Lmao !! A friend was taught woodwork by brownlee, he said that brownlee was a useless bully of a teacher who spent most of his time in his office chasing political dreams.
Cheers, Cinny – I’m well aware Brownlee was hopeless in the classroom – but worse than as the minister in charge of the ChCh rebuild? Or as foreign minister?
No, I think with his experience he could just about manage to fuck up teaching apprentices!
Apologies in advance (I withdraw and unreservedly apologise Mr Speaker).
He’s quite good at balancing a Metroliner (pencil plane) when seat allocations have gone awry and caused most passengers to be placed on the same side.
Thankfully Metroliners have already been phased out, and hopefully Brownlee soon will be.
Carbon dioxide levels grew at record pace in 2016, U.N. says
ReutersOctober 30, 2017
By Tom Miles
GENEVA (Reuters) – The amount of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere grew at record rate in 2016 to a level not seen for millions of years, potentially fuelling a 20-metre rise in sea levels and adding 3 degrees to temperatures, the United Nations said on Monday.
Related SearchesCarbon DioxideWhat Is Carbon DioxideCo2 LevelsCarbon Dioxide Levels In BloodCarbon Dioxide Poisoning
Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main man-made greenhouse gas, hit 403.3 parts per million (ppm), up from 400.0 in 2015, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization said in its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.
That growth rate was 50 percent faster than the average over the past decade, driving CO2 levels 45 percent above pre-industrial levels and further outside the range of 180-280 ppm seen in recent cycles of ice ages and warmer periods.
“Today’s CO2 concentration of ~400 ppm exceeds the natural variability seen over hundreds of thousands of years,” the WMO bulletin said.
The latest data adds to the urgency of a meeting in Bonn next month, when environment ministers from around the world will work on guidelines for the Paris climate accord backed by 195 countries in 2015.
The agreement is already under pressure because U.S. President Donald Trump has said he plans to pull the United States out of the deal, which seeks to limit the rise in temperatures to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times.
Human CO2 emissions from sources such as coal, oil, cement and deforestation reached a record in 2016, and the El Niño weather pattern gave CO2 levels a further boost, the WMO said.
As far as scientists can tell, the world has never experienced a rise in carbon dioxide like that of recent decades, which has happened 100 times faster than when the world was emerging from the last ice age.
Scientists know prehistoric levels from tiny air bubbles found in ancient Antarctic ice cores, and they can derive even older data from fossils and chemicals trapped in sediment.
The last time carbon dioxide levels reached 400 ppm was 3-5 million years ago, in the mid-Pliocene era.
“During that period, global mean surface temperatures were 2–3°C warmer than today, ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica melted and even parts of East Antarctica’s ice retreated, causing the sea level to rise 10–20 m higher than that today,” the WMO bulletin said.
Since 1990, the global warming effect of CO2 and other long-lived greenhouse gases has risen by 40 percent. The two other main gases – methane and nitrous oxide – also grew to record concentrations last year, although at a slower rate of increase than carbon dioxide.
(Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Well now this will be interesting, is this the marker that will determine how this government goes?
Meaning theres a lot of people that support the TPP (mostly on the right) but a lot of Labour/NZFirst/Green supporters didn’t so it’ll be interesting to see how large a rat Jacinda is willing to swallow…or how much slack the left will give her if she fails
…or how accurately the media will present this story of Labour once again having to clean up after the Tory fuckwits. From the linked story:
Essentially, the pair will be asserting their country’s right to prevent foreign speculators from purchasing urban property and farmland within its borders. A right the previous National Government, for reasons it never adequately explained, failed to assert. A right reserved by just about every other signatory to the TPP agreement.
Yet another example of those sharp negotiation skills National brought to the Warner Bros deal and the Auckland convention centre. What will genuinely be interesting is the limits on the ability of a competent government to correct the egregious failures of an incompetent predecessor. My money’s on “strong limits.”
Chris73…………….Finlayson, you sold us out when you allowing your national Party to sign TPPA in Auckland against the will of the people, and was that a “good thing”??????????
“… A right the previous National Government, for reasons it never adequately explained, failed to assert…”
I know a guy who is/was part of the negotiating team for TPP, a very short fellow with an enormous short man syndrome. He started life a self-interested liberal and rapidly shifted to full blown free market ideology fanatic. These days spends his time doing his best to channel the distainful and dismissive arrogance of Chris Finlayson to anyone who questions the NZ bureaucratic establishments absolute commitment to free market ideology.
The signing away of our rights to control who can buy land is typical of the sort of attitude of this guy and his ilk, a class of diplomats and officials who consider themselves global Galtians above the petty interests of the grubby people who live in anachronistic nation states.
Nothing incompetent with National’s negotiating here. Seems clear that this was a deliberate block to stop future governments doing what this government now wants to do.
“A right the previous National Government, for reasons it never adequately explained, failed to assert.”
During the Leaders Debate Jacinda asked Bill several times why not? Bill mumbled that it was just not a concern for them.
Yes, I have read the claims from David Parker that the changes that can be made to the TPP11 may be limited. We have the key elements that need to be addressed to make the document attractive to NZ. Things like:
• Removal investor state dispute resolution through a non-court environment
• Land and home ownership restrictions being introduced
• IP protections being toned down from USA demands
But the over-riding issue is that the Treaty should leave NZ better off. To do this the cost benefit analysis needs to be done and it needs to stack up. Last year’s run through with the full TPPA (with the USA included) gave a net benefit to NZ that was well within the margins of error. Removing the USA may well remove the net upside of the proposed TPP11, if so why are we even going there.
Somehow this TPP Agreement seems to have got a life of its own. The pressure to do the deal appears to outweigh the benefits of the deal: negotiators have the equivalence of Gold Fever.
Pressure on NZ to sign a deal is manufactured. Most of the other participants will realize that there has been a recent election in NZ that produced a Government whose members have reservations about the existing construct of the document and we a body politic that does not support the concept. Pressure to sign is created by the bureaucrats – it has all the signs of being something straight out of “Yes Minister.”
Grant Roberstson’s backsliding recently has revealed him as the self-serving managerialist and self-serving careerist he always has been, and just now this morning David Parker has been backsliding and being tricky on the TPP.
Labour needs to understand they were elected on a change platform. If the likes of Parker and Robeertson are allowed to let Labour slip into business as usual, neoliberal managerialism they will lose – and lose badly – in 2020.
The only extra votes that Labour can get have to come from National. They will not be won by a hard left programme. They will only be persuaded if the govt is seen as reasonable. Anyone voting National does not want increased taxes, they do not want hard left radicalism. They expect a reasonably moderate government. That is true even of soft National voters.
So they will give credit to Jacinda when she gets things like TPP done. If she is seen as fixing the things that concern New Zealanders, without embarking on a revolution she will probably win over some of the soft National voters.
Your approach will mean she would only have one three year term. Some of the NZF vote and in fact some of the right end of Labour vote would swing back to National. It has happened before, as in 1975.
It does rather look like Labour is going to end up spending some of is time battling against Standardnistas, just as they had to in respect of New Labour and the Alliance.
It’s true that we did increase voter turnout (and the number of enrolled voters) this time, OAB, and that definitely seems to have favoured the left. In my electorate (Dunedin North) a lot of younger voters signed up and voted during the two weeks before election day and the Labour vote went up significantly (a bit more than 15%). Having said that, there’s an element of truth in what Wayne says – any major party that wants to increase its vote needs to be acceptable to ordinary, non-political NZers. In particular, on the left, people with strong left wing views are likely to favour the Greens, and pulling them away to Labour only rearranges the left vote, rather than increasing it. The people on this site who constantly campaign to “turn Labour left” need to think through some political realities.
That doesn’t mean that Labour shouldn’t be a party of the left (it is) or that it shouldn’t be true to its principals and to its election promises (it should), but a hard left agenda isn’t likely to win the day with middle of the road voters, and they’re the ones who decide the government, when push comes to shove.
I agree with some of what you say Wayne. Jacinda and co. will be given credit if they are seen to be “fixing the things that concern New Zealanders without embarking on a revolution….“. I am in no doubt that will be the approach of this Labour-led government because – contrary to the attempt by National to paint them otherwise – they have always been reasonable and moderate in government but with a more socially responsible bent.
As for 1975. This isn’t the first time you have raised the spectre of the 72/75 Labour govt. as being “radical and hard left prompting the voters to swing back to National.” They swung to National because Muldoon dangled the biggest election bribe in NZ’s history in front of their middle-aged noses. I refer to the reduction of the age of Super entitlement to 60 years and increasing the amount to 80% of the average wage – a bribe we’re still paying dearly for today.
It is time you stopped peddling that myth. It does not become your elder statesman persona.
I agree with your last sentence – the comments do reveal the truth rather than the crafted image, bit like hootons slip ups, and is therefore valuable. It is too easy to think other people are as nice as us when they aren’t imo ☺
They swung back to National, when they introduced “hard left” type welfare policies, like lowering the super age. Funny that. Doesn’t exactly agree with Wayne’s take on things.
Again, this election, National tried to hide the poverty and unemployment figures. Each election National pretend to be more “left” than they are. Because National, and Crosby Textor, know what voters want.
moderate people do not engage in actions which result in child killing ….not even for trade deals, Wayne.
Racist dishonest warmongers like yourself can not actually be termed ‘moderate’.
If we were to Fix up John Keys and your National party tax segregation laws ……. then everyone who does not use creative accounting or tax havens would pay less tax.
I was not going to engage with you. However, I consider I must on the basis of defending New Zealand soldiers. No-one in the New Zealand Defence Force would ever deliberately undertake an action that they knew was likely to result in the death of civilians.
Recall in this instance the overall mission to Baghlan province was specifically approved by Sir Jerry Mateparae, the Chief of the Defence Force at the time. He is a man of integrity.
As has been explained numerous times, what happened was an accident, being the result of a faulty weapon in a US helicopter.
And New Zealand is not in Afghanistan because of trade deals. That is a slander on Helen Clark and her government, as much as it on National.
Both governments have been part of the overall Afghanistan mission because both thought it the right thing to do. It does, after all, have its origins in the Al Quaeda attack on the World Trade Centre. President Obama referred to Afghanistan as the right war, as opposed to Iraq, which was the wrong war. Helen Clark as PM agreed with that.
The only extra votes that Labour can get have to come from National. They will not be won by a hard left programme. They will only be persuaded if the govt is seen as reasonable. … That is true even of soft National voters.
