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6:00 am, October 29th, 2011 - 72 comments
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Today is my birthday and to celebrate I am happily first in and in doing so stopping Pete George from his regular first spot! Shame Rod Fyfe spoiled it! http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10762436
Happy birthday Ian!
Happy Birthday Ianupnorth. Have a great day!
Taking a positive spin on that article.. it has given Goff a wonderful opportunity to promote not selling NZ’s assets and to remind people of Labour having to buy Air New Zealand back and fix it after the last attempt to privatise it! Makes Fyfe’s point a little petty don’t you think/? (no disrepsrect to the koro)
My sentiments exactly. Happy birthday.. !
From the article:
Which is to promote an airline, right? Piss off, Fyfe.
Happy Birthday Ian!
I got a mild case of cognitive whiplash reading Fyfe’s logic. I mean here the guy is running an airline that wouldn’t exist if it were not for the previous Labour govt and then he wants to tell us that politics should keep off his precious grass.
Yeah, a perfect illustration of right-wing ideology.
Fyfe is a Paul Henry hiring prick.
I read the rest of his spam email to his unfortunate staff. Turns out Fyfe has a broken finger. He claims it was a boating accident, but I suspect it was PM’s arse related.
LMAO!
Happy Birthday Ianupnorth !
Happy birthday Ian!
Forget Pete George, he would be to dumb to comment on this.
Tax Justice media release
28 October 2011
“The Occupy Movement is protesting the injustice of the world’s 99% having to bear the costs of a financial crisis caused by an elite few,” says Vaughan Gunson, Tax Justice spokesperson.
“The best mechanism for making the super-rich 1% pay is a financial transaction tax, or Robin Hood Tax,” says Gunson. “It’s very exciting to see that the global movement for this tax which targets banks, big corporates and financial speculators is growing.”
The Robin Hood Tax international day of action on Saturday 29 October is timed to put pressure on the leaders of the G20 before their summit meeting in Cannes on 3 November. In New Zealand, actions are being organised in Wellington, Auckland, and Christchurch.
“Tax Justice has been campaigning over the last year for financial speculation to be taxed. It’s criminal that the profits of speculators go untaxed, while ordinary New Zealanders are taxed every which way,” says Gunson.
The Tax Justice petition signed by 40,000 New Zealanders was presented to Parliament on 16 August. The petition calls for GST to be removed from food and a tax placed on financial speculation instead.
“Politicians in New Zealand need to respond to the global movement and start looking at how we can introduce a Robin Hood Tax in New Zealand,” says Gunson.
Tax Justice would like to see the parties of the left come together on tax policy. “A broad coalition that brings together left parties inside and outside of Parliament, along with unions and other grassroots organisations, could achieve a decisive shift towards a more just fairer tax system,” says Gunson.
“The beauty of financial transaction taxes is that they can target the super-rich who aren’t paying enough tax; it’s almost impossible to avoid; and modern technology makes it a simple and low cost form of tax collection,” says Gunson.
Tax Justice has produced a Fact Sheet on Financial Transactions Taxes and their feasibility for New Zealand. To download PDF click here.
For more information on the Tax Justice campaign go to http://www.nogstonfood.org
For comment, contact:
Vaughan Gunson
Tax Justice spokesperson
021-0415 082
svpl@xtra.co.nz
or
Grant Brookes
Tax Justice spokesperson
021-0532 973
grant_brookes@paradise.net.nz
Grant Brookes will be speaking to the Wellington Occupy movement on the subject of a Robin Hood Tax at 1pm, Saturday 29 October, Civic Square.
It is interesting that neither the slithery one nor Farrar have commented on the respective TV launches last night.
I wonder why?
To be fair, Farrar has posted crossword answers this morning.
Whaleoil has now.
Sort of. He complained about the waste of taxpayer money. I agree wholeheartedly.
The National party effort was a complete waste of time and money. It was that bad I felt a little bit sorry for the National Party. I expected a razzamatazz Crosby Textor polished juggernaut of an effort that would have had Labour reeling. Instead I got this?
If taxpayer money was used to fund this piece of shyte then I agree there should be an inquiry and at least the complete repayment of any money paid.
