…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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During my time in the Pentagon I had the privilege of sitting down with military leaders and defence and security officials from a variety of Latin American nations. Sometimes I was present as a subordinate assistant to a senior US defence department official, sometimes as part of a delegation that ...
Kia ora, Aotearoa. It’s that magical time of year. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. In English, the week that frightens talk radio. As you probably know by now, all your favourite media outlets are participating, some more successfully than others. Stuff has changed its name to Puna for the ...
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. So how's that going? I was curious, so I asked for all advice about the proposal. ...
As the Brexit saga staggers on, the focus is naturally enough on the Prime Minister and his attempts to achieve Brexit “do or die”. But the role played by the Leader of the Opposition is of almost equal interest and complexity. The first problem for Jeremy Corbyn is that he ...
Last week, English Prime Minister Boris Johnson boldly declared that he would rather die be dead in a ditch than delay Brexit. Unfortunately for him, the UK parliament accepted the challenge, and promptly dug one for him. The "rebellion bill" requires him to ask for and secure yet another temporary ...
Lost In Political Space: The most important takeaway from this latest Labour sexual assault scandal, which (if I may paraphrase Nixon’s White House counsel’s, John Dean’s, infamous description of Watergate) is “growing like a cancer” on the premiership, is the Labour Party organisation’s extraordinary professional paralysis in the face of ...
by Daphna Whitmore Every Sunday for the past two months unionists from First Union, with supporters from other unions, have set out to the Ihumatao land protest, put up gazebos and gas barbeques, and cooked food for a few hundred locals and supporters who have come from across the country. ...
Newsroom today has an excellent, in-depth article on pine trees as carbon sinks. The TL;DR is that pine is really good at soaking up carbon, but people prefer far-less efficient native forests instead. Which is understandable, but there's two problems: firstly, we've pissed about so long on this problem that ...
Canan Kaftancioglu is a Turkish politician and member of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Like most modern politicians, she tweets, and uses the platform to criticise the Turkish government. She has criticised them over the death of a 14-year-old boy who was hit by a tear gas grenade during ...
Hi there, just call me Tim.We face tough problems, and I’d like to help, because there are solutions.An Auckand District Health Board member has nominated me for as a candidate for the ADHB, because her MS-related pain and fatigue is reduced with hemp products from Rotorua. Nothing else helped her. If I ...
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security has published their report on whether the SIS and GCSB had any complicity in American torture. And its damning. The pull quote is this:The Inquiry found both agencies, but to a much greater degree, the NZSIS, received many intelligence reports obtained from detainees who, ...
Bewhiskered Cassandra? Professor Hugh White’s chilling suggestion, advanced to select collections of academic, military and diplomatic Kiwi experts over the course of the past week, is that the assumptions upon which Australia and New Zealand have built their foreign affairs and defence policies for practically their entire histories – are ...
For most of the time I was a British MP, my party was out of government – these were the Thatcher years, when it was hard for anyone else to get a look-in. As a front-bencher and shadow minister, I became familiar with the strategies required in a parliamentary democracy ...
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh On August 29th a video in which veteran FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) commander Iván Márquez announced that they had taken up arms again was released. There was no delay in the reaction to it, from longtime Liberal Party figure and former president Uribe, for ...
Air New Zealand couldn’t believe its luck that this seemingly ideal piece of real estate had so far gone entirely unnoticed. Air New Zealand’s search for a site to build a second Auckland Airport may have made a breakthrough this afternoon, after employees scanning Google satellite imagery spotted a huge, ...
No-one on the anti-capitalist left in this country today puts forward a case that Labour is on the side of the working class. There are certainly people who call themselves ‘socialist’ who do, but they are essentially liberals with vested interests in Labourism – often for career reasons. Nevertheless, there ...
When National was in government and fucking over the poor for the benefit of the rich, foodbanks were a growth industry. And now Labour is in charge, nothing has changed: A huge demand for emergency food parcels means the Auckland City Mission is struggling to prepare for the impending arrival ...
Gayford, pictured here on The Project, before things got wildly out of control. A bold public relations move by the Government to encourage parents to vaccinate their children has gone horribly wrong. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appeared on tonight’s episode of Three’s The Project, where the plan was for her ...
