…how..to scare parents who no longer smoke..the current big-lie is that cannabis is now four times stronger than it used to be…when they smoked it..
..here it is..the lie..
“..A study involving the police and Environmental Science and Research released last month found that levels of THC, the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis, was more than four times stronger than in 1996 when ESR last tested it.
Police and ESR used sophisticated hydroponic equipment to complete three growing cycles, nursing six plants at a time to maturity. The study revealed the drug was more than four times as strong as in 1996…”
(ed:..as you can tell from the information…
..esr-techs grew pot in the ultimate perfect-conditions….perfect-nutrition/temps/growing-conditions..
..and surprise surprise..they got a good result…
..so what has been done..to create the big/scary-lie.. ..is to claim that result they got..is the new thc-standard of pot grown in new zealand..
..which if you think about for a nano-second…
..is a farcical comparison..
..and the fact that disproves this big lie..?
..the irrefutable facts are found in court records both here and in america..
..where busted-dope has been tested for thc-content..as part of the court process..
..so the record of these tests cannot be questioned..
..and what they show is that the/any increases in thc-levels from the 1970′s until now in busted-pot..
..are minimal…
..and certainly nowhere near this big ‘four-times-stronger’lie now being mindlessly parroted by the media/pot-prohibitionists…
Unfortunately Phil, star signs have nothing to do with it.
You comments are a pain in the ass to figure out so I just flick past them. You may have valid points and useful commentary, but I’m not going cross-eyed trying to work out the sentence structure.
Why do you do it though? I mean I could understand if you were trying to save time by not capitalising. But then you use multiple full stops in every line and over use exclamation marks for no real purpose that I can see. So you can’t be doing it to make it easier for you to write and, as numerous people have pointed out, it doesn’t make it easier to read. Why do it then?
Why don’t you just use quotes to distinguish between the words you write and the ones you quote. I mean that is what they were designed for after all.
It seems as though you wish to create your own punctuation system. This is fine if you do this in your own world. However to then attempt to use it with people who don’t and not expect to get pulled up on it it seems a little idiotic. It is kind of like going to a a place like Germany and yelling at them in English and then wondering why they find you a little strange.
i started to use it at whoar to differentiate between words i had written..
..and others i was quoting..
That’s why we use blockquote. Also, putting large amounts of white space between words fails to differentiate them enough to tell the difference between what you wrote and what you’re quoting.
..including how easy it is on the eye..
Which it isn’t.
˙ʇɐɯɹoɟ/ɹɐɯɯɐɹƃ ʇuǝɹǝɟɟıp ɐ ǝsn oɥʍ sɹǝɥʇo oʇ ǝʇɐɔıunɯɯoɔ ǝɯ dlǝɥ ʇ,uoʍ ʇı ʇnq ɹǝʇʇǝq pǝʞool ʇı ʇɥƃnoɥʇ I ɟı spɹɐʍʞɔɐq spɹoʍ ǝɥʇ ǝʇıɹʍ plnoɔ I
..i bow to the dictate that each idea/sentence deserves its’ own line/space..
We have paragraphs for a reason – they get across a point more accurately than a single sentence.
Who cares if it’s 4 times stronger anyway? THC is the part that gets them high and if they only need to smoke 1/4 of a joint now then thats good isn’t it?
And in John Key’s New Zealand the trade union movement continues to be under attack.
MUNZ is getting much better with its social media presence. They have put out a well made high quality video that presents the case for the workers simply and effectively. A link is here.
Meanwhile AFFCO has locked out 750 workers. The response in the media is somewhat muted. It seems that if a trade union takes action then this marks the commencement of the sky falling in but if an employer does so then no one is meant to worry.
AFFCO’s aim, the total casualisation of the workforce is terrifying. Not only is it a barbaric way to treat workers with families, mortgages and living expenses but once installed such a system will destroy the trade union movement. Who would dare be active in union matters, let alone a shop stewart or delegate, if the employer can then starve you of work?
Serfdom in New Zealand is just around the corner. It seems clear that Key did want to see wages drop.
Serfdom is here already the sheeple just are too stupid to realise it which the NACT rely on as they did with their media mates in the election win…..cuppa tea anybody.
Where is Bradley ambrose BTW and who paid his legal fees as he was bitching he couldn’t afford them.
So is the prime mincer wanting to develop a generation of latch-key children? Anyone else remember the clarion call of the champions of industry telling us that the new technologies were going to give us greater leisure time. (Yeah – the bosses perhaps – sod the workers – their jobs will be replaced and they can go figure …) Ah you’ve got to love him.
You have to wonder what his supporters in the various “congregations” around the country must feel about this direction and why they gave him another term.
It was unfair to suggest parents who went to work were abandoning their children, Mr Key said.
“A large proportion of New Zealand women with children do go to work, and they go to work and rely on the childcare facilities that are in place right across the country.
“What they are doing is trying to support their home.”
Mr Key said there were “plenty of jobs out there for people if they look really hard”.
And of course, it’s something Key and Bronagh never had to worry about:
Key met his wife Bronagh when they were both students at Burnside High School. They married in 1984. She also has a BCom degree, and worked as a personnel consultant before becoming a full-time mother. They have two children, Stephie and Max.[4]
Of course Key has no interest in the welfare of mothers and children: if he did he might have questioned why mothers (or both parents) have to go to work?
Key has merely continued to represent that paradigm foisted on families, the need for a dual income. Money men like Key only think in terms of depressing wages and forcing more profit form it for themselves. The corollary is that the concept of a single income family has gone west since the 70s where it was the norm. One income is no longer enough.
Hey Phil, you got a link or something to the grandfather info? Lot’s of available info around to show the Key manufactured background is balony, but ive not heard that before.
The thing is, that being able to spot lies is a handy skill to have, and being able to tell them convincingly is also helpful, but Key has neither of these, and as such being able to see through them is simple as A, B , C …
Could Key kindly tell us, of the 4000 babies born to a mother on a benefit, whether these mothers were on a benefit for the previous nine months? A fist in the face or gut whilst pregnant can be a pretty powerful incentive for becoming a single parent.
Litlle bit emotional there Red Baron. What I would like to see is the figures of a young mother whos mother is also so on the benefit.
Then I believe you will see how bad the benefit wrought is in New Zealand. The benefit is a trap it takes away people spirit ,and will to work. Some of them get very comfortable on the benefit.
It was meant to be a Hand up ,but labour have turned it into an all encompassing net with a cuddly ,and pillow as well.
Im not sure why Labour have such a fetish for keeping people on benefits can someone please tell me why? Is it a control thing ? in the hope that they will always vote Labour if they are on a Benefit?
So let me understand this James 111 you do not know what the figures of mother and daughter both being on the benefit are but you believe that they will show widespread rorting (I think this is what you mean) of the system?
Do you often have strongly held views on matters where you have no knowledge of the actual reality of the situation?
Do you know Micky. I have heard various commentators say that Intergenerational welfare dependency is a problem. I have no reason to doubt them. What I would like to see is hard data the quest for knowledge rather than ideaology. If you know where it is unconrrupted of course would like to see it.
Sure its a problem. It might affect 1% – 2% of people. And involve maybe $50M of Government benefits a year.
Let’s focus on things which are more important – let’s say the overseas banking wealth pump taking $3B pa out of our economy. A lot of jobs could be created with that money, helping people to escape from intergenerational benefit dependency.
BTW suggesting you are interested in facts is laughable.
james you raise as fair point, but again it is unblanced…how close is the nearest beneficiary to you, and what qualifies you to comment on them? – Be sure you answer this time!
Lets also see some figures for the corporate welfare thats been doled out over the past 30 years or so shall we, I am 100% certaint the difference would be staggering…note in corporate welfare I DO include the selling og public companies into private hands, shipping the profits offshore!
But James 111 you said that not only did something that you had no proof of exist, but you also said that it was all Labour’s fault and Labour has “a fetish for keeping people on benefits”.
Now you are saying that you think it is a problem because some unidentified people say it is a problem but you want to see “hard data”.
Why did you make such an outlandish comment? And why did you say the cause was Labour’s desire to keep people on benefits? All without the slightest shred of proof.
I think the real problem is not people like james who play devils advocate to get a reaction on there, the real problem is the lack of public showings of disapproval by the sheeple. The lack of understanding or engagement is a differenent story, there are enough people who are aware, that I don’t really see doing much. I will be interested to see what happens at the Anti Asset Sale March , scheduled for April 28. This will be a very telling sign of the abilty for those who have given themselves “leader status”, to organise anything worthy by way of protest!
Until people get off their arse, blathering all over the internet, is not going to make any difference what so ever!
‘Im not sure why Labour have such a fetish for keeping people on benefits can someone please tell me why’ you obviously don’t want to be told anything you don’t want to hear 111
fetish? keeping people in benefits?
you seem to be fine with your variation on things
but have a nice day anyway
having figures that show someones parents were on a benefit as well only proves one thing – that their parents were on a benefit.
yes inter-generational welfare dependency isnt a good thing – but just going “see, their parents were on a benefit too” does nothing to address why they are on a benefit now or then.
you cant look at unemployment without also looking at the job market and policy settings at the same time.
also – drop this “labour wants to keep people on benefits so they vote labour” BS. All you achieve with that is to make yourself look foolish.