Third container ship aground off Tauranga. It’s the MV National Party
Pretty damn good…
Occupy Octagon/Dunedin have claimed the council hasn’t been honest with the public or the occupiers.
Council dishonest over Armistice Day – who’s really being dishonest?
It’s not ‘Occupy’ that is being deceitful and dishonest.
It is the organisations that have inserted themselves into it and generated a platform themselves and elevated their their agendas and their programmes over any message/ action that might otherwise have emerged from a genuine dialogue between people ‘coming together’ over stuff they are rightfully pissed off about.
I wrote about all of ths here. http://thestandard.org.nz/over-or-into-the-wall/
Thanks Bill, you are right, I know quite a few people (including myself) that thought Occupy would be a great opportunity to make a difference regardless of affiliations but are quite pissed off about what’s happened in NZ.
I know Green party supporters who are very sympathetic to the theoretical aims of Occupy who deliberately kept their politics out of it, and they amongst many others have been shat on.
Once again in agreement with Bill and suggest we take inspiration from the fact that today Egypt will once again inhabit Tarhir Sq, in solidarity with Occupywallstreet and oocupyoakland. It’s international, so whatever happens in Dunedin, although its a missed opportunity here, it is insignificant in the bigger picture.
This person writes a brilliant first hand account of an awakening in Oakland…
http://www.theawl.com/2011/10/the-livestream-ended-how-i-got-off-my-computer-and-into-the-streets-at-occupy-oakland
This may happen here yet, depending on how it grows and articulates itself abroad.
Ali Mustafa will be live tweeting from Egypt. Follow him for real news.
twitter:@_fbtm
I can’t post the results of the latest herald digi-poll in OPEN MIKE???
Poor handling of Oil Spill what?
As the article notes, there was a spike in support from rugger loving Aucklanders in the days before the final. I’d have never predicted that … sigh.
Well that pretty much destroys (yet again) the credibility of those making wild predictions of National’s collapse following the Rena incident. Given the desperately dishonest efforts of Labour & the Greens to somehow blame it on John Key, I had expected the Govt to take a hit. However, it seems that the public has seen through that.
Hopefully, the dirty campaigning has ended, and the campaigns – and the polls – will focus on substantive policy and issues.
“Hopefully, the dirty campaigning has ended, and the campaigns – and the polls – will focus on substantive policy and issues.”
Agree, entirely, Queenie. Do let us know when National make the switch to substantive policy and issues, because on last night’s effort, relying on John Key won’t do it for them this time round.
Well that pretty much destroys (yet again) the credibility of those making wild predictions of National’s collapse following the Rena incident.
No-one here predicted National’s collapse. What we did suggest is that it could well be an ‘inflexion point’. Putting words into other people’s mouths is very bad form.
National have been very, very fortunate that the Rena has held together against expectations , or that there hasn’t been another big storm causing a final break-up. Because that is all that has prevented far more oil landing on the beaches of the BOP.
And if that had happened the focus would have inevitably come back onto that first 100 hours after the grounding when it is now blatantly obvious more could have and should have been done. That and the RWC, which also was a very fortunate distraction for the government.
No-one here predicted National’s collapse.
I suggest you look at the numerous Rena-related posts on this site. Here’s just one example:
What we did suggest is that it could well be an ‘inflexion point’. Putting words into other people’s mouths is very bad form.
Well, it seems I am addressed by the official spokesman for this entire site, which makes it ironic that you accuse me of putting words into other people’s mouths. Please tell me, what words did I put into other people’s mouths?
[lprent: RL is both an author and moderator. There are no official spokespeople – just a grumpy sysop who tends to prefer to bite the head off media rather than prancing around being a glory hound.
There were posts and comments that said it was likely that Rena would drop National support (not a collapse). A single small poll (750 wtf?) taken while the issue was still unfolding is hardly likely to show that.
RL is right. You are wrong. Bullshitting about the site as a whole is a Darwin award infraction. Trying to tell authors what they did not say is a dangerous trait. I very nearly gave you an educational ban. But I am feeling lazy this morning. ]
Qsf dictionary
Loose is to collapse
I trust it is not to trifle with the sysop to state that I do not know what I supposedly told an author they didn’t say, and nor do I know what words I supposedly put in anyone’s mouth.
