Orlando; Owen Jones On Homophobia.

Written By: - Date published: 7:42 pm, June 14th, 2016 - 70 comments
Categories: crime, discrimination, International, journalism, Media, scoundrels, winston peters - Tags: , , ,

Owen Jones, the best left journalist of this decade, has walked out of a TV chat show after the host and a guest denied the Orlando  killings were homophobic:

 

 

He has written a fantastic article about exactly what this attitude means. It includes this video:

 

 

Jones writes:

Orlando was both a terrorist attack and a homophobic attack on LGBT people. It was both the worst mass shooting in US history, and the worst targeted mass killing of LGBT people in the western world since the Holocaust. It is possible for an atrocity to be more than one thing at the same time. You are not compelled to select one option or the other.

He’s right. It can be both homophobic and a terrorist attack. It is exactly that. What it absolutely is not is an excuse to wheel out cringe worthy faux populism as David Seymour attempted yesterday.  Or, even worse, to try and top that with a undignified burst of ‘other’ hating during a commemoration of those murdered in Orlando, as Winston Peters has done this afternoon.

Both men should be ashamed of trying to out Trump each other. Both should apologise and talk about what this brutal attack really is; weaponised homophobia.

All mass shooting are terrorist attacks. Some are politically motivated terrorism. That doesn’t change their essence; which is to terrorise. Power and control, power and control.

There are news reports suggesting that the killer may have been LGBT himself. That changes nothing.

He chose a very specific target. He knew who he was hurting.

He knew it was homophobia.

Why can’t the likes of Trump, Seymour and Peters call it for what it is? And is ignoring the true nature of the Orlando attack to score political points, well, homophobic?

 

70 comments on “Orlando; Owen Jones On Homophobia. ”

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  1. Colonial Viper 1
    14 June 2016 at 7:50 pm

    Mateen’s radicalisation to Islamic extremism during his time in Saudi Arabia lies at the heart of the matter. Everything else followed on after that primary fact. Trump picked this first which tells me that Trump may have had very good sources with fast information on the perp.

    There are news reports suggesting that the killer may have been LGBT himself. That changes nothing.

    If it is true then the perp is another LGBT victim of the incident.

    You may not think this changes anything, but I think it does.

    • te reo putake 1.1
      14 June 2016 at 7:53 pm

      He’s not a victim, CV.

      • Colonial Viper 1.1.1
        14 June 2016 at 7:57 pm

        if reports that he was LGBT himself are true, then I would have to disgree with you.

          • Colonial Viper 1.1.1.1.1
            14 June 2016 at 8:04 pm

            I’m not going to go further on this until there is confirmation one way or another as to Mateen’s personal background.

            • te reo putake 1.1.1.1.1.1
              14 June 2016 at 8:15 pm

              Try answering it as a hypothetical, then. I’m rather interested to know in what possible way the killer of 49 people could be considered a victim because of his sexuality.

          • Lanthanide 1.1.1.1.2
            14 June 2016 at 8:34 pm

            A victim of society, so damaged by that society’s treatment of gays that he had extreme self-loathing and rage, to go and kill a whole bunch of people.

            • Colonial Viper 1.1.1.1.2.1
              14 June 2016 at 8:57 pm

              I think that this post may have been both premature and insensitive. Time will tell if that is so.

            • te reo putake 1.1.1.1.2.2
              14 June 2016 at 9:02 pm

              Reaching a whole lot there, Lanth. Not least because he didn’t attack ‘society’ he specifically attacked the Orlando LGBT community.

              • Lanthanide …
                14 June 2016 at 11:57 pm

                I don’t see why his choice of targets somehow means he is or isn’t a victim of society’s attitudes to homophobia.

            • Colonial Viper 1.1.1.1.2.3
              14 June 2016 at 9:16 pm

              Hear that Lanth. TRP says you are reaching and have no idea, unlike him.

              [No more from you on this post, ta. You’ve already embarrassed yourself enough for one night. TRP]

            • KJT 1.1.1.1.2.4
              14 June 2016 at 9:24 pm

              Plenty of history, on other occasions, of just that.

              Hate to hide their own membership of the hated group.
              Often trying to deny it within themselves.

