Stuart Nash promoted and David Cunliffe demoted in Grant Robertson’s reshuffle leaked (again) to Claire Trevett.
There is no need to wait for Andrew Little’s announcement later today. Grant has passed it directly to Claire so that Andrew’s part is deminished.m
The Parliamentary Labour Party is continuing its right-ward shift. Those who have the temerity to actually win electorate seats, respect the wishes of the members and keep to Left Wing values are passed over.
If it’s true, it proves that Andrew Little is as much of an idiot as David Shearer was as Leader. Why would I as a party member want to stay and vote for that? I’ve voted Labour every election for 36 years. Never again if this is true. Can’t vote for idiots. Grant Robertson is a legend in his own mind! In the real world, Robertson pushed himself up at the expense of the Party vote. No care for members of the party or kiwis! And the puff piece on Ardern in the Woman’s Weekly just shows how shallow she really is! So she’ll go far. Amazing how she’s moving up when she can’t even win a seat. Then again, Little hasn’t either. Maybe having constituents is out of favour these days. They might expect their local MP to actually DO something for them!
Hami Shearlie +100…betrayal of the ‘Labour’ name and history prior to its rogering …a betrayal of Cunliffe, the grassroots choice, and the putting forward of incompetents ( i also cant be bothered voting for idiots)
really will be time to form an alternative to ‘Labour’ using the ‘Labour’ name
eg…what about the ‘Emerald Labour Mana Party’ ? (ELM NZ Party)? ….incorporating Greens and Mana and NZF….ha ha
imo the Mana Party is the real Labour Party…Littles party is now a Liberal Party
Strange interpretation from Northsider. Nash is mentioned briefly at the end of the Trevett story.
But the story starts off with Kelvin Davis replacing Nanaia Mahuta – that would be a major shift but perhaps for Northsider, Maori don’t count with Northsider!!
And there is a clear message in the Trevett story re TPPA/trade. Read it for yourself, don’t just take Northsider’s interpretation as gospel.
” Grant Robertson’s reshuffle leaked (again) to Claire Trevett.”
Why do you say Grant Robertson’s reshuffle when it is Andrew Little’ reshuffle? Based on what knowledge? Your own prejudice perhaps? Anybody with even a passing acquaintance with Andrew Little would know he would be making his own assessment based on many factors that he will know but you clearly do not.
And as for “leaked (again)” this is exactly the same prediction made by Trevett before, just rehashed because Little is announcing the reshuffle today. There is no big secret here to be “leaked” and no advantage for anybody leaking. More to the point Trevett is an experienced political journalist who will make her own predictions after talking to many different people, including MPs.
“Why do you say Grant Robertson’s reshuffle when it is Andrew Little’ reshuffle? Based on what knowledge? Your own prejudice perhaps? Anybody with even a passing acquaintance with Andrew Little would know he would be making his own assessment based on many factors that he will know but you clearly do not.”
Thanks, Karen, and Jenny Kirk. Same thoughts came to me.
As for journalists making things up, and being involved in guesswork? Has the earth stopped spinning?
Roger Douglas and Michael Bassett have been invited by Stuart Nash to break bread with Labour. Nash is promoted.
Yes, the right wing have completed their takeover.
Bullshit Bill Drees. Some people here are either very young and/or have little knowledge of Labour’s history over the past few decades… or are blindsiding themselves for political reasons.
Labour is marking a milestone in their history – 80 years since the election of the first Labour government. All past MPs (still in the land of the living) have a right to attend and were therefore issued an invitation. I hope they have a great reunion no matter what side of the Labour divide they came from.
Usually Anne we’re not too far apart on most issues. I can see your point that all ex-MP’s technically have the right to attend. In one sense it’s hard to argue with that.
On another – that govt was in reality the first (and only) ACT govt. It represented a political betrayal of the first magnitude, the likes of which most nations rarely experience, and the consequences of which still resonate with us forty years later.
On that basis I would have expected the failed pig-farmer to be a persona-non-grata. The fact that he clearly still feels comfortable, and even welcome, to turn up and scoff the Party grub, tells me something about the Party.
Thirty. Don’t make us older than we are RL, I feel old enough already.
PS. Agree totally about the betrayal and the irony of having Actoids sitting down to a dinner celebrating the first Labour Govt. Shakes head in bemusement at the doublethink required for this to be able to happen.
On another – that govt was in reality the first (and only) ACT govt. It represented a political betrayal of the first magnitude, the likes of which most nations rarely experience, and the consequences of which still resonate with us forty years later.
On that basis I would have expected the failed pig-farmer to be a persona-non-grata. The fact that he clearly still feels comfortable, and even welcome, to turn up and scoff the Party grub, tells me something about the Party.
Well put Red. Until Labour apologise for the 80s government and breaks from that, they will always be viewed with suspicion.
“Until Labour apologise for the 80s government and breaks from that, they will always be viewed with suspicion.”
They have an excellent opportunity to do that next year during the celebration of their centenary. Come clean, let it all out, face it, say sorry to the nation.
For my age group who were in our teens in the 80’s our experience of Labour isn’t one of personal betrayal, it’s more of a historical betrayal, as we moved into the consequences of rogernomics without having to adjust. Unlike the generation before us. From what I hear from this age group they are still very bitter and for good reason – everything that was once secure was pulled out from beneath them.
When I speak to older friends about politics they look at me like I’m a complete idiot for being a Labour voter and even worse, being a member.
I really do agree that Labour has to be up front about this uncomfortable past. Crosby Textor would probably suggest otherwise and say apologies look bad, and going by Key’s absolute lack of apologies to anyone except Slater, they probably do advise him to keep quiet.
But the grown up thing to do is to apologise. As individuals we know we have to do it when we stuff up, if we want to keep open and honest relationships. Surely Labour want an open and honest relationship with a group of former supporters whose trust they must regain?
Yes Redlogix, I read all of your contributions (except the highly technical musings which are beyond my comprehension) because they always gel with me. I guess I’m coming from a different perspective than most on this site.
I joined the Labour Party early in 1972 and, by virtue of my back-ground in one of the central Auckland suburbs, I came to know the likes of Bassett, the Douglas family and others of their ilk quite well. They were all ardent admirers of Michael J Savage and had the famous framed picture of him on their walls. By 1984, and for personal reasons, I had dropped out of politics so have never come to grips with what happened during the 80s decade. It was the Muldoon years which provided the catalyst for the changes and over time the whole thing spun out of control. We are still reeling from the fallout in so many ways.
So, on the basis that these people were an integral part of Labour’s history throughout the 60s and 70s (before the neo liberal era began) they are entitled to attend this anniversary. A bit like an old boys/girls school reunion in a way.
Anne,
Do you invite people to your home who are fully dedicated to damaging your family?
Douglas and Bassett are enemies of Labour. Only an idiot or a cuckoo would be party to inviting them into a Labour event.
Bill, happily Douglas and Bassett are part of Labour’s history. If we don’t remember our history there is always the risk of repeating the mistakes. I know a lot of LP members are weirded out by the invite, but it’s indicative of nothing much at all, really. Maybe only that the party has a sense of humour.
And as for inviting people to your home who are fully dedicated to damaging your family, TS is hardly immune from that issue, either.
It must be frustrating to be a Labour Party member. These leaks to the media, especially to the likes of Trevett, make the party a laughing stock.
I don’t know who is talking out of school but whoever it is, or they are, urgently needs to be found and expelled from the party. If Andrew Little can’t control his caucus and deal with disloyalty he’ll never get anywhere IMO.
Leaks have to be for a reason, some kind of advantage. There is none here.
I don’t believe those who have been spouting this line over the last week are fools necessarily. Some have other agendas.
I’d think it was politics Karen, the usual tit for tat. The occasional insider tip in exchange for anything useful to further one’s political ambitions.
An obvious advantage there would be for Trevett, leaks give her something to write about and keep her job. I’d expect there to be some kind of payback for useful leaks; a fluff piece perhaps or a subtle attack on an adversary.
One of National’s strengths is they run a tight ship. I’m quite sure they have much internal dissent but they keep it in the family. Outwardly they give the appearance of a well oiled machine and that resonates with voters.
As for agendas, yes I can see your point there’s no evidence put forward to suggest Grant Robertson has been leaking to the media and false accusations are just as bad as narking.
Frankly why would anyone give a dime about what Clare Trevett says in the NZ Herald?
Why would that be frustrating. Gosh, if it were not for the Standard I would not even know who a. Clare Trevett is, and b. what type of horse manure the Herald would try to pass of as news today.
I believe that we have an unnaturally high tolerance of cruelty and violence in this country.
The statistics on domestic violence and child abuse and murder would bear this out.
Our glorifying of a sport that condones violence, that practically deifies a player who came to prominence for his propensity for throwing aside and trampling over opposition players…
As on Sunday, TV1 – disgraceful behaviour by some/many dairy farmers. Added to the shameful use of battery cages for hens and small pens for pigs, and water pollution from cows and the nett result is an agricultural sector in dire need to some intensive regulation and supervision.
If ever anyone needed a lesson that ‘the market [does not] knows best – just look at our primary industries!
Heard the other day from a friend of friend that there is are plans being formated right now within the Department of Internal Affairs to corporatise councils’ activities.
The temptation that Baudrillard could not resist in writing these essays with these deliberately provocative titles was the manner in which the unfolding events leading up to, during, and soon after the Gulf War provided him with a perfect example for his ideas of “simulacra”, “simulation” and “hyperreality”.
He wished rhetorically to register the fact that the Gulf War was an unfolding media event, a virtual reality, with simulated reactions masquerading for the real human experience of being at war. In the midst of this hyperreality, the reality of the Iraq war was drowned.
More seriously, why doesn’t Al Jazeera have anyone on the ground checking out the story? NB the “Syrian Observatory for Human Rights” is one guy operating out of a flat in England.
in what is a ‘suspected russian strike’, as per the article you linked too, its right there at the beginning of the article in case you missed it.
But then, who is not bombing syria……..here a list from 2015 (but I understand, the bombs from non russians are more civilian friendly bombs than the bombs from russia. And maybe really at this stage crying about the russians is a tad hypocrytical considering that the US and its Allies have been bombing the life out of syria since 2011, have been paying this or that or all groups to various degrees, cause profit!
In a 70th round of airstrikes on January 1, the United States and coalition partners carried out 17 airstrikes in and around Kobanî, near Deir ez-Zor, and near Ar-Raqqah. Thirteen airstrikes in and around Kobanî destroyed 12 ISIL controlled buildings, four ISIL fighting positions, one ISIL vehicle as well as striking two ISIL tactical units and two large ISIL units. Two airstrikes near Ar-Raqqah destroyed five ISIL checkpoints and struck an ISIL staging area, while two airstrikes near Deir ez-Zor destroyed an ISIL fighting position and struck an ISIL shipping container.[170]
February 2015[edit]
On February 5, 2015, Jordan elevated its role in the U.S.-led coalition in Syria, launching one of the largest airstrike campaigns since early January 2015, targeting ISIL militants near Ar-Raqqah, the de facto ISIL capital, inflicting an unknown number of casualties and damaging ISIL facilities. This was done in retaliation against ISIL’s brutal murder of Muath al-Kasasbeh.[193][194]
On February 6, a continued round of Coalition airstrikes at Ar-Raqqah killed over 30 ISIL militants.[195]
On February 21, Syrian Kurds launched an offensive to retake ISIL-held territories in the Al-Hasakah Governorate, specifically in the Tell Hamis area, with support from US airstrikes. At least 20 villages were liberated, and 12 militants were killed in the clashes.[196] In response, on 23 February, ISIL abducted 150 Assyrian Christians from villages near near Tal Tamr (Tell Tamer) in northeastern Syria, after launching a large offensive in the region.[197][198]
As a result of ISIL’s massive offensive in the west Al-Hasakah Governorate, the US-led coalition increased the number of airstrikes in the region to 10, on February 24, in order to halt the ISIL advance. The airstrikes struck nine ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL vehicles.[170]
On February 26, the number of Assyrian Christians abducted by ISIL from villages in northeastern Syria from February 23–25 rose to at least 220, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a monitoring group based in Britain.[199][200]
On February 27, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party and Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Kurdish fighters had recaptured the town of Tal Hamis, along with most of the villages occupied by ISIL in the region. At least 127 ISIL militants were killed in the clashes, along with 30 YPG and allied fighters.[201] One Australian volunteer, who was fighting for the YPG, was also killed.[202] Many of the remaining ISIL militants retreated to Tell Brak, which quickly came under assault from the YPG and allied Arab fighters.
March 2015[edit]
On March 1, 2015, YPG fighters, aided by US airstrikes, were able to drive ISIL militants out of Tell Brak, reducing the ISIL occupation in the eastern Jazira Canton to the villages between Tell Brak and Tal Hamis.[203]
On March 6, it was reported that Abu Humam al-Shami, al-Nusra’s military chief, was killed in a US airstrike targeting a meeting of top al-Nusra leaders, at the al-Nusra Front’s new headquarters at Salqin.[35]
On March 9, the US carried out another airstrike on the al-Nusra Front, targeting a military camp near Atimah, close to the Turkish border in the Idlib Governorate. The airstrike left 9 militants dead.[204]
On March 24, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Canada would be looking to expand Operation Impact to include airstrikes against ISIL in Syria as well.
On March 26, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence announced the deployment of around 75 military trainers and headquarter staff to Turkey, and other nearby countries in the anti-ISIL coalition, to assist with the U.S.-led training programme in Syria. The training programme will provide small arms, infantry tactics and medical training to Syrian moderate opposition forces for over three years.[117]
On March 30, the House of Commons of Canada authorized the extended deployment of its military for one year and the war in Syria.[205]
April 2015[edit]
On April 8, Canada initiated airstrikes in Syria, with two CF-18 fighters bombing a former military installation of the Syrian government that was captured by ISIL, near its headquarters in ar-Raqqah.[205]
May 2015[edit]
Main article: May 2015 U.S. special forces raid in Syria
On May 15, after surveillance by British special forces confirmed the presence of a senior leader named Abu Sayyaf in al-Amr,[206] 1st SFOD-Delta operators from the Joint Special Operations Command based in Iraq conducted an operation to capture him. The operation resulted in his death when he tried to engage U.S. forces in combat and the capture of his wife Umm Sayyaf. The operation also led to the freeing of a Yazidi woman who was held as a slave. About a dozen ISIL fighters were also killed in the raid, two U.S. officials said. The SOHR reported that an additional 19 ISIL fighters were killed in the US airstrikes that accompanied the raid. One official said that ISIL Forces fired at the U.S. aircraft, and there was reportedly hand-to-hand combat during the raid. UH-60 Black Hawk and V-22 Osprey helicopters were used to conduct the raid, and Umm Sayyaf is currently being held by U.S. Forces in Iraq.[32][207][208]
July 2015[edit]
Following a suicide bombing in the Şanlıurfa Province of Turkey believed to have been carried out by ISIL militants on 20 July, as well as an ISIL cross-border attack that killed a Turkish serviceman on 23 July, Turkish armour and aircraft struck ISIL targets just across the border in Syria. Turkey also agreed to let the United States use the USAF Incirlik Air Base for strikes against ISIL.[7][209]
August 2015[edit]
On 21 August, three Islamic State fighters, two with UK nationality, were targeted and killed in Raqqa, Syria by a British Royal Air Force MQ-9 Reaper strike. Prime Minister David Cameron gave a statement to Parliament that one of the British nationals targeted had been plotting attacks in the United Kingdom. Another British national was killed in a separate air strike by US forces in Raqqa on 24 August.[210]
October 2015[edit]
The introduction of Russian aircraft and ship based cruise missiles in support of the Syrian Government to Syrian airspace creates new threats to the US-led coalition. Discussions are held to deconflict Syrian airspace.