So they will give credit to Jacinda when she gets things like TPP done.
(1) While it would certainly be a bonus, there is no absolute necessity for Labour to make further in-roads into National support in order to remain in Govt
(2) Winning Elections & maintaining your Party Vote are as much about holding on to your own voters as winning over new ones
An overwhelming 73% of Labour voters opposed TPP in one of the last Polls on the issue (3 News Reid Research) along with 87% of NZ First Supporters & 84% of Greens
(3) Even 23% of intending Nat voters were opposed – probably the more softly-aligned ones
A Colmar Brunton published around the same time suggested a similarly large-ish minority of Nat opposition at 26% (with another 37% Unsure)
The only extra votes that Labour can get have to come from National.
And Labour teaming up with National will have them losing pretty much all their votes.
They expect a reasonably moderate government.
Translation: They expect a Labour led government that kowtows to National’s radical right-wing ideology.
If she is seen as fixing the things that concern New Zealanders, without embarking on a revolution…
She can’t do it that way but I don’t think she, and the rest of Labour/NZ1st, realise that yet.
Capitalism doesn’t work as history has proven time and time again thus we need to shift away from capitalism.
It has happened before, as in 1975.
Ah yes, National’s first truly successful scare campaign of dancing cossacks followed by the biggest electoral bribe ever. A bribe that we’re still paying for.
It does rather look like Labour is going to end up spending some of is time battling against Standardnistas
That’s better than the sycophantic following of the RWNJs for whatever their leader of the time says.
@Sanctuary, totally agree about Robertson, I think hes a very weak link in the chain, but unfortunately holds a most powerful portfolio. He doesnt give me the impression that he has a clear understanding of Finance…..I am probABLY wrong.
Interesting that the WhiteHouse is desperately trying to deflect from the Manafort indictment by replaying the greatest hits from “but Hill-a-reeee”. That’s sooo 2016.
Hillary is a fading has-been that will never again do anything significant. t-Rump is where the action is now. He da man making da decisions that actually affect people.
While I doubt Tyrannosaurus Arse is aware of Shrub’s popularity boost after 9/11 or its relevance to his situation, no doubt “they” are. So it’s a definite worry.
I have only recently become aware of Paul Mannafort after watching ‘Get me Roger Stone’.
A doco on a political insider who started out in the Nixon years.
Amongst other things, Stone got trump to stand against Buchanan in a third party leadership challenge for the presidency. Thus discrediting the third party and ensuring a win for the republicans (Bush snr.)
Looks like the old it wasn’t me, ref, it must have been some other bloke won’t wash.
In fact, Papadopoulos’ crime relates expressly to campaign activity, specifically, offers of meetings w/Russians offering “dirt” on Clinton https://t.co/S09lvchQuP— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 30, 2017
President Trump’s longtime attorney Michael Cohen will be a deputy national finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, the RNC announced on Monday.
Cohen served as executive vice president special counsel to Trump at the Trump Organisation and sat on multiple boards of other Trump corporations.
The RNC said in the press release that Cohen has “been an active spokesperson and advisor for the President during his interest in seeking office since 2011.”
A company listed in the Monday indictment of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates received funds from the Republican National Committee for work done in coordination with Donald Trump’s election campaign.
Bade LLC, listed in the indictment among 17 domestic entities that Manafort and Gates are alleged to have used to hide foreign earnings, particularly from Ukraine, was paid a total of $70,000 in three payments by the Republican National Committee in September 2016, October 2016 and January 2017.
The payments, all for “political strategy services,” each list an address associated with Gates.
President Donald Trump dismissed the indictment in a Monday morning tweeting, saying the activities were “years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign.
But the first page of the grand jury indictment charges that “In order to hide Ukraine payments from United States authorities, from approximately 2006 through at least 2016, Manafort and Gates laundered the money through scores of United States and foreign corporations, partnerships and bank accounts.”
attorney-client privilege might be a solid firewall
Or not.
Prosecutors convinced a federal judge to require a lawyer for Trump campaign officials Paul Manafort and Rick Gates to testify before the grand jury investigating Russian involvement in the 2016 election, a court ruling unsealed on Monday showed.
The unusual move is an indication of the aggressiveness of special counsel Robert Mueller’s prosecution team as they prepared to indict Manafort and Gates on charges of money laundering and failing to register as foreign agents. The 12-count indictment was made public on Monday.
Lawyers for Manafort and Gates fought the prosecution’s drive to intrude on attorney-client communications. But Chief Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that an exception, which involves using a lawyer to commit crime or fraud, applied to contacts with an attorney who helped respond to inquiries about why the pair had not filed foreign-agent lobbying registrations with the Justice Department.
Leighton Smith says the Russian thing is a Democratic Party conspiracy to save face for their loss of the elections.
And all his callers agree with him.
Leighton Smith is an idiot, who has been spouting the pro-Trump line for some time on his morning radio show. I am really surprise that he is able to dominate his show with biased right-wing rhetoric. He needs to go back to Sydney taxi driving as a job, just to get that reality check back.
I’d think the desperation, if there is any, might have more to do with the realisation they’ve been had. It’s looking more and more like the ‘russia investigation’ was a complete sham, intended only to provide the means by which they could shake the tree until things started falling out.
The US is tearing itself apart, not sure that’s a good thing either.
Perhaps it’s significant in your fevered imagination, it means little to me. They never did get any dirt on Clinton so all the claims of collusion on that point are rather moot. If there’s a smoking gun it’s unlikely to be about dirt on Clinton, I’d think the best they could come up with there would be intent to collude.
These indictments could just be the beginning with more to come, who knows, but so far they haven’t been for colluding with Russia and that’s what the investigation began as.
I don’t see it as earth shattering. It would be similar to having an employee repeatedly emailing the boss asking that the company should work with the competition. Haven’t seen much sign of what the bosses thoughts on that were yet. One Washington Post article I’ve read says the bosses thought it was a pretty dumb idea.
See my comment below – Papadopolous has cut a plea deal in exchange for his cooperation. They don’t do plea bargains with people who have nothing to offer.
so far they haven’t been for colluding with Russia
Dude pleaded guilty to lying about his involvement in the tRump campaign’s attempts to collude with a foreign government.
And he’s going to finger the rest of the crew.
Papadopoulos, who was arrested in late July, pled guilty to making false statements to the FBI. That plea was unsealed on Monday—as were court paper showing that Papadopoulos, the professor, and the so-called “niece” had been part of an effort to establish a back channel between Trump and the Kremlin, and to obtain thousands of Clinton emails before anyone knew those messages had been hacked.
I suspect any “grassing” will already have occurred.
Edit:
The Government agrees to bring to the Court’s attention at sentencing the defendant’s efforts to cooperate with the Government, on the condition that your client continues to respond and provide information regarding any and all matters as to which the Government deems relevant.
Yep the slippery slope for the mango Mussolini has just got slipperier. The dominos will fall – he might have to invent another pizza pedo scandal or watch out nth Korea, war is coming. False flag radar engaged – anything could happen and it could be right now!
“Money talks truth walks.” We have this here with National Party lies and deceit so we will never fing the real truth what happend during “the dirty tricks campaigns of 2011 Phil Goff, or “The Panama Papers” and the latest issue of the 300 texts Bill English sent to Todd Barclay’s secretary either, so we have the same “swamp” that Washington has don’t we.
But now we have our ex Finance Minister Steven Joyce falsly claiming we are his “members or suppoorters” that is a bloody lis as we hate him, expecially now he is asking his ememies like us for money to fight against the labour “coatition experiment” Joyce calls them just take a look at this;
Ha ha Steven Joyce wants a donation!!!!!!!!
After he lied to our community he can take a hike he tried to destroy our rail the creep.
From: Steven Joyce [mailto:hq@national.org.nz]
Sent: Tuesday, 31 October 2017 2:03 PM
To: janet
Subject: Fighting fund
j———,
As we prepare to return to the new Parliament next week, National’s 56 MPs will make up the largest opposition in New Zealand’s history. We will be working hard to hold the new government to account, and ensure they don’t squander the progress that New Zealanders have worked so hard to achieve.
Donate to our Fighting Fund today.
Labour and its coalition partners are planning a huge number of policy changes, and there are very few details available. However it is clear that many of them would take New Zealand backwards from our strong economic position which is currently the envy of much of the western world.
They also haven’t been upfront on the costs for their coalition agreements – these are the bills that hardworking taxpayers, like you, will have to cover out of your collective back pockets.
In the last week the coalition has also announced a Regional Fuel Tax, a potential Sugar Tax, removing standards and accountability in our schools, and scrapping the tax threshold changes due from April 1 in our Family Incomes Package.
The new government is already bloated, with an executive of 31 Ministers and Undersecretaries.
Hard-working New Zealanders can’t afford this coalition Government.
We’ve heard from thousands of New Zealanders like you over the last few weeks, wanting to know how you can help.
So today we’re launching our Fighting Fund – chip in $15, $25, $50 or whatever you can and it’ll help us as we begin taking on this Labour-Greens-NZ First political experiment. We need you with us.
Donate
National is the only party with the policies to deliver a strong and stable economy that really works for New Zealanders. We are confident and optimistic about the future our country. Let’s not let Labour take us backwards.
Thanks,
Steven
________________________________________
This email was sent to ———————–
We believe that email is one of the best ways to stay in touch with our members & supporters, but you can click here if you would like to unsubscribe from these messages.
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Authorised by G Hamilton, 41 Pipitea St, Wellington.
I especially liked Bill English’s reasoning that Dr Jian Yang couldn’t be a spy, or involved in spying, because he was a NZ citizen, and also a “satisfactory” MP. (On RNZ morning report.)
Further, Bill English would not say why Jian Yang was removed from the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. It was a backdown from English firstly saying there are so many changes he could not remember, to ultimately that English was not 100% certain why he was swapped out so would not comment.
All this ignores why Jian Yang has not had his citzenship reviewed on the basis that he failed to disclose his employment at at the Spy School/Military University in his residency visa application.
In my view It is obvious that the TPP 11 trade deal OUR new coalition goverment is analyzing has details that make it to negative to our future to walk away from IT.
