There are many similarities of what is happening in the USA presently, to that what occurred in Germany 1936-1945. The great unwashed in both countries are/were easily manipulated, partly due to a poor education system. Lies are easily converted and swallowed up as facts. Assessing Trump’s past behaviour towards those possessing less power, I am very worried about the demise of America.
“There are many similarities of what is happening in the USA presently, to that what occurred in Germany 1936-1945. The great unwashed in both countries are/were easily manipulated”
If by “the great unwashed” you’re suggesting that the Poor / Unemployed / Working Class / Precariat disproportionately voted for Hitler and Trump then I’d have to disagree.
But, ironically enough, “the great unwashed” is precisely the sort of contemptuous elite rhetoric that encouraged a lot of ordinary Democrats to stay home on Election Day … and a crucial few to swing towards Trump in the Rust Belt swing states.
An elite DNC mindset reflected, of course, in an abysmally unprogressive record (that ordinary Americans were apparently supposed to enthusiastically embrace because … er … Trump …………… Precisely the same Trump that Hillary, the DNC and their chums in the media did everything to promote during the Primaries because they assumed an already woefully unpopular ‘Hills’ would have a better chance of beating him on Election Day).
Behind the media-manufactured facade of white working class men as the cackling villains who gave the country to Donald Trump, in other words, lies a reality far more in keeping with the complexities of American electoral politics: a ramshackle coalition of many different voting blocs and interest groups, each with its own assortment of reasons for voting for a candidate feared and despised by the US political establishment and the mainstream media. That coalition included a very large majority of the US working class in general, and while white working class voters of both genders were disproportionately more likely to have voted for Trump than their nonwhite equivalents, it wasn’t simply a matter of whiteness, or for that matter maleness.
It was, however, to a very great extent a matter of social class. This isn’t just because so large a fraction of working class voters generally backed Trump; it’s also because Trump saw this from the beginning, and aimed his campaign squarely at the working class vote. His signature red ball cap was part of that—can you imagine Hillary Clinton wearing so proletarian a garment without absurdity?—but, as I pointed out a year ago, so was his deliberate strategy of saying (and tweeting) things that would get the liberal punditocracy to denounce him. The tones of sneering contempt and condescension they directed at him were all too familiar to his working class audiences, who have been treated to the same tones unceasingly by their soi-disant betters for decades now.
Entirely agree with him on the elite’s sneering contempt and class bigotry towards American workers.
But I think he’s smuggling in a few too many assumptions when he confidently asserts that Trump’s “ramshackle coalition” notably included “a very large majority of the US working class” and that Trump’s victory was hence “to a very great extent a matter of social class”.
He seems to assume that having: No (or only some) University Education automatically equals Working Class.
The Exit Polls certainly suggested that the less formally educated were more likely to vote Trump (especially among White voters). But that group actually includes a huge number of both affluent and middle income business owners (more than 25 million if you include spouses), senior managers and supervisors, insurance and real-estate agents (another 20 mill, including spouse), as well as various other members of that sector of society so often considered inherently conservative – the so-called “Petite Bourgeoisie”
Some will, no doubt, possess a degree, but clearly that still leaves tens of millions of non-working-class people in the US who are included in the lack advanced formal education category, and who are more likely to (1) get out and vote and (2) be traditional / frequent Republican voters than a majority of blue-collar workers.
Exit polls, while prone to error and by no means definitive, do suggest that, though disaffected, economically insecure white blue-collar voters no doubt helped Trump win the key “battleground” Rust Belt states, they can’t explain his performance nationwide … middle-class and wealthy suburban whites came out in droves for Trump and made up a larger part of his coalition.
Certainly was a white working class swing to Trump (albeit dwarfed by significant numbers among the Democrats’ traditional core constituencies – so disenchanted with Clinton – boosting the already huge number of poorer non-voters), but his victory was disproportionately a middle-class, upper-income phenomenon
To swordfish:
“If by “the great unwashed” you’re suggesting that the Poor / Unemployed / Working Class / Precariat disproportionately voted for Hitler and Trump then I’d have to disagree.”
The great unwashed refers, as I mentioned above as those who can be easily manipulated, nothing less, nothing more. If you like to falsely interpret what I have said then take that responsibility.
an offensive or humorous word for people from low social classes.
From Urban Dictionary:
Coined by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, “the great unwashed” refers to the lower classes. The common people.
From The Phrase Finder UK
The common, lower classes; the hoi polloi..
From Wiktionary
the populace: hoi polloi, unwashed masses.
From Wikipedia
Synonyms for hoi polloi, which also express the same or similar distaste for the common people felt by those who believe themselves to be superior, include “the great unwashed”, “the plebeians” or “plebs”, “the rabble”, “the masses”,”the dregs of society”, “riffraff”, “the herd”, “the canaille”, “the proles” (proletariat), “sheeple”, and “peons”.
.Although, to be scrupulously fair, Johan , you may be adopting more of a Humpty Dumpty approach:
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” … “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
Another term of contempt for working people is “redneck”. The use of that putdown became particularly virulent in the late 1960s and early ’70s, as sniffy East Coast Democratic Party elites—I won’t call them “liberals” because they weren’t then and aren’t now—sought to abuse working people who they blamed for Nixon’s victory.
I’ve repeatedly taken Martyn Bradbury to task over his thoughtless reiteration of the term. And, sadly, some people on this fine site sometimes lapse into using it….
Sorry Morrissey but I think you’re wrong. The term redneck is used to describe someone (usually male) who has ultra sexist/racist attitudes. They invariably have low IQs… are poorly educated and vote along conservative lines. Trump’s more virulent supporters could be described as such including Trump himself. While they are to be found among working people it is certainly not a term to describe working people as such. Many workers – including those on low incomes – are a damm sight more intelligent than their ‘superiors’ and you won’t find rednecks among them.
The term redneck is used to describe someone (usually male) who has ultra sexist/racist attitudes.