“The benefit is a trap it takes away people spirit ,and will to work.”
Dunno about that one James, but I do know when my parents split (domestic violence) my mother left home, and was employed full-time, split shifts. I was pregnant at 15 – maybe my parents working long hours had something to do with it… I was on a benefit for awhile, and my children have strong work ethics. Go figure.
Could Key kindly tell us, of the 4000 babies born to a mother on a benefit, whether these mothers were on a benefit for the previous nine months? A fist in the face or gut whilst pregnant can be a pretty powerful incentive for becoming a single parent.
Seconded and thirded! That’s very much the issue. (Earlier I mentioned on another thread, another way women could give birth while “on the benefit” – if they were in an unmarried relationship (so not eligible for widow’s benefit) and the man has died! As far as I know, at least 2 Pike River women are in this position…
Yesterdays column on the latest bit of beneficiariy bashing left me remembering some of the shibboleths of the Thatcher years (and the Douglas years), that are now accepted and not questioned.
Bennett saying how beneficiaries would be treated as individuals sounds great until you realise they are already, the shibboleth of individual responsibility is foisted on them at the same time as there is empirical evidence that there are no jobs. It reminded me of Thatcher there is no society, only individuals, who promptly after saying that released psych wards into community care.
There are a lot of weasel words out there masquerading as nice soft cuddly concepts…when stated by this pack of NACT grifters suspect your pocket will suffer, your community or whats left of it will be diminshed more. Follow the money, its going their way.
Bennett needs to look at policy that will achieve real outcomes like creating jobs and providing proper incentives for training that actually meets market requirements. National’s beneficiary bashing will achieve nothing.
Technically speaking that only works when the central banks are printing money because energy prices are projected to be cheaper for the next 30 years, started about the mid-70s. some lass called Thatcher got a free loader ride from being in the right place at the right time.
Hey Jimmy Dipstick, what part of the statement “there are no jobs” fails to register in the vacuous troll like and very dark hole that is where your brain should be?
Welfare wrecks a persons spirit to work… could you link to where the study shows that? The research you’ve linked to james 111 is not all that credible. Firstly it sets out to answer a question but limits the scope of information to find a predetermined answer. Here is the guts of what they say, which is repeated throughout the document:
Analyses of the links between ethnicity and welfare dependence, accounting for possible intervening pathways by which Mäori may be placed at greater risk of welfare benefit receipt, showed that the statistically significant associations between ethnicity and each class of welfare benefit were mediated by a series of factors related to: family instability and dysfunction; behaviour disorders and substance use disorders; and life circumstances related to early parenthood and educational outcomes.
[…]
For example, the links between ethnicity and unemployment benefit receipt were mediated via alcohol abuse/dependence during the ages of 15–21, and conduct problems during ages 14–16. This is in general agreement with findings that suggest that personal adjustment and behaviour problems in adolescence are a risk factor for adult unemployment (Brook and Newcomb, 1995), in that longterm disruptive behaviour compromises the individual’s ability to participate effectively in the workforce.
The studies authors completely ignore the fact that New Zealand has a long history of entrenched racism, which essentially leads to Maori being repressed. This is a major factor in Maori being overrepresented in social welfare dependency. It could be that racism leading to less Maori being employed is the main factor, and without study into that area the research is largely defunct.
Personal responsibility is all well and good, but the sad fact of the matter is that many areas of New Zealand have less work opportunities available. These also happen to be areas mainly inhabited by Maori. The authors of the study cannot hope to answer the question without taking these factors into account.
It should be noted that the findings reported are based on a particular birth cohort born in a specific place and at a particular time. The extent to which these findings can be generalised to other cohorts of New Zealanders is therefore open to debate and awaits further research. In addition, the research reported here is subject to the usual limitations of reporting and other errors in data provided by survey methods. Also, it should be noted that the assessment of ethnicity in the CHDS cohort differs from the measurement of ethnicity in administrative data sources such as that of Statistics New Zealand, which may raise issues in terms of the interpretation of the present finding.
I’ve never seen such a thorough excuse being made in a research paper.
A couple of Stats that were around in 2000 to 2004 that are very interesting
The Statistical Report released by the Ministry of Social Development shows welfare expenditure rose from $7.9 billion in 2000 to $8.5 billion to the year end June 2004.Or a $1million dollars an hour.
The number of people receiving a benefit for more than four years has increased from 95,664 in 2000 to 108,604 in 2004
It would appear that Labour had no idea how to get people off long term welfare dependency or no wish to do so even though economic conditions were much more positive in 2004. Why do you think this was?
I guess when you look at that pragmatically when a government come in and try to make change because the country simply cant go on like this. Then all the trendy lefties will come out squealing even though they had no idea how to fix it
Those numbers reflect how unsurvivable benefit levels and criteria were at the start of the 4th Labour govt. Not that you give a shit.
The number of people receiving a benefit for more than four years has increased from 95,664 in 2000 to 108,604 in 2004
A 15% increase over 4 years – roughly half of that can be attributed to normal population increase, an aging population, and the long term societal damage from Ruthansia surfacing.
The public service does a lot of good for the country mate. Some of this country’s top experience and top talent work for the interests of NZ in the public sector. And thanks to the NATs running it down (as they are again now) it had to be strengthened, since the private sector is incapable (or unwilling) to do some of the things this country needs.
If there is one criticism of the 5th Labour Govt it is the way they let private debt build up in uncontrolled ways, fuelling a housing price bubble.
I didn’t ask if the Public Service did good for NZ (as that’s a matter of opinion and we all have one of those – although not necessarily the same).
I asked for the corresponding increase in civil servants during the same time that Labour were in power?
Care to answer?
As an aside – how many of those roles that were created in that time were of the ilk that you describe (top experience and top talent) and how many were functionaries?
The question is really would you rather have people in jobs paying tax, and being able to spend money into the economy, or would you rather have people out of jobs, or being sacked, not being picked up by a shrinking private sector, going overseas, taking money from the economy, taking future generations with them, potentially collecting benefits if they hang around, not to mention the social costs that stem from higher unemployment…there are ripple effects right!
Its kind of s zero sum debate though. Perhaps you will get an answer, additional to the one I gave you already, which I should not have confused by using the word question!
Have you tried google? It’s your question after all. I can give you the answer to the quality vs functionary one though. It’s 100% quality, as far as i can tell. It’s this current Government that has overloaded the public service with overpaid consultants while reducing frontline services.
The point about the answer to your question that you will refuse to accept is that it doesn’t fucken matter. Having a strong public service is essential to the well-being of NZ (and every other country) and that’s a fact that you can’t, and won’t, accept.
The whole point of you asking is so that you can find someway to attack the increase in government service and no other reason.
By you, a functionary is what? As my son, a cardiothoracic staff nurse at Welly Hospital, points out – when ‘functionary’ ward clerks are rationalised away, nursing staff have to do their jobs, on top of their clinical tasks! Instead of caring for patients, my son and his colleagues have spent hours trying to send faxes, make appointments and doing things the ‘functionaries’ used to do until the Nats got rid of them
“my son and his colleagues have spent hours trying to send faxes, make appointments and doing things the ‘functionaries’ used to do”
Ha. Awesome…not. Wait and see the non-attendance rates at out-patient clinics shoot-up. That’ll leave some very expensive medical staff idle. A good use of public health money, that one!
One of the important tasks of the low-cost booking clerks is to provide appointment reminders. There is lots of good research showing massive improvements in attendance rates when patient are phoned 1-3 days before the appointment date. It takes hours to do this – not the right job for medical staff.
Remind me what the unemployment figures were in 2007, someone. Lowest in NZ history or something wasn’t it? Yes, that’s right – I recall rubbing James111’s face in it not a few days ago.
James111 hasn’t seen the graph which clearly shows the budget deficit timeline, which has a clear and direct correlation to the reduce tax take following Jokey Hen’s freebies to the uber rich.
A CGT will only put us back to some form of tax fairness, many countries fell over with a CGT.
The problem is people, people like to consume, or believe supporting the right they will aspire to the consumer lifestyle. Unfortuately they should have been born 50 years earlier, or a lot smart now.
I blame the unions as much as the boardrooms, neither put any thought into risks. Meat workers should have a back of the van butcher co-op on the side to pick up the lost business of their meat worker factory. Its a shame that in a country with a dairy co-op that other sectors are incapable of working out their own co-ops.
As for farmers, wtf, they are supporting fracking under their farms where they pump water up from!!! You have to wonder what the farmers are smoking.
Ripped the babies out of the arms of young mothers and forced them to work on the gut floor or starve – more abortions likely, then off to Mass with Mary. J still grumpy, all whites on tonight, should be good.
National have announced that many Housing New Zealand personnel are going to be replaced by an answer machine. There’s one main reason for this, and that’s to lessen the amount of people applying for state houses. National are making the application process even harder, so that people are deterred and have to rent in the private sector.
ha ha ha ha the brainlessness of the current government continues…
Not only can they not explain how having foreign landlords is of benefit to New Zealand…
Not only do they have to put ACC costs up to make it more efficient…
They also claim that having call centres provides better service ….. so, who thinks call centres provide better service? Not me. Just phoned IRD to be told that the wait is 1 hour and 15 minutes. ha ha ha ha how pathetic
I submitted the following question (in my real name). I asked “Paula you said recently that things are much different now compared to how they were when you received the benefit. Can you detail what difference in
“Bryan Gould: Austerity proven as wrong answer to recession”
What is interesting about Bryan’s column is that it shows that the Government’s Austerity plan was faulty and goes further with advice on how a recession should be handled.