              Ex beneficiaries in charge of WINZ, for example.

            • KJT 1.1.1.1.2.5
              14 June 2016 at 9:25 pm

              Plenty of history, on other occasions, of just that.

              Hate to hide their own membership of the hated group.
              Often trying to deny it within themselves.

              In those cases, they may well be victims themselves, of hate.

    • Greg 1.2
      14 June 2016 at 8:29 pm

      Muslims have a duty to go to Mecca as a matter of faith..!
      Its the side trips that matter.

    • Rae 1.3
      15 June 2016 at 8:16 am

      While I utterly agree that religion has probably been the thing that gave this guy the courage of his convictions, I don’t reckon it would have been the initial driver.
      It appears he was a bit mentally unstable, that would be number one
      He was homophobic, maybe with homosexual tendencies himself.
      Throw religion and the attitude toward homosexual acts in and you’ve got yourself a pretty perfect storm.
      Once Daesh got wind of him they would have used whatever they had to make sure something came of it.
      Religion in general has some real soul searching to do in the matters of personal freedoms and Islam probably has a bit further to go to do it.
      I think the major problem with the Islam is that it hasn’t got its collective head around the idea of religion operating within secular societies. That is the way forward for it.
      Trump’s reaction is very probably the exact one Daesh were hoping to elicit. Buying into that puts them closer to winning.

  2. Wayne 2
    14 June 2016 at 8:14 pm

    If anyone still thinks there is no difference between Clinton and Trump, I suggest you have a look at their two speeches given after Orlando. One was thoughtful and presidential, the other, well judge for yourself.

    • Colonial Viper 2.1
      14 June 2016 at 8:19 pm

      I notice Mateen worked for a large private prison contractor corporation.

      One which gave him advanced firearms training.

      • marty mars 2.1.1
        14 June 2016 at 8:44 pm

        What are you trying to imply?

        • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.1
          14 June 2016 at 9:26 pm

          Private contractors don’t give a shit who they train in what. All care and no responsibility. And Clinton (Bill) was the guy who gave the US prison industrial complex a huge shot in the arm with his Omnibus crimes bill.

    • vto 2.2
      14 June 2016 at 8:56 pm

      Yes Wayne it is truly amazing what can be hidden about politicians true m.o. with the right sorts of speeches.

      Do you really think that speech changes anything about the machine of US domination and status quo politicians??

      It is hot air Wayne, hot air… how much state terrorism has Clintons husband wrought on innocent people in far-off lands? How much state terrorism will Clintonette fire around the globe too if elected?

      You do realise the US government and its weapons industry kills more people per year than any other organisation on the planet.

      Don’t you?

      • Wayne 2.2.1
        14 June 2016 at 9:52 pm

        What state terrorism by Bill Clinton? The period 1992 to 2000 had a much lower level of conflict than the last 15 years. Not zero conflict, but by just about every measure lower than the present.

      • Wayne 2.2.2
        14 June 2016 at 10:03 pm

        You are wrong in your last paragraph, specifically during the Obama administration.
        For instance over the last six years the Syrian govt is unequalled in the numbers it has killed. ISIS by its various massacres of prisoners and Yazhidis has killed tens of thousands. In contrast the US air campaign against ISIS (unlike the Russian air campaign) seems to be highly targeted against ISIS fighters and commanders. Ironically, given how much they raise the ire of the left, this is because of the use of drones which are much more precise than high speed manned aircraft.

        • Muttonbird 2.2.2.1
          14 June 2016 at 10:18 pm

          You’re working late, Wayne.

          Time and a half tonight, is it? Double time?

        • One Two 2.2.2.2
          14 June 2016 at 11:08 pm

          The USA are bombing their own creation in ISIS, are they Wayne?

          You managed to leave Israel off the list of muderous rogue states

    • Pat 2.3
      14 June 2016 at 8:58 pm

      which one was thoughtful and Presidential?

  3. Greg 3
    14 June 2016 at 8:27 pm

    This is downplaying the doctrine of Wahhabism fundamentalist Islam, it cant be denied, except to not upset America’s biggest military buyer and ally, Saudi Arabia. And significant donor to the Hillary Foundation.