Then why not just call them peasants? It’s an equivalent term of contempt, and just as accurate—in other words, it’s totally inaccurate.
The proper term for people with ultra sexist/racist attitudes is “bigot”. The worst bigots in our country are not working people but privileged people who hold white collar jobs and/or do little or no hard work: Leighton Smith, Mike Hosking, John Ansell, Cameron Slater, John Banks, John “Hone the Dole Bludger” Carter, Sir Robert Jones. The only two notorious bigots I can think of who might deserve the term “redneck” are the S.S. Trust’s Grand Dragon Garth “The Knife” McVicar and Sir Peter “Mad Butcher” Leitch.
Trump is not a redneck; he hasn’t done a day’s work in his worthless life.
For people interested, here is a pretty good conversation, at times debate, on the dysfunctional DNC, with some interesting pointers to possible ways forward…
Just got sent this little vid from Joe Carolan, Socialist candidate for the Auckland electorate of Mt Albert, really refreshing to see a NZ politician actually talking about some real and viable solutions for long term housing security for working and poor people…. used to be that the Labour party would defend and talk on behalf of the working class and the poor, now they are far more interested in defending and talking to the middle class.
I was reading that Fisher & Pykel are thinking about bringing some of their manufacturing back to NZ if Trump goes ahead with his 20% tariff on Mexican goods.
Ummmm… Wouldn’t that be a good thing for New Zealand workers?
That is the Trump problem. So entrenched are the zombie economics of neoliberalism amongst the liberal elite that the real problem isn’t that Trump will fail – it is that enough of his economic policies will succeed to utterly consign them to the dustbin of history forever – and they may take the actual left with them.
Not many unemployed workers will care much about the rights of migrants or a free press if Trump can take the credit when a factory re-opens nearby that pays a decent wage and gives them healthcare.
Also, I spent the day with a bunch of 60 something Americans from Virginia last week, parents of a friend visiting NZ. They voted Trump, I didn’t bring it up directly (a good host does not discuss politics with his guests) but listening to them gave me an interesting insight into how they thought, at least. Generally, they HATED illegal immigrants and voted entirely on the issue of immigration. But their reasoning was fascinating, and way tied up with the general brainwashing the US population has about how the USA is the greatest country ever in the history of the world, and a general comment on a country where collective social security has never happened.
They reasoned that living in and being a citizen of the greatest nation on earth is a privilege that has to be earned. Sneaking in illegally is a form of freeloading on that privilege. Not only are they not deserving to live in that great land, but they use resources that the more deserving should have first call on. And being American is strictly interpreted as how white Americans like them see the country, there was no sense of be able to be American in any other way. So failure to integrate and assimilate – by people who snuck in anyway – is just the last straw. They really do just want mass deportations of these undeserving and sneaky foreigners.
I’m fairly confident your group of 60somethings don’t appreciate what jobs undocumented immigrants generally do. It’s the shitty, very low-paid ones that American citizens generally don’t want to do. But exploitation of undocumented workers is a key part of keeping the price of many things low in the US, food in particular.
Interesting comment, I think you are quite right in your reasoning that the ‘ liberal elite’ are so blinded by their own neo liberal ideology that they are in danger of being dust binned, not that I have a problem with that.
On Cory Booker, New Yorker 2012…
“I don’t think there could be a finer young rising star in urban politics than Cory Booker. His policies go far beyond Democratic-Republican. There has to be a new way of thinking about poverty. Cory understands that private enterprise is not the enemy of the urban poor.”
Yes it looks like they are prepared to drive off the cliff screaming…See I told you the free market works………
Nah, I’m not going to copy and paste…read it for yourself. 🙂
So far the ferals have refrained from slagging this couple in the comments section, and all comments so far are overwhelmingly in support of them.
FFS, even the Missing on Disability Issues seems to think they should at least have home help…she’s wrong…but hey…she’s interested.
“Subsidised support services for disabled people were not determined by a person’s income alone, Wagner said.
“It wouldn’t matter if you were a multi-millionaire, if you had cerebral palsy and you need people to look after you we would give you that disability service.”
This is bullshit…but never mind…there is means and asset testing for personal care…it’s just couched in terms of “natural support”.
As one of the commenters says…these rules have been in place since before National….yes, Labour did this.
Too much to ask that these issues attract cross party non political policies?
Damn right.
The Green’s Mojo Mathers comments for the article, but Labour is MIA.
I don’t even know who Labour’s spokesperson is for disability issues….
….and I generally keep up with shit like that…..
Come on Labour…stop the posing and step up…the tide of public opinion is rising in favour of people in this situation….
Oh good, I was just about to see if you were around so I could check some things (might put this up as a post). I can’t tell if her homehelp and personal cares were coming from the MoH or the DHB. Would it matter, or are both means/asset tested despite what the Minister says?
Personal cares are (in this couple’s case) assessed and funded through their local Miserly of Health Disability Support Services’ agency the NASC.
assessment is done, hours allocated and funding is through either a provider or through IF. The assessment is supposed to be on need…but it is very closely tied to “natural supports” (that is who you live with and what support they can unreasonably be expected to provide at no cost.)
In the case of this couple…clearly (to any sighted, rational human being) neither can be expected to provide personal care support to the other.
Home help…IS means tested and can only be funded (through MSD )if you have a community services card and no “natural supports” to do the work.
Obviously, ( heavy long drawn out sigh), in the case of this couple, community services card or not, no reasonable person would expect either of them to be able to perform all the tasks required to keep their home clean to a standard slightly above squalid. Pete will be knackered at the end of his working day…having to do housework on top of that will likely send him to an early grave.
Likewise having to pay from their actually quite limited income for a cleaner… (bet they don’t live in the Paratai Drive equivalent in Christchurch)…will cause significant stress, which would also increase his chances of an early demise.
Unless of course…and no joking or sarcasm here…that is the intended purpose.