Interesting too that Bryan is a consultant to the Labour Party Review.
Sounds great: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10788648
If I hear more about USA politics and Rick Santorem and Mick Romney I’ll throw up. There is more attention being paid on Radio New Zealand to the political machinations of that far away country than to any other important country.
And USA politics are so farcical. The wealthy have found out how to make money out of the process and turned it into a sham that doesn’t serve democracy but only ..you know who. As a smug NACT type said the other day as if it was holy writ It’s the Golden Rule – He who has the gold makes the rules.
There was mention yesterday of a study of attitudes of wealthy compared to ordinary people’s attitudes to morality where they found that the wealthy were more likely to cheat etc.
Part of the summary is that the wealthy see pursuit of self-interest and greed as a positive moral approach to life. Hence the more for me and lower taxes plaint being heard all around.
And I feel that many poor people change to the same attitude if they have the opportunity to advance their income extremely. Perhaps an increasing rise in wealth has an affect on humans similar to climate changes on locusts except in reverse. Locusts change from solitary creatures to massing in huge swarms, humans become all individualistic and ‘I’m a self-made man or woman, worked hard, ran a successful business or whatever (maybe got rich from inheritance or property speculation – doesn’t matter it’s the money that counts).
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I did an interview on the TVNZ Breakfast Show about the situation in Hong Kong. I tried to frame the issue as a collective action problem between two sides with very different end games. The video is here. Because of time constraints we could not discuss the fact that the ...
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ...
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ...
AN OPEN LETTER FOR SIGN ON BY ORGANISATIONS AND MOVEMENTS ACROSS THE WORLD, ALLIED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST INEQUALITY. This letter was released at the UN Political Forum on 9 July, where the Sustainable Development Goal on inequality was reviewed. The purpose of the letter is to call out the ...
We asked a young gay science student and critic of trans ideology and the trans activists’ assault on women’s and gay rights to outline his views on Redline. Thanks to him for his article. by Cian Ó Catháin Gender identity ideology (Gender ID) is ripping through western society at full ...
The Environment Committee is currently hearing submissions on the Zero Carbon Bill, and Stuff is reporting on the submissions. Today, they're covering yesterday they heard from "NZ" Steel:NZ Steel has told MPs it may be forced to close with the loss of thousands of jobs if changes aren't made to ...
Students are striking against climate change on September 27. And this time, they're asking everyone to join them:Students are taking to the streets, beaches and parks on 27 September, and we're inviting everyone to join us. That's right, this is an intergenerational issue, and you're all invited to put pressure ...
Peter McKenzie has a piece on Newsroom this morning about how local body politics is awash with property developer cash. 70% of all the donations in the 2016 Wellington mayoral election came from property developers. And its pretty obvious what they want in exchange:That’s particularly important in local government, according ...
Source: Unknown, twitter user Recently, I wrote a (relatively) short paper titled as above, to explore what self-determination could like in a practical sense. Maybe I’m a bit of an international trade truther or something, but I absolutely believe trade is at the heart of achieving peace and self-determination. Since ...
In the 1960s, after I had graduated with a first-class Oxford postgraduate law degree, I joined the British Foreign Office as the top entrant of my year. There, I worked for a couple of years on European affairs and was eventually posted to the Embassy in Brussels. After this exposure ...
Alone, Alone. All, All Alone: Will it be a good or a bad thing, when humanity’s bright blue spacecraft is stricken by the civilisation-destroying problem of Climate Change, that no Huston Control will be standing-by to rescue the crew?“WE HAVE A PROBLEM, HUSTON.” These were the words used by the ...
I heard a 45 minute interview with Monica Lewinsky talking to TED’s Chris Anderson on BBC Radio 4 over the weekend, and have listened to it another two times out walking. I recommend it. Highly. Man, I am so impressed with how this woman has integrated her life experiences and ...
Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, The Coddling of the American Mind: how good intentions and bad ideas are setting up a generation for failure, London, Penguin, 2019, 352pp; reviewed by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff’s book The Coddling of the American Mind is a timely book, whose ...
When the Justice Committee reported back on the Administration of Justice (Reform of Contempt of Court) Bill, free speech advocates breathed a sigh of relief. As originally introduced, the Bill reitered the ancient offence of "scandalising the court" - basicly, a special sedition law protecting judges from criticism. The select ...
Eighteen months ago, the government promised to strengthen the Bill of Rights Act, by explicitly affirming the power of the courts to issue declarations of inconsistency and requiring Parliament to formally respond to them. Since then - crickets. Which raises the obvious question: are they actually going to do this, ...
Back in March, the Ministry of Justice conducted a public consultation exercise on whether to hold a review of the Official Information Act. 285 people submitted on it. Now, Stuff has trawled through those submissions, and the case for reform is strong:The Justice Ministry asked Kiwis what they thought was ...
National's prisoner voting ban has gone down as one of the worst laws in New Zealand history. Passed after a farcical debate (including this farcial speech from ACT MP Hilary Calvert), it has subsequently been found to be inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act by the High Court, Court ...
Divided Loyalties: Can the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, be relied upon? That’s what the boys and girls at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon needed to be reassured about. Because, from the perspective of Washington, it’s looking more and more like Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Party comrades are getting ready ...
This handy Queer Theory Glossary is from thetranswidow.com In case you’ve had trouble keeping up with the spate of new queer theory terms, here’s a handy glossary for your reference. Queer – A straight person with an interesting haircut. Non-binary/genderqueer – A chubby young female, typically 16-28, who has ...
by Daphna Whitmore US social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt spoke on 1 August in Auckland to a crowd of around one thousand people. He is best known for his bookThe Coddling of the American Mind which examines the new climate of trigger warnings and acute sensitivity of Gen Z. ...
What an extraordinarily depressing experience it is to be compelled to watch, at 12,000 miles distance, the contortions and machinations of the British political class as they set about their determined attempt to overturn the decision taken by the British people that they wish to leave the European Union. The ...
The winter grazing issue is becoming a highly sensitised one that I hope will not become so politicised that it delays solutions and results in the suicides of some very stressed farmers.Winter grazing has hit the headlines after a determined campaign, including the release of a video of some very ...
by Don Franks Way back when British guitar virtuoso Joe Brown was a beginning session guy he got to back a visiting American artist. Young Joe was an able technician but had yet to learn some points of professionalism. Part way through “Five foot high and rising” Joe tired of ...
Since scientists started studying climate change, they have warned that it will reduce food production. And now, its happening:The climate crisis is damaging the ability of the land to sustain humanity, with cascading risks becoming increasingly severe as global temperatures rise, according to a landmark UN report compiled by some ...
The Abortion Legislation Bill just passed its first reading, 94-23. Its a far bigger margin than I expected, even allowing for the Winston factor, and it reflects the overwhelming support there is in this country for reform. but that support isn't a new thing - it has existed for literally ...
The Justice Committee has called for submissions on the Referendums Framework Bill. The Bill does what it says on the label - establishes a framework for referenda. Things you may want to address in your submission: Whether the bill should apply only at the 2020 election, or whether it should ...
The Thompson and Clark / MBIE spying scandal continues to result in fallout, this time in the form of a report on the implementation of MBIE's "Operation Exploration", its internal operation to enforce the infamous Anadarko Amendment which criminalised protests against the oil industry. MBIE's enforcement operation was tainted by ...
So, Winston Peters is defending his last-minute demand for a referendum on abortion by claiming he was "blindsided" by the bill. Really? The bill is a government bill. It has been working through the cabinet approval process since December last year. As part of that process, NZ First was consulted, ...
Opportunities to dodge tax are shrinking with the completion of a new tax agreement with Switzerland, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Mr Nash and the Swiss Ambassador David Vogelsanger have today signed documents to update the double tax agreement (DTA). The previous DTA was signed in 1980. “Double tax ...
West Papua solidarity activists met yesterday and resolved to call on the Prime Minister to step up to help resolve the escalating crisis in West Papua. ...
Landmark Report Released into Maori Aging and Disabilities “Manaaki Pakeke” – New Zealand Maori Council calls for a policy shift and greater focus The New Zealand Maori Council has released a comprehensive policy statement challenging the ...
MANATŪ TAONGA MINISTRY FOR CULTURE AND HERITAGE MEDIA RELEASE 25 August 2019 Privacy breach identified with the Tuia 250 Voyage Trainee website Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage is investigating a serious digital privacy breach involving ...
‘Original Sin’ of Land Confiscation at Ihumātao is a wrong that can be put right by Government says Justice & Peace Commission of Catholic Diocese of Auckland ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a press conference on August 19 that her government is likely to impose new restrictions on prisoners’ rights to send letters. She said the law could be changed in “weeks.” ...
Heart-warming images of House Speaker Trevor Mallard cradling a baby in Parliament have been welcomed around New Zealand, but the Public Service Association warns most families can only dream of such support in the workplace. ...