I still prefer to spend on advertising but we are a small nation whom has to go with the flow or we could damage our future’s earning . Many thanks to Europe for there trade deal. I no have changed my opinion on this but the Europeans could have many negative effects from climate change so they have backed mitigating against climate climate change for years they are leader’s in this industry and we can learn a lot from them. And we should always team up with our Australian cousins when we negotiate trade deal’s our two Society have a lot in common and the old saying many hands make light work Its logical
{ It’s Assume to see these People making these super power full people accountable for there action’s we are all human being’s and demanded to be treated humanly and equally} That newly born Kiwi was beautiful a new life born in Rotorua we have all our living animals future in our hands. And this is one reason why We need to invest in OUR bio security to protect there future our future and our future earning’s there are to many threats to our future to take this{ subject to lightly }.is not intelligent.
If I was a bystander analyzing my situation I would be asking a lot of questions like would I like to leave this state service to look after my Moko’s future I would not like to think that this type of service that I’m receiving could be dished out to my Moko.
Everyone can see that they are breaching all of my rights as a human being They are using the courts to stop me from defending my future and my moko’s future .
But this situation I find my self in is my fate and I will correct the wrongs that this state orgnization has dished out to me and my whano . This is why I wrote about the power that this state service has over US ALL and I think that there should be checks and balances forced on this state institution so no one is ever treated like I am being treated at the minute because not everyone is like me to have the ability to counter there propaganda and have moral the support of our nation And I will fight for equality for US ALL. I just thought I was just a ordinary half caste Maori man but analyzing my past and what’s happening now and I have come to the conclusion that I’m a leader and that all the people that have attached me and my family have underestimated me and have and will pay the consequences for there assumption. Sorry thats heavy but that had to be told . The Zane and Duncan drive home show gives me a sore face and Jen ads a good ladys touch to the morning Rumble I no whom has my back kia Kaha
You said “I have come to the conclusion that I’m a leader and that all the people that have attached me and my family have underestimated me and have and will pay the consequences for there assumption”
How are you planning to make these people pay? Have you decided yet?
Today is the mid way point between the Equinox and the Solstice. In the northern hemisphere it’s Halloween (Samhain), and here in the south it is Beltane.
We’ve two massive spiders on the roof, a grim reaper by the letterbox and a witch cooking in a cauldron on the front lawn to lure in the ‘trick or treaters’.
If kids want to brave the garden path to ask for a treat, best they beware of our tricks that await. Looking forward to jumping out of the bushes and freaking out the older kids.
I’be been getting the news before it is the news!!
The interesting Louise Mensch has been publishing stories long before the NYT, WSJ , MSNBC et al have secured sufficient corroboration. Here is her list of who is going to be charged and just about the whole Whitehouse is on the list!
The most left–field one the the GOP itself!
“The Republican Party as a body is under investigation for RICO for accepting Russian money. The GOP itself is being considered to be a corrupt organization under the RICO statutes. Sources were firm that the GOP, as it is presently known, may no longer exist after this investigation and a new party of the right may have to form. Sources did not say if charges or indictments had been returned against the party however.”
Her product mostly appeals to a nutty segment of the moonbat left in the same way that Jones’ product mostly appeals to a nutty segment of the wingnut right.
What has ‘good reporting’ got to do with being left or right?
I pointed to her writing as much of what she has been saying for the past while about the Russia scandal has been found to be correct.
I’ve no interest in defending her or the NYT WSJ et al. Read widely and form your own opinions.
Screenjunkies is my most favourite thing to watch on youtube and it made me really…sad I guess for the victims because the victims were mostly, but not all, fans of the show
Yeah although with him its a bit more difficult. I mean I believe him but hes coming across as a bit…unhinged…which is probably a result of what happened to him and Corey Haim
Damnit, I go to the movies and watch movie news to escape from reality 🙁
Well whats interesting, to me anyway, is the way Hollywood has torn into Trump and yet the casting couch isn’t exactly a secret, that Meryl Streep can give Roman Polanski a standing ovation, that Woody Allen still gets the a listers, that Casey and Ben Affleck get Oscars, Bill Cosby was at it for decades etc etc
Not really related imo. For instance do you think every police investigator doesn’t have skeletons in their closets?
Sadly holywood revelations are just a visible aspect of a sick widespread integral aspect of patriarchy – the abuse and subjugation of women – that shit has to stop NOW!
Well sure closets ok but Casey Affleck paid off women, Roman Polanski plead guilty, Woody Allen was accused so these are not hidden they’re out in the open and were known to a lot of people and yet the biggest stars want to work with them and they still win oscars
Even muggins here in NZ heard a lot of these stories so how could some of these A-listers plead ignorance is beyond me
But yes there is a power imbalance and when you have young, super-attractive people who really, really want something and these old men can give it to them somethings going to happen
But hopefully something good will come out of all this badness
I hope you’re not implicating the victims or saying it was their own fault because they knew there was a concept of casting couch because that would need to be addressed…
Nope I’m not saying that at all, what I’m saying is these stars (male and female) will have heard the same stories I’ve heard yet choose to appear in their films thereby legitimising them however they also condemn the behaviour of Trump, Weinstein etc
House of cards cancelled now – spacey will be really thinking about ‘all those rumours’ as he put it.
The point you are making puck is directly related to the massive power imbalance in these abuses – it can barely be understood unless you’ve gone through it and sadly in all endeavours where the imbalance is there, this shit happen. Business, politics, entertainment – all of them from big to small.
I thought that the two series were both good but also both different enough to stand on their own
Not quite, I’m talking about those actors that are already at the top of the tree. The ones that can turn down roles, the ones like Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep, Matt Damon etc etc
They heard what was happening but they turned a blind eye to what was happening to the young up and comers and even if they didn’t speak out they still accepted the roles
What is your actual point on that? I think it is too much to offer judgment on that personally – the power imbalance is one aspect amongst so many. You really are just speculating and moving into areas fraught with difficulties. A lot of shaming occurs for women that supposedly don’t act or react to abuse in the ways some men expect.
Edit – I see in rereading that your point is a bit more nuanced – I will let this go now because I just feel uncomfortable offering judgments around this.
Strap yourself in tightly dearie and stay sober: the weirdness is about to get a whole lot weirder! Rainbows End Rollercoasters and wild mushrooms have nothing on what is about to happen.
Constitutional Roller Coaster #1
If Trump goes, Pence becomes president: if Pence is under investigation it goes to Ryan; if Ryan is under investigation it goes to Orrin Hatch; if Hatch is under investigation it goes to Rex Tillerson; if Tillerson is under investigation it goes to Mnunchin; if he is under investigation is goes to General James Mattis.
I think Mattis is the next president! Robert H. Scales, a retired United States Army major general, described him as “… one of the most urbane and polished men I have known.” Reinforcing this intellectual persona was the fact he carried a copy of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius throughout his deployments.=wiki
btw Ben Carson is no 13 and de Vos is no 15!
Constitutional Roller Coaster #2
The Prime minister in London is having a nervous breakdown. The EU are trying hard to keep her stable because the alternative is the bumbling idiot person Boris Johnson. Another General Election could deliver Jeremy Corbyn, another little england nationalist, to No 10. It will also probably deliver a united Ireland and and independent Scotland, both within the EU.
The entertainment never ceases…..
Just in case anyone thinks Pence being under investigation would keep him from the presidency, nope. His status as elected Vice-President is independent of the Chump’s shenanigans.
That means that at the moment Trump becomes an early ex-President, the only thing that will prevent Pence from becoming president is if he’s already resigned, or been impeached and convicted. As I understand it, he could have already been impeached by the House and be partway through his trial in the Senate, and he would still be sworn in as president. (although I’d imagine the Senate would seriously hurry-up the trial in that circumstance).
He will offload his staff to the prosecutors like White Russians throwing relatives one at a time, off the back of the sleigh, to fast-encroaching wolves. Even his daughter isn’t safe.
Fox News keeps the sleigh speeding along.
Now that a few have been turned, blood’s in the water and will keep pouring.
He will hang in to the end of the term, bloodied but unbowed.
A fairly high bar must be set for WINZ to prosecute. Contributing factors are length of time not complying, severity of offending, acceptance/confession, amounts involved, repayments/ability to recover debt, subsequent life position, and the strength of WINZ’s case in the first place.
My guess is that Turei’s case did not meet the bar.
In Barclay’s case the complainant appears to have been bought off by the National Party in the form of John Key’s prime ministerial services account, and soothing late night texts from the twice failed Bill English.
I don’t listen to newstalk zb from about 5 to 6 in the morning because that’s when Hosking comes on. Often in the hour before that the teeth have to be gritted.
Now they have the quinella.
“Kate Hawkesby to host Newstalk ZB’s Early Edition”
If her rant on the decision of Peters to go how he did is any indication, the one household can unload all it’s bile in one place in the same sort of time slot.
ZB doubling down on their right wing hosts. Mark Dye (along with Tim Roxborogh) was probably the only out and out leftie on ZB and he’s quit/been fired.
The line up is now fully RWNJ from 0500 to 1900 every single day.
So the Stepford Wife is joining the awful man who does the ZB Breakfast. Nepotism at work here. Thankfully for most people it is not a station they tune into. It probably will be more of the same garbage like her column she does in a womens’ rag. All the enlightening stuff about how to be a mother and a wife – as if all the other wonderful mothers and wives don’t already know about how to glue a household together. Does she think she is the expert in this for god’s sake. Being on the gravy train will enable her to get a really good nanny in to do all her housewifely chores and dropping kids off to school ec. Yawn yawn.
And to be really bitchy – she needs to get out of this 1970’s time warp and do something with her bloody hair.
I think his crazed serialised rant in the NZH in the week following NZ1’s decision to opt for Labour has cooked his goose in the eyes of many – or at least those that live outside the rarified climes of Remmers …
Yeah somehow a bunch of apathetic right wingers like yourself know so much more about mine safety and re-entry than the former UK principal mine inspector and former head NZ mines inspector Tony Forster who says it’s entirely possible and is happy to go in himself.
“I’ve read two comprehensive reports so far both say yes there are risks, but yes this is possible…You’ve just got to manage those risks, so let’s find a way to do that.
Every undertaking such as re entering the mine has a risk involved. The question is not just about rationality but humanity.
As for the argument of risk per se I belief the workers have shown the ultimate willingness on that point to their employer and we should at least support all endeavors to retrieve the bodies so that the families can have closure.
Where’s your concern about every other place that safety cannot be “guaranteed”?
Little’s main objectives in that interview were: the families would be listened to and geniunely consulted with; and that risks can be mitigated.