On 10 October, the state run Syrian Arab News Agency reported claims that two U.S. F16 jets had “violated Syrian airspace” and bombed two electricity power plants in al-Rudwaniya, east Aleppo, “in breach of international law”.[211]
On 20 October Canada’s Prime Minister elect Justin Trudeau informed Barack Obama by phone of Canada’s intention to pull out of bombing raids in Syria. Canada will remain a coalition partner but will stop strikes.[212]
November 2015[edit]
After the deadly attacks in Paris, French President Francois Hollande sent its only aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, with its 26 fighters to intensify air strikes.[213]
On 27 November, Syrian Arab News Agency reported The US-led international coalition, allegedly fighting ISIS, targeted water pumping stations in al-Khafseh area, east of Aleppo, causing them to go out of service.[214][215]
I am expecting that ISIL will be reversed in 2016 and from there reasonably rapidly contained into northern Iraq.
They are after all hemmed in on three sides by Jordan, Iraq/US, Turkey, Libya/Russia, the Kurds, and will continue to suffer massive airborne bombing degradation.
If I’m right, this makes it more likely that ISIL will continue to shift their centre of attention to Libya, which has no functioning government and is surrounded to the south, west and east by very weak governments. Plus, plenty of oil production together with full seaports to capture. Unlike Syria and Iraq, NATO has no near-Libyan solutions to build a base from.
So the west needs to prepare for a migration wave from Libya even bigger than that from Syria.
Think you’ll find that the hypocrites are the people minimising it when Russia does it, actually.
Just note that Qatar funded news sources like Al Jazeera have their own angle to put on what is happening in Syria, given that Qatar would like its own pipelines through the country and Assad gone so it can happen.
The Americans have no worries about destroying Syrian government infrastructure, bombing Syria back to the stone age and turning the locals against Assad.
The Russians on the other hand have the objective of ensuring a functioning Syrian state, ongoing civil services and minimising public ill will towards Damascus.
here’s your evidence it was russia. no reporting at all on New Pravda. That’s usually a giveaway despite RT being the most impartial, evidence based source of news on the planet..
Personally i believe that everyone who is not Syrian should stop bombing Syria.
russians, yanks, saudis, french, english, Turkey and whomever i may have forgotten.
this small country has been getting it for four years now, and we want to complain that the russians joined in the fun? WTF? We should have complained when the yanks started bombing in the first place in their quest to bring Freedom n shite as approved by Uncle Sam.
What ever happened in Syria, was a problem for syrians to sort, not for the ;western world to fuck up beyond believe, like Iraq, like Afghanistan, like they are gonna fuck up Yemen, lebanon, Somalia, Lybia, am I fogetting some? Feel free to ad.
The Russians are worse. It’s not that hard to understand. I’ve got thousands of comments on this site, feel free to find any where I support western policies in the middle east. Go on, I’ll wait.
Retreating to some pixie plan about how you want everyone out is fine, but fucked if it justifies actually defending Putin, or Assad, ffs.
The russians are as bad as the yanks, as the english, as all the others.
yada yada yada yada.
But you know what, yes, Syria under Assad was better then what is Syria now under ISis and bombing by every fuckwit with an army, fighterplanes and bombs. Fuck we support Saudi Arabia which is a fucking Islamic state beheading women, men and mere children for the fucking sake of writing a poem or having sex. But that is ok, because their terrorism is more ‘democratic ‘ than the ‘democracy’ of Assad?
And no, i am not defending Putin, i just don’t see why it is ok if the bombs come from the yanks or the poms but its not ok when they come from the ruskies. Seriously get a grip. None should be bombing Syria. full stop there. No one has any reasons to defend what fucking ever interest they have in Syria unless they are Syrians. Oh….forgot they have pretty much all left the hellhole, to rot away in some camps cause no one wants refugees from Syria cause ISIS. Fucking bullshit.
But you know what, its good for business….is it not? All those western weapons manufactures i am sure are getting their fill. Fuck it.
Why shoudln;t we support Assad? Coz he is at war with his own people, and would be losing if not for Iranian and russian support which is far greater than the foriegn support the rebels are getting from any outsiders.
And that’s before we even get into the details of baathist control. ISIS didn’t invent fear you know.
All I’m saying is put your weird little prejudgements aside, face facts.
The Putin plan will lead to what? Play it out for me. You are talking about genocide mate. That’s the end game for regime opponents. there is no other way for the regime to survive, as the rebels will. not. quit. They are done with Assad, they would rather join ISIS for now than go back to Assad. So how do you see Assad winning mate, come on.
i just don’t see why it is ok if the bombs come from the yanks or the poms
Where did I say that? I didn’t, so stop making shit up.
“Why shoudln;t we support Assad? Coz he is at war with his own people, and would be losing if not for Iranian and russian support which is far greater than the foriegn support the rebels are getting from any outsiders.”
you’re a fool. The US has just approved a further $500M in rebel funding to take out a sovereign government, which is blatantly illegal. Turkey, a NATO country allows millions of dollars of ISIS oil to cross its borders every day.
In fact you should ask yourself what is going on in Syria that the Christians, Alawite, Druze and Shia minorities are backing Assad to the hilt.
Unlike faraway Western spectators, they know that if ISIS, or al-Nusra, or Ahrar ash-Sham or any of the other “moderate Sunni terrorists” that the West supports (including the ones who killed the parachuting Russian pilot then said on camera that they should have burned him – like was done to the Jordanian pilot) actually defeated Assad and took power, all their families and villages would be torched or enslaved.
I wonder what this is about, seeing CV claims Alawites are backing Assad to the hilt.
These people are obviously CIA MOSSAD stooges or some shit. Never mind though, you can’t trust any sources unapproved by RT or Zerohedge. Just ignore it like the all the bombed hospitals and the casualty figures and the reports saying people are fleeing Assad.
in fact, you’re not just a fool, you’re a fool who claims to respect facts but in fact shits on facts.
Assad ran a highly secular, highly educated society, had women in university professorships and as Government Ministers.
But Islamist Wahabi and salafist sympathisers in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE had had enough of that, and the US wanted Libya in total chaos like Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, and so here we are.
If those “moderate terrorists terrorists” defeat Assad and takeover Syria, it’ll be the end of civilised life for women in that country, and for every ethnic and religious minority too.
You’re not a defender of the people, you are a defender of bloody chaos.
Assad ran a highly secular, highly educated society, had women in university professorships and as Government Ministers.
So did Josef Stalin. The above points are entirely compatible with being a murderous dictator who rules via well-justified fear of torture and death – being someone like Bashar Al-Assad, for instance. Your apologias for such people make me hope the Labour Party never has you in any official position, ever.
I think your milk got curdled Pascalls Bookie.
Something seems to be off in your thinking, unlike in the past.
CV seems to have a coherent argument re Syria, and thats not saying it is correct, everything is s.it there with incompatible competing sides.
Notice he still can’t bring himself to mention the hospitals being bombed by his legitimate govt, or the brread factories, or the cities.
Notice he hasn’t mentioned the thousands of Hezbollah and Iraqi shia militia that have been propping up his secular hero, or the mention the fact about which side has killed the most, or the barrel bombs, or the fact that the west hasn’t sctually been bombing Assad. ( the cia’s programme insisted fighters had to focus solely on ISIS, which is why t was such a failure, the Syrian people have largely had it with Assad, Hence the war, it’s not some dirty trick pulled by foreign agents. It’s a genuine uprising. Baath states are police states. Seriously, you can look it up. CV doesn’t mind that as they are ‘secualr’ so he loves them like he loves his Russian hero Putin)
If Assad is so popular, if he had a mandate, he would have won long ago. people are fleeing Assad. He decided that he’d rather the country burn than he step down. He started bombing cities. This radicalises an opposition.
CV admits he doesn’t read from a wide variety of sources, it shows.
Well documented that Assad released extremist Jihadis from jail, as is his tactical co-operation with ISIS (ignoring their gains while squeezing kurdish and other oppionents agaisnt them)
But several months before Abu Issa was released, he and a large group of other jihadis were moved from their isolation cells elsewhere in the country and flown to Aleppo’s main prison, where they enjoyed a more communal and comfortable life. “It was like a hotel,” he said. “We couldn’t believe it. There were cigarettes, blankets, anything you wanted. You could even get girls.” Soon the detainees were puzzled by another prison oddity, the arrival of university students who had been arrested in Aleppo for protesting against the Assad regime.
“They were kids with posters and they were being sent to prison with the jihadis,” he said. “One of them was a communist and he talked about his views to everyone. There was a guy from al-Qaida in the prison and he was usually very polite but he got angry with this guy. He said if he saw him again he would kill him.” Abu Issa and the other Islamist detainees soon formed the view that they had been moved to the Aleppo prison for a reason – to instil a harder ideological line into the university students, who back then were at the vanguard of the uprising in Syria’s largest city.
On the same day that Abu Issa and many of his friends were released, the Lebanese government, which is supported by Damascus, also freed more than 70 jihadis, many of whom had been convicted of terrorism offences and were serving lengthy terms. The release puzzled western officials in Beirut who had been monitoring the fates of many of the accused jihadis in Lebanon’s jails for more than four years. Some had been directly linked to a deadly jihadi uprising in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in July 2007, which led to 190 Lebanese soldiers being killed in battle and much of the camp destroyed. The claim that the Syrian regime aided the rise of extremism to splinter the opposition and reaffirm its own narrative that the war was all about terrorism in the first place has been widely repeated throughout the past five years. It is a central grievance of the mainstream opposition in Syria’s north, which says it lost more than 1,500 of its men ousting Isis from Idlib and Aleppo in early 2014. At the same time as the opposition was fighting the jihadis, the Syrian regime, which did not intervene, was able to advance around the city for the first time in the war. “There was no other reason for Salafi jihadis to be in that jail, and for the students to be with us,” said Abu Issa, who now lives in exile in Turkey. “They wanted them to be radicalised. If this stayed as a street protest, it would have toppled [the regime] within months, and they knew it.”
What was CV’s secular hero doing? Did they dreaded West force him to put jihadis into confinement with detained leftwing rebels? Did the west *make* him then give an amnesty to radical slafists and release them all from Jail so that they would futher radicalise the opposition?
What was going on? It’s almost like Assad is an arsehole who is playing dupes like CV like fiddles.
Oh , and the conservative estimate for Iranian support for Assad during the war is around $6B PA, just to put CV’s “you’re a fool. The US has just approved a further $500M in rebel funding” in conext.
You’ll note that I never said there wasn’t foreign support for rebels, I said the regime was getting much more. Is anyone giving the rebels air support BTW? Oh yeah, nope, hence the barrel bombings at will, and the destryed cities, which CV turns his eyes away from.
Sabine: You’re right about the current situation, but don’t ever believe Syria was not one of the worst humans rights blackspots on the globe before the current “troubles”.
The police constraints on Dr Jarrod Gilbert’s research on gangs are an example of widespread and long-lasting restrictions on academic research contracts that are funded by government departments.
Contracted research routinely exercises strict control over the entire project, including many aspects of project methodology, the data gathered, interpretation, and final write-up. In particular, funding agencies regularly hoard the reports and limit the opportunities for researchers to publish their studies.
Contract providers often demand the right to approve the content of researchers’ publications and presentations, before the academic can go public with their studies and can simply deny approval if they wish.
In effect, the funders control both the project and the researcher.
The problem is that research is seen as a commodity that can be bought and owned, rather than information that should be freely available for serious inquiry and the public good.
QPEC sees two problems arising from Dr Gilbert’s case. One is that it may well be remembered and treated just as the “police issue” or the “gangs issue,” when it is actually indicative of a deep-seated injustice that runs right across the tertiary education sector.
The second is the danger to the role of tertiary institutions as “critic and conscience of society.” Media reports rightly recall this item as a clause in the Education Act of 1989. But the current Government has started moves to review the Act. It has already restructured tertiary institution councils to ensure extensive control by government. And it clearly countenances restraints on scientists’ right to make public statements.
In other words, academic freedom is at stake.
QPEC considers that the restrictions on Dr Gilbert’s research represent a serious threat to scholarship in New Zealand, which could be addressed by a model of funded research designed to serve the public interest.
What do we have to do to have a justice system in this country?
Another right wing stitch up by the looks of it.
The malaysian diplomat on trial in Welllington has offered a guilty plea to one charge ( presumably the least serious).
The prosecution (crown solicitor) offered no evidence on the other two charges so the judge had to discharge them. Must have been a discussion between the two sides who have sold the complainant down the river. Did they even ask about her views on this deal – I assume not after all the boys know best?
Now the defence are going to ask for a discharge without conviction for the guilty plea.
WTF yes you heard correctly.
So in this country you can go into someone’s house, take your clothes off and try to assault them. You can then be shipped out of the country without anyone taking responsibility for that. When you are brought back you then do a deal to ensure that effectively nothing happens to you.
The complainant on the other hand is abused, reabused by the police and MFAT and now reabused by our courts, the police and the crown solicitor.
Where the hell is the justice for her.
All she will have had is months of stress and anxiety over the whole issue.
Sorry RedBaronCV, but I disagree somewhat with the interpretation you have put on the outcome of this morning’s court hearing, based on radio and media reports I have heard/read so far.