Bear in mind those of you who do not have a wheelchair user in the family…floors become dirtier quickly as as yet the techos have not invented the wheelchair with interchangeable tyres twixt the outdoor and in.
Some fuckwit bureaucratic with megalomaniacal tendencies has has taken the rule book and used it to punish this couple for having the sheer audacity to think that when they say “go live and ordinary life disabled person…we will support you to do this” they actually mean’t it.
What this couple should have done…is simply not told anyone they were a couple.
Hidden their relationship.
The system…set up under Labour…always left plenty of room for the exploiting of loopholes.
….and speaking of shit, so far it seems that Farrar’s Ferals haven’t started in on Amy and Peter yet. David Garrett is usually up for a spot of cripple bashing of a morning….
Thanks Rosemary. I understand how the NASC works, and good to have it clarified that home help is means/asset tested. I wasn’t sure from her diagnosis if she would go through the MoH disability funding or the DHB chronic illness funding (can’t remember if that has the same CSC criteria). Just had a quick look online and the MoH sites are saying go to the DHB sites, but I can’t find anything on them.
I wanted to put the article out to people on TS who wax lyrical about a UBI and then state that supplementary income benefits can be paid via Health because it’s so much better than WINZ. I’d like them to see that Health is often just as fucked up as Welfare, but people don’t like hearing that.
“…via Health because it’s so much better than WINZ.”
TBH….I have found staff at WINZ who are positively kind compared with NASC staff and their MOH:DSS overlords.
We doooooo have a system here in Godzone that does take an holistic approach to disability supports and living allowances, has a rights and entitlement based protocol and a complaints and review mechanism….
….we call it ACC…and if I remember rightly Labour actually ran the idea of extending it to all with permanent impairments up the flagpole to see if it fluttered…what came of that????
Tracey is covered by ACC…so why the hell aren’t they paying for her and her family to stay in a motel?
Ye gods and little fishes…is being a fuckwit a prequisite for working for Housing NZ, WINZ, ACC and MOH:DSS et al?
The Auckland Spinal Rehab Unit has small one bedroom accessible units available….file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Auckland%20Spinal%20Unit%20Patient%20booklet%202016.pdf
….if Tracey has a pressure sore she should be in the ASRU having it treated, and her husband and daughter should be put up in one of these on site units.
How hard is this…
I couldn’t agree more, Labour are MIA or tacit at best on nearly all issues concerning the disenfranchised, working and poor..except when it comes to policing them it seems, then they have that centrist shill Nash breathing fire…what about Little showing us some fire in his belly for the citizens who have little or no voice, isn’t that what Labour exists for?…well it should.
Ah! But the disabled DO have “voices”…advocacy groups (funded by the Government 😉 ) to speak on behalf of ALL disabled people.
Again…Labour did it too. (Though admittedly National, with the help of traitor Turia, ensured that ONLY these government funded groups get to speak out officially on disability issues.)
Absolutely typical of how Social Welfare operates, and not one jot of a legal basis for it. Then when there’s publicity they burst into action.
How many other people are on the receiving end of treatment like this? If it’s a “rule” that not being able to show you’ve been looking for a private rental results in being chucked out of emergency motel accommodation (regardless of how fair or correct or legal that “rule” might be) then you can bet your house on it there’s a whole bunch more.
It is silly to have people find their own housing, given that they wouldnt have been going to MSD for emergency housing if they wernt looking because they would have found a place to live.
There really needs to be some sort of matching program for rentals in place, rather than telling people to bugger off and find their own place.
And if a tetraplegic woman who cannot control her own bowel movements is left to rot in a van, then what hope do the rest of us have if we find ourselves needing stable housing?
And good on her man for sticking by her through all this. A lesser man would have slung his hook for the first bimbo that waved her legs at him.
“And good on her man for sticking by her through all this. A lesser man would have slung his hook for the first bimbo that waved her legs at her.”
There is so much wrong with what you’re saying here that even gabby old me can’t think where to start.
Don’t, please don’t comment on a person’s relationship in these terms again. Ever.
Prentice will probably ban me for a couple of weeks for that comment. He banned me for 2 months for a comment I made about that gay bar massacre last year that was more tamer than that.
So I had better float my idea of DHB’s and ACC running their own social housing for clients such as her. There is a case for it.
[lprent: The most common reason for a banning is because a commenter trying to start fires rather than debates. I can’t remember what I banned you for because I simply don’t bother remembering details. If I need to I can always look them up. However I do have mental notes on your typical behaviours gained over any years. You :-
1. Often try to enhance a debate that is proceeding reasonably well by trying to pour petrol on it.
2. Will proceed to personally abuse anyone who pulls you up on it and generally act like a idiotic libertarian.
So I have a canned response as a result. If you start acting like a pyromaniac arsehole – I douse you immediately without any hesitation. Don’t whine about it. But perhaps you should consider your own behaviour that built that reaction. ]
I mean individuals having their own flats, but modified, etc. Having disabled people flat together isnt a really good idea, given the informaton that comes out of those care homes every so often.
“If all of the theoretical hundred thousand or so of new social houses are NOT based on Universal Design…then they really are a bunch of fwits.”
No guarantees there, across the parties. Other nations like the UK manage to make the basic universal access features like level entrances and wider doorways compulsory in new *private* housing but our backwoods clowns can’t yet manage it in all public stock.
Just watch the panic as the boomer population surge arrives at that lifestage where such things are no longer optional.
War with the US under Donald Trump is “not just a slogan” and becoming a “practical reality”, a senior Chinese military official has said.
The remarks were published on the People’s Liberation Army website, apparently in response to the aggressive rhetoric towards China from America’s new administration.
They communicated a view from inside the Central Military Commission, which has overall authority of China’s armed forces.
Seymour doesn’t want to be “inconsistent” and he can’t condemn every silly (!) thing that has happened in the world – not that he was asked – so he does exactly nothing. If he had kept his mouth shut (on Twitter) he would have been more consistent and would be looking less like a political weakling. Show some guts, David!