All I did was assert what had been said, and then provide a quote in support when challenged. RL said “No-one here predicted National’s collapse”, and I posted a quote – by an author – to refute that. I don’t see how providing a quote constitutes “bullshitting about the site as a whole”.
On further review, perhaps RL does not consider that the comment “keep losing votes” to fall within the definition of “collapse” – the term I used. If that is the objection, then I would say that on dictionary definitions the term collapse is a perfectly valid term to describe comments such as “losing votes”, especially as a result of losing votes following a sudden, unexpected event. From the definition of “collapse”:
On further review, perhaps RL does not consider that the comment “keep losing votes” to fall within the definition of “collapse” – the term I used.
Just to be clear… no I do not. A collapse would be something far more dramatic, like plunging within a week or two from 60% ratings to below 40% for instance. None of the authors or commenters who wrote about the Rena were saying anything like that.
What many people did suggest was that it was possibly a turning point, from which the trend for National might start to slowly loose ground.
Rather large difference.
“I didn’t ram that ship into the reef!!!” 😛
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19473099@N05/6238850035/in/photostream
Good example of what I am talking about.
You’re a rat mate, so you better start swimming.
Swimming from what? What ship do you think I am aboard?
Was I hearing things – was listening to the news on the radio this morning and heard the latest Horizon poll has Labour up in the polls and the Nats down. Cant find anything about it online,
maybe I was dreaming but it sounded quite impressive.
It came out a week ago, and suggests that the Nat’s can’t make it without Banks coming through in Epsom.
The highlights include a massive 0.4% support for United Follicles and ACT and the Maori party only marginally better off.
National has 36.8% of registered voters (down 2.7% since September 22)
Labour 25.7% (-1.1%)
Green Party 11.6% (up 0.9%)
New Zealand First 6.2% (- 1.1%)
Mana Party 2.3% (+ 0.3%)
Act 3.4% (down 1.4% from September and down from a high of 5.3% in May shortly after Don Brash became leader)
Maori Party 1.7% (+0.7%)
United Future 0.4% ( 0% in September)
Conservative Party of New Zealand 2.2% (new party, first time measured)
New Citizens 0%
Other parties 1.2%
I likewise found the Herald Digi-Poll a little difficult to believe in the face a poor six weeks for National.Although 10.6% of respondants were uncommited or 79.5 people (!). The election will of course be a major proving ground between the methodologies of the regular polls against the newcomer Horizon.
Someone else who thinks that the fact that we have the lowest rate of senior poverty in the OECD is unacceptable
No doubt our neo-liberal cougar has a cushy pension fund stashed away somewhere, where as others, if she had her way would have to sell everything they own in order to get some subsistence in their retirement.
More good news for Labour, compulsory Kiwisaver is a winner.
And it looks like we like MMP.
rod fyfe thinks because he once flew a fighter jet then ipso facto he knows everything.
National want to make it hard for the poor to strike for better wages and conditions…..
For “If you want to frustrate productivity, be prepared for it to cost you something.” read…
“In order to conquer, we are dividing the work force into those who can strike and those who can’t!”
A whole new class of worker!
Hekia Parata – Asshole of the Week Award
Not only did we have to put up with Hekia Parata’s bold faced lies that New Zealand had the resources and manpower to deal with an oil spill the size of Deepwater Horizon… we now have to put up with oil and dead animals washing up all over our beaches precisely because she was lying…
On the news last night she was at the site of the repair of the Maui pipeline.
Reporter was in regular hard hat and high vis vest (as would be expected).
Parata had a helmet with ear protectors and was wearing a pair of safety goggles like she was intimately involves in the repair!
Talk about poser! Do they now have PR wardrobe consultants with them when they fly in for the photo-ops?
She probably learned that from her boss Gerry. The first thing you do when recovering from a fatal, city destroying earthquake – get a new jacket with CERA embroided on it.
Wardrobe first, bulldozers second.
And i read this morning, in stuff or herald both by Parata. I cant find them again.
The problem with the pipe was ground movement NOT maintence
And
The pictures of the leaking gas posted on u tube were a hoax
Roger Kerr has just died.
Edit: I have removed some of the nasty stuff out because regardless of his political beliefs, he was still a human being.
Sympathies to his family.
I wonder if he learnt in time that you can’t take material wealth with you and that dollars will not help smooth your way into the after life.