    The shooter was clearly struggling with his own sexual identity, projecting his self hate.
    Its pretty event in his assumption of an alpha male identity, and hating women,
    =wife beating.

    And how many fundamentalist Homophobic Christian American preachers are in jail for sex crimes against boys, or been outed chasing rent boys.
    Anyone want to bother doing a count.

  4. Grantoc 4
    14 June 2016 at 9:11 pm

    Winston’s outburst is true to form. HIs xenophobic attacks against migrants and refugees et al have been occurring for years. He is playing to the NZ equivalent of Trump’s US ‘losers’ constituency, attempting to stoke fear and loathing and hoping to turn this into votes for his party.

    For contemporary NZ politics it raises questions about how NZ First under Peter’s leadership could/would fit within a Labour/Greens potential governing coalition. Would Labour/Greens tolerate these outbursts at the risk of being perceived to be giving tacit support to them to in order to obtain/retain power? Or would they disassociate themselves from these views at the risk of Peter’s walking away?

    For instance what happens if Labour/Green wants to increase the size of the refugee intake if they become the government with NZ First?

    Peter’s outburst on this issue which is dear to the hearts of Labour/Greens just seems to me to illustrate the difficulty for Labour/Greens in trying to work effectively and coherently with NZ First.

  5. Gabby 5
    14 June 2016 at 9:36 pm

    It would be hard to refute the notion that the islamist terrorist was homophobic.

    • Gosman 5.1
      15 June 2016 at 7:20 am

      He is likely to be homophobic AND support violence to express those homophobic views because of the mainstream interpretation of his religious beliefs.

  6. NZSage 6
    14 June 2016 at 9:54 pm

    “Owen Jones, the best left journalist of this decade, has walked out of a TV chat show after the host and a guest denied the Orlando killings were homophobic”

    That video is highly edited and from what I could tell I felt the host and guest were trying to exhibit a level empathy with the LBGT community. It appeared they were trying to assert that no matter who the victims were this was a despicable act by a delouded terrorist.

    I have a huge amount of respect for Owen and his journalistic mastery but on this occasion he did himself no favours by walking out.

    • te reo putake 6.1
      14 June 2016 at 10:10 pm

      There’s a fuller video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmMXxx-EWcY

      Edit: whoops, thats the same vid! I’ll have a look in the morning.

    • gangnam style 6.2
      14 June 2016 at 10:21 pm

      Prob cause Owen was a little bit fraught & upset, god knows why…(sarc). Owen was absolutely right, the other 2 were just hot airing & saying the same empty talking head words whereas Owen was really trying to say something but the other 2 wouldn’t shut up & listen, echoes of ‘all lives matter’ to my ears.

      & totally got his people suddenly jumping on the gay bandwagon, when like he said LGBT people don’t een feel safe enough in the West to walk around holding hands with their loved ones, it’s something you rarely see here in NZ & I doubt it’s because there are few gays here.

      Like when people get up in arms about womens rights during their anti-Muslim spiels but won’t address pay inequality, hypocritical hogwash.

      • Rae 6.2.1
        15 June 2016 at 3:44 pm

        Was about to say that myself. He would still have been in extreme shock over it all, knowing that in no small way, he was a target as well. What he was saying would most definitely be coming from a very instinctive place and from grief. It is not something he should be judged on.

    • joe90 6.3
      14 June 2016 at 10:22 pm

      that no matter who the victims were this was a despicable act by a delouded terrorist.

      If this man or this man had done the crime, would folk be talking about their homophobia or their religion?.

  7. McFlock 7
    14 June 2016 at 10:45 pm

    I tend to go further than that – I’m still not sure it was terrorism.

    Here’s why:
    He could easily have done it without any outside help or knowledge, buying everything over the counter with his own money.
    Would the location of the incident have been the idea of someone in the ME, or his using his local knowledge?
    He liked to big-note about his connections, but when he was reported and investigated, there was nothing to back it up in the slightest.

    Hell, I can tell people about my connection to the All Blacks, that doesn’t make it true or me a rugby player. But it would be rightly regarded as name-dropping in a pathetic attempt to boost my own status.