If risks cannot be mitigated down to a reasonable level and the families still want them to go in, there might be a law change in this case. The thing is, I think the perception of many people (definitely my perception, anyway) is that “health and safety” is being used as a handy excuse to hide behind in order to excuse inactivity.
If that were removed as an excuse, and the families were genuinely consulted with, I think you’ll still find that they wouldn’t want people to die trying to recover their loved ones and evidence. They just want an honest appraisal of the situation.
I wouldn’t accept anything from Dr. Sir John Key that hadn’t first been through an extreme vetting and fact-checking process. That’s a consequence of his well-earned reputation for lying through his teeth.
The issue around H&S is a red herring, so far. There might be genuine reasons not to go in, but the previous regime were pretty bloody quick to go ‘oh gosh, H&S ties our hands in this situation, how sad, problem over’.
I suspect that you will find that they change the law to allow sort of “good samaritan” efforts to rescue/recover evidence and people. I hope they make it a systemic change, not restricted to Pike River Mine. People should not be “sent” down if it’s unsafe – but if the reason is strong enough, they should be allowed to go, and not be held back by a paper-pusher worried about their own personal legal liability.
There were so many violations of safe practice identified by the Royal Commission that I’ll guess if the cause is tracked down it’ll just be one of the problems already identified. Shit like methane sensors getting covered over, failure to use explosion-proof motors, workers smuggling in unsafe equipment etc.
I would hope that “we don’t exactly know what caused Pike River” hasn’t been a hold-up in sorting that shit out at other mines.
Here's George Papadopoulos. In London. Five days ago. Wearing a wire. So..any idea who he met?? https://t.co/dXb0mAEni8— Carole Cadwalladr (@carolecadwalla) October 30, 2017
I’d love it if a law was set requiring that policies be supported by facts where such are available. That’d pretty much kill all National Party policies.
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
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Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
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Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
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Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
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“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
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Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
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Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
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The following interview with former Green Party MP Sue Kedgley came about because she features in the new memoir Hine Toa by activist Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku; the two knew each other at the University of Auckland in the early 70s, when they were both took on leadership roles in the ...
COMMENTARY:By Murray Horton New Zealand needs to get tough with Israel. It’s not as if we haven’t done so before. When NZ authorities busted a Mossad operation in Auckland 20 years ago, the government didn’t say: “Oh well, Israel has the right to defend itself.” No, it arrested, prosecuted, ...
NEWSMAKERS:By Vijay Narayan, news director of FijiVillage Blessed to be part of the University of Fiji (UniFiji) faculty to continue to teach and mentor those who want to join our noble profession, and to stand for truth and justice for the people of the country. I was privileged to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Lowry, Ice Sheet & Climate Modeller, GNS Science Hugh Chittock/Antarctica New Zealand, CC BY-SA As the climate warms and Antarctica’s glaciers and ice sheets melt, the resulting rise in sea level has the potential to displace hundreds of millions of ...
The government's plan to reintroduce a three strikes regime is being strongly opposed by lawyers, who argue there is no evidence it reduces crime or helps people rehabilitate. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Professor specialising in Internet law, Bond University Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer “yes” to this question should perhaps also ask ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni E Ferreira, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney Last week in a post on X, owner of the platform Elon Musk recommended people look into disc replacement if they’re experiencing severe neck or back pain. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey caught the headlines yesterday, courtesy of a blistering speech condemning the latest GST carve-up. New South Wales, he claimed, would be A$11.9 billion worse off over the ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived at Kokoda Station, Northern province, at the start of his state visit to Papua New Guinea. Both Albanese and Prime Minister James Marape will meet with the locals and the Northern Provincial government before they begin their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Wallace, Professor, School of Politics Economics & Society, Faculty of Business Government & Law, University of Canberra Shutterstock An important principle was invoked by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week in defence of the government’s Future Made in Australia industry ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Security forces reinforcements were sent from France ahead of two rival marches in the capital Nouméa today, at the same time and only two streets away one from the other. One march, called by Union Calédonienne party (a component of the ...
A poll last August found that just 16% of New Zealanders oppose bringing back the ‘Three Strikes’ law. The nationwide poll of 1,000 New Zealanders was commissioned by Family First NZ and carried out by Curia Market Research. ...
The solo show from Ana Scotney is both sprawling and intimate, and a must-see, writes Mad Chapman. In the opening moments of Scattergun: After the Death of Rūaumoko, writer and performer Ana Scotney lays out the groundwork, literally. Silently moving around the square stage, Scotney is not so much dancing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Burridge, Professor of Linguistics, Monash University Who makes the words? Why are trees called trees and why are shoes called shoes and who makes the names? – Elliot, age 5, Eltham, Victoria Good question Elliot! Let’s start with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne at amRawpixel.com/Shutterstock Roles of health professionals are still unfortunately often stuck in the past. That is, before the ...
COMMENTARY:By Malcolm Evans Last week’s leaked New York Times staff directive, as to what words can and cannot be used to describe the carnage Israel is raining on Palestinians, is proof positive, since those reports are published verbatim here in New Zealand, that our understanding of the conflict is ...
In the case of New Zealand, the results confirm that there is no popular support for the vicious austerity program being imposed by the National Party-led government, which is backed in all fundamental respects by the opposition Labour Party. ...
The ‘Vampire’ singer has never visited our part of the world, but that might all be about to change. We assess the evidence.Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour is pulling in massive crowds as it whips around the US and Europe, even helping to catapult regular supporting act Chappell Roan ...
Testing of drinking water in rural Canterbury over the weekend by Greenpeace revealed that several public town supplies were reaching levels of nitrate above 5 mg/L - the threshold which a growing body of scientific evidence has linked to increased ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rohan Fisher, Information Technology for Development Researcher, Charles Darwin University It may come as a surprise to hear 2023 was Australia’s biggest bushfire season in more than a decade. Fires burned across an area eight times as big as the 2019–20 Black ...
Responding to the Government’s announcement of changes to resource management laws, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said: “These changes are a step in the right direction in terms of removing ideological and unworkable ...
More than two years after the Human Rights Council called for the establishment of a national human rights commission, such a body has yet to be formed. ...
Comment:An emergency management system with wide variations in performance, significant capability gaps, funding shortfalls and above all a setup that is not meeting the needs of New Zealanders at times of crisis. The Government’s inquiry into the response to Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events in the North ...
Welcome to the whirring wonders of one brain trying to align its actions with its beliefs within a system it thinks is evil. My brain has been spiralling in a woke conundrum ever since I found out a bookshop I’ve never been to was shutting down. Good Books, a bookshop ...
We repeat our call for criminal justice policy to be based on evidence, something the three strikes regime neglects to recognise – with no evidence that it either reduces crime or assists with rehabilitation. ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara With only four more seats in the 50-member Parliament yet to be officially declared, there is no outright winner in the Solomon Islands elections. As of Monday, the two largest blocs in the winner’s circle, independents and the incumbent Prime Minister Manasseh ...
Two/fiftyseven is a multi-purpose space hidden in the heart of Wellington that is paving a way for sustainable building and responsible landlording in Aotearoa and beyond.By 2060 the world is predicted to double its entire building stock, which equates to building an entire New York City every 34 days, ...
Popstars wasn’t just a reality television revolution, it was also a huge moment for Y2K fashion.It’s 25 years since girl group TrueBliss was formed on New Zealand national television, breaking new ground for both the reality television industry and the shiny clothing industry. With the first episode on NZ ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Pepping, Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology, Griffith University Marvin / Shutterstock Are all single people insecure? When we think about people who have been single for a long time, we may assume it’s because single people have insecurities that make ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William Geary, Lecturer in Quantitative Ecology & Biodiversity Conservation, The University of Melbourne Trismegist san, Shutterstock Landscapes that have escaped fire for decades or centuries tend to harbour vital structures for wildlife, such as tree hollows and large logs. But these ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Gladstone-Gallagher, Lecturer in Marine Science, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Shutterstock/S Curtis Why are we crossing ecological boundaries that affect Earth’s fundamental life-supporting capacity? Is it because we don’t have enough information about how ecosystems respond to change? Or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Crocker, PhD Student in Economics, Deakin University Here’s something for the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia to ponder as it meets next month to set interest rates. It has pushed up rates on 13 occasions since it began its ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a charity director outlines how she’s saving for retirement and buying secondhand. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 45 Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: Charity director, mum of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sophie Yates, Research Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Many Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late last year. Now a ...
It’s been called a failed experiment and a judicial straightjacket but the government says the revised three strikes law will be a more workable regime, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Three ...
New Zealand’s Palestinian community and Palestinian Youth Aotearoa are voicing alarm and disappointment with the lack of factual rigour present during the Israeli Ambassador’s appearance as a guest on TVNZ’s Q+A With Jack Tame Sunday (21/04). ...
Both ACT leader David Seymour, who played a key role in drawing up the assisted dying law, and hospice leaders say it's time the legislation was changed. ...
Public submissions on proposed gang control laws are being heard today. Rising gang membership has been cited as rationale for a crackdown – but what do we actually know about how many people belong to gangs in New Zealand?What’s all this then?A rise in the number of gang ...
Climate activists are setting their sights on an unpopular target, and hoping to bring lots of the public with them. It’s hard to miss the Majestic Princess: the enormous cruise ship, docked at Auckland’s Prince’s Wharf, looms over the nearby buildings. The ship, which can fit nearly 6,000 people, ...
Opinion: We’ve kicked the tyres on the perception NZ’s economy is in a parlous state compared to Australia. We take a quick tour of relative trends in GDP, housing markets, labour markets, trade, the fiscal situation, and the outlooks for inflation and interest rates. We find the cyclical positions of ...
7am RNZ news – NZ wide shortage of woodwork teachers!
Offer Brownlee a worthwhile job doing something to help this country!
Lmao !! A friend was taught woodwork by brownlee, he said that brownlee was a useless bully of a teacher who spent most of his time in his office chasing political dreams.
Cheers, Cinny – I’m well aware Brownlee was hopeless in the classroom – but worse than as the minister in charge of the ChCh rebuild? Or as foreign minister?
No, I think with his experience he could just about manage to fuck up teaching apprentices!
Apologies in advance (I withdraw and unreservedly apologise Mr Speaker).
He’s quite good at balancing a Metroliner (pencil plane) when seat allocations have gone awry and caused most passengers to be placed on the same side.
Thankfully Metroliners have already been phased out, and hopefully Brownlee soon will be.