Applying New Zealand’s international human rights commitments, particularly those in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, can help in resolving the situation at Ihumātao, Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt says. ...
Climate campaigners impersonating bank staff have taken to the streets this week to expose ANZ Bank’s sponsorship of the fossil fuel industry. In the series of satirical actions in Wellington, Dunedin, and Auckland, the ‘bank staff’ promoted ...
Auckland Action Against Poverty joins the Children’s Commissioner , The Green Party , The New Zealand Drugs Foundation , Child Poverty Action Group and other organisations in the calls for an immediate end to the drug testing benefit sanctions. ...
Negotiations between Port Otago workers represented by the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) and the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) and management failed today and the unions have issued notice of an overtime ban from Saturday 7th September. ...
Queenstown Lakes District Council’s comments that it has applied for a consent to pollute waterways to avoid 'prosecutions by the Otago Regional Council' are unacceptable,’ Fish & Game New Zealand Chief Executive Martin Taylor says. ...
On March 15, the real world impact of online hate became abundantly, horrifically clear. As a shooter opened fire at two Christchurch mosques, the online image board 8chan anticipated, celebrated and amplified his killing spree. ...
Friday, 23 August: Government delegates from around the world, including New Zealand, are meeting in New York for the third of four meetings at the United Nations to agree a Global Oceans Treaty that could help to protect 30% of our oceans by 2030. Greenpeace ...
The excuses about a reportedly unwanted $57,000 payrise for Dunedin City Council CEO Sue Bidrose are laughable, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. ...
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance has launched the “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” committing to no more than 2% annual rate hikes over the next Council term, and has written to all Mayoral and Council candidates asking them to sign. The pledge will ...
This Saturday, Pakuranga Hunt Day at the Ellerslie Racecourse will see anti-horse racing protesters demonstrating at the corner of Ascot Avenue and Greenlane East. ...
Mayoral candidate John Tamihere will meet with Pacific Island leaders and community elders today at Puhunui Reserve in South Auckland to commit to a Pasefika Cultural Centre. ...
Cruel and invalid Forced Swim Tests carried out at Victoria University of Wellington, will be exposed at the University Open Day today, so prospective students can be warned about the flawed and unethical research being conducted at the institute. ...
The organiser of the annual YWCA Equal Pay Awards has expressed her disappointment with the latest Gender Pay Gap figure for New Zealand workers. The figure rose slightly from 9.2% in 2018 to 9.3% for the quarter ended 30 June 2019. ...
The Council of Licenced Firearm Owners (COLFO) is urging firearms owners to pass on information to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Attack on Christchurch Mosques now that the period for submissions has been extended to 27 September. ...
An application was filed in the Employment Relations Authority in Wellington today, seeking an injunction to prevent the Board of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation from removing the President from office. ...
The Government’s commitment to support literacy and numeracy training in the workplace is a strong signal from Government on recognising the importance of upskilling, reskilling and increasing productivity alongside their commitment to address the challenges ...
“The infrastructure sector sees a major role for the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission/Te Waihanga in lifting the nation’s sagging infrastructure performance,” says Paul Blair, incoming CEO of Infrastructure NZ. ...
The AA is calling on the Government to bring forward critical highway projects while time is spent properly developing the plans for a rapid transit system in Auckland. ...
Between 2015/16 and 2017/18, DHBs spent $280 million treating patients due to adverse drug reactions, reveals the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union in its latest briefing paper on health productivity . ...
The Pay Equity Coalition Auckland (PECA) is pleased the gender pay gap has decreased slightly. Statistics released today show the gap is now 11.9%, nearly 2 percent less than last year. ...
The Council of Licenced Firearm Owners (COLFO) is urging firearms owners to make sure they pass on any information they have to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Attack on Christchurch Mosques before submissions close tomorrow (Friday). ...
The big electricity companies consider solar energy “disruptive” and want pricing to suppress it. In contrast, advocates of local energy say that solar, energy efficiency, and other local energy solutions are the cheapest ways to reduce carbon emissions. ...
The Earthquake Commission and Shine Lawyers are delighted to announce that EQC has reached an agreement with the Gibling family, agreeing to cover the cost of repairs of remaining earthquake damage on their property. ...
Four months into the inquiry, the Royal Commission is gathering significant information and continues to receive valuable submissions from the public, from current and former State servants, experts and community groups. ...
While Fish & Game New Zealand is pleased to see Federated Farmers Environment Spokesperson Chris Allen say that 'we all want good, fresh water', he conveniently overlooks some key facts. ...
What: Wellington demo “Save the Amazon Forest/Salve a Amazônia!” When: Friday, 6 September 2019 from 12:30-13:30 Where: Embassy of Brazil in Wellingtona ...
Rt Hon Trevor Mallard, Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, welcomes the visit of His Excellency Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, President of the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal. ...
A cross political Mental Health and Addictions Wellbeing group will be launched on Wednesday 28 August hosted by Sir John Kirwan and Moe Milne (ONZM) who have both been at the forefront of our country’s often difficult conversations about mental ...
Confirmation that the government will be progressing an independent Parliamentary Budget Office is great news for democracy and transparency, Federated Farmers says. ...
At first glance, Simon Bridges’ strident opposition to the government’s proposal to establish an independent office to cost political parties’ election spending plans looks childish and petty. ...
Euthanasia-Free NZ is appalled that Parliament spent so little time debating Part 2 of the End of Life Choice Bill and voted to leave it full of holes. ...
Jordan Williams, a spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance and its nationwide sister group the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is slamming Auckland Mayor Phil Goff for his comments today that John Tamihere would need the Government’s support to ...
A ‘one size fits all’, inflexible and punitive regulatory regime for water quality just gets backs - and costs - up and most importantly will not work, Federated Farmers says. ...
Mediation yesterday between secondary principals and the government has resulted in a deal that the principals' negotiating team is recommending to its members. ...
Clubs New Zealand welcomes the decision of Justice Minister Andrew Little to put forward a bill amending the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act to allow all licensed premises to remain open for Rugby World Cup matches. ...
The Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation has ordered a review looking at labelling of added sugars in food and drinks. An option under investigation is ‘a pictorial approach applied to sugary beverages / sugar-sweetened beverages’ ...
Labour market data released by Statistics New Zealand today indicates that a gender pay gap persists in New Zealand, despite improvement in some areas. ...
In the midst of the 6th Great Extinction Event the coalition, STOP Trashing Our Planet is urging voters to take full responsibility for the legacy we are leaving our children. ...
ANALYSIS:By David Robie Indonesia’s harsh policies towards West Papua ought to be scrapped. Whatever happened to the brief window of enlightenment ushered in by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in 2015 with promises of a more “open door” policy towards foreign journalists and human rights groups? They were supposed ...
The House - The grammar of being an MP is harder than you might think. MPs in Parliament choose their words with care, and it just got more complicated. ...
As a format it predates almost all reality TV, and that’s precisely why it works in 2019, writes Duncan Greive.There’s something deeply comforting about watching Celebrity Treasure Island. It is a very pure form of escapism, largely because it explicitly recalls a world without the internet, and before everything started ...
Residents in Los Angeles and Orange County warned to check for symptoms after an infected NZ teen visited theme parks including Disneyland and Universal Studios earlier this month.Californian health authorities have issued warnings to residents and visitors after a New Zealand teenager was found to have spent five days in ...
When you crave fresh, bright flavours but summer veges seem far away, throw together this simple salad.Growing up we often ate this salad, or one very similar to it. My mum is a fantastic cook and this dish is one she still makes to this day – though I must ...
Analysis of New Zealand media headlines reveals a lot of people slamming a lot of other people.Slamming is at epidemic levels in New Zealand news. Drawn from just the last month, we present a selection of slamming.On July 27A union boss slammed David ClarkOn July 29Police slammed a dangerous photographerOn ...
Vana Manasiadis wrote a collection of poetry in the wake of her mother’s death. In this essay, ahead of her appearance at the Going West festival, she argues that as a nation Aotearoa needs to learn to make space for mourning. When Mum died in Athens, I cried loudly and publicly ...
The giant hand that captivated, delighted and disgusted the nation is now settling into its new Wellington home. For City Gallery Wellington’s blog, Spinoff arts editor Megan Dunn talked to Ronnie van Hout, the man who made Quasi.“Quasi is in the wrong place,” wrote art critic Warren Feeney in 2016, ...
At school camp, the children are banned from having phones, laptops, lollies, chocolate, money, cotton clothing or independent thoughts. They, are, however, allowed home baking – but it’s gotta be hearty. How hearty are you? We are packing for a school camp. If you’re thinking that the middle of winter is ...
Phil Goff’s rival has already pledged an 0800-Jacinda homeless hotline and an 18-lane harbour bridge. What’s next? The two most important people in the 2019 campaign for the Auckland mayoralty faced each other down on Wednesday night across the desk in the NZME debate: Bernard Orsman and Simon Wilson. Correction: it ...
Split Level View Finder: Theo Schoon and New Zealand Art is the exhibition that sparked a protest over issues of cultural appropriation and institutional representation. Theo Schoon is a divisive historical figure. But is his art any good? Martin Patrick reviews.British novelist L.P. Hartley once wrote that “the past is ...