IMO. RNZ News provides a much more balanced and detailed report on what happened and the outcome of this morning. While the defendant’s lawyers have asked for a discharge without conviction on the charge of indecent assault to which he pleaded guilty on the grounds of mental illness, this has not yet been accepted, with a disputed facts hearing to take place in the High Court on Friday. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/290901/diplomat-naked-below-waist,-court-told
Also, here are links to The Herald and Stuff reports to date:
The guilty plea to the indecent assault charge was only made public this morning, but was presumably discussed/agreed last week at the two pre-trial hearings held in the Wellington High Court on Monday and Thursday.
The trial that started this morning was originally set down as a jury trial scheduled for two weeks’ duration with Ms Billingsley and others due to appear as witnesses. The dropping of the other two charges and the guilty plea to the indecent assault charge presumably means that Tania and others will now not have to go through the stress of appearing. We don’t know Ms Billingsley’s reaction to the guilty plea etc but she may well have been kept in the picture during the pre-trial hearings and her views sought.
So lets not rush into condemning the Crown prosecutors, the court etc until a little more is known and the case reaches a conclusion/decision. As a woman who has been in a similar/worse situation, I obviously want to see justice for Tania; but I also believe in due process and the rights of the defendant to also be heard.
UPDATE – Stuff article has been updated and is reporting that Tania is thrilled with the guilty plea.
I have no problem with the guilty plea and the dropping of the other two charges if that is what the complainant wanted and she had been given adequate legal assistance to help her with her decision – I understand that these cases when defended aren’t pretty but asking for a discharge without conviction is a bit much. I too believe that a defendant has the right to be heard and did not say otherwise. I am mindful of other cases where the deals have been offered over charges- some have not been accepted but if they had then there would have been very little justice for the complainant. She had already had decisions made for her when he wasn’t originally charged and we have the example of the Pike River court cases where the families really didn’t get a word in. Hate to have a repeat of that
TIME TO ‘BLOW THE WHISTLE’ ON TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL’S ‘CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX’?
30 November 2015
TIME TO ‘BLOW THE WHISTLE’ ON TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL’S ‘CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX’?
I think so.
In my considered opinion, Transparency International’s ‘Corruption Perception Index’ is not worth the paper upon which it is written.
What makes it VERY difficult for New Zealand anti-corruption ‘whistle-blowers’, is the ‘perception’ that New Zealand is (now) the second ‘least corrupt country in the world’.
The recently passed legislation, (arising from the Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill), which was required before NZ could ratify UNCAC, still allows ‘facilitation payments’ – ie. BRIBES.
(a) the act that is alleged to constitute the offence was committed for the sole or
primary purpose of ensuring or expediting the performance by a foreign public
official of a routine government action; and
(b) the value of the benefit is small.
______________________________________________________________________________________
(My evidence, which was presented in person to the Law and Order Select Committee, which was considering the (then) Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill:
2) NZ does not have an independent anti-corruption body, tasked with educating the public and preventing corruption.
3) NZ members of Parliament (whom make the rules for everyone else) do not themselves have an enforceable ‘Code of Conduct’.
4) It is not an offence under the Local Government Act 2002, for NZ Local Government elected representatives to breach their ‘Code of Conduct’.
5) It is not a lawful, mandatory requirement for Local Government elected representatives to complete a ‘Register of Interests’ which is available for public scrutiny.
6) It is not a lawful, mandatory requirement for Local Government staff, responsible for property or procurement, to complete a ‘Register of Interests’ which is available for public scrutiny.
7) It is not a lawful, mandatory requirement for Local Government Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) Directors and staff, responsible for property or procurement, to complete a ‘Register of Interests’ which is available for public scrutiny.
8) The Public Records Act 2005, (section 3 (c) ‘Purposes of Act’
whose stated purpose is:
“to enable the Government to be held accountable by—
(i) ensuring that full and accurate records of the affairs of central and local government are created and maintained; and
(ii) providing for the preservation of, and public access to, records of long-term value; …”
is not being fully implemented and enforced, across NZ central and local government.
9) It is not a lawful requirement that a ‘cost-benefit’ analysis of NZ Central Government and Local Government public finances must be undertaken, to prove that private procurement of public services previously provided ‘in house’ is cost-effective for the public majority of tax payers and rate payers.
10) There is not a legally enforceable ‘Code of Conduct’ for members of the NZ Judiciary, to ensure that they are not ‘above the law’.
11) There is no lawful requirement for a publicly-available NZ Judicial ‘Register of Interests’, to help prevent ‘conflicts of interest’.
12)All NZ Court proceedings are currently not recorded, with audio records available to parties who request them.
13) There is no lawful requirement for a publicly-available NZ ‘Register of Lobbyists, or ‘Code of Conduct’ for lobbyists.
14) There is no lawful requirement for a ‘post-separation employment’ (‘revolving door’ ) quarantine period from the time officials leave the public service, to take up a similar role in the private sector.
15) It is not a lawful requirement that it is only a binding vote of the public majority that can determine whether public assets held at NZ central or local government are sold, or long-term leased via Public Private Partnerships.
16) It is not unlawful for politicians to knowingly misrepresent their policies prior to central or local government elections.
17) There are currently no NZ laws which protect individuals, NGOs and community-based organisations, who are ‘whistle-blowing’ against ‘conflicts of interest’ and and alleged corrupt practices at central and local government level and within the judiciary.
18) There is no legislation which prevents ‘State Capture’ – where vested interests get what they want, at the ‘policy’ level, before laws are passed which serve their vested interests.
‘Anti-corruption /anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
Attendee: 2009 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2010 Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2013 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2014 G20 Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2015 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
For one thing, it scream to me like it’s an ad.
Big claims made on the basis of anecdata and roundworm models, no downsides mentioned, repeated use of brand name… oh, and the clickbait headline
I wonder if a venture capitalist has just bought metformin shares?
“To November 18, 35 people have been killed in workplace accidents nationwide in 2015.
That number is understood to be 37 with the latest fatalities.
November 25: a 54-year-old man dies in a workplace accident in Mangere involving a truck.
November 5: A 30-year-old male miner dies after an industrial accident at a gold mine in Southland.
October 23: One person is dead after a farm bike crash in rural Gisborne.
October 2: A person is killed in what’s believed to be a crushing incident by a truck on a worksite in Whangarei.
September 20: Zoo curator Samantha Kudeweh is killed by a Sumatran tiger while she was working at Hamilton Zoo.
September 15: Jamey Lee Bowring, 24, of Huntly, dies after a massive explosion at hazardous waste company Salters Cartage in Wiri.
September 9: Laurence Gerard Schwabe, of Kawerau, is killed while tree-felling in Tuhoe Forest, between Murupara and Whakatane.
September 6: Dairy farmer Ian Totty, 72, died after falling 4.8 metres from a barn roof in Staveley, near Methven.
August 28: Farm worker Russell Brooker, 45, is killed when his quad bike rolls into a drain on his Puketaha farm.
August 27: Mechanic Robert George Wallace is killed at a truck repair yard in Oamaru.
August 10: A rubbish truck overturned and rolled 15 metres down a bank on Auckland’s North Shore, killing one person and leaving another with moderate injuries.
August 6: Oamaru farmer Greg Fallon, dies in a tractor accident just outside of Oamaru.
July 5: Rebecca Anne Cunningham Byars, 32, dies in an accident on the family farm in Clements Rd, Kaiwera.
June 8: Quarry boss Murray Taylor, 56, is buried by rock in his excavator at the Heathstock Haulage limeworks in Waikari, North Canterbury.
Yet another undeclared National Party implant on The Panel.
RNZ National, Monday 30 November 2015
Jesse Mulligan, Clare de Lore, Bernard Hickey, Zoe George
Making her début on RNZ’s light chat show The Panel this afternoon is one Clare de Lore, billed by host Jesse Mulligan as a “journalist”. In fact, there is much more important information about her that Mulligan—or more likely his producers—decided not to tell the audience: she is married to the former deputy prime minister Sir Don McKinnon, a National Party grandee.
Clare de Lore therefore joins a long list of National Party insiders that have been granted a soapbox on this programme, usually without either them or the host informing us. The list is long and makes depressing reading. It includes, among others: John Bishop, Joanne Black, Michele Boag, Jane Clifton, David Farrar, Stephen Franks, Garth George (R.I.P.), Richard Griffin, Claudette Hauiti, Tau Henare, Deborah Hill Cone, Sam Johnson, Neil Miller, Chris Wikaira…. ad nauseam….
And the one or two from the left? Mike (I agree with Matthew) Williams; Brian (Michelle’s my mate) Edwards; Bomber Bradbury (oh, that’s right, got kicked off for being too left); Chris (face of the respectable left) Trotter; Josie (I’m in the wrong party) Pagani… . Says as much about Mora’s so-called panel as it does the state of the left in New Zealand. Maybe it’s because Mora hasn’t got too much to work with?
Then there are the “liberal comedians” like Jeremy Elwood and Andrew Clay, who spend their whole time on the programme trying to curry favour with the likes of Stephen Franks, Jack Anderson and Graham Bell.
Hosking holds court, as his underlings dutifully guffaw at his deliberate faux pas;
No Mihi Forbes, no John Campbell—but THESE jackasses are still on TV every night.
Television One News (final minute) and When Hilary Met Oprah, TV3, 7 p.m.
Monday 30 November 2015
groveln. to humble oneself or act in an abject manner, as in great fear or utter servility.
6:59 p.m. The Television One news is winding to a close, but the groveling is only getting started. An ill-at-ease Thunderbird puppet swivels in his chair and addresses the coiffured, preening star of the upcoming show….
SIMON DALLOW: Coming up on Seven Sharp, an interview with Michael Bublé. I’ll bet you’re a fan, Mike! MIKE “KING OF CONTRA” HOSKING: Oooh yeah! Everybody likes the Boobs!
…..Pregnant pause….
SIMON DALLOW: Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho! TONI STREET: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! WENDY “FIST PUMPER” PETRIE: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! SIMON DALLOW: That was your David Seymour moment! MIKE “KING OF CONTRA” HOSKING: A few minutes back on the job and I’m already in trouble! WENDY “FIST PUMPER” PETRIE: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! SIMON DALLOW: Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho! TONI STREET: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
I cut away from that rubbish to have a look at what was happening on TV3. Incredibly, it was even more cringe-inducing than watching Hosking’s hapless underlings perform their duty. Hilary Barry had been granted an audience with Her Majesty Oprah Winfrey; this was a publicity exercise for Oprah’s forthcoming visit to New Zealand. Barry, embarrassingly, gushed about how nervous she was; Oprah responded by offering to give her a reassuring hug. After that, Oprah did all the talking. Hilary Barry’s part consisted of gazing at her with a desperate intensity, not even pretending to be an interviewer, but playing the demeaning role of awe-struck and reverential devotee.
But no matter how much she may have been forced to debase herself before Oprah Winfrey, it still beats her day job….
Humans are hard-wired to classify, categorise and compare, or in other words, to taxonomize. We may be born tabula rasa but quickly are taught that the world is divided into types of things, subtypes of those and assorted other categories. The operative term is “taught” rather than “realise.” Taxonomies are ...
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Richard Edwards, Janet Hoek, Anaru Waa, George Thomson, Nick Wilson (author details*) We congratulate the NZ Government on its proposed Action Plan for the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 goal. Here we examine the evidence for three key ideas outlined in the plan: permitting tobacco products to be sold in only ...
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The travel bubble with Australia has not brought room for others to come into the MIQ system from overseas. Instead, spaces are being decommissioned. Why? The system is leaky. The government cannot afford to let riskier people into those spaces, because the system can’t handle them. My column in Insights ...
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Previously (9 February) I wrote about how business consultants Ernst & Young were used to do a hatchet job on the former senior management team at Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB). While this hatchet job was planned in 2019 its gestation was much longer. Its underlying causes involved differences in ...
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Yesterday I got told to “do some research” &, by extension, to think critically. The biologist in me cringed a little when I read it (and not because of the advice about doing research). Biology teachers I know suggested that perhaps everyone should take the NCEA standard that ...
Lis Ku, De Montfort University Since the onset of the pandemic, everyone from newspaper columnists to Twitter users has advanced the now idea that extroverts and introverts are handling the crisis differently. Many claim that introverts adapt to social distancing and isolation better than extroverts, with some even suggesting that ...
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Twenty years after it invaded, the US is finally leaving Afghanistan. What's surprising is that it took them so long - its been clear for over a decade that their presence there was pointless and just pissing people off. But imperial pride leads to exactly this sort of stupidity. Their ...
The government has announced that it will ban the export of livestock by sea. Huzzah! A vile, cruel and unconscionable trade will be ended! But there's a catch: the ban won't kick in until 2023, giving farmers two ful years to continue to profit from extreme animal cruelty. But why ...
Today is unexpectedly a Member's Day - the Business Committee granted it early in the year, to make up for time list to government business. First up is a two-hour debate on the budget policy statement, with questions to Ministers, replacing the general debate. Then its the second reading of ...
. . Two stories which appeared almost side-by-side on RNZ’s website. Parent, Miranda Cross, was quoted as saying; “I think the expectations are that we can at least send our kids to school where they will receive an education.” An American parent would probably demand; “I think the expectations are ...
Time for reviewing something a bit different. Move over Tolkien adaptations, hello Japanese splatter movie. Specifically, a certain 2009 movie called Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl. I watched this one a few days ago with some acquaintances, never having seen it before, and not being familiar with the manga ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD An above-average Atlantic hurricane season is likely in 2021, the Colorado State University (CSU) hurricane forecasting team says in its latest seasonal forecast issued April 8. Led by Dr. Phil Klotzbach, with coauthors Dr. Michael Bell and Jhordanne Jones, the CSU ...
How seriously does the Māori Party take issues of corruption and the untoward influence of big money in politics? Not very, based on how it’s handling a political finance scandal in which three large donations were kept hidden from the public. The party is currently making excuses, and largely failing ...
The annual inventory report [PDF] of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing a significant increase in emissions: (Note that this is UNFCCC accounting, not the weird fudged figures the Climate Change Commission is using). Emissions increased by almost 2 million tons in 2019, from 80.6 MT ...
The melody from the classic movie Wizard of Oz echoes as Jacinta Ruru explains what inspired her to attend university, and her ambition to help create a more just society in Aotearoa. Jacinta, who affiliates to Raukawa and Ngāti Ranginui, specialises in the research areas of indigenous peoples and the law. ...
Stuff reports that National is refusing to back the Climate Change Commission's recommendations, which is apparently a Bad Thing: The National Party says it can’t support the Climate Change Commission’s draft plan to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions unless changes are made. If National maintains this position when ...
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Predatory Morality: Is geopolitical consultant, Paul Buchanan, right? Does the rest of the world truly monitor New Zealand’s miniscule contribution to the international arms trade so closely? Are foreign chancelleries truly so insensitive to their own governments’ complicity in the world’s horrors that they expect all other sovereign states to ...