With the ascension of President-elect Donald Trump, Republicans see an opportunity to roll back the Endangered Species Act, which has become one of the government’s most powerful conservation tools. The GOP contends the act has been used by wildlife advocates to block economic development and to hinder drilling, logging and other activities. Over the past eight years, Republican lawmakers have sponsored dozens of measures aimed at curtailing the landmark law. Almost all were blocked by Democrats and the White House or lawsuits from environmentalists.
So it wasn’t necessarily an affectionate holding of hands after all.
[…]
But Government sources in Washington DC were suggesting that the hand-holding was not as a result of a deep and lasting friendship after all.
The insider said that Mr Trump is known to have an aversion to slopes or stairs, and said this could have been the reason for the president’s decision to grasp the Prime Minister’s hand.
Such a fear is a recognised condition – called bathmophobia.
and then they might get an idea who Pence is, Ryan, Haley and all the others that want to bring “god” back to the US, and only do ‘gods work’ and be ‘godly’ and such.
i also suggest that when you have done so you have available lots of chocolate and a furry beast for cuddles. Cause…..reasons.
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New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Adams, Professor of Corporate Law & Academic Director of UNE Sydney campus, University of New England Last August, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal proceedings against Qantas. The consumer watchdog accused the airline of selling thousands of tickets ...
This episode of A View From Afar was recorded LIVE on May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, May 5, 2024 at 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Taylor, Assistant Professor, Bond University Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures At the crux of the critical response to Luca Guadagnino’s new movie Challengers is one word: “sexy”. The film charts a love triangle between three up-and-coming tennis players: Tashi (Zendaya), ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Stewart, Professor of Public Policy, ADFA Canberra, UNSW Sydney For years, First Nations people have been telling governments they want to be listened to. In particular, they want more ownership of the programs and services that are supposed to help them. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Why do trees have bark? Julien, age 6, Melbourne. This is a great question, Julien. We are so familiar with bark on trees, that most of us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Nasser, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of Technology Sydney PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important ligament in the knee. It runs from the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia) and helps stabilise ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne I covered the May 2 United Kingdom local government elections for The Poll Bludger. The Blackpool South parliamentary byelection was also held, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna Grant-Smith, Professor of Management, University of the Sunshine Coast The federal government has announced a “Commonwealth Prac Payment” to support selected groups of students doing mandatory work placements. Those who are studying to be a teacher, nurse, midwife or social ...
We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+. If you love a dark comedy: Bodkin (Netflix, May 9)An English podcaster, an Irish podcaster and American podcaster walk into a pub and…make a TV show? ...
By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist A Pacific regionalism academic has called out New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS and says the security deal “raises serious questions for the Pacific region”. Auckland University of Technology academic Dr Marco de Jong ...
How worried should we be about the cloud? This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. I currently have a few thousand unread emails languishing in my inbox, mostly old marketing newsletters and piles of unread science journal press releases. I have a similar number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies College of Arts and Sciences Department of Languages, Literature, and Communication Studies, Northern State University Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Asian governments not only have to deal with the virus but also with the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Murakami Wood, Professor of Critical Surveillance and Securities Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa The skyline of Riyadh, the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.(Shutterstock) There is a long history of planned city building by both governments ...
The LIVE Recording of A View from Afar podcast will begin today at 12:45pm May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment of ...
The Boil Up’s Lucinda Bennett considers the oyster – from freshness to pearls to the joy of shucking your own. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. In Carmen Maria Machado’s short story ‘Eight Bites’, a woman begins her last supper before bariatric surgery with “a cavalcade ...
Asia Pacific Report A group of 65 Auckland University academics have written an open letter to vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater criticising the institution’s stance over students protesting in solidarity with Palestine. They have called on her administration to “support” the students who were denied permission to establish an “overnight encampment” by ...
The Student Volunteer Army is on the march, generating approximately 1.6 million hours of volunteering from roughly 35,000 secondary school students in just five years. For Rebekah Brown, the pathway to volunteering started with her singing coach. With a passion for the arts, the suggestion to volunteer at Acting Antics, ...
Keeping up with online communication can be exhausting, so Fran Barclay enlisted the help of Meta’s new ‘intelligent assistant’ to respond to all her messages. Could her mates tell the difference? For centuries, technology has ruled the ways in which we communicate. From the dawn of written language, to the ...
Jamie Arbuckle, a councillor who has become an member of parliament, says he has settled into having two roles so comfortably he's going to keep both pay cheques. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luis Gómez Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, University of Wollongong Fifty years ago, Australian feminist Anne Summers denounced “the ideology of sexism” governing over so many women’s lives. Unfortunately, sexism is as lethal today as it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Senior Researcher in Architecture, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic and the hybrid work patterns it fostered have changed the way we think about office space, and central business districts in general. While fears ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dale Boccabella, Associate Professor of Taxation Law, UNSW Sydney There’s a good reason your local volunteer-run netball club doesn’t pay tax. In Australia, various nonprofit organisations are exempt from paying income tax, including those that do charitable work, such as churches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marina Deller, Casual Academic, Creative Writing and English Literature, Flinders University NetflixComedy is opening up spaces for silences to be broken and trauma stories to be told. In 2018, Hannah Gadsby started a revolution with Nanette, asking audiences to rethink ...
The workplace can be a minefield of bad comms and passive aggression. Kinksters can help you navigate it. A friend and colleague recently gave me a compliment I loved. They told me I’d always been good at emotional communication and making people feel comfortable. “But I feel like it’s really ...
Even if some students are now just texting on their laptops. Stewart Sowman-Lund writes in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Councils from Horowhenua, Kāpiti, Wairarapa, the Hutt Valley, Porirua and Wellington City will meet this Friday to work together on a plan for a Greater Wellington region water deal. ...
Renowned musician, advocate, and proud born and raised daughter of Tauranga, Ria Hall, is announcing her candidacy for Mayor of Tauranga and Pāpāmoa Ward for the upcoming election on July 20th. ...