Ahead of debuting her solo show at New Zealand Fashion Week, Korean-NZ couture designer Cecilia Kang talks about growing up ‘feminine’, being influenced by the LGBTQ+ community, and why an ‘administrative error’ at Fashion Week left her so shaken up. ‘I like something big,” says Cecilia Kang, gesturing to the giant ...
The Labour Party is distancing itself from one of its members who is strongly pro-Beijing and has caused controversy in the Chinese community by standing for local office in Auckland. ...
Faced with staff shortages, equipment failures, cancer risks, and a jump in critical calls that can leave them traumatised, some firefighters are wondering if it’s time to hang up the hose. Gareth Shute reports on the dissatisfaction inside Fire and Emergency New Zealand.The state of our nation’s fire service is ...
“She comes over. You’re my mother, she says. Yes, I say. I don’t know you, she says”: a mother and child seaside story by Wellington author Jan Pryor. Photo by Peter Black. ...
On Monday the government announced its new five-year strategy to reduce the Māori prison population. Emilie Rākete looks at another ‘kaupapa Māori’ prison initiative that degrades prisoners and asks if Corrections are capable of seeing it through.On August 19th, the Department of Corrections announced Hōkai Rangi, its new strategy intended ...
By Michael Andrew The Indonesian media is contributing to resentment and racism toward Papuans, according to a human rights researcher and former journalist. Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch Jakarta told Pacific Media Watch many Indonesian journalists either view Papuans as enemy “separatists” or deviants and their reporting tends to convey these ...
Analysis - The prime minister puts a stake in the ground over petrol prices, National balks at having its election promises costed and the government puts millions into helping the homeless. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danilo Ignacio de Urzedo, PhD candidate, University of Sydney Record fires are raging in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, with more than 2,500 fires currently burning. They are collectively emitting huge amounts of carbon, with smoke plumes visible thousands of kilometres away. Fires in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sean Docking, Post-doctoral researcher, La Trobe University Basketball fans around the world were recently sickened by the footage of NBA star Kevin Durant’s Achilles tendon rupturing during a game. But while many think it’s only elite athletes who suffer from Achilles tendon ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University The possibility of blackouts affecting half of Victoria has attracted plenty of attention to a document once read only by industry insiders and policy wonks: the Electricity Statement of Opportunities. The Statement, updated ...
George Clooney sold his tequila company for a billion dollars – but is the stuff any good? The Spinoff finds out. Imagine being so stupidly sexy you sneeze and sell a billion-dollar booze company. That’s what George Clooney did last year, flicking off the tequila business he started accidentally with an ...
The departure of "two Pākehā men" from the government's justice reform group will not hurt the quality of its final report, another member of the team says. ...
Combatting internet-related harm is being stymied by inter-industry disagreement and a lack of information about the extent and nature of the problem, a new report says. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, J.W. Nevile Fellow in Economics and host of The Airport Economist, UNSW Amid the tributes to former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer and the stories of his authenticity, courage and quirky interests – like trains and military history – what ...
Current leader of the National Party, Simon Bridges.Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Is Simon Bridges really trying to channel Donald Trump? Or is he taking his cue from Scott Morrison? Or is he looking to emulate Boris Johnson? Whatever the inspiration, there’s been a clear change in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra [embedded content]Michelle Grattan talks about the sad news of the passing of former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer with University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Professor Deep Saini. They also discuss Scott Morrison’s recent announcement about joining ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabriel Crowley, Adjunct Principal Research Fellow, James Cook University In February, about 600,000 cattle were killed by catastrophic flooding across north Queensland’s Carpentaria Gulf plains. The flood waters rose suddenly, forming a wall of water up to 70km wide. Record depths were ...
Simon Day dined alone at Monique Fiso’s Wellington restaurant Hiakai, and discovered it was the perfect way to appreciate the meaning of this special food. “Would you like a few more minutes with your phone?” the waitress at Hiakai asked sympathetically as I mashed a final goodbye text to my wife ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Willamson, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Monash University Australia’s gender pay gap is diminishing, says a new report, but some contributors to it seem harder to overcome than others. For me, the finding hit close to home. The report, by KPMG for ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Te Tiriti o Waitangi: The Treaty of Waitangi by Toby Morris with Ross Calman, Mark Derby, and ...
Honey producer Comvita has confirmed a full year net loss of $27.7m with China market access restrictions and tougher regulations locally affecting the company's sales. ...
James Elliott realises John Tamihere's uncosted bridge proposal wasn't actually a metaphor, but a fine example of 'folks is mighty generous with money what they ain’t got'. ...
A new poem by Oamaru-born poet Nick Ascroft.SupermanHalfway up the ascent zigzagging from Royal Terrace to upper Stuart Street carrying four too-heavy grocery bags I begin to understand that I will not make it. My huffing personage – from the fingers, white with the strain, to a face the colour of rhubarb – will ooze into the pavement and roll slowly ...
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s.Sound the alarm, because it’s time for another absolute chaos pod. We’re talking haunted dolls in Waipu, we’re talking giant hands taking over Wellington, we’re talking soft serve cones dipped in powdered Milo. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Press, Adjunct Professor, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania This week, the ABC revealed that the Australian Defence Force wants to roll out military technology in Antarctica. The article raises the issue of what is, or is not, ...
New Zealand teacher aides say their pay reflects an outdated idea of what they do. Elizabeth McLeod hears from four TAs, and one parent, about the classroom realities they face every dayCleaning up poo, defusing violent situations, copping physical and verbal abuse: these are the realities of a teacher aide’s ...
The lanky sidekick from Jono and Ben journeys around New Zealand trying to solve small town problems. Does he succeed?Guy Williams, hardly a shy, retiring type, has been screaming out for his own vehicle for years. A loud, lanky, fearless comic, he’s spent nearly a decade in MediaWorks purgatory, sat ...
Ballot Box.Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – The nature of New Zealand general election campaigns could be significantly changed with the proposed establishment of an “umpire” to adjudicate over political party manifesto policies. A suggestion has been put forward by the Government for the establishment of a parliamentary watchdog ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Ihumātao Delphine Herbert and Dan Satherley (Newshub): Tainui to buy Ihumātao land – sources Danielle ...
Open mike 29/02/2012 
My wife and I have had dogs for the whole of our 52 years of married life – and that has meant sharing our lives with our little furry friends. Because we usually spend a good part of our evenings watching television, it also means that our dogs have learned ...12 hours ago
. . Former Police, Corrections, and Justice Minister in the previous John Key government, Judith Collins, has been ridiculed on social media after posting a comment on Twitter that was patently untrue; . Wrong!! National did not remove Prisoners’ ability to vote. Parliament voted through a Private Member’s Bill ...2 days ago
Speaker Trevor Mallard was left to look after Jones, while his usual caretaker, Winston Peters, underwent surgery. A truly adorable scene from Parliament yesterday has gone viral, after Speaker Trevor Mallard cradled an extremely drunk Shane Jones in his arms while the House was in session. Loud “awwww”s could be ...2 days ago
Western media have defended their decision not to cover the fires so as not to give them any oxygen. Social media outrage continues to grow around the sentiment that mainstream western media is devoting too little coverage to an ongoing series of fires in the Amazon rainforest, and in doing ...2 days ago
A Long Time Ago, In A Parallel Universe Far, Far Away: The political journalist scratched his head in confusion. Only then did he notice the name of the building: ‘The Jacinda Ardern Presidential Library and Public Resource Centre’. Making his way inside to the information desk, he asked the librarian ...2 days ago
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Nothing from me tody - I'm off to Christchurch to pretend to be other people for a weekend. Normal bloggage should resume on Tuesday. ...2 days ago
Spark is bracing for a customer backlash as rugby fans all across the country struggle to get a picture on their wireless router. With the Rugby World Cup fast approaching, an elderly Taranaki couple are furious after being told that they still won’t be able to watch the tournament, even ...3 days ago
Several explosions have been reported across Auckland, as well-meaning environmentalists have already begun purchasing too much petrol Starting from next week, customers will no longer need a car to purchase petrol directly from the pump, a development that two major fuel providers are billing as an opportunity to help fight ...3 days ago
A new study claims to find that a mother’s exposure to fluoridated water during pregnancy may decrease the IQ of male children – but is it correct? (Photo: Getty Images) Anti-fluoride campaigners are promoting ... 3 days ago
by Jan Rivers More than 30 years ago a Commission of Inquiry was held in New Zealand to investigate, amongst other things, whether women with cervical cancer were aware that they had been part of a research project and whether they were properly informed of the treatment options ...5 days ago
Everyone Wants To Be Fuhrer: When fascist groups are discussed, the image conjured-up in the minds of most New Zealanders is one of pathetic misfits. This negative impression is reinforced by the latter’s idiotic embrace of the swastika. Even in the second decade of the twenty-first century, the baleful legacy ...5 days ago
In the previous two posts, I laid out the context and set the theoretical framework to answer a question: whether indigenous economies should take the LEAP. This final part outlines ways to conceive of practicing mana motuhake within the existing legal system by carving out special jurisdictions that enable Indigenous ...1 week ago
Fully Informed? Labour’s 2017 promises raised expectations that were little short of revolutionary. Unfortunately, they were never adequately shaken through the fiscal sieve. The hard economic work was not done – and it shows. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s critics have long complained that her grasp of the way the New ...1 week ago
You cannot expect to pound communities into the ground day after day, year after year, decade after decade and just expect them to take it lying down. There’s a point at which the place will explode. And we’re faced with some very big ructions on both sides of the Atlantic ...1 week ago
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Going Down? Once truth and propaganda become fused in the minds of one’s followers, debate and discussion become redundant. If one’s opponents are all outrageous liars, then engaging with them in any way is pointless. Rather than waste its time, a political party should, instead, target all its messages at ...1 week ago
We need to fundamentally reframe our systems settings to address the drivers causing and underpinning inequality; structural change in systems especially financial. The Equality Network Hui was held in Wellington on 27 June 2019. The hui covered important topics such as child poverty; a living wage; taxation; public health; mental ...2 weeks ago
The views-per-page for some of my recent postings:Depressing, isn't it? Provide thoughtful and wise commentary on the mainstream of British politics and no-one notices. Make a passing reference to Tommy DICKHEAD Robinson in a thread title and you get hundreds of views. Write something about anti-Semitism and you get another ...2 weeks ago
The government has announced plans to move the Treaty of Waitangi and other taonga to a new site. Great news! So where are they going? Right next to the old one:The new plan will see a new 22,000-square-metre archive built on the former site of Defence House - the former ...2 weeks ago
Back in June, StatsNZ went public about a project to track population data on an hourly level by using people's cellphones. It wasn't as bad as it initially looked - they were receiving no individual data, only counts by suburb - but there was still a huge consent problem, so ...2 weeks ago
I did an interview on the TVNZ Breakfast Show about the situation in Hong Kong. I tried to frame the issue as a collective action problem between two sides with very different end games. The video is here. Because of time constraints we could not discuss the fact that the ...2 weeks ago
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ... 2 weeks ago
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http://whoar.co.nz/2012/commentwhoar-media-mindlessly-parrots-anti-marijuana-lie-and-the-fact-that-disproves-that-lie/
ed:..you know the one..