Anna Källén, Stockholm University and Daniel Strand, Uppsala University A middle-aged white man raises his sword to the skies and roars to the gods. The results of his genetic ancestry test have just arrived in his suburban mailbox. His eyes fill with tears as he learns that he is “0.012% ...
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Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael BakerIn this blog we briefly consider a new Report from a European think tank that aims to identify an optimal COVID-19 response strategy. It considers mortality data, GDP impacts, and mobility data and suggests that COVID-19 elimination appears to be superior ...
Something I missed on Friday: the Māori Party has been referred to police over failure to disclose donations over $30,000. Looking at the updated return of large donations, this is about $320,000 donated to them by three donors - John Tamihere, the National Urban Māori Authority, and Aotearoa Te Kahu ...
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This video produced in Seattle looks at the gender identity curriculum used in schools in the US. A thin veneer of pseudoscience is being used to indoctrinate children with an ideology based on scientific and medical inaccuracies. ...
For once, I have written my submission on a bill with enough time to spare to both enocurage any of you who wants to make a submission to do so as well, and to give you time to spot the typos in mine.Louisa Wall's Harmful Digital Communications (Unauthorised Posting of Intimate ...
A friend found a concerning FB post (see below – this is a public post & so I have not redacted the name) & – as you do – immediately queried it with Southern Cross Life & Health Insurance as well as sending the screenshot to me¹. We both read ...
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Today tens of thousands of schoolkids have walked out of school to strike for a future free from climate change. And tens of thousands of older New Zealanders have joined them. Their demands are clear: eliminate fossil fuels, implement 100% renewable energy with a just transition, and support our Pacific ...
The Gods That Failed.We studied the dialecticRead the whole of ‘Capital’So we could follow youSo we could follow youHow we shoutedHow we scrawledPainted slogans on city wallsOn prison wallsProof we had followed youBut, we still didn’t find what we’re looking forAnd we still haven’t found what we’re looking forWhen they ...
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Blowing Hot And Cold: Mike Hosking’s bosses should, perhaps, ask themselves what message Newstalk-ZB (and NZME) is sending to the people of New Zealand if Mike Hosking, their self-appointed “People’s Prosecutor”, is accorded bragging rights for “cancelling” the democratically-elected Prime Minister of New Zealand. Especially when said Prime Minister’s only ...
Ali Boyle, University of CambridgeIf you ask people to list the most intelligent animals, they’ll name a few usual suspects. Chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants are often mentioned, as are crows, dogs and occasionally pigs. Horses don’t usually get a look in. So it might come as a surprise that ...
Selwyn Manning and I dedicated this week’s video podcast to the potential emergence of rival blocs within the transitional process involved in the move from a unipolar to a multipolar international system currently underway. However one characterises the phenomenon–autocracies versus democracies, East versus West, colonial versus post-colonial–the global order is ...
With the rediscovery of the lost Soviet Lord of the Rings, the time has come for the important things in life. Specifically, compiling the Tom Bombadil scenes from the three known screen adaptations that feature him: This is a collection of scenes from:– Sagan om Ringen (1971: ...
Back in February the Climate Change Commission recommended a ban on new coal-fired boilers, and a phase out of existing ones by 2037. And today, the government has said they will implement that policy, and backed it up with funding to help transition some of our large pollution sources: ...
A ballot for three members bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Income Tax (Adjustment of Taxable Income Ranges) Amendment Bill (Simon Bridges) Regulatory Standards Bill (David Seymour) Human Rights (Disability Assist Dogs Non-Discrimination) Amendment Bill (Ricardo Menéndez March) The first two ...
Back in 2014, the police raided and searched journalist Nicky Hager's home over his book Dirty Politics, seizing his journalistic work in an effort to identify his sources to please their political masters in the National party. The raid - and much of the police's related investigative work - was ...
By Professor Tony Blakely, Dr Tim Wilson, Luke Thorburn and Professor Nathan Grills, University of MelbourneA new web tool, COVID-19 Pandemic Trade-offs, allows people to weigh the costs and benefits of different policy responses as Australia rolls out vaccines and considers opening borders.See here for an associated explanatory ...
The Greens welcome $6.6 million from the Government’s $455 million programme to increase access to mental health and addiction services for our Pasifika communities in Auckland and Wellington. ...
The Green Party is putting a Member’s Bill into the ballot today which will be a significant step towards overhauling the Social Security Act by embedding a tikanga Māori framework into the welfare system. ...
The Green Party have reaffirmed their strong commitment to the union movement in Aotearoa New Zealand by renewing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with E Tū. ...
Soon, more kids in Aotearoa will have access to the in-school mental health support that has boosted the resilience of tamariki and whānau in Canterbury. ...
The Green Party supports the open letter released today by a cross-sector coalition calling for the Government to treat all drug use as a health issue, to repeal and replace the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. ...
Small businesses are not only the heart of our economy – they’re also the heart of our communities. They provide important goods and services, as well as great employment opportunities. They know and love their locals. And after a tough year, they need our support! ...
Green Party spokesperson for Pacific Peoples Teanau Tuiono MP, supports the demand from Pasifika communities fighting for climate action as their homelands are more at risk in the Pacific region. ...
The Green Party supports the six demands for climate action put forward by School Strike for Climate NZ, who are striking across the country today. ...
The Ministry of Justice Māori victimisation report, released today, reinforces what we already know about the impact of systemic racism in Aotearoa and that urgent action is needed. ...
Ricardo Menéndez March’s Members Bill to ensure that disabled New Zealanders do not face discrimination for having a disability assist dog was today pulled from the biscuit tin to be debated in Parliament. ...
More than one million people will be better off from today, thanks to our Government’s changes to the minimum wage, main benefits and superannuation. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to do more for New Zealanders who continue to miss out, as main benefits are set to rise by less than $8 a week tomorrow, Thursday 1 April (at the start of the financial year). ...
Sunday 28th March 70 Rongomaiwahine descendants welcomed members of the Green Party’s Māori Caucus, Te Mātāwaka, Dr Elizabeth Kerekere and Teanau Tuiono, to discuss concerns about RocketLab’s operations on the Mahia Peninsula. ...
A ceremony has been held today in Gisborne where the unclaimed medals of 28 (Māori) Battalion C Company soldiers were presented to their families. After the Second World War, returning service personnel needed to apply for their medals and then they would be posted out to them. While most medals ...
New Zealand has today added its voice to the international condemnation of the malicious compromise and exploitation of the SolarWinds Orion platform. The Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau, Andrew Little, says that New Zealand's international partners have analysed the compromise of the SolarWinds Orion platform and attributed ...
An expert consenting panel has approved the Queenstown Arterials Project, which will significantly improve transport links and reduce congestion for locals and visitors in the tourism hotspot. Environment Minister David Parker welcomed the approval for the project that will construct, operate and maintain a new urban road around Queenstown’s town ...
Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash says a landmark deal has been agreed with Amazon for The Lord of the Rings TV series, currently being filmed in New Zealand. Mr Nash says the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) secures multi-year economic and tourism benefits to New Zealand, outside the screen ...
The Government welcomes the findings from a rapid review into the health system response to lead contamination in Waikouaiti’s drinking water supply. Sample results from the town’s drinking-water supply showed intermittent spikes in lead levels above the maximum acceptable value. The source of the contamination is still under investigation by ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood today marked the start of construction on the New Zealand Upgrade Programme’s Papakura to Drury South project on Auckland’s Southern Motorway, which will create hundreds of jobs and support Auckland’s economic recovery. The SH1 Papakura to Drury South project will give more transport choices by providing ...
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karanga maha o te wa, tēnā koutou, tēna koutou, tēna tātou katoa. Ki ngā mana whenua, ko Ngāi Tahu, ko Waitaha, ko Kāti Māmoe anō nei aku mihi ki a koutou. Nōku te hōnore kia haere mai ki te ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood today marked the completion of upgrades to State Highway 20B which will give Aucklanders quick electric bus trips to and from the airport. The State Highway 20B Early Improvements project has added new lanes in each direction between Pukaki Creek Bridge and SH20 for buses and ...
The Government is putting in place a review of the work being done on animal welfare and safety in the greyhound racing industry, Grant Robertson announced today. “While Greyhound Racing NZ has reported some progress in implementing the recommendations of the Hansen Report, recent incidents show the industry still has ...
The infringement fee for using a mobile phone while driving will increase from $80 to $150 from 30 April 2021 to encourage safer driving, Transport Minister Michael Wood announced today. Michael Wood said too many people are still picking up the phone while driving. “Police issued over 40,000 infringement notices ...
Pacific people in New Zealand will be better supported with new mental health and addiction services rolling out across the Auckland and Wellington regions, says Aupito William Sio. “One size does not fit all when it comes to supporting the mental wellbeing of our Pacific peoples. We need a by ...
New measures are being proposed to accelerate progress towards becoming a smokefree nation by 2025, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced. “Smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke kills around 12 people a day in New Zealand. Recent data tells us New Zealand’s smoking rates continue to decrease, but ...
More children will be able to access mental wellbeing support with the Government expansion of Mana Ake services to five new District Health Board areas, Health Minister Andrew Little says. The Health Minister made the announcement while visiting Homai School in Counties Manukau alongside Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate ...
The Government’s COVID-19 response has meant a record number of people moved off a Benefit and into employment in the March Quarter, with 32,880 moving into work in the first three months of 2021. “More people moved into work last quarter than any time since the Ministry of Social Development ...
A stocktake undertaken by France and New Zealand shows significant global progress under the Christchurch Call towards its goal to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. The findings of the report released today reinforce the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach, with countries, companies and civil society working together to ...
Racing Minister Grant Robertson has announced he is appointing Elizabeth Dawson (Liz) as the Chair of the interim TAB NZ Board. Liz Dawson is an existing Board Director of the interim TAB NZ Board and Chair of the TAB NZ Board Selection Panel and will continue in her role as ...
The Government has announced that the export of livestock by sea will cease following a transition period of up to two years, said Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “At the heart of our decision is upholding New Zealand’s reputation for high standards of animal welfare. We must stay ahead of the ...
WORKSHOP ON LETHAL AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS SYSTEMS Wednesday 14 April 2021 MINISTER FOR DISARMAMENT AND ARMS CONTROL OPENING REMARKS Good morning, I am so pleased to be able to join you for part of this workshop, which I’m confident will help us along the path to developing New Zealand’s national policy on ...
For the first time, all 18 prisons in New Zealand will be invited to participate in an inter-prison kapa haka competition, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. The 2021 Hōkai Rangi Whakataetae Kapa Haka will see groups prepare and perform kapa haka for experienced judges who visit each prison and ...
The Government has introduced the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill, designed to boost New Zealand's ability to respond to a wider range of terrorist activities. The Bill strengthens New Zealand’s counter-terrorism legislation and ensures that the right legislative tools are available to intervene early and prevent harm. “This is the Government’s first ...
Coal boiler replacements at a further ten schools, saving an estimated 7,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next ten years Fossil fuel boiler replacements at Southern Institute of Technology and Taranaki DHB, saving nearly 14,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next ten years Projects to achieve a total ...
Attorney-General David Parker today announced the appointment of Cassie Nicholson as Chief Parliamentary Counsel for a term of five years. The Chief Parliamentary Counsel is the principal advisor and Chief Executive of the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO). She is responsible for ensuring PCO, which drafts most of New Zealand’s legislation, provides ...
Every part of Government will need to take urgent action to bring down emissions, the Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw said today in response to the recent rise in New Zealand’s greenhouse emissions. The latest annual inventory of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions shows that both gross and net ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark says Aotearoa New Zealand has become the first country in the world to introduce a law that requires the financial sector to disclose the impacts of climate change on their business and explain how they will manage climate-related risks and opportunities. The Financial ...
Exceptional employment practices in the primary industries have been celebrated at the Good Employer Awards, held this evening at Parliament. “Tonight’s awards provided the opportunity to celebrate and thank those employers in the food and fibres sector who have gone beyond business-as-usual in creating productive, safe, supportive, and healthy work ...
Applications are now invited from all councils for a slice of government funding aimed at improving tourism infrastructure, especially in areas under pressure given the size of their rating bases. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has already signalled that five South Island regions will be given priority to reflect that jobs ...
Tēnā koutou e ngā maata waka Tenā koutou te hau kāinga ngā iwi o Te Whanganui ā TaraTēnā koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te Rā. No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa. It is a pleasure to be here tonight. Thank you Graeme (Peters, ENA Chief ...
The Construction Skills Action Plan has delivered early on its overall target of supporting an additional 4,000 people into construction-related education and employment, says Minister for Building and Construction Poto Williams. Since the Plan was launched in 2018, more than 9,300 people have taken up education or employment opportunities in ...
An innovative new Youth Justice residence designed in partnership with Māori will provide prevention, healing, and rehabilitation services for both young people and their whānau, Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. Whakatakapokai is located in South Auckland and will provide care and support for up to 15 rangatahi remanded or ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today expressed New Zealand’s sorrow at the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. “Our thoughts are with Her Majesty The Queen at this profoundly sad time. On behalf of the New Zealand people and the Government, I would like to express ...
We, the Home Affairs, Interior, Security and Immigration Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (the ‘Five Countries’) met via video conference on 7/8 April 2021, just over a year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Guided by our shared ...
Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni has today announced the opening of the first round of Ngā Puninga Toi ā-Ahurea me ngā Kaupapa Cultural Installations and Events. “Creating jobs and helping the arts sector rebuild and recover continues to be a key part of the Government’s COVID-19 response,” Carmel ...
Interim legislation that is already proving to keep people safer from drugs will be made permanent, Health Minister Andrew Little says. Research by Victoria University, on behalf of the Ministry of Health, shows that the Government’s decision in December to make it legal for drug-checking services to operate at festivals ...
Public consultation launched on ways to improve behaviour and reduce damage Tighter rules proposed for either camping vehicles or camping locations Increased penalties proposed, such as $1,000 fines or vehicle confiscation Rental companies may be required to collect fines from campers who hire vehicles Public feedback is sought on proposals ...
The Government is continuing to support Air New Zealand while aviation markets stabilise and the world moves towards more normal border operations. The Crown loan facility made available to Air New Zealand in March 2020 has been extended to a debt facility of up to $1.5 billion (an additional $600 ...