Carbon dioxide levels grew at record pace in 2016, U.N. says potentially fuelling a 20-metre rise in sea levels and adding 3 degrees to temperatures,
https://www.yahoo.com/news/carbon-dioxide-levels-grew-record-pace-2016-u-100129353.html
We are toast, as no there s no political will for us to change our ways now so we are doomed.
This is what we are now facing.
PM Jacinda Ardern said “climate change is the nuclear event of her gerneration” so they had better get serious about it now.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/carbon-dioxide-levels-grew-record-pace-2016-u-100129353.html
Carbon dioxide levels grew at record pace in 2016, U.N. says
ReutersOctober 30, 2017
By Tom Miles
GENEVA (Reuters) – The amount of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere grew at record rate in 2016 to a level not seen for millions of years, potentially fuelling a 20-metre rise in sea levels and adding 3 degrees to temperatures, the United Nations said on Monday.
Related SearchesCarbon DioxideWhat Is Carbon DioxideCo2 LevelsCarbon Dioxide Levels In BloodCarbon Dioxide Poisoning
Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main man-made greenhouse gas, hit 403.3 parts per million (ppm), up from 400.0 in 2015, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization said in its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.
That growth rate was 50 percent faster than the average over the past decade, driving CO2 levels 45 percent above pre-industrial levels and further outside the range of 180-280 ppm seen in recent cycles of ice ages and warmer periods.
“Today’s CO2 concentration of ~400 ppm exceeds the natural variability seen over hundreds of thousands of years,” the WMO bulletin said.
The latest data adds to the urgency of a meeting in Bonn next month, when environment ministers from around the world will work on guidelines for the Paris climate accord backed by 195 countries in 2015.
The agreement is already under pressure because U.S. President Donald Trump has said he plans to pull the United States out of the deal, which seeks to limit the rise in temperatures to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times.
Human CO2 emissions from sources such as coal, oil, cement and deforestation reached a record in 2016, and the El Niño weather pattern gave CO2 levels a further boost, the WMO said.
As far as scientists can tell, the world has never experienced a rise in carbon dioxide like that of recent decades, which has happened 100 times faster than when the world was emerging from the last ice age.
Scientists know prehistoric levels from tiny air bubbles found in ancient Antarctic ice cores, and they can derive even older data from fossils and chemicals trapped in sediment.
The last time carbon dioxide levels reached 400 ppm was 3-5 million years ago, in the mid-Pliocene era.
“During that period, global mean surface temperatures were 2–3°C warmer than today, ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica melted and even parts of East Antarctica’s ice retreated, causing the sea level to rise 10–20 m higher than that today,” the WMO bulletin said.
Since 1990, the global warming effect of CO2 and other long-lived greenhouse gases has risen by 40 percent. The two other main gases – methane and nitrous oxide – also grew to record concentrations last year, although at a slower rate of increase than carbon dioxide.
(Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/98377913/trade-negotiations-will-test-parker-and-arderns-mettle
Well now this will be interesting, is this the marker that will determine how this government goes?
Meaning theres a lot of people that support the TPP (mostly on the right) but a lot of Labour/NZFirst/Green supporters didn’t so it’ll be interesting to see how large a rat Jacinda is willing to swallow…or how much slack the left will give her if she fails
…or how accurately the media will present this story of Labour once again having to clean up after the Tory fuckwits. From the linked story:
Essentially, the pair will be asserting their country’s right to prevent foreign speculators from purchasing urban property and farmland within its borders. A right the previous National Government, for reasons it never adequately explained, failed to assert. A right reserved by just about every other signatory to the TPP agreement.
Yet another example of those sharp negotiation skills National brought to the Warner Bros deal and the Auckland convention centre. What will genuinely be interesting is the limits on the ability of a competent government to correct the egregious failures of an incompetent predecessor. My money’s on “strong limits.”
I’m guessing there’ll be a lot of hot air and bluster but mostly it’ll go through as planned and thats a good thing
So you’re saying it won’t go through as planned. I’m guessing you didn’t mean to say that, but then you also said Winston would choose National.
We need better wingnuts.
Chris73…………….Finlayson, you sold us out when you allowing your national Party to sign TPPA in Auckland against the will of the people, and was that a “good thing”??????????
The government going against the wishes of the people to make rich people richer is considered a Good Thing by National.
“… A right the previous National Government, for reasons it never adequately explained, failed to assert…”
I know a guy who is/was part of the negotiating team for TPP, a very short fellow with an enormous short man syndrome. He started life a self-interested liberal and rapidly shifted to full blown free market ideology fanatic. These days spends his time doing his best to channel the distainful and dismissive arrogance of Chris Finlayson to anyone who questions the NZ bureaucratic establishments absolute commitment to free market ideology.
The signing away of our rights to control who can buy land is typical of the sort of attitude of this guy and his ilk, a class of diplomats and officials who consider themselves global Galtians above the petty interests of the grubby people who live in anachronistic nation states.
Nothing incompetent with National’s negotiating here. Seems clear that this was a deliberate block to stop future governments doing what this government now wants to do.
Hmmm yes, on second thoughts incompetence probably comes in way behind ideology on this one.
“A right the previous National Government, for reasons it never adequately explained, failed to assert.”
During the Leaders Debate Jacinda asked Bill several times why not? Bill mumbled that it was just not a concern for them.
Yes, I have read the claims from David Parker that the changes that can be made to the TPP11 may be limited. We have the key elements that need to be addressed to make the document attractive to NZ. Things like:
• Removal investor state dispute resolution through a non-court environment
• Land and home ownership restrictions being introduced
• IP protections being toned down from USA demands
But the over-riding issue is that the Treaty should leave NZ better off. To do this the cost benefit analysis needs to be done and it needs to stack up. Last year’s run through with the full TPPA (with the USA included) gave a net benefit to NZ that was well within the margins of error. Removing the USA may well remove the net upside of the proposed TPP11, if so why are we even going there.
Somehow this TPP Agreement seems to have got a life of its own. The pressure to do the deal appears to outweigh the benefits of the deal: negotiators have the equivalence of Gold Fever.
Pressure on NZ to sign a deal is manufactured. Most of the other participants will realize that there has been a recent election in NZ that produced a Government whose members have reservations about the existing construct of the document and we a body politic that does not support the concept. Pressure to sign is created by the bureaucrats – it has all the signs of being something straight out of “Yes Minister.”
Grant Roberstson’s backsliding recently has revealed him as the self-serving managerialist and self-serving careerist he always has been, and just now this morning David Parker has been backsliding and being tricky on the TPP.
Labour needs to understand they were elected on a change platform. If the likes of Parker and Robeertson are allowed to let Labour slip into business as usual, neoliberal managerialism they will lose – and lose badly – in 2020.
Sanctuary
You need to swot up in electoral mathematics.
The only extra votes that Labour can get have to come from National. They will not be won by a hard left programme. They will only be persuaded if the govt is seen as reasonable. Anyone voting National does not want increased taxes, they do not want hard left radicalism. They expect a reasonably moderate government. That is true even of soft National voters.
So they will give credit to Jacinda when she gets things like TPP done. If she is seen as fixing the things that concern New Zealanders, without embarking on a revolution she will probably win over some of the soft National voters.
Your approach will mean she would only have one three year term. Some of the NZF vote and in fact some of the right end of Labour vote would swing back to National. It has happened before, as in 1975.
It does rather look like Labour is going to end up spending some of is time battling against Standardnistas, just as they had to in respect of New Labour and the Alliance.
The only extra votes that Labour can get have to come from National.
…and from increasing turnout again… don’t “forget” turnout, Wayne.
battling
I realise it’s difficult for an authoritarian follower to understand, but debate is a sign of robust good health.
It’s true that we did increase voter turnout (and the number of enrolled voters) this time, OAB, and that definitely seems to have favoured the left. In my electorate (Dunedin North) a lot of younger voters signed up and voted during the two weeks before election day and the Labour vote went up significantly (a bit more than 15%). Having said that, there’s an element of truth in what Wayne says – any major party that wants to increase its vote needs to be acceptable to ordinary, non-political NZers. In particular, on the left, people with strong left wing views are likely to favour the Greens, and pulling them away to Labour only rearranges the left vote, rather than increasing it. The people on this site who constantly campaign to “turn Labour left” need to think through some political realities.
That doesn’t mean that Labour shouldn’t be a party of the left (it is) or that it shouldn’t be true to its principals and to its election promises (it should), but a hard left agenda isn’t likely to win the day with middle of the road voters, and they’re the ones who decide the government, when push comes to shove.
I agree with some of what you say Wayne. Jacinda and co. will be given credit if they are seen to be “fixing the things that concern New Zealanders without embarking on a revolution….“. I am in no doubt that will be the approach of this Labour-led government because – contrary to the attempt by National to paint them otherwise – they have always been reasonable and moderate in government but with a more socially responsible bent.
As for 1975. This isn’t the first time you have raised the spectre of the 72/75 Labour govt. as being “radical and hard left prompting the voters to swing back to National.” They swung to National because Muldoon dangled the biggest election bribe in NZ’s history in front of their middle-aged noses. I refer to the reduction of the age of Super entitlement to 60 years and increasing the amount to 80% of the average wage – a bribe we’re still paying dearly for today.
It is time you stopped peddling that myth. It does not become your elder statesman persona.
I agree with your last sentence – the comments do reveal the truth rather than the crafted image, bit like hootons slip ups, and is therefore valuable. It is too easy to think other people are as nice as us when they aren’t imo ☺
They swung back to National, when they introduced “hard left” type welfare policies, like lowering the super age. Funny that. Doesn’t exactly agree with Wayne’s take on things.
Again, this election, National tried to hide the poverty and unemployment figures. Each election National pretend to be more “left” than they are. Because National, and Crosby Textor, know what voters want.
A 3 News Reid Research poll showed that overall 54% of voters oppose the TPP.
Interestingly enough, Wayne, 23% of National supporters oppose it too.
Therefore, there is plenty of voter support for Labour to oppose the TPP.
moderate people do not engage in actions which result in child killing ….not even for trade deals, Wayne.
Racist dishonest warmongers like yourself can not actually be termed ‘moderate’.
If we were to Fix up John Keys and your National party tax segregation laws ……. then everyone who does not use creative accounting or tax havens would pay less tax.
Your a bent part of the problem Wayne ……………..
Reason,
I was not going to engage with you. However, I consider I must on the basis of defending New Zealand soldiers. No-one in the New Zealand Defence Force would ever deliberately undertake an action that they knew was likely to result in the death of civilians.