The new Aotearoa histories curriculum is rich with potential. There’s still work to be done, but the education minister’s criticisms about ‘balance’ miss the mark, argues primary school teacher Jessie Moss. In 2015, Ōtorohanga College students presented to parliament a petition signed by more than 10,000 people calling for a ...
For too long our so-called national bird has maintained its stranglehold on the economy of regional New Zealand. Thanks to the fast track legislation, we will have our revenge. Theories abound on what ails New Zealand’s economy. National leader Chris Luxon has posited that we’re negative, wet, whiny, and inward-looking; ...
For the past 12 years, Georgia-Rose Brown has balanced on the brink of making an Olympic Games – but always landed gracefully on the wrong side. Reaching the Olympics is a dream the gymnast has harboured since she was a six-year-old; a dream that would dwindle every four years, yet ...
Late one afternoon in March 1860 a man in a thin green velveteen jacket and a wide-awake hat arrived on foot at a sheep station named Glenmark, about 65 kilometres north of Christchurch. The man was in his mid-fifties but he looked older. Several people who met him that day ...
If building one of Auckland’s possible waterfront stadiums was funded privately, it would need to hold a sold-out Ed Sherran concert every weekday for 25 years. That’s Rob Hamlin’s finding – he’s a senior marketing lecturer at the University of Otago. “It’s not going to happen; forget about it,” he ...
Comment: The debate over the future relationship between news and social media is bringing us closer to a long-overdue reckoning. Social media isn’t trying to kill journalism, because social media has never really cared about journalism. Social media is resolutely in the attention business. News propels some attention — perhaps ...
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Trump is the fastest moving president ever. It’s both impressive and frightening.
They are re-using executive decrees written for the 2012 election.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FRbBDRcjQ
Toast. I wish I could afford a stash of gold and a secret lair.
What happens when you point out that a
Fox News presenter has told a lie? (On his show)
Yeh loved that one…” ok you are clearly obfuscating the truth time and time again through this segment.”
America burns…. A lot of other countries are going to catch light also.
There are many similarities of what is happening in the USA presently, to that what occurred in Germany 1936-1945. The great unwashed in both countries are/were easily manipulated, partly due to a poor education system. Lies are easily converted and swallowed up as facts. Assessing Trump’s past behaviour towards those possessing less power, I am very worried about the demise of America.
As well as their education maybe their monocultural diet….
France’s wild hamsters being turned into ‘crazed cannibals’ by diet of corn
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/28/frances-wild-hamsters-being-turned-into-crazed-cannibals-by-diet-of-corn
Another example of how our mono-cropping destroys life rather than supporting it.
“There are many similarities of what is happening in the USA presently, to that what occurred in Germany 1936-1945. The great unwashed in both countries are/were easily manipulated”
If by “the great unwashed” you’re suggesting that the Poor / Unemployed / Working Class / Precariat disproportionately voted for Hitler and Trump then I’d have to disagree.
But, ironically enough, “the great unwashed” is precisely the sort of contemptuous elite rhetoric that encouraged a lot of ordinary Democrats to stay home on Election Day … and a crucial few to swing towards Trump in the Rust Belt swing states.
An elite DNC mindset reflected, of course, in an abysmally unprogressive record (that ordinary Americans were apparently supposed to enthusiastically embrace because … er … Trump …………… Precisely the same Trump that Hillary, the DNC and their chums in the media did everything to promote during the Primaries because they assumed an already woefully unpopular ‘Hills’ would have a better chance of beating him on Election Day).
precisely the sort of contemptuous elite rhetoric
http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.ca/2017/01/the-hate-that-dare-not-speak-its-name.html
Cheers, RedLogix.
Entirely agree with him on the elite’s sneering contempt and class bigotry towards American workers.
But I think he’s smuggling in a few too many assumptions when he confidently asserts that Trump’s “ramshackle coalition” notably included “a very large majority of the US working class” and that Trump’s victory was hence “to a very great extent a matter of social class”.
He seems to assume that having: No (or only some) University Education automatically equals Working Class.
The Exit Polls certainly suggested that the less formally educated were more likely to vote Trump (especially among White voters). But that group actually includes a huge number of both affluent and middle income business owners (more than 25 million if you include spouses), senior managers and supervisors, insurance and real-estate agents (another 20 mill, including spouse), as well as various other members of that sector of society so often considered inherently conservative – the so-called “Petite Bourgeoisie”
Some will, no doubt, possess a degree, but clearly that still leaves tens of millions of non-working-class people in the US who are included in the lack advanced formal education category, and who are more likely to (1) get out and vote and (2) be traditional / frequent Republican voters than a majority of blue-collar workers.
Exit polls, while prone to error and by no means definitive, do suggest that, though disaffected, economically insecure white blue-collar voters no doubt helped Trump win the key “battleground” Rust Belt states, they can’t explain his performance nationwide … middle-class and wealthy suburban whites came out in droves for Trump and made up a larger part of his coalition.
Certainly was a white working class swing to Trump (albeit dwarfed by significant numbers among the Democrats’ traditional core constituencies – so disenchanted with Clinton – boosting the already huge number of poorer non-voters), but his victory was disproportionately a middle-class, upper-income phenomenon
To swordfish:
“If by “the great unwashed” you’re suggesting that the Poor / Unemployed / Working Class / Precariat disproportionately voted for Hitler and Trump then I’d have to disagree.”
The great unwashed refers, as I mentioned above as those who can be easily manipulated, nothing less, nothing more. If you like to falsely interpret what I have said then take that responsibility.
.
“the great unwashed”
.
From MacMillan Dictionary
From Urban Dictionary:
From The Phrase Finder UK
From Wiktionary
From Wikipedia
.Although, to be scrupulously fair, Johan , you may be adopting more of a Humpty Dumpty approach:
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” … “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
Another term of contempt for working people is “redneck”. The use of that putdown became particularly virulent in the late 1960s and early ’70s, as sniffy East Coast Democratic Party elites—I won’t call them “liberals” because they weren’t then and aren’t now—sought to abuse working people who they blamed for Nixon’s victory.