Christchurch’s Richmond suburb will soon have a new community hub, following the gifting of a red-zoned property by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) to the Richmond Community Gardens Trust. The Minister for Land Information, Damien O’Connor said that LINZ, on behalf of the Crown, will gift a Vogel Street house ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says the reopening of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ (MPP) Languages Funding in 2021 will make sure there is a future for Pacific languages. “Language is the key to the wellbeing for Pacific people. It affirms our identity as Pasifika and ...
It is a pleasure to be here tonight. Thank you Cameron for the introduction and thank you for ERANZ for also hosting this event. Last week in fact, we had one of the largest gatherings in our sector, Downstream 2021. I have heard from my officials that the discussion on ...
Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods has today announced the 16 projects that will together get $3.9 million through the 2021 round of Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund, further strengthening the Government’s commitment to Māori knowledge in science and innovation. “We received 78 proposals - the highest ...
The Government is delivering on a key election commitment to tackle climate change, by banning new low and medium temperature coal-fired boilers and partnering with the private sector to help it transition away from fossil fuels. This is the first major announcement to follow the release of the Climate Commission’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Hancock, School visitor, Australian National University Andrew Sharp Peacock, for so long “the coming man” of Australian politics, has died in the United States aged 82. Born in 1939, he was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne, acquired a law degree at ...
“ A Ministry of Health graph drawn by a graphic designer with no data to inform it is the perfect metaphor for this Government, all spin and no substance,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “Like most things with this government, they present ...
OWell, well, well. New Zealand its expressing its indignation about something the Russians may or may not have been doing. But this expression of the nation’s indignation comes not from Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta but from Andrew Little, our Minister of … No, not Health on this occasion. Nor ...
"He pulled down the straps of her tank top with his teeth and bit her neck..Afterwards, she pretended it didn’t happen": a short story by Auckland writer Leanne RadojkovichA teenager riding an e-scooter shot across the intersection towards Patsy, she stepped aside, the front wheel took the ...
Critic's Chair: Guy Somerset watches and listens to two wonderful series on YouTube and Spotify featuring great raconteurs and wits broadcast from their homes during the long UK lockdown This week, the UK started off along the second stage of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “cautious but irreversible” roadmap to the ...
What happens when the world’s rarest gull sets up camp in earthquake-damaged buildings in central Christchurch? Frank Film investigates. Christchurch’s population of endangered tarāpuka/black-billed gulls may have a new home. The Christchurch City Council is hoping to fashion a new site for the gulls in what was once part of ...
WATCH: In the heart-wrenching final episode of the Pure As video series, Silver Ferns shooter Maia Wilson reveals the on-court highs and off-court lows she's been through. Maia Wilson's young life has already been an emotional rollercoaster. While her netball career soars to new heights every time she takes the court, away ...
LISTEN: Is 2021 the year the Tactix finally get to lift netball's ANZ Premiership trophy? with the ANZ Premiership starting this weekend, how will the absence of Silver Fern captain Amerliaranne Ekenasio affect the two-time champions Central Pulse? What impact will Australian international Caitlin Bassett have for the Waikato Bay of ...
After a marathon year of droughts and water restrictions, Auckland finally has a goal to reduce its water consumption Water, water everywhere, and most certainly in the news. After a massive public information campaign last year, Aucklanders managed to knock 100 million litres a day off the city’s water consumption. ...
A new initiative is taking on food insecurity and food wastage by encouraging diners to take uneaten food home. And, as chefs taking part of the scheme explain, what you do with those leftovers needn’t be limited to a quick blat in the microwave. It’s hard to know just how much ...
With the council in disarray, former Wellington mayor Justin Lester sat down with The Spinoff to share his thoughts on what’s gone wrong, and what needs to happen from here. Justin Lester is running again. When we meet at the Civic Square cafe Nikau, the former Wellington mayor is breaking in a ...
After months of lockdown, pubs in England were allowed to reopen this week, with outdoor seating only. New Zealander George Fenwick headed out to see how Londoners were welcoming the return of a cornerstone of British social life.Trying to explain what life has been like in the UK for the ...
The government's priorities are being questioned after announcing it will be giving Amazon a more than $100 million boost to film the Lord of the Rings television series here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Keane, Professor of Chinese Digital Media and Culture, Queensland University of Technology China’s state-run anti-monopoly bureau has tightened its regulations on big tech players, as shown by its recent move against the country’s largest e-commerce company, Alibaba Group. Alibaba was hit ...
Campaign & Petition Launch “Racial INJustice Matters” calling for an immediate independent inquiry into Institutional Racism and Racial Profiling by the Waikato Police. Where we live, work, play should be safe for everyone, no matter ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and Director of the Institute for Governance & Policy Analysis Dr Lain Dare discuss the week in politics. This week the pair discuss the evidence given by Christine ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bronwyn Carlson, Professor, Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University Recently, we have witnessed an uprising of thousands marching in the streets fuelled by outrage against the violence and sexual assault experienced by women. Indigenous women and gender diverse people also marched and shared this ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. India only at Magnitude 4 for reported cases. Chart by Keith Rankin. New Zealand has, for the rest of this month, banned all people who have been in India this month from entry into New Zealand. The decision is based not on the incidence of Covid19 ...
The screen industry – or some of its more well-heeled operators – today learned the government is keen to improve its wellbeing. This followed several blasts of Beehive trumpeting about initiatives to improve the wellbeing and wellness of we Kiwis. The announcements yesterday included the heartening news that the Government’s ...
The new Ministry for Ethnic Communities comes into being on 1 July. It’s important that the views and needs of Aotearoa New Zealand’s many and diverse ethnic communities help set the priorities for the new organisation from day one. We are running a series ...
The National Party need to take a good hard look at themselves, following their Economic Development spokesperson’s endorsement of Kiwi taxpayers stumping up for welfare for the American multi billion dollar corporation, Amazon. Responding to ...
New Zealand is not rejigging its Covid-19 immunisation programme despite predictions people will need a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine within 12 months. ...
Predator Free 2050 Limited has announced new investments in predator free projects around the country. Existing projects in Taranaki, Waiheke and Dunedin, a new project in Te Urewera, and a feasibility study on Aotea Great Barrier Island will benefit ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Mitchell, Professor of Nursing, University of Newcastle The Australian public’s infection control literacy continues to expand. We know what PPE is, what “flattening the curve” means, and we are growing increasingly familiar with the term “deep clean”. But what does a ...
The High Court in Auckland this week ordered overseas investors to pay penalties totalling $1.38 million and legal costs for breaching the Overseas Investment Act. The significant penalty follows a family purchasing five forestry blocks totalling ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1The Mirror Book by Charlotte Grimshaw (Vintage, $38)It’s the book everyone’s talking about – and writing about. ...
A little understanding – and a few simple, easy-to-follow rules – can make a huge difference to our lives, Autistic advocate Rory McCarthy writes.Autistic people have difficult lives: a lot of things that seem trivial or a sign of over-sensitivity to allistic (non-Autistic people) actually affect us quite significantly. There ...
Analysis - A startling revelation shows up cracks in the testing regime just as the vaccine rollout comes under scrutiny, and National faces another bout of leadership speculation, writes Peter Wilson. ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is urging ACC to ignore diktats from the Minister of Finance . “ACC should be left to independently manage the hard-earned funds it receives from levy-payers,” says Union spokesman Jordan Williams. “It’s ...
The New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA) is not surprised by the government’s decision to ban live exports by sea and believes the two- year transition period is pragmatic for businesses in the sector. We are not surprised by the decision and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cristina Pozo-Gonzalo, Senior Research Fellow, Deakin University Rare-earth metals are critical to the high-tech society we live in as an essential component of mobile phones, computers and many other everyday devices. But increasing demand and limited global supply means we must urgently ...
Looking to buy a unit or apartment? You might need to think twice or even three times, if this Prime documentary is anything to go by, writes Jacqueline Paul.If you are hoping to buy a home built between the late 1980s and the mid-2000s, there is a significant risk that ...
Amid some in-House knitting drama this week, there was more speculation the knives are out for National Party leader Judith Collins. But doesn't National always have its knives out? James Elliott has the news of the week. It was an exciting week for those holding tickets in the “Seymour Sweepstake”, ...
A poem from Mohamed Hassan’s Ockham-shortlisted collection National Anthem.And before that we were starsCan you please look at this poem and tell me if it’s good?it’s for my fiancé she’s really far away I want to say how I feel but my English is limited, can you read it?she works ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. Click here to subscribe to Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup and New Zealand Politics Daily. Today’s contentNational Party leadership Matthew Hooton (Herald): My message to National – and how to avoid ...
A new full-time role recording, editing and mixing content for The Spinoff podcast network, based in our Morningside office. We’re looking for an experienced sound engineer. The successful applicant will be responsible for recording, editing and mixing content for The Spinoff podcast network and managing the podcast studio. In addition to ...
Rainbow youth still facing stigma and stress but positive signs: new findings Youth19, the latest in a series of surveys focused on young people in Aotearoa, asked 7,721 secondary school-aged students about their experiences of school, home and community. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rajib Dasgupta, Chairperson, Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University India is in the grip of a massive second wave of COVID-19 infections, surpassing even the United States and Brazil in terms of new daily infections. The current spike ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Perhaps the most important lesson from the Christine Holgate controversy is that the confluence of sexism and politics leads to double standards for female executives. But Holgate’s demise – pushed from her position as Australia Post’s ...
The $162 million subsidy for one of the world’s richest companies proves Amazon has New Zealand taxpayers over a barrel, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “Treasury has previously warned that our ...
The Government has just announced a review of the greyhound racing industry, following reports from SAFE, Greyhound Protection League and Grey2K USA Worldwide of ongoing cruelty within the greyhound racing industry. In the announcement, Minister for Racing ...
Books editor Catherine Woulfe with a personal story about structured literacy, the step-by-step reading system that’s gaining traction across the country. My boy is called Ben and he turns seven in October. In the battle over how kids learn to read, he is a data point of one. But he ...
Wellington, 15 April 2021 - Cancer Society says Government's proposed smokefree plan includes bold and forward-thinking measures that are needed at this time to make smokefree 2025 a reality. S moking is the biggest cause of cancer and preventable ...
Climate justice organisation 350 Aotearoa is celebrating the direction from the government for the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) to accelerate its moves to divest from investments in fossil fuels. The direction to ACC to divest ...
Far from worshipping their former colonial masters, by proudly appropriating and indigenising a piece of British culture the Tannese are asserting their own mana, writes Scott Hamilton.In the aftermath of Prince Philip’s death, the western media has turned its gaze to Tanna, a mountainous island in the far south of ...
The Federation of Islamic Associations is accusing the Office of Ethnic Communities of being insensitive by scheduling community meetings during the holy month of Ramadan. ...
The government’s slight increase in fines for drivers illegally using cellphones is ‘pathetic’, says the car review website dogandlemon.com . Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, who is an outspoken road safety campaigner, says many drivers will simply continue ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for April 16, bringing you the latest news throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8.00am: Fine for using a cell phone while driving almost doubles You’ll seen be fined $150 if you’re caught using a cell phone while behind the wheel, transport ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Baron, Associate professor, Australian Catholic University In 1994, physicist Miguel Alcubierre proposed a radical technology that would allow faster than light travel: the warp drive, a hypothetical way to skirt around the universe’s ultimate speed limit by bending the fabric of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sandra Rojas, Speech pathologist and Lecturer in Voice Disorders, Department of Speech Pathology, Orthopedics & Audiology, La Trobe University Losing our voice, having a hoarse voice, or having any difficulties with our voice can be challenging, especially for those who need to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Don Driscoll, Professor in Terrestrial Ecology, Deakin University Feral horses are a catastrophic problem for the environment, particularly in the high country that crosses the New South Wales and Victoria border. To deal with this growing issue, the Victorian government has released ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca English, Lecturer in Education, Queensland University of Technology Home education, sometimes called homeschooling, is when children are educated outside a formal institution like a school. Parents of home-educated children are wholly responsible for facilitating their child’s learning. This is different to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Perhaps the most important lesson from the Christine Holgate controversy is that the confluence of sexism and politics leads to double standards for female executives. But Holgate’s demise – pushed from her position as Australia Post’s ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: The complex politics of ending smoking, security company with MIQ contract disputes government claim, and parliament votes to extend emergency Covid powers.A range of proposals have been outlined by the government to effectively end smoking. Newshub reports it includes phasing the age ...
Business & Investing: Stand by for action in Contact and Meridian shares as Blackrock is forced to sell down holdings, Plus: A new bid for Tilt Renewables ...
Michelle Hooper, tournament director for the 2022 Rugby World Cup, talks to Ashley Stanley in part two of LockerRoom’s video series, The Big Four, where we meet the women leading the four global sporting events in New Zealand over the next two years - three World Cups and the IWG Women and ...
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve BrauniasNON-FICTION 1 The Mirror Book by Charlotte Grimshaw (Penguin Random House, $38) Number one in its first week in the shops – of course, because this is the book ...
The latest Silver Fern, Maddy Gordon has had to learn not to over-train, and is primed for the start of the ANZ Premiership this weekend. Her alarm goes off at 6am and Maddy Gordon is up and out of her bed, putting on her running shoes and dashing out the door. Moments later ...
Dr Alys Longley explains why art collaboration across borders in all our different cities and spaces is an essential service during a pandemic As an artist and academic, I love to make work with colleagues whose first language is not English, with artists whose creative language is infused by cultures and traditions ...
A suburban ratepayers revolt against the rates and debt hikes needed for affordable apartments and pedestrian-friendly CBDs could wreck the government’s carbon zero and housing affordability plans before they’re off the drawing boards.In the latest episode of When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey talks to Wellington city councillor Tamatha Paul ...
If the hospitality industry wants public and government support for a pandemic recovery, it must clean up its employment act according to Unite Union. What was already a bad situation became much worse as zero hour contracts, illegal pay cuts, cancelled ...
This time next week, we will be a bubble of 30 million. That’s a big bubble. But is it the best? We rank other impressive bubbles through the ages.The trans-Tasman bubble is a big one, but we’re determined not to pop it. This could be the best bubble we’ve seen ...
The latest study on how we are using and abusing our urban and rural land is confronting reading. Rod Oram argues we must wise up now or suffer the consequences. ...
When even the Energy Efficiency Authority's emissions are dominated by air travel, it doesn't bode well. So there's a push to bring back the night train. ...
Stuart Nash promoted and David Cunliffe demoted in Grant Robertson’s reshuffle leaked (again) to Claire Trevett.
There is no need to wait for Andrew Little’s announcement later today. Grant has passed it directly to Claire so that Andrew’s part is deminished.m
The Parliamentary Labour Party is continuing its right-ward shift. Those who have the temerity to actually win electorate seats, respect the wishes of the members and keep to Left Wing values are passed over.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11553180
Uninspiring lot with no real zeal to get rid of this corrupt lot is all I can add and no surprises at all with a beltway trougher like Robertson.