Mr. Whippy’s business model has driven it down a dark road of intimidation. Residents in major centres around the country are becoming disgruntled by the increasingly aggressive actions of purported ice cream company Mr. Whippy, who have taken to parking on people’s front lawns and doorsteps in a desperate attempt ...
Today the government released its Action Plan for Healthy Waterways, aimed at cleaning up our lakes and rivers. Its actually quite good. There will be protection for wetlands, better standards for swimming spots, a requirement for continuous improvement, and better standards for wastewater and stormwater. But most importantly, there's a ...
Today I appeared before the Environment Committee to give an oral submission on the Zero Carbon Bill. Over 1,500 people have asked to appear in person, so they've divided into subcommittees and are off touring the country, giving people a five minute slot each. The other submitters were a mixed ...
Anti-fluoride activists have some wealthy backers – they are erecting billboards misrepresenting the Canadian study on many New Zealand cities – and local authorities are ordering their removal because of their scaremongering. Many New Zealanders ...
So, those who “know best” have again done their worst. While constantly claiming to be the guardians of democracy and the constitution, and respecters of the 2016 referendum result, diehard Remainers (who have never brought themselves to believe that their advice could have been rejected) have striven might and main ...
Following publication of this article, the Ministry has requested it to be noted that this supplied image is not necessarily representative of what the final house will look like, and it “probably won’t be that nice.” As part of today’s long-anticipated reset of the Government’s flagship KiwiBuild policy, Housing Minister ...
Over the next week or two we will be running three synopses of parts of the opening chapter of John Smith’s Imperialism in the 21st Century (New York, Monthly Review Press, 2016). The synopsis and commentary below is written by Phil Duncan. Marx began Capital not with a sweeping historical ...
The State Services Commission and Ombudsman have released another batch of OIA statistics, covering the last six months. Request volumes are up, and the core public service is generally handling them within the legal timeframe, though this may be because they've learned to extend rather than just ignore things. And ...
In 1994, I was editing an ambitious street mag called Planet, from a fabled office at at 309 Karangahape Road. The thirteenth issue of the magazine was published in the winter of that year and its cover embodied a particularly ambitious goal: the end of cannabis prohibition.I wanted to do ...
KiwiBuild was one of the Ardern government's core policies. The government would end the housing crisis and make housing affordable again by building 100,000 new homes. Of course, it didn't work out like that: targets weren't met, the houses they did build were in the wrong place, and the whole ...
As the climate crisis escalates, it is now obvious that we need to radically decarbonise our economy. The good news is that its looking easy and profitable for the energy sector. Wind is already cheaper than fossil fuels, and now solar is too:The levellised cost of solar PV has fallen ...
A Crown Asset? For reasons relating to its own political convenience, the Crown pretends to believe that “No one owns the water.” To say otherwise would re-vivify the promises contained in the Treaty of Waitangi – most particularly those pertaining to the power of the chiefs and their proprietary rights ...
Most people would say, no doubt, that they have a pretty good idea of what money is. They live with the reality of money every day. It is what is needed to buy the necessities of life and to maintain a decent standard of living. You get money, they would ...
The article below was an opinion piece that appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of Te Awa (the NZ Green Party’s newsletter) and on the Greens website. In keeping with their policy of hostility to women defending women’s right to female-only spaces, Green bureaucrats have since removed the opinion piece. ...
Longer term readers may remember my complaining that, as a political scientist, it is burdensome to have non-political scientists wanting to engage me about politics. No layperson would think to approach an astrophysicist and lecture him/her on the finer details of quarks and black holes, but everybody with an opinion ...
Joining The Fight: Stevan Eldred-Grigg's argument for New Zealand staying out of the Second World War fails not only on the hard-headed grounds of preserving the country’s strategic and economic interests; and not just on the soft-hearted grounds of duty and loyalty to the nation that had given New Zealand ...
On September 27, School Strike 4 Climate will be striking for a future to pressure the government for meaningful climate action. This time, they've asked adults to join them. And now, Lincoln University and Victoria University of Wellington have signed on:Victoria University of Wellington has joined Lincoln University in endorsing ...