I’ve repeatedly taken Martyn Bradbury to task over his thoughtless reiteration of the term. And, sadly, some people on this fine site sometimes lapse into using it….
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21032013/#comment-607424
Sorry Morrissey but I think you’re wrong. The term redneck is used to describe someone (usually male) who has ultra sexist/racist attitudes. They invariably have low IQs… are poorly educated and vote along conservative lines. Trump’s more virulent supporters could be described as such including Trump himself. While they are to be found among working people it is certainly not a term to describe working people as such. Many workers – including those on low incomes – are a damm sight more intelligent than their ‘superiors’ and you won’t find rednecks among them.
The term redneck is used to describe someone (usually male) who has ultra sexist/racist attitudes.
Then why not just call them peasants? It’s an equivalent term of contempt, and just as accurate—in other words, it’s totally inaccurate.
The proper term for people with ultra sexist/racist attitudes is “bigot”. The worst bigots in our country are not working people but privileged people who hold white collar jobs and/or do little or no hard work: Leighton Smith, Mike Hosking, John Ansell, Cameron Slater, John Banks, John “Hone the Dole Bludger” Carter, Sir Robert Jones. The only two notorious bigots I can think of who might deserve the term “redneck” are the S.S. Trust’s Grand Dragon Garth “The Knife” McVicar and Sir Peter “Mad Butcher” Leitch.
Trump is not a redneck; he hasn’t done a day’s work in his worthless life.
Nice to see that you have so much free time on your hands. lol
Well, you know, I was in the mood. 🙂
That reminds me of something….
For people interested, here is a pretty good conversation, at times debate, on the dysfunctional DNC, with some interesting pointers to possible ways forward…
Corruption in education in a country patting itself on the back for being without corruption:
https://networkonnet.wordpress.com/2017/01/28/parents-teachers-and-community-of-rangiora-high-school-get-a-load-of-this/
Thank you repateet. I had heard snippets of this but you have put it very well. What a debacle, and shame on Parata.
Test.
Bill’s out of the office …you should be fine.
Just got sent this little vid from Joe Carolan, Socialist candidate for the Auckland electorate of Mt Albert, really refreshing to see a NZ politician actually talking about some real and viable solutions for long term housing security for working and poor people…. used to be that the Labour party would defend and talk on behalf of the working class and the poor, now they are far more interested in defending and talking to the middle class.
https://www.facebook.com/solidarityjoe/videos/10154121963567601/?pnref=story
I was reading that Fisher & Pykel are thinking about bringing some of their manufacturing back to NZ if Trump goes ahead with his 20% tariff on Mexican goods.
Ummmm… Wouldn’t that be a good thing for New Zealand workers?
That is the Trump problem. So entrenched are the zombie economics of neoliberalism amongst the liberal elite that the real problem isn’t that Trump will fail – it is that enough of his economic policies will succeed to utterly consign them to the dustbin of history forever – and they may take the actual left with them.
Not many unemployed workers will care much about the rights of migrants or a free press if Trump can take the credit when a factory re-opens nearby that pays a decent wage and gives them healthcare.
Also, I spent the day with a bunch of 60 something Americans from Virginia last week, parents of a friend visiting NZ. They voted Trump, I didn’t bring it up directly (a good host does not discuss politics with his guests) but listening to them gave me an interesting insight into how they thought, at least. Generally, they HATED illegal immigrants and voted entirely on the issue of immigration. But their reasoning was fascinating, and way tied up with the general brainwashing the US population has about how the USA is the greatest country ever in the history of the world, and a general comment on a country where collective social security has never happened.
They reasoned that living in and being a citizen of the greatest nation on earth is a privilege that has to be earned. Sneaking in illegally is a form of freeloading on that privilege. Not only are they not deserving to live in that great land, but they use resources that the more deserving should have first call on. And being American is strictly interpreted as how white Americans like them see the country, there was no sense of be able to be American in any other way. So failure to integrate and assimilate – by people who snuck in anyway – is just the last straw. They really do just want mass deportations of these undeserving and sneaky foreigners.
I’m fairly confident your group of 60somethings don’t appreciate what jobs undocumented immigrants generally do. It’s the shitty, very low-paid ones that American citizens generally don’t want to do. But exploitation of undocumented workers is a key part of keeping the price of many things low in the US, food in particular.
Interesting comment, I think you are quite right in your reasoning that the ‘ liberal elite’ are so blinded by their own neo liberal ideology that they are in danger of being dust binned, not that I have a problem with that.
I commented yesterday, they are already positioning Cory Booker for 2020, the guy who while being in the pocket of the pharmaceutical industry, just voted down Sanders affordable medicine bill,
https://theintercept.com/2017/01/12/cory-booker-joins-senate-republicans-to-kill-measure-to-import-cheaper-medicine-from-canada/
http://maplight.org/us-congress/interest/H4300
On Cory Booker, New Yorker 2012…
“I don’t think there could be a finer young rising star in urban politics than Cory Booker. His policies go far beyond Democratic-Republican. There has to be a new way of thinking about poverty. Cory understands that private enterprise is not the enemy of the urban poor.”
Yes it looks like they are prepared to drive off the cliff screaming…See I told you the free market works………
Stuff this morning…http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/88515678/Punished-for-love-Disabled-couple-lose-home-help
Nah, I’m not going to copy and paste…read it for yourself. 🙂
So far the ferals have refrained from slagging this couple in the comments section, and all comments so far are overwhelmingly in support of them.
FFS, even the Missing on Disability Issues seems to think they should at least have home help…she’s wrong…but hey…she’s interested.
“Subsidised support services for disabled people were not determined by a person’s income alone, Wagner said.
“It wouldn’t matter if you were a multi-millionaire, if you had cerebral palsy and you need people to look after you we would give you that disability service.”