If it’s true, it proves that Andrew Little is as much of an idiot as David Shearer was as Leader. Why would I as a party member want to stay and vote for that? I’ve voted Labour every election for 36 years. Never again if this is true. Can’t vote for idiots. Grant Robertson is a legend in his own mind! In the real world, Robertson pushed himself up at the expense of the Party vote. No care for members of the party or kiwis! And the puff piece on Ardern in the Woman’s Weekly just shows how shallow she really is! So she’ll go far. Amazing how she’s moving up when she can’t even win a seat. Then again, Little hasn’t either. Maybe having constituents is out of favour these days. They might expect their local MP to actually DO something for them!
Hami Shearlie +100…betrayal of the ‘Labour’ name and history prior to its rogering …a betrayal of Cunliffe, the grassroots choice, and the putting forward of incompetents ( i also cant be bothered voting for idiots)
really will be time to form an alternative to ‘Labour’ using the ‘Labour’ name
eg…what about the ‘Emerald Labour Mana Party’ ? (ELM NZ Party)? ….incorporating Greens and Mana and NZF….ha ha
imo the Mana Party is the real Labour Party…Littles party is now a Liberal Party
ELM = Goddess tree
http://www.unfading.net/elm.html
http://www.thegoddesstree.com/trees/Elm.htm
Hoheria ( Ribbonwood . Lacewood , Slippery Elm tree )
http://www.kiwiherb.co.nz/about-us/herb-profiles/hoheria/
No inspiration there at all, just the same ol same ol. Nope My vote will go elsewhere this time, for the first time in 40 years.
Strange interpretation from Northsider. Nash is mentioned briefly at the end of the Trevett story.
But the story starts off with Kelvin Davis replacing Nanaia Mahuta – that would be a major shift but perhaps for Northsider, Maori don’t count with Northsider!!
And there is a clear message in the Trevett story re TPPA/trade. Read it for yourself, don’t just take Northsider’s interpretation as gospel.
” Grant Robertson’s reshuffle leaked (again) to Claire Trevett.”
Why do you say Grant Robertson’s reshuffle when it is Andrew Little’ reshuffle? Based on what knowledge? Your own prejudice perhaps? Anybody with even a passing acquaintance with Andrew Little would know he would be making his own assessment based on many factors that he will know but you clearly do not.
And as for “leaked (again)” this is exactly the same prediction made by Trevett before, just rehashed because Little is announcing the reshuffle today. There is no big secret here to be “leaked” and no advantage for anybody leaking. More to the point Trevett is an experienced political journalist who will make her own predictions after talking to many different people, including MPs.
“Why do you say Grant Robertson’s reshuffle when it is Andrew Little’ reshuffle? Based on what knowledge? Your own prejudice perhaps? Anybody with even a passing acquaintance with Andrew Little would know he would be making his own assessment based on many factors that he will know but you clearly do not.”
Thanks, Karen, and Jenny Kirk. Same thoughts came to me.
As for journalists making things up, and being involved in guesswork? Has the earth stopped spinning?
Actuality. Trevett got some things wrong in that Mahuta stays on front bench and Davis rises to 7th place, not fourth.
She got right that Ardern goes to 5th and that Woods would go to front bench, and that Cunliffe would go lower.
Katie Bradford on TV1 news just now says that there’re no surprises.
Roger Douglas and Michael Bassett have been invited by Stuart Nash to break bread with Labour. Nash is promoted.
Yes, the right wing have completed their takeover.
Bullshit Bill Drees. Some people here are either very young and/or have little knowledge of Labour’s history over the past few decades… or are blindsiding themselves for political reasons.
Labour is marking a milestone in their history – 80 years since the election of the first Labour government. All past MPs (still in the land of the living) have a right to attend and were therefore issued an invitation. I hope they have a great reunion no matter what side of the Labour divide they came from.
Usually Anne we’re not too far apart on most issues. I can see your point that all ex-MP’s technically have the right to attend. In one sense it’s hard to argue with that.
On another – that govt was in reality the first (and only) ACT govt. It represented a political betrayal of the first magnitude, the likes of which most nations rarely experience, and the consequences of which still resonate with us forty years later.
On that basis I would have expected the failed pig-farmer to be a persona-non-grata. The fact that he clearly still feels comfortable, and even welcome, to turn up and scoff the Party grub, tells me something about the Party.
* ” still resonate with us forty years later.”
Thirty. Don’t make us older than we are RL, I feel old enough already.
PS. Agree totally about the betrayal and the irony of having Actoids sitting down to a dinner celebrating the first Labour Govt. Shakes head in bemusement at the doublethink required for this to be able to happen.
On another – that govt was in reality the first (and only) ACT govt. It represented a political betrayal of the first magnitude, the likes of which most nations rarely experience, and the consequences of which still resonate with us forty years later.
On that basis I would have expected the failed pig-farmer to be a persona-non-grata. The fact that he clearly still feels comfortable, and even welcome, to turn up and scoff the Party grub, tells me something about the Party.
Well put Red. Until Labour apologise for the 80s government and breaks from that, they will always be viewed with suspicion.
“Until Labour apologise for the 80s government and breaks from that, they will always be viewed with suspicion.”
They have an excellent opportunity to do that next year during the celebration of their centenary. Come clean, let it all out, face it, say sorry to the nation.
For my age group who were in our teens in the 80’s our experience of Labour isn’t one of personal betrayal, it’s more of a historical betrayal, as we moved into the consequences of rogernomics without having to adjust. Unlike the generation before us. From what I hear from this age group they are still very bitter and for good reason – everything that was once secure was pulled out from beneath them.
When I speak to older friends about politics they look at me like I’m a complete idiot for being a Labour voter and even worse, being a member.
I really do agree that Labour has to be up front about this uncomfortable past. Crosby Textor would probably suggest otherwise and say apologies look bad, and going by Key’s absolute lack of apologies to anyone except Slater, they probably do advise him to keep quiet.
But the grown up thing to do is to apologise. As individuals we know we have to do it when we stuff up, if we want to keep open and honest relationships. Surely Labour want an open and honest relationship with a group of former supporters whose trust they must regain?
Yes Redlogix, I read all of your contributions (except the highly technical musings which are beyond my comprehension) because they always gel with me. I guess I’m coming from a different perspective than most on this site.
I joined the Labour Party early in 1972 and, by virtue of my back-ground in one of the central Auckland suburbs, I came to know the likes of Bassett, the Douglas family and others of their ilk quite well. They were all ardent admirers of Michael J Savage and had the famous framed picture of him on their walls. By 1984, and for personal reasons, I had dropped out of politics so have never come to grips with what happened during the 80s decade. It was the Muldoon years which provided the catalyst for the changes and over time the whole thing spun out of control. We are still reeling from the fallout in so many ways.
So, on the basis that these people were an integral part of Labour’s history throughout the 60s and 70s (before the neo liberal era began) they are entitled to attend this anniversary. A bit like an old boys/girls school reunion in a way.
inviting Douglas and Bassett to a celebration of the First Labour Govt. It’s madness. To bad Mike Moore couldn’t attend.
Anne,
Do you invite people to your home who are fully dedicated to damaging your family?
Douglas and Bassett are enemies of Labour. Only an idiot or a cuckoo would be party to inviting them into a Labour event.
Bill, happily Douglas and Bassett are part of Labour’s history. If we don’t remember our history there is always the risk of repeating the mistakes. I know a lot of LP members are weirded out by the invite, but it’s indicative of nothing much at all, really. Maybe only that the party has a sense of humour.
And as for inviting people to your home who are fully dedicated to damaging your family, TS is hardly immune from that issue, either.
“And as for inviting people to your home who are fully dedicated to damaging your family, TS is hardly immune from that issue, either.”
Quack erat demonstrandum. Q.E.D.
Touche! You quack me up, Kiwiri 😉
“happily Douglas and Bassett are part of Labour’s history.”
I think that should be, unhappily Douglas and Bassett are part of Labour’s history.
ha
Some might suspect it was a freudian slip 🙂
To paraphrase Peter Fraser
“Someone left the name labour party lying around and so some darn fool took it”
It seems the fools are still in charge of the party…
Well, you might invite the junkie cousin to Christmas dinner if he gets parole for the festive season. And hope he doesn’t show up.
But once a party starts a damnatio memoriae list, where does it stop? Warts and all is the way to go for a political organisation.
It must be frustrating to be a Labour Party member. These leaks to the media, especially to the likes of Trevett, make the party a laughing stock.
I don’t know who is talking out of school but whoever it is, or they are, urgently needs to be found and expelled from the party. If Andrew Little can’t control his caucus and deal with disloyalty he’ll never get anywhere IMO.
Troll alert!
Stop taking us for fools Karen. Trevett may have put some of it together from guesswork but by no means all.
Leaks have to be for a reason, some kind of advantage. There is none here.
I don’t believe those who have been spouting this line over the last week are fools necessarily. Some have other agendas.
I’d think it was politics Karen, the usual tit for tat. The occasional insider tip in exchange for anything useful to further one’s political ambitions.
An obvious advantage there would be for Trevett, leaks give her something to write about and keep her job. I’d expect there to be some kind of payback for useful leaks; a fluff piece perhaps or a subtle attack on an adversary.
One of National’s strengths is they run a tight ship. I’m quite sure they have much internal dissent but they keep it in the family. Outwardly they give the appearance of a well oiled machine and that resonates with voters.
As for agendas, yes I can see your point there’s no evidence put forward to suggest Grant Robertson has been leaking to the media and false accusations are just as bad as narking.
Frankly why would anyone give a dime about what Clare Trevett says in the NZ Herald?
Why would that be frustrating. Gosh, if it were not for the Standard I would not even know who a. Clare Trevett is, and b. what type of horse manure the Herald would try to pass of as news today.
Any rugby games on?
A very enlightening lecture By Dr. Michael Parenti.
In light of the media barrage on why people who don’t want the flag to change are nuts, conspiracy theorists and should be shunned by “normal” people, who understand the importance of voting, I thought I’d republish this eminently important lecture on why it pays to be aware of corporate conspiracies to gain global control. You are not nuts when you have a healthy paranoia with regards to our corporately owned government and the bankster goon, we know as John Key, running it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE5Ha52PBVg
There is a direct link between cruelty to animals and cruelty and violence towards people.
Watch the video, would these people treat their children like this?
Natrad has extensive coverage of this…
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201780748/animal-rights-campaigner-cruelty-inherent-in-dairy-industry
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/290877/fed-farmers-appalled-by-abuse-video
In some cases, yes.
I believe that we have an unnaturally high tolerance of cruelty and violence in this country.
The statistics on domestic violence and child abuse and murder would bear this out.
Our glorifying of a sport that condones violence, that practically deifies a player who came to prominence for his propensity for throwing aside and trampling over opposition players…
As on Sunday, TV1 – disgraceful behaviour by some/many dairy farmers. Added to the shameful use of battery cages for hens and small pens for pigs, and water pollution from cows and the nett result is an agricultural sector in dire need to some intensive regulation and supervision.
If ever anyone needed a lesson that ‘the market [does not] knows best – just look at our primary industries!
Heard the other day from a friend of friend that there is are plans being formated right now within the Department of Internal Affairs to corporatise councils’ activities.
https://mobile.twitter.com/pzf/status/671050032754356224
Russians hitting a bread factory. Damn anti-Regime Islamist radical breads!
The Paris attacks did not take place
And here they hit a crowded anti-Regime marketplace, again in Idlib. Probably selling terrorBread: (warning graphic pics)
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/20-killed-russian-air-strike-syrian-market-151129082103978.html
Must be using the American military manual.
More seriously, why doesn’t Al Jazeera have anyone on the ground checking out the story? NB the “Syrian Observatory for Human Rights” is one guy operating out of a flat in England.
No shortage of locals on twitter
https://mobile.twitter.com/search?q=idlib&s=typd
and the report cites local news sources. Are you waiting for the better Russian spin to kick in?
Real time with sources.
http://syria.liveuamap.com/en/
in what is a ‘suspected russian strike’, as per the article you linked too, its right there at the beginning of the article in case you missed it.
But then, who is not bombing syria……..here a list from 2015 (but I understand, the bombs from non russians are more civilian friendly bombs than the bombs from russia. And maybe really at this stage crying about the russians is a tad hypocrytical considering that the US and its Allies have been bombing the life out of syria since 2011, have been paying this or that or all groups to various degrees, cause profit!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American-led_intervention_in_Syria
January 2015[edit]
In a 70th round of airstrikes on January 1, the United States and coalition partners carried out 17 airstrikes in and around Kobanî, near Deir ez-Zor, and near Ar-Raqqah. Thirteen airstrikes in and around Kobanî destroyed 12 ISIL controlled buildings, four ISIL fighting positions, one ISIL vehicle as well as striking two ISIL tactical units and two large ISIL units. Two airstrikes near Ar-Raqqah destroyed five ISIL checkpoints and struck an ISIL staging area, while two airstrikes near Deir ez-Zor destroyed an ISIL fighting position and struck an ISIL shipping container.[170]
February 2015[edit]
On February 5, 2015, Jordan elevated its role in the U.S.-led coalition in Syria, launching one of the largest airstrike campaigns since early January 2015, targeting ISIL militants near Ar-Raqqah, the de facto ISIL capital, inflicting an unknown number of casualties and damaging ISIL facilities. This was done in retaliation against ISIL’s brutal murder of Muath al-Kasasbeh.[193][194]
On February 6, a continued round of Coalition airstrikes at Ar-Raqqah killed over 30 ISIL militants.[195]
On February 21, Syrian Kurds launched an offensive to retake ISIL-held territories in the Al-Hasakah Governorate, specifically in the Tell Hamis area, with support from US airstrikes. At least 20 villages were liberated, and 12 militants were killed in the clashes.[196] In response, on 23 February, ISIL abducted 150 Assyrian Christians from villages near near Tal Tamr (Tell Tamer) in northeastern Syria, after launching a large offensive in the region.[197][198]
As a result of ISIL’s massive offensive in the west Al-Hasakah Governorate, the US-led coalition increased the number of airstrikes in the region to 10, on February 24, in order to halt the ISIL advance. The airstrikes struck nine ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL vehicles.[170]
On February 26, the number of Assyrian Christians abducted by ISIL from villages in northeastern Syria from February 23–25 rose to at least 220, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a monitoring group based in Britain.[199][200]
On February 27, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party and Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Kurdish fighters had recaptured the town of Tal Hamis, along with most of the villages occupied by ISIL in the region. At least 127 ISIL militants were killed in the clashes, along with 30 YPG and allied fighters.[201] One Australian volunteer, who was fighting for the YPG, was also killed.[202] Many of the remaining ISIL militants retreated to Tell Brak, which quickly came under assault from the YPG and allied Arab fighters.