Another day, another constitutional outrage in the UK. This time, the government is saying that if parliament passes a law to stop Brexit before being prorogued, they may just ignore it:A senior cabinet minister has suggested Boris Johnson could defy legislation to prevent a no-deal Brexit if it is forced ...
Environment Canterbury has finally proposed nitrogen limits to stop dairy farmers from poisoning Christchurch's water supply. And naturally, farmers are whining about it:A proposed move by Environment Canterbury (ECan) to protect Christchurch's drinking water by setting tough – some would say, draconian – nitrate reductions in the decades ahead and ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is currently before select committee. While its targets are weak, its a generally sensible bill that promises to establish a long-term framework to guide emissions reductions. But National hasn't made up its mind on whether it will support it - and according to Andrea Vance in ...
Oil company Tamarind Resources has reportedly halted drilling at its Tui oil field off the Taranaki coast after the first of the three planned wells came up dry and bad weather caused delays. ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the left-wing campaign group “ActionStation” to front up and be transparent about how much taxpayer funding it takes from the Government to underwrite its activism activities. Earlier in the month, the Taxpayers’ ...
The ‘ Unplanned ’ movie is here and Family First has secured one of the first screenings in New Zealand tonight. ‘Unplanned’ brings an eye-opening look inside the abortion industry from a woman who was once its most passionate advocate. All ...
James Renwick claim that NZ is failing on climate change is valid, and since James has been receiving widespread media coverage that we outline most of it again here now as we gear up for the ‘Global climate change conference’ beginning next week. ...
Protestors will be outside the venue of the fourth hearing for Operation Burnham Inquiry on Monday morning from 8.30am to give a message to former and current military officers as they arrive to speak about the ongoing coverup of the 2010 attack on ...
The long-running campaign against purported Chinese “interference” in New Zealand’s political system intensified in the past week following a five-day visit to Beijing by opposition National Party leader Simon Bridges. ...
National's Deputy Leader Paula Bennett spent the week claiming a serious cover-up in the Prime Minister's office. She used parliamentary privilege to name three of the Prime Minister's closest advisors who, she says, knew about the sexual assault ...
Six months on from the worst terrorist attack in New Zealand history, Simon Shepherd asked Al Noor Mosque spokesperson Anthony Green how the Christchurch Muslim is community faring. ...
“The Game Animal Council is concerned that the Government’s second tranche of firearms legislation released today may contain unreasonable provisions that will unfairly impact hunters,” says Game Animal Council Chair Don Hammond. ...
Government policy work on the Carbon Zero bill highlights connections between climate change, carbon sequestration and agriculture. Water quality and allocation are also topical with the release of the Draft Policy Statement for Freshwater Management ...
DairyNZ Chief Executive Dr Tim Mackle is welcoming this afternoon’s announcement that consultation on Essential Freshwater has been extended by two weeks - but is calling on the Minister to go further. ...
DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle is calling on the Government to move swiftly to extend the six-week timeframe of the Essential Freshwater consultation. ...
Immigration New Zealand could really benefit from an large investment of money, comments Ms June Ranson, chair of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI) , a leading voice in the immigration sector. “Instead of spending $25m ...
In recent times there has been no shortage of commentary regarding whistleblowers, with the proposed amendments to the Protected Disclosures Act 2000. These are aimed at strengthening the protection available to whistleblowers in New Zealand. That ...
Gun Control NZ strongly welcomes the comprehensive gun law reform bill and calls on all political parties to support it. Gun Control NZ encourages New Zealanders to let their MPs know they support this Bill, submit to the Select Committee, and ...
Federated Farmers agrees with most of the steps by government to protect people from illegal or irresponsible firearms use. But concerns about pest control and the effectiveness of a register remain. ...
Today at Parliament the NZ Drug Foundation released Taking control of cannabis: A model for responsible regulation, a new report that shows how we can take back control of cannabis from organised crime. ...
In the face of overwhelming public opinion that farmers need to clean up after themselves, Federated Farmers has mounted an offensive to try and stop some of its members having to do just that. ...
