Mcvicar in a robe ,not a sight I needed just before my bed time. 🙂

  30. Paul 30
    29 January 2015 at 9:35 pm

    Records about to be broken for driest January on record in Auckland and Wellington.
    Yet Fairfax media fails to mention climate change once in this article.
    You do wonder who is in control of the conversation at these organisations.
    A mining magnate by the name of Julia Reinhard?

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/65544122/areas-on-track-for-driest-january-on-record

  31. Reddelusion 31
    29 January 2015 at 10:01 pm

    Pu is on the mark. I detest his prescription but he is correct labour is little more than national lite, tweaking at the boundaries, why change, barring if your of that persuasion the greens get their hands on the lever of powers. Labours dilemma at every election, no matter who their leader is

    • One Anonymous Bloke 31.1
      29 January 2015 at 10:17 pm

      Syriza! Wet your pants.

      The sky won’t fall in Greece, and then, Chicken Little, you get to choke on it.

  32. Reddelusion 32
    29 January 2015 at 10:37 pm

    If Syriza is the answer it must have been a pretty stupid question

    Castro Cuba. Chavez Venezuela all hard left lefties that led their county to nirvana why is Syria different little red riding hood ( to stay on the fairy tail theme been your realm of reality)

    • One Anonymous Bloke 32.1
      29 January 2015 at 10:48 pm

      Sure Greece is exactly like Cubazuela. Your first instinct is to run your mouth before your brain. Slow down, get an amygdalectomy, whatever it takes.

      Or choke on it. No-one will notice or even care.

  33. Reddelusion 33
    29 January 2015 at 10:56 pm

    settle OAB. We just have difference of opinion, nothing more, like I said gotta go sleep well

    • One Anonymous Bloke 33.1
      29 January 2015 at 11:07 pm

      Just think, while you’re asleep, you might even have an evidence based thought process.

    • tricledrown 33.2
      30 January 2015 at 12:00 am

      Re delusional The govenor of the Bank of England disagrees with you to redelusion.
      Syrizia has gone into coalition with ACT type party of the far right.
      So re delusional your argument is!

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    17 hours ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: The unravelling of the offsets

    The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    22 hours ago
  • What makes us tick

    This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    23 hours ago
  • Foreshore and seabed 2.0

    In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Royal Commission report into abuse in care

    Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 19

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2024

    Open access notables Improving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

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