Recall in this instance the overall mission to Baghlan province was specifically approved by Sir Jerry Mateparae, the Chief of the Defence Force at the time. He is a man of integrity.
As has been explained numerous times, what happened was an accident, being the result of a faulty weapon in a US helicopter.
And New Zealand is not in Afghanistan because of trade deals. That is a slander on Helen Clark and her government, as much as it on National.
Both governments have been part of the overall Afghanistan mission because both thought it the right thing to do. It does, after all, have its origins in the Al Quaeda attack on the World Trade Centre. President Obama referred to Afghanistan as the right war, as opposed to Iraq, which was the wrong war. Helen Clark as PM agreed with that.
Wayne
(1) While it would certainly be a bonus, there is no absolute necessity for Labour to make further in-roads into National support in order to remain in Govt
(2) Winning Elections & maintaining your Party Vote are as much about holding on to your own voters as winning over new ones
An overwhelming 73% of Labour voters opposed TPP in one of the last Polls on the issue (3 News Reid Research) along with 87% of NZ First Supporters & 84% of Greens
(3) Even 23% of intending Nat voters were opposed – probably the more softly-aligned ones
A Colmar Brunton published around the same time suggested a similarly large-ish minority of Nat opposition at 26% (with another 37% Unsure)
And Labour teaming up with National will have them losing pretty much all their votes.
Translation: They expect a Labour led government that kowtows to National’s radical right-wing ideology.
She can’t do it that way but I don’t think she, and the rest of Labour/NZ1st, realise that yet.
Capitalism doesn’t work as history has proven time and time again thus we need to shift away from capitalism.
Ah yes, National’s first truly successful scare campaign of dancing cossacks followed by the biggest electoral bribe ever. A bribe that we’re still paying for.
That’s better than the sycophantic following of the RWNJs for whatever their leader of the time says.
@Sanctuary, totally agree about Robertson, I think hes a very weak link in the chain, but unfortunately holds a most powerful portfolio. He doesnt give me the impression that he has a clear understanding of Finance…..I am probABLY wrong.
Interesting that the WhiteHouse is desperately trying to deflect from the Manafort indictment by replaying the greatest hits from “but Hill-a-reeee”. That’s sooo 2016.
Hillary is a fading has-been that will never again do anything significant. t-Rump is where the action is now. He da man making da decisions that actually affect people.
https://thinkprogress.org/following-news-of-mueller-charges-white-house-desperately-tries-to-shift-focus-to-clinton-7b27d39e7060/
And I’m just gobsmacked at how many lunatic fringe commenters here are running the exact same diversion strategy.
Bad enough to push them/him to push the button and create the ultimate diversion?
While I doubt Tyrannosaurus Arse is aware of Shrub’s popularity boost after 9/11 or its relevance to his situation, no doubt “they” are. So it’s a definite worry.
I have only recently become aware of Paul Mannafort after watching ‘Get me Roger Stone’.
A doco on a political insider who started out in the Nixon years.
Amongst other things, Stone got trump to stand against Buchanan in a third party leadership challenge for the presidency. Thus discrediting the third party and ensuring a win for the republicans (Bush snr.)
Thoroughly recommend the doco.
Are you talking about Trump’s attempt to win the 2000 nomination against Buchanan for the Reform party?
That year it wasn’t George Hands’a Wanderin’ Bush that was the Repug, it was his sprog.
True Andre, I started on a sentence and wasn’t sure of the ending and bluffed.
My apologies.
Looks like the old it wasn’t me, ref, it must have been some other bloke won’t wash.
https://twitter.com/jimsciutto/status/925055378433478662
An election campaign adviser to Donald Trump has confessed to lying to the FBI about the timing of his meetings with alleged go-betweens for Russia.
George Papadopoulos admitted the meetings happened while he was working for the campaign, and not before, unsealed court documents reveal.
He said he had been told the Russians possessed “dirt” on Hillary Clinton.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41808227
Would it happen here? Would National find some dirt during an election and use it against a person or Party? Surely not? Bennett? Joyce?
Another good piece about the whataboutery getting sprayed around right now.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/donald-trumps-america/98388213/trump-runs-amok-with-clinton-whataboutism–and-that-tells-us-a-lot
And a special treat for anyone about to whine “whaddabout the other dodgy Dems?”. They’re copping it too.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/mueller-probe-appears-to-hit-democratic-powerhouses-too
Oh boy….
President Trump’s longtime attorney Michael Cohen will be a deputy national finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, the RNC announced on Monday.
Cohen served as executive vice president special counsel to Trump at the Trump Organisation and sat on multiple boards of other Trump corporations.
The RNC said in the press release that Cohen has “been an active spokesperson and advisor for the President during his interest in seeking office since 2011.”
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/trump-lawyer-michael-cohen-rnc-finance-executive-2017-4?r=US&IR=T
A company listed in the Monday indictment of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates received funds from the Republican National Committee for work done in coordination with Donald Trump’s election campaign.
Bade LLC, listed in the indictment among 17 domestic entities that Manafort and Gates are alleged to have used to hide foreign earnings, particularly from Ukraine, was paid a total of $70,000 in three payments by the Republican National Committee in September 2016, October 2016 and January 2017.
The payments, all for “political strategy services,” each list an address associated with Gates.
President Donald Trump dismissed the indictment in a Monday morning tweeting, saying the activities were “years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign.
But the first page of the grand jury indictment charges that “In order to hide Ukraine payments from United States authorities, from approximately 2006 through at least 2016, Manafort and Gates laundered the money through scores of United States and foreign corporations, partnerships and bank accounts.”
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article181708151.html
It’ll be fun to watch Cohen get nailed, if it happens. But attorney-client privilege might be a solid firewall for stubbyfingers to hide behind.
The mention of laundered money and the RNC in the same article is rather delicious, though.
Or not.
Prosecutors convinced a federal judge to require a lawyer for Trump campaign officials Paul Manafort and Rick Gates to testify before the grand jury investigating Russian involvement in the 2016 election, a court ruling unsealed on Monday showed.
The unusual move is an indication of the aggressiveness of special counsel Robert Mueller’s prosecution team as they prepared to indict Manafort and Gates on charges of money laundering and failing to register as foreign agents. The 12-count indictment was made public on Monday.
Lawyers for Manafort and Gates fought the prosecution’s drive to intrude on attorney-client communications. But Chief Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that an exception, which involves using a lawyer to commit crime or fraud, applied to contacts with an attorney who helped respond to inquiries about why the pair had not filed foreign-agent lobbying registrations with the Justice Department.
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/30/mueller-manafort-gates-testimony-244339
Holy crap! Mueller does not piss around.
This is going to make a great movie!
titles?
All the President’s Mendacity
From Russia with Lobbyists
The Tower of Babble
The Pelicanovich Brief
Indepen-dunce Day
The Putarian Candidate
The sum of all smears
Goodby Gorky Lies
Just off the top of my head ☺
Leighton Smith says the Russian thing is a Democratic Party conspiracy to save face for their loss of the elections.
And all his callers agree with him.
Move on, nothing to see here.
Leighton Smith is an idiot, who has been spouting the pro-Trump line for some time on his morning radio show. I am really surprise that he is able to dominate his show with biased right-wing rhetoric. He needs to go back to Sydney taxi driving as a job, just to get that reality check back.
I’d think the desperation, if there is any, might have more to do with the realisation they’ve been had. It’s looking more and more like the ‘russia investigation’ was a complete sham, intended only to provide the means by which they could shake the tree until things started falling out.
The US is tearing itself apart, not sure that’s a good thing either.
So Papadopoulos pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia on behalf of the campaign is a big nothing? Ah-huh…
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/30/politics/george-papadopolous-trump-guilty/index.html
Sure it’s a big nothing… so far. He was stupid enough to lie under oath and now he’s paying for it.
What he lied about is significant.
Perhaps it’s significant in your fevered imagination, it means little to me. They never did get any dirt on Clinton so all the claims of collusion on that point are rather moot. If there’s a smoking gun it’s unlikely to be about dirt on Clinton, I’d think the best they could come up with there would be intent to collude.
These indictments could just be the beginning with more to come, who knows, but so far they haven’t been for colluding with Russia and that’s what the investigation began as.
Clinton…Clinton…
In my fevered imagination, the FBI is investigating the Trump campaign.
…and then there’s this (from the link at 3.6.1):
Collusion: secret agreement or cooperation especially for an illegal or deceitful purpose.
…Clinton…Clinton…Clinton… 😆
I don’t see it as earth shattering. It would be similar to having an employee repeatedly emailing the boss asking that the company should work with the competition. Haven’t seen much sign of what the bosses thoughts on that were yet. One Washington Post article I’ve read says the bosses thought it was a pretty dumb idea.
See my comment below – Papadopolous has cut a plea deal in exchange for his cooperation. They don’t do plea bargains with people who have nothing to offer.
Dude pleaded guilty to lying about his involvement in the tRump campaign’s attempts to collude with a foreign government.
And he’s going to finger the rest of the crew.
Papadopoulos, who was arrested in late July, pled guilty to making false statements to the FBI. That plea was unsealed on Monday—as were court paper showing that Papadopoulos, the professor, and the so-called “niece” had been part of an effort to establish a back channel between Trump and the Kremlin, and to obtain thousands of Clinton emails before anyone knew those messages had been hacked.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/putins-niece-catfished-george-papadopoulos-offered-kremlin-meeting
Him being charged does kinda suggest he won’t be grassing anyone up. Maybe he cut a deal for lesser charges, I guess we’ll find out in due course.
I suspect any “grassing” will already have occurred.
Edit:
Stuff.
So much to look forward to.
We look forward to telling all of the details of George’s story at that time.
https://twitter.com/politiCOHEN_/status/925041547594395648
Yep the slippery slope for the mango Mussolini has just got slipperier. The dominos will fall – he might have to invent another pizza pedo scandal or watch out nth Korea, war is coming. False flag radar engaged – anything could happen and it could be right now!
Who can we believe now?
“Money talks truth walks.” We have this here with National Party lies and deceit so we will never fing the real truth what happend during “the dirty tricks campaigns of 2011 Phil Goff, or “The Panama Papers” and the latest issue of the 300 texts Bill English sent to Todd Barclay’s secretary either, so we have the same “swamp” that Washington has don’t we.