Responding to reports that Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa plans to restrict flavoured e-cigarette liquid, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says: ...
Māori and non- Māori value different aspects of plantation forestry, which owners should bear in mind if they want to maximise their social licence to operate, a new study shows. ...
The Prime Minister’s Award in the first annual Spirit of Service Awards has been won by the Ministry of Health and five agencies who teamed up on the Healthy Homes Initiative. ...
Smoking kills 5,000 Kiwis each year, so any government policies to help reduce smoking are a good thing. However, the current approaches are not working nor will the proposed limit on flavoured e-liquid that Associate Minister Salesa announced on the news ...
A petition, that promises a significant and dramatic improvement for the New Zealand economy, was handed to Dr Deborah Russell, the MP for New Lynn today. The petition, signed by over 5,000 New Zealanders addresses our crippling level of debt as well ...
The New Zealand Medical Association welcomes the announcement of an Initial Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. We look forward to working with the newly appointed Chair Hayden Wano and the Commission. “It is vital that the steps to mental health ...
For anyone who even randomly follows the news will know that Hong Kong has been embroiled in demonstrations for months. These sometimes bloody demonstrations initially started as a result of a proposed Extradition Bill whereby there would be special ...
The release yesterday of Port Otago’s financial result for 2019, outlining a 12% increase and profits, including the news that the Chief Executive had received a $100,000 pay increase taking his remuneration to between $610,000-620,000, is like ...
“ I continue to be amazed at the incompetence of this Government when it comes to suicide prevention and mental health. Not only is this Government about to appoint a regional coroner who has a history of under reporting suicides amongst children ...
An unannounced inspection at Tongariro Prison has found a safe and well-managed prison, with a clear sense of purpose and striving for continuous improvement. ...
The Auditor-General’s discussion paper Public accountability: A matter of trust and confidence was presented to the House of Representatives today. ...
Keep New Zealand Beautiful (KNZB) are proud to announce the winners of the Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) – Litter Less 2019 competition. ...
The Far North District Council (FNDC) and the Whangarei District Council (WDC) have lodged a joint appeal against the Northland Regional Council’s (NRC) omission of precautionary rules in its plan. [1] ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that an officer was not justified in tasering a man for a second time during an arrest in Picton on 23 June 2018. ...
The Chairman of the Authority, Judge Colin Doherty, has agreed to assist the Hong Kong Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) as a member of an international panel to provide high level advice to the IPCC in relation to its proposed "Thematic ...
“Putting families into motels is a temporary fix for desperate situations, rather than a sustainable solution to problems of poverty and homelessness,” says Scott Figenshow, Chief Executive of Community Housing Aotearoa. He was commenting on media ...
The New Zealand Psychological Society (NZPsS) says the current partial strike by 600 psychologists working in district health boards is a sign that temporary fixes to ongoing workforce shortages in the profession are not working. ...
New Zealand’s contribution to military operations in Malaya and Malaysia from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s will be commemorated in a national service held at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park at 11.00am on Monday 16 September. ...
The Christchurch mosque attack might not have occurred had police had the resources to enforce firearms restrictions they control, according to the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO). ...
The resignation of the President of the Labour Party over the sex pest allegations was inevitable. It was inevitable because of his appalling handling of the situation so far; and, because in situations like this where there has to be a “fall guy” ...
“It’s disappointing that Parliament failed to address the accountability issues in the End of LifeChoice Bill ,” says Renée Joubert, Executive Officer of Euthanasia-Free NZ . ...
Yesterday Hon Grant Robertson Minister of Finance issued a welcome ‘clear directive’ in the press to ensure every Government considers the wellbeing of New Zealanders when creating future budgets . ...
Complaints to the Banking Ombudsman rose 20 percent in the last financial year as the conduct of banks and financial agencies was thrust into the spotlight. ...
One of our country’s finest writers gorges herself on Gilead – and finds herself wishing for more osmosis between the Booker-shortlisted new novel and the horror-story politics playing out around us. Over the past five days I’ve re-read Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, caught myself up with the MGM/Hulu ...
In this special episode, we welcome you back to Waterdeep Mountain High, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast set in a below average school in the mystical land of Faerun.The gang are back and this time they have to… get summer jobs! Join Kate, Forrest, Hillardo and Peng as they begin ...