This is bullshit…but never mind…there is means and asset testing for personal care…it’s just couched in terms of “natural support”.
As one of the commenters says…these rules have been in place since before National….yes, Labour did this.
Too much to ask that these issues attract cross party non political policies?
Damn right.
The Green’s Mojo Mathers comments for the article, but Labour is MIA.
I don’t even know who Labour’s spokesperson is for disability issues….
….and I generally keep up with shit like that…..
Come on Labour…stop the posing and step up…the tide of public opinion is rising in favour of people in this situation….
Oh good, I was just about to see if you were around so I could check some things (might put this up as a post). I can’t tell if her homehelp and personal cares were coming from the MoH or the DHB. Would it matter, or are both means/asset tested despite what the Minister says?
Personal cares are (in this couple’s case) assessed and funded through their local Miserly of Health Disability Support Services’ agency the NASC.
assessment is done, hours allocated and funding is through either a provider or through IF. The assessment is supposed to be on need…but it is very closely tied to “natural supports” (that is who you live with and what support they can unreasonably be expected to provide at no cost.)
In the case of this couple…clearly (to any sighted, rational human being) neither can be expected to provide personal care support to the other.
Home help…IS means tested and can only be funded (through MSD )if you have a community services card and no “natural supports” to do the work.
Obviously, ( heavy long drawn out sigh), in the case of this couple, community services card or not, no reasonable person would expect either of them to be able to perform all the tasks required to keep their home clean to a standard slightly above squalid. Pete will be knackered at the end of his working day…having to do housework on top of that will likely send him to an early grave.
Likewise having to pay from their actually quite limited income for a cleaner… (bet they don’t live in the Paratai Drive equivalent in Christchurch)…will cause significant stress, which would also increase his chances of an early demise.
Unless of course…and no joking or sarcasm here…that is the intended purpose.
Bear in mind those of you who do not have a wheelchair user in the family…floors become dirtier quickly as as yet the techos have not invented the wheelchair with interchangeable tyres twixt the outdoor and in.
Some fuckwit bureaucratic with megalomaniacal tendencies has has taken the rule book and used it to punish this couple for having the sheer audacity to think that when they say “go live and ordinary life disabled person…we will support you to do this” they actually mean’t it.
What this couple should have done…is simply not told anyone they were a couple.
Hidden their relationship.
The system…set up under Labour…always left plenty of room for the exploiting of loopholes.
Right..back to emptying the shit tanks on my Bus.
….and speaking of shit, so far it seems that Farrar’s Ferals haven’t started in on Amy and Peter yet. David Garrett is usually up for a spot of cripple bashing of a morning….
Thanks Rosemary. I understand how the NASC works, and good to have it clarified that home help is means/asset tested. I wasn’t sure from her diagnosis if she would go through the MoH disability funding or the DHB chronic illness funding (can’t remember if that has the same CSC criteria). Just had a quick look online and the MoH sites are saying go to the DHB sites, but I can’t find anything on them.
I wanted to put the article out to people on TS who wax lyrical about a UBI and then state that supplementary income benefits can be paid via Health because it’s so much better than WINZ. I’d like them to see that Health is often just as fucked up as Welfare, but people don’t like hearing that.
“…via Health because it’s so much better than WINZ.”
TBH….I have found staff at WINZ who are positively kind compared with NASC staff and their MOH:DSS overlords.
We doooooo have a system here in Godzone that does take an holistic approach to disability supports and living allowances, has a rights and entitlement based protocol and a complaints and review mechanism….
….we call it ACC…and if I remember rightly Labour actually ran the idea of extending it to all with permanent impairments up the flagpole to see if it fluttered…what came of that????
The words had no sooner left my fingertips when Stuff post this…http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/88811571/tetraplegic-mum-her-partner-and-4yearold-live-in-a-van
Tracey is covered by ACC…so why the hell aren’t they paying for her and her family to stay in a motel?
Ye gods and little fishes…is being a fuckwit a prequisite for working for Housing NZ, WINZ, ACC and MOH:DSS et al?
The Auckland Spinal Rehab Unit has small one bedroom accessible units available….file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Auckland%20Spinal%20Unit%20Patient%20booklet%202016.pdf
….if Tracey has a pressure sore she should be in the ASRU having it treated, and her husband and daughter should be put up in one of these on site units.
How hard is this…
Also, there is TASC… http://tasc.org.nz/ theoretically “peer support”.
I couldn’t agree more, Labour are MIA or tacit at best on nearly all issues concerning the disenfranchised, working and poor..except when it comes to policing them it seems, then they have that centrist shill Nash breathing fire…what about Little showing us some fire in his belly for the citizens who have little or no voice, isn’t that what Labour exists for?…well it should.
“…for the citizens who have little or no voice,”
Ah! But the disabled DO have “voices”…advocacy groups (funded by the Government 😉 ) to speak on behalf of ALL disabled people.
Again…Labour did it too. (Though admittedly National, with the help of traitor Turia, ensured that ONLY these government funded groups get to speak out officially on disability issues.)
Trump (greatest president since Reagan): America gets back it’s borders.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/824407390674157568
This family was kicked out a motel because they “couldn’t show they’d been looking for a private rental”.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/88811571/tetraplegic-mum-her-partner-and-4yearold-live-in-a-van
Absolutely typical of how Social Welfare operates, and not one jot of a legal basis for it. Then when there’s publicity they burst into action.
How many other people are on the receiving end of treatment like this? If it’s a “rule” that not being able to show you’ve been looking for a private rental results in being chucked out of emergency motel accommodation (regardless of how fair or correct or legal that “rule” might be) then you can bet your house on it there’s a whole bunch more.
Tens of thousands.
It is silly to have people find their own housing, given that they wouldnt have been going to MSD for emergency housing if they wernt looking because they would have found a place to live.
There really needs to be some sort of matching program for rentals in place, rather than telling people to bugger off and find their own place.