…how..to scare parents who no longer smoke..the current big-lie is that cannabis is now four times stronger than it used to be…when they smoked it..
..here it is..the lie..
“..A study involving the police and Environmental Science and Research released last month found that levels of THC, the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis, was more than four times stronger than in 1996 when ESR last tested it.
Police and ESR used sophisticated hydroponic equipment to complete three growing cycles, nursing six plants at a time to maturity. The study revealed the drug was more than four times as strong as in 1996…”
(ed:..as you can tell from the information…
..esr-techs grew pot in the ultimate perfect-conditions….perfect-nutrition/temps/growing-conditions..
..and surprise surprise..they got a good result…
..so what has been done..to create the big/scary-lie.. ..is to claim that result they got..is the new thc-standard of pot grown in new zealand..
..which if you think about for a nano-second…
..is a farcical comparison..
..and the fact that disproves this big lie..?
..the irrefutable facts are found in court records both here and in america..
..where busted-dope has been tested for thc-content..as part of the court process..
..so the record of these tests cannot be questioned..
..and what they show is that the/any increases in thc-levels from the 1970′s until now in busted-pot..
..are minimal…
..and certainly nowhere near this big ‘four-times-stronger’lie now being mindlessly parroted by the media/pot-prohibitionists…
..as a result of this ‘ideal-grow’…
..don’t believe the lies..people..
phil-at-whoar.
I’m sorry phil, I did read yr entry… but yr writing…style…..
no capital letters throw you does it..?
you wouldn’t be a virgo by any chance would you..?
phil-at-whoar.
Unfortunately Phil, star signs have nothing to do with it.
You comments are a pain in the ass to figure out so I just flick past them. You may have valid points and useful commentary, but I’m not going cross-eyed trying to work out the sentence structure.
ok..yr call..
..it’s just that over the years i have found many virgos to be anally-retentive to a very high degree…
..and liable to get over-engaged over the trivial..
..eh..?
..taurus..?..maybe..?
..(i hope you can read/comprehend this..eh..?..)
phil-at-whoar.
Not even close. Your knowledge of star signs is as confusing as your typing.
whew..!..that’s a relief..!
..you managed to read/comprehend it..
..well done..!..eh..?
see..it wasn’t so hard..was it..?
phil-at-whoar.
Why do you do it though? I mean I could understand if you were trying to save time by not capitalising. But then you use multiple full stops in every line and over use exclamation marks for no real purpose that I can see. So you can’t be doing it to make it easier for you to write and, as numerous people have pointed out, it doesn’t make it easier to read. Why do it then?
i started to use it at whoar to differentiate between words i had written..
..and others i was quoting..
..and i grew to like it…
..for a range of reasons..
..including how easy it is on the eye..
..basically..capital letters are bullshit/fake-honorifics..
(..and brutish/ugly to look at..)
..and a residual of the english class-system..
..and the need to cram as many words as possible onto an (expensive) piece of paper..
..i bow to the dictate that each idea/sentence deserves its’ own line/space..
..(the white stuff around the words is now free..eh..?..no trees were/get hurt.).
..and whoar..!..you should have seen the hue/cry/screams of protest..
..at the introduction of the paragraph..eh..?
..just think of yr reaction as that..redux..mmkay..?
phil-at-whoar.
I can read your stuff but its like an overextended bad Haiku
Does give a different effect then block text though.
Rubbish. It’s not easy on the eye at all and makes your thoughts meaningless on the page. It just makes you look like an illiterate prat.
Why don’t you just use quotes to distinguish between the words you write and the ones you quote. I mean that is what they were designed for after all.
It seems as though you wish to create your own punctuation system. This is fine if you do this in your own world. However to then attempt to use it with people who don’t and not expect to get pulled up on it it seems a little idiotic. It is kind of like going to a a place like Germany and yelling at them in English and then wondering why they find you a little strange.
That’s why we use blockquote. Also, putting large amounts of white space between words fails to differentiate them enough to tell the difference between what you wrote and what you’re quoting.
Which it isn’t.
˙ʇɐɯɹoɟ/ɹɐɯɯɐɹƃ ʇuǝɹǝɟɟıp ɐ ǝsn oɥʍ sɹǝɥʇo oʇ ǝʇɐɔıunɯɯoɔ ǝɯ dlǝɥ ʇ,uoʍ ʇı ʇnq ɹǝʇʇǝq pǝʞool ʇı ʇɥƃnoɥʇ I ɟı spɹɐʍʞɔɐq spɹoʍ ǝɥʇ ǝʇıɹʍ plnoɔ I
We have paragraphs for a reason – they get across a point more accurately than a single sentence.
“..and over use exclamation marks for no real purpose that I can see…”
um..!..that is my second exclamation mark in this thread..
your getting things wrong is really multi-faceted..isn’t it gosman..?
phil-at-whoar.
Me too – I haven’t read your contributions for a while now Phil, unless they’re only one or two lines.
it’s not compulsory..
phil-at-whoar.
Ditto mate, I have seen some good stuff from you, but in general I scoot past as it is all just too disconnected for my head to fathom out.
Back in my teens they were saying 4 TIMES AS STRONG AS 1972 in big screaming capital letters, so it’s not the first time that’s been pulled out.
Who cares if it’s 4 times stronger anyway? THC is the part that gets them high and if they only need to smoke 1/4 of a joint now then thats good isn’t it?
And in John Key’s New Zealand the trade union movement continues to be under attack.
MUNZ is getting much better with its social media presence. They have put out a well made high quality video that presents the case for the workers simply and effectively. A link is here.
Meanwhile AFFCO has locked out 750 workers. The response in the media is somewhat muted. It seems that if a trade union takes action then this marks the commencement of the sky falling in but if an employer does so then no one is meant to worry.
AFFCO’s aim, the total casualisation of the workforce is terrifying. Not only is it a barbaric way to treat workers with families, mortgages and living expenses but once installed such a system will destroy the trade union movement. Who would dare be active in union matters, let alone a shop stewart or delegate, if the employer can then starve you of work?
Serfdom in New Zealand is just around the corner. It seems clear that Key did want to see wages drop.
Serfdom is here already the sheeple just are too stupid to realise it which the NACT rely on as they did with their media mates in the election win…..cuppa tea anybody.
Where is Bradley ambrose BTW and who paid his legal fees as he was bitching he couldn’t afford them.
Paula Bennett tells the ‘noble’ peasants to shut up and stop complaining:
http://afinetale.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/soon-nobility-will-be-revolting.html
Good, you can give her what for here on her live web chat today! http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10788789
thanks 4 the heads-up on that video..
.i have featured it..
..phil-at-whoar.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6496132/Key-Mums-of-one-year-olds-better-working
So is the prime mincer wanting to develop a generation of latch-key children? Anyone else remember the clarion call of the champions of industry telling us that the new technologies were going to give us greater leisure time. (Yeah – the bosses perhaps – sod the workers – their jobs will be replaced and they can go figure …) Ah you’ve got to love him.
You have to wonder what his supporters in the various “congregations” around the country must feel about this direction and why they gave him another term.
too many congregations are up for a bit of benny-bashing/kicking…
..it’s ‘cos they are usually ‘sinners’…those sole-parents…
..and so deserve all they get..(kinda like a pre-hell for them..)