Author and social activist Naomi Klein talks the Green New Deal, Greta Thunberg and the links between the rise of white supremacy and the climate crisis. ...
Napier-based women’s clothing company KILT is a big brand with local charm. Josie Adams finds out how they’ve adapted their boutique strategy to work on a national level.Having grown up in the internet era New Zealand fashion label KILT has developed a unique relationship with its customers via an online ...
National is concerned the government's bill to tighten up gun laws and introduce a gun registry will stop gun owners in mental crisis seeking help from their GPs. ...
For the first day of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Alice Neville banned herself from speaking English. Here’s how it went down.I discovered a foolproof way to make a day of speaking only te reo Māori easy. Just don’t talk. Seriously, turituri and you’ll be fine. I know, I know, ...
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.Labour Party sexual assault allegations John Armstrong (1News): Are we witnessing the beginning of the ...
Facebook electioneering.Dr Bryce EdwardsThe National Party is in trouble again for its Facebook advertising campaigning. Late last week, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled against one of the party’s social media ads targeting the Government’s vehicle efficiency feebate scheme. The authority ruled it was “likely to confuse or ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsIf the political reputation of the Labour-led Government and Jacinda Ardern have been badly or even fatally damaged by the ongoing #MeTooLabour scandal, it will be because they’ve disappointed their own supporters, and failed to live up to their own values. This is very different to a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Maxwell, Senior Lecturer, University of Southern Queensland What a week it has been in the Apple core. In recent days the tech giant has released a litany of products, including new phones, watches, tablets, and more. The big-ticket items are clearly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Smith, Senior Lecturer in American Politics and Foreign Policy, Academic Director of the US Studies Centre, University of Sydney Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s official visit to Washington this week carries some prestige. It is just the second “official visit” (including a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology On the way home, you wander into the supermarket for a loaf of bread. But before you reach the bread aisle, you drop in your prescription at the supermarket pharmacy. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Program Director – Health and Physical Education, Maths/Science, Faculty of Education, University of Tasmania Physical education is one of the most popular subjects for children in their early school years. Yet by secondary school less favourable attitudes towards what’s known ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Matthews, Senior Lecturer in Urban and Environmental Planning, Griffith University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate change increasingly threatens communities all over ...
Townies are naive about the "huge" impact and cost a proposed government freshwater action plan will have across the country, says Federated Farmers. ...
Politicians have been criticised for their "cowardice" in persisting with a "racist" refugee policy, as the government repeatedly points to a review underway to excuse the lack of action. ...
David Hannay, who has for decades been trying to get a seat on the council, will not be taking part in a major debate this week because he is facing open heart surgery. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Covering Climate Now week begins, hate crimes in focus six months after Christchurch attack, and scale of house flipping laid bare. Over the course of this week, you’re going to see a lot of climate change coverage. The Spinoff will be one ...
As sea-levels rise globally and around New Zealand, this country's earthquakes are also causing some land to sink, meaning certain coastlines could face twice inundation risk. Eloise Gibson reports. ...
In the first of our Covering Climate Now week of news features, Eloise Gibson finds moving coastal land due to earthquakes could double the risks of rising seas for some New Zealanders.. ...
Our most feared pest could be starting its journey to New Zealand. Nikki Mandow discovers the superhuman efforts that officials and scientists are making to eradicate the brown marmorated stink bug. ...
A scheme to get low income families out of debt and into safe cars is being delayed because no one can agree who should stump up the money to get a pilot off the ground. ...
Covering Climate Now: A changing climate means changing landscapes and changing lives. Mirjam Guesgen talks to the experts about the implications at two ends of New Zealand.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Auckland is known for its sandy, inviting coastlines ...
The New Zealand Drug Foundation has just released a proposed model for the legalisation and regulation of cannabis in Aotearoa. With the 2020 referendum fast approaching, what should the government be considering in their approach to this legislation?As the days tick down towards 2020 and the referendum on cannabis legalisation ...