March 2015[edit]
On March 1, 2015, YPG fighters, aided by US airstrikes, were able to drive ISIL militants out of Tell Brak, reducing the ISIL occupation in the eastern Jazira Canton to the villages between Tell Brak and Tal Hamis.[203]
On March 6, it was reported that Abu Humam al-Shami, al-Nusra’s military chief, was killed in a US airstrike targeting a meeting of top al-Nusra leaders, at the al-Nusra Front’s new headquarters at Salqin.[35]
On March 9, the US carried out another airstrike on the al-Nusra Front, targeting a military camp near Atimah, close to the Turkish border in the Idlib Governorate. The airstrike left 9 militants dead.[204]
On March 24, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Canada would be looking to expand Operation Impact to include airstrikes against ISIL in Syria as well.
On March 26, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence announced the deployment of around 75 military trainers and headquarter staff to Turkey, and other nearby countries in the anti-ISIL coalition, to assist with the U.S.-led training programme in Syria. The training programme will provide small arms, infantry tactics and medical training to Syrian moderate opposition forces for over three years.[117]
On March 30, the House of Commons of Canada authorized the extended deployment of its military for one year and the war in Syria.[205]
April 2015[edit]
On April 8, Canada initiated airstrikes in Syria, with two CF-18 fighters bombing a former military installation of the Syrian government that was captured by ISIL, near its headquarters in ar-Raqqah.[205]
May 2015[edit]
Main article: May 2015 U.S. special forces raid in Syria
On May 15, after surveillance by British special forces confirmed the presence of a senior leader named Abu Sayyaf in al-Amr,[206] 1st SFOD-Delta operators from the Joint Special Operations Command based in Iraq conducted an operation to capture him. The operation resulted in his death when he tried to engage U.S. forces in combat and the capture of his wife Umm Sayyaf. The operation also led to the freeing of a Yazidi woman who was held as a slave. About a dozen ISIL fighters were also killed in the raid, two U.S. officials said. The SOHR reported that an additional 19 ISIL fighters were killed in the US airstrikes that accompanied the raid. One official said that ISIL Forces fired at the U.S. aircraft, and there was reportedly hand-to-hand combat during the raid. UH-60 Black Hawk and V-22 Osprey helicopters were used to conduct the raid, and Umm Sayyaf is currently being held by U.S. Forces in Iraq.[32][207][208]
July 2015[edit]
Following a suicide bombing in the Şanlıurfa Province of Turkey believed to have been carried out by ISIL militants on 20 July, as well as an ISIL cross-border attack that killed a Turkish serviceman on 23 July, Turkish armour and aircraft struck ISIL targets just across the border in Syria. Turkey also agreed to let the United States use the USAF Incirlik Air Base for strikes against ISIL.[7][209]
August 2015[edit]
On 21 August, three Islamic State fighters, two with UK nationality, were targeted and killed in Raqqa, Syria by a British Royal Air Force MQ-9 Reaper strike. Prime Minister David Cameron gave a statement to Parliament that one of the British nationals targeted had been plotting attacks in the United Kingdom. Another British national was killed in a separate air strike by US forces in Raqqa on 24 August.[210]
October 2015[edit]
The introduction of Russian aircraft and ship based cruise missiles in support of the Syrian Government to Syrian airspace creates new threats to the US-led coalition. Discussions are held to deconflict Syrian airspace.
On 10 October, the state run Syrian Arab News Agency reported claims that two U.S. F16 jets had “violated Syrian airspace” and bombed two electricity power plants in al-Rudwaniya, east Aleppo, “in breach of international law”.[211]
On 20 October Canada’s Prime Minister elect Justin Trudeau informed Barack Obama by phone of Canada’s intention to pull out of bombing raids in Syria. Canada will remain a coalition partner but will stop strikes.[212]
November 2015[edit]
After the deadly attacks in Paris, French President Francois Hollande sent its only aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, with its 26 fighters to intensify air strikes.[213]
On 27 November, Syrian Arab News Agency reported The US-led international coalition, allegedly fighting ISIS, targeted water pumping stations in al-Khafseh area, east of Aleppo, causing them to go out of service.[214][215]
Think you’ll find that the hypocrites are the people minimising it when Russia does it, actually.
Now, why would it be a suspected Russian strike, do you think?
You seem to have been following the war, so come on, who would be most likely to be bombing Idlib right now?
I am expecting that ISIL will be reversed in 2016 and from there reasonably rapidly contained into northern Iraq.
They are after all hemmed in on three sides by Jordan, Iraq/US, Turkey, Libya/Russia, the Kurds, and will continue to suffer massive airborne bombing degradation.
If I’m right, this makes it more likely that ISIL will continue to shift their centre of attention to Libya, which has no functioning government and is surrounded to the south, west and east by very weak governments. Plus, plenty of oil production together with full seaports to capture. Unlike Syria and Iraq, NATO has no near-Libyan solutions to build a base from.
So the west needs to prepare for a migration wave from Libya even bigger than that from Syria.
Just note that Qatar funded news sources like Al Jazeera have their own angle to put on what is happening in Syria, given that Qatar would like its own pipelines through the country and Assad gone so it can happen.
The Americans have no worries about destroying Syrian government infrastructure, bombing Syria back to the stone age and turning the locals against Assad.
The Russians on the other hand have the objective of ensuring a functioning Syrian state, ongoing civil services and minimising public ill will towards Damascus.
QED.
Thanks.
here’s your evidence it was russia. no reporting at all on New Pravda. That’s usually a giveaway despite RT being the most impartial, evidence based source of news on the planet..
https://www.rt.com/
Personally i believe that everyone who is not Syrian should stop bombing Syria.
russians, yanks, saudis, french, english, Turkey and whomever i may have forgotten.
this small country has been getting it for four years now, and we want to complain that the russians joined in the fun? WTF? We should have complained when the yanks started bombing in the first place in their quest to bring Freedom n shite as approved by Uncle Sam.
What ever happened in Syria, was a problem for syrians to sort, not for the ;western world to fuck up beyond believe, like Iraq, like Afghanistan, like they are gonna fuck up Yemen, lebanon, Somalia, Lybia, am I fogetting some? Feel free to ad.
What about what about blah blah blah.
The Russians are worse. It’s not that hard to understand. I’ve got thousands of comments on this site, feel free to find any where I support western policies in the middle east. Go on, I’ll wait.
Retreating to some pixie plan about how you want everyone out is fine, but fucked if it justifies actually defending Putin, or Assad, ffs.
The russians are as bad as the yanks, as the english, as all the others.
yada yada yada yada.
But you know what, yes, Syria under Assad was better then what is Syria now under ISis and bombing by every fuckwit with an army, fighterplanes and bombs. Fuck we support Saudi Arabia which is a fucking Islamic state beheading women, men and mere children for the fucking sake of writing a poem or having sex. But that is ok, because their terrorism is more ‘democratic ‘ than the ‘democracy’ of Assad?
And no, i am not defending Putin, i just don’t see why it is ok if the bombs come from the yanks or the poms but its not ok when they come from the ruskies. Seriously get a grip. None should be bombing Syria. full stop there. No one has any reasons to defend what fucking ever interest they have in Syria unless they are Syrians. Oh….forgot they have pretty much all left the hellhole, to rot away in some camps cause no one wants refugees from Syria cause ISIS. Fucking bullshit.
But you know what, its good for business….is it not? All those western weapons manufactures i am sure are getting their fill. Fuck it.
Speak for yourself if you support Sauds, I don’t.
Why shoudln;t we support Assad? Coz he is at war with his own people, and would be losing if not for Iranian and russian support which is far greater than the foriegn support the rebels are getting from any outsiders.
And that’s before we even get into the details of baathist control. ISIS didn’t invent fear you know.
All I’m saying is put your weird little prejudgements aside, face facts.
The Putin plan will lead to what? Play it out for me. You are talking about genocide mate. That’s the end game for regime opponents. there is no other way for the regime to survive, as the rebels will. not. quit. They are done with Assad, they would rather join ISIS for now than go back to Assad. So how do you see Assad winning mate, come on.
i just don’t see why it is ok if the bombs come from the yanks or the poms
Where did I say that? I didn’t, so stop making shit up.
I’m remembering why I hardly come here anymore.
“Why shoudln;t we support Assad? Coz he is at war with his own people, and would be losing if not for Iranian and russian support which is far greater than the foriegn support the rebels are getting from any outsiders.”
you’re a fool. The US has just approved a further $500M in rebel funding to take out a sovereign government, which is blatantly illegal. Turkey, a NATO country allows millions of dollars of ISIS oil to cross its borders every day.
In fact you should ask yourself what is going on in Syria that the Christians, Alawite, Druze and Shia minorities are backing Assad to the hilt.
Unlike faraway Western spectators, they know that if ISIS, or al-Nusra, or Ahrar ash-Sham or any of the other “moderate Sunni terrorists” that the West supports (including the ones who killed the parachuting Russian pilot then said on camera that they should have burned him – like was done to the Jordanian pilot) actually defeated Assad and took power, all their families and villages would be torched or enslaved.
I wonder what this is about, seeing CV claims Alawites are backing Assad to the hilt.
These people are obviously CIA MOSSAD stooges or some shit. Never mind though, you can’t trust any sources unapproved by RT or Zerohedge. Just ignore it like the all the bombed hospitals and the casualty figures and the reports saying people are fleeing Assad.
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/anti-assad-syrian-alawites-launch-upcoming-syria-movement/480336
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2015/11/28/Alawites-anti-Assad-movement-has-been-brewing-for-years-says-head-.html
in fact, you’re not just a fool, you’re a fool who claims to respect facts but in fact shits on facts.
Assad ran a highly secular, highly educated society, had women in university professorships and as Government Ministers.
But Islamist Wahabi and salafist sympathisers in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE had had enough of that, and the US wanted Libya in total chaos like Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, and so here we are.
If those “moderate terrorists terrorists” defeat Assad and takeover Syria, it’ll be the end of civilised life for women in that country, and for every ethnic and religious minority too.
You’re not a defender of the people, you are a defender of bloody chaos.
Assad ran a highly secular, highly educated society, had women in university professorships and as Government Ministers.
So did Josef Stalin. The above points are entirely compatible with being a murderous dictator who rules via well-justified fear of torture and death – being someone like Bashar Al-Assad, for instance. Your apologias for such people make me hope the Labour Party never has you in any official position, ever.
I think your milk got curdled Pascalls Bookie.
Something seems to be off in your thinking, unlike in the past.
CV seems to have a coherent argument re Syria, and thats not saying it is correct, everything is s.it there with incompatible competing sides.
And this link that OAB put up is the sort of bad news that drives us mad, particularly when good intentioned lefties go bad too.
http://grist.org/food/2010-01-15-drought-drives-middle-eastern-peppers/
Nah. CV is full of shit, as per.
Notice he still can’t bring himself to mention the hospitals being bombed by his legitimate govt, or the brread factories, or the cities.
Notice he hasn’t mentioned the thousands of Hezbollah and Iraqi shia militia that have been propping up his secular hero, or the mention the fact about which side has killed the most, or the barrel bombs, or the fact that the west hasn’t sctually been bombing Assad. ( the cia’s programme insisted fighters had to focus solely on ISIS, which is why t was such a failure, the Syrian people have largely had it with Assad, Hence the war, it’s not some dirty trick pulled by foreign agents. It’s a genuine uprising. Baath states are police states. Seriously, you can look it up. CV doesn’t mind that as they are ‘secualr’ so he loves them like he loves his Russian hero Putin)
If Assad is so popular, if he had a mandate, he would have won long ago. people are fleeing Assad. He decided that he’d rather the country burn than he step down. He started bombing cities. This radicalises an opposition.
CV admits he doesn’t read from a wide variety of sources, it shows.
And you’ll notice CV will never mention any of this stuff either:
Well documented that Assad released extremist Jihadis from jail, as is his tactical co-operation with ISIS (ignoring their gains while squeezing kurdish and other oppionents agaisnt them)
CV simply doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
What was CV’s secular hero doing? Did they dreaded West force him to put jihadis into confinement with detained leftwing rebels? Did the west *make* him then give an amnesty to radical slafists and release them all from Jail so that they would futher radicalise the opposition?
What was going on? It’s almost like Assad is an arsehole who is playing dupes like CV like fiddles.
Oh , and the conservative estimate for Iranian support for Assad during the war is around $6B PA, just to put CV’s “you’re a fool. The US has just approved a further $500M in rebel funding” in conext.
You’ll note that I never said there wasn’t foreign support for rebels, I said the regime was getting much more. Is anyone giving the rebels air support BTW? Oh yeah, nope, hence the barrel bombings at will, and the destryed cities, which CV turns his eyes away from.
Only a revisionist like CV could claim pre -current civil war Syria was a beacon of human rights in the Middle East:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Syria
Sabine: You’re right about the current situation, but don’t ever believe Syria was not one of the worst humans rights blackspots on the globe before the current “troubles”.
Not much has changed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_Hama_massacre
That might be a clue as to why muslims of the non-Assad variety hate the regime so much.
Seen this?
FYI
“M E D I A R E L E A S E
Academic freedom under attack
30 Nov 2015
The police constraints on Dr Jarrod Gilbert’s research on gangs are an example of widespread and long-lasting restrictions on academic research contracts that are funded by government departments.
Contracted research routinely exercises strict control over the entire project, including many aspects of project methodology, the data gathered, interpretation, and final write-up. In particular, funding agencies regularly hoard the reports and limit the opportunities for researchers to publish their studies.
Contract providers often demand the right to approve the content of researchers’ publications and presentations, before the academic can go public with their studies and can simply deny approval if they wish.
In effect, the funders control both the project and the researcher.
The problem is that research is seen as a commodity that can be bought and owned, rather than information that should be freely available for serious inquiry and the public good.
QPEC sees two problems arising from Dr Gilbert’s case. One is that it may well be remembered and treated just as the “police issue” or the “gangs issue,” when it is actually indicative of a deep-seated injustice that runs right across the tertiary education sector.
The second is the danger to the role of tertiary institutions as “critic and conscience of society.” Media reports rightly recall this item as a clause in the Education Act of 1989. But the current Government has started moves to review the Act. It has already restructured tertiary institution councils to ensure extensive control by government. And it clearly countenances restraints on scientists’ right to make public statements.