..and the more extreme of these congregations advocate removing children from the underclass/sole-parents altogether/by force….
..and ‘giving’ them to good christian families..to raise..
..where to start..?..eh..?
phil-at-whoar.
The headlines make it seem that Key is interested in the well-being of mothers and their children, but it’s actually all about the money:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6496132/Key-Mums-of-one-year-olds-better-working
And of course, it’s something Key and Bronagh never had to worry about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Key#Personal_life
Of course Key has no interest in the welfare of mothers and children: if he did he might have questioned why mothers (or both parents) have to go to work?
Key has merely continued to represent that paradigm foisted on families, the need for a dual income. Money men like Key only think in terms of depressing wages and forcing more profit form it for themselves. The corollary is that the concept of a single income family has gone west since the 70s where it was the norm. One income is no longer enough.
i really wish we could bury this bullshit of key being a battler from struggle st…who thru his own good dint ..broke out/thru..
..reality/fact-check:..keys’ grandfather sucessfully bid for goebbels’ massive bedroom suite (think dotcom) at the end of the second world war..
..in an auction in london..
..not many ‘battlers’ at that auction..eh..?
..and not many ‘battlers’ with rooms large enough to hold such a suite..eh..?
..this lie about key is like the big one about hitler being a vegetarian..(used to sledge/demonise vegetarians ever since..)
..as with hitler…this is propaganda purely to enhance the subject..
..in the case of hitler it was to build the image of an ascetic-warrior….
..with key it is to somehow validate his kicking the crap out of the poorest..
..’cos ‘he’s been there’/is from there….
..a complete bag ‘o lies…
phil-at-whoar.
Hey Phil, you got a link or something to the grandfather info? Lot’s of available info around to show the Key manufactured background is balony, but ive not heard that before.
The thing is, that being able to spot lies is a handy skill to have, and being able to tell them convincingly is also helpful, but Key has neither of these, and as such being able to see through them is simple as A, B , C …
i had a cursory look..will try again later..
..questiontime starts in one minute..and i do a commentary on it..
..that’s why the ‘later’..
phil-at-whoar.
Could Key kindly tell us, of the 4000 babies born to a mother on a benefit, whether these mothers were on a benefit for the previous nine months? A fist in the face or gut whilst pregnant can be a pretty powerful incentive for becoming a single parent.
Litlle bit emotional there Red Baron. What I would like to see is the figures of a young mother whos mother is also so on the benefit.
Then I believe you will see how bad the benefit wrought is in New Zealand. The benefit is a trap it takes away people spirit ,and will to work. Some of them get very comfortable on the benefit.
It was meant to be a Hand up ,but labour have turned it into an all encompassing net with a cuddly ,and pillow as well.
Im not sure why Labour have such a fetish for keeping people on benefits can someone please tell me why? Is it a control thing ? in the hope that they will always vote Labour if they are on a Benefit?
So let me understand this James 111 you do not know what the figures of mother and daughter both being on the benefit are but you believe that they will show widespread rorting (I think this is what you mean) of the system?
Do you often have strongly held views on matters where you have no knowledge of the actual reality of the situation?
“Do you often have strongly held views on matters where you have no knowledge of the actual reality of the situation?”
Only on days ending in a y.
Do you know Micky. I have heard various commentators say that Intergenerational welfare dependency is a problem. I have no reason to doubt them. What I would like to see is hard data the quest for knowledge rather than ideaology. If you know where it is unconrrupted of course would like to see it.
Sure its a problem. It might affect 1% – 2% of people. And involve maybe $50M of Government benefits a year.
Let’s focus on things which are more important – let’s say the overseas banking wealth pump taking $3B pa out of our economy. A lot of jobs could be created with that money, helping people to escape from intergenerational benefit dependency.
BTW suggesting you are interested in facts is laughable.
james you raise as fair point, but again it is unblanced…how close is the nearest beneficiary to you, and what qualifies you to comment on them? – Be sure you answer this time!
Lets also see some figures for the corporate welfare thats been doled out over the past 30 years or so shall we, I am 100% certaint the difference would be staggering…note in corporate welfare I DO include the selling og public companies into private hands, shipping the profits offshore!
But James 111 you said that not only did something that you had no proof of exist, but you also said that it was all Labour’s fault and Labour has “a fetish for keeping people on benefits”.
Now you are saying that you think it is a problem because some unidentified people say it is a problem but you want to see “hard data”.
Why did you make such an outlandish comment? And why did you say the cause was Labour’s desire to keep people on benefits? All without the slightest shred of proof.
you think it is pretty aok to have our horrific (internationally-measured) child poverty rates..
..do you james..?
..care to justify that..?
..are you able to think past/beyond the slogans/name-calling..?
..and tell/explain how ..to your way of thinking..children raised in this misery is good for them or/and the country..?
phil-at-whoar.
I think the real problem is not people like james who play devils advocate to get a reaction on there, the real problem is the lack of public showings of disapproval by the sheeple. The lack of understanding or engagement is a differenent story, there are enough people who are aware, that I don’t really see doing much. I will be interested to see what happens at the Anti Asset Sale March , scheduled for April 28. This will be a very telling sign of the abilty for those who have given themselves “leader status”, to organise anything worthy by way of protest!
Until people get off their arse, blathering all over the internet, is not going to make any difference what so ever!
‘Im not sure why Labour have such a fetish for keeping people on benefits can someone please tell me why’
you obviously don’t want to be told anything you don’t want to hear 111
fetish? keeping people in benefits?
you seem to be fine with your variation on things
but have a nice day anyway
having figures that show someones parents were on a benefit as well only proves one thing – that their parents were on a benefit.
yes inter-generational welfare dependency isnt a good thing – but just going “see, their parents were on a benefit too” does nothing to address why they are on a benefit now or then.
you cant look at unemployment without also looking at the job market and policy settings at the same time.
also – drop this “labour wants to keep people on benefits so they vote labour” BS. All you achieve with that is to make yourself look foolish.
“The benefit is a trap it takes away people spirit ,and will to work.”
Dunno about that one James, but I do know when my parents split (domestic violence) my mother left home, and was employed full-time, split shifts. I was pregnant at 15 – maybe my parents working long hours had something to do with it… I was on a benefit for awhile, and my children have strong work ethics. Go figure.
Seconded and thirded! That’s very much the issue. (Earlier I mentioned on another thread, another way women could give birth while “on the benefit” – if they were in an unmarried relationship (so not eligible for widow’s benefit) and the man has died! As far as I know, at least 2 Pike River women are in this position…
Yesterdays column on the latest bit of beneficiariy bashing left me remembering some of the shibboleths of the Thatcher years (and the Douglas years), that are now accepted and not questioned.
Bennett saying how beneficiaries would be treated as individuals sounds great until you realise they are already, the shibboleth of individual responsibility is foisted on them at the same time as there is empirical evidence that there are no jobs. It reminded me of Thatcher there is no society, only individuals, who promptly after saying that released psych wards into community care.
There are a lot of weasel words out there masquerading as nice soft cuddly concepts…when stated by this pack of NACT grifters suspect your pocket will suffer, your community or whats left of it will be diminshed more. Follow the money, its going their way.
National’s nanny state
Bennett needs to look at policy that will achieve real outcomes like creating jobs and providing proper incentives for training that actually meets market requirements. National’s beneficiary bashing will achieve nothing.
Need to read this article shows how Welfare ,and the over use of it wrecks a persons spirit to work. Pretty much what I was saying
http://ips.ac.nz/publications/files/e3b5e3549a1.pdf
Wow welfare decreases as employment increases, amazing! And most people who are not employed would like to work, if there was work available!
Now explain to me James how slashing welfare and taking spending money out of communities is going to encourage small businesses to take on new staff.
Technically speaking that only works when the central banks are printing money because energy prices are projected to be cheaper for the next 30 years, started about the mid-70s. some lass called Thatcher got a free loader ride from being in the right place at the right time.
Hey Jimmy Dipstick, what part of the statement “there are no jobs” fails to register in the vacuous troll like and very dark hole that is where your brain should be?
Welfare wrecks a persons spirit to work… could you link to where the study shows that? The research you’ve linked to james 111 is not all that credible. Firstly it sets out to answer a question but limits the scope of information to find a predetermined answer. Here is the guts of what they say, which is repeated throughout the document:
The studies authors completely ignore the fact that New Zealand has a long history of entrenched racism, which essentially leads to Maori being repressed. This is a major factor in Maori being overrepresented in social welfare dependency. It could be that racism leading to less Maori being employed is the main factor, and without study into that area the research is largely defunct.
Personal responsibility is all well and good, but the sad fact of the matter is that many areas of New Zealand have less work opportunities available. These also happen to be areas mainly inhabited by Maori. The authors of the study cannot hope to answer the question without taking these factors into account.
I’ve never seen such a thorough excuse being made in a research paper.
A couple of Stats that were around in 2000 to 2004 that are very interesting
The Statistical Report released by the Ministry of Social Development shows welfare expenditure rose from $7.9 billion in 2000 to $8.5 billion to the year end June 2004.Or a $1million dollars an hour.