Agreed. Thankfully we have affordable general hospital healthcare. However you view Roger Kerr he was an effective advocate for his side. The cancer is another thing: It’s more than likely he would have gone through the mill battling the effects of metastatic melanoma… Condolences to his family.
What I said on Armstrong’s National Party political ad today. Doubt if it will be published though.
“Economical with the truth again!
Like DPF you should have a disclaimer, saying rabid National party supporter.
Labour had to spend to repair the damage done to our national infrastructure and public services by decades of Neo-liberal Government.
No Government would have escaped a deficit with the GFC.
Labour left us in a much better position than the present, borrow, hope and give our assets away at fire sale prices to their future employers. National.
I suppose National cannot really campaign on their real policies though.
Stealing our wealth by reducing wages, giving away money earning assets, killing manufacturing, borrowing to give more money to those who spend it on Hawaii holidays and offshore gambling and making sure they have high paying jobs in finance, when they finally get voted out.”
Simon Power couldn’t even wait that long for his earthly reward.
The Rena disaster will cause National to drop in the polls……NEK MINNIT….
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10762430
” National would comfortably govern on its own with 53.5 per cent of decided voters, up 1.5 percentage points on the previous poll, in August.”
and
“Labour has 30.3 per cent support (down 1.2), ”
and in case anyone tries to say that the Rena wasn’t really in view when this poll was taken…
“As well as the Rugby World Cup, events leading up to the polling included the Rena oil spill off Tauranga, a downgrade for New Zealand by two credit rating agencies, and accusations that Mr Key misled the House when he claimed Standard & Poor’s had said another credit downgrade would be more likely if Labour became the Government.”
“The poll of 750 respondents was taken between October 20 and 27.”
Winning the RWC does not seemed to have helped Key’s polling much. Imagine if Donald’s kick had missed?
750 respondants, does this huge number represent the way a majority of New Zealand is thinking or the number of national suporters found during a week of searching for people who will give the approved reply?.
Typical reply when your team is losing is to blame it on who does the polling, who was polled, or the sample size.
I gaurantee that if the result had showed a gain for labour you wouldn’t even be questioning the sample size.
Remember….many on the left were saying that the Rena was “Key’s, ‘Katrina'” and that the Nat’s would suffer in the polls.
That they have gone up shows the most people realise that this was just left wing spin.
Interesting, Nothing matters until four weeks from now.
I was disgusted the other day to hear that up himself Paul Henry Drive on radio live gloating (gloating on the unproven basis G was responsible for Lockerbie) about the murderous war crime of Gadaffi’s death He didn’t leave out the horror of the man being sodomized by some sort of object during the process of his dying. He is a total U$$ toady.
Some facts about the good things Gadaffi did for his people in this article:
“He also wanted Libyans to share in the country’s oil wealth, a notion foreign to America and other Western societies.
Under his 1999 Decision No. 111, all Libyans got free healthcare, education, electricity, water, training, rehabilitation, housing assistance, disability and old-age benefits, interest-free state loans, as well as generous subsidies to study abroad, buy a new car, help couples when they marry, practically free gasoline, and more.
Literacy under Gaddafi rose from 20 – 80%. Libya’s hospitals and private clinics were some of the region’s best. Now they’re in shambles. Some, in fact, were bombed or damage
The young people are well dressed, well fed and well educated….Every Libyan gets free, and often excellent, education, medical and health services. New colleges and hospitals are impressive by any international standard.
All Libyans have a house or a flat, a car, and most have televisions” and other conveniences. “Compared with most citizens of Third World countries, and with many (others), Libyans have it very good indeed,” including decent housing or a rent-free apartment.
Green Book ideology rejects Western-style democracy and predatory capitalism, especially neoliberal exploitation. It’s one of many reasons why Gaddafi was ousted.
He had nothing to do with downing Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. Neither did Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi. Scottish judges knew he was innocent but were pressured to convict.
Gaddafi never admitted fault. He took responsibility solely to have international sanctions removed. To this day, he and al-Megrahi stand falsely accused. Likely CIA /MI6/and/or Mossad involvement is never mentioned. ”
refer link: http://www.rense.com/general95/hyd.htm
So is Labour going to announce funding for Len Brown’s train project Monday? Also I am presuming both TV 3 and TV One will release a poll on Sunday and Roy Morgan must be due to drop another poll very soon.