But now we have our ex Finance Minister Steven Joyce falsly claiming we are his “members or suppoorters” that is a bloody lis as we hate him, expecially now he is asking his ememies like us for money to fight against the labour “coatition experiment” Joyce calls them just take a look at this;
Ha ha Steven Joyce wants a donation!!!!!!!!
After he lied to our community he can take a hike he tried to destroy our rail the creep.
From: Steven Joyce [mailto:hq@national.org.nz]
Sent: Tuesday, 31 October 2017 2:03 PM
To: janet
Subject: Fighting fund
j———,
As we prepare to return to the new Parliament next week, National’s 56 MPs will make up the largest opposition in New Zealand’s history. We will be working hard to hold the new government to account, and ensure they don’t squander the progress that New Zealanders have worked so hard to achieve.
Donate to our Fighting Fund today.
Labour and its coalition partners are planning a huge number of policy changes, and there are very few details available. However it is clear that many of them would take New Zealand backwards from our strong economic position which is currently the envy of much of the western world.
They also haven’t been upfront on the costs for their coalition agreements – these are the bills that hardworking taxpayers, like you, will have to cover out of your collective back pockets.
In the last week the coalition has also announced a Regional Fuel Tax, a potential Sugar Tax, removing standards and accountability in our schools, and scrapping the tax threshold changes due from April 1 in our Family Incomes Package.
The new government is already bloated, with an executive of 31 Ministers and Undersecretaries.
Hard-working New Zealanders can’t afford this coalition Government.
We’ve heard from thousands of New Zealanders like you over the last few weeks, wanting to know how you can help.
So today we’re launching our Fighting Fund – chip in $15, $25, $50 or whatever you can and it’ll help us as we begin taking on this Labour-Greens-NZ First political experiment. We need you with us.
Donate
National is the only party with the policies to deliver a strong and stable economy that really works for New Zealanders. We are confident and optimistic about the future our country. Let’s not let Labour take us backwards.
Thanks,
Steven
________________________________________
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.
Hillary card – for when you have no actual argument:
https://i.imgur.com/XiTmEWF.jpg
Liddle’ hands Gallup daily approval rating suck to a new low of 33% percent over the weekend… SO SAD!
http://news.gallup.com/poll/201617/gallup-daily-trump-job-approval.aspx
But the the White house care givers turn the graph upside down when they show it to him so it’s all good.
Blinglish struggling on MORNING REPORT re chinese spies in the nest….
Struggling? He started smooth and self righteous then turned back into his duplicitous lying self.
Exactlycgaribaldi ,
He (English) sounded weak and was intentionally thinking up lies ) when I heard him speak; — the bloody liar.
I especially liked Bill English’s reasoning that Dr Jian Yang couldn’t be a spy, or involved in spying, because he was a NZ citizen, and also a “satisfactory” MP. (On RNZ morning report.)
Further, Bill English would not say why Jian Yang was removed from the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. It was a backdown from English firstly saying there are so many changes he could not remember, to ultimately that English was not 100% certain why he was swapped out so would not comment.
All this ignores why Jian Yang has not had his citzenship reviewed on the basis that he failed to disclose his employment at at the Spy School/Military University in his residency visa application.
In my view It is obvious that the TPP 11 trade deal OUR new coalition goverment is analyzing has details that make it to negative to our future to walk away from IT.
I still prefer to spend on advertising but we are a small nation whom has to go with the flow or we could damage our future’s earning . Many thanks to Europe for there trade deal. I no have changed my opinion on this but the Europeans could have many negative effects from climate change so they have backed mitigating against climate climate change for years they are leader’s in this industry and we can learn a lot from them. And we should always team up with our Australian cousins when we negotiate trade deal’s our two Society have a lot in common and the old saying many hands make light work Its logical
{ It’s Assume to see these People making these super power full people accountable for there action’s we are all human being’s and demanded to be treated humanly and equally} That newly born Kiwi was beautiful a new life born in Rotorua we have all our living animals future in our hands. And this is one reason why We need to invest in OUR bio security to protect there future our future and our future earning’s there are to many threats to our future to take this{ subject to lightly }.is not intelligent.
If I was a bystander analyzing my situation I would be asking a lot of questions like would I like to leave this state service to look after my Moko’s future I would not like to think that this type of service that I’m receiving could be dished out to my Moko.
Everyone can see that they are breaching all of my rights as a human being They are using the courts to stop me from defending my future and my moko’s future .
But this situation I find my self in is my fate and I will correct the wrongs that this state orgnization has dished out to me and my whano . This is why I wrote about the power that this state service has over US ALL and I think that there should be checks and balances forced on this state institution so no one is ever treated like I am being treated at the minute because not everyone is like me to have the ability to counter there propaganda and have moral the support of our nation And I will fight for equality for US ALL. I just thought I was just a ordinary half caste Maori man but analyzing my past and what’s happening now and I have come to the conclusion that I’m a leader and that all the people that have attached me and my family have underestimated me and have and will pay the consequences for there assumption. Sorry thats heavy but that had to be told . The Zane and Duncan drive home show gives me a sore face and Jen ads a good ladys touch to the morning Rumble I no whom has my back kia Kaha
Be the warrioor you need to be eco Maori/kiwi,
We need to rid our lives of lying right wingnuts andd neoliberal arseholes.
Hey eco Maori / kiwi
You said “I have come to the conclusion that I’m a leader and that all the people that have attached me and my family have underestimated me and have and will pay the consequences for there assumption”
How are you planning to make these people pay? Have you decided yet?
A.
Court
Thats good I was worried you were going to go postal (no offence)
I like the Break fast show a lot of laughs it’s just every time i see a opening for my defence they close it up WTF Ka pai
Today is the mid way point between the Equinox and the Solstice. In the northern hemisphere it’s Halloween (Samhain), and here in the south it is Beltane.
We’ve two massive spiders on the roof, a grim reaper by the letterbox and a witch cooking in a cauldron on the front lawn to lure in the ‘trick or treaters’.
If kids want to brave the garden path to ask for a treat, best they beware of our tricks that await. Looking forward to jumping out of the bushes and freaking out the older kids.
Imported American consumerism, which NZ could do without, and has no historical links to..
I’be been getting the news before it is the news!!
The interesting Louise Mensch has been publishing stories long before the NYT, WSJ , MSNBC et al have secured sufficient corroboration. Here is her list of who is going to be charged and just about the whole Whitehouse is on the list!
https://patribotics.blog/2017/10/29/exclusive-mueller-has-dozens-of-sealed-indictments-including-on-donald-trump/
The most left–field one the the GOP itself!
“The Republican Party as a body is under investigation for RICO for accepting Russian money. The GOP itself is being considered to be a corrupt organization under the RICO statutes. Sources were firm that the GOP, as it is presently known, may no longer exist after this investigation and a new party of the right may have to form. Sources did not say if charges or indictments had been returned against the party however.”
Too good to be true.
Oh Christ. Louise Mensch, huh? The left’s Alex Jones…
“Unhinged British witch” “a textbook succubus”- Russian Insider.
They are better jibes: from the profile of her Twitter page.
Her stories have foreshadowed the same corroborated stories in the big newspapers.
She is an ex-Tory MP. How is she left?
Her product mostly appeals to a nutty segment of the moonbat left in the same way that Jones’ product mostly appeals to a nutty segment of the wingnut right.
What has ‘good reporting’ got to do with being left or right?
I pointed to her writing as much of what she has been saying for the past while about the Russia scandal has been found to be correct.
I’ve no interest in defending her or the NYT WSJ et al. Read widely and form your own opinions.
…based on bogus information from a hoaxer who falsely claimed to work in law enforcement.
Beware the Jabberwock.
Lots of fun there thanks.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11938743
Damn…always one of my favourite actors
Spaceys response not good. I agree with rosie he’s just reinforced the gay predator bulllshit and hate thought.
That’s true, he probably wasn’t intending it but that’s how its coming across.
Mind you something that went beneath the radar that affected me even more was this: http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/honest-trailers-creator-andy-signore-fired-for-egregious-and-intolerable-sexual-behavior-1202583996/
Screenjunkies is my most favourite thing to watch on youtube and it made me really…sad I guess for the victims because the victims were mostly, but not all, fans of the show
Corey Feldman must be making some people nervous too.
Yeah although with him its a bit more difficult. I mean I believe him but hes coming across as a bit…unhinged…which is probably a result of what happened to him and Corey Haim
Damnit, I go to the movies and watch movie news to escape from reality 🙁
These revelations from movie land will make you believe ☺
Well whats interesting, to me anyway, is the way Hollywood has torn into Trump and yet the casting couch isn’t exactly a secret, that Meryl Streep can give Roman Polanski a standing ovation, that Woody Allen still gets the a listers, that Casey and Ben Affleck get Oscars, Bill Cosby was at it for decades etc etc
Hell look up some of the Shirely Temple Baby Burlesks from the 30s http://time.com/12851/before-the-good-ship-lollipop-shirley-temple-did-baby-burlesks/ and its been going on a very long time
Like I’m not saying Hollywood shouldn’t say anything about Trump but maybe sort their own house in order first
Not really related imo. For instance do you think every police investigator doesn’t have skeletons in their closets?
Sadly holywood revelations are just a visible aspect of a sick widespread integral aspect of patriarchy – the abuse and subjugation of women – that shit has to stop NOW!
Well sure closets ok but Casey Affleck paid off women, Roman Polanski plead guilty, Woody Allen was accused so these are not hidden they’re out in the open and were known to a lot of people and yet the biggest stars want to work with them and they still win oscars
Even muggins here in NZ heard a lot of these stories so how could some of these A-listers plead ignorance is beyond me
But yes there is a power imbalance and when you have young, super-attractive people who really, really want something and these old men can give it to them somethings going to happen
But hopefully something good will come out of all this badness
I just hope nothing comes up about Keanu Reeves
I hope you’re not implicating the victims or saying it was their own fault because they knew there was a concept of casting couch because that would need to be addressed…
Nope I’m not saying that at all, what I’m saying is these stars (male and female) will have heard the same stories I’ve heard yet choose to appear in their films thereby legitimising them however they also condemn the behaviour of Trump, Weinstein etc
House of cards cancelled now – spacey will be really thinking about ‘all those rumours’ as he put it.
The point you are making puck is directly related to the massive power imbalance in these abuses – it can barely be understood unless you’ve gone through it and sadly in all endeavours where the imbalance is there, this shit happen. Business, politics, entertainment – all of them from big to small.