The number of people receiving a benefit for more than four years has increased from 95,664 in 2000 to 108,604 in 2004
It would appear that Labour had no idea how to get people off long term welfare dependency or no wish to do so even though economic conditions were much more positive in 2004. Why do you think this was?
I guess when you look at that pragmatically when a government come in and try to make change because the country simply cant go on like this. Then all the trendy lefties will come out squealing even though they had no idea how to fix it
Those numbers reflect how unsurvivable benefit levels and criteria were at the start of the 4th Labour govt. Not that you give a shit.
A 15% increase over 4 years – roughly half of that can be attributed to normal population increase, an aging population, and the long term societal damage from Ruthansia surfacing.
and if you look at the stats for the whole period labour were in power unemployment dropped to very low levels.
which kinda shoots a huge hole in your latest argument.
however we all look forward to your next hairbrained diversion in 3, 2, 1…
Unemplyment may have decreased but can anyone tell me the corresponding increase in civil servants during the same time that Labour were in power?
SFW. The question isn’t where the jobs where, it was the fact that they existed. Which they don’t now, obviously, in either public or private sectors.
The public service does a lot of good for the country mate. Some of this country’s top experience and top talent work for the interests of NZ in the public sector. And thanks to the NATs running it down (as they are again now) it had to be strengthened, since the private sector is incapable (or unwilling) to do some of the things this country needs.
If there is one criticism of the 5th Labour Govt it is the way they let private debt build up in uncontrolled ways, fuelling a housing price bubble.
I didn’t ask if the Public Service did good for NZ (as that’s a matter of opinion and we all have one of those – although not necessarily the same).
I asked for the corresponding increase in civil servants during the same time that Labour were in power?
Care to answer?
As an aside – how many of those roles that were created in that time were of the ilk that you describe (top experience and top talent) and how many were functionaries?
The question is really would you rather have people in jobs paying tax, and being able to spend money into the economy, or would you rather have people out of jobs, or being sacked, not being picked up by a shrinking private sector, going overseas, taking money from the economy, taking future generations with them, potentially collecting benefits if they hang around, not to mention the social costs that stem from higher unemployment…there are ripple effects right!
You have no point to make!
No that is your question – mine still hasn’t been answered!
Its kind of s zero sum debate though. Perhaps you will get an answer, additional to the one I gave you already, which I should not have confused by using the word question!
didn’t mean to confuse you….
Have you tried google? It’s your question after all. I can give you the answer to the quality vs functionary one though. It’s 100% quality, as far as i can tell. It’s this current Government that has overloaded the public service with overpaid consultants while reducing frontline services.
The point about the answer to your question that you will refuse to accept is that it doesn’t fucken matter. Having a strong public service is essential to the well-being of NZ (and every other country) and that’s a fact that you can’t, and won’t, accept.
The whole point of you asking is so that you can find someway to attack the increase in government service and no other reason.
By you, a functionary is what? As my son, a cardiothoracic staff nurse at Welly Hospital, points out – when ‘functionary’ ward clerks are rationalised away, nursing staff have to do their jobs, on top of their clinical tasks! Instead of caring for patients, my son and his colleagues have spent hours trying to send faxes, make appointments and doing things the ‘functionaries’ used to do until the Nats got rid of them
“my son and his colleagues have spent hours trying to send faxes, make appointments and doing things the ‘functionaries’ used to do”
Ha. Awesome…not. Wait and see the non-attendance rates at out-patient clinics shoot-up. That’ll leave some very expensive medical staff idle. A good use of public health money, that one!
One of the important tasks of the low-cost booking clerks is to provide appointment reminders. There is lots of good research showing massive improvements in attendance rates when patient are phoned 1-3 days before the appointment date. It takes hours to do this – not the right job for medical staff.
you mean the increase from when we barely had enough resources to hold an election?
Remind me what the unemployment figures were in 2007, someone. Lowest in NZ history or something wasn’t it? Yes, that’s right – I recall rubbing James111’s face in it not a few days ago.
Here we are: a record low of 3.50 percent in December of 2007.
The noise to signal ratio is high in this one.
you are correct james..the country ‘cannot go on like this’..
..we need a more progressive tax rate on the rich..
..a capital gains tax..
..and a financial transactions tax on the banksters..
..problem solved..
..eh..?
phil-at-whoar.
James111 hasn’t seen the graph which clearly shows the budget deficit timeline, which has a clear and direct correlation to the reduce tax take following Jokey Hen’s freebies to the uber rich.
A CGT will only put us back to some form of tax fairness, many countries fell over with a CGT.
The problem is people, people like to consume, or believe supporting the right they will aspire to the consumer lifestyle. Unfortuately they should have been born 50 years earlier, or a lot smart now.
I blame the unions as much as the boardrooms, neither put any thought into risks. Meat workers should have a back of the van butcher co-op on the side to pick up the lost business of their meat worker factory. Its a shame that in a country with a dairy co-op that other sectors are incapable of working out their own co-ops.
As for farmers, wtf, they are supporting fracking under their farms where they pump water up from!!! You have to wonder what the farmers are smoking.
The Diary of Bill English
Ripped the babies out of the arms of young mothers and forced them to work on the gut floor or starve – more abortions likely, then off to Mass with Mary. J still grumpy, all whites on tonight, should be good.
this is the aspect of the conservative-christians who support kicking the crap out of the poor…
..yet oppose abortion..
..that proves a major disconnect for them..
..their small/prejudiced/poisoned-minds seem unable to comprehend the basic fact/consequence…
..that their policies/wishes for lives of unrelenting misery for sole-parents..
..and ..not least..their wholesale stigmatising of them..
..drives many women to abort..
..and yes..this is the fact that bill and mary english have to take to mass with them on sundays..
phil-at-whoar.
Speak to the machine
National have announced that many Housing New Zealand personnel are going to be replaced by an answer machine. There’s one main reason for this, and that’s to lessen the amount of people applying for state houses. National are making the application process even harder, so that people are deterred and have to rent in the private sector.
and really..difficult for labour to get too finger-pointy over this attack on the poorest..eh..?
seeing as that in nine long years they not only didn’t move an inch to repair the towelling richardson gave the poorest..
..they actually cut benefits/allowances further..
..and now shearer is going to cut that pre-election ‘rash-promise’…to include the poorest families in working for (some) families..
..by..wait for it..!..2018..(out here in poverty-land we were giddy with excitement at that promise..eh..?)
..what were they thinking..?..eh..?
..we’ll have none of that..eh..?
..in the new/brave labour..
..eh..?
phil-at-whoar.
ha ha ha ha the brainlessness of the current government continues…
Not only can they not explain how having foreign landlords is of benefit to New Zealand…
Not only do they have to put ACC costs up to make it more efficient…
They also claim that having call centres provides better service ….. so, who thinks call centres provide better service? Not me. Just phoned IRD to be told that the wait is 1 hour and 15 minutes. ha ha ha ha how pathetic
For those that what to challenge Paula Bennett on welfare reforms
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10788789
Web chat 11.30 today
I submitted the following question (in my real name). I asked “Paula you said recently that things are much different now compared to how they were when you received the benefit. Can you detail what difference in
Angelina Jolie’s leggy pose at the Oscar’s has become an internet meme.
Like planking, our dear leader (Key John Ill) has joined the craze – link
“Bryan Gould: Austerity proven as wrong answer to recession”
What is interesting about Bryan’s column is that it shows that the Government’s Austerity plan was faulty and goes further with advice on how a recession should be handled.
Interesting too that Bryan is a consultant to the Labour Party Review.
Sounds great: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10788648
If I hear more about USA politics and Rick Santorem and Mick Romney I’ll throw up. There is more attention being paid on Radio New Zealand to the political machinations of that far away country than to any other important country.
And USA politics are so farcical. The wealthy have found out how to make money out of the process and turned it into a sham that doesn’t serve democracy but only ..you know who. As a smug NACT type said the other day as if it was holy writ It’s the Golden Rule – He who has the gold makes the rules.
Perhaps the USA model is one that should aspire to Prism? (Just kidding.)
Somehow Mr Dot Com being able to keep his bail pleases me. Not sure why. Perhaps its a “tiny country defies big bully” or something?
@ ianmac Ha, take that said NZ biting Uncle Sam on the toe or do we reach as high as the knee?
We might be a chip on Uncle Sam’s shoulder?
Mr Dot Com has an “only” interview tomorrow night on Campbell Live.
personally I can’t get enough of it – Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, so much good coverage – the Best Show in town – for a while
There was mention yesterday of a study of attitudes of wealthy compared to ordinary people’s attitudes to morality where they found that the wealthy were more likely to cheat etc.
Part of the summary is that the wealthy see pursuit of self-interest and greed as a positive moral approach to life. Hence the more for me and lower taxes plaint being heard all around.
And I feel that many poor people change to the same attitude if they have the opportunity to advance their income extremely. Perhaps an increasing rise in wealth has an affect on humans similar to climate changes on locusts except in reverse. Locusts change from solitary creatures to massing in huge swarms, humans become all individualistic and ‘I’m a self-made man or woman, worked hard, ran a successful business or whatever (maybe got rich from inheritance or property speculation – doesn’t matter it’s the money that counts).