Covering Climate Now: Submit, protest, vote. These are the moments that must be seized, writes Sam McGlennonThe Spinoff’s participation is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!The waves are now running together. The next month of national, regional and local politics in New Zealand will go a long ...
An Auckland mayoral candidate has broken the internet* by announcing a plan for a monorail around the central city. Who is Craig Lord, and is he serious? Alex Braae spoke to him shortly after his campaign launch to find out.The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The SpinoffMembers. ...
Antibiotics are becoming increasingly less effective, so what treatments can we use when the drugs stop working? With help from plant extracts, award-winning company HerbScience is set to breathe new life into how we treat bacterial infections.When Cynthia Hunefeld was just 10 years old, her father was hospitalised with a ...
For some, it symbolises the very backbone of New Zealand’s food culture. But can Kiwi onion dip survive after the factory that makes reduced cream is shut down?The Australian factory that makes Nestlé reduced cream, an integral ingredient in Kiwi onion dip, is shutting down, casting a shadow over the ...
Every year Matariki X brings Māori innovators and entrepreneurs together to share their experiences and inspire one another. Callaghan Innovation’s Vinnie Campbell says the Māori economy’s biggest strengths have nothing to do with money.This story was funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The ...
Today marks the start of Covering Climate Now. To launch the week, the New Zealand climate change minister, James Shaw, writes an open letter to participants in the School Strike 4 Climate ahead of their day of action later this month.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is thanks to ...
National’s new agriculture spokesperson finds himself in one of the party’s most important portfolios, at a time of dramatically increasing tensions in the sector. Will Todd Muller, a man regularly mentioned as a future leader contender, find common ground?Todd Muller’s obsession with politics began with an American encyclopaedia, which his ...
Although few would now deny that there are far-right extremists in NZ, questions remain around whether we have truly reckoned with the root causes of white supremacy. ...
To celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, cookbook authors, 2014 MasterChef-winning sisters and badass wāhine Māori Karena and Kasey Bird (Te Arawa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Manawa) have translated some of the delicious recipes from their second cookbook, Hungry, into te reo Māori for The Spinoff. Today, poached pears in chocolate.NGĀ PEA KŌHUA ...
Miss June’s Bad Luck Party was recorded literally between hospital shifts, and their summer schedule includes both festival dates and their frontwoman’s graduation from medical school. We sat down with the band to ask just how, exactly, they’ve survived so far.The first years of life for Tāmaki Makaurau pop-punk quartet ...
The following four short extracts are from A City Possessed: The Christchurch Child Crèche Case by Lynley Hood, which has just been reprinted by Otago University Press. The book was first published in 2001 and won the Montana Medal for Non-Fiction at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. The controversial ...
Hamilton councillors have drawn headlines this year for being anti-science and insensitive to terror victims. At a mayoral debate on Wednesday, there were signs a campaign for change is gathering force.The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The SpinoffMembers. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click ...
The Spinoff editor writes on the story that has engulfed NZ politics this week.One of the very few positive things to come out of a hideous week in New Zealand politics has been the sieving-out of the blinkered, partisan zealots. On one side, those who are ready to conjure up ...
In June 2018, Rawinia Higgins was appointed chairperson of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. She’s the first female and the first te reo Māori second-language speaker to hold the role, and during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, she sat down with The Spinoff to talk about her ...
Compulsory New Zealand history in schools is an exciting opportunity but it’s crucial we’re critical of the stories we tell ourselves, writes Dr Aroha Harris. History is not simply an assemblage of facts and evidence. History is also the interrogation of those things.This may be unsettling news for some, including the ...
The government and the Drug Foundation say they are committed to keeping the public informed and keeping fear mongering to a minimum ahead of the cannabis referendum. ...
One of the people who first brought Labour's assault complaints scandal to light says the party has a long way to go before it's clear it has learnt from its mistakes. ...