    He could well have done thesame, and Isis would go along with it because it big-notes them.

    But it was most definitely a hate crime, even if the person he was most disgusted by was himself.

    • weka 7.1
      14 June 2016 at 11:17 pm

      Depends on your definition of terrorism. If the point of terrorism is to create a culture of extreme fear via violence to control groups of people, then this is terrorism.

    • Gosman 7.2
      15 June 2016 at 7:33 am

      He was inspired by the religious inspired ideology of Daesh. Daesh has claimed him as one of their own. As such it was an Islamic inspired homophobic terror attack.

      • McFlock 7.2.1
        15 June 2016 at 3:08 pm

        lol

        Like I said, I can claim connections with the All Blacks, and they might even say “wuh? oh okay, yeah, that dude’s with us”. It doesn’t make it true.

    • Rae 7.3
      15 June 2016 at 8:24 am

      Well I can tell you why I do believe that Daesh would have used this guy’s homophobia to their “advantage”. It’s seems pretty clear he had contact with them.
      Anyone setting out to do something like this, would be fairly certain at the end of it, they are going to be dead, and believing you’re going to some sort of eternal glory must be a big help.
      Long story short, you don’t hear much about atheists committing this sort of crime.

      • McFlock 7.3.1
        15 June 2016 at 3:05 pm

        David Gray comes to mind. The Columbine shooters, Klebold and Harris, were they overly religious?

        Dickheads come in all creeds.

  8. McFlock 8
    14 June 2016 at 11:43 pm

    Yes. In the way that angry school kids or disgruntled former employees are “terrorists”. But giving that title to every dick with a gun cheapens the word. Makes it indistinguishable from someone who just can’t take romantic rejection.

    • Lanthanide 8.1
      15 June 2016 at 12:04 am

      +1

    • McFlock 8.2
      15 June 2016 at 12:06 am

      argh crap that was to Weka 7.1 – damned batphone can be contrary…

    • weka 8.3
      15 June 2016 at 12:17 am

      Maybe. Every dick with a gun doesn’t have the aim of making a specific group of people terrified enough that their behaviour changes. I don’t mind terrorism being defined more exactly, but I do find the whole is he or isn’t he an Islamic terrorist a bit missing the point.

      • McFlock 8.3.1
        15 June 2016 at 12:41 am

        Well, if it was terrorism (Islamic or otherwise), that affects the political dialogue and subsequent preventive measures in one direction.

        If it was a lone dick committing a massive hate crime, the dialogue focuses more on how the potential damage of lone dicks can be minimised.

        It’s easier for a conservative politician to argue immigration and fear rather than gun control.

        At this stage, I’m not sure a desired behaviour change from this act is indicated. There doesn’t seem to be any wider organisation looking to further its own objectives. I haven’t heard of any manifesto that he wanted broadcast on the back of this, a la unabomber.

        So far, the guy looks like a cross between the kids who shot people at Columbine and the guy who murdered Gianni Versace, with some fucked up personal issues.

        • Rae 8.3.1.1
          15 June 2016 at 8:27 am

          That is most probably true, however, he let himself be known to Daesh, it should come as no surprise they welcomed him with open arms.

          • McFlock 8.3.1.1.1
            15 June 2016 at 3:11 pm

            Of course they did. It makes them look like they have people in the US.
            Great recruiting tool for them.

            Did they know who he was six months ago? Six days ago?

        • Psycho Milt 8.3.1.2
          15 June 2016 at 11:06 am

          Kind of funny how many Muslim “dick-with-a-gun” types are shooting people Muslim fundamentalists hate, though, isn’t it? It’s almost like there was some ideological basis for their actions or something…

          • McFlock 8.3.1.2.1
            15 June 2016 at 2:59 pm

            Oh, the organised and supported ones, like Paris, sure.

            And the US militias have had a bit of a resurgence, so watch that space, too.

            But there’s no need to elevate a monumental dickhead to the level of Carlos the Jackal. If anything, that’s what the dickhead wants: significance and infamy that he never had in real life.