I can confidently predict gc that labour will make no such announcement on Monday.
This Dictator of an oil rich country.
Overthrew a democratically elected Government.
Murdered between 700 thousand and a million of his own citizens to get into power.
Brutally squashed two independence movements. Now engaged in squashing a third.
Keeps about 2/3 of his country in poverty.
Allows foreign companies to repatriate almost 100% of their profits. Especially Western oil companies.
Has the worst environmental record in the Pacific..
Allows abuse of workers in virtual slave labour.
Sends troops in to kill unionists.
Country has unsustainable debt.
Streets of beggars and homeless.
This Dictator of an oil rich country.
Left his country with no external debt.
Gave interest free loans to citizens.
Had Western standards of living.
Increased literacy from 25% to 83%.
Had the Highest Standard of living in Africa.
A proportion of all oil sales was credited to every citizens bank account.
No beggars in the streets and no homeless.
Guess which one was helped into place by the US Government and is supported by other Western Governments, including ours.
Guess which one is considered so bad that we should support his overthrow.
RIP Roger Kerr
I cannot bring myself to feel sorry for him.
Pity he is not still here to answer for the blighted lives, suicides, poverty, NZ’s heading for the third world, and the other effects, of his and others worship of a mean, spiteful discredited economic religion.
Wasn’t he one of the insider traders in SCF also?
Nobody said you had to feel sorry for him.
I felt the same way when Ed Hillary passed, I just did not care given his long support of the Labour government.
Given that I believe in an afterlife (also in universal salvation), I did a little bit, thinking that he was in for a bit of a shock, as he would have thought himself to have done only good…
WTF is Key doing in this photo?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10762437
This Hobbit themed article has nothing to do with Key other than to say he was given a photo op with his ‘mate’ Jackson. Key isn’t Minister of Arts (why didn’t Finlayson get the photo op?).
I call bs. Also, is that an old photo? Jackson is looking like his old self.
Oh I see Stuff covered it also. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5871787/Key-adds-stardust-to-campaign-trail
Key and his mates have done nothing for the film industry. Yes, they jumped at the chance to brown-nose Jackson and stick their beaks into an industrial dispute (enjoying your residual checks negotiated for you by fucking unions, Sir Peter?) but they’ve done sweet f-all for the industry.
I still remain completely disgusted with Peter Jackson. It’s really tough on me as I was such a fangirl. On the hobnobbing with celebs theme though, which doesn’t Russel Norman get his sister in law Anna Paquin to do an ad for the Greens? That would be awesome 🙂
Jackson and key sold out the film workers for the love of money.
Key and national are traitors, they have made that plain with their plans for this country if we are stupid enough to vote them back in.
Vote for Change has confirmed that it wants to go back to an unrepresentative model for elections.
JK with Sir Peter, Knighted for services to Warner Brothers
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/full-coverage/chogm-2011/a/-/article/10950129/new-zealand-pm-snubs-queen-for-hobbits/
never seena wingnut flic in my life.
they dont do it for me.
I like stuff with balls.
Its sad when somebody dies, young or old there are the emotionally attached and the family, so with the death of Roger Kerr whilst I bear his ideology total malice I have sympathy with those who were close to him.
Not so those who carry forward the twisted logic of neo liberalism. In the media there are the likes of Deborah Hill Cone (whose image of too tight jeans in her column frightens the shit out of us)..The late Roger said this of her …“Deborah Hill Cone is one of my favourite journalists. Her cosmopolitan reading habits are unique in the New Zealand media, and she’s generally no slouch in business and economic commentary either”.(aka she read the copy of Atlas by the Sainted Ayn Rand I gave to her)…
Fekk its proof Roger was a lightweight AND its a damnation by faint praise from a suspect source for Debs…..QED
It’s all kicking off in Oz, with Qantas grounding their entire fleet to force the Government’s hand in the industrial dispute. Fairwork Australia meeting in emergency council, Gillard addressing the nation. Thousands of workers locked out, thousands of travellers affected. Amazing!
Radio NZ finally decided to mention that this morning… I had already read about it in the Italian press first.. 🙁
Appalling!