Open mike 29/02/2012 
Dangerous Foes: For those readers of Bowalley Road who feel disposed to dismiss any prospect of an Israeli destabilisation of New Zealand politics, the example of the United Kingdom repays close attention. Ever since the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party, the Israelis have sanctioned, funded and ...1 hour ago
Make It 16, the youth-led campaign to lower New Zealand's voting age, is holding an official campaign launch at Parliament this Friday from 16:30. If you'd like to attend, you can register using EventBrite here. ...2 hours ago
by Don Franks It was a lovely sunny Wellington afternoon with blue skies above the beaches. In Courtenay Place, political activists packed out a stuffy upstairs room for an important meeting. The assembled pacifists, anarchists, communists and independent young radicals of Peace Action Wellington felt the need for a mission ...2 hours ago
Current and former NZDF top brass are being publicly grilled this week by the hit and run inquiry over their public responses to allegations of civilian casualties. Previously, they've claimed there were no casualties, a position which led them to lie to Ministers and to the public. Now, they're saying ...3 hours ago
From the Wall Street Journal:Inside a room of the ornately decorated Hotel du Palais during last month’s Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, President Trump awaited a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. Mr. Trump looked over a gathering of American and Egyptian officials and called out in ...1 day ago
The Brexit issue has certainly brought with it a series of apparently difficult constitutional issues, many of them concerning the respective roles of the executive and parliament. Most of them arise because of the unwillingness of MPs, despite their professions to the contrary, to be bound by a constitutional rarity ...2 days ago
. . This blogpost is different to my usual format of reporting on issues… Since July 1011, I have blogged on a variety of political issues; near always political and/or environmental; mostly highly critical of the previous National Government. Other issues included Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and repression of ...2 days ago
Those close to the Police Minister believe the initiative may be the result of Nash “seeing a great deal” on AliExpress. In a move that comes seemingly out of nowhere, Police Minister Stuart Nash announced this afternoon that he expects all frontline staff to don bearskin hats, famously worn by ...3 days ago
Moving And Shaking: There was a time when people spoke matter-of-factly about the “labour movement” – a political phenomenon understood to embrace much more than the Labour Party. Included within the term’s definition was the whole trade union movement – many of whose members looked upon the Labour Party as ...3 days ago
by Philip Ferguson Much of the left, even people who formally identify as marxists, have collapsed politically in the face of postmodern gender theory of the sort pioneered by American philosopher Judith Butler. For Butler even biological sex is socially constructed. “If the immutable character of sex is contested, perhaps ...4 days ago
By Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern I am every bit as angry as you are. I am every bit as disappointed as you must be. The people with power, oversight and the ability to do something about these processes within the Labour Party should be ashamed. Whoever those people are, I ...4 days ago
Two-Faced? Labour insiders' commitment to the neoliberal status quo puts them at odds with their party’s membership; its trade union affiliates; and a majority of Labour voters, but this only serves to strengthen the perception they have of themselves as a special elite. Among the lesser breeds, they’ll talk up a ...4 days ago
By Simon Bridges. The following is a press release from the office of Simon Bridges, leader of The National Party. Key ora, New Zealand. Happy Maori Language Week. Look, I’m writing to you today because I want to clear something up. There’s been a lot of kerfuffle around some things ...5 days ago
Dr. Christopher Labos and Jonathan Jarry discuss the recent Canadian fluoride/IQ research. They provide an expert analysis of the paper and its problems. Click on image to go to podcast. The critical debate about the recent ... 5 days ago
An ambitious plan to fly to Los Angeles petered out into a brief sight-seeing trip and a desire to return home and get some sleep before work tomorrow. Air New Zealand has confirmed a flight to Los Angeles last night was turned back about a quarter of the way into ...6 days ago
There appears to be consensus – by omission – that the concept of indigenous futures should be accepted at face value. So I scavenged the internet to see if I could locate an academic descriptor or a framework around how we think about it as a concept, and whether it ...6 days ago
Here’s another novelty chocolate to shove in your gob, New Zealand Cadbury could be seeking to make itself great again with a rumoured new release: Pineapple Trumps, a spin on its classic chocolate-encased pineapple treat and do-it-yourself tooth remover. The global confectionery manufacturer and bumbling “before” character in an infomercial, ...6 days ago
During my time in the Pentagon I had the privilege of sitting down with military leaders and defence and security officials from a variety of Latin American nations. Sometimes I was present as a subordinate assistant to a senior US defence department official, sometimes as part of a delegation that ...6 days 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).