            • Psycho Milt 8.3.1.2.1.1
              15 June 2016 at 5:09 pm

              The only real distinction between planned group attacks like the Mumbai or Paris ones, and individual attacks like this one (or the San Bernadino one, stretching the term ‘individual’ a bit) is better organisation. The ideology of the individuals involved and the lethal effect of that ideology is the same. To those on the receiving end, it doesn’t matter if the Muslim nutcase out to kill unbelievers/shameless-perverts/whoever-they’re-killing-this-week got together with fellow nutcases and planned the event properly or not – the outcome and the reason for it are the same.

              • McFlock …
                15 June 2016 at 5:32 pm

                Not really.

                Terrorism involves an objective beyond the killing: either explicit (“release our comrades or we’ll blow up the plane”), or as a result of the act (affect an election, e.g. Madrid bombings, Unabomber before he demanded his manifesto be published, who knows what the fuck the anthrax letter dude was up to). Al shabab apparently tend to do a flashy massacre whenever their recruitment pool starts to dry up, for example, simply because the headlines boost their profile.

                This guy happened to be a not-very-good muslim. It seems the greater part of this act resulted from not being able to reconcile his sexuality with his cultural expectations, rather than any political or religious obective of his own or anybody else’s. But then he’s not the first homophobe to brutalize gay people because of his own self-loathing resulting from that contradiction.

  9. weka 9
    14 June 2016 at 11:55 pm

    Good on Owen Jones for walking out and for tolerating the weirdness for as long as he did.

    “It was both the worst mass shooting in US history”

    Native Americans have been pointing out that mass shootings of Indians have had more deaths.


    Sarah Kendzior
    ‏@sarahkendzior

    Sarah Kendzior Retweeted The Associated Press

    As @ChiefElk pointed out, it’s actually Wounded Knee. Read her TL for historical perspective on gun violence.

    https://twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/742056974255149057

    This isn’t about comparisons of better/worse, it’s about not erasing others’ histories.

  10. Gosman 10
    15 June 2016 at 7:18 am

    The guy seems to be incredibly precious. Imagine if Jewish people did the same thing with attacks on Jewish targets.

    • te reo putake 10.1
      15 June 2016 at 8:46 am

      I imagine that the same thing could or would occur, Gosman. Nobody is forced to stay in a studio and if the TV hosts in your scenario were denying the essence of an anti-Jewish hate crime, I can easily imagine a guest getting up and walking out.

      What point do you think you are making?

      • Gosman 10.1.1
        15 June 2016 at 9:13 am

        What I suspect would happen is that if a Jewish person argued that non Jews were being insensitive by trying to broaden the debate beyond antisemitism to other areas that person would be regarded by many people (including on the left) as pushing a particular political agenda and taking an extreme and exclusionary approach to complex issues. This is exactly what Owen Jones is doing by trying to argue that this issue is only a homophobic attack and non LGBT people cannot express contrary views.

        • te reo putake 10.1.1.1
          15 June 2016 at 10:02 am

          Except he doesn’t argue it is ‘only’ a homophobic attack. There’s an article linked to in the post that explains his position very clearly.

          • Gosman 10.1.1.1.1
            15 June 2016 at 10:16 am

            He’s acting in a way that strongly suggests that this tragedy is ‘owned’ by the LGBT community and anyone who disagrees with this narrative has no right for their views to be aired as they are being insensitive (hence his decision to storm off). This would be no different to Israeli politicians refusing to discuss the wider Middle East context of a killing of Jewish people in Israel.

  11. Psycho Milt 11
    15 June 2016 at 11:03 am

    He’s right. It can be both homophobic and a terrorist attack.

    Yep. Beats me how some people can be finding that a difficult concept. I suspect the answer is they don’t really find it a difficult concept, they just prefer to lie (looking at a certain well-known Prime Minister here).

  12. Richard McGrath 12
    16 June 2016 at 8:41 pm

    Oh look. Another shooting in a state where even with a licence people can’t carry firearms in a bar. Were they supposed to throw alligators at the shooter?

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    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    2 days ago

  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes – The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    3 days ago

  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    3 days ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    4 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    6 days ago

  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    7 days ago

  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    7 days ago

  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago

  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago

  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    1 week ago

  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago

  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago

  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago

  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

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