I thought that the two series were both good but also both different enough to stand on their own
Not quite, I’m talking about those actors that are already at the top of the tree. The ones that can turn down roles, the ones like Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep, Matt Damon etc etc
They heard what was happening but they turned a blind eye to what was happening to the young up and comers and even if they didn’t speak out they still accepted the roles
What is your actual point on that? I think it is too much to offer judgment on that personally – the power imbalance is one aspect amongst so many. You really are just speculating and moving into areas fraught with difficulties. A lot of shaming occurs for women that supposedly don’t act or react to abuse in the ways some men expect.
Edit – I see in rereading that your point is a bit more nuanced – I will let this go now because I just feel uncomfortable offering judgments around this.
Thanks for that
Well, the gay predator meme is not going away any time soon – clearly.
We have had an enormous amount of women talking about heterosexual male predators. One gay male predator, and people invoke that old stereotype.
Yup its not a good look
the biggest fear of a heterosexual male, that they may be treated by some ‘predatory’ male they way they treat women every day.
I am no longer sure what US political reality is right now, or even which one I favour.
My favourite show since the West Wing is cancelled because of alleged sexual misconduct by the person playing the President, or …
…. the actual-world President’s closest allies getting indicted by the FBI with a whole brown torrent more of them to come.
I’m going to have to start binge-watching Fox News interviews with the President to get my US political fix …
… or maybe Jacinda and Gayford will finally get married and have children and get divorced and then she remarries Winston Peters, or something.
Yeah its like Hollywood lied to me or something 🙁
I’ll have to go into a kind of odd binge-purge-binge cycle from fiction to reality and back again.
Strap yourself in tightly dearie and stay sober: the weirdness is about to get a whole lot weirder! Rainbows End Rollercoasters and wild mushrooms have nothing on what is about to happen.
Constitutional Roller Coaster #1
If Trump goes, Pence becomes president: if Pence is under investigation it goes to Ryan; if Ryan is under investigation it goes to Orrin Hatch; if Hatch is under investigation it goes to Rex Tillerson; if Tillerson is under investigation it goes to Mnunchin; if he is under investigation is goes to General James Mattis.
I think Mattis is the next president! Robert H. Scales, a retired United States Army major general, described him as “… one of the most urbane and polished men I have known.” Reinforcing this intellectual persona was the fact he carried a copy of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius throughout his deployments.=wiki
btw Ben Carson is no 13 and de Vos is no 15!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession
Constitutional Roller Coaster #2
The Prime minister in London is having a nervous breakdown. The EU are trying hard to keep her stable because the alternative is the bumbling idiot person Boris Johnson. Another General Election could deliver Jeremy Corbyn, another little england nationalist, to No 10. It will also probably deliver a united Ireland and and independent Scotland, both within the EU.
The entertainment never ceases…..
Just in case anyone thinks Pence being under investigation would keep him from the presidency, nope. His status as elected Vice-President is independent of the Chump’s shenanigans.
That means that at the moment Trump becomes an early ex-President, the only thing that will prevent Pence from becoming president is if he’s already resigned, or been impeached and convicted. As I understand it, he could have already been impeached by the House and be partway through his trial in the Senate, and he would still be sworn in as president. (although I’d imagine the Senate would seriously hurry-up the trial in that circumstance).
Ditto Ryan and Hatch.
Trump will deal himself through this and succeed.
He will offload his staff to the prosecutors like White Russians throwing relatives one at a time, off the back of the sleigh, to fast-encroaching wolves. Even his daughter isn’t safe.
Fox News keeps the sleigh speeding along.
Now that a few have been turned, blood’s in the water and will keep pouring.
He will hang in to the end of the term, bloodied but unbowed.
Mm. Hows the Turei prosecution coming along?
A.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Didn’t he go to London to avoid the police?
he?
dv is talking about Todd Barclay
A.
Not sure what that has to do with Turei but thanks for clearing that up
A fairly high bar must be set for WINZ to prosecute. Contributing factors are length of time not complying, severity of offending, acceptance/confession, amounts involved, repayments/ability to recover debt, subsequent life position, and the strength of WINZ’s case in the first place.
My guess is that Turei’s case did not meet the bar.
In Barclay’s case the complainant appears to have been bought off by the National Party in the form of John Key’s prime ministerial services account, and soothing late night texts from the twice failed Bill English.
Sorry mate, you just seem to be trying to rationalize a double standard to me
A.
I know which one cost the taxpayer more!
I don’t listen to newstalk zb from about 5 to 6 in the morning because that’s when Hosking comes on. Often in the hour before that the teeth have to be gritted.
Now they have the quinella.
“Kate Hawkesby to host Newstalk ZB’s Early Edition”
If her rant on the decision of Peters to go how he did is any indication, the one household can unload all it’s bile in one place in the same sort of time slot.
ZB doubling down on their right wing hosts. Mark Dye (along with Tim Roxborogh) was probably the only out and out leftie on ZB and he’s quit/been fired.
The line up is now fully RWNJ from 0500 to 1900 every single day.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11938800
So the Stepford Wife is joining the awful man who does the ZB Breakfast. Nepotism at work here. Thankfully for most people it is not a station they tune into. It probably will be more of the same garbage like her column she does in a womens’ rag. All the enlightening stuff about how to be a mother and a wife – as if all the other wonderful mothers and wives don’t already know about how to glue a household together. Does she think she is the expert in this for god’s sake. Being on the gravy train will enable her to get a really good nanny in to do all her housewifely chores and dropping kids off to school ec. Yawn yawn.
And to be really bitchy – she needs to get out of this 1970’s time warp and do something with her bloody hair.
I think his crazed serialised rant in the NZH in the week following NZ1’s decision to opt for Labour has cooked his goose in the eyes of many – or at least those that live outside the rarified climes of Remmers …
This is interesting:
“Andrew Little says the Government may waive health and safety laws for a manned re-entry to Pike River”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/98390520/andrew-little-govt-may-waive-health-and-safety-laws-for-pike-river-reentry
Given Health and Safety laws are there to ensure the protection of workers – I find this a strange and dangerous precedent
“He said an independent third party could be made responsible for the operations, but he was prepared to take responsibility himself. ”
All credit that he is willing to take responsibility. But given that nobody can guarantee it safe – I really hope that this does not end badly.
Yeah somehow a bunch of apathetic right wingers like yourself know so much more about mine safety and re-entry than the former UK principal mine inspector and former head NZ mines inspector Tony Forster who says it’s entirely possible and is happy to go in himself.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/98252389/pike-river-families-back-andrew-littles-appointment-to-lead-reentry
Even Andrew Little says there are risk.
“I’ve read two comprehensive reports so far both say yes there are risks, but yes this is possible…You’ve just got to manage those risks, so let’s find a way to do that.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/10/we-ve-waited-nearly-seven-years-for-this-pike-river-widow.html
Dont get me wrong – Kudos for him taking responsibility, and Im happy for the families if they get their loved ones home for a proper burial.
But again – I think changing the Health and Safety laws to enable it is a issue and a dangerous precedent.
One thing that I think we can all agree on – nobody wants anyone else to get hurt there.
Every undertaking such as re entering the mine has a risk involved. The question is not just about rationality but humanity.
As for the argument of risk per se I belief the workers have shown the ultimate willingness on that point to their employer and we should at least support all endeavors to retrieve the bodies so that the families can have closure.
Where’s your concern about every other place that safety cannot be “guaranteed”?
Little’s main objectives in that interview were: the families would be listened to and geniunely consulted with; and that risks can be mitigated.
If risks cannot be mitigated down to a reasonable level and the families still want them to go in, there might be a law change in this case. The thing is, I think the perception of many people (definitely my perception, anyway) is that “health and safety” is being used as a handy excuse to hide behind in order to excuse inactivity.
If that were removed as an excuse, and the families were genuinely consulted with, I think you’ll still find that they wouldn’t want people to die trying to recover their loved ones and evidence. They just want an honest appraisal of the situation.
“If risks cannot be mitigated down to a reasonable level and the families still want them to go in, there might be a law change in this case”
and thats what I have issue with.
So IF they cannot mitigate the risk – they will change the law to send people down there actively knowing that there is risk to them.
You would not accept that from John Key – esp if there was a further accident from the unmitigated risk they knew about.
I wouldn’t accept anything from Dr. Sir John Key that hadn’t first been through an extreme vetting and fact-checking process. That’s a consequence of his well-earned reputation for lying through his teeth.
Dunnokeyo was last years’ problem.
The issue around H&S is a red herring, so far. There might be genuine reasons not to go in, but the previous regime were pretty bloody quick to go ‘oh gosh, H&S ties our hands in this situation, how sad, problem over’.
I suspect that you will find that they change the law to allow sort of “good samaritan” efforts to rescue/recover evidence and people. I hope they make it a systemic change, not restricted to Pike River Mine. People should not be “sent” down if it’s unsafe – but if the reason is strong enough, they should be allowed to go, and not be held back by a paper-pusher worried about their own personal legal liability.
I just hope that when they go back in a full investigation is done. We need to know what happened to those people so we can act to correct it.
^ I would agree with that also.
There were so many violations of safe practice identified by the Royal Commission that I’ll guess if the cause is tracked down it’ll just be one of the problems already identified. Shit like methane sensors getting covered over, failure to use explosion-proof motors, workers smuggling in unsafe equipment etc.
I would hope that “we don’t exactly know what caused Pike River” hasn’t been a hold-up in sorting that shit out at other mines.
http://pikeriver.royalcommission.govt.nz/Volume-One—What-Happened-at-Pike-River—Part-Two
Going large.
https://twitter.com/carolecadwalla/status/925144729548935169
Yep – gonna take the nuclear option for t.rump to get outta this – you can be on top until below you starts moving.
Hey, why can’t this work for National Party policies?
I’d love it if a law was set requiring that policies be supported by facts where such are available. That’d pretty much kill all National Party policies.
Breaking news. Foreign speculators to be banned from buying NZ residential housing from early 2018. Legislation to be introduced before Christmas.
Apart from Australians, I expect a number of businesses to now be set up to purchase on behalf of foreign buyers..all ‘legal’ of course.
Excellent. Now to stop offshore speculators using resident proxies to act as buyers for them.
Jacinda also said (if I heard it right) that instructions would be given to NZ negotiators that NZ will not agree to ISDS clauses in TPP.