In other words, academic freedom is at stake.
QPEC considers that the restrictions on Dr Gilbert’s research represent a serious threat to scholarship in New Zealand, which could be addressed by a model of funded research designed to serve the public interest.
Dr David Cooke
Vice-President, QPEC
________________________________________________________________________________
copied and pasted from http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED1511/S00141/academic-freedom-under-attack.htm
What do we have to do to have a justice system in this country?
Another right wing stitch up by the looks of it.
The malaysian diplomat on trial in Welllington has offered a guilty plea to one charge ( presumably the least serious).
The prosecution (crown solicitor) offered no evidence on the other two charges so the judge had to discharge them. Must have been a discussion between the two sides who have sold the complainant down the river. Did they even ask about her views on this deal – I assume not after all the boys know best?
Now the defence are going to ask for a discharge without conviction for the guilty plea.
WTF yes you heard correctly.
So in this country you can go into someone’s house, take your clothes off and try to assault them. You can then be shipped out of the country without anyone taking responsibility for that. When you are brought back you then do a deal to ensure that effectively nothing happens to you.
The complainant on the other hand is abused, reabused by the police and MFAT and now reabused by our courts, the police and the crown solicitor.
Where the hell is the justice for her.
All she will have had is months of stress and anxiety over the whole issue.
Sorry RedBaronCV, but I disagree somewhat with the interpretation you have put on the outcome of this morning’s court hearing, based on radio and media reports I have heard/read so far.
IMO. RNZ News provides a much more balanced and detailed report on what happened and the outcome of this morning. While the defendant’s lawyers have asked for a discharge without conviction on the charge of indecent assault to which he pleaded guilty on the grounds of mental illness, this has not yet been accepted, with a disputed facts hearing to take place in the High Court on Friday.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/290901/diplomat-naked-below-waist,-court-told
Also, here are links to The Herald and Stuff reports to date:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11553365
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/74473320/military-attache-pleads-guilty-to-indecent-assault-in-wellington
The guilty plea to the indecent assault charge was only made public this morning, but was presumably discussed/agreed last week at the two pre-trial hearings held in the Wellington High Court on Monday and Thursday.
The trial that started this morning was originally set down as a jury trial scheduled for two weeks’ duration with Ms Billingsley and others due to appear as witnesses. The dropping of the other two charges and the guilty plea to the indecent assault charge presumably means that Tania and others will now not have to go through the stress of appearing. We don’t know Ms Billingsley’s reaction to the guilty plea etc but she may well have been kept in the picture during the pre-trial hearings and her views sought.
So lets not rush into condemning the Crown prosecutors, the court etc until a little more is known and the case reaches a conclusion/decision. As a woman who has been in a similar/worse situation, I obviously want to see justice for Tania; but I also believe in due process and the rights of the defendant to also be heard.
UPDATE – Stuff article has been updated and is reporting that Tania is thrilled with the guilty plea.
I have no problem with the guilty plea and the dropping of the other two charges if that is what the complainant wanted and she had been given adequate legal assistance to help her with her decision – I understand that these cases when defended aren’t pretty but asking for a discharge without conviction is a bit much. I too believe that a defendant has the right to be heard and did not say otherwise. I am mindful of other cases where the deals have been offered over charges- some have not been accepted but if they had then there would have been very little justice for the complainant. She had already had decisions made for her when he wasn’t originally charged and we have the example of the Pike River court cases where the families really didn’t get a word in. Hate to have a repeat of that
FYI …..
TIME TO ‘BLOW THE WHISTLE’ ON TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL’S ‘CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX’?
30 November 2015
TIME TO ‘BLOW THE WHISTLE’ ON TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL’S ‘CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX’?
I think so.
In my considered opinion, Transparency International’s ‘Corruption Perception Index’ is not worth the paper upon which it is written.
What makes it VERY difficult for New Zealand anti-corruption ‘whistle-blowers’, is the ‘perception’ that New Zealand is (now) the second ‘least corrupt country in the world’.
https://www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results
But how ‘transparent’ is the data upon which Transparency International base their ‘Corruption Perception Index’?
My understanding is that Transparency International’s ‘Corruption Perception Index’ is based upon the subjective opinions of anonymous businesspeople.
What are the Corruption Reality FACTS about New Zealand?
1) NZ has STILL not ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/signatories.html
The recently passed legislation, (arising from the Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill), which was required before NZ could ratify UNCAC, still allows ‘facilitation payments’ – ie. BRIBES.
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1961/0043/latest/whole.html#DLM32876
105C Bribery of foreign public official
3) This section does not apply if—
(a) the act that is alleged to constitute the offence was committed for the sole or
primary purpose of ensuring or expediting the performance by a foreign public
official of a routine government action; and
(b) the value of the benefit is small.
______________________________________________________________________________________
(My evidence, which was presented in person to the Law and Order Select Committee, which was considering the (then) Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill:
http://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-nz/51SCLO_EVI_00DBHOH_BILL56502_1_A422096/1e3ea2de32e664e9aa1c1306288f8b011c3d5ab7
http://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-nz/51SCLO_EVI_00DBHOH_BILL56502_1_A422097/acac7e6b153bc419820082929f9767ab0f040c5e
2) NZ does not have an independent anti-corruption body, tasked with educating the public and preventing corruption.
3) NZ members of Parliament (whom make the rules for everyone else) do not themselves have an enforceable ‘Code of Conduct’.
4) It is not an offence under the Local Government Act 2002, for NZ Local Government elected representatives to breach their ‘Code of Conduct’.
5) It is not a lawful, mandatory requirement for Local Government elected representatives to complete a ‘Register of Interests’ which is available for public scrutiny.
6) It is not a lawful, mandatory requirement for Local Government staff, responsible for property or procurement, to complete a ‘Register of Interests’ which is available for public scrutiny.
7) It is not a lawful, mandatory requirement for Local Government Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) Directors and staff, responsible for property or procurement, to complete a ‘Register of Interests’ which is available for public scrutiny.
8) The Public Records Act 2005, (section 3 (c) ‘Purposes of Act’
whose stated purpose is:
“to enable the Government to be held accountable by—
(i) ensuring that full and accurate records of the affairs of central and local government are created and maintained; and
(ii) providing for the preservation of, and public access to, records of long-term value; …”
is not being fully implemented and enforced, across NZ central and local government.
9) It is not a lawful requirement that a ‘cost-benefit’ analysis of NZ Central Government and Local Government public finances must be undertaken, to prove that private procurement of public services previously provided ‘in house’ is cost-effective for the public majority of tax payers and rate payers.
10) There is not a legally enforceable ‘Code of Conduct’ for members of the NZ Judiciary, to ensure that they are not ‘above the law’.
11) There is no lawful requirement for a publicly-available NZ Judicial ‘Register of Interests’, to help prevent ‘conflicts of interest’.
12)All NZ Court proceedings are currently not recorded, with audio records available to parties who request them.
13) There is no lawful requirement for a publicly-available NZ ‘Register of Lobbyists, or ‘Code of Conduct’ for lobbyists.
14) There is no lawful requirement for a ‘post-separation employment’ (‘revolving door’ ) quarantine period from the time officials leave the public service, to take up a similar role in the private sector.
15) It is not a lawful requirement that it is only a binding vote of the public majority that can determine whether public assets held at NZ central or local government are sold, or long-term leased via Public Private Partnerships.
16) It is not unlawful for politicians to knowingly misrepresent their policies prior to central or local government elections.
17) There are currently no NZ laws which protect individuals, NGOs and community-based organisations, who are ‘whistle-blowing’ against ‘conflicts of interest’ and and alleged corrupt practices at central and local government level and within the judiciary.
18) There is no legislation which prevents ‘State Capture’ – where vested interests get what they want, at the ‘policy’ level, before laws are passed which serve their vested interests.
………..
______________________________________________________________________________________
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption /anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
Attendee: 2009 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2010 Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2013 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2014 G20 Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2015 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate
“1) NZ has STILL not ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).”
Luckily such exemplars as Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Venezuela. Ivory Coast, Myanmar, Nauru, Russia, Serbia, Turkmenistan, Zimbabwe, Yemen, Ukraine, Sudan, South Sudan, Albania, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia etc.
We have much to learn from such fine examples of how to behave in a non-corrupt fashion.
Sicilian Mafia offers Big Apple Protection from ISIS
An interesting article about Turkey’s possible reasons for shooting down the Russian plane by Gwynne Dyer.
Too many agendas, too many opportunities to play those agendas off against each other.
Here, hopefully, is the link:
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11552345
Cunliffe demoted.
Douglas and Bassett on the invite list.
What sort of message does that give you?
Thoughts?
Vote Green.
The herald continues to publish misleading drivel on medical issues..
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11553026
– perhaps they should just stick to the tabloid stuff on the rich and famous they seem to favour these days.
Why is this nonsense?
For one thing, it scream to me like it’s an ad.
Big claims made on the basis of anecdata and roundworm models, no downsides mentioned, repeated use of brand name… oh, and the clickbait headline
I wonder if a venture capitalist has just bought metformin shares?
“Have a good day at work dear….see you later…”
Not necessarily in New Zealand….
yet another workplace fatality…
http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/74565304/Man-dies-after-fuel-tank-explodes-in-Waikato
“To November 18, 35 people have been killed in workplace accidents nationwide in 2015.
That number is understood to be 37 with the latest fatalities.
November 25: a 54-year-old man dies in a workplace accident in Mangere involving a truck.
November 5: A 30-year-old male miner dies after an industrial accident at a gold mine in Southland.
October 23: One person is dead after a farm bike crash in rural Gisborne.
October 2: A person is killed in what’s believed to be a crushing incident by a truck on a worksite in Whangarei.
September 20: Zoo curator Samantha Kudeweh is killed by a Sumatran tiger while she was working at Hamilton Zoo.
September 15: Jamey Lee Bowring, 24, of Huntly, dies after a massive explosion at hazardous waste company Salters Cartage in Wiri.
September 9: Laurence Gerard Schwabe, of Kawerau, is killed while tree-felling in Tuhoe Forest, between Murupara and Whakatane.
September 6: Dairy farmer Ian Totty, 72, died after falling 4.8 metres from a barn roof in Staveley, near Methven.
August 28: Farm worker Russell Brooker, 45, is killed when his quad bike rolls into a drain on his Puketaha farm.
August 27: Mechanic Robert George Wallace is killed at a truck repair yard in Oamaru.
August 10: A rubbish truck overturned and rolled 15 metres down a bank on Auckland’s North Shore, killing one person and leaving another with moderate injuries.
August 6: Oamaru farmer Greg Fallon, dies in a tractor accident just outside of Oamaru.
July 5: Rebecca Anne Cunningham Byars, 32, dies in an accident on the family farm in Clements Rd, Kaiwera.
June 8: Quarry boss Murray Taylor, 56, is buried by rock in his excavator at the Heathstock Haulage limeworks in Waikari, North Canterbury.
Yet another undeclared National Party implant on The Panel.
RNZ National, Monday 30 November 2015
Jesse Mulligan, Clare de Lore, Bernard Hickey, Zoe George
Making her début on RNZ’s light chat show The Panel this afternoon is one Clare de Lore, billed by host Jesse Mulligan as a “journalist”. In fact, there is much more important information about her that Mulligan—or more likely his producers—decided not to tell the audience: she is married to the former deputy prime minister Sir Don McKinnon, a National Party grandee.
Clare de Lore therefore joins a long list of National Party insiders that have been granted a soapbox on this programme, usually without either them or the host informing us. The list is long and makes depressing reading. It includes, among others: John Bishop, Joanne Black, Michele Boag, Jane Clifton, David Farrar, Stephen Franks, Garth George (R.I.P.), Richard Griffin, Claudette Hauiti, Tau Henare, Deborah Hill Cone, Sam Johnson, Neil Miller, Chris Wikaira…. ad nauseam….
“Making her début ..” should maybe read…”Drawing the short straw to trumpet the National Party line on RNZ…”
They must get quite dizzy…all that spinning…
And the one or two from the left? Mike (I agree with Matthew) Williams; Brian (Michelle’s my mate) Edwards; Bomber Bradbury (oh, that’s right, got kicked off for being too left); Chris (face of the respectable left) Trotter; Josie (I’m in the wrong party) Pagani… . Says as much about Mora’s so-called panel as it does the state of the left in New Zealand. Maybe it’s because Mora hasn’t got too much to work with?
Then there are the “liberal comedians” like Jeremy Elwood and Andrew Clay, who spend their whole time on the programme trying to curry favour with the likes of Stephen Franks, Jack Anderson and Graham Bell.
Black Lives Matter is a “hate group”, according to the loons at Fox News
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/11/25/how-cable-news-covered-white-supremacists-alleg/207098
Hosking holds court, as his underlings dutifully guffaw at his deliberate faux pas;
No Mihi Forbes, no John Campbell—but THESE jackasses are still on TV every night.
Television One News (final minute) and When Hilary Met Oprah, TV3, 7 p.m.
Monday 30 November 2015
grovel n. to humble oneself or act in an abject manner, as in great fear or utter servility.
6:59 p.m. The Television One news is winding to a close, but the groveling is only getting started. An ill-at-ease Thunderbird puppet swivels in his chair and addresses the coiffured, preening star of the upcoming show….
SIMON DALLOW: Coming up on Seven Sharp, an interview with Michael Bublé. I’ll bet you’re a fan, Mike!
MIKE “KING OF CONTRA” HOSKING: Oooh yeah! Everybody likes the Boobs!
…..Pregnant pause….
SIMON DALLOW: Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho!
TONI STREET: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
WENDY “FIST PUMPER” PETRIE: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
SIMON DALLOW: That was your David Seymour moment!
MIKE “KING OF CONTRA” HOSKING: A few minutes back on the job and I’m already in trouble!
WENDY “FIST PUMPER” PETRIE: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
SIMON DALLOW: Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!
TONI STREET: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
I cut away from that rubbish to have a look at what was happening on TV3. Incredibly, it was even more cringe-inducing than watching Hosking’s hapless underlings perform their duty. Hilary Barry had been granted an audience with Her Majesty Oprah Winfrey; this was a publicity exercise for Oprah’s forthcoming visit to New Zealand. Barry, embarrassingly, gushed about how nervous she was; Oprah responded by offering to give her a reassuring hug. After that, Oprah did all the talking. Hilary Barry’s part consisted of gazing at her with a desperate intensity, not even pretending to be an interviewer, but playing the demeaning role of awe-struck and reverential devotee.
But no matter how much she may have been forced to debase herself before Oprah Winfrey, it still beats her day job….
The Soundtrack of their lives…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JCMBCefXmQ