And if a tetraplegic woman who cannot control her own bowel movements is left to rot in a van, then what hope do the rest of us have if we find ourselves needing stable housing?
And good on her man for sticking by her through all this. A lesser man would have slung his hook for the first bimbo that waved her legs at him.
“And good on her man for sticking by her through all this. A lesser man would have slung his hook for the first bimbo that waved her legs at her.”
There is so much wrong with what you’re saying here that even gabby old me can’t think where to start.
Don’t, please don’t comment on a person’s relationship in these terms again. Ever.
The rest of your comment is ok. 🙂
Prentice will probably ban me for a couple of weeks for that comment. He banned me for 2 months for a comment I made about that gay bar massacre last year that was more tamer than that.
So I had better float my idea of DHB’s and ACC running their own social housing for clients such as her. There is a case for it.
[lprent: The most common reason for a banning is because a commenter trying to start fires rather than debates. I can’t remember what I banned you for because I simply don’t bother remembering details. If I need to I can always look them up. However I do have mental notes on your typical behaviours gained over any years. You :-
1. Often try to enhance a debate that is proceeding reasonably well by trying to pour petrol on it.
2. Will proceed to personally abuse anyone who pulls you up on it and generally act like a idiotic libertarian.
So I have a canned response as a result. If you start acting like a pyromaniac arsehole – I douse you immediately without any hesitation. Don’t whine about it. But perhaps you should consider your own behaviour that built that reaction. ]
Prentice should do some re-programming….apologies for my snipe, it’s only manners to offer some education when someone’s inadvertently stuffed up….so here…http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachelle-friedman/10-things-you-shouldnt-say_b_4334039.html kinda basic, but you’ll get the drift.
“So I had better float my idea of DHB’s and ACC running their own social housing for clients such as her. There is a case for it.”
Oh dear…and you’re trying so hard!
Disabled people don’t want to live with other disabled people just because they are disabled. If that makes sense?
All houses should be built with accessible features. This is not hard. The traditional Kiwi single story house can very easily be built as an accessible home. Piece of piss really, and I’ve no idea why they make such a fuss about it.
Its an actual ‘thing’….http://www.superseniors.msd.govt.nz/finance-planning/choosing-where-you-live/universal-design.html
If all of the theoretical hundred thousand or so of new social houses are NOT based on Universal Design…then they really are a bunch of fwits.
I mean individuals having their own flats, but modified, etc. Having disabled people flat together isnt a really good idea, given the informaton that comes out of those care homes every so often.
“If all of the theoretical hundred thousand or so of new social houses are NOT based on Universal Design…then they really are a bunch of fwits.”
No guarantees there, across the parties. Other nations like the UK manage to make the basic universal access features like level entrances and wider doorways compulsory in new *private* housing but our backwoods clowns can’t yet manage it in all public stock.
Just watch the panic as the boomer population surge arrives at that lifestage where such things are no longer optional.
The peace dividend.
/
War with the US under Donald Trump is “not just a slogan” and becoming a “practical reality”, a senior Chinese military official has said.
The remarks were published on the People’s Liberation Army website, apparently in response to the aggressive rhetoric towards China from America’s new administration.
They communicated a view from inside the Central Military Commission, which has overall authority of China’s armed forces.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-donald-trump-war-us-military-official-practical-reality-president-latest-a7550601.html
A twitter thread about Trump with David Seymour:
Seymour doesn’t want to be “inconsistent” and he can’t condemn every silly (!) thing that has happened in the world – not that he was asked – so he does exactly nothing. If he had kept his mouth shut (on Twitter) he would have been more consistent and would be looking less like a political weakling. Show some guts, David!
David Seymour is one of the silly things that has happened in the world.
Nice but dim.
“There you are, that’s the quality of celebrity that Trump has behind him.”
Angelina Jolie’s moronic old man can’t handle being questioned over his support for Twitler….
eric and junior will be delighted
/
With the ascension of President-elect Donald Trump, Republicans see an opportunity to roll back the Endangered Species Act, which has become one of the government’s most powerful conservation tools. The GOP contends the act has been used by wildlife advocates to block economic development and to hinder drilling, logging and other activities. Over the past eight years, Republican lawmakers have sponsored dozens of measures aimed at curtailing the landmark law. Almost all were blocked by Democrats and the White House or lawsuits from environmentalists.
https://www.yahoo.com/digest/20170117/gop-makes-plans-invalidate-endangered-species-act-00837573
This guy Mike Malloy can be a very riveting commentator if one likes his style – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4emO2sOC50o
Donald Trump is afraid of stairs.
So it wasn’t necessarily an affectionate holding of hands after all.
[…]
But Government sources in Washington DC were suggesting that the hand-holding was not as a result of a deep and lasting friendship after all.
The insider said that Mr Trump is known to have an aversion to slopes or stairs, and said this could have been the reason for the president’s decision to grasp the Prime Minister’s hand.
Such a fear is a recognised condition – called bathmophobia.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/28/revealed-real-reason-donald-trump-theresa-may-held-hands-not/
Jeez, his hands look even smaller than hers!
Just in case you missed it, it seems war mongering is now official USA policy. Be afraid be very afraid.
Whatever problems there are in the U.S., one thing’s for sure:
that “certifiable lunatic” Alex Jones is NOT the answer.
This is a 2013 clip featuring Jeremy Scahill….
I suggest that People have a bit of fun with this movie here – on youtube
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/second_civil_war/
but not before they watch this
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486358/
and they might want to read this
https://www.autostraddle.com/i-was-trained-for-the-culture-wars-in-home-school-awaiting-someone-like-mike-pence-as-a-messiah-367057/
and then they might get an idea who Pence is, Ryan, Haley and all the others that want to bring “god” back to the US, and only do ‘gods work’ and be ‘godly’ and such.
i also suggest that when you have done so you have available lots of chocolate and a furry beast for cuddles. Cause…..reasons.